Chapter Fifty-Three: The Gathering Meal, Friends Multiply

Upon hearing Sooyoung’s words, the boys all wore looks of disbelief, staring at her as if they simply couldn’t fathom how she could utter such shameless words so brazenly.

“Sooyoung has a point. Ah-Jung, you should just ride with us!” Genius, unable to tolerate Sooyoung’s shamelessness any longer, gritted his teeth, ready to retort. But before he could speak, Jessica stepped forward, arms crossed, shooting a sidelong glance at all the men except for Chen Zhe.

“That’s right. Ah-Jung is safer with us!” Before Heechul and the others could react, the petite leader Taeyeon also stepped forward, her expression grave and earnest, as if she were carrying out a matter of utmost importance.

After Taeyeon made her move, the rest of the Girls’ Generation members followed suit, as if they’d come to a unanimous agreement. They each took their place beside Sooyoung, arms crossed, eyes shooting disdainful glances at the men before them.

Though their group wasn’t at full strength, the seven members of Girls’ Generation now completely overshadowed the Super Junior trio and SHINee’s duo, utterly quashing any desire for resistance. All they could do was cast looks of silent prayer for good fortune at Chen Zhe, who remained utterly bewildered by the proceedings.

Following a gentle consultation—which in reality amounted to a round of rock-paper-scissors among the Girls’ Generation members to decide who could pick their passengers, since only the adult members of Girls’ Generation, Super Junior, and SHINee could drive—the contest was fierce. In the end, Sooyoung emerged victorious, earning the privilege of choosing three passengers first. She glanced at Sulli, who was still clinging to Chen Yuqi, and with a look, assured her best friend to leave everything to her.

As expected, Sooyoung’s first choice was Chen Zhe. But her second pick surprised everyone: she chose Victoria, someone with whom she wasn’t especially close.

Her unexpected selection instantly piqued everyone’s curiosity—they were eager to see whom she’d choose as her third passenger.

Sensing the curious gazes cast her way, Sooyoung grew rather smug, folding her arms and muttering to herself with satisfaction. Hmph, her primary targets were Chen Zhe and Krystal; Victoria was just an extra to keep things from getting awkward.

Originally, she had intended to pick her own best friend, but—

(Too busy tonight, no time to revise—placeholder for editing.)

“Excuse me, welcome. Is there anything I can assist you with?” As soon as Chen Zhe and his two companions entered Yuejing Pavilion, a young waitress came forward to greet them.

“Yes, I called this morning to reserve a private room,” Chen Zhe replied politely, offering her a warm, courteous smile.

“Understood. Please, follow me,” the waitress responded after a moment’s thought, recalling the reservation. She gestured for the three to follow her.

Led by the waitress, Chen Zhe and his companions were taken to a spacious private room. Once they were seated, she served them tea and handed them the menu.

After ordering a few of his favorite dishes, Chen Zhe looked up at Sooyoung and Krystal, both of whom seemed lost in indecision over what to eat.

“Ah-Jung, everything looks so delicious! I can’t decide—I want to try them all,” Sooyoung said, catching his gaze and adopting a pitiful tone.

“Ah, Noona, you...” Seeing Sooyoung so thoroughly in her foodie element, Chen Zhe sighed and rubbed his forehead.

“Unnie!” After a long moment of internal debate, Krystal settled on two or three dishes she liked. Just as she finished telling the waitress, she overheard Sooyoung’s words and couldn’t help but feel exasperated.

With both Chen Zhe and Krystal watching her, even someone as thick-skinned as Sooyoung couldn’t hold out any longer. She finally picked a few dishes that interested her most from the menu.

Before long, their selections began to arrive, one after another. As nine dishes filled the table, all three couldn’t help but swallow hungrily.

Sooyoung was the first to grab her phone, snapping a photo of the spread and sending it to the Girls’ Generation group chat, thoughtfully adding the names of each dish.

“Hey! Sooyoung, put down the food and give us the address, and maybe we’ll let you live!” The first to be lured in was, unsurprisingly, Yoona, who’d already failed to get the address earlier in the day. Seeing the food in the photo, she practically drooled with envy.

“Sooyoung, you’re toxic! Send me the address immediately!” Seeing Sooyoung appear in the chat, Jessica jumped in, her tone urgent and irritated—clearly, the morning’s food photos had left her deeply affected.

“That’s right, Sooyoung, you traitor! How dare you eat without us? Give us the address, and maybe we’ll spare your life!” Yuri, who’d been running errands all day without dinner, was equally annoyed.

“Unnie, are you eating with Ah-Jung and Krystal right now?” Though Sooyoung had mentioned earlier that Chen Zhe was treating the two of them, Seohyun still asked for confirmation.

“Of course! If you don’t believe me, I’ll send proof right now!” Irritated by the suspicion, Sooyoung immediately took a photo of Chen Zhe and Krystal, capturing Chen Zhe’s gentle smile as he introduced the various dishes to Krystal.

“Sooyoung, you traitor! Send us the address now, or you’re dead!” Seeing the interaction in the photo, Jessica’s protective instincts for her sister flared up again, prompting her to issue one final warning to Sooyoung.

“Alright, alright! I’ll send it now!” Realizing Jessica was truly losing her temper, Sooyoung’s survival instincts kicked in. She hurriedly shared the restaurant’s address and private room number in the group chat.

“Noona, why are you glued to your phone? Are the dishes not to your taste?” Noticing Sooyoung hadn’t touched any food since it arrived and was instead engrossed in her phone, Chen Zhe asked with some concern—this wasn’t like the foodie he knew.

“Of course not! I love all these dishes!” Sooyoung replied, hastily putting down her phone and grabbing her chopsticks.

With her chopsticks in hand, Sooyoung wasted no time. In short order, she’d sampled every dish, a look of contentment spreading across her face.

“Noona, Krystal, how are the dishes? Do they suit your tastes?” After a few bites, Chen Zhe took a sip of tea and asked.

“Yes, they’re delicious—just as good as Victoria Mom’s cooking!” Krystal smiled, nodding in satisfaction while giving a compliment to her leader.

“Victoria’s cooking is that good?” Chen Zhe scratched his cheek, surprised. He’d heard from variety shows in his previous life that Victoria was a good cook, but he’d assumed it was just good home-cooking. He didn’t expect Krystal to compare it to the fare at such a high-end restaurant.

“Absolutely, Victoria’s food is great. We’ve eaten her cooking before,” Sooyoung chimed in between mouthfuls, her words muffled.

“Noona, don’t talk with your mouth full, you’ll choke!” Chen Zhe sighed, helpless in the face of Sooyoung’s foodie ways.

Krystal, watching from the side, could only shake her head as well. Though she was used to seeing this at Girls’ Generation gatherings, she still found it hard to get used to.

As the three chatted, the door to their private room suddenly swung open and five women burst in. Aside from the one leading the way, the others looked around, taking in the room curiously.

Chen Zhe looked up at the commotion and recognized nearly everyone: leading the group was Jessica, followed by Yoona, Seohyun, and Yuri—and, yes, the petite leader Taeyeon, whom he knew by reputation but hadn’t yet met in person.

The sudden arrival of the Girls’ Generation members caught Chen Zhe off guard, but as if recalling something, he glanced questioningly at Sooyoung, who was still focused on her meal.