Seeing Xu Ze refuse from the side, Robert’s father finally noticed Xu Ze, who had his back to him. Hearing Xu Ze’s calm words, he couldn’t help but frown and look over at him.
Seeing this handsome young man’s slight frown and a trace of displeasure in his eyes, Robert’s father couldn’t help but snort softly. Who does this snot-nosed kid think he is, daring to speak up in front of me?
He chuckled lightly and then continued, “Hey there, classmate… Uncle is treating today, so don’t be shy. You’re still studying, so you really should try to save on expenses wherever you can. Besides, you’re classmates with my Robert. Since we’ve run into each other, do Uncle a favor and come join us. It’ll be more comfortable for Robert, a young guy on his own, to have a couple of classmates to keep him company.”
Seeing that this man just wouldn’t let it go, Xu Ze furrowed his brows slightly, then decided to ignore him. Instead, he turned to Robert and said in a calm voice, “Robert… if you’re bored over there, you can come sit by us.”
Everyone was a bit taken aback by Xu Ze’s words, and then a few of the girls giggled and turned to Robert, saying, “Yeah, Robert, why don’t you come sit over here?”
“That’s right, Robert, come join us…” The girls were all feeling a bit annoyed with Robert’s father by now, so they took the chance to brush off this weird uncle and started teasing Robert instead.
Robert, seeing that the girls weren’t willing to come over, felt super awkward. And now, being teased like this by the girls, he could only force a dry laugh and shake his head helplessly. “No, no… it’s fine…”
Robert’s father, seeing that no one was paying him any attention, darkened his expression. But since there wasn’t much he could do, he just snorted lightly and walked back to his own table, looking pretty upset.
Watching his father leave in a huff, Robert shot Xu Ze a cold glare. If it weren’t for Xu Ze being here, getting these girls to come over to my table wouldn’t have been a problem at all…
But with Xu Ze around, as a member of Xingda University, Robert naturally knew that no student could stand up to Xu Ze. Even Li Yuxuan, the current student council president—such an outstanding and dazzling figure—could only play a supporting role when standing next to Xu Ze.
And Robert, though he was now a key talent being groomed by the student council, was still leagues behind Xu Ze. The gap was… quite huge. With Xu Ze here, those girls probably wouldn’t do him any favors.
Disheartened, Robert walked back to his table. Seeing his father’s gloomy and resentful face, he felt humiliated too, and sat there looking just as moody.
Robert’s father frowned deeply, still fuming about how that young punk Xu Ze had talked back to him earlier. Just thinking about it made his blood boil. So he looked at Robert and asked in a low voice, “Who is that Xu Ze kid? What’s his background? Why is he so ill-mannered?”
Hearing his father bring up Xu Ze so bitterly, Robert snorted jealously and said, “He’s a senior in the medical school, but he’s pretty famous on campus. I hear his family has some money too—he drives a sports car worth over a million.”
“Hmph… just another spoiled rich kid. No wonder he has no manners.” Robert’s father nodded knowingly, then glanced at his own son with satisfaction. This boy of mine has been quite sensible over the years—much more mature than that Xu Ze kid.
Feeling a bit better, Robert’s father picked up his phone and smiled at the others. “Director Lin should be here soon. Let’s make sure to entertain him well tonight. If he agrees to ease up, our company will have a much easier year.”
“Don’t worry, Chairman Luo. We’ll make sure Director Lin is happy tonight,” the charming young woman said confidently, nodding with a sweet smile.
Looking at her, Robert’s father nodded, but inwardly sighed. He’d heard that Director Lin had a thing for young, innocent female students. If only he had managed to get a couple of them to join the meal—things would probably go even smoother.
After finally shooing away that annoying father, things quieted down on their side. But since the screen had been pulled back, the girls weren’t as carefree as before and lowered their voices a bit.
Meanwhile, in Xu Ze’s glasses, a stream of information about Robert’s father suddenly appeared, line by line in small white text: “Luo Baoqiang, male, born 1965… currently chairman of Xingcheng Luo’s Foreign Trade Company, personal assets around 80 million yuan…”
Reading this, Xu Ze smirked lightly. Well, he’s definitely well-off—at least compared to us. But in the whole of Xingcheng, he’s nothing special.
Just then, Luo Baoqiang’s phone rang. Glancing at the number, his face lit up with excitement. He answered warmly, “Director Lin… have you arrived? Great… we’re in the Ningcui Pavilion private room.”
