Seeing that Fang Chenyi wasn't putting on an act, Manager Wu steeled himself and plopped right down in a seat.
"Alright. Since you've put it that way, sir, it would seem petty of me to refuse any longer. Since you think so highly of me, I would be honored to be your friend."
Shrugging nonchalantly, Fang Chenyi said with a hint of resignation, "Well, since you say we're friends now, right? As a friend, there's something I'd like to tell you."
"I'm all ears."
Seeing Manager Wu's earnest and receptive expression, Fang Chenyi finally spoke. "Your restaurant is honestly not that great. And the service speed is even worse..."
Manager Wu was stunned for a moment. When he processed what was said, his face immediately burned with embarrassment, and he hurriedly apologized to Fang Chenyi.
He then turned to ask the waiter what was going on and why the food was taking so long. But when he saw that the waiter who had reported to him earlier was now just staring blankly at the liquor on the table, Manager Wu wished he could just dig a hole and crawl into it.
'So after all this damn time, he hasn't even placed their order!'
'The man gave me a drink worth three million as soon as he arrived, and my restaurant hasn't even brought out a single dish after all this time. This is just inexcusable.'
"Sir, my sincerest apologies. Please wait just a moment. I'll go to the kitchen and check on it myself." After speaking, without waiting for Fang Chenyi to reply, he stood up and headed straight for the kitchen. Of course, as he passed the waiter, he didn't forget to pull the young man along.
After Manager Wu left, Bai Menghan, who had been very reserved, finally spoke up timidly:
"Chenyi, is... is this liquor really worth tens of millions?"
"Haha, no matter how much it costs, it's still made for drinking. Why worry about all that?"
After placating Bai Menghan with a quick reply, Fang Chenyi waved to a waiter in the distance.
"Hey, waiter! Could you please bring us a bottle of Sprite?"
It was rare to see someone shouting for a waiter so loudly in such a high-end restaurant. However, after the incident with the multi-million-yuan liquor, everyone now saw Fang Chenyi's actions as a sign that he was unconcerned with trivialities—the very air of a man in power.
Upon hearing the tycoon's shout, a nearby waiter quickly trotted over with a large bottle of Sprite.
Fang Chenyi took the Sprite, smiled, and said, "Thank you." This left the waiter so excited he was at a loss for words. 'The tycoon actually said thank you to me! What an honor!'
Ignoring the waiter's excitement, Fang Chenyi took the Sprite, twisted off the cap, and poured two empty glasses half-full. Then, under the astonished gazes of the onlookers, he picked up the bottle of Emperor Moutai, which was still half-full.
GLUG, GLUG... He then poured a splash of Emperor Moutai, worth at least a million yuan, into each of the two glasses of Sprite.
After doing all this, he pushed one of the glasses toward Bai Menghan and said casually,
"Here, try this. See if it tastes a little better now. Back at our class reunions, we always mixed our *baijiu* with Sprite. It keeps it from burning your throat."
THUD, THUD...
The moment he said this, a whole section of the surrounding diners practically fainted. 'Holy shit! You're mixing Emperor Moutai worth tens of millions with Sprite... and you have the gall to say it's to keep it from burning your throat?! Fuck me. Do you have to be so savage?!'
While he was speaking, a long procession of waiters headed their way. Manager Wu walked briskly alongside them as, one by one, exquisite dishes were carefully placed on the table in front of Fang Chenyi.
"Haha, please, start with these for now. I've already instructed the kitchen to prepare all of our signature dishes, but they will take a little while."
"Great, great. Hey, waiter, bring me two bowls of rice to start. I've been picking up trash all night, and I'm starving."
As he spoke, Fang Chenyi ignored everyone else, picked up his chopsticks, and began to wolf down the food. While eating, he didn't forget to take a deep gulp of his Emperor Moutai and Sprite cocktail.
But even mixed with Sprite, the hard liquor was still hard liquor. After finishing one glass, Fang Chenyi started to feel a bit dizzy. He decisively gave up on the Moutai and poured himself a full glass of just Sprite to drink.
As for Bai Menghan, because the Emperor Moutai was just too expensive, she choked down the entire glass in front of her, tears welling in her eyes, even as it burned her throat.
That one glass was enough to make Bai Menghan's entire face flush bright red. Halfway through the meal, the alcohol started to hit her, and her eyes grew hazy and drunk.
Just as Fang Chenyi had said, he had been picking up trash all night. That, combined with how delicious the food was, led him to eat voraciously.
By the time the specialty dishes arrived, he was already too stuffed to move.
He waved his hand, telling Manager Wu not to bring any more food. Then, looking at the drunk and hazy-eyed Bai Menghan, Fang Chenyi started to worry.
Meanwhile, Manager Wu, who was still nursing his glass of Emperor Moutai, was a man of the world. He saw Fang Chenyi's hesitation at a glance. Leaning forward slightly, he moved closer to Fang Chenyi and whispered,
"Brother Fang, our hotel has guest rooms, you know? The top floor, the Ocean-View Presidential Suite. I've already booked it for you, my friend."
As he spoke, he gave Fang Chenyi a suggestive wink and slid a small key card over to him.
'What the hell? What kind of person does he think I am?'
He was about to refuse, but then he thought about it. It was the middle of the night; he couldn't exactly take a drunk woman home with him. More importantly, while he knew she lived in Century Garden, he didn't know her exact address.
After a moment of thought, he decided, 'Alright, I guess I'll just have to leave her in the hotel room for the night. I'll take off after I get her settled in the room.'
With that in mind, Fang Chenyi nodded. "Alright then. Sorry to trouble you again, Manager Wu."
"Hey, what are you talking about, my friend? Compared to your three-million-yuan Moutai, I'm the one getting the better end of this deal by far." Manager Wu raised his glass, which was still more than half-full, and spoke with feigned embarrassment.
"Haha, alright, in that case, I won't stand on ceremony. By the way, if you want the rest of this, you can have it." He gestured to the bottle. "Oh, and remember to save the bottle for me when you're done. It'll save me the trouble of having to go out and scavenge for one."
...
[To be continued...]
P.S. Hey everyone, is this plot feeling a little too slow? Don't worry, the excitement is about to ramp up!