Following the "thud, thud" noise, everyone turned their heads and saw a man in his thirties, wearing a suit and a badge indicating he was the manager, standing at the door, looking somewhat awkward and troubled.

"Excuse me, who is Mr. Shi?"

Shi Tong stood up from the table, "That's me. May I ask what's going on?"

The manager smiled apologetically, "Could I trouble Mr. Shi to step outside for a moment?"

Chu Ge looked at the manager at the door, then at Shi Tong, who looked puzzled. Although he didn't know why the manager was looking for Shi Tong, it didn't seem like good news judging by his expression.

In less than two minutes, Shi Tong walked back in. Sure enough, his face was full of embarrassment, and there was a hint of suppressed anger as he bit his lip and casually closed the door to the private room behind him.

"What's wrong, Stone?" Seeing Shi Tong's troubled expression, Cao Xu, who always had a big brother's demeanor, couldn't help but ask with concern.

Shi Tong gave a wry smile, sighed, and said, "That manager just told me that someone wants our private room and asked us to clear out."

Hearing Shi Tong say this, everyone was stunned for a moment, and then their expressions became somewhat unpleasant. They were having a good meal, and suddenly someone came and said they must vacate their room. What nonsense is that? Isn't this blatant bullying?

Cao Xu was both angry and amused, "Who's so arrogant? Just because they want it, we're supposed to give it to them?"

"Exactly, no need to cater to his bad habits. We shouldn't care, who's running things like this?"

"What the heck? Does that person not understand what 'first come, first served' means?"

Everyone was also outraged, talking all at once.

Even though everyone understood that if someone dared to say such things in a five-star hotel, they must be someone with some influence, but this matter was really too much. They couldn't swallow this resentment. Even if they really had to leave later, they would at least vent out verbally.

Among the indignant voices, Chu Ge also had the idea to stand up for Shi Tong. After all, when Zhu Youcai was giving him a hard time just now, Shi Tong's attitude was clearly in his favor. Now that Shi Tong was in trouble, he wouldn't just sit by idly.

Chu Ge wasn't someone who was just a blind good guy. Many times, he might not be able to repay favors tenfold for a single kindness, but he would at least return it one and a half times.

Picking up a cigarette and a lighter, Chu Ge stood up from the table. At this time, everyone was in a foul mood, and except for Cao Xu, who gave him a suspicious glance, no one else paid any attention to him; they were all secretly glancing at Zhu Youcai.

Leaving the private room, Chu Ge saw the manager still lingering in the hallway and walked up to him, asking, "Hello, mind telling me who wants our private room?"

To be honest, the manager also felt pretty stifled for this table of customers. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "It's Liu Weijiang, Young Master Liu."

That was the most he could do, just saying the name had already been kind enough.

"Liu Weijiang?"

Upon hearing the manager say this, Chu Ge just laughed. Seeing the smile on his face, the manager was utterly baffled.

Faced with such a nasty situation of having their private room taken away, this guy could still laugh? How big-hearted must he be? Or maybe he wasn't on good terms with Mr. Shi, who booked the room?

Under the manager's extremely peculiar gaze, Chu Ge smiled and said, "Alright then, go tell Liu Weijiang that Young Master Chu is dining in the private room he wants. Tell him to do what he needs to do and not to bother coming over to see Young Master Chu. Just don't come over and cause trouble."

Upon hearing Chu Ge say this, the manager's mouth twitched a few times, and his gaze toward Chu Ge became even more peculiar. He silently thought to himself about the audacity of the statement!

He was just a manager at this Chinese restaurant, but he had seen quite a few big figures. In the private room that Mr. Shi had booked, there didn't seem to be anyone impressive.

Of course, since he could work as a manager in such a five-star hotel, he naturally had enough quality and manners. Even though he thought Chu Ge was talking nonsense, he didn't show it on his face and asked politely, "Are you sure, sir?"

Chu Ge nodded, "I'm sure, just pass on the exact message to him, that's all. When you come back later, there's no need to say anything else."

The manager hesitated once more, then said nothing, nodded to Chu Ge, and set off toward the resting area.

Seeing the manager leave, Chu Ge directly returned to the private room. From the time he left to the time he returned, it only took about a minute.

By this time, the atmosphere in the room was rather gloomy. No one noticed Chu Ge's return and refrained from saying anything more infuriating but subtly glanced at Zhu Youcai, who had just been acting all high and mighty, claiming to have a good relationship with Young Master Jiang.

