[The Gallaghers are famous for this. Which Gallagher skipped the bill this time?], Dexter replied.
[Famous for this? Ridiculous. It was Carl Gallagher,] Bianca answered.
Dexter paused slightly.
Something happened to Carl?
[Carl? I'm actually somewhat familiar with that kid. What happened to him?], Dexter asked.
[He said he was punched by an adult black male and was unconscious for a few minutes. His family was worried, so they brought him in for a checkup. The examination showed no major issues,] Bianca replied.
[That's good. Don't worry about it. Running into a Gallagher is just bad luck. Go write your report. See you tomorrow,] Dexter said.
[Okay. Sorry about this.]
[No worries.]
Bianca put away her phone and started writing the report.
She wrote for a little while.
But she couldn't focus.
The truth was, having followed the rules for over twenty years, always studying and working honestly, Bianca had a rebellious streak deep in her nature. It had just been suppressed all this time.
But tonight, that rebellious energy was bubbling up uncontrollably.
It bubbled for a while.
Her mind grew more and more restless.
Bianca abruptly stopped writing, pulled out her phone again, opened Twitter, and clicked on the photo from Dex Restaurant related to her.
Looking at it, the corners of her mouth slowly curled up.
A few seconds later.
Fuck it. The report can wait until tomorrow.
Bianca made a decision. She quickly packed up, strode out, and got off work.
Leaving the hospital building, Bianca instinctively headed toward the parking lot. After a few steps, a thought popped up. She decisively turned around and walked out the hospital gate on foot.
Reaching the roadside, she waited a few minutes, hailed a taxi, and got in. "To Dex Restaurant."
Dex Restaurant.
As usual, the limited dinner servings were sold out within minutes of opening.
But unlike usual, tonight, pairs of handsome men and beautiful women were still trickling into the restaurant... The most exaggerated one was a handsome guy who walked in with a beautiful woman on each arm, then casually pulled out three Priority Meal Cards...
Veronica watched with a look of disdain, but of course, she didn't show it too much. She continued doing her job, efficiently scanning the three cards on the verification machine.
The cards were real.
"Please have a seat. What can I get for you?" Veronica asked with a smile after verifying the cards.
After taking the order, Veronica walked into the kitchen. "Boss, you're going to be busy tonight. Over a dozen meal cards have shown up so far."
Dexter smiled. "It's fine. More money for us."
And so, the not-so-large restaurant was genuinely packed. Even the sofas were full of customers.
Naturally, Dumb Nine, who was sleeping on the sofa, got petted relentlessly.
Time flew by.
A taxi stopped at the restaurant entrance.
Bianca paid the fare, got out, looked into the restaurant, and was a little startled.
'Why are there so many people?'
She muttered silently. Since she was already here, and had specifically taken a taxi instead of driving, Bianca walked in anyway.
Seeing Bianca, without missing a beat, Mickey, Veronica, and Vivian all reacted immediately.
At the same time, the gazes of quite a few diners swooshed toward Bianca.
Bianca noticed and felt like she was being stared down. She felt a wave of embarrassment and lowered her head slightly.
Just then, Vivian moved the fastest. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh. She ran up to Bianca with a smile. "Bianca, you're here! Come, let me find you a seat."
There were absolutely no seats left in the front hall.
No problem.
Vivian's brain worked fast. Without hesitation, she chose to seat Bianca behind the counter.
Bianca was confused: "?????"
Is this a place where people can sit?
Bianca didn't know what to say.
Vivian didn't delay. She immediately ran into the kitchen and reported to Dexter with a beaming smile, "Boss, Bianca is here."
Dexter was surprised. Bianca had just said she couldn't make it because she had to write a report, and now she appeared. Then he realized this was probably good news. He grinned, paused his work, and walked out.
"Welcome." Arriving beside Bianca, Dexter greeted her with a smile. "Finished the report?"
Bianca gave a faint smile and shook her head. "Wrote a little bit. Tomorrow is fine... You're very busy tonight."
"Not busy. Just a few more customers than usual. Are you hungry? Should I make you something first?" Dexter asked.
Bianca shook her head. "Not hungry. Wait until you're done... Have you eaten?"
Looks like it really is good news.
Dexter smiled happily. "No. We'll eat together later. I'll cook faster."
"Okay," Bianca nodded.
After a few words of small talk.
Dexter didn't linger. He returned to the kitchen; there was stuff cooking on the stove, and if he didn't go back, it would burn.
