Chapter 20: Table in Front

The gloomy teenager in a wheelchair with an excessively pale face, getting out of the limousine, was noticeable.

Especially when entering the Western restaurant, a group of people recognised him at first sight.

I heard that this is Mr. Tan's son, Qiao Lan, who was in charge of his table yesterday and had over $1,000 in the bank in one night.

But the teenager, since he came in, has been blocking out everyone, with those gloomy eyes, seeing only Qiao Lan as if he were alone.

He specifies Qiao Lan to order.

Qiao Lan walks up to Tan Mo with her order book and looks down at Tan Mo's long, white fingers as she orders from the menu, in front of a crowd of envious eyes.

Do not order what you like only what is expensive.

Qiao Lan: "......"

Although it is known that Tan Mo will never run out of money in his lifetime even with this kind of largesse, no amount of money will be spent like this.

Qiao Lan's pen poked at the book for a long time, but he didn't write anything down. Uncle Chan, who was sitting on the other side of the room, looked at Tan Mo and then at Qiao Lan, but didn't say anything.

When Tan Mo finished his order, "That's all", he looked up and saw Qiao Lan staring at him.

Tan Mo was dumbfounded, then suddenly panicked.

Why are you staring at him?

And what did he do wrong?

Guessing what other people are thinking is the last thing Tan Mo does.

He couldn't guess what the other person meant based on their expressions, their eyes, like everyone else. Tan Mo met Qiao Lan's dark eyes, and his fingers gripping the menu tightened uncontrollably and quietly.

Qiao Lan stared at Tan Mo in silence for a while before finally averting his eyes and pulling the menu out of Tan Mo's hand.

"That's too much," Qiao Lan said, quickly flipping the menu to the second page, "for the main course I recommend this ice skate with caviar, served with a black truffle artichoke soup and finished with a spring vegetable, is that OK?"

Tan Mo didn't eat much of what he ordered yesterday, and this was one of the few dishes that Tan Mo ate relatively well out of the pile he ordered yesterday.

Tan Mo stopped talking again, the muscles in his face tugging strangely, "Not enough."

These dishes add up to less than a thousand.

There's definitely enough, Qiao Lan is seriously sure, "It's a waste to order too much and not eat it all."

This was a logic Tan Mo could understand, Tan Mo stared at the menu for a long time before pushing it in front of Uncle Chan, "Order."

Uncle Chan: ......????

Flattered.

And his?

Uncle Chan has been living for decades and has long seen the world through. Today, Tan Mo's unusual and sudden visit to this restaurant was enough to surprise him.

Uncle Chan hasn't yet worked out what's going on, but he has figured out how to make Tan Mo happy.

He quickly ordered several inexpensive ones and then cheerfully said, "I have a big appetite and I eat a lot."

Qiao Lan: "......"

The order book in my hand was getting hot again.

When all the dishes were served, Uncle Chan ate his own while looking at Tan Mo.

Tan Mo is not a big eater because of her health, and she is also a picky eater because she is extra sensitive to the taste of some ingredients.

But Tan Mo seemed to like all three of the dishes he was served by this young lady because Tan Mo actually ate them all.

Having taken care of Tan Mo for so long, Uncle Chan knew that if it was something he didn't like, Tan Mo would never eat more than a bite because he couldn't physically stand it, but since Tan Mo had finished it, it meant that the dishes that the young girl had just taken it upon herself to order for Tan Mo were very much to Tan Mo's liking.

Hiss...

Uncle Chan kept his questions to himself until the two of them had finished eating and were pushing Tan Mo out after the check, Uncle Chan looked at Qiao Lan who was still busy and asked Tan Mo, "Don't you want to say something before you leave?"

Tan Mo raised his eyes, "Say what?"

Uncle Chan: "Bye?"

"She's busy."

Uncle Chan: ......

He should not think for Tan Mo with the mind of a normal person who understands the human condition, Tan Mo does not understand this, he only understands the simplest logic.

There was no need to say goodbye because it was busy.

Uncle Chan sighed and pushed Tan Mo out of the western restaurant and into the car.

As the car slowly slid out, Uncle Chan pondered for a long time but hesitated to speak, "The young lady who ordered for us just now, do you... know her?"

"Awareness", Tan Mo looks out the window at the bright lights.

"Oh", Uncle Chan nodded, "...is it an occasional acquaintance over dinner?"

"Classmate."

Classmates?

Uncle Chan is slightly taken aback.

Tan Mo's classmate? So this little girl is still in school?

If you are studying, why are you still working?

The reason for this is so simple: to go to school and work at the same time, there can only be one reason: the girl's family is not well off.

So Tan Mo came here to help her out, picking out expensive orders and asking him to tip?

But why should he help? Uncle Chan suddenly remembered the candy that Tan Mo had been keeping on his desk, and suddenly it strung together.

