Wang Daokun's newly opened restaurant was in Jinling's development zone.
The development zone was quite far from the city center, and it was a vast, sparsely populated area. Ye Chen wondered why Wang Daokun had chosen to open his restaurant there.
But according to Xiao Churan, several large manufacturing enterprises would soon be moving into the development zone, including major companies like Foxconn. It would soon become a bustling area.
So Wang Daokun had actually been quite wise to open his restaurant there now.
Wang Daokun's restaurant stood beside a wide, newly built street. It looked fairly large, with two floors.
The restaurant was called Yuelai Restaurant, a name with a certain charm to it.
When Ye Chen drove up to the entrance, a row of cars was already parked outside, and several people were standing in front of a gold BMW sedan, smoking and chatting.
Ye Chen knew them. They were all former university classmates, though he had never been close to any of them.
Ye Chen still remembered the man at their head. His name was Wang Tengfei, and he had been a fairly well-known rich second generation in their class. He had always had designs on Xiao Churan, but she had never given him the time of day.
At that moment, Wang Tengfei was leaning against the gold BMW, accepting compliments from his classmates. Several of the men were sizing up his newly bought sedan and exclaiming in admiration. "Brother Fei, you're a real winner in life! We've only just graduated, and you're already driving a BMW! That's a BMW 540, isn't it? The top-of-the-line 5 Series?"
Wang Tengfei laughed. "Oh, it's a 540. It's just a car to get around in, worth seven or eight hundred thousand. Nothing special."
"Damn! A 540? That's the most expensive imported car in the 5 Series!"
"Man, I want to buy a BMW 1 Series for two hundred thousand, but I can't even scrape together the down payment. I'm nowhere near your league, Brother Fei!"
"Brother Fei, that car of yours must have some serious power, right?"
Wang Tengfei smiled. "It's all right, all right. It's fairly powerful. Usually, I don't run into any rivals on the road."
"That's freaking awesome! If only I could have a BMW sedan. My girlfriend complains every day that I can't afford a car. It's driving me crazy!"
Just then, someone sharp-eyed spotted another BMW approaching and said in surprise, "Hey, does that BMW belong to one of our classmates too?"
"Holy shit! Isn't that Ye Chen, that stinking loser?"
"The one in the passenger seat looks like Xiao Churan! Damn it, even that freeloader is driving a BMW now. He must have Xiao Churan to thank for it!"
Wang Tengfei also saw Ye Chen in the car. His expression darkened somewhat as he said, "So it's that piece of trash! Damn it, he sure is lucky!"
Someone asked, "Hey, what series is his BMW?"
Just then, Ye Chen drove up and backed into a parking space. Wang Tengfei took one look at the 520 badge on the rear and immediately sneered. "Pfft, a 520. The cheapest beggar's version of the 5 Series. Only losers who slap their faces swollen to look well-fed drive that model!"
The man beside him immediately nodded. "Brother Fei, yours is the top-of-the-line 5 Series, and his is the cheapest. His must be a long way behind yours, right?"
Wang Tengfei snorted. "My car could buy two of his!"
"Brother Fei really is the man!"
By then, Ye Chen had parked the car, and Xiao Churan and Dong Ruolin got out first.
Several of the men immediately stared, then crowded forward to greet them. "Wow, the two golden flowers of our class came together!"
Xiao Churan and Dong Ruolin politely greeted everyone. Looking at Xiao Churan, who was even more beautiful and captivating now, Wang Tengfei felt extremely aggrieved.
Damn it, why?
I chased Xiao Churan like crazy in university, and she wouldn't even pay me any attention.
Now she's gone and married a live-in son-in-law, a worthless freeloader!
Heaven really is blind!
At the thought, he sneered mockingly. "Well, well, Ye Chen, it looks like you've been treated pretty well since you married into Churan's family! You're even driving a BMW now! Her family bought it for you, right? You really are a role model for us men when it comes to taking shortcuts!"
Xiao Churan looked a little displeased at his words. Dong Ruolin, standing beside her, immediately said, "Wang Tengfei, you've got it wrong. Churan's family didn't buy this car. Ye Chen bought it himself!"
"Oh!" Wang Tengfei curled his lip. "Impressive, driving a BMW 5 Series already!"
Then he deliberately challenged Ye Chen. "Hey, Ye Chen, there's hardly any traffic here in the development zone, and the main road outside is wide and straight. How about we take our cars out and see who's faster?"
Ye Chen frowned and looked at Wang Tengfei, feeling somewhat irritated.
Why are you picking a fight with me for no reason? I'm not close to you, and I've never had a grudge against you.
Besides, you want to see whose car is faster? Mine's a BMW 760, the most expensive and fastest BMW model. Racing you would make me look like I'm bullying a child.
Wang Tengfei thought he was afraid and immediately mocked him. "Come on, Ye Chen, why are you still such a coward, just like you were in university? What's there to be afraid of in a race? Can't bear to waste a little gas? Worst comes to worst, I'll fill your tank for you."
Dong Ruolin protested, somewhat displeased. "Hey, Wang Tengfei, what's that supposed to mean? Your car is a BMW 540, and Ye Chen's is a 520. There's a huge difference in power. Do you really think it's fair to race and see who's faster?"
Wang Tengfei shrugged. "What matters most in a car is the driver's skill! A better car isn't necessarily faster. It also comes down to skill and guts. I wonder if Ye Chen has the guts to race me? If he's chickened out and he's scared, then forget it. Everyone knows Ye Chen has never been fit to show his face in decent company anyway."
Several people beside him immediately chimed in. "Exactly. If you're scared, just say so. There's no shame in it."
Instead of getting angry, Ye Chen laughed. "Wang Tengfei, I can race you, but we can't just race on words alone, can we? We'd better put something on the line, or where's the fun in it?"
"Sure!" Wang Tengfei had been worried that Ye Chen wouldn't take the bait. Suddenly hearing him suggest a wager, he immediately decided that Ye Chen was courting death and blurted out, "How about this? Whoever loses has to kneel on the ground, kowtow to the other person, and admit he was wrong. What do you say?"
Ye Chen shook his head. "We're all adults. Let's not play such childish games."
Just then, Wang Daokun came out in a suit, carrying a large coil of firecrackers. When he saw Ye Chen, he immediately went up to him excitedly. "Hey, Ye Chen, you're here!"
Ye Chen nodded, smiled at him, and said, "Congratulations on opening your new restaurant, Daokun!"
Wang Daokun smiled. "Thanks, brother!"
At that moment, Wang Tengfei said coldly, "Ye Chen, don't change the subject. Tell me, what do you think would be a suitable wager?"
Wang Daokun asked curiously, "What's going on? What are you two doing?"
Ye Chen smiled slightly, looked at the large coil of firecrackers in his arms, and asked, "Daokun, how many firecrackers are in that coil?"
"Thirty thousand!" Wang Daokun said with a smile. "This coil wasn't cheap. It's the ground-covering red kind, over six hundred for one coil!"
Ye Chen nodded and said to Wang Tengfei, "How about this? We race, and whoever loses puts this coil of firecrackers in his own car and sets it off. What do you say?"