Driving Out a Customer

"Oh, so you're going to use your connections at Elegant Residence? Have you forgotten how much it hurt? Is your knee better?" Zhang Yang said mockingly.

"If you dare hurt me again, I'll leave your corpse in the street!" Yang Qintian snapped.

"Zhang Yang, don't make trouble. Let's eat." Cheng Dongxue didn't want Zhang Yang causing a scene here. Besides, Yang Qintian had powerful connections. He wasn't someone Zhang Yang could afford to cross.

"Enough talk, or I'll fix that leg of yours." Zhang Yang still wore a cold smile. Dealing with Yang Qintian would be easy; he could end him with a wave of his hand.

Yang Qintian suddenly strode over with a cold smile and stopped beside Zhang Yang's table.

"I'm a Platinum Member here. A regular. I get twenty percent off. And you? You're just a broke loser. A meal here, with this many dishes, must cost you half a month's pay!"

Yang Qintian remained as arrogant as ever. Customers were treated like gods here, and as a Platinum Member, he felt he ought to be a god among customers.

"I've hardly ever seen anyone mooch off his wife like you do. She'll be paying the bill later, won't she?" Yang Qintian grew even more brazen.

"Heh..." Zhang Yang gave a cold laugh. If his wife Cheng Dongxue hadn't been there, he would have lost his patience long ago. With a thousand years of experience and countless skills, how could he let this punk push him around?

"Mr. Yang, let it go. Be the bigger person. Let's order and eat!"

His alluring secretary, Zhang Jing, came over and took his arm to persuade him. She was also Cheng Dongxue's colleague, and they would have to see each other again. It would do no good to fall out completely.

"Heh, we'll eat. We've got plenty of time. Right? I have money and status. After dinner, we can have some fun." As he spoke, Yang Qintian planted a kiss on Zhang Jing's cheek.

"See? I have money and status. Even my beautiful secretary eats with me—and sleeps with me afterward. What about you? Just a broke loser living off his wife."

Yang Qintian pulled Zhang Jing into his arms, flaunting their intimacy in front of everyone.

By now, the area had become the center of attention. The diners here were all people of standing and too self-conscious to gather around, but they stayed in their seats and watched.

Being humiliated was a thing of the past.

"You're asking for it!" Zhang Yang slammed the table and shot to his feet. He'd had enough of this man's abuse.

"Zhang Yang, stay calm." Cheng Dongxue still didn't want trouble. She caught his arm and tried to talk him down.

Yang Qintian froze for a moment, then burst out laughing. He pointed at Zhang Yang for everyone to see. "Look, everyone! This guy lives off his wife. Bet he's soft downstairs too. Scared of his wife! Ha ha!"

To Zhang Yang's surprise, Cheng Dongxue holding him back only made Yang Qintian push further. The man seemed determined to keep him down and prove he was superior.

Several servers hurried over when they heard the commotion. After much persuasion, they finally got everyone back to their seats and eating.

Cheng Dongxue feared Yang Qintian, but Zhang Yang had no reason to. He knew every secret, even whom Yang Qintian's wife, Cheng Li, had slept with to advance his career. What was there to fear?

But Yang Qintian wasn't worth the attention. Zhang Yang settled down to eat.

Zhang Yang didn't take Yang Qintian seriously. Even putting him in his place would bring no sense of achievement.

The onlookers were stunned. After all that, Zhang Yang could still eat, and so calmly? Maybe he really was a man who lived off his wife. Others saw it differently: a man who could endure such treatment and keep eating calmly was no ordinary man.

A real man knew when to bend and when to stand tall.

Seeing Zhang Yang eat so calmly infuriated Yang Qintian. Who does he think he's fooling? A broke loser can pretend all he wants, but he'll never pass for a rich, handsome man.

Yet as the meal neared its end, Zhang Yang remained just as composed.

"Server! Server!"

Yang Qintian suddenly called out, barking orders. Two servers hurried over. As a regular and a Platinum Member, he was a valued customer at Elegant Residence.

"Mr. Yang, how can we help you?"

One of them was the heavily made-up server who had received Zhang Yang earlier.

"This man's name is Zhang Yang. He's a complete failure and a broke loser. Elegant Residence's standards are getting lower and lower. How could you let someone like him eat here? How is anyone else supposed to enjoy their meal?"

Yang Qintian spoke to the heavily made-up server as though reprimanding her.

The server had disliked Zhang Yang from the start. Besides, Yang Qintian was a Platinum Member. If a Platinum Member had a complaint or suggestion, she had to listen.

"Mm, he has a point. No broke losers or dogs allowed. Don't you know that?"

"Oh, no. My dog's allowed. Look at him—his genuine leather collar is from a major international brand, and it even has diamonds. He's far classier than some broke loser."

"That's not fair. A restaurant opens its doors to customers, and anyone who comes in is a customer. Besides, the bill hasn't come yet. How can you call him broke?"

Yang Qintian's introduction set off a storm of discussion. The whole of Elegant Residence seemed to erupt as people talked about Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang, meanwhile, stayed perfectly calm, as though they were talking about someone else. Cheng Dongxue's face flushed and paled in turn. Mortified, she lowered her head and said nothing, unable to face anyone.

"Hear that? I'm not the only one saying it. A broke loser is a broke loser wherever he goes." Yang Qintian sounded pleased, his vanity apparently soothed a little.

Zhang Yang gave a cold smile and glanced at Yang Qintian's knee. Yang Qintian had, after all, risen by having his wife sleep with others. Uneasy, he took an involuntary step back, afraid his knee would hurt again and he would suddenly kneel before Zhang Yang.

With so many customers objecting to Zhang Yang, the server offered no explanation. Compared with a Platinum Member like Yang Qintian, Zhang Yang was a first-time visitor to Elegant Residence. She chose to give up on him as a customer.

"So Elegant Residence needs to throw this lowlife out. Otherwise, we won't be coming back to spend our money," Yang Qintian threatened when the server failed to act.

Despite having made her choice, she knew that driving out a customer would put the restaurant in the wrong.

Seeing the crowd join in, the server showed no embarrassment. Instead, delight crossed her face. Zhang Yang had humiliated her earlier; now she could finally get even.

"I'm sorry, sir, but please leave. Otherwise, I'll call security." The heavily made-up server raised a hand toward Zhang Yang at last, ordering him and his wife out.

Zhang Yang finally lifted his cold gaze to the server and caught a flicker of pleasure in her expression.

"Don't go too far. I'm a customer too, and I'll pay."

Zhang Yang could bear no more. If he said nothing now and simply got up and fled, he really would be a pushover. Besides, Elegant Residence would never let him leave without paying the bill anyway.

"I'm a Platinum Member. What I spend eating here at Elegant Residence in a week is more than you spend on food in a year. Leave while you can, unless you want to be dragged out!"

Yang Qintian grinned, every inch the smug victor.