Different treatment

The spacious ground floor of the Brilliant Star Pavilion was divided into several sections.

Gu Ming, who had come with his wife and son, stood in the central section, surrounded by neatly arranged bookshelves.

Every shelf had been carefully categorized. A young woman in a blue-and-white porcelain-patterned qipao was explaining everything to them in earnest, her voice pleasant and sweet without sounding affected.

Gu Ming pinched the bridge of his nose, growing a little impatient.

He was a methodical man who liked to get straight to business. He had come specifically for a Meridian-Opening Pill, yet the employee attending to them kept rambling about everything else.

But seeing how interested his wife and son were, he could hardly say anything.

He checked the time on his phone, cleared his throat softly, and gave his wife a tug.

At her husband's reminder, the gentle-natured woman remembered why they had come. She took advantage of a pause in the sales assistant's explanation to make her request.

"Could you take us straight to the Meridian-Opening Pills?" she asked calmly and politely.

The sales assistant's expression stiffened.

All employees of the Brilliant Star Pavilion underwent professional training before starting work.

As one of its sales assistants, she was supposed to address a customer's actual needs immediately and make the necessary arrangements as quickly as possible.

Unfortunately, her assignment was to keep this family of three here by any means necessary.

Just as she was hesitating over how to respond, a voice came through her earpiece.

A few seconds later, her expression relaxed considerably, as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

"Of course. Please follow me!"

Perhaps he was imagining it, but Gu Ming thought there was suddenly much more spring in her step.

The sales assistant led the family to another section and seated them. Someone else brought over tea.

"Please wait a moment. Our manager will be assisting you next," the sales assistant said with a smile.

Gu Ming looked at the tea they had been served, feeling rather uncomfortable.

He enjoyed drinking tea. Although he normally bought inexpensive varieties for everyday drinking, that did not mean he could not recognize quality tea.

The tea the Brilliant Star Pavilion had prepared for them had to cost at least several thousand yuan per half kilo.

His wife whispered beside him, "Gu, why are they having the manager look after us? Do they think we're big spenders?"

Gu Ming did not understand either.

When they arrived at the Brilliant Star Pavilion, they had made their intentions clear: they wanted to buy a Meridian-Opening Pill costing around three hundred thousand yuan.

Three hundred thousand sounded like a lot, but at the Brilliant Star Pavilion, it barely made a ripple.

When the service exceeded what customers could afford, it made them uncomfortable.

It was like going out for a simple bowl of spicy hot pot, only to be ushered onto a leather sofa the moment you walked in, have someone polish your shoes for free, and then be handed a glass of red wine to rinse your mouth.

With only fifty yuan in your pocket, you would start sweating before the food even arrived.

Soon, a middle-aged man in a suit approached with a broad smile, carrying a box.

"Sorry for the wait! This is the Meridian-Opening Pill we've prepared for you. It's priced at two hundred and eighty thousand..."

In truth, Manager Wang was puzzled too.

According to the information Luo Feixuan had given him, Gu Ming was nothing more than an ordinary teacher.

But his professionalism kept him from prying into anything he was not supposed to know.

It was a minor task anyway. All he needed to do was handle it properly.

"Ahem, Manager, we're only buying one Meridian-Opening Pill. There's no need for you to attend to us personally!" Gu Ming said.

Manager Wang's smile remained unchanged.

"Not at all. Everyone who enters the Brilliant Star Pavilion is an honored guest. The customer is king, after all! I happen to be free right now, so naturally, I'm just doing my job."

After a pause, he added, "Of course, if you have any feedback or requests, please let me know right away. Complete customer satisfaction is the guiding principle of our service!"

The look in Teacher Gu's wife's eyes changed. She marveled inwardly that the Brilliant Star Pavilion truly lived up to its reputation, treating every customer with such courtesy.

Then Manager Wang opened the box, put on white gloves, and took out the Meridian-Opening Pill.