As soon as Dexter left, Vivian hurriedly brought Bianca water and a regular fruit platter. Her attitude was impeccably good.
"Thank you," Bianca thanked her shyly, then thought of a question. "I don't know what to call you yet. I'm Bianca Greene. And you?"
"Vivian Ancestor," Vivian maintained her cheerful demeanor. "Just call me Vivian."
"Okay, Vivian. You go get busy. So many customers, you don't need to attend to me," Bianca said.
"Alrighty. Call me if you need anything," Vivian didn't waste words. Dropping that line, she left.
Bianca sat behind the counter with nothing to do. She looked here, looked there, and saw the guns stored under the counter.
'So many guns!' Bianca was startled and thought to herself. But she didn't dwell on it. After all, doing business in this slum, having guns in the shop was perfectly reasonable.
Bianca didn't own a gun and had never thought about owning one.
So, out of curiosity, she looked at them closely.
She was looking a bit too intently, completely unaware that some diners were sneaking photos of her.
Click, click, click.
Some diners seized the opportunity, pressing the shutter button on their phones repeatedly, then uploading them to their Twitter.
"At Dex Restaurant. Saw the Boss's girlfriend with my own eyes."
"The Boss has good taste. This Bianca isn't stunningly beautiful, but she's very pleasant to look at."
"Come, look what I found!"
"..."
Twitter was buzzing.
Bianca didn't know that she was becoming slightly famous on Twitter.
---
The restaurant's peak hour passed quickly.
Dexter finished his work and sat down to have dinner with Bianca.
Compared to when they first met, they were indeed more familiar with each other now.
They ate and chatted, oblivious to others, the atmosphere quite harmonious.
Mickey and Veronica, who were busy working, watched this scene with complex emotions.
Mickey because he was single and had never experienced this kind of thing.
Veronica because she had been with Kevin for a long time. That initial, arguably most beautiful phase of a relationship had passed. She felt a bit nostalgic and envious.
Vivian didn't have any extra emotions; she was just happy for Dexter.
They ate for about half an hour.
After eating.
Dexter stood up, took the fruit platter with the mini-Bianca out of the display fridge, placed it in front of Bianca, and asked with a smile, "Carved pretty accurately, right?"
Light flickered in Bianca's eyes. She nodded repeatedly. "Very accurate. You're really amazing."
"Thanks for the compliment," Dexter accepted with a smile. "Eat up. Fruit doesn't last long."
Bianca was a bit conflicted. "But how do I eat this? It looks too much like me. Feels like I'm eating myself..."
"Haha, from a certain perspective, that's very interesting. If you don't eat it, I will," Dexter smiled and reached for the mini-Bianca.
Bianca blushed slightly, feeling his words sounded a bit naughty. She hurriedly stopped him. "No, no, no. I'll eat it myself. You should go cook quickly. The customers are waiting."
The several customers who came in with meal cards while Dexter and Bianca were eating dinner: "..."
You two finally realized!
Too much!
Making us watch you two eat while we wait until now.
The gazes of several customers were momentarily full of resentment.
"Okay," Dexter suddenly felt that this meal card thing was a bit of a hassle. He responded helplessly.
He worked for another half an hour or so.
Finally done, it was almost closing time.
Work wrapped up.
Dexter decided to slip away. "Veronica, leaving the rest to you guys. By the way, take good care of the dog for me."
Veronica nodded with a bright smile. "No problem. You guys have fun."
Dexter didn't say more.
Bianca naturally didn't either.
The two left the restaurant and got into the car.
"Where do you want to go?" Dexter asked.
The night grew deeper.
They walked around outside, looked at things, wandered for a few hours.
Dexter drove and dropped Bianca off at her apartment entrance.
Bianca turned to look at her apartment, gritted her teeth, and tried to sound as normal as possible. "Want to come up for a coffee?"
"Sure," Dexter nodded.
They went upstairs.
The rest happened naturally.
As for the coffee...
What coffee?
In the apartment, which wasn't big but was clean and tidy, the two entangled together.
Dexter felt very good.
Tight.
Very satisfying.
---
The Gallagher House.
That night, the group had a relatively peaceful time. No drama, no arguments.
Lip didn't mention a word about what happened at night or Karen.
Ian was somewhat dissatisfied that Fiona didn't call him when something happened to Carl.
Carl acted like nothing happened, eating and drinking as usual.
Debbie was very worried that the thug would come back for money.
