Chapter 55: James You BBQ Bastard!

Chapter 55: James You BBQ Bastard!

BBQ House was easily one of the most popular restaurants for Star University students and teachers alike. The place was a massive nationwide chain started by some unknown member of the Long family about five years back. By now, they had successful franchises spread across all four Eurasia States, and they had even managed to open up locations in North and South America.

The specific BBQ House we were heading to sat directly across from the front main gates of Star University. It was famous for being the brand's very first flagship restaurant. Most people hear the word barbecue and immediately picture a cheap, average family joint, but they would be completely wrong about this place. The restaurant bordered on high-class luxury, from the quality of the food to the service and the overall aesthetic.

Every single location enforced strict appearance requirements, meaning the floors were entirely staffed by incredibly attractive servers. They also featured a fully stocked bar that rivaled the inventory of a high-end nightclub, alongside a vast variety of dishes that had absolutely nothing to do with traditional barbecue. The core concept tying the menu together was simple: any dish ordered had to be cooked on their high-end gas grills.

The only things keeping regular students from eating there every day were the massive crowds, the steep prices, and the brutal wait times. Unless you personally knew the floor manager or booked a reservation weeks in advance, you could easily expect to wait an hour just to secure a table during the lunch and dinner rushes. Personally, I had never eaten a single meal there, but James had managed to go twice.

I was pulled out of my thoughts as the classroom chatter started picking up. The morning quiz had been incredibly easy, and I finished my answers well ahead of the clock. It looked like the rest of the class was finally wrapping up too, but the very next sentence I overheard made me want to absolutely murder James.

"Sure Cat, we would love for you to join us at the BBQ House for lunch!"

"Thanks Jim, you're so cute," Cat Woo said, offering him a sweet smile. "I have only been there a few times, but the food is absolutely delicious."

Linda and I exchanged looks, both of us completely blindsided by how easily Cat Woo had just invited herself along. She used her charms on James for less than ten seconds, and the idiot immediately folded. To be completely fair, James usually thought with his dick, just like a lot of guys our age.

As the classroom cleared out and we all stood up to head toward our next lectures, a pair of nearby students caught wind of our lunch plans. The guy who immediately stepped into Linda's personal space was Scott.

"Linda, are you eating lunch with Rick, James, and Cat?" Scott asked, his eyes narrowing. "And you're actually going to the BBQ House?"

Linda did not even try to hide her disgust. "And who exactly told you we were going, you creepy stalker?"

I caught the quick movement as Scott's eyes darted toward Cat for a split second. The viper must have texted him the news explicitly to pull my strings and make me irritated. Cat Woo was sneaky like that, always playing these small, petty tricks. It was never quite enough to make me completely lose my temper, but it was definitely enough to get under my skin.

Before I could say anything, Tina marched over and intercepted me. "Rick, you're not eating lunch with me, Jenifer, and Jill?"

I sighed, raising a hand to point directly at my trouble-making best friend. "This was supposed to be a guys' week for me and Jim here. Then Jim decided to invite Linda to tag along, and then Woo just invited herself. It is a total mess."

Cat did not even bother to deny the accusation. Instead, she just leaned back against her desk and smiled proudly at me. At the very least, the girl was honest about her scheming.

Tina did not waste any time. She stepped forward, grabbed James tightly by his collar, and gave him a deadly serious look. "Then invite me along too, James. I want to eat at the BBQ House with you guys."

Feeling a cold, creepy vibe shoot straight up his spine, James finally realized that inviting half the classroom was turning into a massive disaster. He started sweating, nervously stammering out his excuse. "Tina Feng, I-I am really sorry, b-but my reservation is strictly for a four-top table. We already have four people..."

Scott saw his opening and immediately tried to muscle his way into the group. "Well, I can easily get a four-top table right now. Linda can just sit over on my side, and you can take Tina with you."

Linda shut that down before he could even finish the thought. "No. I was invited by James and Rick, so I am eating with them."

Tina turned her glare entirely toward Cat, her voice dripping with venom. "Eat with Scott and give me your spot, Cat. Besides, everyone knows you hate Rick anyway."

