"Is this how you'd treat someone who wanted to take you out to free lunch?" Jack let Zhao Li An go while he faked a hurt face.
Zhao Li An smiled as he patted Jack. "I genuinely thought that you're Mickey Mouse."
When Jack saw the bandage on the young police's face, his playful tone changed into a concerned one.
"What happened to you?" Jack frowned.
Zhao Li An stopped for a moment. "I- uh got into an accident earlier in the training room. I was in a duel with the captain of the Special Ops Unit. I beat him though," he explained while he kept a triumphant smile.
Jack was not concerned about him winning. He was more concerned that he got hurt. Although he knew that in his line of work, getting hurt was inevitable, he felt uneasy seeing this person in front of him getting hurt. At that point, he was confused. Why did he feel this way towards him? He was not like this before.
Seeing that he was not responding to him, Zhao Li An poked him with his index finger, "Jack?"
The gangster seemed to be still in a daze. He looked at the young police's bandage and voiced out his concern. "Does it hurt?"
He raised his left hand and pointed at the bandage.
Zhao Li An noticed Jack's concern. He tried to hide the bandage from him by covering it with his hand, which was foolish to do when he realized later. He just somehow felt uncomfortable. It was not because he disliked Jack, but it was because he did not want others to worry about him. Besides, the small wound on his face did not hurt. It would heal after a few days.
"It doesn't hurt. It's nothing to worry about. It would heal," he replied as he shook his head with an embarrassed smile.
Jack seemed to figure out what Zhao Li An was thinking, so he stopped from being overly concerned. As long as he was fine and happy, then it was good enough for him.
Changing the topic, Jack handed over his helmet to the young police.
"We should get going before your break time is over, that way you can eat as much as you want."
Zhao Li An gasped. "You're right!"
Quickly, he took Jack's helmet and wore it. "Where's your motorcycle?"
Jack suppressed his laugh and pointed at the direction of where he parked his motorcycle. "That way."
The excitement in Zhao Li An's eyes could not be concealed. He was even ahead of Jack while they walked to the parking lot building. As they walked, Jack thought of a game.
"Zhao Zi," Jack said.
Zhao Li An stopped from making another step. It was his second time hearing Jack call him by his nickname. Usually, it would just be his closest friends who would call him that. Did that mean that they were close? Jack did not even ask for his permission to call him that way. In the end, he thought that he would let it slide because Jack helped him and would treat him in a luxurious restaurant.
"What is it?" Zhao Li An turned around to face the gangster.
Jack had heard about Zhao Li An's good luck, so he wanted to test it out.
"If you could guess where my motorcycle is parked exactly in the building, I would treat you at Golden Pot Restaurant for a week."
Zhao Li An's eyes widened. The first thing that came out of his mouth was about Jack's wealth.
"How rich are you?"
Jack did not answer him directly. He only replied, "Enough to live comfortably."
Zhao Li An was quite unsure what he meant by that. He just concluded that he was rich.
Back in Jack's game, Zhao Li An briefly looked at the parking lot building then turned to Jack once again.
"2nd Floor, Section L, 1st spot," he answered without hesitation.
Jack's amazement could not be concealed. "You're right!"
He wondered how he managed to guess that right. "How did you know that?"
"Ohh, so I was right," Zhao Li An pointed at the 2nd floor of the building.
"If you look closely, you could see a part of a motorcycle from that gap. Usually, the parking spaces for the 1st floor and half of the second floor would be occupied. Motorcycles have their own parking spaces on the first floor, but they're always occupied, so I know that you wouldn't park there. I could only assume that it must be somewhere on the 2nd floor."
Jack could not help it but scratch his head. Still, he chuckled. "I see."
Of course, Jack would not completely deny that luck was also on the young police's side. In addition, his deduction skill was not bad.
"I won. That means I could go to Golden Pot Restaurant for a week, right?" Zhao Li An's eyes were glittering in hope. It would mean good food for a week.
"It's a promise," Jack answered with a nod.
Zhao Li An raised the pinky of his right hand. "Promise it."
"..."
Jack thought that this man in front of him was truly interesting. He raised his pinky and hooked it up with the other's pinky. "That's a promise."
The two then proceeded to walk towards the parking lot building.
After some time, they have arrived at the most acclaimed and most luxurious restaurant in the city.
When they stood in front of the building, Zhao Li An could not help it, but admire it. "I never stood this close to this building. I'd never, in my life, expected this at all. I feel great and excited."
Jack patted his head. "If this makes you that happy, why don't I treat you here every day?"