After hanging up, Luo Baoqiang said to the waiter, “Alright, you can start serving the dishes now.”
The waiter acknowledged and headed out to the kitchen.
A couple of minutes later, the waiter respectfully opened the door and escorted in a pudgy, refined-looking man.
As soon as the man walked in, everyone at Luo Baoqiang’s table stood up eagerly to welcome him.
Luo Baoqiang walked over with a smile, shook the man’s hand warmly, and said humbly, “Director Lin, you’re so hard to invite! I’ve asked you several times, and only today do you finally grace us with your presence.”
“Well, Luo, you’re too kind. I’m sorry—I’ve had some small matters keeping me busy lately. Please don’t hold it against me,” the pudgy man said casually, though his tone lacked any real humility. He plopped down in the seat of honor, guided by Luo Baoqiang.
Xu Ze, overhearing the voice from the other table, raised an eyebrow slightly and a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Just then, the manager led a few waiters over to start serving dishes at Xu Ze’s table. The pudgy man glanced at their table and frowned. “Who’s that over there?”
Seeing Director Lin ask, Luo Baoqiang quickly explained, “Oh, those are my son’s classmates. They happened to be eating here too, and since there were no private rooms left, we gave them one of our tables. They’re just some female students—pretty quiet.”
Director Lin looked over and saw, aside from a young man with his back to him who looked fairly young, a few girls who clearly looked like students. A slight smile crossed his face, and he said nothing more.
Seeing that smile, Luo Baoqiang felt even more frustrated. What a shame we couldn’t get a couple of them to join us. If we had a couple of female students at our table, judging by his reaction, this would’ve been a sure thing.
And his resentment toward Xu Ze—the one who had interfered—grew even stronger.
Then, noticing that Xu Ze’s table had already been served while their own dishes hadn’t arrived yet, Luo Baoqiang snapped at the manager, “What’s going on? Why haven’t our dishes come out yet?”
The waiter nearby quickly replied, “Sir, your dishes are being prepared and will be out shortly.”
Luo Baoqiang knew full well that he had only just given the order to start serving, so it couldn’t be that fast. But seeing that the other table had already been served while he and Director Lin were still waiting made him lose face, so he lashed out anyway.
Director Lin, seemingly in a good mood, smiled and said, “No rush, no rush, Director Luo.”
Over at Xu Ze’s table, the dishes had arrived. The rich aroma of the food made Xu Ze realize he was hungry. Looking at the dishes being brought out—steamed garlic prawns, cilantro squid rolls, lotus fish, crispy sesame duck—they were indeed all signature dishes.
The manager then brought out the bottle of Bordeaux red wine, opened it carefully, and poured some for each of them before politely saying, “Mr. Xu and you lovely ladies, please enjoy.”
“Thank you for your trouble,” Xu Ze said with a nod and a smile. The manager instructed the waiter to attend to them attentively before quietly stepping out.
Director Lin, who had been watching, noticed that a manager-level figure was personally serving wine at that table. That piqued his curiosity. The Baorui Grand Hotel wasn’t just any place in Xingcheng—there weren’t many guests who got the manager’s personal attention. And Luo Baoqiang had just said they were just his son’s classmates. How strange.
But Director Lin hadn’t caught what the manager had said. Just then, their own table started getting served, and Luo Baoqiang and Robert began enthusiastically hosting Director Lin. So he didn’t dwell on it and joined the conversation, laughing and eating under their flattery.
Luo Baoqiang was willing to spend generously to entertain Director Lin. He had the waiter bring out two bottles of aged Moutai, and along with Robert and the charming young woman, they kept toasting him.
Director Lin was a shrewd man—very measured when it came to drinking. After a couple of small sips with the group, he refused to raise his glass again. No matter how much the flirtatious young woman cajoled, he just laughed it off and declined.
Seeing this, Luo Baoqiang grew anxious. If we can’t get the drinking going, it’ll be hard to bring up the business later. So he quickly signaled Robert with his eyes, glancing toward Xu Ze’s table.
Robert understood exactly what his father meant, but his face showed hesitation. He knew that if he went over now, those girls probably wouldn’t want to come back with him.
Seeing his son hesitate, Luo Baoqiang frowned and let out a soft snort.
And when the father gets stern, the son doesn’t dare disobey. So Robert reluctantly walked back toward Xu Ze’s table, ready to swallow his pride and beg a couple of the girls to come over and help by offering a toast.
