Life at Dex Restaurant had settled into a rhythm.
The four of them did pretty much the same things every day, nothing special.
It's worth mentioning that apart from the three months Dexter was away, Veronica and Vivian hadn't taken a single vacation day, even though they technically had one day off per week.
Dexter walked into the restaurant with Dumb Nine on a leash and unclipped him.
Dumb Nine, as usual, scampered onto the sofa, curled up, and lazily went to sleep.
It was still early, so Dexter thought for a moment, grabbed a fruit platter Vivian had just prepared, and sat on the sofa. While eating fruit, he pulled up the System, thinking about drawing some new dishes to enrich the menu.
Before leaving the John Wick world, he had specifically saved 50,000 Merit Points.
In the world of Shameless, having this many Merit Points meant he was filthy rich.
[You opened a Silver Chest. Congratulations, you won $80,000.]
Useless...
[You opened a Silver Chest. Congratulations, you won a Mercedes-Benz G63.]
Oh, this is useful.
He was getting bored of the Ferrari anyway. Time for a change.
[You opened a Silver Chest. Congratulations, you won Culinary Skill — Carving (Master Level), including a full set of carving tools.]
?????
Dexter paused for a moment, thought about it, and looked at the fruit platter in front of him.
Heh. Perfect.
Artistic fruit platters, making their grand debut.
Selling one for $298 shouldn't be excessive, right?
After all, those rich folks didn't care about the money, and carving a fruit platter took time.
Dexter smiled at the thought and opened another chest.
[You opened a Silver Chest. Congratulations, you won three Rice Bowl Sets (Braised Pork Ribs Rice Bowl, Beef Brisket Rice Bowl, Stir-fried Pork Rice Bowl), including ten portions of ingredients for each.]
Got 'em. No need to draw more.
He had 46,000 Merit Points left. Better save them.
Dexter put away the System, thought for a moment, and claimed the full set of carving tools. Then, he stood up and walked over to Vivian, who was focused on making fruit platters. He teased, "Actually, fruit platters can look much better. I happen to be in the mood today, let me show you one."
"Sure!" Vivian responded immediately, playing along with Dexter's flex. She extended her hand with a smile. "Please, Boss, show us your talent."
Dexter knew Vivian was being playful and didn't mind at all. He smiled. "Watch closely."
With that, Dexter washed his hands and got to work.
About twenty minutes later.
A vivid, lifelike fruit platter, resembling various blooming flowers, appeared in front of Vivian, Veronica, and Mickey.
Absolutely flawless.
Vivian and the other two were dumbfounded.
"Jesus!" Even the usually cynical Mickey couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.
Veronica blinked hard, unable to believe her eyes. "Boss, what is this?! Since when do you have skills like this!!"
Vivian was stunned. Recovering, her eyes lit up. "Boss, I want to learn!"
Dexter gave a smug smile. "When I'm not using this set of carving tools, you're free to use them. But this skill? Can't be taught. You have to figure it out yourself."
Vivian nodded repeatedly, agreeing readily. "No problem!"
"Alright, I'll make one more, then it's time to work," Dexter said.
Having done it once, he was more proficient. This time, it only took fifteen minutes.
Dexter carved a platter of cartoon animals. Then, an idea struck him. He quickly wrapped the previous flower platter in plastic wrap. "I'm going out for a bit. Be right back."
Before Vivian and the others could respond, Dexter walked out of the restaurant, found an empty spot, claimed the G63 he had won, got in, and drove toward the hospital.
On the way.
[I made something fun. Bringing it to the hospital to show you. Which office is yours?]
Dexter pulled out his phone and texted Bianca.
[Huh?] Bianca replied quickly.
[I'm on the way.]
[... Meet me in the parking lot.]
The hospital wasn't far.
No traffic either.
It took over ten minutes for Dexter to reach the hospital parking lot. As soon as he entered, he saw Bianca standing in the corner near the entrance, wearing her white coat with her hair in a ponytail.
Dexter smiled, stuck his hand out the window, and waved at Bianca. "Over here."
Hearing him, Bianca looked over. Seeing Dexter and his new car, she was surprised for two seconds before walking quickly toward him.
Dexter had to leave soon, so he casually pulled the car into an empty spot, grabbed the fruit platter, and got out.
"Here, for you." Just as Bianca walked up to him, Dexter handed her the fruit platter.
