Can You Afford It
The young attendant, specially trained and chosen by Leonard Li, remained calm in the face of trouble. He politely explained, "Miss, here's the situation: Our restaurant issued five hundred membership cards in the first batch, and they've all been sold. Only those with a membership card can dine here—it's our rule. We ask for your understanding."
May Parker sneered sideways, "Hmph! You snob! What's this membership card—do you think I can't afford it?"
As she spoke, May Parker pulled out a tael of broken silver from her pocket and tossed it at the attendant's face, scolding, "See this? One tael of silver! I want to buy your membership card, and I insist on eating here today!"
The attendant smiled, picked up the silver, and handed it back, saying, "Sorry, our membership cards are all sold out. If you want one, you'll have to wait for the next batch to be released."
"You wretch!" May Parker, having been rebuffed repeatedly in front of her family, felt humiliated and her nose flared with anger. She flung the silver at the attendant's face again, cursing, "You bully! Get out of my way! I’ll buy ten membership cards with just one tael of silver!"
"What’s happened?" Lily Evans came out from the kitchen, hearing the commotion at the door, and asked Leonard Li.
Leonard Li raised an eyebrow, "Just some bumpkins causing trouble at the door."
Young masters Zhao and Wang burst out laughing, "That woman at the door—her clothes are so outdated, and her jewelry is neither new nor old. Pretending to be a rich lady? Hilarious!"
The young noblemen jeered and laughed, but one person in the corner kept his head down, face flushed bright red.
That person was Howard Liu. Today, Howard was accompanying a new classmate for a meal. He wasn’t a member, but came in as a guest. Howard had already recognized the woman at the door as his fiancée, May Parker, but with so many people around, he was too embarrassed to speak up.
"Let me see who’s making trouble." Lily Evans walked out with a cold face, only to find—oh, it was all familiar faces.
May Parker was stunned to see Lily Evans walk out of such a fancy restaurant. She sneered, "Well, look who it is—Lily Evans! What are you doing eating in a place this upscale? Aren’t you afraid one meal will bankrupt you?"
Lily Evans smiled, took the broken silver from the attendant, and let the attendant go inside. She glanced at the silver and said, "You think one tael of silver can buy ten membership cards? May Parker, you’re dreaming."
With that, Lily Evans tossed the silver back to May Parker. "We’re not serving you. Go home, don’t embarrass yourself."
May Parker shrilled, pointing at Lily Evans, "If a pauper like you can eat here, why can’t I? Listen up, Lily Evans, I’m now the young mistress of a wealthy family, not some country nobody like you! As for those stupid membership cards, I want to buy a hundred!"
May Parker’s sharp voice echoed through the restaurant, stirring up another round of laughter.
One of the young noblemen tugged Howard Liu’s sleeve, laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes: "Did you hear that country girl say she’s a rich family’s young mistress? I’m dying! Do rich folks have bad taste now, marrying someone like her? What a joke!"
Howard Liu’s forehead throbbed with embarrassment, but he forced a smile and said, "Right, right, let’s just keep eating. Here, let me toast you, brother."
Lily Evans paused, turned back with a bright smile, "You want to buy a hundred membership cards? Ha! Never mind whether we’d even sell them to you—do you even know how much one card costs? Can you afford it, or are you just talking big?"