140: Chapter 140 Who Pays Whose Bill?

Three rounds of drinks had passed, and the empty bottles on the table had already piled up into a small mountain.

Young Master Li held his wine glass, an unnatural flush rising to his face. He glanced at the estimated bill amount on his phone—680,000—and was overjoyed.

"Brother Yang, I'm going to the restroom." Young Master Li stood up, his steps somewhat unsteady.

"I'm going too." Wang Zhe followed closely behind.

"Let's go together." Zhang Yuan also tagged along.

The three of them left the private room one after another. Chen Muyang sat on the sofa, his fingers tapping lightly against the coffee table.

His phone screen lit up, showing a real-time surveillance feed sent by the owner of the Yunding Clubhouse. In the feed, Young Master Li and the other two were hiding in the stairwell of the emergency exit, whispering to each other.

"Don't go back later; let that country bumpkin pay the bill by himself."

"680,000, that'll be enough to make his heart ache."

"For this kind of upstart from out of town, we should let him know the rules of the Imperial Capital."

Chen Muyang turned off his phone, picked up the bottle of '82 Lafite on the table, and poured himself a glass.

The wine swirled in the goblet, refracting the dim, yellow light.

Five minutes later, the door to the private room was pushed open.

It wasn't Young Master Li and his companions who entered, but a middle-aged man in a well-tailored suit. His hair was combed meticulously, and he wore a professional smile.

"Young Master Chen, I am the general manager of Yunding Clubhouse, my surname is Zhao."

Manager Zhao walked up to Chen Muyang and respectfully handed over a black and gold bill folder.

"Please take a look at the consumption list for tonight."

Chen Muyang took the bill folder and flipped it open casually.

It was densely packed with every item consumed: one bottle of '82 Lafite, 280,000; one bottle of 50-year-old moutai, 150,000; three Australian lobsters, 88,000...

The total amount at the bottom was: 682,000 yuan.

"Where are my roommates?" Chen Muyang closed the bill folder, his tone indifferent.

"They..." A look of hesitation flashed across Manager Zhao's face. "They said they had an urgent matter and left first, asking you to settle the bill."

"Oh." Chen Muyang nodded and pulled a black bank card from his pocket. "Charge it."

When Manager Zhao took the card and saw the logo on it, his pupils constricted sharply.

This was the internal black card of the Huihuang Group, with fewer than ten issued worldwide. There were only two types of cardholders—either Chen Fan himself or his immediate family members.

"Chen... Young Master Chen, please wait a moment."

Manager Zhao's voice was trembling. He walked out of the room quickly, took out his phone, and dialed a number.

"Boss! That Young Master Chen is in the Heaven-class private room! Yes, it's the Crown Prince of the Huihuang Group!"

A deep voice came from the other end of the line: "Seal all exits of the clubhouse and catch those three little brats who tried to run away and bring them back to me."

"Yes!"

Three minutes later, in the lobby on the first floor of Yunding Clubhouse.

Young Master Li and the other two were just about to slip out the main entrance when they found four burly security guards standing at the door, blocking their path with expressionless faces.

"Sorry, gentlemen, the clubhouse is undergoing temporary maintenance, and you cannot leave for the time being." As the security captain spoke, his hand was already pressed on his walkie-talkie.

"What maintenance? We have an urgent matter!" Young Master Li shouted, his bravado masking his fear.

"You'll still have to wait until the maintenance is finished." The security captain said coldly, "Please return to your private room and wait."

As soon as he finished speaking, the elevator door opened, and Manager Zhao walked out with a few people.

"Young Master Li, Young Master Zhao, Young Master Zhang, where are you gentlemen going?" Manager Zhao smiled professionally, but there was no warmth in his eyes.

"Manager Zhao, we... we have some business..." Wang Zhe stammered.

"Even if you have business, it can wait a moment." Manager Zhao made a "please" gesture. "Young Master Chen is still upstairs waiting for you."

Young Master Li and the other two exchanged glances, an ominous feeling rising in their hearts.

They were "invited" back to the Heaven-class private room.

Pushing the door open, Chen Muyang was still sitting in his original seat, holding a wine glass, his posture relaxed.

"You're back?" Chen Muyang looked up at them. "I thought you really had an urgent matter."

Young Master Li forced a smile that looked worse than crying: "Brother Yang, we..."

"Don't explain." Chen Muyang interrupted him and set down his glass. "I've seen the bill, 682,000."

He picked up the black gold card from the coffee table and spun it between his fingers.

"I originally intended to pay for it myself, after all, you were the ones treating."

Young Master Li and the others felt relieved, thinking the matter was over.

"However." Chen Muyang's tone shifted. "Manager Zhao told me that the three of you tried to run away just now."

The air froze.

"This puts me in a difficult position." Chen Muyang stood up, walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, and turned his back to them. "I'm not short on money, but my money isn't for cleaning up other people's messes."

He turned around, his lenses reflecting a cold light under the illumination.

"Especially for those who try to scam me."

Manager Zhao handed over three documents at the right moment: "Gentlemen, these are IOUs. According to the clubhouse's regulations, those who maliciously skip the bill must pay triple the compensation. Three times 682,000 is 2,046,000."

"What?!" Zhang Yuan's face turned deathly pale. "Why should we pay?"

"Because you tried to run." Chen Muyang said indifferently. "The rules of Yunding Clubhouse treat malicious bill-skipping as fraud. Either sign the IOUs, or I'll have Manager Zhao call the police."

Young Master Li's legs began to go weak. Although his family was wealthy, over 2 million was not a small amount for him. More importantly, if this matter got out, he would lose all face in the beijing elite circle.

"Brother Yang, we were wrong..." Young Master Li's voice was laced with a sob. "Please, show mercy..."

"Sign it." Chen Muyang didn't waste any more words.

The three of them trembled as they picked up pens and signed their names on the IOUs.

After signing, Young Master Li looked up, his eyes rimmed with red: "Brother Yang, who exactly are you?"

Chen Muyang did not answer; he just picked up his phone, opened a photo, and handed it to them.

The photo showed the equity structure chart of Yunding Clubhouse, with "Wholly owned by Huihuang Group" clearly written at the top.

"You invited me to dinner on my family's property and still wanted me to pay the bill?" Chen Muyang took back his phone and pushed up his glasses. "This joke is enough for you to tell for the rest of your lives."

Young Master Li and the others were struck by lightning, collapsing onto the sofa.

Chen Muyang picked up his jacket and stopped at the door.

"By the way, I have some real business to attend to tomorrow." He said without looking back. "There's a dinner party scheduled with Huaying Media, I heard it's quite a big scene."

He pushed open the door and left one final sentence.

"I hope it will be more interesting than tonight."