Chapter 021: Face Slap

Soon enough, however, Jiao Zhibin's mood brightened again.

Every time he'd come to Qinglan Middle School to see Tian Mengqian before, she had always been the one to pay. The meals were always budget-friendly — the most extravagant occasion had been a single trip to Pizza Hut.

It wasn't that Jiao Zhibin was unwilling to treat her. It was simply that when he came to her school, she was the host and he was the guest, and she refused to let him pick up the bill.

Of course, dining at affordable places didn't give Jiao Zhibin much of an opportunity to show off. Even if he'd fought to pay, it wouldn't have demonstrated any real financial power.

Jiao Zhibin had always wanted to take Tian Mengqian somewhere upscale, to truly dazzle her. The problem was, his family was only moderately well-off — they weren't truly wealthy — and his allowance wasn't all that generous, so the idea had never come to fruition.

This time, Jiao Zhibin had gritted his teeth and saved up all summer, finally scraping together over two thousand yuan. He could afford to splurge!

Originally, he had only planned to treat Tian Mengqian alone. But he figured having Lin Feng along wasn't such a bad thing either. He knew Lin Feng's family background well enough — the guy almost certainly had less than two hundred yuan on him. Going to a high-end restaurant would not only embarrass Lin Feng, but also make him the perfect foil to highlight Jiao Zhibin's own wealth.

Once he'd worked that out, Jiao Zhibin's mood improved considerably. He even found Lin Feng less irritating than before, and chattered away cheerfully the whole way there.

During the summer break, Tian Mengqian had also saved up a little money. She felt a bit embarrassed always taking Jiao Zhibin to cheap street stalls, so she led them toward Pizza Hut.

Seeing Tian Mengqian heading into Pizza Hut, Jiao Zhibin quickly stepped in front of her. "Qianqian, every time I come to Qinglan Middle School, you're always the one treating me. You've never once come to visit me at technical school when I've asked. I'm a grown man — I can't keep letting a girl pay for my meals. No matter what, tonight is on me!"

"You came to my school, so naturally I should treat you," Tian Mengqian insisted, holding firm to her principle.

Lin Feng felt a quiet warmth in his chest. He understood that cousins weren't necessarily obligated to follow the host-pays rule — the reason Tian Mengqian always insisted on paying was largely for his sake. She probably worried that if Jiao Zhibin paid, it might make Lin Feng feel uncomfortable.

"Stop with the 'your school, my school' stuff. If you keep this up, I'll feel too embarrassed to come visit you," Jiao Zhibin said, deliberately laying it on thick to get his way.

"Cousin, honestly, you should come visit me less. We're in our third year of high school now — I hope you spend more time on your studies."

Jiao Zhibin silently cursed himself for opening his mouth, then brushed past what he'd just said. "Regardless, I can't keep letting you treat me. If you really insist, then let's meet in the middle — we'll split the bill. Of course, I'll cover your share, and your classmate can pay for his own."

Despite Jiao Zhibin's persistence, Tian Mengqian felt torn. She turned to look at Lin Feng with a questioning expression.

"How about I treat everyone?" Lin Feng offered.

"That's out of the question. It's settled then — we split the bill." Before Lin Feng or Tian Mengqian could say another word, Jiao Zhibin stuck out his hand and flagged down a passing taxi.

Ten minutes later, the cab pulled up in front of the Qinglan Lake Grand Hotel.

Seeing Jiao Zhibin about to walk in, Tian Mengqian's eyes went wide. "Cousin, really, this place is way too fancy — do we have to eat here?"

"What's the matter? If other people can eat here, why can't we?"

Jiao Zhibin said this as he strode boldly toward the hotel entrance. Noticing that Lin Feng hadn't moved, Jiao Zhibin felt a secret thrill. He thought to himself: you must be shaking inside, kid. This is a near-four-star hotel — a meal here easily runs eight hundred to a thousand yuan. Throw in a few hairy crabs, and, heh heh...

"Cousin... let's just forget it," Tian Mengqian called out, still rooted to the spot at the entrance. "I'm not hungry anymore."

"Let's go in." Lin Feng took Tian Mengqian's hand and walked through the door.

The First Pot of Gold he'd struck at the antique market — a full fifteen thousand yuan — was still sitting in his pocket, barely touched. A single meal was nothing to worry about.

