"Do you have any specials today?" Eric Bennett asked the waiter, taking out his phone to look for coupons, then flicked Ashley Bennett on the head. "Go find us a table."

Ashley Bennett put the skateboard on the ground, stepped on it with one foot, then quickly put the other foot on as well. "Walk."

"Should I leave the skateboard at the front desk?" the waiter asked with a smile.

Ashley Bennett shook her head, quickly bent down to pick up the skateboard, and hugged it to her chest.

"She can just hold it herself," Eric Bennett said.

Ashley Bennett ran inside, holding the skateboard.

"Damn, you made me say I was hungry," Henry Cooper swallowed, "Seriously, I'll come see you in the next couple of days, and you can take me out to eat. There's no way we get that many dishes for this price over here."

"Did your family go do poverty alleviation for New Year's?" Brian Carter held the phone between his ear and shoulder, one hand holding a plate, the other a pair of tongs, slowly picking up pork belly, beef slices, pork belly, beef slices... Honestly, it didn't matter to him how many dishes there were to choose from, he only liked these few.

"How could it be the same," Henry Cooper said, sounding a bit down. "Last semester we said we'd go have barbecue together for New Year's, but in the end, not only did we not get any meat, I didn't even get to see you."

"When you come, you have to stay at a hotel," Brian Carter put down the tongs, grabbed another plate and stacked more meat on it, continuing to pick up more, "And you have to book it yourself. I don't have the energy for anything right now."

"I can just stay at your place," Henry Cooper said.

"No," Brian Carter frowned. With the room he was living in now, he didn't even want to stay there himself. "Book a standard room and I'll come over."

"...Are you not getting along with your biological dad?" Henry Cooper thought for a moment.

"We haven't even established a relationship yet," Brian Carter carried two plates of meat and grabbed a bottle of beer, "Can't really say if it's good or bad..."

When he got to his table, he paused.

A four-person table: one chair had a skateboard on it, another had a little bald kid in a blue shirt sitting on it, and on the table was... a green knit hat with little pink flowers.

"Ashley Bennett?" Brian Carter looked at her in surprise.

Ashley Bennett nodded, seemingly not surprised at all, and took the skateboard down to put it under the table.

"You..." He put the plates on the table and saw Ashley Bennett already staring expectantly at the grill. He waved his hand in front of Ashley Bennett's eyes. "Who are you here with?"

Ashley Bennett stood up, pointed toward the entrance, and waved her hand a few more times.

When Brian Carter turned to look, he saw Eric Bennett, who looked just as surprised as he was.

"Let's find another table," Eric Bennett walked over. "My brother is already sitting at this one."

Ashley Bennett looked around, swallowed, and stayed seated.

"The waiter just told me there are a few more tables over there," Eric Bennett pointed inside. "Let's go over there."

Ashley Bennett still didn't move, tilting her face up to meet his gaze, her expression blank. It was hard to tell what she wanted to say.

After a moment of stalemate, Eric Bennett turned to look at Brian Carter.

"Hmm?" Brian Carter looked back at him.

"Are you alone?" Eric Bennett asked.

"Yeah," Brian Carter replied, sitting down.

The waiter came over and turned on the grill, laid down some paper, and he put a few slices of meat on to cook, getting ready to brush on some sauce.

"So, should we..." Eric Bennett seemed to hesitate, taking a while to finish his sentence, "eat together?"

Brian Carter glanced up at him. To be honest, he really wanted to say, "In your dreams, go wash the sheets."

But across from him, Ashley Bennett's big eyes on her bald head were also looking at him, so he couldn't really say that. After brushing some sauce on the meat, he nodded.

"Thanks," Eric Bennett said, then pointed at Ashley Bennett. "Sit here and wait for me, I'll go get some food."

Ashley Bennett nodded.

After Eric Bennett left, Brian Carter put two more slices of beef on the paper and asked Ashley Bennett, "Which do you want? Pork belly or beef?"

Ashley Bennett pointed at the beef.

"Pork belly is good too, sizzles and gets all juicy on the grill... I can eat five or six plates," Brian Carter flipped the meat and brushed on some oil. "Do you eat spicy food?"

Ashley Bennett shook her head.

Brian Carter put a cooked slice of beef on the plate in front of her. "Go ahead."

Ashley Bennett hesitated, turning to look in the direction Eric Bennett had gone.

"It's fine..." Brian Carter didn't finish his sentence, suddenly noticing a clear scar on the back of Ashley Bennett's head, looked to be about five centimeters long. He was a bit shocked.

Ashley Bennett didn't see Eric Bennett, so she turned back, lowered her head, stuffed the beef into her mouth, and smiled at him.

"Want to try some pork belly?" Brian Carter asked her.

Ashley Bennett nodded.

He picked up a piece of pork belly and put it on her plate, then absentmindedly took the hat from the table and put it on the chair next to him, unable to help but click his tongue. "Who bought you this hat?"

Ashley Bennett kept her head down, eating, not saying a word.

No talking while eating.

This little girl was probably the most perfect enforcer of that rule he'd ever met.

Eric Bennett soon came back with some dishes, but his food-fetching skills were clearly not as good—he only brought three plates in one trip. If he hadn't been on the phone with Henry Cooper earlier, six plates at a time would have been no problem, and after eating, a bit of fruit would just about do it.