Chapter 148 A Domineering Private Event

These words were clearly striking up a conversation with the beauties,

but every sentence was stepping on Lin Chen,

making it obvious that he was publicly humiliating him as a penniless, powerless kept man,

The two lackeys beside him also chimed in,

chiming in with fawning faces, their eyes full of disdain for Lin Chen.

Lin Chen's hand holding the chopsticks paused in mid-air,

his originally indifferent expression slowly faded,

that bit of relaxed satisfaction in his eyes completely dissipated,

replaced by a faint layer of coldness.

He didn't care much for these minor matters of clothing and ostentation,

and he couldn't be bothered to lower himself to the level of such a clown,

but the other party was pushing his luck so much,

ignoring and humiliating him in public, and even eyeing the people around him,

which completely touched his bottom line.

Lin Chen wasn't in a hurry to lose his temper; he just slowly put down his chopsticks,

looked up at Zhao Qian, his eyes calm and without ripples,

yet hiding a sense of pressure that made people dare not look directly at him,

while secretly sneering in his heart:

"I didn't want to show off, but you came looking for trouble yourself,"

"Since you want to act so wealthy, then wait for a good slap in the face."

The expressions of the two beauties opposite him instantly darkened,

Chu Feifei, wearing a bright dress, frowned,

her eyes full of annoyance, and the cool and ethereal Shen Nian's gaze turned even colder,

the sense of distance around her condensing into frost, even her fingertips tightening slightly,

clearly disgusted to the extreme by the greasy playboy harassment of Zhao Qian,

the two of them looked at Lin Chen in unison without speaking,

making it clear they only recognized Lin Chen as their backbone.

Seeing that the two beauties ignored him,

and instead focused their gaze on Lin Chen, the anger in Zhao Qian's heart instantly flared up,

feeling that Lin Chen was an eyesore,

he immediately took a step forward,

directly blocking Lin Chen's line of sight with his side,

smiling even more frivolously at the two of them,

the contempt in his tone unmasked:

"Beauties, don't ignore me,"

"What's the point of following such a poor kid in street stall clothes?"

"What he can give you, I, Zhao Qian, can give ten or a hundred times over,"

"What he can't give, I can get easily."

He turned his head to squint at Lin Chen,

his sizing-up gaze like he was looking at some trash,

his mouth curled high, his tone mean to the extreme:

"I say, look at what kind of place this is,"

"Is it a place where someone like you can consume?"

"Wearing a bunch of cheap, shabby clothes, yet you have the nerve to bring two beauties to freeload food and drinks,"

"Do you really think 'soft rice' is that easy to eat?"

"If you know what's good for you, get up and leave quickly, don't be an eyesore here,"

"Lest you embarrass yourself later."

The two lackeys beside him also followed suit, acting on borrowed authority,

with hands on hips, chiming in:

"Exactly!"

"Our young master is willing to pay attention to these two beauties, you poor wretch, get lost quickly,"

"Don't ruin our young master's mood!"

"Why don't you take a look at yourself in the mirror? Do you deserve to stand next to these two beauties?"

Several tables of guests around heard the commotion and looked over one after another,

the sound of whispering floated over, mostly pointing at Lin Chen's clothes,

subconsciously thinking Zhao Qian was telling the truth; after all, in such a high-end restaurant,

wearing ordinary clothes indeed made it easy to be looked down upon.

Lin Chen's hand, which had been hanging at his side, slowly clenched,

then slowly relaxed, with no sign of anger on his face,

instead, a very faint, almost indifferent smile curled up.

He was used to keeping a low profile and didn't like using his status and wealth to suppress others,

but Zhao Qian's repeated humiliations, not only stepping on him,

but also offending the people around him, had long ago touched his sore spot.

He slowly looked up, his dark eyes without a ripple,

yet exuding a suffocating pressure,

looking straight at the still arrogant Zhao Qian,

his voice calm but with an unquestionable aura:

"Are you finished?"

These three simple words,

without shouting or scolding,

made the originally noisy Zhao Qian and his two lackeys stop instantly,

even the surrounding whispers lightened a bit.

Zhao Qian was stunned for a moment, then flew into a rage out of shame,

thinking Lin Chen was just putting on an act:

"You poor wretch, you dare to show me attitude?"

"I see you won't give up until you're at death's door,"

"Believe it or not, I'll have the Waiter kick you out right now. You probably can't even afford this meal!"

Lin Chen couldn't be bothered to waste more words with him,

he raised his hand and lightly tapped the tabletop, his gaze turning cold,

the restraint in his heart completely dissipated, leaving only the indifference of an impending face-slap:

Since you came looking for embarrassment yourself, don't blame me for not showing any mercy.

He looked up at the store manager waiting not far away,

his tone flat but full of weight:

"Come here, calculate the bill. Also, please escort this gentleman and his people out of the restaurant."

Zhao Qian was first stunned, then as if he had heard a huge joke,

he burst into laughter on the spot, leaning back and forth, pointing at Lin Chen's nose, his tone full of mockery:

"Who do you think you are?"

"You dare to tell me to leave?"

"I think you're crazy from poverty, trying to act like a big shot here!"

He took another step forward, his chest almost touching the edge of the table,

glaring down at Lin Chen, speaking viciously:

"Having the manager kick me out?"

"Do you know the power of my Zhao family in this area?"

"Forget kicking me out, I'll have the manager throw you, a poor wretch eating a free meal, out right now, believe it or not!"

"Eating a free meal?"

Lin Chen repeated those four words,

the faint smile at the corner of his mouth grew colder as he looked up at Zhao Qian,

his tone calm but with a crushing sense,

"When did I ever say I couldn't afford it?"

"As for you, running wild at someone else's dining table and harassing others while they eat, who gave you the nerve?"

Lin Chen didn't even lift his eyelids, glancing sideways at Zhao Qian opposite him,

the disdain in his eyes couldn't be hidden, carrying a bit of casual contempt,

as if looking at a clown,

not even bothered to give any extra emotion.

Zhao Qian's face instantly turned the color of pig liver from that glance,

his hand holding the chopsticks tightened, and just as he was about to argue back,

he saw Lin Chen had already turned his head,

looking at the store manager who was walking quickly to the table with a professional smile.

This Michelin Three-star luxury establishment's level was such that a table's meal easily cost at least a few thousand, and many cost tens or even hundreds of thousands.

There were over twenty tables occupied for the lunch session,

the guests coming and going were all somewhat wealthy, and the atmosphere was originally quiet,

but the commotion of Zhao Qian showing off to Chu Feifei and Shen Nian and subtly mocking Lin Chen for being poor,

had already caused the surrounding guests to look over again secretly.

Lin Chen's voice wasn't loud, but it was just enough for everyone in the vicinity to hear clearly,

his tone as steady as a rock without a single ripple:

"Manager, let me ask you something. What is the total revenue for all the guests currently seated and ordering for lunch today?"

The manager was stunned for a moment, not understanding his meaning, and subconsciously smiled apologetically:

"Mr. Lin, you are..."

"It's nothing else."

Lin Chen raised his hand to interrupt him, his fingertips casually tapping the tabletop,

his gaze swept across the room, finally landing back on Zhao Qian,

his tone suddenly becoming much sharper,

"I'm booking this whole place for lunch today,"

"For all the guests currently dining or who have already ordered, I'll pay the bill for everyone; not a single person needs to pay out of their own pocket."

As he finished speaking, his fingertip suddenly lifted,

pointing straight at Zhao Qian, who was frozen in his seat,

and added word by word:

"Except for his table. Don't waive a single cent for him; calculate exactly how much it is and let him settle it himself."