Jiao Zhibin watched, jaw tightening, as Tian Mengqian simply let Lin Feng take her hand, leaning against him like a nestling little bird. A surge of jealousy rose in his chest. Ever since Tian Mengqian had started middle school, he hadn't once held her hand. He'd tried once, but she'd quickly pulled away.

Lin Feng taking Tian Mengqian's hand infuriated Jiao Zhibin. He was going to make Lin Feng lose face — badly. He'd originally planned to run up a bill of around eight hundred to a thousand yuan and save the rest, but now he decided he'd spend every last yuan of his two thousand.

"Waiter, get us a private room."

"Sweet and sour pork ribs, sizzling plate sea bass, steamed mandarin fish — one of each. And a wild rabbit dish as well..." The three were shown to a private room, and Jiao Zhibin flipped through the menu, ordering dish after dish while mentally tallying up the prices.

"Cousin, that's so much food — will we even finish it?" Tian Mengqian fidgeted uneasily. She knew that if Jiao Zhibin had come to a place like this, he must have brought plenty of money. But did Lin Feng have any?

"Ha, Qianqian, since we're here, just order whatever you want." Jiao Zhibin flipped through the menu with practiced casualness, as if he dined here regularly. "Actually, what this place is most famous for is their hairy crabs. A three-liang crab goes for sixty-eight yuan; anything over four liang is one hundred and twenty-eight yuan each; and if it's over half a jin, well, that gets really expensive — two hundred and sixty-eight yuan apiece."

"That expensive? Maybe we should skip those," Tian Mengqian said nervously.

"You can't come to the Qinglan Lake Grand Hotel and not eat hairy crabs! Let's get ten of the three-liang ones!"

Though he had over ten thousand yuan on him, Lin Feng had never eaten anywhere this expensive before. Hearing the prices Jiao Zhibin rattled off, he couldn't help feeling a flicker of surprise.

All the while, Jiao Zhibin was sneaking glances at Lin Feng's expression. He'd already done the math: the dishes ordered so far came to roughly three hundred yuan; ten hairy crabs would add over six hundred, bringing the total to just under a thousand. With the bill split three ways, Lin Feng's share would be over three hundred — and Jiao Zhibin doubted Lin Feng had that much on him.

Yet, though Lin Feng's expression had shifted slightly, there was no real sign of panic. Jiao Zhibin figured that three-hundred-something yuan was probably Lin Feng's entire savings.

Jiao Zhibin didn't actually want to clean Lin Feng out — he just wanted to make him look bad. He furrowed his brow and said, "Actually, forget the three-liang ones — they're too small. Let's get ten of the four-liang ones."

Ten four-liang crabs would cost over a thousand yuan, pushing the total bill past fifteen hundred.

And yet, the scene Jiao Zhibin was hoping for never materialized. On the contrary, after he'd swapped the order to the four-liang crabs, even the faint trace of reaction that had crossed Lin Feng's face earlier was gone.

What was going on?

Just as Jiao Zhibin was puzzling over this, Lin Feng spoke up. "Since the hairy crabs at Qinglan Lake Grand Hotel are so famous, let's get ten of the biggest ones."

Lin Feng knew perfectly well what Jiao Zhibin was up to. Wasn't it obvious? He wanted to humiliate Lin Feng in front of Tian Mengqian. If Lin Feng really had no money, that would have been genuinely embarrassing — but this idiot hadn't stopped to think: if Lin Feng had no money, would he have followed him into a place like this? That would have been walking right into a trap.

Since you want to embarrass me, let me show you what I'm made of.

Besides, the money Lin Feng had was an unexpected windfall. And with the Peach Blossom Manual in his possession, he genuinely didn't put those ten-thousand-odd yuan in his eyes at all.

Tian Mengqian shot Lin Feng a surprised glance, opened her mouth, and ultimately said nothing.

Jiao Zhibin felt his stomach drop.

Ten of the largest hairy crabs would come to two thousand six hundred and eighty yuan. Add the dishes already ordered, and the total was basically three thousand. Jiao Zhibin's share was two thousand — the absolute limit of what he could manage. That was every single yuan he'd saved.

"Trying to treat me like a sucker? This is a split bill, don't forget!" Jiao Zhibin forced a breezy laugh.

"I know. Ten of the biggest ones," Lin Feng repeated calmly.

