27: Chapter 27 How come such a nice older man had such an unlucky son?

Jiang You's stomach rumbled loudly in perfect timing, drowning out the surrounding chatter.

He whipped his head around, his gaze like lightning, precisely locking onto Zhao Tai, who was preparing to sneak away amidst the crowd.

Zhao Tai was leaning on his crutch, cowering behind several bodyguards with a deathly pale complexion.

He had just witnessed Jiang You toy with a Tier 4 expert with a single kick, and now his legs were trembling uncontrollably.

This monster... he can even toy with a Tier 4 expert?

Can Father's poison... really kill him?

Just as Zhao Tai was questioning reality, a powerful hand suddenly clamped down on his shoulder.

"Yo, Young Master Zhao, where are you off to?"

Jiang You looked at him with a grin, his eyes glinting with a ravenous, green light. "Isn't our teacher appreciation banquet tonight?"

"Where's my Tier 3 tuna? Where's my turkey? Don't tell me they haven't arrived yet?"

Zhao Tai shuddered from the pat, nearly collapsing to his knees.

Seeing Jiang You's "man-eating" expression of hunger, he forced down his inner terror and squeezed out a smile that looked worse than crying:

"It... It's here! It's been here for a long time!"

"It's all frozen in our freezer! The chefs have already prepped it all!"

"I was just... worried you'd be exhausted from the assessment, so I wanted to let you go home and rest for a bit..."

Before Zhao Tai could finish, Jiang You hooked his arm around his neck. Zhao Tai felt as if he were being throttled by a pair of pliers.

Jiang You dragged him toward the exit of the Gymnasium as if they were best friends:

"Let's go, let's go! Right now! I'm starving!"

"It's just a casual meal between neighbors, no need to be so formal!"

At the school gate.

The setting sun cast long shadows of the two figures.

Jiang You, with his arm around the shivering Zhao Tai, swaggered into the Zhao family's luxury car.

"Young Master Zhao, I want the tuna sashimi thick-cut."

"Also, remember what you promised me, find someone to peel the shrimp for me. I'm lazy; I don't want to get oil on my hands."

Zhao Tai sat in the car, his knuckles turning white as he gripped his crutch. He looked through the window at the receding school, a flicker of ruthless determination in his eyes.

Eat up... Jiang You.

I'm taking you to eat.

Once you're full, the poison will take effect, and the death squads will surround you... Let's see how arrogant you can be then!

Results come out at eight tonight?

Hmph, by then, even if your name is at the top of the list, you'll already be hanging in the King of Hell's palace!

"Drive!" Zhao Tai roared at the driver through gritted teeth. "Back to the villa! Serve the food!"

7:00 PM.

The Zhao family villa was brightly lit.

As a prominent wealthy family in Jiangcheng, the Zhao family, in order to put on a good show, had not only hired the best culinary team but had also invited the students and teachers of Class 2, Grade 3 of Jiangcheng No. 1 High School.

Ostensibly a teacher appreciation banquet, it was actually just to find a group of unwitting extras for the "murder play" about to unfold.

Luxury cars gathered at the entrance of the villa.

Patriarch Zhao, dressed in a dark red Tang suit, was standing at the main entrance with two top-quality jade walnuts in his hands, greeting guests with a face full of smiles.

If you ignored the occasional flash of viciousness in his eyes and only looked at his benevolent appearance, he looked just like a charitable, kind-hearted neighbor.

"Screech—" A black stretched Hongqi sedan pulled up to the entrance.

The door opened, and Jiang You first stretched, then slowly crawled out.

Immediately after, Zhao Tai followed, leaning on his crutch with an expression like he was constipated.

"Oh my! This must be student Jiang You!"

Patriarch Zhao's eyes lit up. He immediately stuffed the walnuts into his pocket and strode over to greet him.

He ignored his own crippled son and gripped Jiang You's hand tightly, as enthusiastic as if he had just met his long-lost father:

"I've heard so much about you! So much! I've heard Little Tai mention you often. Seeing you today, you truly are... uh..."

Patriarch Zhao looked up and down at Jiang You's loose, pajama-style outfit and the flip-flops he hadn't changed out of. His eye twitched, and he forcibly swallowed the words "you're just a piece of trash," changing them to:

"You truly are unpretentious and a man of great talent!"

Jiang You was a bit confused by this sudden enthusiasm.

He looked at the ruddy-faced, smiling middle-aged uncle in front of him and couldn't help but sigh inwardly:

This uncle looks quite kind, speaks well, and even came out to greet people personally. He has no airs at all.

Jiang You gripped Patriarch Zhao's hand back and said with a sincere and regretful expression:

"Uncle, you are too polite. You are Zhao Tai's father, right?"

