Chapter 41: Nothing but Child's Play

Sure enough, when Zhao Gaoyang looked down and discovered that the Wine column was a staggering three thousand, his eyes went dark, as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

Even Cheng Huaiyu, the rich kid from Modu at the table, was shocked by this number.

It was true that his family had a little money, but his own monthly living expenses were only about three thousand; this single meal cost as much as his living expenses for over a month.

"Damn! Four thousand. Old Zhao, do you have enough money on you?"

Zhao Gaoyang's sweat was about to soak through the back of his shirt.

How could it possibly be enough! He only had a little over sixteen hundred on him, and that was counting his living expenses for the month; it wasn't even half the cost of this meal, it was far too short.

He looked up and asked the waiter: "Look at how much we ate, could you ask the boss if... if we could get a discount?"

As soon as these words left his mouth, the waiter's expression changed immediately.

"Sir, you aren't planning on dining and dashing, are you?"

"No... no, I'll pay, I'll pay."

Zhao Gaoyang stammered, then pulled a wallet so old the leather was peeling from his pocket, which contained only a dozen crumpled hundred-yuan bills.

By now, the few girls who had been laughing and acting drunk realized what was happening.

Fan Xi couldn't help but say: "How about we split the bill? After all, everyone drank quite a bit."

Zhao Gaoyang had originally wanted to treat everyone to a meal to show off, and now that Fan Xi was suggesting splitting the bill, he didn't know how to save face.

He asked Cheng Huaiyu if he could lend him three thousand, promising to pay him back after he earned money from his part-time job.

Cheng Huaiyu said awkwardly that he only had three thousand yuan, and could lend him at most two thousand, as he needed the remaining one thousand for his own living expenses.

Sheng Bo refused outright; he was a person who didn't like borrowing money from others, nor did he like lending money to others. In his view, borrowing and repaying money was in itself a bad practice.

Zhao Gaoyang couldn't bring himself to ask the girls for a loan either.

There was no other way; he could only choose to compromise, and with a thick skin, he said, "How about we split the bill? I'll treat you all next time."

This put students from ordinary families like Wang Yi in a very difficult position. Her monthly living expenses were only six hundred, and she didn't work a part-time job; having over three hundred taken away at once was like killing her.

Zhao Gaoyang offered to cover her share, paying for two people, but doing so would make others dissatisfied, especially Dan Yuyue, whose family situation was also poor; she would definitely curse him out.

A perfectly good dinner gathering had turned into a farce of endless arguing over money.

Finally, the lobby manager was drawn over. The lobby manager asked them why they hadn't left yet, as the hotel was in a rush to accommodate the next table of guests.

The waiter replied: "Manager, this table is discussing payment issues."

"Payment?" The lobby manager frowned and asked suspiciously: "Wasn't the handsome guy in the suit who just left from this table?"

Zhao Gaoyang was stunned. It seemed only Xu Heng had come to eat wearing a suit, but he didn't know why the lobby manager would ask that.

"He is from our table, why?"

"Then you can go; the bill for this table was just paid by him."

The lobby manager waved his hand speechlessly and turned to head back to the front desk.

He had thought the guests were dissatisfied with the food and had gotten into a conflict with the staff, so he had rushed over, only to find it was just this trivial matter.

"Paid?" Zhao Gaoyang was somewhat stunned. He followed the direction the lobby manager had left in and saw Xu Heng standing at the hotel entrance, muttering in disbelief, "Xu Heng paid?"

"Damn, I couldn't tell Old Xu was a rich second generation." Four thousand yuan for a meal, and he paid it just like that. Sheng Bo didn't believe it unless he had some family wealth.

Dong Xinxin also chimed in at this moment: "I noticed the watch Xu Heng was wearing earlier; it looked like the Patek Philippe brand."

"Patek Philippe? Wouldn't that cost hundreds of thousands?"

"It's not that exaggerated. Cheap second-hand Patek Philippes can be found for tens of thousands, or around a hundred thousand."

