Chapter 2025: A Man’s Ceiling

Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“Then I’ll thank you in advance, Mr. Lin, for honoring us with your presence.”

With that, Yun Shu downed her drink in one go and politely said,

“Mr. Lin, I won’t disturb you any further while you dine with your family. If you need anything during your meal, please don’t hesitate to call on me.”

“Alright, thank you.”

After a few more polite exchanges, Yun Shu and the male manager left the private room. Then, the manager quietly asked.

“Ms. Yun, you offered him such a big discount—what if he brings people here to eat and drink excessively in the future?”

As a manager, his instinct was to consider the situation from a financial perspective.

“Don’t worry, he won’t come back here to eat,” Yun Shu replied.

“I was just being courteous. But honestly, I wouldn’t mind if he did come back—I’m not short on money.”

“He won’t come back?” the manager asked, puzzled.

“No, Furong Xiang isn’t up to his standards.”

“Not up to his standards? This is Furong Xiang we’re talking about—the Michelin Guide was even going to give us a star!” The manager was a bit indignant.

“And besides, even if he’s picky about the food, with your status, Ms. Yun, I can’t believe he didn’t take notice.”

Yun Shu smiled, a hint of self-deprecation in her expression.

“In your circles, I might be someone of importance, but in his world, I’m nothing.”

Instinctively, Yun Shu glanced back at Lin Yi’s room.

“You must have seen the woman sitting beside him, right? She’s not inferior to me in terms of appearance, is she? To be honest, when it comes to the women around him, any one of them, could probably outshine me, so I’m really nothing special. Don’t think too highly of me.”

The manager shivered slightly. “Really?”

“Of course,” Yun Shu said matter-of-factly.

“His status and influence are far beyond what we can imagine. You should aim high. He’s the ceiling for you men. Strive to be like him.”

“The ceiling…”

The manager glanced back at Lin Yi and suddenly felt a deep respect for him.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere in the private room was tense and awkwardly quiet.

Yan Ci quietly ate her food, already guessing most of what had transpired.

The woman named Yun Shu was smooth in her actions and words, clearly someone well-versed in social interactions.

She must have learned about Lin Yi’s ident.i.ty from some source, which is why she acted the way she did.

Yan Ci found the situation quite amusing.

It turned out that all the special treatment they received was because of Lin Yi.

“Why isn’t anyone eating? Let’s eat before the food gets cold.”

Tang Li said, trying to ease the tension. After all, Chen Teng was her daughter’s boyfriend, and she didn’t want him to get embara.s.sed.

“Yes, let’s eat.”

Chen Teng quickly suppressed his discomfort and tried to appear calm as he encouraged everyone to eat.

But Zhou Xinyu couldn’t accept it so easily.

She had thought her boyfriend outshined everyone, only to find out that Yan Ci’s boyfriend was far more capable!

But who exactly was he?

Wasn’t he just some pretty boy? How could he command such respect from Furong Xiang’s owner?

“Cousin, what does your husband do? He seems to have quite a bit of influence.”

Zhou Xinyu couldn’t help but ask.

“He’s a police officer who works at the Xinshan precinct,” Yan Ci replied.

“Oh, a police officer.”

Zhou Xinyu felt a bit relieved—he was just a cop, after all. That didn’t seem too impressive.

He shouldn’t be able to outshine her boyfriend.

“No wonder he’s so respected, he’s a police officer.” Chen Teng raised his gla.s.s and said.

“Let’s take this opportunity to get to know each other better. We should stay in touch.”

“Sure.”

Lin Yi nodded but didn’t say much or even raise his gla.s.s.

Chen Teng frowned slightly, surprised that Lin Yi wasn’t more courteous.

He’s a bit arrogant.

“Xinyu, why aren’t you eating? Weren’t you saying you were hungry in the car?” Tang Li asked.

“I’m full,” Zhou Xinyu replied flatly.

Learning that Yan Ci’s boyfriend was a police officer made Chen Teng’s advantage seem less significant, and the earlier events had left her feeling disappointed.

She didn’t feel like eating anymore.

“You’ve barely eaten, have a little more.”

“I’m on a diet. I can’t eat too much,” Zhou Xinyu said.

“Mom, you should finish up too. We need to rest early tonight since we have to go to the hospital tomorrow.”

Lin Yi raised an eyebrow, glancing at Zhou Xinyu.

His mom hadn’t even finished eating, and this cousin was already talking about leaving. Her emotional intelligence was really lacking.

If she ever ended up working in a government office, she probably wouldn’t even know what hit her when things went south.

“I’ve had enough too.”

Tang Li set down her chopsticks, no longer intending to eat.

Yan Ci looked at Lin Yi, as if asking for his opinion.

“I’m full as well.”

“Let’s head out now. We have to go to the hospital tomorrow, so we should rest early,” Chen Teng said.

“But Auntie, you don’t need to worry about anything. I’ll go with you tomorrow and make sure everything is handled perfectly.”

“Oh, thank you so much.”

“It’s my pleasure.”

Chen Teng lit a cigarette and stood up. “Let’s go. I’ve booked a hotel, so we can head over now.”

“We won’t need a hotel. We’ll stay at Yan Yan’s place. We already discussed this before,” Tang Li said.

“That’s fine. We’re all family, so staying at Cousin’s place is just as good.”

Chen Teng didn’t mind where they stayed. It would save him some money, after all.

The group stood up and left the private room, heading downstairs.

On the first floor, a few diners recognized Chen Teng and began whispering to each other.

“That’s the guy who’s really something. Came here for a meal, and they moved him to a private room on the third floor for free. That’s some serious clout.”

“I’m so envious. I wish I could be like that someday.”

At that moment, Yun Shu caught up with them from behind.

“Mr. Lin, you’re leaving so soon? Was there something you weren’t satisfied with?”

“The food was excellent. We just have other things to attend to, so we’ll be heading out.”

“I see,” Yun Shu said.

“Then I look forward to your next visit, and as I said before, you’ll never need to make a reservation here, and the bill will always be on the house.”

“I’d rather not. You run a business, and there are costs involved—I can’t just eat for free.”

“Don’t say that. Having you dine with us is an honor for our humble establishment. Offering you a free meal is the least we can do.”

“Well, thank you then.”

Hearing the conversation, the surrounding diners were stunned.

“What’s going on? So the owner wasn’t being so courteous because of that guy with the gla.s.ses?”

“I was mistaken too. Turns out the real big shot is that handsome guy.”

“If it weren’t for this, I’d have thought he was just a pretty boy. Who knew he was hiding so much?”

“Now that’s what they mean by ‘you can’t judge a book by its cover."”

Standing a short distance away, Chen Teng’s expression darkened as he overheard the chatter.

But there was nothing he could say, because today, he really couldn’t compare to that guy.

However, Chen Teng had already made up his mind.

Although today was a bit of a loss, it was only temporary.

In terms of overall capability, Lin Yi still wasn’t on his level!

No need to feel discouraged!

Tomorrow at the hospital, he’d make sure everything went smoothly, and he’d regain his lost face!