Chapter 38 - 37: Shock After Shock

Opening two bottles of red wine isn’t a big deal, but you can’t just open Romanee-Conti, damn it.Romanee-Conti has different qualities and prices.

The cheaper ones are at least hundreds of thousands, and the more expensive ones can reach auction levels, costing over a million per bottle.

Yang Chen wasn’t going to be a sucker and quickly said, "Damn, Brother Tao, you’re awesome, treating everyone to wine that costs over a million per bottle? You say you’re opening such expensive wine, how am I, a mere rideshare driver, supposed to keep up? We were classmates, you can’t embarrass me like this!"

Wu Tao hurriedly wanted to say it wasn’t him who ordered the wine, but the others didn’t give him a chance to speak.

"Brother Tao, I didn’t know you were so rich!"

"The way you’re talking, Brother Tao was always like the big brother to us back in school. He often treated us to good food."

"Exactly, only wine costing over a million could match Brother Tao."

...

Xia Yurou hurriedly asked, "Yang Chen, are you sure? Can this wine really cost over a million per bottle?"

Yang Chen explained, "What’s the name of that movie directed by Master Ye? Oh, right, ’The Mermaid.’ After Liu Xuan bought Qingluo Bay for 30 billion, he treated Master Si, Ruo Lan, and Boss Zheng and the others to this wine. Didn’t Master Si say it was over a million per bottle? Brother Tao, much respect!"

Wu Tao hurriedly wanted to explain, but just then Wang Lixin suddenly smiled and said, "Brother Tao, you’re amazing. Thank you for the red wine."

Wu Tao swallowed back the words he had on the tip of his tongue.

If he were to say that it wasn’t him who ordered it at this point, the atmosphere would be ruined, and Wang Lixin wouldn’t look at him so admiringly anymore.

At this moment, the waiter said, "Actually, these two bottles aren’t as expensive as in the movie, they’re only 128,000 each."

Wu Tao let out a sigh of relief, thankfully they were only 128,000 each.

Huh?

Wait a minute!

If one bottle is 128,000, then two would be 256,000, right?

He couldn’t come up with that kind of money without selling a kidney.

No, no, I can’t keep this pretense up, I simply don’t have the means.

"Miss, none of us ordered this wine, why did you serve it to us?" Wu Tao asked.

Everyone was stunned when they heard this.

Oh man, so all the praise was in vain just now?

"What? Brother Tao, it wasn’t you who ordered it?"

"I thought you made it big and were treating us to such expensive wine."

"Then who ordered it? Yang Chen, did you order it? You just arrived, and they served the wine."

...

Everyone looked at Yang Chen, it seemed like the only possibility.

The waiter quickly replied, "No, no, it was Ms. Wang Lixin who ordered it."

Wang Lixin was shocked and quickly stood up to deny, "No, I didn’t order it!"

The waiter explained, "Your boyfriend ordered it on your behalf."

Everyone suddenly realized, so it was that bastard Zhang Jiankun deliberately causing trouble.

Wang Lixin hurriedly said, "I just broke up with him! I won’t acknowledge what he ordered!"

The waiter replied, "That’s a personal matter between you and him, we’re not aware. This private room was reserved by the two of you, and the dishes were also ordered by you. Now you’re saying you’ve broken up with him and refuse to pay, that’s not appropriate."

Wang Lixin was about to cry and quickly said, "But it really has nothing to do with me. I’m going to find him!"

After saying this, Wang Lixin went straight to the adjacent private room, kicked the door open, and shouted, "Zhang Jiankun, what do you mean by this? Why order such expensive wine and charge it to us?"

Zhang Jiankun chuckled and said, "I was afraid you guys wouldn’t enjoy the drink, so I added some wine for you. What, a bunch of poor people, can’t afford it?"

Everyone gathered at the door of the adjacent private room.

Seeing Zhang Jiankun dining with so many people, everyone was dumbfounded.

Yang Chen instantly understood something, and a trace of coldness appeared in his eyes.

"Wang Lixin, this gathering was a trap you and your boyfriend set for me, right!" Yang Chen asked with a dark tone.

