Chapter 48: Protagonist Successfully Shows Off

The waiter walked over with a smile, but upon seeing Zhao Dong wearing the same uniform as him, he frowned and spoke up.

“What are you doing sitting down? According to the rules, you can’t eat with customers during work hours, or you’ll be fired!”

During work hours, you can’t sit in front of customers. If your shift is over, you should take off the uniform!

High-end restaurant waiters must be well-trained; how can you be so casual?

And he couldn’t have mistaken the uniform; it was specifically designed for their brand’s restaurant, highly recognizable.

Hearing the waiter’s questioning, Zhao Dong wasn’t flustered; instead, he smiled meaningfully.

“Don’t worry, your boss can’t fire me!”

“Let’s order first!”

Seeing Zhao Dong’s calm demeanor, the waiter didn’t say anything, but Chen Hao, who was deliberately watching the commotion, couldn’t hold back and burst into laughter.

“He’s right; your boss can’t fire him! Because…”

Xu Yan eagerly cut in.

“Because he’s not an employee of this restaurant; he works at the ‘Stars and Sea’ restaurant near S University!”

“To freeload, he came all the way over here!”

“…” The waiter found the situation complicated and decided to stay silent, smiling again.

Zhao Dong began to order.

“This, this… and this, along with dessert!”

“And get me two bottles of this wine!”

Zhao Dong ordered a lot of items, then let the waiter leave, satisfied.

Seeing Zhao Dong order so much, Chen Hao and Xu Yan didn’t stop him but instead smiled triumphantly.

Zhao Dong acted as if he didn’t see their expressions, smiling expectantly.

The food and wine were soon served.

The table was filled with exquisite dishes and two bottles of Château Lafite Rothschild; the price must be hefty.

But Zhao Dong ignored this and started eating.

He opened a bottle of wine, drank it like it was water, and ate a piece of Wagyu beef, making the two across from him shake their heads.

Zhao Dong devoured the meal.

After about half an hour, Zhao Dong was finally full.

Chen Hao eagerly called the waiter to settle the bill.

“Hello, sir. The total is 200,000 yuan.”

“What, 200,000 yuan? How is it so expensive?!”

Hearing the waiter, Chen Hao dramatically slapped the table, attracting attention from other waiters and the restaurant manager.

“Sir, that’s correct, and this is after the discount. Our dishes use top-grade ingredients, and these two bottles of Château Lafite Rothschild are from our premium collection, each priced at 98,000 yuan…”

Hearing this, Chen Hao hurriedly interrupted the waiter.

“98,000? Why are you asking me for it? I was talking about the food cost!”

“Sir, you mean…” The waiter was puzzled.

Chen Hao immediately looked at Zhao Dong, who was calmly playing with his phone.

“The wine cost should be covered by my friend! Right, Brother Zhao?”

Hearing Chen Hao’s words, Zhao Dong narrowed his eyes at him.

Chen Hao was indifferent.

“I said I’d treat you to dinner, but you didn’t order rice! The food cost is covered by me out of kindness!”

“Here, it’s… 4,000 yuan, right? Swipe my card!”

After swiping the card, Chen Hao looked “kindly” at Zhao Dong.

“Zhao Dong, can’t you afford it?”

“You ordered so freely earlier, and now you can’t pay?”

At this point, Xu Yan chimed in.

“Seriously? Someone like that exists?”

“You—” Zhao Dong’s face was full of calculated anger, pointing at the two.

But then, he lowered his hand and restored his calm expression.

“I can’t afford it now.”

“But Xu Yan, Chen Hao, let’s make a bet. Let’s bet that I not only won’t pay, but they’ll escort me out!”

“You think they’ll let you leave without paying? What nonsense! Fine, let’s bet! But Zhao Dong, let me tell you, don’t think about having the restaurant come after me. I didn’t drink a drop of that wine!”

“Don’t worry, I won’t involve you. Here’s the deal: If I leave without paying and the restaurant doesn’t trouble me, I win. If they do, you win. How about that?”

“Fine! Deal! The loser kneels here and loudly says three times ‘I’m a big idiot.’ Dare you?”

“No problem!” Zhao Dong remained calm, looking past the waiter to the approaching restaurant manager.

“Manager, I don’t have money on me, but I have urgent matters and need to leave. Is that okay?”

“Of course, of course!”

“Sir, please!”

The restaurant manager bowed and motioned with a low stance.

Seeing his respectful behavior, both the waiter and Chen Hao and Xu Yan were stunned.

Xu Yan quickly spoke to the manager, “He’s lying! Look at his clothes; he’s just a poor guy. He’ll dine and dash!”

Hearing Xu Yan, the manager’s smile vanished, and he became serious.

“Miss, didn’t your parents teach you not to judge by appearances and to respect others?”

“Furthermore, at ‘Stars and Sea,’ all our employees are like family, and we trust him completely.”

Hearing the manager, the waiter was puzzled, family? Are you sure, manager? Did you forget our rules? What family can’t sit in their own home?

The manager, unaware of the waiter’s doubts, took a deep breath and solemnly announced.

“Moreover, I’m here to announce something very important.”

The manager displayed Zhao Dong to everyone.

“Congratulations to this gentleman for being our 100,000th customer!”

“Not only is this meal free, but he also receives our ‘Stars and Sea’ supreme VIP card, with a 30% discount at all our branches!”

“What?!”

“Is that even possible?!”

“Lucky break?!”

Everyone was shocked.

Only Zhao Dong remained calm.

He accepted the black gold card with two fingers, smiling.

“Looks like my luck isn’t bad. Thanks to you two!”

“You…!” Chen Hao’s face twisted in anger, his tone stilted.

Xu Yan also looked down, her face pale.

Looking at Chen Hao, Zhao Dong smiled.

“Brother, you lost. Time to fulfill the bet!”

“You… You… You…”

Chen Hao stammered, then looked at the restaurant manager.

“We came together, ordered together! Why did only he win?”

“You came together, but paid separately, so it’s calculated separately!” the manager explained.

At this, Xu Yan raised her head, speaking urgently.

“No way! Manager, my boyfriend is the young master of the Chen family from the northern part of the city! If you give us the VIP card, we’ll bring you new customers! He’s just a poor guy; even with a discount, he won’t come back!”

Hearing Xu Yan, the manager’s tone turned disdainful.

“What’s the Chen family? At ‘Stars and Sea,’ we value honesty and customer satisfaction over profit!”

“You…” Xu Yan and Chen Hao were speechless.

At this moment, Zhao Dong suddenly spoke.

“Manager, I just remembered, don’t drink and drive. I’ve had wine and can’t ride my scooter!”

“That’s easy; I’ll drive you back!”

“Thanks a lot.”

“No problem; you’re our most esteemed guest. It’s our duty!”

The manager said respectfully, Zhao Dong looked playfully at Chen Hao.

“Brother, hurry up! You’re wasting my time and the manager’s time!”

“Just three sentences, quick!”

“You… You… You…! I didn’t lose! You just got lucky; it doesn’t count!”

Chen Hao, face red, finally blurted out.

Feeling embarrassed, Chen Hao pushed the waiter aside and stormed out of the restaurant.

Xu Yan, unable to hold him back, covered her face and ran after him.

Leaving Zhao Dong with a mysterious smile on his face, looking at his phone.

“I knew you’d be shameless, so I recorded it…”