After all, Zhu Youcai just said he had a good relationship with the son of the Industry and Commerce Bureau Director. Who else would step up if not him at this moment?

Shi Tong hesitated a few times and finally cast a pleading look at Zhu Youcai.

"Section Chief Zhu, we might need to trouble you with this. The foreman said it was Young Master Jiang's decision, you see…"

He didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was clear: since you have a good relationship with Young Master Jiang, it's up to you.

Hearing Shi Tong say this, everyone turned to look at Zhu Youcai as if to say, "It's up to you."

Being stared at by all those eyes, Zhu Youcai felt a bitter taste in his mouth. He never expected things to be so coincidental. He had just mentioned his good relationship with Liu Weijiang, and Liu Weijiang actually showed up — not only that, he came to claim this private room.

Does he really have a good relationship with Liu Weijiang? Not really! To this day, he estimated that he could count the number of conversations he's had with Liu Weijiang on two hands, and the closest contact he had was when he ran over to open the car door for Liu Weijiang.

However, since the words were already spoken, he couldn't back down now. Otherwise, it would be like slapping his own face!

With no other choice, Zhu Youcai forced a smile but didn't move his legs, sitting there with a heavy heart and said reluctantly, "Well... shall I go have a look?"

A second passed, two seconds passed, four or five seconds passed, yet Zhu Youcai still hadn't moved, his forehead starting to feel a bit cold as cold sweat began to seep through due to his fear.

Seeing Zhu Youcai not getting up from his seat, everyone's eyes on him turned doubtful. If he truly had a good relationship with Young Master Jiang, what was he stalling for?

Others were too embarrassed to say anything, but due to Zhu Youcai repeatedly challenging Chu Ge, Cao Xu wouldn't tolerate his bad habits. Leaning back in his chair, he said leisurely, "Youcai, whether we can have a nice meal here all depends on you. Go on?"

Cao Xu's words truly reflected the sentiment of everyone in the room.

The corners of Zhu Youcai's mouth and eyes twitched simultaneously, sweat dripped down his forehead, and he lamented internally: "Uh… I should straighten up my clothes. You know, even if I have a good relationship with Young Master Jiang, I must still look presentable, right?"

As he spoke, Zhu Youcai pretended to button up his shirt, realizing the looks from people around him had grown even more peculiar.

He glanced down, and his face reddened instantly in embarrassment, having buttoned the second button into the third hole in his panic.

If Cao Xu had been merely suspicious earlier, watching Zhu Youcai's fumbling now only confirmed his suspicion that Zhu was talking nonsense before and was now feeling extremely guilty.

Cao Xu's gaze became more playful, getting a certain satisfaction from speaking up for Chu Ge. He added, "Youcai, take your time buttoning up. Look at you, sweating all over, why not wash your face later?"

Zhu Youcai was pondering for ways to stall even more time. Hearing Cao Xu's words, he quickly nodded, "Ah, yes, yes, it's really hot!"

Ignoring Zhu Youcai's flustered voice, Cao Xu snorted lightly through his nose, a faint smirk on his lips, clearly showing his disdain.

Of course, it wasn't only Cao Xu who noticed this. Others weren't blind nor stupid and looked at Zhu Youcai not just with doubt but also with slight disdain and contempt.

Feeling the shift in everyone's gaze, Zhu Youcai knew he couldn't stall anymore. Though it would be futile to see Liu Weijiang, under the current circumstance, he had no choice but to go.

However, after stalling as he buttoned up, and slowly making his way to the door, he was startled by a sudden "knock knock" on the private room's door. His scalp went numb, his vision went dark, and his already weak knees buckled even more, causing his plump body to shiver.

Could it be that Young Master Jiang got impatient and came to urge them personally? If he really had to face Young Master Jiang and be scolded, wouldn't he be mortified beyond belief?

Just as Zhu Youcai was feeling anxious and didn't know what to do, with a creak, the door opened.

It wasn't Liu Weijiang who entered, but the foreman who had just informed Shi Tong to clear the room.

Swallowing a gulp of saliva, Zhu Youcai was about to force out some words, but the foreman spoke first, "Sorry to disturb, please enjoy your meal at your own pace. My apologies."

Zhu Youcai was stunned for a few seconds before hesitantly asking, "Jiang… Young Master Jiang doesn't need this room?"

The foreman smiled apologetically, nodded, gave a deep look at Chu Ge, then left the room, closing the door behind him.

However, because the foreman's face was blocked by Zhu Youcai, no one else in the room noticed the look he gave Chu Ge, except for Cao Xu.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.