Chapter 24: Chapter 24: Fearing that the brothers are having a hard time
“`
“Mr. Zhou, please allow me to introduce once again the head chef of our hotel’s Chinese restaurant, Mr. Luo Wenle.”
Bella said with a smile, “He is not only the executive chef of our Wanda Mandarin Hotel, but also the vice executive chef of the group’s entire Chinese cuisine division. He’s been traveling all over the country recently to conduct routine training for the group’s other hotels’ dining services, and just returned yesterday.”
“Upon learning of your stay, he was personally keen to prepare a special dinner for you to thank you for your great support of our hotel.”
“Oh?”
Zhou Wang actually found himself quite interested upon hearing this.
Zhou Wang had never had high standards for dining, as he never really had the means in the past… Occasionally, when some of his roommates invited him to indulge at a star-rated buffet, it was a rare treat for Zhou Wang.
After all, for a man, as long as there are friends and drinks, even a roadside food stall can be a great time. And if there’s a girl sitting next to him, that’s practically the pinnacle of life.
But from what Bella was saying, this Chef Luo Wenle was clearly not an ordinary person.
Although he wasn’t very knowledgeable about this field, anyone who could be a vice executive chef in a large luxury hotel chain must be highly skilled.
Plus, Bella usually wouldn’t go against his wishes, so her strong recommendation only heightened Zhou Wang’s anticipation.
“Alright, let’s eat at the restaurant today.”
“Okay, Mr. Zhou, please rest for a while. I’ll ask Chef Luo to prepare, and I’ll come back to take you down in a bit.”
With that, Bella left with a smile, pressing her earpiece to contact the dining staff.
Before Zhou Wang went to take a shower, he was surprised to see a message from Li Cheng. Did that mean he was at the hotel entrance earlier too?
But just from the text content, Zhou Wang couldn’t tell whether he got recognized. However… probably not, right?
Otherwise, he wouldn’t still be in the mood to joke around with him.
Hmm, there’s that saying… afraid that a brother lives poorly, yet also afraid that a brother drives a Land Rover.
…
“What does Zhou Wang mean?”
In the hallway on the fifth floor, Li Cheng held his phone, quite puzzled.
Zhou Wang had replied with an emoji, the one from the movie “Crows Zero” where Shun Oguri is provoking someone at the door while smoking. Just from the expression, a strong air of intimidation came through.
“?”
Li Cheng sent back a question mark, but Zhou Wang remained silent.
Just as Li Cheng was considering whether to call Zhou Wang, Yu Peipei came over and gave him a nudge, “What are you doing? Hurry up, Ding Yi is urging us!”
Li Cheng had no choice but to put away his phone. When the group reached the entrance of the private room and the leading waiter opened the door, Yu Peipei, who had been at the front, shrank back and gestured for Li Cheng to go in first. Several classmates around seemed hesitant as well.
Li Cheng, smiling helplessly, glared at his girlfriend, then held his head high and marched in.
Just after stepping into the room, even Li Cheng’s composure faltered.
Holy moly, why are there so many people?
Both of the two tables that could seat twelve were almost full. That wasn’t the end of it; it was the atmosphere in the room that mattered.
The room, already lavishly decorated in gold and jade, was further adorned with streamers and balloons. On the wall opposite the entrance, large words were spelled out in gold powder: “Happy 18th Birthday to the Most Beautiful Ding Yi.”
Near the door, a thick carpet was laid beside a cabinet, bearing a dazzling array of gifts. Even a casual glance showcased those conspicuous luxury logos, with the cheapest being Coach.
Li Cheng even saw a Hello Kitty in a transparent box that seemed to be made of gold, and when he noticed the Universe logo, he was certain it was real gold.
Apart from a few classmates already seated at the outside tables, everyone else was well-dressed, mingling in threes and fives.
This wasn’t the upper class in the strictest sense, but it already showed a completely different scene from school.
Coming from mostly ordinary families, their expectations for a classmate’s birthday gathering were still about having hot pot together and singing karaoke. Who had ever seen this kind of scene?
A Haidilao meal with a side of Windsor was already their highest standard for a birthday celebration.
“Peipei, over here!”
While they were a bit at a loss, class monitor Fang Lu waved to them.
They quickly went over and sat down, with eight or nine classmates from the same class all sitting together, making everyone feel a lot more comfortable.
“Class monitor, how long have you all been here?”
Yu Peipei stuck out her tongue, “I didn’t expect Ding Yi’s birthday to be such a big deal.”
“Right? When we first came in, we were shocked too. Although we knew Ding Yi came from a wealthy family since our dorm days, it didn’t seem that way because she never flaunted it.”
Fang Lu glanced at Ding Yi, who was inside taking pictures with a few girls, and whispered, “Do you know how much the dress Ding Yi is wearing costs?”
Yu Peipei instinctively looked over, first exclaiming, “That dress is so beautiful,” then curiously asked, “How much?”
“I overheard two other girls talking about it by chance. They said it’s a Chanel haute couture, at least five or six hundred thousand…”
“That can’t be true!”
While the girls were shocked, Li Cheng directly questioned, “I know Chanel is a luxury brand, but five or six hundred thousand? You could buy a Mercedes AMG with that kind of money…”
“Oh, please!”
Yu Peipei gave Li Cheng a shove, “Don’t speak without understanding. This is haute couture! Do you country bumpkins know what haute couture is? It’s nothing like the regular styles you see on the shelves.”
Li Cheng was about to retort but remembered the pile of gifts he saw at the door and suddenly found himself speechless.
“Hey, are you upset because I called you a ‘country bumpkin’?”
Seeing her boyfriend’s expression, Yu Peipei tentatively asked.
“Why would I be upset? It’s a matter of class differences. I only heard about it before, but now actually seeing it, I can’t really understand it, which is normal.”
Li Cheng shrugged and sighed, “I just suddenly realized something…”
“What?”
“Back in our freshman and sophomore years, Ding Yi kind of liked Zhou Wang. You guys remember that, right?”
“Nonsense, it was clearly Zhou Wang who liked Ding Yi. How did it become Ding Yi liking Zhou Wang?”
Fang Lu immediately refuted.
“That bit doesn’t matter. The point is, the two did have a thing for each other at the time, would you agree?”
Hearing Li Cheng say that, everyone tacitly agreed, after all, no one was blind.
“But later, for some reason, Zhou Wang distanced himself from Ding Yi. At the time, our whole dorm felt sorry for him. It was such a chance to be with the campus beauty, it would’ve been three years of bragging rights!”
Li Cheng shook his head, lamenting, “Now I understand, Brother Dog was ahead of us. He already knew back then that the two of them were never going to work…”
“`