"The big ones and small ones aren't that different, really. The four-liang crabs are already quite large," Jiao Zhibin said, his expression souring as he once again ran through the mental arithmetic.

"If we're eating, we eat the best. Are you short on cash? If you are, I can cover Qianqian's share too."

"I'm fine — bring the biggest ones." Jiao Zhibin had crunched the numbers: the total would come to two thousand nine hundred and seventy yuan. His two-thirds share was one thousand nine hundred and eighty, leaving him with twenty yuan to spare.

Now, Jiao Zhibin couldn't get a read on Lin Feng at all. He'd fired off everything he had, and wasn't about to push any further.

"What would you like to drink?" Lin Feng turned to ask Tian Mengqian.

"A large Sprite!" Jiao Zhibin cut in before she could answer.

"Ordering Sprite at a place like this seems a little low-class," Lin Feng said, picking up the menu and flipping through it. "Let's go with the apple cider vinegar."

Jiao Zhibin felt sweat beginning to bead on his scalp. He'd just seen the price of the apple cider vinegar — thirty-six yuan. His share would be twenty-four yuan, bringing his total to two thousand and four. But he only had two thousand on him.

He was four yuan short. He'd just have to say he didn't have exact change.

Lin Feng had noticed every shift in Jiao Zhibin's expression. He understood now that the order had just about hit the ceiling of what Jiao Zhibin could handle.

Lin Feng flipped through the menu again. "We haven't ordered soup or a main course yet. Qianqian, what kind of soup do you want?"

Jiao Zhibin nearly jumped out of his chair. "Can you even finish all this food?!"

"We can't not have soup."

"Then swap out one of the dishes — give me the menu."

"No need. We'll have a mushroom and old duck soup, and some steamed corn buns for the main course." Before Jiao Zhibin could say another word, Lin Feng handed the menu directly to the waiter.

Before coming to the hotel, Jiao Zhibin had been loud and animated the whole way, brimming with confidence. Even when they'd first entered the private room, he'd carried himself with an air of authority. But now, his face had gone pale, his expression dazed, and beads of sweat were rolling down his forehead.

"Cousin, are you alright?" Tian Mengqian asked, alarmed.

"Ah... it's nothing, I'm fine."

The food hadn't even arrived yet, and already Jiao Zhibin's mind was consumed by a single thought: how on earth was he going to handle the bill?

The mushroom and old duck soup was particularly expensive — over two hundred yuan — and with the corn buns, it was nearly three hundred more. That meant his share would come to over two thousand two hundred. Claiming he didn't have exact change for two hundred yuan was simply not going to fly.

Jiao Zhibin even found himself peering around under the table, half-wishing he might find two hundred yuan lying on the floor.

After spending all that money, Lin Feng ate without restraint, thoroughly enjoying every dish.

Tian Mengqian, seeing how at ease Lin Feng was, let go of her own anxiety and focused wholeheartedly on demolishing her hairy crabs.

Only Jiao Zhibin sat there on pins and needles, his face ashen, unable to taste a thing. How he wished this dinner could just go on forever — stretch on and on and never reach its end.

Half an hour later, the table was a scene of complete devastation.

Lin Feng wiped his mouth and said, "Let's get the bill."

"Three thousand two hundred and sixty-four yuan in total," the waiter announced.

"Three thousand two hundred and sixty-four, divided by three..."

"What's there to calculate — I'll put in two thousand, you cover the rest," Jiao Zhibin said.

"My share should be one thousand and eighty-eight, shouldn't it?" Lin Feng frowned. "How does two thousand from you add up?"

"What's a hundred or two hundred between us? Besides, I'm paying more than you. Look — you ate basically all the crabs. I didn't have a single one."

"That's not how it works. We agreed to split the bill — I pay my share. If you feel like you got a bad deal, I can order ten more crabs for you to eat on your own."

Jiao Zhibin was drenched in sweat, and had absolutely no comeback.

"Are you short on cash? I could lend you some," Lin Feng offered.

Seeing there was no way to wriggle out of this, Jiao Zhibin accepted that he was going to lose face regardless. He let out a cold snort, gave up on any pretense of dignity, turned to look at Tian Mengqian, and said with a flushed face, "Qianqian, I didn't bring enough money today. Can you lend me two hundred yuan? I'll pay you back tomorrow."