Tina went completely nuclear, straight up playing the Woo card right in front of the entire class. Sometimes I seriously feel like my life is nothing but a cheap television drama.

Cat merely giggled, completely unfazed by the hostility. "No, Rick and I are desk-mates. I need to get to know him better and actually make some friends. I am brand new to this area, after all. You and my desk-mates have no real connections outside of class, so no, I am definitely not giving my seat away."

Linda scrunched her eyebrows tightly, turning her head to look at me in confusion. "Cat Woo hates you?"

"Her personally? No, not really," I answered casually. "But her husband definitely does."

Cat's smile faltered slightly as she overheard us. "My Steve hardly even knows you, Rick. Why on earth would he hate you?"

I looked her dead in the eyes. Judging by her reaction, there was a genuine chance she was actually out of the loop, so I decided to lay it out for her plainly. "Because the Head of the Feng clan had to personally threaten his life for obsessing over my pregnant wife. Or do you seriously not know what your own husband does in his spare time?"

Cat actually looked genuinely surprised by the revelation, her eyes widening for a fraction of a second.

Tina chimed in right on cue, adding extra fuel to the fire. "That is exactly right. My father personally heard that absolute trash talking about her. My father threatened to kill him on the spot if even a single hair is out of place on Mary Lee. Do you get it through your thick skull now, Woo trash?"

Cat frowned, realizing that everyone in the immediate area seemed to know the explicit details about this Mary woman except for her. Still, her mental willpower was top-tier. She took a single breath, calculated her options, and forced her face back into a smooth, polite mask.

"Well, to be perfectly fair, I was living up north and had absolutely no idea about any of this," Cat said, shrugging her shoulders. "But I personally don't have any issues with Rick Lee, so I am still going to eat lunch and be friends with him. I will just confront my husband about his behavior later tonight."

The internal translation was glaringly obvious: she did not care about the morality of it at all, meaning she was fully prepared to support her lecherous husband regardless of who he targeted. Cat Woo was not the good kind of villainous noble girl like my twins. She was a genuine, toxic viper, and Tina had already warned me to watch my back around her.

"Did you all have some urgent business questions, or are you just trying to be late for your next classes?"

A beautiful, authoritative voice drifted over our shoulders. I turned my head and saw Victoria Long standing right behind us. She was holding a polished leather briefcase, dressed in a sharp, off-white business suit that hugged her curves perfectly, with Ashley standing quietly by her side.

Scott sneered at his Long family rivals, immediately trying to twist the narrative. "Rick Lee is causing massive issues by trying to invite everyone in the room to go eat at the BBQ House. He is actively trying to pick up married and taken girls. The guy is total trash."

Normally, I would get incredibly pissed off by Scott's constant provocations, but sadly, there was a grain of truth to some of that. I simply pointed a finger at my best friend and sold him out without a shred of hesitation. "James caused all of this! He only booked a four-top table and started inviting people randomly, and now we are stuck here arguing. Scott just hates my guts, so you can ignore him."

Victoria scanned the bickering crowd, her sharp eyes taking in the entire scene. She was clearly calculating every single political and social outcome of her students fighting over family lines. A faint, knowing smile touched her lips before she spoke, saying something that managed to instantly shut Scott's mouth.

"Then as your instructor, let me offer a simple solution so we can all just eat lunch together as a class," Victoria announced smoothly. "I know the floor manager at that location personally, so I will call ahead and secure a twenty-top table for us. You are all free to invite your spouses or siblings if they currently attend the university. Just show up at the front desk and tell them the reservation is under Victoria Long. I will see all of you there shortly. Goodbye."

The entire crowd parted right down the middle, creating a clear lane to let the genius woman pass through. She defused the entire volatile situation in a matter of seconds. As she walked by, I felt her eyes linger on me for a brief moment before she continued down the hallway with her niece in tow. If she did not belong to the Long family, I would be doing everything in my power to get close to her. Right now, I felt like she was a giant glowing bug-zapper, and I was just a starving moth circling the light.

"Rick, I will see you at the restaurant with my sister a little later," Tina purred as she walked past me. She ran her long nails slowly across the front of my chest, intentionally winking over at Linda as she did it. "Bye, handsome."

