"Please go ahead and charge everything to my card," I told the waiter. He stared at my clothes, which were bought from Uniqlo, and his lip curled to a disbelieving sneer.
"Are you sure you can afford to pay for this meal, sir?"
I shrugged. "Just swipe my card and find out."
"If it turns out that your card has insufficient funds as well, we'll call the police," he warned me coldly, then spun around sharply and stalked off toward the counter.
"We're doomed!" Yan Wan was clutching her head. She glared at me. "Even when we're in such a crisis, you can't resist showing off, can you?!"
"Don't you think it's your parents' fault for ordering all these in the first place?" Liu Zhang Feng asked, annoyed. At least the guy was reasonable and could tell right from wrong. "We wouldn't be in a mess in the first place if it weren't for your parents!"
"Are you blaming us now?" Ru Feng growled.
"I'm not blaming anybody. But Wan Er has gone too far, don't you think? Mr. Zhao is our only hope of extricating ourselves from this situation, but not only do you not appreciate his help, you continue to insult him. What exactly is your problem? Do you have some sort of grudge against him or something?"
"Why would we have any grudge against trash like him?" Yan Wan demanded. Liu Zhang Feng slapped his forehead.
"See what I mean?"
"Have you forgotten what I just said?" I asked frostily. "Should I tell the waiter to charge you three and pay for the bills separately?"
"You…!"
"SHUT UP!" Yan Yang snapped at his daughter. He lowered his head. "I apologize for my wife and daughter's rudeness. It's my fault for not educating them properly."
At that moment, the waiter rushed back, his face flushed. He was waving my bank card in front of him, spluttering incoherently.
"I knew it!" Yan Wan howled, covering her face. "I knew that trash wouldn't have sufficient funds in his bank account! We're all doomed! Daddy, you've to call grandfather and ask him to bail us!"
"Would you just shut up?!" Yan Yang smacked her. His daughter stared at him, stunned.
"You hit me…you actually hit me?! For an outsider?!"
The waiter ignored the debacle and dropped to his knees, returning me the bank card, tears flowing from his eyes.
"F…forgive me, sir," he stammered, his hands trembling. I simply gaped at him when I took back my bank card. "I…I didn't know you are a VIP…I didn't know you're a black card holder…I was so rude before. Please…please forgive my rudeness from earlier, sir. Treat whatever I said as a joke…as wind in the air! I hope you will not hold it against me and order me fired from my job!"
I never said that. Why were these people always acting so dramatically?
"B…black card holder?" Ru Feng repeated incredulously. "What the hell is that?!"
"The VIP black membership?!" Liu Zhang Feng gasped. "From the United Overseas Bank! Only ten of these VIP cards have been issued worldwide! Members who possss this card are of the most prestigious and valued customers! They get first priority for every bank service!"
"You…you are also entitled to a fifteen percent discount." The waiter swallowed. "We have already deducted the discount from your payment, and we have given you an e-voucher as apology for our earlier…rudeness."
"Oh, okay. Thanks."
"How is this possible?!" Yan Wan shouted. "He's just trash! There's no way he should be able to get his hands on a…"
"SHUT UP!" Yan Yang roared and slapped her again. This time, the force was so powerful that poor Yan Wan was sent sprawling to thee ground, her face swollen. Her father was clearly afraid of offending me, or some nonsense like that. He then turned to me, groveling. "I apologize for this, Huan Shi. I really do. I'll definitely punish my daughter and reeducate her when we get home. Please overlook her lack of manners. I have spoiled her too much."
"How can you take an outsider's side over your own daughter?!" Ru Feng cried out in rage, hurrying over to help her daughter up. She glared at her husband. "What kind of man are you!?"
"Shut up, the both of you! Do you want our family to be destroyed?!"
Dude…why the fuck would I destroy your family over something as trivial as insults? That's bloody overkill and way out of proportions. Like, seriously, what kind of insane sadist would fire someone, cause him to lose his livelihood and condemn him to bankruptcy just because he was insulted? That was like…I don't know, murdering somebody just because he accidentally bumped into you.
"You keep calling him trash even though he clearly isn't! Are you blind?"
"No, they are just deluded," I muttered. Yan Yang forced a laugh.
"That's right! My wife and daughter are deluded! I'll send them to a psychiatrist for treatment. You understand, right, Huan Shi? They can't help it because of their mental illness."
"Who are you calling deluded!? What do you mean we have mental illness?"
"Shut up!"
I shook my head and sighed. Mu Rong Shu took that as our cue to rise to her feet and raise her hand.
"Should we leave?"
"My wife is right. It's been a long day. Let's go home, everybody."
"Oh, wait, sir. If you could please wait a moment." The waiter raised his hand before he bowed nervously. "Mr. Tang Li wishes to see you, and he asks that you wait for a moment while he rushes over."
"Mr. Tang Li?" Liu Zhang Feng frowned. "Why would he…?"
But the waiter was already gone, having already delivered the message. Yan Wan began laughing and clinging to Liu Zhang Feng's arm.
