Chapter Thirty-Three: Zhao Menghua? What a Coincidence!
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Black Prince Hotel.
Only after hearing the beeping tone from the other end of the line did Lily set down the receiver. She crossed the dim staff corridor and walked straight toward an elevator.
Taking a black keycard from her bosom, she lightly swiped it over the gate beside the doors. With a sharp beep, the imposing metal doors swung open.
The elevator was small, yet seemed strangely spacious, for there were no buttons for selecting floors. It had been designed exclusively for internal use and stopped only at the top floor of the Black Prince Hotel.
Lily stepped inside. A brief sensation of weightlessness swept over her from all sides.
Another beep sounded. When the elevator doors opened, the first thing that met her eyes was an enormous living room. A projection screen hung in the center, showing Stairway to Heaven, a Korean television drama that had premiered only the previous year.
Facing the screen was a set of Minotti fabric sofas. A woman sat sideways on one of them, her long hair coiled atop her head as she watched Stairway to Heaven and blew her nose.
Two long, shapely legs extended from beneath her nightgown. Her blue-polished feet rubbed restlessly against each other, like two mischievous little white fish.
“Boo-hoo-hoo… Jung-suh… Boo-hoo-hoo… Song-joo…”
Many of the Black Prince Hotel’s employees knew that the twenty-ninth floor existed. They knew it was the hotel chairman’s residence, yet no one had ever truly seen it. Only the owner himself and his trusted aides had permission to use the elevator that went directly to the twenty-ninth floor.
Had they been able to see the floor’s interior with their own eyes, they would certainly have been astonished. For the entire twenty-ninth floor had been knocked through and transformed into one enormous open-plan residence.
“Manager, I’m sorry to disturb you.” Lily stopped several yards away from the woman and bowed.
“What is it?” the woman asked tearfully, crumpling the tissue she had used to blow her nose and tossing it into a nearby wastebasket.
“I just received a call from Lu Mingfei. He wants to reserve a table at Ju De Quan.”
“Then help him reserve one.” The woman did not turn her head. “Use my phone to call them. It should be in the bathroom—go find it. There’s no need to make the reservation under the Black Prince Hotel’s name. Use mine.”
“Yes.” Lily nodded and began walking toward the bathroom, but she could not resist turning back. “I’m sorry, Manager, but I’m still curious. Who exactly is that young man called Lu Mingfei? Why are you taking such special care of him?”
“The reason I agreed to Mayi’s recommendation and made you my secretary was not primarily because of your combat skills. The most important reason was that Mayi told me the ninjas of the Togakushi School were discreet and never meddled in matters they had no business asking about.”
Although the woman’s voice remained tinged with tears, her tone was as cold as ice. Lily shuddered instinctively and lowered her head in a bow.
“Yes. I’m sorry. I was out of line.”
“I hope you understand that I have nothing against you.” The woman’s voice suddenly softened. “It’s simply that, with certain matters, it is better not to know than to know.”
“…I understand.”
“Oh, and while you’re getting my phone, bring me a few bags of potato chips from the kitchen cabinet.”
…
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After hanging up, Lu Mingfei returned the phone to Liu Miaomiao and became visibly more confident.
He knew the Little Devil was always reliable. If he had said he would make the call himself, then there was a very good chance the owner of the Black Prince Group would agree to help secure a table.
“Who did you just call?” Liu Miaomiao asked. She had heard Lu Mingfei mentioning a reservation at Ju De Quan.
“A… friend of mine. She’s well acquainted with the owner of Ju De Quan, so I asked her to see whether she could get us a table.”
“A friend?” Zhao Menghua came over and patted Lu Mingfei on the shoulder. “I’m not trying to discourage you, brother, but I doubt your friend will be much help.
“This is the Imperial Capital—a place where a falling brick could take out a whole page of billionaires. Yet even here, there are only a handful of people whose name is enough to earn Ju De Quan’s favor.
“My father has known the owner for years, and even I can only reserve a table in advance. Listen to me: let’s just squeeze in with the others. Don’t worry—the bill for the three of you will be on me as well.”