Okay, I had to admit that was incredibly hot. Even I knew I was just a completely average-looking guy, but to a girl like her, I was suddenly the center of attention.

Linda's grey eyes narrowed as she watched the swaying seductress walk down the corridor. She turned to me, her voice dropping into a serious warning. "She is only using you to make the other houses jealous, Rick. Do not fall for her tricks. She is exactly like a black widow spider, and she will absolutely eat you alive."

I kept that thought to myself, knowing it was already too late. I was already laying straight in the middle of her web, and the worst part was that I had jumped right into it completely willingly.

Scott stepped up next to Linda, casting a smug look across the remaining group. "Good. I will see you there at the table, Linda. Now everything is perfectly settled. Goodbye... though if one specific person failed to show up, the afternoon would be absolutely perfect."

I was not about to let him walk away with an easy victory. As he passed by my shoulder, I raised my voice just enough for the surrounding students to hear. "Then we will all pray that you don't show up."

Showing a complete lack of class, Scott simply flipped me the middle finger over his shoulder without even bothering to turn around. At the very least, I could see the guy was finally learning how to react to me.

Thud.

I drove a hard punch straight into James' shoulder, putting just enough force behind it to make him fumble his textbook onto the floor. "This is all your fault, you idiot," I muttered, turning on my heel to walk away. "Hurry up and get your stuff to class."

James just flashed a massive, bright smile, completely ecstatic at the prospect of having lunch surrounded by so many beautiful women. He scooped his book up off the floor and ran down the hallway to catch up to my pace.

Late for our next lecture, the classroom was completely empty except for the two of us. Nadia sat perched on the edge of the desk, her legs wrapped tightly around my hips with me still buried deep inside her.

"Good boy Ricky," Nadia purred, a villainous smile spreading across her lips as she leaned in. "I am happy now, fufu. Oh, and Scott mentioned we are all going to the BBQ House for a big group lunch later. Is that right?"

I let out a heavy sigh, adjusting my grip on her thighs. "Yeah. It turned into a massive ordeal during business class. Victoria Long stepped in and made it a mandatory group activity just to defuse James's absolute stupidity."

Nadia nodded smoothly, her eyes gleaming with dark amusement at my words. Without a hint of shame, she reached into her bag and pulled out an expensive handkerchief. She reached down between us, carefully wiping up our physical connection, and then sealed the wet fabric directly inside a plastic baggie.

"You never know when a little bit of this will cum in handy, fufu!"

I pulled completely out of her, grabbing a few tissues to clean us both up properly while staring at her naughty, smiling face. "You really are evil, Nadia. I seriously cannot wait for the day I finally get to tell Scott all of this to his face."

Nadia shrugged, entirely unbothered as she began sliding her clothes back on and straightening her outfit. "Lucky for you, you managed to tame us. Otherwise, my sister and I would be doing very bad things to my Ricky. You have chosen wisely."

My face twitched at her words. Against my better judgment, I ended up asking a question I probably should have just left alone. "Back during our last year of high school... did you or Nichole ever do anything like this to me behind my back?"

Nadia stepped right into my personal space, her wicked smile widening as she confessed. "We did two naughty things to you, Ricky. First, remember when you were distracted talking to Nichole before drinking your school milk? I completely licked the straw you were about to use. Literally everyone in the room saw it except for you, fufu. The second thing was taking Nicky's worn black panties and hiding them deep inside your desk. We went straight to the teachers and told them you stole them directly from our gym locker. But that was it, really."

I slapped a hand over my face, the memory hitting me instantly while Nadia stood there looking completely happy with herself, showing zero remorse.

"Damn it. I always wondered why the hell everyone was laughing at me while I was drinking my milk that day. And I got a full three-day suspension because of those damn panties! I never even knew who they actually belonged to."

She packed up the rest of her things, smoothing down her hair as she readied herself to leave the classroom. Right before she stepped out the door, she dropped one last detail I had never known.

"No, Ricky. Think back to the very first video chat we ever did. Remember how my sister wore black and I was dressed in red? Those black panties she was wearing that night were the exact same pair you held in school. She wore them explicitly for you that evening, representing our sweet revenge, ufufu."

