Hades, the Urban Legend

Chapter 515: Impossible to Hide

The restaurant's decor exuded a dark, medieval atmosphere. Even during the day, the light was so dim that it resembled nighttime. Aromatic candles were lit all around, and rose petals, seemingly casually scattered yet artistically arranged, adorned the place. Old newspapers, vintage gramophones, posters of bygone stars, and various unrelated ornaments were tastefully placed and hung throughout the restaurant.

It didn't take Lin Ruoxi much effort to find the Stern siblings because it was past mealtime, and there weren't many customers. The waiter standing by the two ordering guests made them especially conspicuous.

"Hey, Miss Lin, we're here!" Alice waved excitedly. "The garlic butter lobster here is very famous. We've already ordered one. Should we get another?"

"The beef here is airlifted from Kobe, Japan. It's very fresh. The mushroom beef stew is also excellent," Stern introduced with a grin.

Lin Ruoxi sat down across from the two, a bit helpless. "I'm not very familiar with food. You can order."

"Miss Lin, you are such a kind person," Alice said, clasping her hands to her chest, moved.

Lin Ruoxi smiled at her exaggerated manner. "Miss Alice is also easily satisfied."

As they got to know each other better, Lin Ruoxi relaxed and made a joke.

"Ruoxi darling, you underestimate them," Yang Chen sat beside Lin Ruoxi, frustrated. "They are not easily satisfied. Do you know how expensive the dishes they just ordered are? They're practically extorting you. Do you think they just ordered casually?"

"Hey, Mr. Yang, Miss Lin already agreed. Are you trying to make her go back on her word?" Stern said righteously.

Yang Chen picked up a knife from the table, pretending to throw it at Stern's head.

Stern quickly stood up, striking a Bruce Lee pose, loudly shouting "Oh!" while wiping his nose and giving Yang Chen a challenging look, daring him to throw the knife.

"Enough! What are you doing?!" Lin Ruoxi almost fainted at the scene. Yang Chen scaring Stern was one thing, but the Brit playing along like they were in an action movie was too much.

Fortunately, the waiters in such high-end restaurants were well-trained. They stood by with smiles, waiting to continue taking orders despite the guests' "magical" actions.

Lin Ruoxi smiled apologetically at the waiter, indicating for him to follow Stern's order. The waiter then respectfully retreated.

Yang Chen, of course, wasn't really going to throw the knife. After scaring Stern, he pouted and said, "The lobster here is from Canada, and one costs over 500 euros. That Kobe beef, if it's for four people, is at least 800 euros. This meal alone will cost you tens of thousands of yuan, not counting the drinks."

Lin Ruoxi was stunned. She had no idea the dishes ordered by the Stern siblings were so expensive.

"Tsk tsk, it seems Mr. Yang has eaten here quite a bit to know the prices so well," Alice looked at Yang Chen disdainfully. "If Mr. Yang has eaten it, shouldn't he let his wife try it too? Women won't like a man who only thinks about saving money."

Lin Ruoxi blushed and asked in confusion, "Miss Alice, how did you know about my relationship with this man?"

Alice giggled, "Miss Lin, when you're with Mr. Yang, it's clear to anyone paying attention that your relationship is special. It's not like you're dating; it feels more like you're family."

"Miss Lin, you have too much confidence in your acting skills. My dear and I noticed your relationship last night," Stern chimed in.

"Haha, this meal is worth it after all. Turns out you can say nice things," Yang Chen said cheerfully, leaning back in his chair, relaxed.

Lin Ruoxi pinched Yang Chen's thigh hard. She wanted to run out of there. She had thought their relationship was well hidden, but it had been her illusion all along. This probably meant that many people in the company had noticed something unusual but didn't dare to say anything.

"What are you afraid of? It will come out sooner or later," Yang Chen said, feeling helpless about Lin Ruoxi's shyness.

Although Lin Ruoxi knew he was right, it still felt uncomfortable that something she thought was well hidden was so easily seen through by others.

"Miss Lin, do you know," Alice leaned closer to Lin Ruoxi, speaking mysteriously, "there are two things in the world that people often try to hide but can't."

"Hmm?" Lin Ruoxi was puzzled.

