After dealing with those matters, Lin Tian and his companions were also starving. Zhou Botong clamored for a celebration, boasting that the Gambling Stone Festival had kicked off successfully with a bang. Not only did he win an extravagantly priced top-quality red fei, but he also managed to secure the best storefront on Jewelry Street in Zhonghai City.
Miss was also very pleased, and with a grand gesture, she announced she would treat everyone to a meal. Mr. Wan Gaoyuan originally wanted to show the hospitality of a landlord, but since Miss insisted on celebrating, he had no choice but to go along with it.
The group drove to the hotel, but what caught Lin Tian’s attention was that Ou Mengmeng was actually driving a Maybach. A Maybach is a very masculine car, and it’s surprising that a girl could handle it.
The better the car, the more powerful the performance, and driving it is like riding a wild horse, not something just anyone can manage. Some luxury car dealers even offer special training to teach buyers how to master driving high-performance vehicles. But Lin Tian thought about her bold character and concluded that it wasn’t strange for her to be driving a Maybach after all.
Secretary Xu had already made a reservation at the restaurant, which was said to have been booked even before arriving in Zhonghai City. Lin Tian originally thought it was a bit excessive, but upon arrival, he realized that without a reservation there’d be no place to eat.
With the Gambling Stone Festival taking place these days, hotels near the Jade Trading Center were already fully booked. The restaurant Lin Tian and his group were visiting was called Taibai Mansion, the best dining establishment in the vicinity, and at this time there were still many people waiting in the hall of the restaurant.
The decor of Taibai Mansion was richly traditional, and a huge calligraphy painting hung on the wooden wall in the lobby, with the fluid and graceful brushwork depicting "The Peach Blossom Spring."
Guided by the waiter, Lin Tian and his party made their way to a private room on the third floor. There were four people in Lin Tian’s group, plus Zhou Botong’s two and Mr. and Mrs. Wan Gaoyuan, making a full table.
"Xiao Family’s young lady, I have been to this restaurant several times," Song Yanan said to Miss. "You must try their signature peach blossom wine. It’s made by infusing medicinal herbs and peach blossoms with white liquor. It’s good for enhancing qi, replenishing blood, activating circulation, moisturizing the skin, and slowing skin aging."
Lin Tian had heard of the legend of the peach blossom wine, supposedly invented by a beauty named Dong Shuangcheng, and even immortals from the heavens loved to drink it. But all that was likely just fanciful tales concocted by bored ancient literati.
Nevertheless, the wine truly had health benefits, although Lin Tian was not familiar with the formula. His knowledge of medicine was limited to massage, acupuncture, and a few prescriptions.
The several beauties at the table were quite fond of the idea—no woman, no matter how beautiful, would mind becoming even more attractive.
Dish after dish continued to arrive, and the eight people shared laughter over their meal. Each time a dish was served, the waiter would introduce it. During the height of their dining merriment, suddenly, a noisy disturbance came from outside.
Then, the waiter’s earpiece buzzed with a call, and although others couldn’t hear the content, Lin Tian could hear it clearly. The waiter’s earpiece transmitted: "Incident in third-floor Yang Guifei room, call for security."
Hearing this call, Lin Tian frowned slightly. Their room was named Taibai Mansion, and the Yang Guifei room was right across. He guessed that it could be someone drunk and causing a commotion, either complaining about the restaurant’s food or harassing a beautiful waitress.
The room’s soundproofing was so good that Lin Tian didn’t pay attention to the trouble next door. After all, a restaurant that could afford such luxurious rooms was competent enough to handle difficult guests.
However, things don’t always go as one wishes, and Lin Tian couldn’t even enjoy a peaceful meal. Out of nowhere, the wooden door to the room was violently knocked open, more accurately, the entire door flew off its frame and crashed to the ground.
With a loud "boom," the door lay on the floor and on top of it, lay a person resembling a guard, who did not get up—it was clear he had been knocked unconscious.
Lin Tian and Miss quickly rose to their feet and rushed to the front of the dining table, bracing themselves for any further mishaps. Just as they steadied themselves, two more guards ran into the doorway, panic-stricken. They first apologized to the people in the room, then moved to assist the guard who had been knocked out on the floor.
"Don’t touch him yet, I know medical skills, let me check on him first," Lin Tian stopped the security guards, fearing they might mishandle the situation and cause secondary injuries.
He looked through the security guard lying on the ground, carefully examining him. Fortunately, the guard was in good physical shape, with only muscle contusions, likely just winded. Lin Tian massaged several acupoints above his heart, and the guard gradually came to.
"Thank you, doctor, thank you..." His two companions, mistaking Lin Tian for a doctor, kept nodding and thanking him.
"No need to thank me yet, what happened outside, tell me," Lin Tian waved his hand, urging him to clarify the matter. By that time, Song Yanan and the others couldn’t eat anymore and came over to see what had happened.
"We had a new waitress join our restaurant, called Xiao Yu, his sister," the narrator pointed at the lying security guard and continued, "She was just serving dishes in the Yang Guifei private room, and a customer saw she was pretty and wanted her to accompany..."
He looked at the security guard and didn’t continue. Lin Tian frowned and asked, "Accompany him for drinks?"
Many waitresses had such experiences, where patrons, caught up in their merriment, would joke with them or coax them to drink.
"No!" The lying security guard stood up with the help of his colleagues, suppressing his rage as he said, "He wanted my sister to accompany him for the whole night, and of course she refused, but that damn Japanese threatened her. After she cried out for help, I went up to assess the situation and hit him, and then his bodyguard shoved me out and kicked me, sending me flying."
Damn it, such things happening under the bright heavens—Lin Tian let out a breath and stood up. Everyone in the room was also seething with anger, and before Lin Tian could step outside, three security guards and two women walked in.
One of them was Manager Zhao from the restaurant, a woman in her forties, whom they had met once during the opening. She was pulling along a waitress, who ran over as soon as she entered.
"Brother, are you all right?" She supported the guard, asking with concern.
"Xiao Yu, I’m fine, all thanks to this doctor’s help," he turned around and asked Lin Tian, "My name is Yu Hai, this is my sister, Yu Xiaoyu, and your name is...?"
"Just call me Lin Tian..." He was about to speak when more people entered from the door.
"Where’s the person who hit me, you, give me that, come out!" A familiar intonation sounded.
Japanese? Lin Tian turned to look, a cold smile appearing on his lips as he saw the newcomers.
"Futian Shenyi, the Bai brothers, Sun Decai, oh, and the two bosses Bai Yuanhao and Sun Hai are here too," Lin Tian noted, seeing Sun Hai, who had been avoiding the spotlight, clearly had a good relationship with the Bai Family.
Bai Yuze sneered, "Lin Tian, don’t stick your nose into other’s business, hand over that security guard. He has hit our distinguished guest and must apologize!"
Apologize? Was this the classic case of the aggressor playing the victim? The Japanese treated Xiao Yu like that, yet the people here refrained from helping and even sought to aid the tyrant—what difference was there from being lapdogs!
New novel 𝓬hapters are published on (f)re𝒆web(n)ovel.com