Shadows of the Deep Space

Su Ming and Mink gossipingly asked.

"Ahem, let me formally introduce you guys, my wife Zhao Ran, we're already married."

Chen Tong said with a smile.

"Wow, you rascal! They say not to eat the grass by the nest, but you ate it pretty quickly, you're married already!"

Su Ming and the others bantered, smiling.

Zhao Ran couldn't help but laugh when she heard Su Ming and the others, then gently said.

"It's not really that Chen Tong ate the grass by the nest; actually, I was the one who pursued him."

"You're something, you rascal!"

Su Ming and the others joked with Chen Tong.

"You bet!"

Chen Tong replied proudly.

"By the way, Chen Tong, why did you start a restaurant after graduation?"

Mink asked curiously.

"There's nothing I could do, Zhao Ran and I studied mecha specialization, so obviously, you have to serve in the military. But the frontlines are too intense now; Zhao Ran's parents both died early, and her grandparents are not in good health and have been on medication. They didn't want Zhao Ran to serve, so they found connections, coupled with some policy, and she didn't have to enlist. Later, when she found out I was going to serve, she confessed to me. I thought about it and decided to leave it to fate, so I drew the Red and Black Sign. Maybe it was destiny; I drew the red sign and stayed. Then we got married, and I needed to support a family, so it wasn't possible to do nothing. So I learned cooking from Zhao Ran's grandfather and took over this restaurant."

Chen Tong said with great emotion.

"To be honest, this is pretty good too."

Su Ming said with a smile.

"Yeah, life is a bit tough but it's indeed pretty good, let's have another bottle."

Chen Tong picked up two cans and handed them to Su Ming and Mink.

"Alright!"

Su Ming and Mink agreed happily.

The three of them cracked open the beers and drank them up, exclaiming with satisfaction.

"Refreshing!"

Meanwhile, some diners at the next table finished eating, got up, and left.

As they passed Su Ming's table, they called out to Chen Tong.

"Boss, we're leaving."

"Alright, take care."

Chen Tong nodded in response.

Then these guests walked straight out of the restaurant and left.

Mink saw this scene and curiously asked Chen Tong.

"Chen Tong, are they your friends?"

"No."

Chen Tong replied immediately.

"But they didn't pay, they just left?"

Mink said, bewildered.

"What pay? They're the area managers here; no way they would pay."

Chen Tong said as if it was a given.

"I see you've got the ways of the world down?"

Su Ming said with a chuckle.

Back then, Chen Tong was the toughest among the three of them.

"Can't help it, just trying to make a living."

Chen Tong said, waving his hand.

"Chen Tong, if you ever encounter any trouble, let the two of us know, we can help you."

Su Ming said to Chen Tong.

"Exactly."

Mink nodded solemnly in agreement.

"Come on, you two probably haven't even graduated yet, right? Let's not talk about those spoiling things, we're happy today, let's drink and eat meat."

Chen Tong said with a smile.

"Alright!"

Su Ming and Mink replied with a smile.

...

Several hours passed in the blink of an eye.

In the whole restaurant, only Su Ming's table was still eating, with the table full of beer cans.

Chen Tong and Mink were flushed, and Su Ming was somewhat tipsy.

At this moment, Zhao Ran specially brought over a bowl of clear soup and said to them.

"Have some soup!"

"Alright, thank you."

Su Ming and Mink nodded their thanks.

Just then, the door swung open again, and Zhao Ran was about to tell the incoming guests that they were closed now, when she saw who came in and was stunned.

Chen Tong looked up and was also taken aback.

They saw Rhein and others in uniform walk in and go straight to Su Ming and the others.

"Boss, everything is settled, and it's about time. We should head back to Starlight City to report."

Seeing that there were outsiders present, Rhein spoke very formally.

Chen Tong and Zhao Ran were utterly shocked upon hearing this.

"Boss? Su Ming, are they talking to you?"

"That's right, Su Ming is a Vice Admiral now, I've been following him, and I've become a Captain."

Mink explained to Chen Tong and Zhao Ran.

"Vice Admiral?"

Chen Tong and Zhao Ran felt as if they had been hit by a bolt from the blue, completely stunned.

"Just lucky, rose a bit quicker."

Su Ming said with a smile.

"Wow, congratulations!"

Chen Tong snapped out of it and quickly congratulated Su Ming.

"That's why I say, if there's ever anything, just come to us, no need to be polite, we're all brothers."

Su Ming said sincerely to Chen Tong.

"Alright!"

Chen Tong nodded in agreement.

"I've got other matters to attend to, I have to leave first. Let's meet again next year!"

Su Ming said to Chen Tong.

"Sure, I'll be waiting."

Chen Tong replied enthusiastically.

Su Ming then stood up, raised his bracelet, and scanned the bank card payment QR code posted on the restaurant wall, quickly transferred one hundred million Federation Coins to Chen Tong.

Chen Tong and Zhao Ran were shocked to see Su Ming transfer so much money to them and both spoke out.

"Su Ming, why are you giving us so much money? We can't accept it."

"Yeah, we can't take this money."

"Don't say that, this is your wedding gift, you must accept it!"

Su Ming said with a smile.

"And there's my share too, you have to take it."

Mink also raised his bracelet and transferred 100,000 Federation Coins to Chen Tong and Zhao Ran.

"Alright then."

Chen Tong took a deep breath and replied, calming his mind.

"We're leaving now, no need to see us off."

Su Ming waved to Chen Tong and Zhao Ran, and left with Rhein and others.

Chen Tong watched the backs of Su Ming and Mink as they left, his expression very complex, slightly dejected.

Zhao Ran saw Chen Tong's low spirits and asked with concern.