Three months. Radio silence.
Suddenly, seeing a new update from [Dex Restaurant], everyone knew the missing person—Boss Ding—was back.
The foodies who had desperately missed the meals at Dex Restaurant were instantly hysterical.
"Oh my god!! You're finally back!"
"Do you know how I lived these past three months?"
"You can't do this to us..."
"Ahhh! Finally appeared!"
"I thought you were dead!"
"Don't move, I'm on my way!"
"..."
Just like that, in a matter of moments, the replies under the post exploded beyond description.
A few minutes later.
Because the BBQ party Dexter threw before his "business trip" had caused such a huge scene, major Chicago media outlets had been keeping an eye on Dex Restaurant.
Ding, ding, ding~~
The media outlets jumped on the bandwagon, piggybacking on the hype through their official accounts.
So, with the media amplifying the signal, the news that the owner of Dex Restaurant had resurfaced quickly became a trending topic on Twitter.
Before long.
Under the [Dex Restaurant] Twitter account, the comments formed a unified front. God knows how many people were asking the exact same question:
"How many portions are you serving tonight???"
At the same time.
Some smaller media outlets decisively chose to rush to Dex Restaurant to interview Dexter.
Vroom, vroom~~
News vans sped toward the location.
Dexter, unaware of the media frenzy, looked at the questions on Twitter. He thought for a moment and posted another update.
[Sorry to keep everyone waiting. Serving 100 portions tonight. Starts at 5 PM. First come, first served.]
Many fans saw the message instantly.
"On my way!!"
"Don't fight me for it!!"
"I'm already on the road.jpg. Hehe!!"
"Holy shit!! Are you human? That fast?!"
"Be a human being, I'm still at work."
"Fuck this job, I'm quitting!!"
In the blink of an eye.
Across Chicago, people began ditching work to make the run.
Dexter put away his phone, stopped checking, and drove on to do his shopping.
---
At School.
Karen saw the update posted by Dexter. She put down her phone, rubbed her slightly protruding belly, and grinned.
Three months.
Now Dexter was back, and tomorrow Lip would be released...
Another big payday was coming.
Karen was very happy. The corners of her mouth curled up uncontrollably. Without any hesitation, she decided to visit Dex Restaurant at noon.
---
Kevin got the call from Veronica and found out Dexter was back. He was ecstatic. Without a word, he rushed out of the Alibi Room and sprinted toward Dex Restaurant.
The truth was, the Alibi Room had been half-dead for a while, and Kevin was stressed about it.
Now that Dexter was back, the rich folks from all over Chicago would return to the neighborhood.
The Alibi Room would inevitably catch some of the overflow...
That meant money!
Thinking about business picking up, Kevin ran even faster.
A moment later.
Kevin burst into Dex Restaurant, his eyes darting around looking for Dexter. "V, where's Dexter?"
Seeing Kevin in such a panic, Veronica laughed and cried at the same time. "He went out shopping. Did you run all the way here?"
Kevin nodded. "That guy Dexter, he comes back and doesn't even tell me."
After saying that, Kevin looked at Dumb Nine on the sofa. "Why is there a Husky here?"
"Dexter brought him back. Said it's his dog. Name's Dumb Nine," Veronica replied.
"Heh. He goes on a trip and comes back with a dog," Kevin laughed.
Ten minutes later.
Kevin left the restaurant a bit disappointed he missed him and returned to the Alibi Room.
---
Elementary School.
The news that Dexter, the boss of Dex Restaurant, was back slowly spread.
Hearing this, Carl moved with practiced efficiency. He slammed the kid who was talking about it against the wall and demanded confirmation with a fierce look. "Did you just say Dexter is back?"
The boy was terrified and nodded repeatedly. "Yeah, Twitter... Twitter said so!"
Carl grinned and let the boy go.
Then.
Continue class? Non-existent.
Carl chose to leave immediately to go hang out with Dexter.
---
Shopping Complete.
Dexter didn't waste time and drove back.
However, he didn't go straight to the restaurant. Instead, he found a print shop that could design posters.
He spent over half an hour at the print shop, printed a simple poster, and then continued to the restaurant.
Arriving at the restaurant.
Dexter handed the poster straight to Veronica and smiled. "V, you should be able to relax a bit now. Paste this in the window."
Veronica didn't quite understand. She took the poster and unrolled it.
Instantly, Veronica was thrilled, a smile climbing up her face.
Because...
It was a promotional poster for the Alibi Room.
With this poster here, there was no doubt the Alibi's business would improve drastically.
Veronica smiled. "Thanks, Boss."
"Thank me for what? I own a share of the Alibi too. Go put it up. I'm going to cook," Dexter laughed and walked toward the kitchen.
He took a few steps.
Carl rushed into the restaurant, panting heavily, and shouted at Dexter, "Dexter, you're back!"
Hearing the voice.
Dexter turned to look at Carl. Seeing him sweating and gasping for air, he guessed what happened immediately. "I'm back. Did you run here?"
"Yeah. I heard at school you were back, so I ran over," Carl replied, seeing absolutely nothing wrong with that.
"Good job. Sit down for a bit, take a rest," Dexter gave Carl a thumbs up and gestured for him to sit on the sofa.
Dumb Nine was still sleeping soundly on the sofa.
Carl sat down, looked at Dumb Nine, rolled his eyes, and got a bold idea.
Dexter noticed. "Carl, that's my dog. Don't get any funny ideas."
Carl heard this and looked disappointed. "Okay..."
Dexter smiled and patted Carl's head. "I like animals. Animals are our friends, got it?"
Carl seemed thoughtful, then nodded solemnly. "In that case, I won't hurt them from now on!"
Carl said it with conviction.
"Excellent!" Dexter agreed with a smile.
After chatting with Carl for a while, Dexter went to the kitchen to get busy.
Time passed bit by bit.
Media personnel began arriving at the entrance of Dex Restaurant one after another.
Dexter received the news, thought about it, left the kitchen, and stood in front of the cameras, choosing to accept the interviews.
Of course, the purpose wasn't to get more business for the restaurant, but to take the opportunity to promote the Alibi Room.
"The Alibi Room has been around for decades. It is a crucial part of the South Side's history. Everyone is welcome to stop by for a drink..."
After answering a few simple questions, Dexter cut to the chase and shamelessly started plugging the bar.
Inside the restaurant.
Veronica watched this scene, heard what Dexter said, and trembled slightly with excitement.
---
After dealing with about twenty minutes of interviews.
Reasonably enough.
At Dexter's invitation, the media crew stayed at the restaurant to wait for lunch. In return, they posted some promotional tweets.
The power of the media was strong.
On Twitter.
The popularity of Dex Restaurant soared wildly, and along with it, the Alibi Room started getting some heat.
---