"Isn't it obvious, dear? He's here for you!"
"Huh? Why would he be here for me?" Liu Zhang Feng gaped at her in disbelief.
"Because you're friends!"
"Friends? What friends?" Liu Zhang Feng spluttered. "He hardly even knows me! We only met once, I doubt he even remembers my name!"
"Then why else would he come here?"
Mu Rong Shu and I said nothing, but both Liu Zhang Feng and Yan Yang glanced in my direction. The two men must have suspected something.
Fortunately, we didn't have to wait long. Tang Li rushed in, flustered and breathing heavily. He nodded as he strode hastily into the room of the restaurant, smiling broadly.
"It's been a long while!"
"Mr. Tang Li!" Yan Wan rushed forward, gushing excitedly. She blocked him from continuing forward, trying to grab his hands. "It's so great to meet you!"
Tang Li stared at her strangely, stepping back and evading her, keeping his hands out of the weird lady who practically threw herself at him.
"Who are you?"
"I am Liu Zhang Feng's girlfriend." Yan Wan got the hint and stepped backward, gesturing toward her boyfriend. "Remember him? The two of you met at a business conference sometime last month and became friends."
"Became friends? Liu Zhang Feng?" Tang Li looked at Liu Zhang Feng blankly. "Sorry, I don't remember. I don't even remember which business conference you're talking about. I've attended a dozen of them last month."
"It was the Long Jiang estate development conference at Song Jia Hotel," Liu Zhang Feng mumbled, embarrassed. "And it's right that you don't remember me, Mr. Tang. We didn't meet much."
He then grabbed Yan Wan and dragged her away, his girlfriend looking stunned. She turned to stare at him in shock.
"How…isn't he here for you?"
"I already told you he's not!" Liu Zhang Feng hissed through gritted teeth. "How much more must you shame me before you're satisfied?"
"Then…why did he come? Who is he here for?"
Her answer was given immediately when Tang Li walked over to me with a broad grin. He clasped my hand and shook it heartily, bowing his head slightly.
"Mr. Zhao! We finally meet! You should have come straight to my place yesterday! I told you to pay me a visit!"
"And I told you I've to visit my wife's family first." I sighed. "I didn't know I would be seeing you here, so I didn't bring the stuff."
"It's okay, it's okay! I just decided to come! How Saturday?"
"Yeah, I'll still be around. Let me check my schedule with my wife and we'll contact you again for more concrete details."
"Saturday should be fine. Most likely before or after dinner." Mu Rong Shu already had part of the schedule in her mind. "I'll have to ask my grandfather for details, to see if he has already planned and reserved a restaurant. I'll get back to you."
"Sure!" Tang Li then bowed to her. "So you're Mrs. Zhao? It's good to meet you, sister-in-law."
"The honor is all mine."
"You're a lucky man, big bro." Tang Li turned to me, shaking his head in envy. "Sister-in-law is extremely beautiful. Make sure you take care of her."
"Certainly."
"Also, if you're planning on reserving a restaurant in Jiang Nan, tell them my name. I'll make sure they know ahead of time to give you a big discount."
"No need for that." I waved my hands. "I don't want to take advantage of you like this."
"What advantage? We're all friends! You're my bro! If it weren't for you back then, I would have died! I owe you my life! What's a discounted meal? I would have even given it to you for free!"
"No, that's going too far. I'm not going to take you for granted. I didn't save you to get free meals or special treatment."
"That's why people worship you, Mr. Zhao." Tang Li sighed and patted my shoulder. He smiled at Mu Rong Shu. "Just coming here to see sister-in-law is totally worth it. Well, I'll have to go for now, but make sure you visit me on Saturday!"
"Yeah, if I don't see you, I won't leave." I nodded. "And get going, Tang Li. I know you're a busy man. Even so, I appreciate you squeezing time out of your busy schedule just to visit me. I won't keep you away from your work."
"Much appreciated, bro." Tang Li waved before he turned toward the door. "Keep in touch!"
Then he was gone.
Mu Rong Shu and I turned back to my wife's relatives, all of whom had been stunned to dumb silence. Yan Yang and Liu Zhang Feng didn't look all too surprised, the two men pale but looking as if they had expected this…as if they had guessed correctly. On the other hand, both Yan Wan and Ru Feng were completely horrified.
"H…how…how do you know Mr. Tang Li?" Yan Wan spluttered. "H…he's the most powerful and richest man in Jiang Nan City! There's no way trash like you…"
"I TOLD YOU TO SHUT UP!" Yan Yang yelled and struck her once more, causing her words to die in her throat. She collapsed into her mother's arms in tears, and then glared resentfully at Mu Rong Shu for some stupid reason.
Fortunately, she didn't say anything. Even Liu Zhang Feng was watching her in disgust. I suspected that their relationship wasn't going to last very long.
Shaking my head, I tried to diffuse the somewhat awkward atmosphere.
"Now that the meal's over and I think no one else is looking for us, should we go home?"