Regarding this, Fiona spoke solemnly. "Frank is the one who owes money, not us. It's none of our business. If that thug dares to show up again, we call the police immediately!"
Debbie couldn't let go of Frank. "Then... what about Frank?"
"It'd be best if he just died!" Lip said viciously.
Hearing this, Carl suddenly turned to look at Fiona and spoke up. "Speaking of owing money, how are we going to pay back Dexter's money?"
Thump.
Fiona had long forgotten about this. Reminded of it, she jolted, falling silent with a distressed expression.
Ian thought for a moment and spoke. "Carl, don't worry. We'll pay it back slowly."
Carl frowned and asked Ian, "How?"
Ian knew in his heart it was basically impossible to pay back, but he bit the bullet and said, "We'll work hard and save up slowly."
Fiona spoke up then. "Carl, don't worry. We will definitely pay it back. The Gallaghers pay their debts."
Carl stopped talking and continued watching TV.
Steve sat on the side, smoking quietly.
If it were before, Steve would have felt the sting of the twenty-four thousand dollars, but he would still have paid it for Fiona.
However, times had changed.
Now...
Heh.
Steve pretended not to hear, acting deaf.
Lip, with a cigarette in his mouth, noticed Steve's behavior and sneered internally, 'You deserve to wear the green hat.'
Fiona actually noticed something off about Steve too and felt slightly dissatisfied, but said nothing.
The five Gallaghers chattered away again.
Hard to say if they had a good mentality, finding joy in hardship, or if they were just a bunch of idiots!
Unknowingly.
It got very late.
Fiona told Lip and the others to go to sleep.
The Gallagher house gradually quieted down.
Shortly after.
In Fiona's room.
Fiona and Steve rolled together, expending their stamina.
Neither of them noticed, nor would they have imagined.
At this very moment.
Outside the Gallagher house, on the opposite side of the road.
Tony sat in his car, staring blankly at the Gallagher house.
In fact, Tony had been sitting there for a long time.
Once you taste the marrow, you know the flavor... Yesterday and today, three rounds in a row with Fiona. Tony was addicted. His mind flashed images of Fiona, then images of Fiona and Steve playing around...
Tony was going crazy.
After a long time.
Tony let out a long sigh, started the car, and went home.
---
The late spring night still carried a slight chill.
Under a certain bridge, Frank shivered a few times. Then, he took a big swig of cheap liquor he had just swindled from a nearby homeless guy with his silver tongue. His body warmed up instantly.
Having drunk too much, Frank naturally started boasting and rambling.
The homeless people listened with some disgust, but they couldn't do anything about Frank, so they chose to ignore him, letting him spout nonsense.
Gradually, one by one, the homeless people lay down in their nests and fell asleep.
Frank had nowhere to go, so he found a random corner, curled up, and waited for dawn. Then he would figure out a way to get some money, leave this place, and lay low for a while.
---
A New Day.
Have to say, a woman's bed is indeed much more comfortable.
Dexter was woken up by the noise of Bianca getting up. He felt it groggily and thought to himself.
"Did I wake you? I have to get ready for work. You can sleep a bit longer," Bianca said apologetically.
Dexter checked the time. Only 7:00 AM. Indeed quite early.
But he was already awake.
"Nah, I'll get up too," Dexter said with a smile, hopping out of bed efficiently.
After all, they weren't that familiar yet. Bianca felt very shy seeing him, turning her head away. "Put on some clothes."
Dexter laughed and scooped Bianca up in his arms.
Bianca was caught off guard. "Ah, what are you doing?"
"Showering," Dexter carried Bianca toward the bathroom.
"I'm going to be late..."
In the bathroom.
Bianca "resisted" for a little while, then gave up.
They exercised for a bit, then had a quick rinse.
"I'm free. I'll drive you to work," Dexter said as he got dressed.
"I'm really going to be late," Bianca said resentfully.
Dexter smirked.
A few minutes later.
They went downstairs.
The apartment wasn't too far from the hospital. Speeding a bit, they arrived in about ten minutes.
Getting out of the car.
"Bye," a concise farewell, and Bianca sprinted toward the hospital building.
This version of Bianca was truly amusing.
Dexter smiled and drove away.
It was still early, and going back to sleep seemed pointless.
Dexter thought for a moment and decided to go to Kevin's house, pick up the dumb dog Dumb Nine, walk him around there, and incidentally have a chat with that delinquent kid, Carl.
---