Lynn Chen was blocked by two girls.
Nana, beside her, was so anxious she was about to cry, her eyes reddened, regretting having said so much just now.
The tall boy who had Lynn Chen under his control heard the commotion and looked toward the door, raising his eyebrows as he stared at the newcomer.
"Who are you?"
Four people had arrived.
Two guys and two girls.
The one who had just spoken was Victor Wei, now standing at the front of the group, his gaze cold and fixed on this side.
"Lynn, Nana!"
Jenny Sun and Zoe Zhao stepped forward, pushing aside the two women blocking Lynn Chen, looking worried.
"Are you guys okay?"
"How did things get so messy?"
They'd originally worried Lynn Chen and Nana might run into trouble here, but hadn't expected problems to start before the food even arrived.
Luckily, they made it just in time.
Victor Wei stepped forward, grabbed Lynn Chen's phone from the boy's hand.
The boy was taller and bigger than Victor, but seeing Victor's icy stare, he didn't dare move.
"Here's your phone."
Victor handed the phone back.
"Thanks."
Lynn Chen took it, murmuring a quiet thank you.
Honestly, it was a bit awkward; she'd originally planned to never interact with Victor and his group again, but hadn't expected to run into them here.
No need to guess—they were brought here by Jenny Sun and Zoe Zhao.
"So, bro, you're pretty practiced at bullying girls, huh? A real pro?"
Gordon Guo stood in front of Victor Wei, looking at the boy and sneering, "A grown man snatching a girl's phone—aren't you ashamed?"
His words weren't exactly pleasant.
If it were before, Gordon wouldn't have dared to mouth off in a place like this.
But now things are different.
He knew his best friend Victor Wei was really pissed off right now. As a low-key second-gen whose family owns courtyard mansions worth ten billion, Victor usually keeps a low profile, but when he gets angry, he's got real weight to throw around.
"I didn't do anything."
The boy blushed under Gordon's words and kept defending himself: "We just invited them to eat. The food's ordered but hasn't come yet, and she's already trying to leave—talk about not giving face."
"Right, Yang?"
He turned his head, looking over at Tony Tao sitting there.
Eric Yu had wanted to step forward and say something, but Jenny Sun and Zoe Zhao shot him a glare, making him fume inside and hold back.
Tony Tao watched the newcomers, and everyone else in the room was watching too.
Their eyes swept from top to bottom, checking out Gordon Guo, Victor Wei, Jenny Sun, and Zoe Zhao's outfits.
Judging someone's status by their clothes and watch—it's a simple, straightforward method that lots of people in this circle swear by.
But after a quick look, none of them could spot anything rich or high-status on Victor's group.
Probably just some broke Beijing University students?
Tony Tao thought this and immediately smiled, "It's just a meal, no need to get so worked up."
"You must be the friends she mentioned, right?"
"Come on, sit down. The food should be ready soon, let's eat first."
He looked at them, seeing Victor Wei and Gordon Guo's group not moving. "What, you guys too scared to eat a meal?"
"Eat? Of course we're eating! We're here for the rich dog's treat—if it's free, why not?"
Gordon was the first to sit down, and Victor's group followed one by one.
Lynn Chen and Nana were shielded by Jenny Sun and Zoe Zhao, and they sat at the table too.
No one brought up the sixty-five-thousand thing anymore; instead, more people started sizing up the newcomers.
"You're all from Beijing University, right? Total study gods." a girl spoke up first.
"So what if you're study gods? Study gods don't have money. Are you gonna pay with your brains?" another chimed in, mocking.
Jenny Sun and Victor Wei's group looked a bit upset.
As they spoke, the waiter started serving dishes.
"Eat, everyone—dig in. Don't be shy with me."
Tony Tao greeted them, sitting there and scanning the room. He looked at Victor Wei, who'd just stood up for Lynn Chen. "Hey, brother, what's your name?"
"Victor Wei."
"Oh, Wei, huh? That surname's pretty well-known in Beijing circles. I heard about a Wei family that used to be hot stuff, but they've been on the decline for years."
Tony nodded, smiling: "Of course, that level of the Wei family—even if they're down and out, they're still way above you."
Tony's simple words were loaded with coldness.
His words carried a hint of suppression toward Victor Wei.
"Why do you have to talk like that? Can't you speak normally?"
Gordon Guo's face changed, and he shot back at Tony.
"Sorry, I really don't feel like talking to you two guys right now."
Tony shook his head, then turned to Lynn Chen and her group: "You all ate my food, so later you'll need to come with me to meet someone."
"Meet someone?"
Jenny Sun's face darkened. "Sorry, we probably don't have time for that."
"When we came, Lynn just said we'd have a quick meal. We've got other things to do after this."
Zoe Zhao was full of caution; ever since they'd walked in, she felt something off about the way everyone was looking at them.
"You say sorry, but I'm not going to say it's fine."
Tony Tao shook his head. "That's settled. Don't refuse—this could be an opportunity for you."
"So you're planning to force us to stay?"
Gordon Guo wasn't having it. Victor Wei's eyes flickered, looking hesitant.
Coming here with Jenny Sun and running into someone like Tony Tao—this was basically a hero-rescues-beauty moment.
"What, are you planning to stand up and resist?"
Tony Tao looked at him with amusement. "With your build, you'd probably get wrecked."
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He sighed, picked up his chopsticks, and took a bite of food, chewing slowly.
Gordon Guo's face looked bad; he instinctively glanced at Victor Wei.
Lynn Chen, Jenny Sun, and the others all turned to Victor Wei in unison.
"Isn't what you're doing way out of line?"
Victor Wei's voice was steady: "Tonight, as long as I'm here, you won't take a single one of them."
"Those words are mine."
His tone was serious, full of certainty—he was clearly ready to go head-to-head with Tony Tao.
Jenny Sun and Zoe Zhao nodded repeatedly at this stance.
"See? When it matters, you can always count on Victor Wei," Jenny Sun whispered to Lynn Chen, tugging her hand. "Honestly, Victor's what a real man should be."
"Don't stay mad about what happened last time."
"Having Victor stand up for you now is way better than that guy who trashed the place last time, right?"
"I'm not trying to convince you, just hoping you'll think about it more."
Jenny said this, and Zoe Zhao nodded in agreement.
Lynn Chen glanced at Victor Wei and sighed inwardly.
If she had a choice, she really wouldn't want to owe Victor Wei this favor.
Being moved and liking someone are two different things.
Victor Wei definitely wasn't the one she liked.
"Bro, you talk tough—kind of cocky, huh?"
Tony Tao didn't get angry; he glanced at a text message on his phone, his tone calm.
He stared at Victor Wei. "Really not regretting this?"
"No reason to regret. If you don't believe me, go ahead and try."
Victor Wei's voice was as steady as ever.
Just as he finished speaking, the door was pushed open by someone.