“Alright, let’s eat first. We’ll talk after the meal.” Alex noticed the atmosphere was a bit tense and tried to smooth things over. No matter what, the taste of the food was still the most important thing.

Trying to smooth things over was just that—Alex had no intention of eating. He wasn’t feeling well to begin with, and the only reason he came out this time was because David Clark had described the place as something out of this world, which piqued his curiosity.

In Alex’s memory, he absolutely couldn’t stomach oily fried rice. After all, he couldn’t even eat oily buns in the morning, so how could he possibly eat greasy fried rice at lunch?

But when he lowered his head to look at the fried rice, Alex realized he was completely wrong. There was no sign of egg in the fried rice, and not even a hint of oiliness. Only the fresh aroma of food wafted straight into his nose.

“Aromatic” might be the most fitting word here.

“Maybe I should give it a try,” Alex thought, feeling much more energetic.

After the first bite, Alex too was conquered by the charm of this godly fried rice. Just look at the two beside him—they were almost finished already, eating at a speed like a whirlwind, as if they hadn’t eaten in three days.

A faint smile flashed across Brian Cooper’s lips, but it wasn’t a proud smile—more like a matter-of-fact one. After all, he ate his own fried rice three times a day, every day, and never got tired of it. In fact, it seemed to taste better each time. This definitely wasn’t narcissism.

The system’s rewards were like skills—the more proficient you became, the better the food tasted. But since it started out at the peak of deliciousness, the improvement wasn’t obvious, nor were there any noticeable leaps—unless you had an extremely sensitive palate. For everyone else, it just tasted incredibly good.

“Damn, kid, you finally did something right.”

“I’ve traveled all over and eaten plenty of good food these past years, but this fried rice is hands down the best I’ve ever had.”

“No wonder it’s 188 yuan. This price—I pay it willingly.”

The first reaction from Monkey and Alex after finishing was to praise it with their limited vocabulary. The second reaction…

“Ah! It’s so good! Boss, give me another serving—no, make it two! One serving is just too little.” Monkey was the first to finish, smacking his lips and handing over his plate as he savored the taste.

“It really is delicious. Boss, give me another serving too,” Alex quickly followed.

“Haha…”

The last to finish, David Clark, didn’t even wait for Brian Cooper to reply before bursting out laughing.

Monkey and Alex were both baffled.

Seeing everyone looking at him, David Clark closed his mouth, which had been grinning from ear to ear, and said with a mysterious air, “Here, each person can only have one serving per meal.”

He couldn’t hold it in and started laughing again.

“What?” Monkey was the first to react, glaring at David Clark angrily.

“Kid! Are you messing with me?”

“Don’t blame me, that’s Mr. Cooper’s rule. Right, my dear Mr. Cooper?” David Clark answered Monkey seriously, while winking at Brian Cooper.

Alex and Monkey, seeing how serious David Clark was, turned to Brian Cooper for confirmation.

“Ahem, it’s true. Here, I only serve one portion per person per meal. The portion is the same as what you’d get elsewhere—definitely not less,” Brian Cooper explained seriously, covering his mouth as he coughed.

Although this explanation didn’t really explain anything—everyone knows that when faced with delicious food, people instinctively want to eat more. Even if the portion is the same as outside, with fried rice this tasty, even girls who are always talking about dieting would want two servings. Now, to say you can only have one per meal—if that’s not a tease, what is?

Monkey and Alex were stunned. What kind of rule was this? Turning down money?

“Really can’t have another? Look, I’m your friend’s friend,” Monkey said anxiously, scratching his head in frustration.

“Who are you calling ‘kid’? What about my friend? Even I can only have one serving, and you want two?” David Clark glared at Monkey.

“Boss, I’ve got a cold today—can you make an exception…” Even big guy Alex tried to play the sympathy card.

Brian Cooper looked serious and said sternly, “Sorry, rules are rules.”

“Boss, I respect you. You really are a man of principle. There are fewer and fewer people like you these days,” said Alex.

Monkey gave a thumbs up too. He admired someone who could stick to his rules even in the face of money. After all, in today’s society, people will compromise their bottom line for cash.

Actually, what Brian Cooper was thinking inside was: Damn this system and its stupid rules! That’s all money! Money! Money!

“Alright, I get what you’re up to now. Let’s go back and trick some other people,” Monkey said as he headed for the door.

“How is it tricking? We’re just kindly sharing the address of a great place to eat. Alex, let’s go,” David Clark got up as well.

“Mm.” With nothing left to eat, Alex returned to his lazy demeanor, and the three of them left together.

“Take care, everyone,” Brian Cooper said from behind the counter.

“Boss, we’ll be back next time,” Monkey called back. David Clark, in the middle, waved at Brian Cooper, and Alex, at the end, nodded with a smile.