"The first thing is poverty. No matter how hard poor people try, they can't change this fact, which is not a sin but sometimes more terrifying than sin," Alice said with a playful glint in her beautiful eyes. "The second thing is someone's love for another person."

A burning sensation reached Lin Ruoxi's ears. Alice's words pierced her heart like a fine needle, stripping away her cold exterior.

"Oh yay! Miss Lin is blushing. Looks like Alice guessed right," Alice laughed, throwing herself into Stern's arms and kissing him as if celebrating.

Lin Ruoxi touched her cheek, which felt like a red apple. She lowered her head, biting her lip, now wanting to throw a knife herself.

Although Yang Chen heard Alice's words, he didn't tease Lin Ruoxi further this time. He just watched her reaction quietly.

Lin Ruoxi sneaked a glance at Yang Chen out of the corner of her eye. When she saw him looking at her with a half-smile, she quickly turned her head away, not daring to look more.

For the rest of the time, aside from Stern and Alice continuing their affectionate discussion about where to go after Fashion Week, Yang Chen quietly drank the restaurant's special lemon tea and watched the passersby and street scenes outside. Lin Ruoxi sat quietly in her seat, occasionally saying a few words to the Stern siblings but mostly spacing out.

After more than half an hour, the lobster and beef were finally served. Stern had also ordered a bottle of thirty-year-old Lafite, which led to another long talk from Yang Chen. However, Lin Ruoxi didn't mind. No matter how much they spent, it was only for a few days. She didn't have as much money as Yang Chen, but she felt she was more generous than him.

Due to the butter and cream in Italian cuisine, Lin Ruoxi found the lobster and beef very tender and delicious, but after only a few bites, she felt too full to continue eating. The Stern siblings also had small appetites, being picky eaters but not big eaters.

In the end, it was Yang Chen, who hadn't ordered much, who finished off most of the remaining lobster and beef. He let out a burp and jokingly called Stern a "spendthrift."

"Come on, the food was good. Why do you keep picking on Stern over the cost of a meal?" Lin Ruoxi frowned.

"Don't you know your husband started out selling lamb skewers?" Yang Chen shamelessly replied. "I can't compare to capitalists and aristocrats like you."

Lin Ruoxi gritted her teeth and whispered, "Can't you tone it down? You're making me embarrassed. Are you mocking us? Clearly, you're the wealthiest one here, so why do you act the most frugal?!"

Regardless, it was time to settle the bill. After the waiter printed the receipt and assessed the situation at the table, he placed it in front of the "manliest" Yang Chen.

Yang Chen looked at the bill in front of him: "Two thousand four hundred and eighty-six euros."

Yang Chen blinked to make sure he hadn't misread, then immediately pushed the bill towards Lin Ruoxi with a smile. "Wife, it's your turn."

Lin Ruoxi, seemingly aware that Yang Chen wasn't carrying any money, had already taken out her wallet from her bag. She handed over five purple 500-euro notes and a yellow 200-euro note as a tip, giving it all to the waiter.

The waiter glanced at the stack of purple 500-euro notes in Lin Ruoxi's wallet and almost dropped his eyes. Most guests paid by card, and it was rare to see someone carrying so much cash.

Lin Ruoxi didn't intend to show off by paying in cash. It was just that she found signing for card payments troublesome and preferred to leave quickly.

Before leaving the table, Lin Ruoxi didn't forget to take the blue-purple bouquet she had "bought" for fifteen euros, tucking it into her bag. Although it wasn't valuable, she didn't want to discard it carelessly.

Impressed by Lin Ruoxi's generous style, the Stern siblings, these "freeloading siblings," showered her with compliments as they left the restaurant.

Even though spending nearly 20,000 yuan on a lunch was extravagant, Lin Ruoxi didn't feel it was overly expensive. Instead, she felt a bit embarrassed by the siblings' praise.

As the four were heading back to their car to go to the Louvre for the afternoon fashion show, a skinny white man in a short-sleeved, ripped pair of jeans suddenly approached them.

"This beautiful lady, do you have a moment?" The man's face was skin and bones, with protruding bones and sunken eyes with heavy dark circles, and his voice was hoarse. At first glance, he looked like a severe drug addict.

Lin Ruoxi instinctively took a step back and moved closer to Yang Chen, "Who are you?"