"This Meridian-Opening Pill is absolutely one of the finest we offer at the Brilliant Star Pavilion! Its quality is excellent."

Gu Ming looked at the Meridian-Opening Pill in his hand. For some reason, it seemed rather familiar...

Just as he was about to take a closer look, a voice suddenly came from behind him.

"Oh! If it isn't Gu! You're here too!"

Gu Ming turned around. Behind him stood a short, fat man in a shirt, with a gold Rolex on one wrist and an amber bracelet on the other.

His beer belly strained against his black shirt, making the buttons look ready to pop off at any moment. As he spoke, he gave a seemingly casual tug at his belt, drawing attention to its conspicuous H-shaped buckle.

Beside him stood a younger version of himself, planted there like a potato. One look was enough to tell they were father and son, right down to their matching narrow eyes.

Seeing the newcomer, Teacher Gu cleared his throat and gave a slightly awkward smile.

"Old Qiao! You're here too."

Old Qiao smiled. "I come here all the time! Seeing you here, though-that's a surprise!"

Then he stepped closer, spotted the box in the manager's hands, and understood.

"Picking out a Meridian-Opening Pill for your son?"

"Yes." Gu Ming nodded with a smile that did not reach his eyes.

He had always treated others kindly. Even when facing someone he disliked, he would not let it show.

"What a coincidence! I'm here to buy my son a Meridian-Opening Pill too." Old Qiao turned to his son. "Say, Zhou, aren't you and Gu Muchen classmates?"

Qiao Zhou glanced at Teacher Gu's son and said with a cheeky grin, "Class monitor, you should've told me you were coming to buy a Meridian-Opening Pill! We could've come together!"

Gu Muchen took after his father in some ways. He did not like Qiao Zhou, who loved showing off at every opportunity, either.

Showing off alone would have been tolerable, but Qiao Zhou also liked putting others down to make himself look better. At school, he formed cliques and bullied his classmates.

"Ahem, so, how much is this Meridian-Opening Pill?" Old Qiao asked Manager Wang.

"Two hundred and eighty thousand." Manager Wang's expression was composed. Then he looked toward the sales assistants behind him. "Quickly, someone come and assist this gentleman."

An astute judge of people, Manager Wang could tell at a glance that this man was not on good terms with Gu Ming's family. To prevent any trouble, he wanted someone to take the father and son elsewhere.

But the man had no sense of tact. Suddenly, he pulled an exaggerated face. "What? Two hundred and eighty thousand? Is a Meridian-Opening Pill like that even safe to take?

"Gu, we were classmates once, so don't take this the wrong way, but aren't our children the whole reason we work to earn money? A Meridian-Opening Pill is important! How can you settle for something like this?"

Beside him, Qiao Zhou grinned. "Dad, don't say that. Our class monitor's family doesn't have any money. Being able to scrape together two hundred and eighty thousand is pretty good already."

"That may be true, but I wouldn't dare let you take a Meridian-Opening Pill that only costs two hundred and eighty thousand." Old Qiao shook his head and sighed, his gaze straying toward Teacher Gu's wife every so often.

He had attended university with both Teacher Gu and his wife, and had even pursued her.

But she had never thought much of him. Instead, she had chosen the "bookworm" he looked down on most.

Now that he had a chance to show off his success, he was certainly not going to let it slip away. He immediately waved a hand.

"You there... we want a Meridian-Opening Pill too! Don't bother bringing us anything under five hundred thousand!"

Manager Wang looked around, then pointed at himself.

"Are you... talking to me?"

"Who else? Don't you all earn commissions? Is the commission on five hundred thousand the same as on two hundred and eighty thousand? I'm giving you an opportunity here!"

Manager Wang slowly rose to his feet, a professional smile on his face.

He pointed at Qiao Zhou while looking at Old Qiao. "Take a look at your fucking ugly son. Does he deserve a Meridian-Opening Pill?"