Chapter 11: The Gourmet Terminator?

Lin Xiaogang posted the developed photos on the store's bulletin board and saw Xu Tao leading a group of people walking toward him.

Xu Tao stood nearly two meters tall, his muscular build immediately marking him as a foodie.

No, correction: only good-looking people are called foodies; ugly ones are gluttonous goblins.

Still not quite right. Given Xu Tao’s height, he transcends goblin status and should be called a gluttonous giant troll.

As Lin Xiaogang joked to himself, Xu Tao had already arrived at the shop entrance with a group of wealthy young men.

“This entourage is way over the top. Looks like a gathering of privileged sons,” Lin Xiaogang thought helplessly.

To be honest, he didn’t want to do business with these rich kids.

Bound by a solemn vow overhead, he was destined not to gouge customers with exorbitant prices.

If the average spending of these privileged sons and ordinary customers was the same, why not cater to the common folk?

Though not all the rich kids were arrogant, they were undeniably more troublesome.

Regardless of his inner reluctance, the visitor is a guest, so Lin Xiaogang greeted them with sincere service.

“Welcome to Time Amber Gallery,” Lin Xiaogang said with a smile as he stepped forward.

His approach instantly cast an invisible pressure over the group of privileged sons.

Damn, this owner is too handsome.

His very existence made these silver spoon-born youths pale in comparison, relegating them to mere supporting roles.

Chen Xin watched Lin Xiaogang with great interest, her eyes full of playful amusement.

Sensing the atmosphere growing slightly awkward, Xu Tao hurriedly laughed and said, “Haha, Lin Xiaogang, look, I brought so many friends today to support your business.”

Lin Xiaogang frowned slightly. He couldn’t understand why Xu Tao had to chuckle nervously before speaking. Was that sentence really that funny?

Noticing Lin Xiaogang’s reaction, Xu Tao asked puzzledly, “What’s wrong? Are you in a bad mood today? Or are you worried your culinary memory might disappoint us? It’s okay, we’re all friends here, no high expectations. Today’s just about getting to know each other and making friends.”

“I’m worried about becoming the enemy of fine dining,” Lin Xiaogang said, shaking his head.

This was no baseless fear. Those high-end restaurants with thousands or even tens of thousands per person mainly relied on these wealthy heirs as customers.

But here, these same people spent only 500 yuan yet experienced a feast worth half a million yuan—a perfect experience they had never imagined. How could those upscale restaurants survive?

Except for business banquets emphasizing socializing over the food itself, Lin Xiaogang’s culinary memory was a game-changer.

Hearing this, Xu Tao and the others were stunned.

Wasn’t this a bit too... arrogant?

Not only did it imply that all the city’s fine dining establishments were trash with none worth mentioning, it also suggested these privileged sons were unsophisticated.

Otherwise, how could they dismiss those fancy restaurants after just one memory experience?

The room fell into a strange silence.

The young men exchanged glances, feeling the surreal reality.

In movies, these rich kids were always arrogant, picking fights everywhere to assert superiority.

But in reality, they did nothing and yet were belittled?

Xu Tao noticed his friends’ dissatisfied expressions and saw Chen Xin’s gaze grow colder. His heart sank.

“Lin Xiaogang, you’re talking big! What if you anger these guys and they sabotage you behind your back? And Chen Xin is a high-ranking tax official — making life hard for a small shop owner like you would be a breeze for her.”

He was already regretting organizing this meetup.

What if Lin Xiaogang’s shop ended up closing? What would he do?

So he forced a smile and tried to smooth things over: “Man, you’re so handsome, you don’t need to take girls to fancy restaurants to win their hearts. If all men were like you, fine dining places would be doomed.”

Though strained, this was Xu Tao’s best attempt at damage control.

Several of the wealthy sons nodded in agreement, feeling it was unfair that handsome guys didn’t have to spend big to win girls.

Lin Xiaogang shook his head. “No, if that were all, fine dining wouldn’t be affected. Usually, it’s the girls inviting me to upscale restaurants, but I always refuse.”

The group of rich kids was stunned.

Xu Tao was speechless.

Forget it, I’m tired—let it collapse already.

Chen Xin suddenly burst out laughing. “Haha, that’s hilarious. I always wanted to laugh when you boasted about how much women like you. Now you know what it really looks like when a woman truly likes a man, right?”

Lin Xiaogang looked up upon hearing her and had to admit she was indeed beautiful. He had noticed her at first glance in the crowd.

Compared to the heavily retouched beauties online from his past life, she was on a whole different level, not to mention her incomparable aura.

When she wasn’t smiling, she seemed aloof and unapproachable, but now Lin Xiaogang found her quite easy to get along with.

Yet her next words made him retract that thought.

“Have you had countless girlfriends but never seen this side of a woman?” Chen Xin continued.

The rich kids were speechless.

Some almost on the verge of tears—if you’re going to hurt us, at least don’t twist the knife like this.

A heavy air of sadness filled the room.

Lin Xiaogang was surprised. He didn’t withdraw his earlier conclusion because Chen Xin was hard to get along with.

In fact, he knew she was close with these privileged sons and was teasing them in a joking manner. Everyone was playing along for fun.

The rich kids weren’t fools; they knew the women around them were just acting.

They simply didn’t care.

To them, most women only needed to be physically possessed; winning their hearts was less important and didn’t necessarily bring more happiness.

While they might believe in exchanging true feelings, it was never with women who sought them for money.

Regarding such women, their philosophy was:

“Only by keeping those women in a state of insecurity can they feel safe.”

What truly surprised Lin Xiaogang was how Chen Xin’s few words diverted the hostility away from him.

What Xu Tao had struggled to smooth over was effortlessly resolved by her.

Was she helping him?

Lin Xiaogang was sure he wasn’t mistaken. She did it deliberately.

But why?

It certainly wasn’t because she liked him — he was never one to delude himself.

He knew he was handsome, but women were more pragmatic than men.

Women might admire handsome men, but in the end, they usually chose the strong.

These “celestial dragons” might try to appear equal to him out of moral superiority, but deep down they still considered themselves superior.

Lin Xiaogang didn’t think his looks alone earned Chen Xin any special favor.

He looked at her with curiosity and noticed her gaze resting on his wrist.

More precisely, on the expensive Time wristwatch he wore.