She blew me a quick kiss, waved, and disappeared down the hallway to her next class. Deciding it was better not to risk walking into a lecture late, I chose to skip the period entirely so James would not get suspicious about why Nadia and I were both missing. I pulled out my phone and fired off a quick text to his number.

[Upset stomach. Skipping next class. I will meet you out in the SUV later.]

Instead of heading to the lecture hall, I slipped down to the gym showers to clean off the sweat, then headed straight out to the parking lot to relax inside the Hummer. I popped open my laptop, instantly utilizing my high-level digital skills to hijack a premium, high-speed connection directly from the university's main network servers.

I immediately began reviewing the intercepted audio highlights and recent electronic communications from over the weekend. The first bit of summarized information that popped up on my screen involved Scott's ongoing issues from Saturday and last night.

Despite all the explicit warnings his father had given him, Scott absolutely refused to let things go. He and his mother were already back to playing their old corporate tricks, hiring a massive, high-profile private investigation firm to dig up any dirt or leverage they could possibly find on me. It was a strategy that had worked perfectly for them in the past. Fortunately for me, my instincts kept me ten steps ahead of Alex and Scott.

I glanced out the tinted windows of the Hummer, scanning the far edge of the parking lot. Just beyond the normal area where students usually gathered, I spotted a strange car parked directly across the street from the school grounds. Inside sat a middle-aged man holding a long-range camera pointed straight toward my vehicle.

Alright, guys, let us play a little game.

I immediately pulled up the private investigation firm's corporate information, tracking down their complete list of employees and digital building schematics. Within less than three minutes, I used my advanced digital knowledge to hack into every single layer of their business network. I breached their main business office, their off-site servers, and every personal computer and smartphone tied to their roster.

First, I copied and saved their entire historical database onto a secure, remote server for my own personal use. Once the transfer finished, I systematically crashed every single electronic device in their main office building. To top it off, I remotely triggered the building's automated emergency sprinkler system, instantly ruining all of their active computer towers and paper files.

The only person left untouched was the lone investigator sitting in the car across the street.

A sharp chime echoed inside the vehicle as the man received a sudden text message on his screen.

[Have a nice day!]

The moment the text loaded, a toxic virus infected his phone's operating system, frying the device completely. Since his car happened to be a brand-new model tied directly to a digital network, I bypassed the vehicle's security system and remotely activated the driver-side airbags while triggering the dealership's anti-theft alarm.

A loud boom echoed across the street as the airbag deployed instantly, slamming the heavy long-range camera right back into the investigator's face.

After wasting about ten minutes dealing with the private investigators, I shifted my focus to see what else Debby Tang had been up to lately.

According to the local network communication logs from this morning, she had already offered massive financial bribes to several of my university teachers. Three separate Kung-Fu coaches had gladly taken the cash, while the others rejected the offer. My computer applications teacher had also accepted the bribe. Their explicit instructions were to grade my assignments as harshly as possible, ensuring I passed the semester with the absolute lowest scores imaginable. It was the exact same petty tactic she had been using against me since middle school.

I compiled all of the digital receipts, bank transfers, and text logs into a single comprehensive file. I forwarded the entire package directly to the university's top administrators, ensuring they knew exactly how Debby Tang was actively bribing their faculty. To maximize the damage, I simultaneously leaked the entire file publicly onto the main student forums for the whole campus to see.

The fallout was going to absolutely ruin Scott and Helen Tang's social standing at the university. I felt a little bad for my Head Uncle Anthony, but he could only blame Debby's stupidity for this massive public disaster.

Before the final class bells started ringing across the campus, I moved on to the next intercepted file. My face twitched in immediate disgust as I listened to a fresh audio recording pulled directly from Alex's smartphone, capturing a conversation between him and Ana Zi inside his private limo.

Wow. This Ana Zi woman was a serious piece of work. She was actively discussing the best way to seduce me and pull me into her trap, all while resting comfortably right in Alex's arms. Tina was completely right about this kind of stuff; you should never look too closely into the real personalities of famous actresses and pop singers, because you will only end up completely disappointed.

Ana Zi was officially going straight onto my permanent blacklist. If I had not intercepted this audio log myself, I probably would have been completely fooled by her sweet public persona.

