"That Evan Lin has been gone for ages just to make a phone call. Did he run off?"
Inside the private room, Sisi Shao picked up some greens for Liam Li and asked curiously.
"I think it's possible. That kid just likes to act tough—he probably took the chance to sneak away." Simon Li chimed in, grabbing a piece of meat for himself.
If he ran, that's normal. Henry's not someone you mess with lightly. But even if Evan Lin ran, where could he go? This place isn't that big, and he doesn't even have a car.
Liam Li sneered, "I bet Henry's already dragged him back somewhere to get beaten up."
Just as Liam finished speaking, the door to the private room was pushed open.
Outside the door, Evan Lin walked in, followed by a boy about 1.8 meters tall, dressed simply in clothes with no visible brand.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," Evan Lin yawned. "Let me introduce you—this is a friend I met before. He's here alone, so let's add a set of chopsticks for him."
"Hello everyone." Summer Mu glanced around the table, his eyes calm as he nodded to each person.
"Hey, it's not like you're the host tonight. You think you can just add another seat because you say so?"
Sisi Shao glanced at Summer Mu beside Evan Lin. On the surface, Summer Mu didn't seem unpleasant—his clean, fresh look was actually kind of soothing.
But just knowing he was Evan Lin's friend made Sisi immediately look down on him a little.
Birds of a feather flock together—what kind of person you are, that's the kind of friends you'll have.
With Evan Lin's background, the kind of friends he'd know were probably just bumpkins from some small county.
"Shameless. It's bad enough you come here to freeload, but you even brought someone else to eat for free." Maggie Ma muttered quietly.
"Evan Lin, your friend doesn't happen to work at this resort, does he?" Jason Zhao smirked, glancing at Evan.
If that were the case, everything would make sense.
Evan Lin's friend was probably doing manual labor at the resort, like a doorman or a cleaner.
So running into him here actually makes sense.
"Yeah, I work here." Summer Mu nodded, not bothering to explain. He glanced at Liam Li. "First time meeting, so let me treat everyone. Staff get a discount."
"You're treating us?" Cathy Li sneered. "Are you planning to spend a whole month's salary on us or something?"
"Even Liam said this place isn't cheap." Lillian Wang glanced at Summer Mu. If he weren't sitting with Evan Lin—who was clearly at odds with Liam—she might actually find Summer Mu kind of likable.
So she gave Summer Mu a heads-up, hoping he'd figure out the situation and not pick the wrong side or try to play hero.
"Shouldn't be that bad. I work here, so I get the staff discount." Summer Mu grinned.
"Alright, since Evan Lin's buddy is so eager to treat, I mean, who am I to turn down free food? Gotta let him flex a little, right?" Liam Li flashed a grin and waved for the waiter.
"I heard your resort still has Lafite from 2000, right? Bring me a bottle."
Liam Li said this to the waiter.
"Are you sure you want Lafite 2000?" The waiter looked at Liam Li, wanting to confirm.
"Of course, Lafite 2000." Liam nodded, then flashed a sly grin. "Hey, someone's footing the bill tonight, so why not live a little? Sure, it's not the legendary '82, but Lafite 2000 still runs a few grand a bottle."
"I've always wanted to try it but couldn't bring myself to spend the money. But since Evan Lin's friend is treating tonight, let's all enjoy a taste."
Liam Li smirked at Summer Mu. "No problem, right?"
"Of course," Summer Mu nodded, then, after thinking for a moment, turned to the waiter and added, "Actually, bring out a bottle of Lafite 1982 instead."
"Alright."
The waiter acknowledged and left the room.
Evan Lin and Summer Mu found seats and sat down.
"Lafite 1982? A bottle of that goes for over eighty thousand these days. Are you planning to work here for free for a year to pay for it?" Liam Li scoffed.
Summer Mu just sat there, not saying much.
"How do you two know each other? I don't remember you ever mentioning this friend before." Fang You glanced at Evan Lin, then at Summer Mu beside him.
"We just hit it off. Instant vibe, you know?"
Before Evan could answer, Summer Mu spoke up first.
"You guys just hit it off? Evan Lin doesn't really seem like the type, honestly." Fang You muttered.
Evan Lin just sat there, grabbing his chopsticks and getting ready to eat.
The Grand Dao Qi-Refining Art really burned through energy—Evan was starving. He was about to pick up a piece of meat when he felt a nudge against his thigh.
Evan looked down and saw Fang You's small hand reaching over, holding a bank card. But when Evan glanced up, Fang was whispering with Lynn Chen on the other side of the table.
Evan ignored Fang's little gesture. She was probably worried Summer Mu wouldn't have enough money and they'd lose face. Summer didn't look rich anyway. Fang was bold enough to go after rich bullies, but she wouldn't go after poor guys.
Seeing Evan didn't take her card, Fang couldn't help but glare at him. Evan just kept eating, earning an eye-roll from Fang, who grumbled to herself.
"If you don't take my card, what are you gonna do when the bill drops and you're broke? Talk about awkward! They're already roasting you, and you still wanna act all proud. Sure, you can throw hands, but you can't just punch your way out after eating, right? Dine and dash might feel savage, but you'll lose all your cred."
Of course, Fang didn't actually say any of this—she just kept shooting glances at Evan, who ignored her and kept eating.
Lynn Chen was worried too, wondering if she should call her dad for money. A bottle of Lafite was eighty thousand yuan, after all.
Lynn glanced at Summer Mu, seeing that the guy who'd come in with Evan Lin was just quietly eating, not worried at all.
Are those two idiots really planning to just eat and run?
Even if they could run, could us girls get away?
Lynn Chen couldn't help getting anxious.
Just then, Cathy Li asked, "Where's Henry? Why isn't he here yet?"
"No clue. Maybe he's out rounding up backup." Liam Li shot a look at Evan Lin, then at Summer Mu, his voice dripping with meaning: "Bro, trust me, paying for this meal is gonna be the least of your problems."
"My advice? Stay away from Evan Lin. Otherwise, if you lose your job, you won't even be able to afford a meal. That'd be a real tragedy."