Tan Mo was never like a human being, not like a normal human being, he was like a machine, without feelings or mood swings.

Tan Mo may not have felt anything himself, but Uncle Chan was overwhelmed with excitement.

"Young Master..." Uncle Chan spoke with deliberation, guiding Tan Mo through his thoughts, "Why do you want to help this student?"

"Because she's short of money."

"What does her lack of money have to do with you, young master."

"I'm not short of money."

Uncle Chan: ......

Uncle Chan did not give up and continued to guide, "Young master, there are too many people who lack money in this world, just now we passed the flyover, there are beggars who lack money down there, the western restaurant where we just ate, there are people who lack money more than that lady, but would you give money to them because you do not lack money? them money?"

"No," Tan Mo doesn't even have to think about it.

"So, why did you only help that lady?", Uncle Chan looked in the rear view mirror, the teenager who had been looking out of the window finally turned around, as if he was caught up in the question for a while, before answering after a long time.

"I don't know them."

Will knowing you help?

Uncle Chan doesn't think so.

He knew Tan Mo too well, there had been people who had approached Tan Mo with good intentions, but in the end they had failed because of Tan Mo's indifference, and in all these years Tan Mo had never interacted with anyone of her own age.

Uncle Chan didn't think too far ahead.

It was a great relief for Tan Mo to have a normal friend and to make a little progress.

However... Tan Mo is exceptionally intelligent, but she has no idea about the world of people, and it is difficult to distinguish between good and bad.

Qiao Lan didn't know that Uncle Chan had given Tan Mo some simple thought work, but she was still very busy, nearly eleven o'clock every night and then doing her homework when she got home, and her schedule was full every day.

Pei Ning's heart was pounding as she watched the school hours being taken away, so she had to work harder during the day after class.

He felt that he had taken it seriously enough, but it was still not as good as Qiao Lan's hard work.

Pei Ning could see how hard Qiao Lan was working, and Chen Yaoyang, who was less than a metre away, could see it too.

Is it really necessary to go to this extent in order to be able to surpass her?

But if he was already fighting so hard, why did he approach the class teacher before and offer to not sit at the same table with him?

It has been almost a week since the change of seats, but Chen Yaoyang has not been able to understand the problem, and in the last week, Qiao Lan has been able to communicate normally with his new seatmate and the students behind him, but not with the one on his left.

Too deliberate, that's not normal.

Is it really a case of lust? Then Qiao Lan has gone a bit too far.

The morning study session was a language study, or classroom teacher's study session, which went around the classroom for a while before a decision was suddenly announced.

Or about changing seats.

The main issue is that of Chen Yaoyang.

Chen Yaoyang was too tall to sit in the first row, so the students at the back of the class could not see the blackboard, but it was difficult to move Chen Yaoyang to the back, so the class teacher came up with another idea.

"Starting next week, we'll start rotating each group and each platoon, moving group to group to the right and platoon to platoon."

This means that the first group, the following week, switches to the second group, and the second group to the third group; and for seating, the second row switches to the first row, and the first row moves to the last row, once a week.

Students love novelty and naturally applaud this change.

Qiao Lan is also quite happy.

As she goes to Group 1 next week and Chen Yaoyang stays in Group 4, she can finally stay away from Chen Yaoyang.

And, as an afterthought, Qiao Lan remembered that all the students' positions changed, but Tan Mo always seemed to sit in the last row of the first group, so she could sit right in front of Tan Mo when the seats changed next week?

Qiao Lan's eyes lit up and she glanced back to see that Tan Mo had not yet arrived.

When she thinks of Tan Mo, Qiao Lan's mind wanders again.

Since Tan Mo came to the restaurant once, he has brought the old man in every night since, and in just a few days, Qiao Lan's commission plus tips is more than a month's salary.

Even if Qiao Lan is a fool, he understands Tan Mo's intentions.

Because he knew she was short of money and she wouldn't take it from him, Tan Mo sent her money in this way.

If it had been anyone else, Qiao Lan would have thought that this man was after her.

But not if the person is Tan Mo, who is like a simple and stubborn child, he is just helping her.

Qiao Lan suddenly felt a little heartbroken.

She didn't really do anything but simply say good morning to Tan Mo and give him a candy, but Tan Mo gave her back much more than she did.

Because there was never a light in his life, he cherished it whenever someone was a little kind to him.

But this is the Tan Mo who never pays any attention to her when she is at school and talks to her so that she does not talk to him.

Why?

At the restaurant, she stood in front of Tan Mo and cut his steak, but at school, just cleaning up after him, Tan Mo looked like an enemy.

Qiao Lan had wanted to talk to Tan Mo about it, after all, eating in a Western restaurant every day is a lot of money and Tan Mo's health should not be suitable for eating these things every day.