I let out a slow sigh and decided not to mess with their electronic devices for the time being, mostly because they had not actually executed any physical moves against me yet. I shut down my laptop and stowed it safely away into my bag as the crowded parking lot began filling up with students leaving their lectures.

"Sadly, my absolute favorite idol Kate Kong is probably exactly like Ana Zi behind closed doors," I muttered to myself, starting up the engine. "No matter. I only care about her acting and singing anyway, even if she is not nearly as kind in real life as she portrays herself to be on camera."

Knock knock.

Hearing a sharp rap against the front passenger window, I glanced over and saw Linda standing there, her striking grey eyes peering in through the dark tint of the Hummer. I hit the master switch and unlocked the door.

She opened it silently, climbed into the front seat, and shut the door behind her with a soft click. She spent a brief moment smoothing down the fabric of her dress, getting comfortable, before turning her head to look straight at me.

"Rick, am I a bother to you?"

Wow. She was completely blunt as hell, but I appreciated the directness.

"No," I replied, shifting my weight against the steering wheel. "But trouble always seems to find me whenever the nobles are hanging around. You personally are completely fine, though."

For a long while, she said absolutely nothing. She just sat there in the passenger seat, quietly watching my profile as the campus noise buzzed outside. Finally, she broke the silence. "I noticed it, and even Mercy mentioned it too. You look at us completely differently now. You don't seem angry at me anymore."

I glanced out the side mirror, watching the private investigator across the street looking utterly dazed as a dealership flatbed arrived to tow his ruined vehicle away. A small smile touched my lips before I turned back to her. "Some more of my memories finally came back over the weekend. Back then, I wasn't even aware that you were missing from school, let alone the actual reason why. But I know the full story now."

Linda had already been briefed by Mary about my condition, so she was not overly surprised by the revelation. She was only shocked that I had uncovered the details so quickly.

"I am so—"

Before she could finish the apology, I reached over and gently placed my hand right over her mouth, cutting off the words. "My parents' deaths were not your fault one bit, Linda. Knowing them, they would have stepped in to save you regardless of the circumstances. The only thing you actually did wrong in this entire situation was blaming yourself for how it ended. Just forget about the past. I don't hold a grudge against you, and I certainly don't blame my parents. I was just incredibly weak back then, and I blamed the entire world for my pain. You had a brutal time surviving it, so stop being sad about it. If you absolutely need to hear the explicit words to move on, then..."

I slowly removed my hand from her face and offered her a genuine smile. "My family and I completely forgive you. So just focus on living a happy life from now on. Don't let their sacrifices be for absolutely nothing."

In reality, I knew deep down that I didn't actually need to forgive her for anything, considering she was a victim. But I had used my digital skills to look up psychological recovery forums online, and the information clearly stated that traumatized survivors often need explicit validation and forgiveness to release their deep-seated guilt, even if they did nothing wrong. I chose those specific words entirely to help lift the crushing weight off her shoulders.

I reached into the console, pulled out a small pack of pocket tissues, and handed them over so she could dry her tears.

Linda wiped her eyes thoroughly and gave me a firm nod. She was completely unable to voice her thoughts through the emotion, but my instincts let me know exactly what she wanted to say. She tried her absolute best to force a grateful smile, but it only resulted in a slightly creepy, stiff grin with her lips curled tightly at the corners. Uh, yeah, there was no way I was going to tell her how awkward it looked. The girl was genuinely trying, and that was what counted.

Right on cue, my son-of-a-bitch best friend arrived. Seeing Linda sitting comfortably in his usual front passenger spot, James didn't even hesitate. He just opened the rear door, hopped directly into the back seat, and immediately noticed her wiping the remaining tears from her face.

The absolute dick-face didn't waste a single second. "Rick, brother, are you seriously making poor Linda cry right before lunch? Did you just reject her or something?"

Linda's cheeks flushed with a bright blush upon hearing his loud voice, while I chose to completely ignore his existence. I pulled my seatbelt across my chest, buckled it securely into place, and gripped the steering wheel as I shifted the heavy SUV into drive.

"Next stop, the BBQ House," I muttered, letting out a heavy sigh as we rolled out of the parking lot. "Let's just get this over with."