Chapter 147 — The Long-Awaited...

"Ahem, ahem." Zhu Youhua coughed twice. Yang Ce and Huang Yan merely lifted their heads to glance at him once, then lowered them again and went back to studying something.

Zhu Youhua listened carefully—it seemed to be some game of Bubble Dragon—and was instantly furious. He was worth less than a game of Bubble Dragon?

"Ahem, ahem, I have something to say!" Unable to restrain himself any longer, Zhu Youhua finally said loudly.

"Oh, go ahead then." Huang Yan had been telling Yang Yanzhou about how the little fox spirit had beaten her, and being interrupted by Zhu Youhua, she seemed a little impatient as she raised her head and spoke.

"Lele, I don't care what tricks this kid used to win you over, but I'm not giving up. As long as you haven't married him, I have the right to pursue you!" Zhu Youhua mustered all his courage and said loudly.

"Oh." Huang Yan nodded as though it did not matter. "Anything else?"

"Anything else?" Zhu Youhua was taken aback, then somewhat deflated. "N-no... nothing else."

Faced with an extraordinary specimen like Huang Yan, Zhu Youhua truly had no temper left at all. Huang Yan was just that straightforward and innocent. To try beating around the bush with her was utterly hopeless.

Zhu Youhua knew that standing there any longer would only add to his embarrassment. He decided not to linger—after all, he had said everything he needed to say—and strode toward the door. Reaching the bar, he said, "Check, please."

The waiter who witnessed this had been secretly laughing to himself the whole time. This man really was a sucker—spending money to treat others to a meal and getting a face full of dust for his trouble. But he could not laugh aloud, and so, forcing down his smile, he said with a straight face, "Sir, your total comes to two hundred twenty-one thousand six hundred and thirty-eight yuan. With the discount, that's exactly two hundred twenty-two thousand."

"Oh. Card." Zhu Youhua spoke absentmindedly, then suddenly felt something was off. "How much did you say the total was?"

"Sir, your total comes to two hundred twenty-one thousand six hundred and thirty-eight yuan. With the discount, that's exactly two hundred twenty-two thousand," the waiter repeated.

"What?" Zhu Youhua was stunned. Somewhat bewildered, he said, "How is that possible? Did you miscalculate?"

In Zhu Youhua's estimation, this meal should have cost ten thousand yuan at the absolute most. How could it possibly come to so much?

"There's no mistake, sir. All our billing is done electronically—it's impossible for there to be an error," the waiter explained.

"Impossible to get it wrong." Zhu Youhua was suddenly angry. "How many things in this world were once impossible and ended up becoming possible? I'd like to see just what this 'impossible' is."

Zhu Youhua had already been given a thorough snubbing, and had fire with nowhere to vent it. Now this waiter had walked right into the line of fire—how could he not explode?

The waiter frowned. Hearing Zhu Youhua's unpleasant tone, he grew a little unhappy himself, and as he printed the bill he muttered under his breath, "If you've got no money, why put on airs? Strutting around like a big shot."

"What? What did you say—that I've got no money?" At these words Zhu Youhua blew up on the spot. He jabbed a finger at the waiter and would not let it go. "You're just a lowly waiter, and you dare talk to me like that? Believe me, I'll find your boss and report you!"

The waiter had only been grumbling, and of course he was not reckless enough to risk his job for a spat with Zhu Youhua. He said nothing and simply handed the bill over. "See for yourself."

Zhu Youhua could not be bothered to squabble with a waiter. He snatched the bill and looked it over. When he saw the '90 Lafite, he froze, then jabbed at the bill and barked at the waiter, "What's this? I ordered a 2000 Lafite. Nice work—even thieves have their code, but you've gone and pushed it back ten years. And this—what's this 'pan-seared foie gras'? Who ordered it? Two portions of it, no less!"

"Sir, you're right that you didn't order it, but the gentleman at that table over there did." The waiter pointed to Yang Ce's table. "Didn't you say that table's bill was to go on your tab as well?"

The waiter was delighted inside. Serves you right, he thought—putting on that big bad wolf act. Now let's see you pay up.

"He ordered them? He ordered all this?" Zhu Youhua was stunned, and for a moment did not know what to say. He had indeed said that Yang Ce's table would be settled together with his own, but the problem now was that this was simply outrageous—over two hundred thousand for one meal. Even with Zhu Youhua's money, he could not bear it. This one meal had devoured a sedan car.

Zhu Youhua's company cleared barely more than a million a year in profit. It was not that he could not afford to pay—it was that he was unwilling. His mind turned it over briefly, and his face darkened. "Since they ordered all this, why didn't you tell me before? I have the right not to pay."

"Sir, that's not fair of you to say. I was going to tell you, but you said, 'Do I even need to look? My credit card's already in your hands—what are you afraid of?'" The waiter mimicked Zhu Youhua's tone.

Zhu Youhua was dumbstruck. Then it came back to him at once—he really had said something like that. Did that mean he was stuck swallowing this bitter pill? No. He was not willing.

Showing off was one thing, but you could not bankrupt yourself just to show off. Zhu Youhua hesitated, then walked over to Yang Ce's table.

"Why are you back again?" Yang Ce was feigning ignorance—he had seen clearly enough what had happened at the bar.

"What's the meaning of these dishes you ordered?" Without another word, Zhu Youhua slapped the menu down in front of Yang Juehuan. "You did this on purpose, didn't you? Take me for a fool?"

"You said it yourself—I could order whatever I wanted." Yang Ce shrugged and smiled.

"Yes, whatever you wanted." Zhu Youhua gave a cold laugh. "Fine then. You pay for it yourself."

"Oh. That works too." Yang Xu waved a hand airily. "You done? If you're done, off you go. And don't come strutting in front of me again. With that petty little mind of yours, you still want to pursue Lele? Honestly, it's laughable."

Zhu Youhua had meant to watch Yang Ce make a fool of himself. In his view, Yang Yongjin might not be able to cover such a sum, and once Yang Ce ran out of money, Huang Yan would beg him to settle the bill. He had never imagined Yang Ce would actually say "that works too."

This completely upset Zhu Youhua's plan. He froze for a moment before saying, "You're sure?"

"Once you're sure you'll never show your face in front of Huang Yan again, then I'm sure," Yang Yanzhou said.

That one sentence put Zhu Youhua in a corner. Give up pursuing Huang Yan? That was out of the question. From what Yang Cenbin meant, if you don't pay the bill, then don't even think about pursuing Huang Yan again. To be continued.

862. A Failed Show of Swagger

So Zhu Youhua subconsciously concluded that Yang Ce could not afford the bill, but out of pride dared not admit it, and was therefore using words to corner him and make him step forward and pay.

Having thought it through, Zhu Youhua calmed down somewhat. The more he dwelled on it, the more certain he became that this was how things stood, and so he resolved to hold out to the very end and watch Yang Ce's helplessness.

Once his conclusion was settled, Zhu Youhua no longer cared about other people's looks. He said to the waiter with perfect composure, "Don't settle the bill yet. In a moment this gentleman here will say he's paying it himself."

The waiter could not care less who paid, so long as the money came in at the end of the day.

Dish after dish arrived, and Yang Ce and Huang Yan ate with great relish while Zhu Youhua watched from the side. In his heart, though, he was bleeding—every bite that went down was his money.