Zhao Li An was trying to process the fact that he was going to experience the luxury of eating in this restaurant that he did not hear what Jack had just told him.
"What did you say?" Zhao Li An faced Jack.
The gangster shook his head, "I said, let's go in."
The young police smiled happily. "Okay!"
The two were greeted by a female hostess. As soon as she glanced at Jack, she knew where to take him and the other guest that was with him.
"This way, please," she said politely as she directed the two inside.
Zhao Li An looked around. Everything that the people said about this place was true. The interior decorations were quite fancy. The people who were dining inside were also fancy with their suits and beautiful dresses. Even the servers were wearing high-quality clothing. He could not help but look at his cheap outfit. Still, that did not bother him since he was here for the food.
At the end of the hall, they were led to a private booth. It was small, but it was enough for two people to sit comfortably. It was much more simple yet elegant compared to the common area in the hall. There was much more privacy and peace too.
"Here's the menu," the hostess politely said as she handed the menus to the guests. "Your server will be with you within a moment."
"Thank you," Zhao Li An said. The two did not wait that long and the server came.
"Would you like to start with anything?" she said.
"Zhao Zi, what would you like to drink?" Jack initiated.
"Hmm," Zhao Li An looked at the beverage section of the menu. He would like to take the initiative to drink something that he had never tried, so water would be out of the option. Since he could not drink alcohol, he was left with tea, soda, and fresh mixed fruit-flavored drink.
"I'll try the fresh mixed fruit-flavored drink," he answered.
"I'll get what he's having too," Jack followed up.
"Noted." The server wrote on her small notepad. "Anything else? Would you like to have a moment to decide?"
Zhao Li An suddenly felt pressured. Everything on the menu looked delicious. He could not decide what to eat!
"Zhao Zi, take your time. Ask whatever you want," Jack glanced at the obvious troubled young police.
"Then I shall give you a moment to decide then," the waitress politely said as she turned around.
"N-no. I'm ready," Zhao Li An answered quickly. He then pointed at the menu. Since Jack said that he could order anything, he would not be ashamed to order a lot. "I'd like to have this....this one....this...um.. this one...then this...."
Both Jack and the waitress looked at one another for a brief moment. Did he order for himself or for a group of people?
"That's it for me," Zhao Li An innocently smiled at the waitress.
The waitress nodded as she finished writing a list of orders from just one guest. She then turned to Jack.
"I'll get the usual," he answered while looking at Zhao Li An. He was astonished. Despite being shorter and thinner than him, he was not aware that he had such a big appetite.
"Alright," the waitress nodded and took the menus from the guests.
When the two were left alone, Jack asked as he gulped, "Are you sure about your order?"
Zhao Li An was quick to respond. The doubt that he felt suddenly cleared, he said, "You're right."
He momentarily paused then replied, "I should've added another order. It's rare that I'm here, so I should taste the food here as much as I can."
"..."
Jack finally gave up. He started laughing. Zhao Li An amused him so much that tears were flowing from his eyes. He never felt this fun. It was the first time someone made him be this way.
Zhao Li An sat there confused. "Jack, are you okay?"
Jack just waved his hand as he tried to calm down. When he was able to control himself, he replied after taking a deep breath, "I'm okay. You're just quite amusing, Zhao Zi."
Zhao Li An just scratched his head as he smiled shyly.
"The military has now successfully recovered parts of lost territories from the infected."
Both Jack and Zhao Li An faced the television that was attached to the wall of the booth. Important news was being reported.
"This has been an important historical moment for our country. After many attempts and sacrifices of our brave heroes to recover our lost lands, we finally gained such great success. Thanks to the Rain of Miracle phenomenon that granted us with powers, the future of our country would be much brighter and clearer. This would certainly not be the last one of our achievements."
After that statement, both Zhao Li An and Jack could hear the cheers and applause of the people outside the booth. Everyone was happy. Before the Rain of Miracle phenomenon, the military had tried to recover areas lost to the infected, but they miserably failed. The success rate was quite low. Everyone knew this and it frustrated them. It made people lose hope. Now, it was different. This time, it was the livings' turn to win over the dead.
Those moments of happiness and pride were suddenly halted. The news reporter on the set seemed to be surprised by the sudden report that he received.
"We would like to pause this segment with breaking news. Z City's wall has been breached this morning. An explosion on the wall was reported to be the cause. On how it started, no one could verify it. Currently, 40% of the city is being overrun by the infected. The military and the police in Z City are trying to control the situation. A mandatory evacuation to other walled cities was already issued by the local government to its residents."
Jack's mood suddenly changed. He frowned as he curled his hand into a fist.
"Your order is here."
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