Chapter 109: Flashing Wealth

Qi Yuan’s eyes flickered. “Hello. And you are?”

Han Mo didn’t answer his question. He simply smiled and said, “Thank you for taking Huanhuan sightseeing around Sava a couple of days ago. To show my appreciation, let me treat you to a casual meal today.”

He Huanhuan beamed. “So we get to have an expensive meal today!”

Han Mo affectionately patted her on the head. “Are you saying I don’t usually feed you well enough?”

Huanhuan didn’t notice the intimacy in his gesture at all. Wrinkling her nose, she said, “You really don’t. You’ve been so busy lately that Meili and I have been eating takeout at the hotel.”

The fondness in Han Mo’s eyes deepened. “Then today we’ll have something expensive.”

He gave Qi Yuan an apologetic look. “Dr. Qi, I’m afraid we won’t be able to have malatang today. Would you mind joining us for something else?”

Their gazes met in midair. Qi Yuan nodded. “Not at all. I’m fine with anything.”

Gu Jinghan immediately raised his hand. “Let’s eat at Mr. Chichen’s! I haven’t had their Maotai-marinated drunken crabs in ages!”

Maotai-marinated drunken crabs?

Qi Yuan’s expression shifted slightly. They sounded expensive.

And they were. When the car pulled up outside the restaurant, Qi Yuan knew at once that this was a place he could never afford.

He had never imagined that, right in the heart of the bustling city, there could be such a secluded and elegant villa-style restaurant.

From the outside, you wouldn’t even think it was a restaurant. You’d assume it was the home of some wealthy family.

The dark gates swung open, and a middle-aged man in a suit came out. He approached the car respectfully and said to Han Mo, “President Han, all the ingredients have been prepared. You can drive straight to the Yulan Pavilion.”

Qi Yuan understood every word, yet somehow understood none of it.

Wasn’t the car supposed to be driven to a parking lot?

He buried these thoughts deep inside and sat silently in the back seat.

He watched Han Mo take several hundred-yuan bills from his wallet and casually hand them to the middle-aged man.

The man bowed neither obsequiously nor excessively, simply lowering his head in thanks. “Thank you, President Han.”

There had to be five or six bills—about a day’s wages for him.

The car drove along a tree-lined road inside the gates, then turned left into a vast sea of magnolia blossoms.

Rows upon rows of white-and-green magnolias filled their view, and Qi Yuan fell completely silent.

Han Mo hadn’t said a word, yet he had laid bare the enormous gap between them.

Noticing his silence, Huanhuan turned to him and wrinkled her nose. “Dr. Qi, isn’t this restaurant ridiculously over-the-top?”

Qi Yuan gave a faint smile. “It’s all right.”

“The first time I came here, I was stunned too. They charge several hundred yuan just for the tip at the entrance. My goodness, it nearly scared me to death!”

How many funerals would she have to conduct before she could afford a meal here?

Her exaggerated remark brought a hint of amusement to Qi Yuan’s eyes. He couldn’t help nodding. “It really is astonishing. One day’s wages would only be enough to cover the tip.”

“Your salary is that high?”

Her gaze was completely sincere, as if he truly had an exceptionally well-paid job.

Warmth rose in his chest. He nodded. “Doctors do earn a decent income.”

At least among ordinary people, it was considered a respectable profession.

Han Mo nodded along. “Saving lives and healing the wounded is a great service. You deserve better pay.”

He didn’t take the opportunity to belittle Qi Yuan. Instead, he chatted with him in a genial manner, discussing a few details of his daily work and then touching on the tense relationship between doctors and patients.

Polite, yet distant.

The car finally drove into the sea of magnolias and stopped in front of a small building that radiated exquisite craftsmanship and refined elegance in every detail.

Han Mo pushed open the door and got out. “We’re here.”

Qi Yuan followed him out and walked toward the building.

Gu Jinghan’s car arrived behind them, with Qi Meili inside.

Watching the three of them enter the building, Gu Jinghan clicked his tongue. “Han Mo is quite the schemer!”

Qi Meili looked confused. “How is he being bad? He’s taking us out for a meal.”

A meal this expensive—if it weren’t for Han Mo, how could she and Huanhuan ever afford to eat here?

Gu Jinghan shot her an exasperated glance. “There’s no explaining it to you.”

“Then explain it properly.”

...

Gu Jinghan clapped his hands. “He’s showing off his wealth to that young doctor. Didn’t you notice?”

Qi Meili shook her head. “Wasn’t this the place you said we should eat at? What does it have to do with Han Mo?”

Besides, they were rich to begin with. Just standing there and breathing counted as showing off. They were both wearing Italian bespoke suits while she was dressed in polyester. What more did they need to do to flaunt their wealth?

Gu Jinghan grabbed her head and turned it toward the window. “I said we should eat at Mr. Chichen’s. I never said anything about reserving the Yulan Pavilion. The minimum spend at the Yulan Pavilion is twenty thousand yuan. What do you think that means?”

He was clearly trying to make that young doctor realize the difference between them and give up on Huanhuan.

Qi Meili’s eyes widened. “How much is the minimum spend?”

Gu Jinghan held up two fingers. “Twenty thousand.”

Qi Meili’s heart began to pound. “Do you think I could work here? I’m not greedy. I’d just like to stand at the entrance and greet people.”

Gu Jinghan burst out laughing. “You want the tips, don’t you?”

Qi Meili nodded earnestly. “Five hundred yuan! Who wouldn’t want that? Ask Huanhuan if you don’t believe me. She’d definitely want to work here too.”

On the second-floor balcony, Huanhuan gazed at the endless magnolia blossoms and sighed. “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if I could work here as a greeter? I’d get to look at the magnolias for free every day, and I could collect five-hundred-yuan tips.”

As expected of best friends—their thoughts were perfectly in sync.

Han Mo handed her a menu. “If you become a greeter, I’ll give you a thousand-yuan tip.”

Qi Yuan’s brows drew together slightly. He didn’t like the sound of that.

Huanhuan, however, didn’t mind in the slightest. She grinned and gave him a salute. “Thank you, boss. I’ll take you out for malatang after work.”

Han Mo returned the salute. “Thank you, greeter. I want the forty-yuan kind.”

Huanhuan glared at him. “You’re getting greedy. Thirty yuan at most. Anything over that won’t be reimbursed.”

Their familiarity and intimacy left him completely unable to get a word in.

Han Mo handed Qi Yuan another menu. “Dr. Qi, take a look and see what you’d like.”

Qi Yuan opened it. The very first dish was the Maotai-marinated drunken crab Gu Jinghan had mentioned—688 yuan for half a crab.

Wonderful. One day’s wages would only buy him half a crab.

He flipped through the menu. Iberian ham salad: 1,888 yuan.

Half a month’s departmental bonus, gone.

He closed the menu and handed it back to Han Mo. “I’ve never eaten food this expensive. President Han, you can order whatever you think is best.”

Han Mo smiled as he accepted it. “All right. I’ll have them serve some seasonal dishes. Fresh ingredients always taste best.”

Huanhuan immediately looked up. “Why does that sound so familiar?”

How could it not sound familiar? When she had first returned to the Gu family, Gu Chacha had said exactly the same thing while Gu Dad was taking her out for Japanese food!

Without hesitation, she shot Han Mo a glare. “I can’t believe it. You look exactly like Gu Chacha when you’re showing off!”

Han Mo: ...That wasn’t what he’d intended at all.