Wang Yi's eyes widened: "A hundred thousand is still a hundred thousand! Many people don't earn that much even after working for years. This kid is really good at hiding it."

Dong Xinxin nodded: "Indeed. I couldn't tell his family was rich before either, which shows he has depth, doesn't show off, and knows not to flaunt his wealth."

Cheng Huaiyu let out a long sigh of relief, smiling as he patted Zhao Gaoyang on the shoulder, saying that this was great—the best of both worlds. Old Xu was a good roommate and a real brother; he paid four thousand yuan without a word. Forget about doing a handstand while washing his hair, it would be worth it to even warm his bed.

He didn't notice that Zhao Gaoyang had gone completely stiff when he said this.

Zhao Gaoyang couldn't even feel gratitude toward Xu Heng right now; he only felt the shame of being slapped in the face.

Even the way Fan Xi looked at him felt like mockery in his eyes; he wished he could find a hole in the ground to crawl into.

Dong Xinxin, who had a good relationship with Ying Ziyun, asked her with a smile why she didn't continue dating Xu Heng for another two years to enjoy it more, now that he was so rich.

Ying Ziyun was silent.

In truth, she didn't know Xu Heng was very rich. Xu Heng earning money was something that happened after they broke up. Although the Xu Heng of the past treated her very well, their consumption level was basically that of an ordinary couple; they usually ate at small restaurants costing a few dozen yuan, and their largest expenditure was limited to a trip to Beijing.

Moreover, she had been to Xu Heng's home—an old district, three bedrooms and one living room, not exactly luxurious.

A house can reveal a family's standard of living; Xu Heng's family was clearly a middle-to-lower-middle-class family, and it had nothing to do with being rich.

As for why the current Xu Heng could afford a Patek Philippe, she didn't know either.

Or perhaps, after breaking up with her, Xu Heng had learned from his mistakes and found a way to earn a lot of money.

No matter how you looked at it, this conjecture seemed absurd. Where could a college student who knew nothing earn over a hundred thousand or even hundreds of thousands of RMB in just three short months?

This conjecture was even less practical than Xu Heng winning the lottery.

However, with the dinner bill settled, a weight was lifted from their hearts. As they walked out of the hotel, Cheng Huaiyu saw Xu Heng standing at the entrance playing on his phone and gave him a bear hug without a word.

"You're awesome, brother! We wouldn't have been able to leave the hotel door tonight without you."

Xu Heng said nonchalantly that it wasn't a large sum of money, just consider it their dorm treating the girls to a meal, and they could just treat them back next time.

"Four thousand yuan isn't a large sum? Xu Heng, what kind of rich second generation are you?" Wang Yi's tone revealed her envy.

Xu Heng laughed: "Just earned a little pocket money from a summer job, it's not from my family."

The girls smiled and said nothing.

What kind of summer job salary could buy a Patek Philippe? You'd probably have to go to the Middle East to earn that amount.

They all thought Xu Heng was being modest, yet in reality, Xu Heng had indeed earned the money to buy the Patek Philippe himself, and it had nothing to do with his parents.

Dan Yuyue, who was draped over Dong Xinxin's neck and already blurry-eyed from drink, said indignantly: "If I'd known you were rich, I would've ordered two more bottles of Feitian Moutai to drink you into poverty."

"Stop talking nonsense, those two bottles of Feitian Moutai aren't even as expensive as the parts in Xu Heng's watch," Dong Xinxin said, covering her mouth to laugh.

Ever since Xu Heng finished paying, he became the focus of everyone's discussion, while Zhao Gaoyang, who had said from the start that he would treat them to a meal, had long since been forgotten in the corner.

When Zhao Gaoyang shamelessly approached Fan Xi and said, "Class Monitor, let me take you home; it's not safe for a girl to be out alone at night."

Fan Xi waved her hand, "I'm going back with Xinxin and the others, so I won't trouble you."

"I... is that so? Alright then."