With these words, everyone’s eyes focused on Wang Lixin.

Zhang Jiankun heard Yang Chen’s voice and quickly ran out.

Seeing Yang Chen among the crowd, Zhang Jiankun immediately called out excitedly to his companions, "Brothers, the person I want to teach a lesson is here! This jerk is just a lowlife rideshare driver; last time he left me on the river bridge. In 36° heat, at noon, you can imagine how miserable I was. Today, it’s up to you guys, you have to help me vent this anger."

The people inside, having eaten and drunk, naturally felt obliged to act.

"Brother Kun, don’t worry, we’ve got it covered."

"We’ll wait outside, and as soon as he dares to leave the restaurant, we’ll make sure he learns something."

"Haha... Right! Let’s not fight here; it’s not good to offend Li Baoqing."

...

Zhang Jiankun nodded and said, "Alright! Let’s wait until he’s out of the restaurant, then we’ll deal with him!"

The waiter hurriedly reminded, "Dear guests, please remain rational and do not fight here. Moreover, what should we do with these two bottles of wine?"

Zhang Jiankun laughed and said, "These two bottles were ordered for them; let them have it."

Wang Lixin quickly replied, "Why? We didn’t order the wine, we definitely won’t acknowledge it."

The waiter, feeling helpless, shook his head and had to take the wine back.

Xu Xiaowan was very angry and questioned Wang Lixin, "Wang Lixin, was this gathering really a trap you and your boyfriend set for Yang Chen?"

Xia Yurou immediately criticized, "Wang Lixin, how could you do this? We were classmates, and it was originally you and your boyfriend who were wrong. How could you use us as tools to scheme against Yang Chen? You’ve gone too far!"

Seeing that the situation was not going well, others didn’t dare to stay for dinner anymore.

Everyone unanimously blamed Wang Lixin for being too evil and began to leave.

Wang Lixin argued, "It was Zhang Jiankun who used my phone to send the messages, I didn’t know about it."

Zhang Jiankun quickly said, "Wang Lixin, it’s meaningless for you to say that. If you didn’t agree, would I have sent such messages?"

"Zhang Jiankun, shut up! Shut up!" Wang Lixin screamed hysterically.

Faced with this situation, Wu Tao, who had just intended to show off and win over Wang Lixin, was too scared to speak.

He wanted to sleep with Wang Lixin, but he wasn’t stupid enough to actually take the fall for her.

Yang Chen glanced at the clock; it was already twelve. In half an hour, Xue Yinong would arrive.

Time was tight; he couldn’t delay.

"Alright! Everyone, hurry up and eat. Let’s go, let’s go." Yang Chen said as he went back to the private room first.

Everyone else was stunned by his actions.

A pack of hungry wolves was coming at him from the room next door. How could he still eat?

"Yang Chen, are you crazy? There are eleven people next door, all coming for you. Hurry and leave."

"I see they all have tattoos, they look like people from the underworld. If a fight breaks out, we’d definitely lose, going in is meaningless."

"Yes! We should just go. We’ll cover for you, you sneak out first."

...

Yang Chen smiled and said, "The dishes are here, let’s eat and then leave."

With that, he really picked up his chopsticks and started eating.

Everyone was even more bewildered by his actions.

Xu Xiaowan quickly grabbed Yang Chen’s wrist and desperately tried to pull him out.

"You need to hurry and leave, listen!" Xu Xiaowan said as she pulled him.

Yang Chen stood up, grasped Xu Xiaowan’s arms, and pressed her back into the chair, saying, "Relax and eat. I know what I’m doing. Everyone, sit down and eat. Since they’re here for me, if I leave now, they’ll still come after me later. Let’s settle it today. Didn’t you all want to drink red wine? For those words, I’ll treat you. Waiter, bring over those two bottles of wine from earlier."

Everyone was shocked once again.

Is he crazy!

Those two bottles cost 256,000 yuan, how long would he have to drive a rideshare, how many passengers would he need to take to earn that?

Xia Yurou quickly stepped forward to persuade him, "Yang Chen, let’s not show off. Such expensive wine, how long would it take for you to earn that?"

