Chapter 52: The Gathering Feast—Ever-Growing Circle of Friends (Part 3)

"Nu-Na, don't let her fool you! Clearly, she's the one in the wrong!" Because of Im Yoon-ah's righteous tone, Seohyun lowered her head slightly, as if beginning to doubt herself because of Yoon-ah's answer. Watching this, Chen Zhe raised his eyebrows, apparently speechless at her behavior, and without any hesitation, exposed Yoon-ah's act.

"Chen Zhe!" The moment her behavior was laid bare, Im Yoon-ah became flustered and furious, not even using the familiar 'A-Zhe' anymore. She bared her teeth and claws, ready to pounce on Chen Zhe, clearly planning to teach him a lesson.

"Alright, that's enough! Taegu, you keep hosting!" Just as Im Yoon-ah was about to leap at Chen Zhe, a hand reached out from behind her and firmly pinched the back of her neck, as if grasping her very lifeline. In an instant, she quieted down.

Seeing Im Yoon-ah become as docile as a kitten with her neck pinched, Chen Zhe couldn't help but be curious. He followed the arm holding Yoon-ah and saw Jessica Jung's cool, somewhat displeased expression. At once, he shrank back, pretending he hadn't seen anything.

"Ahem, let's start the second round of voting. Southeast Asian cuisine—raise your hand if you want to eat it!" Kim Taeyeon had also noticed the mishap before her, but she chose to cough a few times, drawing everyone's attention back to herself and resuming her duty as referee.

Hearing the new option announced, Chen Zhe was the first to raise his hand and began glancing around, as if to see which handsome guys or beautiful girls shared his opinion.

The first person he saw was the rarely active, smiling-eyed Tiffany Hwang, who raised her hand and flashed him a silly, adorable grin—at least, that's how it seemed to Chen Zhe.

The other supporter was Luna Park Sun-young, who had been quiet from the start. Noticing Chen Zhe looking her way, she nodded warmly, offering him a gentle smile, which he returned in kind.

"Now, with the votes tallied, the final choice is Chinese cuisine..." The first two rounds of voting had only split six people, and many still hadn't voted. But in Kim Taeyeon's eyes, the result was clear enough, and she was about to announce it.

"Wait, we have to vote on the third option as well! What if it barely gets any votes either?" Just as Taeyeon was announcing the result, Chen Zhe and the newly freed Im Yoon-ah, with an air of stubborn defiance, interrupted her in unison.

"But it's already obvious!" Taeyeon was genuinely confused by these two gluttons who seemed determined to see things through, her nose wrinkling in mild annoyance.

"It's fine, let's vote on the last option so these two can give up!" Just as Taeyeon was about to reprimand them for their persistence, Sooyoung Choi patted her somewhat flat chest, her tone bold and confident, as if bestowing a final consolation to the losers.

"Since you say so, Sooyoung, alright—let's start the third round: Chinese cuisine. Raise your hand if you want to go!" Seeing that the proposer, Sooyoung, agreed, Taeyeon—priding herself as the fairest judge—nodded and announced the third vote.

As expected, with the exception of Jessica Jung and Sunny Lee soon-kyu abstaining, and Taeyeon herself not voting, everyone else raised their hands for Chinese food as tonight's dinner.

Chen Zhe and Im Yoon-ah both clutched their chests, looking deeply wounded by the group's decision.

"Crocodile Yoon, you have nothing to clutch. At least it's reasonable for A-Zhe!" At this moment, as the victor, Sooyoung unleashed her sharp tongue. She glanced at Yoon-ah's unimpressive chest, then at Chen Zhe's, and immediately launched her attack.

Hearing Sooyoung's words, everyone except Chen Zhe and Yoon-ah looked at Sooyoung's flat chest, then at Yoon-ah's equally plain one, and finally at Chen Zhe's, all with meaningful expressions.

"Sooyoung the Venomous, I've had enough!" Noticing everyone's glances, Yoon-ah gave Chen Zhe's pecs a sidelong look, glanced down at her own unimpressive chest, her face turning red, then green, and finally ashen. Gritting her teeth, she lunged at Sooyoung, who stood with her hands on her hips, a look of triumph on her face.

Thus began the great civil war of mediocrity. Im Yoon-ah and Sooyoung were instantly embroiled in a scuffle, tussling for over ten minutes until both were red-faced and breathless. Only then did Sunny and Taeyeon intervene as peacemakers to halt their battle.

"Alright, now that we've decided what to eat and it's about time, let's get going!" Once separated and rested, Sooyoung checked her phone and saw it was already half past six. She sprang up energetically and waved everyone to get ready.

"Which restaurant are we going to?" Hearing it was time to leave, Kim Heechul stood up as well, his stomach now rumbling. He only knew they were having Chinese food, but was curious which place.

"Of course we're going to Moonlight Pavilion. The Chinese food there is the most authentic!" At the mention of food, Im Yoon-ah was instantly revived. After all, Chinese cuisine included plenty of meat dishes, which she loved. The only reason she'd suggested barbecue was because she hadn't had her fill of meat in ages.

"Moonlight Pavilion, then. Alright, A-Zhe, Minho, Jonghyun, come with us. The guys can ride together!" Having settled on the restaurant, Heechul suggested that Chen Zhe and the others go with them. He felt that if Chen Zhe went with the girls, he might be left with lasting psychological trauma. Besides, their main purpose tonight was to protect Chen Zhe from such an ordeal.

"No way! A-Zhe has to come with us. Heechul oppa, you'd only lead him astray." But before Heechul could finish, the girls immediately objected, flatly rejecting his proposal. Sooyoung even strode over, hands on hips, slinging an arm around Chen Zhe's shoulders and shooting a sidelong glance at Heechul and the others.