“No need.” Without changing expression, Lu Mingfei removed Zhao Menghua’s hand from his shoulder. “I think my friend is probably quite dependable.”
“Fine. Then wait here slowly for news from your friend.” Zhao Menghua turned around and waved toward the entrance. “Let’s go in first.”
The students around him echoed his call and followed him into Ju De Quan, leaving Lu Mingfei and the others behind to wait.
Qiao Yiran patted Lu Mingfei on the shoulder. “Is your friend really reliable?”
Lu Mingfei shrugged. “We’ll know soon enough. We’ve already waited this long.”
In truth, Lu Mingfei trusted Lu Mingze absolutely. What he lacked confidence in was the owner of that Black Prince Hotel. He had no idea what sort of person she was.
She had agreed to help, certainly—but what if she lacked the ability to make it happen?
He had already boasted in front of the girls. If the reservation fell through, it would be a disaster.
Fortunately, only a few minutes later, Lu Mingfei saw a tall man hurrying down the stairs. Rubbing his hands, he looked around anxiously.
After scanning half the crowd, the man’s eyes locked precisely onto Lu Mingfei. He came trotting over.
“Hello. May I ask if you are Mr. Lu Mingfei?”
The manager bent forward with a fawning smile. He stood nearly six feet four, yet somehow managed to bow lower than Lu Mingfei himself.
“That’s me.” Lu Mingfei scratched his head. “Straighten up before you talk. I’m not used to seeing you like this.”
Lu Mingfei hated seeing people act so obsequiously. Everyone was only working to make a living; life was difficult for all of them. Why behave so timidly?
This was the twenty-first century. Why were people still playing at feudal serfdom?
“Of course, of course.” The man obediently straightened his back, instantly towering more than half a head over Lu Mingfei.
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“Let me introduce myself. My surname is Wang, and I’m the manager of Ju De Quan’s main branch. I just received a call from Miss Su’s side saying that a young master named Lu Mingfei wanted to reserve a table outside Ju De Quan, so I hurried down to find you.”
Miss Su? Lu Mingfei wondered whether the owner of the Black Prince Hotel was surnamed Su, or whether Lily’s surname was Su.
“Here’s the situation. Although Miss Su asked us to clear a private room for you, there have been far too many customers lately, and all our private rooms are occupied. We truly cannot free one up. All we can do is clear a table for you in the main dining hall. Would that be acceptable?”
“That’s fine. The main hall is enough.” Lu Mingfei agreed, then asked with some concern, “But wouldn’t that mean I’m cutting in line?”
The manager froze. He clearly had not expected Lu Mingfei to care about that, but he quickly explained.
“Please rest assured. That table is being added specifically for you. There was originally a large viewing platform there. If you hadn’t come, we wouldn’t have put the table there.”
“That’s good, that’s good.” Lu Mingfei exhaled in relief, then turned toward Liu Miaomiao and the others. “Shall we go in, then?”
…
The roast duck had not even arrived, yet Zhao Menghua had already lost his appetite.
He had originally reserved a table near Ju De Quan’s large viewing platform. From his seat, he would have been able to take in the scenery of Front Gate Street and the dozens upon dozens of old alleyways around Pearl Market Gate.
But just after they had sat down and ordered, as they prepared to admire the broad view of old Imperial Capital beyond the platform, several employees suddenly carried over a large round table and set it beside the railing.
Then they arranged ten carved pear-wood chairs in a circle according to rank and precedence. Together, they stood like ten folding screens, completely blocking Zhao Menghua’s view.
His face turned livid, and fury surged through him.
What was this like?
It was like spending a fortune on a river-view apartment beside the Huangpu River, only to discover upon moving in that the developer had built another tower directly in front of your balcony, blocking the entire view.
Zhao Menghua was about to call over a waiter and demand an explanation when he saw Lu Mingfei come through from behind him and sit down at the table that had stolen his prime view.
What made it even more infuriating was that, after noticing him sitting nearby, Lu Mingfei greeted him with delighted surprise.
“Oh? Zhao Menghua? What a coincidence!”
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