Seeing the fruit carved into blooming flowers on the plate, Bianca was genuinely shocked, her eyes widening significantly. "It's beautiful. You made this?"
Dexter nodded with a smile. "Skills are okay, right?"
"Mmh." Bianca took the platter. "It's so pretty, how am I supposed to eat it?"
"Eat it normally," Dexter laughed at her comment.
Bianca held the plate, examining it carefully. "Feels like a pity to eat it..."
"Not a pity. I'll make you another one later," Dexter replied casually.
Bianca felt a bit shy and didn't know what to say. "Thank you..."
"You're welcome. Go back to work. I have to head back; it's opening time."
"Okay. Drive safe," Bianca reminded him, then paused. "I'll come for dinner tonight."
Dexter smiled. "Great. See you tonight."
"See you tonight."
Dexter got in the car and sped away.
Bianca watched him go for a few seconds, then carried the fruit platter back into the hospital.
Back at the nurses' station, quite predictably, the fruit platter in her hands drew a crowd of doctors and nurses.
"So beautiful!"
"Is that fruit?"
"How was that made? Carved?"
"Bianca, did your boyfriend just bring that?"
"Envious..."
The group of women chattered endlessly.
"Not my boyfriend," Bianca explained, her cheeks slightly flushed.
It was a tough journey back to her office. Bianca struggled for a while before escaping the crowd and successfully returning to her sanctuary.
"Phew~~" Entering the office, Bianca let out a long sigh of relief and sat in her chair.
There was still a lot of work.
But it could wait. No rush.
A smile unconsciously spread across Bianca's face as she seriously examined the fruit flowers.
She looked at them for a long time.
She couldn't bear to eat them.
Bianca took out her phone, found a good angle, took a few photos, and opened Twitter.
[#DexRestaurant The Boss's skills are truly amazing.]
Bianca didn't have many followers.
So, the tweet was posted, and it didn't cause a ripple.
---
Dexter rushed back to the restaurant, parked, and got out.
Just then.
Kevin, who had been summoned by Veronica earlier and was currently admiring the cartoon animal fruit platter inside the restaurant, happened to look out.
Looking at the black Mercedes G63, Kevin was instantly dumbfounded.
Fruit platter, schmuit platter. Not important!
What was important was that the car was fucking cool!
"Damn!!!" Kevin ignored the fruit platter, exclaimed enviously, and instinctively walked out quickly, rushing out of the restaurant. "Dexter, new car?"
Seeing Kevin's reaction and knowing he was interested in cars, Dexter laughed and decisively handed over the keys. "Mercedes G63. I have to open for business. You can take it for a spin."
Having known each other for so long, Kevin understood Dexter's personality well. Hearing this, he excitedly took the keys and grinned broadly. "Thanks, Boss Ding! Hope you make even more money, buy a yacht, buy a plane!!"
"Get lost!" Dexter laughed and cursed.
"You got it!" Kevin accepted happily, hopped into the car, and started playing with it.
Dexter ignored him, walked into the restaurant, and started the lunch service. "I don't have time to make more fruit platters. That one there, price is $298. See which rich person buys it."
"By the way, three new dishes today: Braised Pork Ribs Rice, Beef Brisket Rice, Stir-fried Pork Rice. Only ten portions of each," Dexter said to Vivian and Veronica as he walked toward the kitchen.
Before long.
11:00 AM arrived.
Customers started trickling in.
11:02 AM.
A young couple decisively bought the cartoon animal fruit platter. But they didn't eat it. First, click, click, click, they took endless photos and posted them on Twitter. Then, they just let the platter sit on the table...
Why?
To make the other customers die of envy, of course!
Spending nearly three hundred dollars on fruit worth at most ten bucks... if they didn't show it off and provoke others, wouldn't they be idiots?
The truth was, within moments, the couple felt that the $298 was incredibly well spent.
Because not only were the other customers in the restaurant extremely envious, but their Twitter accounts exploded.
"Ahhh, so beautiful! I want it!"
"Regret!! Why didn't I go today?"
"Don't eat it! Sell it to me!"
"That skill is way better than those chefs at five-star hotels. $298 isn't expensive at all!"
"Just looking at it makes me happy. Money well spent!"
"Are there more? If I go now, can I still buy one?"
"Wait for me, I'm on my way!"
"..."
[Haha~~ Just one. No other customers got it. Asked the waiter, she said the Boss didn't have time to make more. We're so lucky, we got the only one,] the beautiful girl in the couple replied.
