After My Rebirth Chapter 41: 99th lucky table

Chapter 41: 99th lucky table

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

The restaurant chain was celebrating its third anniversary. Thanks to strong support from customers and the Jiang family’s solid financial backing, they had successfully expanded to 3,000 locations nationwide.

To thank both new and loyal customers, the company decided to randomly waive the bill for one hundred tables on the anniversary day.

As a result, on the day of the celebration, restaurants across major cities were packed.

Li Sinian, as one of the shareholders, went to the very first store in Suzhou to join the festivities.

In today’s fast-paced world, internet-famous anniversaries came and went quickly, and no one paid much attention to the event. Standing outside the restaurant, he barely attracted any notice; everyone was busy lining up, hoping to be the lucky table to get a free meal.

Jiang Rongxuan, having just finished a meeting, spotted Li Sinian from behind and hurried over.

They had agreed to eat together at the place where their business began—and they hadn’t brought Ma Chi along.

The manager was busy, and the waitstaff kept changing shifts. No one inside recognized these two as the owners.

The service was excellent: queues were managed through a mobile app, ordering was done via tablets, and even those who came late without a reservation could enjoy snacks at the entrance.

Jiang Rongxuan glanced around the restaurant and smiled. “Brother, the conditions here are so much better than that little place you ran near Mulin Village. Back then, customers had to stand in the blazing sun just to buy a drink.”

“Yeah, and it’s all thanks to you,” Li Sinian said earnestly. “Seriously, without you, how could we have expanded to 3,000 stores in just three years?”

The food arrived quickly. They had barely exchanged a few words before the dishes were on the table.

Li Sinian pointed to a plate of lobster. “That was fast. I just sent out the recipe for the ingredients last week, and now it’s already on the menu.”

“They sped it up for the anniversary launch,” Jiang Rongxuan said. “Try it and see if it tastes different from when you made it.”

Li Sinian took a bite and gave a thumbs-up. “Definitely better than mine. I don’t have their knife skills.”

After finishing the meal, they called for the check. As the server handed over the bill, he suddenly shouted, “Congratulations to table 45 for being the 99th lucky table to get their meal for free today!”

As the server’s voice echoed, the rest of the waitstaff repeated in unison, “Congratulations to table 45 for being the 99th lucky table to get their meal for free today!”

Guests at other tables hurried to eat faster, desperate not to miss out on the last free meal.

Li Sinian stood frozen.

They were the 99th free meal? Ninety-nine — what a coincidence!

Jiang Rongxuan leaned over and whispered to the server, “Call the manager over. I want to give him a bonus.”

It had been over a year since Jiang Rongxuan’s first subtle confession. Li Sinian had been interrupted by a phone call and hadn’t responded.

Since then, every time Jiang Rongxuan tried to bring it up again, some unforeseen event would interrupt him.

His second attempt came three months later; the third was two and a half months after that; the fourth was a bit sooner still.

By now, Jiang Rongxuan had lost count of how many times he’d wanted to ask.

Sometimes, the best things happen by accident. He had almost given up, but now, here was the perfect opportunity. The server was about to ask if the customer was joking, but as he looked again, the customer seemed familiar.

Wait… wasn’t this the very owner from the first page of their employee handbook? He hurried to get the manager.

Jiang Rongxuan grinned at Li Sinian. “Look, brother, we’re the 99th lucky table.”

He emphasized the two nines, making the middle zero sound light, so it almost sounded like “double nine.”

Li Sinian said nothing.

Jiang Rongxuan pressed, “By the way, brother, have you thought about the question I asked a long time ago?”

“You don’t mind if your partner has the same gender as you?”

Li Sinian looked up, about to answer, when someone interrupted from nearby.

“Oh! Isn’t that General Manager Jiang and General Manager Li? Why didn’t you tell me you two were coming to eat? Xiao Chen said you wanted to see me—what’s up?”

Jiang Rongxuan’s expression instantly cooled.

Interrupted again!

He turned to the manager, his eyes sharp, his previous excitement about giving a bonus completely gone.

The manager was clueless. “Huh? I thought you said you were giving me a bonus?”

Jiang Rongxuan took a deep breath, silently reminding himself not to take his mood out on his staff.

He forced a polite smile and said, “Nothing, just thought you did a great job. Here’s a bonus for you.”

The manager’s face lit up. “Oh wow, thank you so much, boss!”

Jiang Rongxuan smiled faintly and said, “You’re welcome,” then picked up his briefcase and left.

Li Sinian almost burst out laughing and patted the manager on the shoulder. “You did great. I’ll give you a bonus too.”

With that, he chased after Jiang Rongxuan.

The manager stood there dumbfounded. Two bosses both wanted to give him bonuses? Today was truly a day of unexpected blessings!

Jiang Rongxuan left the mall, his earlier frustration completely gone. He stood in the shade, waiting for Li Sinian to catch up.

It was midsummer again, and today marked exactly nine years since they first met.

As Jiang Rongxuan saw Li Sinian approaching, he started to head for his car, but Li Sinian called out and brought up the topic that had been interrupted so many times before.

“I’ve actually wanted to tell you this for a long time. I’m not sure if I’m ‘bi’ or whatever, but if it’s you, I don’t really mind if my partner is the same gender.”

This time it was Jiang Rongxuan’s turn to freeze.

Li Sinian stood there in a white shirt, smiling at him—the same way he did nine years ago when they first met. Back then, Li Sinian was wearing a white shirt too, handing him a package of medicine, eyes devoid of pity or schadenfreude, completely different from everyone else.

For the first time, Jiang Rongxuan’s little brother nature surfaced. He touched his neck, looked down, and smiled sheepishly.

“As long as you don’t mind.”

“So then…”

“Let’s give it a try,” Li Sinian said. “Let’s see if we’re a good fit.”

“Okay.”

Jiang Rongxuan went to get the car, and they drove together toward Mulin Village.

In his heart, Jiang Rongxuan thought, Finally, I can officially live at Li Sinian’s place.

As Jiang Rongxuan’s car entered the driveway, it brushed past a black Volkswagen.

Inside sat a middle-aged man wearing a loose tank top—it was Li Cheng.

Li Cheng peered out the window at the bustling mall and asked the assistant beside him, “What’s going on here? Why’s it so lively?”

The assistant, Shen Feng, was loyal despite Li Cheng no longer being his boss—just an old man released from prison for medical reasons due to his illness.

After a moment of silence, Shen Feng answered when Li Cheng asked again, “It’s the restaurant’s third anniversary. This year, their chain has expanded to 3,000 stores nationwide, so they’re throwing a big celebration.”

No explanation was needed—Li Cheng would never forget that restaurant’s name.

Hearing Shen Feng’s words, Li Cheng’s eyes instantly reddened with hatred. “Only three years, and they’ve opened 3,000 stores? That’s something.”

Then he began to cough violently. Shen Feng hurriedly patted his back, scolding, “Mr. Li, the doctor told you so many times—control your emotions! Do you want those cancer cells to spread even faster?”

His breathing calmed immediately.

Right, he couldn’t get angry. Not with so few days left to live. He really couldn’t afford to lose control.

Seeing him stabilize, Shen Feng quickly ordered the driver to leave the noisy place.

The car headed toward the city’s People’s Hospital.

 

 

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