But Qiao Lan was busy at the Western restaurant and tried to talk to Tan Mo during school hours, but Tan Mo told her to stay away from him.

Tan Mo is too fragile, both mentally and physically, and if it is something he is resistant to, Qiao Lan does not dare to insist on it.

Something doesn't feel right when I'm on my back.

In the evening, Qiao Lan was not feeling well, so she took time off from work and went straight home instead of working.

When she got home and fell asleep with a hot water bag, she remembered in a daze that she hadn't told Tan Mo she wasn't going to work today.

But she doesn't have Tan Mo's contact details.

I can only hope Tan Mo doesn't go to the Western restaurant today.

But Tan Mo went anyway.

As usual, I went into the western restaurant, but there was no sign of Qiao Lan.

Tan Mo has been coming in every day recently and everyone in the restaurant knows him, and every time he orders from Qiao Lan, he orders a lot.

But Qiao Lan didn't come today.

Meng Xue had an idea at once.

Although he was upset when he bumped into the boy that day, it had been so many days that he had probably forgotten about it, and Meng Xue couldn't figure out how Qiao Lan, who was not good-looking at all, could have made him come here.

Another girl next to her whispered, "He's here to see Qiao Lan again, isn't he?"

"Sure," someone said, "eating is fake, watching Qiao Lan every day is real."

"So should I tell him Qiao Lan isn't here today?"

"Qiao Lan No one else can order without coming?" Meng Xue was tired of hearing this, he just couldn't believe it, she smiled and went over to this teenager and still gave her so little face.

Looking at the confident Meng Xue, the girl next to her tried to pull her back, but was stopped by another person who rolled her eyes at Meng Xue's back.

She remembered the day she just wanted to help the teenager push his wheelchair and the way the teenager backed away from her almost made her feel ashamed.

Meng Xue walked over with a smile on her face, but when she was still two metres away from the teenager, he looked up suddenly.

Sen's icy gaze was like a nail that pinned Meng Xue straight to the ground.

He was obviously a teenager, but Meng Xue was too frightened to move when he met such a look, and forced a smile onto his face, " Qiao Lan has taken the day off, I'll take your order..."

"No need."

Tan Mo turns his wheelchair to leave.

Meng Xue rushed forward, "It's just dinner, I can..."

"Get out of the way!"

Uncle Chan, who had just arrived after parking his car, jumped when he heard the commotion. After asking the reason, he gave Meng Xue a displeased look and pushed Tan Mo out of the restaurant.

Meng Xue's face turned from white to red, burning hot, and the few waiters watching behind her could barely hold back their laughter.

"I told you that people are here for Qiao Lan, so you have to go out of your way to get scolded."

"Ugh I'm envious of anyone who chases me like that, I definitely can't carry it for three days."

Meng Xue turned back with an ugly face, "What's there to envy, a handicapped person, maybe even a psychopath, I can't even look at him as a gift", he said and turned to leave.

Several people looked at each other.

It's a bit hard to call it a psycho, but there's certainly something not quite right about this teenager.

However, Meng Xue's behaviour of getting close to people and then turning around and badmouthing them is still unacceptable.

A few more words of gossip were exchanged before the group dispersed.

When Tan Mo left the restaurant, he was silent. Uncle Chan thought, "Should I call the teacher and ask her?"

"No."

Uncle Chan was helpless, "Maybe there is something going on at home, when we go to school next week, you can ask her exactly why she didn't come today."

It's Friday, so after the weekend, just ask Qiao Lan next Monday why he's not here.

But Uncle Chan doesn't know that Tan Mo doesn't talk to Qiao Lan at school.

Tan Mo pursed her lips and lowered her eyelashes.

During the last week, Tan Mo occasionally overheard some of his classmates talking about Qiao Lan, and mentioned him in passing.

They say that Qiao Lan was alienated by the girls in her class because she spoke up for him.

And later on, some of her classmates even laughed at Qiao Lan because she took the initiative to greet him.

"Qiao Lan is sick, isn't he, saying hello to Tan Mo every day."

He is sick, and people who talk to him and have relationships with him are told that they are sick.

He is not normal, so Qiao Lan is equally abnormal when he talks to him.

So Tan Mo doesn't respond to Qiao Lan at school, or where anyone knows Qiao Lan.

What's more, he thinks it's good enough now that he can talk in the Western Restaurant and occasionally Qiao Lan will come to class during PE.

What Tan Mo didn't expect was that suddenly Qiao Lan and he would be separated by a table and a chair.

As soon as we arrived in class, the excited students moved their desks and started to change seats, with Qiao Lan moving to the penultimate row of the first group.

Tan Mo enters the classroom as usual and looks up to see Qiao Lan sitting directly in front of him.