The followers saw this and chattered excitedly.
Chattering and chattering.
"Hey, Juliette, doesn't seem like that's the case. I saw a tweet from a hot doctor. She got hers half an hour earlier. Go look, @BiancaGreene."
The happy couple saw this reply and froze. Their fingers moved quickly, clicking into Bianca's Twitter profile.
And so.
It didn't take long.
A bunch of young men and women saw the first tweet on Bianca's profile.
A minute or two passed.
A handsome guy who had witnessed the interaction between Dexter and Bianca in the restaurant a few days ago pointed out the truth: "Haha, this is normal. The restaurant owner likes this hot doctor. It's only reasonable she got it first."
In the blink of an eye.
Under Bianca's Twitter account, the number of followers skyrocketed.
"Hot doctor, the flower fruit platter is so beautiful. Can you ask your boyfriend to make one for me too?"
"Me too, me too!"
"Hot doctor, which hospital do you work at? I'm sick, I'm coming to see you."
"..."
In the hospital.
Bianca, who was working, felt her phone vibrating incessantly. She took it out to look.
Huh? Huh? Huh?
Bianca was bewildered.
What is happening?
---
Kevin, happily driving Dexter's Mercedes G63, suddenly got a call from Kermit.
"Kevin, come back quick! A bunch of people came into the bar saying they want to buy those meal cards! We sold all our cards, but they still want to buy. You need to come back, I can't handle them!" Kermit sounded incredibly anxious.
Kevin heard this and was confused. He didn't understand what was going on. "On my way!"
He floored the gas.
Kevin rushed back to the Alibi Room and was shocked on the spot by the scene Kermit described.
There were just too many people!
"Wait, wait, wait," Kevin hurriedly ran behind the bar, trying to calm down the crowd of young men and women. "Don't rush, one by one. I only have ten meal cards available every day..."
He couldn't finish his sentence.
"Give me two," a handsome guy slapped a hundred and fifty dollars directly onto the bar.
A split second later.
"I'll take the remaining eight," another guy slammed six hundred dollars onto the bar.
Kevin: "?????"
This works?
Is this money coming too easily?
Kevin was very, very confused.
At this point, the others weren't having it.
"Don't joke around. We all want to buy. If you two buy them all, what are we supposed to do?"
"One per person! Be decent!"
"Right, max one per person!"
"..."
The crowd of wealthy men and women, who mostly lived lives of leisure, started arguing. They didn't fight—after all, they were decent people.
Seeing this.
Kevin couldn't take the money.
Only ten cards today, dozens of people in front of him. One per person wasn't even enough.
But wait, there was still Svetlana.
"Stop arguing, stop arguing. Listen to me. I only have ten of these meal cards here every day. However, if you go out the door, turn right, and walk to the intersection, there's a place called Dex Fruit Stand. The fruit stand also gets ten cards a day. That owner might have accumulated dozens of them," Kevin hurriedly spoke up, shouting loudly. "If you can't buy them here, go buy them there!"
The words came out.
The wealthy men and women stopped arguing!
Instantly.
Whoosh.
Quite a few young men bolted out of the Alibi Room, sprinting toward Dex Fruit Stand.
They had to sprint.
No choice.
Dex Restaurant was too famous!
For these young men, this Priority Meal Card wasn't about getting an extra meal. It was about picking up girls. It was about status.
Spend a few dozen bucks on a meal card, pick up a beautiful woman!!
Massive profit, okay!!
Besides.
To cut the line at other famous Chicago restaurants, the money slipped to the maître d' wouldn't be any less...
In moments.
A great race was staged on the sidewalk.
The Alibi Room.
With a batch of young men running off decisively.
Kevin let out a sigh of relief. Three, two, one—he sold out today's ten meal cards following the one-per-person rule.
Ten people got their meal cards, turned around, and left without mentioning a word about drinking.
This behavior shocked Kevin.
"Hey, hey, hey! Wait, wait! What about your drinks? Not drinking?" Kevin couldn't understand and asked urgently.
"Not drinking. It's on me," several people walking out replied more or less the same way.
Kevin: "?????"
So, seventy-five dollars for one meal card?
Are these rich people brain-damaged?
Kevin really didn't understand.
At the same time.
Kermit and the few others who bought meal cards yesterday were regretting it so hard!
Damn it!
Sold them too cheap earlier! Sold them for twenty bucks!
Total loss!!
---