Yang Chen replied with a smile, "I earn a few hundred a day, for 256,000 I guess... I can’t calculate it, but it would take many days."

Xu Xiaowan scolded, "Then why are you ordering such expensive wine! Waiter, we don’t want it! Please let them know not to bring it."

At this moment, the restaurant manager Xu Chao arrived.

He was followed by two waiters, each holding a bottle of Romanée-Conti.

Everyone realized it was over, those two bottles from earlier were back.

Xu Xiaowan hurriedly stood up and said, "Mr. Manager, sorry, we don’t want it. Please take it back."

Xu Chao ignored her and went directly to Yang Chen, bowing deeply and respectfully, "Mr. Yang, are you satisfied with our chef’s skills?"

Everyone was shocked again!

What’s going on?

Why is the restaurant manager being so polite to Yang Chen!

Yang Chen replied with a smile, "It’s alright, but this fried chicken strips are a bit cold, the texture isn’t great."

It’s mainly because Kun Kun was too stingy, ordering dishes that could be found in a street stall; it really lacked appeal.

Xu Chao immediately told the waiter, "Go tell the kitchen to fry a new portion of chicken strips right away. Add a few signature dishes. Make it quick!"

The waiter was also bewildered. Why was the usually bossy and domineering manager being so polite to this young man?

Could it be because he’s good-looking?

The waiter, full of doubts, quickly ran to inform the kitchen to make new chicken strips.

Yang Chen, after eating a couple of bites, felt a bit choked. Xu Chao immediately opened the Romanée-Conti and poured a glass for Yang Chen.

"Mr. Yang, have a sip of wine to smooth it down," Xu Chao said respectfully.

Everyone was shocked once more!

Using wine worth tens of thousands just to help him swallow?

Beside them, Xu Xiaowan and Xia Yurou were already stunned into statues.

Yang Chen took a small sip. He still had to drive later; he couldn’t really drink.

"Wine worth tens of thousands is indeed different, much better than the wine you buy with an extra dollar at the supermarket checkout," Yang Chen joked.

Xu Chao laughed heartily, "As long as Mr. Yang is satisfied."

Then he turned to the waiter next to him and said, "You, bring two more bottles over, make sure Mr. Yang gets to really enjoy it."

The people around were shocked once again!

What is he doing?

Xu Xiaowan hurriedly whispered, "Mr. Manager, you open so much wine, we might not be able to afford it."

Xu Chao immediately laughed heartily, "Miss, you’re joking. How could we charge when Mr. Yang comes to dine? His visit is the greatest compliment to us, we’re more than happy, why would we charge?"

Everyone was shocked yet again!

Did Yang Chen gain social status by driving rideshares?

He doesn’t need to pay when dining at Baoqing Restaurant?

Is he that arrogant?

Yang Chen quickly said, "But you can’t say that. Wu Tao said earlier that he’d treat us, so he should still pay for the food, but as for the wine, I’ll treat everyone."

Xu Chao quickly nodded, "Alright, alright, whatever Mr. Yang says. We’ll also give a discount?"

Wu Tao was just about to thank him when Yang Chen immediately said, "No need! Our Brother Tao isn’t short of money; whatever the cost is, let it be. What’s the meaning of offering a discount? Trying to humiliate Brother Tao?"

Xu Chao immediately smiled apologetically and replied, "Ah, my mistake, my mistake, I’m bad with words, please don’t be upset, Mr. Yang."

Yang Chen wiped his mouth and said, "If you don’t want me to be upset, help me deal with those people in room 307 next door who want to fight me. I don’t want to do it myself, and by the way, give special attention to someone named Zhang Jiankun."

Xu Chao immediately put on a stern face and said, "Damn it, daring to mess with you in our Baoqing Restaurant? They’re fed up with life! Just wait, I’ll get someone to teach them how to behave right now!"

With that, Xu Chao immediately went out to gather people.

The classmates were shocked once again!

Is driving rideshares really this great?

With such strong social connections, can you really order around the manager of Baoqing Restaurant like a goon?