"Sigh, I really didn't expect it. You look so kind and well-mannered, how did you end up with a son like Zhao Tai who is... uh, so... full of personality?"

"This genetic mutation is quite severe. Did he take after his mother?"

Patriarch Zhao's smile stiffened instantly, and he gripped Jiang You's hand tightly.

Take after his mother? You're insulting a monk in front of a bald man!

He took a deep breath, silently recited "little impatience spoils great plans" three times in his heart, and forced a smile:

"Hehe, student Jiang really knows how to joke. Little Tai has been spoiled by me; please bear with him in the future. Please come in, please come in! The tuna is going to melt!"

Upon hearing "tuna," Jiang You's eyes instantly lit up.

"Alright! Uncle, you go ahead and be busy, I'll go in by myself. Don't tire yourself out."

After saying that, Jiang You shook off Patriarch Zhao's hand and, as if returning to his own home, familiarized himself with the path and ducked into the villa.

Patriarch Zhao watched Jiang You's receding back; the smile on his face vanished instantly, replaced by endless malice.

He squeezed a sentence through his teeth to Zhao Tai beside him: "The poison... double it. I want to make his intestines rot through."

Inside the banquet hall.

Crystal chandeliers cast a soft light, and the long buffet table was filled with all kinds of delicacies.

The air was filled with the unique aroma of high-tier monster meat.

As soon as Jiang You entered, he felt his stomach doing a tap dance inside his body.

"That blue one must be the Tier 3 tuna, right? And that bright red one is the turkey?"

"Zhao Tai, this kid, actually didn't brag! It seems I judged a gentleman's belly with a genius's heart."

But Jiang You soon discovered a problem.

There were a lot of people present, and they were all a bit unfamiliar.

Because this banquet was ostensibly hosted by Zhao Tai, the main invitees were the circle that usually hung out with Zhao Tai, which was the group of top students from Class 1, Grade 3.

As the "Sleep God" of Class 2, Grade 3, Jiang You looked out of place here.

"Isn't that Jiang You?" "Why is he here too? Young Master Zhao actually invited him?"

"Probably here for a free meal. I heard he blew up the Qi and Blood meter this afternoon, don't know if it's true."

"Pfft, it must have been a machine malfunction. With his 0.8 Qi and Blood, he could blow up a machine? I think he was just trying to scam them."

Whispers came from all around.

Those Class 1 students, wearing small formal dresses and holding red wine glasses, gathered in groups of three or five, pointing at Jiang You, their eyes filled with rejection and a sense of superiority.

Jiang You didn't care about this at all.

He even felt this was better.

No one is paying attention to me? That's great.

Socializing is the most annoying thing; I'm only interested in the meat on the plate.

Jiang You walked straight to the core area of the dining table, picked up the largest plate, and began his "restocking" journey.

With the first scoop, he was going to take that best piece of tuna belly directly.

Just at this moment, at the nearby seats, a group of students surrounding Zhao Tai began to make loud noises and flatter him.

Although Zhao Tai had difficulty walking, he was sitting in the main seat at this time, still enjoying the pleasure of being the center of attention.

A boy wearing glasses held up his wine glass and said loudly:

"Brother Tai! Although there was a small episode in the test this afternoon, your Qi and Blood value is a solid 12.1! A Tier 2 martial artist!"

"What does that Jiang You count for? The machine blowing up was an accident; no results means 0 points! In my opinion, this year's top scholar has to be Brother Tai!"

Another girl also chimed in:

"Exactly! Brother Tai is just low-key! And look at the Zhao family's background, look at the scale of this banquet, Tier 3 monster meat to eat at will! That Jiang You probably hasn't even seen it before, right?"

"Brother Tai, after we go to university, we'll have to rely on you to look out for us!"

Zhao Tai listened to these flatteries; although he was terrified inside in front of Jiang You, he still had to pretend to be unfathomable on the surface and waved his hand: "Hey, low-key, low-key."

"Although student Jiang You... uh, is a bit weird, he is a classmate after all. I invited him here to let him broaden his horizons, so he doesn't embarrass our Jiangcheng No. 1 High School when he goes out later."

"Brother Tai is generous!" "Brother Tai is benevolent!" Everyone raised their glasses one after another.

And at this time, Jiang You was holding a plate piled up like a small mountain, passing by the table of this group of people.

His mouth was stuffed full of tuna sashimi, his cheeks bulging like a hamster hoarding food.

Jiang You shook his head and sighed: "These days, you even have to watch a skit just to eat a meal; it's really not easy."

After saying that, he carried his plate, found a corner with no one around, sat down, and began to focus on dealing with that Tier 2 turkey.