Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Driven Out It was already getting late, so there weren’t many customers in the restaurant. Yu Xia had deliberately chosen a seat where she couldn’t see that scumbag couple, so they wouldn’t ruin her appetite. “Excuse me, you two, but this table has already been reserved. Could you show me your reservation message?” The manager had seen them run into someone they knew and gone back to work after greeting them. When one of the servers noticed that they were about to sit at a table reserved by other customers, she politely came over to confirm. “We don’t have a reservation.” Chi Mucheng frowned slightly and answered flatly. The server was new and had never met him. Following procedure, she said, “I’m sorry, sir, but without a reservation, we can’t provide you with a meal.” Before Chi Mucheng could say anything, Zhu Yunhui began making snide remarks from the side. “So they don’t have a reservation. Could it be that they’re from the countryside and don’t know you need a reservation to eat here? Tell your manager that there’s a serious lapse in management. How could people without reservations be allowed in so casually? It really affects the mood of respectable customers like us.” Her implication was obvious: she wanted the server to drive Yu Xia and Chi Mucheng out. Jiang Yiwen also put on a serious expression as he reprimanded the server. “You need to guarantee fairness for customers who made reservations. If you break the rules today, your restaurant won’t have any credibility left.” The young server was scared pale. All she could do was politely and tactfully ask them to leave. “I’m sorry, you two. How about making an online reservation first and coming back in a couple of days?” Yu Xia hadn’t expected Jiang Yiwen to be so despicable. She could only blame her younger self for being too naive to tell people from dogs. “Let’s go.” Yu Xia took a deep breath, suppressing the anger building inside her. With a cool expression, she pulled Chi Mucheng away. Chi Mucheng asked, “Hmm? We’re not eating?” “They’re too disgusting. They’ve ruined my appetite.” Chi Mucheng patted her wrist soothingly. “Then let’s make them get lost.” A glint flashed through Yu Xia’s eyes, shining brilliantly. There was actually an option like that? Jiang Yiwen, however, refused to believe it. He simply stood up and walked into Chi Mucheng’s line of sight, his eyes filled with false sincerity. “Brother, I understand wanting to act a little high-profile and arrogant in front of a woman. But it won’t look good when you get exposed.” Zhu Yunhui also let out a derisive “Tsk.” “Who does he think he is?” Just then, the manager finished what she was doing and saw that they were still standing there. Chi Mucheng’s expression was somewhat cold and sharp, making her instantly anxious. She hurried over to ask what had happened and nearly cried from frustration when she learned how foolish the server had been. “This is Mr. Chi. He doesn’t need a reservation. What did you learn during your orientation? Hurry and take them to the VIP booth upstairs.” Only then did the server realize that she had caused a major disaster. She hurriedly apologized while escorting them upstairs. Meanwhile, the manager walked over to Jiang Yiwen and Zhu Yunhui’s table. “I’m sorry, you two, but please leave our restaurant immediately.” A bite of pastry lodged in Jiang Yiwen’s throat. He drank a full glass of water before finally swallowing it and recovering. “What did you say?” “They were allowed to eat here without a reservation, while we made a reservation through the proper channels, and you’re trying to drive us out?” Zhu Yunhui said furiously. “Do you believe I’ll expose your restaurant?” The manager smiled faintly. “I do.” Then her expression turned stern. “But please leave immediately.” Zhu Yunhui: “…” Was she really being this brazen? Jiang Yiwen demanded, “What right do you have to do this?” The manager replied, “The right to do so because you offended our boss’s friends! Our boss is furious. From now on, we will no longer accept reservations from either of you. Also…” The manager paused, then announced grandly to the other customers, “To all our esteemed guests here today, please eat to your hearts’ content. Everything is on the house!” The other customers had originally been rather displeased by the restaurant driving people out. But upon hearing the manager’s announcement, they immediately beamed with delight. They had no time to speak up for Jiang Yiwen and Zhu Yunhui. In the end, they even began complaining that the two were shamelessly refusing to leave. “Go already. Could you not interfere with our meal?” “People with such poor character should be driven out!” * Upstairs, without that eyesore of a couple around, the food on the table suddenly looked much more appealing. “Life lasts but thirty thousand days. With wine and meat, one can live like a little immortal. My cuties, your big sister is here to indulge you!” Yu Xia poked one of the warm and adorable dumplings, then gently picked one up and took a bite. Her face lit up with amazement, and she began eating with great gusto. Chi Mucheng found the sight of her eating extremely pleasing. He was infected by her enthusiasm, and his own appetite was immediately roused. When they were nearly finished eating, Chi Mucheng gave her a brief introduction to his circumstances. “Chi Mucheng, twenty-six years old. My parents are both alive, and I have an older brother. They all live in Ningcheng. I’m currently starting a business in Jiangcheng. I own a three-bedroom apartment in Yonghe Garden, fully paid off. I also have a car—the Tiguan you saw yesterday. Hmm… My income isn’t very stable at the moment. That’s about the size of it. Is there anything else you’d like to know?” As he spoke, Yu Xia watched him intently. His handsome, refined features, combined with his rich, cello-like voice, made Yu Xia feel herself getting carried away again. Actually, Chi Mucheng’s circumstances were quite good. Just based on his looks alone, as long as he didn’t give up on himself and start slacking off like everyone else, he should, conservatively speaking, be more than enough to admire for a lifetime. But psychologically, Yu Xia still found it difficult to accept the idea of a whirlwind marriage. She always felt that a marriage without an emotional foundation was a desecration of sacred matrimony. That was also why she had discarded Jiang Yiwen like a worn-out shoe. Since he had been unfaithful and insincere toward their relationship, then they might as well part cleanly and wish each other well. After organizing her thoughts, she slowly introduced herself. “Yu Xia, twenty-five years old. I’m a supervisor at a planning company, and I earn around ten thousand yuan a month. My hometown is Qinghe. My parents divorced when I was very young, and they both started families of their own. I grew up with my mother. I have a younger half-brother who’s in high school, though his grades aren’t very good. My biological father lives in Jiangcheng. He had another daughter with someone else, and she seems to have gone abroad to study. I don’t keep in touch with them very often. I’m sorry—my family relationships are a little complicated.” Chi Mucheng listened to her very seriously and responded with considerable grace. “That’s all right.” Yu Xia continued, “My mother and stepfather are both ordinary farmers, and my family isn’t well-off. So in the future, my younger brother may need me to help him buy a home and get married. If you’re not satisfied with that, we can get a div—” She hadn’t finished saying “divorce” when he interrupted her. Chi Mucheng smiled faintly. “Mm. That’s only to be expected.” Hmm? Was he serious? The man’s reaction was completely beyond Yu Xia’s expectations. She pressed her lips together and stared at his expression, trying to find even a hint of hypocrisy. Yet he remained entirely open and untroubled, looking as calm as a drifting cloud and a passing breeze. Yu Xia suddenly felt that she hadn’t been harsh enough. What a miscalculation. Back then, when Zhou Xiufen had learned that Yu Xia’s family lived in such a remote little town and that she had a younger brother whose academic performance was poor, she had constantly found fault with her and had hardly ever given her a pleasant look. Jiang Yiwen had also repeatedly warned her that she absolutely could not become a brother-supporting woman. Yu Xia thought for a moment, then spoke with a serious expression. “There’s something I feel I should make clear to you. My ex—the one who came back from the dead downstairs just now—works at the same company as me…” She paused. “He’s my superior.”