Chapter 125: Aunt Zheng Gives a Card
Zheng Lei had already received the notification: insufficient credit.
His face flushed red as he cursed inwardly. ’I had calculated everything so well: seven people at 498 per person, with a 10% discount.’
But then An Ping showed up, they added a service charge, and the 10% discount fell through. This was a total loss of face.
"Hey, uh... send me 4,000." Then he said to Meng Fei, "Old Meng, cover 580 for me. I’ll pay you back tomorrow."
’Looks like I’ll have to call my old man for money again tonight.’
After all that trouble, the bill was finally settled. He gave a dry laugh, feeling completely humiliated as he walked out with everyone.
As Huang Lingyu was leaving, she glanced back at Yang Hui. She saw him give her a wink, his charming eyes full of mischief. She couldn’t help but blush, a tingling sensation still lingering on her thigh.
Yang Hui walked with Teacher Chen, asking how he had gotten there. When he learned it was by taxi, he said, "Let me give you a ride. I drove here."
"Alright!" Yang Hui had helped him out a lot tonight, so Teacher Chen wanted to chat with him a bit longer and express his gratitude.
As they neared the entrance, he suddenly heard someone shouting, "Mr. Xiao Yang! Mr. Xiao Yang!"
Hearing this voice, Yang Hui scratched his head. He couldn’t believe he’d run into his landlady, Aunt Zheng, here.
"Mr. Xiao Yang, you’re eating here today?"
Aunt Zheng was dressed very fashionably today. She was in her fifties, but you could say she was forty and people would believe you.
The rest of the group didn’t know who she was, but since Teacher Chen had stopped, they all stood to the side as well.
"Yes, I’m having dinner here with my teacher and a few classmates."
"Oh, look at you. You come here to eat and don’t even say hello to Auntie. Have you paid the bill yet?"
’I don’t get it. Why would I need to tell her I’m eating here?’ "We’ve already paid."
Then they saw Aunt Zheng wave her hand, and a middle-aged man in a uniform clearly different from the other restaurant staff trotted over. "President Zheng!"
"Refund this table’s bill. And remember, whenever he comes to eat in the future, it’s all on the house."
"Holy—"
"No way."
Meng Fei and Sun Tao exchanged a glance. ’Yang Hui has this much pull?’ Then they looked at Zheng Lei. They expected him to be embarrassed, but at that moment, his eyes were shining.
They instantly understood. He was waiting for the refund. If the meal was free, wouldn’t he save 4,000? Compared to money, what did face matter?
Yang Hui was stunned for a moment. ’Aunt Zheng is the owner of this restaurant? Otherwise, how would she have the authority to arrange this?’ But he quickly recovered and said, "Aunt Zheng, there’s no need. My classmate is paying today."
He was partly refusing and partly telling her that he wasn’t the one who paid, hoping she might not insist on refunding the bill.
Sure enough, once she heard Yang Hui wasn’t the one paying, Aunt Zheng didn’t insist. She pulled an exquisite black card from her crocodile-leather handbag. "Take this. In the future, you can use this card to eat here for free."
"I can’t take this. It’s too valuable."
’You can’t just give a card like this away. If you give it to someone shameless, they’ll be here for all three meals a day.’ Of course, he wasn’t that kind of person, and he didn’t want to take advantage of anyone.
"What, are you looking down on your auntie?"
Seeing him refuse, Aunt Zheng looked a little unhappy and put on an expression as if she were about to burst into tears. The restaurant manager standing nearby was dumbfounded. ’President Zheng’s acting is as good as ever. She used to pull this trick on the Young Miss, but now she’s using it on this young man?’
But the trick actually worked. Yang Hui knew that if he didn’t accept it, he probably wouldn’t be able to leave. He had no choice but to take it. ’Worst case, I just won’t use it in the future.’
"Alright, Aunt Zheng. I’ll take it. Thank you."
The moment he accepted it, a brilliant smile instantly appeared on Aunt Zheng’s face. The change was faster than the face-changing in a Sichuan opera.
"Ah, Xiaoyang, Xiaomei is upstairs. Why don’t you go up and stay for a little while?"
He broke out in a cold sweat. ’Her daughter is here too? I’d better escape now, what am I waiting for?’
"Aunt Zheng, I have to take my teacher home, so I can’t stay. We’ll see her next time."
"Alright then." She seemed quite regretful. She waved her hand to dismiss the manager, and then, just as Yang Hui was about to leave, she added, "You two should make plans to meet up in the next couple of days. Xiaomei has a really good impression of you."
He wiped away his sweat. ’She has a good impression of me? That’s what’s stressing me out.’
Once the group was out of the restaurant, Meng Fei said with a laugh, "Yang Hui, you’re really something. You’ve got so much pull. From now on, we’ll have to come to you for gatherings. We can get a free feast."
Yang Hui just smiled. He hated free lunches more than anything.
The group asked Teacher Chen how he was getting home. After learning he was going with Yang Hui, Meng Fei headed home on his own, and Sun Tao rushed to catch the high-speed train back to his hometown, as he had to work the next day.
Just as Zheng Lei was about to say something, Huang Lingyu spoke first, perhaps intentionally so Yang Hui could hear. "Zheng Lei, you should grab a taxi. I’m going to get a taxi back to my dorm."
As soon as she said this, everyone knew she wasn’t living with Zheng Lei. They couldn’t help but give Zheng Lei a meaningful look, making him feel like he had lost face all over again.
"Yang Hui, have you called a car yet?"
Since Teacher Chen was leaving with Yang Hui, the others would naturally wait to see him off. Seeing Yang Hui fiddling with an app, they assumed he was hailing a ride-share.
Before Yang Hui could answer, his phone rang. There were many designated drivers near the hotel entrance, so his request had been accepted instantly. The driver called and said, "Boss, I’m right here at the restaurant entrance." Then they saw Yang Hui wave to him.
"Here are the keys. The car’s in that parking lot over there. Bring it around."
After the driver took the keys and headed to the parking lot, Meng Fei exclaimed, "Holy crap, Yang Hui! You’re something else! You already bought a car?"
Sun Tao pursed his lips. He hadn’t had a chance to ask since yesterday. ’I’ll have to find time to interrogate him later,’ he thought. ’What did that kid Yang Hui do to make so much money, and can he give a dentist like me a piece of the action?’
Zheng Lei said gloomily, "It’s not hard to buy a car these days. The key is what kind of car you drive. My dad said he’ll buy me a BMW 3 Series when I come to Qingzhou."
As he spoke, he glanced proudly at Huang Lingyu. "Lingyu, I’ll drive you to and from work in the future, and take you out for drives."
Then he continued to the others, "If it’s just a car that costs a hundred-something thousand, I wouldn’t even want it. It’s a piece of junk. Not even a dog would drive it!"
Teacher Chen snorted. "Zheng Lei, watch your mouth. My son drives a hundred-something-thousand car right now."
"Teacher Chen, I wasn’t talking about Brother Chen, I meant—"
"That’s enough. You don’t need to say any more. You’re not a child anymore. Try to be more mature. There’s no need to flaunt your family’s money everywhere. Your dad is comfortably well-off, he’s not Ma’s Father. Do you really have to be like this?"
As a teacher, his words were a bit sharp. Zheng Lei had been afraid of him back in school and didn’t dare to talk back.
"You’re buying a BMW now? With your current income, is that appropriate? As I recall, your dad only drives a BMW 3 Series himself."