chapter 14 Can you afford a guest ===

"Let's go in, Gloria. Whether they come or not is up to them," Thorpe Chen said, leading a surprised Gloria Ye inside.
"Do you know Manager Zhang?" Gloria Ye incredulously asked.
"I don't."
"Manager Zhang is part of the management of Blissy Restaurant and holds shares here. He has extensive connections. Why was he so nice to you?" Gloria Ye couldn't understand.
"Oh, I did their boss a small favour. Perhaps their boss wanted to thank me," Thorpe Chen laughed.
"I see." Gloria Ye's doubts faded. She had been overthinking.
"What's going on?" Seeing Thorpe Chen walk in, Patty Liu asked in disbelief, "Did the manager recognize the wrong person?"
"I don't know, but something's up. Let's go in and find out. I refuse to believe we're less than some thug," Lowell Fang gritted his teeth.
Inside the top-tier private room of Blissy Restaurant, it was incredibly luxurious. Custom-designed carpets, pure rosewood furniture, modern Chinese decor, and two rows of young waitresses in cheongsams conveyed opulence.
"Mr. Chen, I've prepared Blissy Restaurant's speciality dishes for you. Do you need anything else?" Manager Zhang personally served inside the room and handed over the menu.
"No need. It's my first time here. Serve whatever you think is best," Thorpe Chen casually said.
"All right. If Mr. Chen needs anything, just call me. I'll be waiting outside," Manager Zhang slightly bowed and left.
"Thorpe Chen, are you familiar with Manager Zhang here?" Lowell Fang asked after entering.
"I don't know him," Thorpe Chen responded nonchalantly. "But I know the big boss here."
"Blissy Restaurant is a subsidiary of the Lin Corporation. The big boss is Adolf Lin, a helmsman of one of Fengling's four great families. You know Adolf Lin?" Lowell Fang almost laughed.
"Not exactly, but he owes me a favour," Thorpe Chen smiled.
"Stop bragging, okay? The Lin family is worth billions and is a top-tier family in Fengling. Why would he owe you anything?"
"He's gone mad."
"He's making up stories."
Everyone from the Ye family didn't believe it. They thought Thorpe Chen was bragging. They were sure Manager Zhang had mistaken him for someone else.
"Hehe, impressive. Fengling's top-tier private room signifies status, background, and connections. Impressive," a middle-aged couple walked in at that moment.
The couple was Gloria Ye's parents, Elton Ye and Nancy Li.
"Dad, Mom," Gloria Ye, having not seen her father in a long time, looked emotional.
However, after glancing at Gloria Ye, both parents looked displeased and ignored her.
Gloria Ye's eyes welled up, almost crying.
"Uncle, you're here." Everyone stood up, and Lowell Fang quickly invited Elton Ye to sit.
"Lowell, did you book this room? Impressive. I heard that without strong connections, one couldn't book the Golden Jade Room of Blissy Restaurant. I didn't know your connections were so wide," Elton Ye looked around, praising the surroundings.
Although he considered himself from a scholarly family, a calligraphy master with a disdain for wealth, vanity was inevitable.
"Uncle, this..." Even as shameless as Lowell was, he couldn't publicly admit to securing the room.
"Lowell's capabilities and connections are strong. Daisy made a good choice for a husband. Lowell, sit," Nancy Li said, then looked at Thorpe Chen dismissively. "Unlike some people who only indulge in vices, you've made the Ye family lose face."
"Mom, Dad, Thorpe Chen booked this room. It's because of him that Manager Zhang reserved the Golden Jade Room for us," Gloria Ye said, her brow furrowed.
"What did you say? Did he book this room? Heh, how much influence does he have? A bottom-of-the-society scum, does he have that privilege?" Elton Ye sneered.
"After all these years, you've not grown at all. What's so good about Thorpe Chen that you would fight with us for him?" Nancy Li looked disappointedly at her daughter.
"Then ask him yourself." Gloria Ye's eyes were slightly red. Her family still couldn't accept Thorpe Chen.
"Lowell, isn't this room reserved by you?" Looking around at the eerily quiet surroundings, Elton Ye asked in surprise.
"That uncle... must've mistaken someone else for the manager. How could someone like Chen Fan have such prestige?"
That's how Lowell Fang responded. Without saying more, Elton Ye understood. His face darkened, and he coldly remarked, "The country now advocates saving. Isn't coming to such a place wasteful?"
"Dad..." Tears welled up in Gloria Ye's eyes. No matter how Thorpe Chen changed, they always found faults with him.
"Let's go elsewhere then. There's a Sichuan restaurant across the street. Why not have a bowl of noodles there? Isn't that more economical?" Thorpe Chen's brow furrowed, his patience wearing thin.
Honestly, even after reincarnation, Thorpe Chen didn't like the self-righteous look on Elton Ye's face. On one hand, he liked to show off, and on the other, he pretended to be all high and mighty. If it weren't for him being Gloria Ye's father, he would have walked away a long time ago.
"You..." Elton Ye's face changed.
"This is the best hotel in Fengling City, the most top-tier suite. I've heard enjoying the royal service here and then leaving would be quite wasteful," Nancy Li whispered.
Elton Ye's face shifted colours repeatedly, finally snorting and saying, "Fine, let's stay here. Humph, this meal must've cost tens of thousands. There are children in the mountains who don't have enough to eat. Do you think squandering like this sits well with your conscience?"
"Father-in-law, this meal won't cost less than fifty thousand." Thorpe Chen smiled, "Don't worry. If your son thinks it's expensive, I can treat everyone. Consider it as paying my respects to you."
"Thorpe Chen, what are you talking about? Have you gone mad?" Gloria Ye desperately held onto Chen Fan, wishing she could cover his mouth. They were worried about the rent just a few days ago; how could they afford fifty thousand?
"Haha, Thorpe Chen, stop joking. Where did you get fifty thousand yuan from? Or are you a gambling god? Do you always win and never lose when playing cards?"
"Haha, fifty thousand. Three years wouldn’t even be enough for him to save that much."
"This young man likes to brag."
The Ye family laughed out loud. They all looked at Thorpe Chen with disdainful eyes. Who in the room didn't know what kind of person Thorpe Chen was?
He never worked. After getting married, the living expenses were solely supported by Gloria Ye. He was only good at squandering his family's assets. How could he possibly have fifty thousand?
"Thorpe Chen, there's a limit to boasting," Lowell Fang said, trying to hold back his laughter.
"Do you think I'm boasting?" Thorpe Chen glanced at him.
"If it's not boasting, what is it? I bet you can't even take out a hundred yuan right now. How will you treat us to this meal?" Daisy Ye scoffed.
"Maybe they'll waive the bill for me," Thorpe Chen said with a chuckle.
"Waive the bill? Haha, this young man must've lost his mind."
"I suggest visiting a mental hospital outside."
The Ye family burst into laughter again. Lowell Fang was even laughing so hard that he couldn't catch his breath. He walked over to Thorpe Chen, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Thorpe Chen, I'll lend you two thousand privately. Go see a psychiatrist. Waive the bill? What do you think this place is? Haha..."
"Mr. Chen, these two bottles of '82 Lafite are classic treasures of our shop. Please enjoy. Additionally, this is today's bill for the drinks, totalling fifty-three thousand. It's all on the house."
Before Lowell Fang could finish his sentence, Manager Zhang came in pushing a cart. He presented two valuable bottles of red wine and handed over the bill.