“Who’s that?” Lu Xinyi asked Ji Mingqian whose face turned sour upon seeing the bald, fat man.
“That’s Lei Peng. He’s the owner of Emerald Lane. Three years ago, he started purchasing the properties around this area, and my grandfather was the only one who refused to sell this restaurant.
“Oriental Bliss has been our home. When my parents passed away from sickness, Grandpa took me in. We’ve been doing just fine all these years until that fatty Lei Peng appeared and pressured us to sell our restaurant,” Ji Mingqian explained to the Lu Siblings.
Lu Xinyi rubbed her chin. She’d never heard his name before. If he was some kind of a big shot, Shen Yi and Shen Xue would’ve mentioned anything about it.
“Ah, Mr. Lei. If you’re here to convince me again, I’m so sorry to disappoint you. I still won’t sell this property.” Old Man Ji walked towards their unwanted guest to block his way.
With Shen Yi not around, he couldn’t allow this man to offend Madam Shen. However, he was too late as Lei Peng had already noticed the Lu siblings and Huang Shenghao sitting quietly on one corner of the dining hall, listening to their conversation.
“I see you still able to get some customers. Hahaha. You three must be regretting eating out at this place.” His eyes then gave Tian Lingyu and Huang Shenghao a quick look which seemed ordinary while Lu Xinyi was sitting across them with her simple but expensive dress.
“Nonsense, old man. Of course, you’ll say no for now. Eventually, you’ll come to me and sell this nasty place you call a restaurant.”
Lu Xinyi narrowed her eyes at that. This man had some guts to bully an old man?
“With la Reverie just in the corner, most of your patrons have moved out and forgotten about you. What makes you think you can still operate your restaurant? Old man, people change. With our renowned chef working at la Reverie, how could your old family recipes win against them?” Lei Peng continued.
“What if they could?” Tian Lingyu couldn’t take the insults anymore and rose to his feet, surprising Lu Xinyi.
Lei Peng was also surprised by his reaction but revealed a mocking smile at Tian Lingyu.
“Eh? You really think so? Young Man, you probably haven’t visited la Reverie yet.”
“I don’t need to visit and taste their crap to know that Oriental Bliss has better culinary expertise than la Reverie.” Tian Lingyu refused to back down. In his opinion, there were a few things that Oriental Bliss had to change but the cuisine and dishes they offer didn’t fall short to the western cuisine la Reverie had.
Lu Xinyi wasn’t sure why her brother suddenly stood up for the Ji family. It wasn’t that she wasn’t planning to help them and allow Shen Yi to take over the management, but Lei Peng’s appearance and involvement certainly weren’t what she’d expected to hear tonight.
Lei Peng walked toward Tian Lingyu and shook his head. ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀꪶ
“You don’t know what you’re talking about, young man.” He patted Tian Lingyu’s shoulder.
“Remove your filthy hand away from me,” Tian Lingyu shot him a deadly glare. His eyes so cold Lei Peng felt a sudden shiver ran his spine.
What the hell?
Who the hell was he to intimidate someone like him? Didn’t they know that he owned the whole Emerald Lane except for this cheap restaurant?
Maybe he was another new chef that Old Man Ji hired to save Oriental Bliss? It wasn’t the first time the Ji family did it anyway.
Just then, Lei Peng remembered something that instantly improved his mood.
“Young Man, if you so believe that Oriental Bliss is way better than our la Reverie, why don’t you join the traditional annual festival for Emerald Lane? Whoever sells more than the other will prove that their restaurant is a better one. However, the festival usually caters to 5,000 customers. How can the Oriental Bliss fund a big competition like this?” Lei Peng said smugly, pleased as to how Tian Lingyu hardened his jaw at his provocation.
This man was really good at controlling his temper, but how long could he stand up to protect Oriental Bliss?
“It’s no problem.” Lu Xinyi’s malicious smile met her brother’s curious gaze. “I’ll cover the expenses for Oriental Bliss. Mr. Lei shouldn’t worry about this, but…”
The cold glint that flashed on her eyes, letting Tian Lingyu know that she wasn’t planning to lose against Lei Peng on this challenge.
This little devil wants to see Lei Peng bleed money for her, ah. How could she just let the chance slip from her hands?
“If la Reverie loses, I want Mr. Lei to pay me back with twice the market value of Oriental Bliss. If I lose, I’ll gladly turn over the deed of Oriental Bliss to you.”
“Xinxin!” Tian Lingyu wanted to stop her, but the look he received from his sister was enough to let him know that she wouldn’t back down from this. If Lei Peng was so desperate to purchase this property, then he might have a reason to do so.
For instance, a development complex could offer an anchor feature that would attract more locators, creating demand for the properties surrounding it, increasing their values.
“What do you think, Mr. Lei?” She regarded the bald man as she sat regally on her seat with legs crossed and chin supported by the back of her hand.
Lei Peng knew from the start that this woman’s status was above the two men sitting with her. If she was able to say that she’d be covering for the expenses of Oriental Bliss, then it could be that this woman was a part of a wealthy family.
Staring at her pretty face, Lei Peng felt that he’d seen this woman somewhere but couldn’t remember where he’d seen her. There was this feeling inside him, warning him not to play games with this woman. However, as he watched her smile confidently, Lei Peng so wanted to see her cry and regret later.
