Enemies at Every Turn

It was just after work, and Elegant Residence was packed with customers.

Zhang Yang and Cheng Dongxue strode into Elegant Residence at the height of the dinner rush. Even the servers gave the unremarkable-looking young man a second glance.

Zhang Yang did not care about appearances. Being practical mattered more.

A restaurant needed warm service, of course. But Zhang Yang looked ordinary and dressed casually, even cheaply. At a glance, anyone would assume he had neither status nor money.

Cheng Dongxue, on the other hand, was stunningly beautiful, like a fairy who drew envious looks wherever she went.

A server led Zhang Yang and Cheng Dongxue to an isolated corner.

"No. I don't like it here."

Cheng Dongxue frowned, and Zhang Yang immediately refused the table.

"I want that one." Zhang Yang pointed to a table by the window. It had good light and a view of the pedestrians and cars below, as well as the scenery farther away.

"But..."

"But what? You think I can't afford it? What a joke. I've got enough money to buy your life."

The server had meant to say the table was reserved, but Zhang Yang cut her off with that mocking remark.

The server looked embarrassed. He had seen through her little assumption. Still, Zhang Yang was a customer, and she was only a server. She could not afford to offend anyone who ate here.

Zhang Yang looked over the figure beneath her uniform. Her curves were just right, but her makeup was too heavy. She was not his type.

"This way, please."

Blushing, the server showed them to the table.

What was the world coming to? Even an ordinary server looked down on people now. Zhang Yang shook his head and sighed.

"Zhang Yang, why make things hard for a server? She's just working to earn a living."

Cheng Dongxue saw how embarrassed and uneasy the server was. She was afraid Zhang Yang would complain and cost the woman her job. Life was hard for ordinary people, and a job was hard to come by.

"She shouldn't have judged me by how I look."

Zhang Yang had endured more than enough mockery and bullying in the past. Those days were over. From now on, he would hold his head high and win back the dignity he had lost.

"You shouldn't dress like this anymore. Look around. Elegant Residence isn't some little roadside eatery."

Cheng Dongxue gestured toward the other diners. One after another, they wore tailored suits or fashionable designer clothes.

"What's wrong with this? I think it's comfortable. Look..."

Zhang Yang wore a white T-shirt and jeans faded from repeated washing. No one would have taken him for a rich man, especially in Elegant Residence, where prices had never been within an ordinary person's means.

Zhang Yang had money in his pocket and in his bank account, but he had no knack for dressing up. He wore whatever felt comfortable.

Sitting across from him, Cheng Dongxue studied him and reached over to straighten his collar.

"Look at this. You've washed the collar until it's as ruffled as the hem of a lotus-leaf skirt."

Cheng Dongxue could not help laughing.

"But these clothes really are comfortable. I feel relaxed. Look at those men in suits and bow ties. They must be miserable."

As Zhang Yang spoke, a man in a suit at the next table adjusted his jacket, then loosened his bow tie. He certainly looked uncomfortable. It was nearly thirty degrees outside; dressed like that, he was lucky not to get heatstroke.

"Sir, ma'am, are you ready to order?"

A server arrived with menus. This time it was a woman in her thirties, far more polite and courteous.

"This one, this one, this one... and this one."

Zhang Yang ordered a huge spread. Cheng Dongxue stared at him, open-mouthed.

"There are only two of us. We'll never finish all that."

"We'll eat what we can and take the rest home."

Zhang Yang had once been thrifty. But after discovering he was trapped in the same day for a thousand years, he had begun spending lavishly without restraint.

After all, time would reset at eight the next morning.

That had been true before. Now that time had suddenly stopped resetting, a habit built over a thousand years was hard to break.

Still, in front of his wife, Cheng Dongxue, Zhang Yang held on to some thrift: they would take home whatever they could not finish.

"That's everything. Please bring it as soon as you can. Thank you."

Zhang Yang handed back the menu and smiled at the server.

On her way to place the order, the server ran into the first one, who pulled her aside and began whispering. She was probably telling her that Zhang Yang was broke.

Elegant Residence was a major restaurant, and its service was always efficient. Before long, every dish Zhang Yang had ordered was neatly arranged on the table.

Zhang Yang rubbed his hands together and said to Cheng Dongxue, "Honey, let's eat!"

They began their meal with the servers attending to them, starting with an aperitif.

Halfway through the meal, Yang Qintian appeared at Elegant Residence with his beautiful female secretary.

As soon as he entered, he looked up and saw Zhang Yang and Cheng Dongxue eating. He frowned. Enemies at every turn.

Zhang Yang had humiliated Yang Qintian earlier. Just thinking about it made Yang Qintian's knee ache again, and he limped as he walked.

"Xiao Jing, let's sit over here."

Yang Qintian led his secretary, Zhang Jing, toward Zhang Yang's table. He sat down slowly and stared at him.

Zhang Yang shook his head. "Even dinner comes with a fly buzzing around. When luck's against you, you could choke on water."

"Hm?" Cheng Dongxue looked up from her food.

"There's a fly." Zhang Yang indicated it with a glance. Cheng Dongxue followed his gaze and saw Yang Qintian and Zhang Jing.

"Let's just eat. Leave them alone." Cheng Dongxue worked under Yang Qintian, after all, and would have to keep seeing him. She did not want matters to turn ugly.

"Well, look at that. A broke bastard like you can afford to eat here? And you brought your wife? You'll probably have to hand her over to pay the bill!"

Seeing Zhang Yang and Cheng Dongxue keep their heads down and ignore him, Yang Qintian deliberately provoked them.

"Qintian, don't start anything." His beautiful secretary still cared about appearances. They were people of standing; arguing in public would be unseemly.

"Don't worry. I'm a Platinum Member here. Whatever happens, Elegant Residence isn't going to side with some broke bastard over a Platinum Member like me. He'll be the one they throw out."

"Hah... You're the one who hands over his wife to pay his debts," Zhang Yang replied with a contemptuous smile.

It was no secret. Zhang Yang had already brought up how Yang Qintian had let his boss sleep with his wife, Cheng Li. Now Yang Qintian had raised the subject himself. Even if Zhang Yang wanted to hold back, he had to answer.

"You... what did you say?"

"Qintian..."

Yang Qintian shot to his feet, ready to lunge at Zhang Yang, but Zhang Jing sprang up and grabbed him. Her face changed color at once, flushing and paling by turns. She had only just learned that secret.

"I'm a Platinum Member here. I eat here all the time. If you cross me, you cross Elegant Residence. They'll throw you out."

Yang Qintian's expression changed in an instant, anger giving way to delight, as though he could already see Zhang Yang being driven out of Elegant Residence.