Chapter 46
Second Aunt looked at the fantastical scene in front of her eyes and pointed at Qiao Ying, asking the waiter, “What did you just say? She is your VIP customer?”
“Yes.”
“Little girl, open your eyes wide and take a good look. How could she be your VIP customer here? Are you not fully awake yet or what?” Second Aunt couldn't help laughing twice, as if she had just heard a joke.
“Madam, I won't make a mistake. Ms. Qiao is indeed our hotel's VIP.” The waiter replied with a smile.
“Open the wine.” Qiao Ying told the waiter to open the wine.
“Alright.” The waiter opened the wine and took a wine glass, about to pour for Qiao Ying.
Qiao Ying raised her hand to stop him.
Qiao Ying took the wine, reached out past Qiao Yi, and placed a barely touched bottle of red wine in front of Qiao's father.
She said, "After working hard for half of your life, it's time to drink something nice."
Qiao Ying didn't drink any herself. It wasn't that she was very filial, she simply found the wine so unpalatable that she didn't even have the urge to wet her lips. What's more, she really couldn't stand the mean faces of these so-called relatives acting all high and mighty.
They think of themselves as upper class, but in reality they're just petty clowns.
Qiao's father, who was stunned by the waiter's sudden "Ms. Qiao", looked at the frighteningly expensive red wine Qiao Ying had placed in front of him and waved his hands in refusal, stammering "...Dad, Dad won't drink it." He didn't dare touch it at all.
How much did the waiter say this wine cost?
Eighty-seven thousand?
Qiao's father even wondered if the money they used was the same as his. His muddled mind looked at Qiao Ying perplexedly until Qiao Lingling asked the question on his mind for him.
"Little Yi, have you eaten here before?" Qiao Lingling asked.
"My sister brought me here before." Qiao Yi replied. After a brief pause, he couldn't help adding, "We were in a private room upstairs."
Just how much money does this damn fatty Qiao Ying have? Brand name clothes, shoes, new phone, new computer, medicine worth tens of thousands, and she even had enough money to eat at a place like this and buy wine worth several thousand. She didn't even finish drinking it and just threw it away. Even the richest Third Uncle in the family doesn't act like her.
The more Qiao Lingling thought about it, the more unpleasant she felt.
"Oh my, big brother and sister-in-law, where did you strike gold without telling us? You've gotten rich but kept it from your own family. That's not treating us like family at all!" Second Aunt immediately questioned.
"We didn't strike gold. What riches could we possibly obtain? It was their children who ate here before, I've never been." Qiao's father answered honestly.
"The children? Where do these children get so much money?" Second Aunt glanced at Qiao Ying with narrowed eyes. "Youngsters these days, it's fine to be poor, but don't go stealing or doing illegal things that would ruin our reputation too."
"How funny. When you have money it's from doing business, but when we have money it must be from stealing or illegal acts. Why, are only you allowed to get rich? Are we doomed to be poor for life?" Li Lilian's mouth has never suffered losses. She immediately fired back.
Second Aunt yelled and shouted, successfully catching Feng Teng's attention.
Feng Teng had just entered through the front door and was standing in the lobby, looking at his vexing son loitering outside and clearly reluctant to come in.
Hearing the commotion, Feng Teng reflexively glanced over and saw the crude Second Aunt at a glance.
Feng Teng frowned, just about to look away, when he suddenly noticed a familiar face among the crowd at the table.
As Second Aunt's cursing grew more and more vulgar, Li Lilian, who couldn't take it anymore, also stood up and started swearing back.
Second Aunt's eldest son stood up to defend his mother, pointing at Li Lilian and threatening viciously, "Say one more word about my mom, just try it!"
The fire spread to the surroundings. Qiao's second brother helped his wife curse at Qiao Ying, calling her indecent and insisting she earned dirty money taking her clothes off.
Even a rabbit will bite when cornered. The usually honest and decent Qiao's father couldn't stand seeing his daughter bullied like this anymore. He slammed the table and shot up, "Little Two, watch what you say!"
Seeing the situation deteriorating, Third Brother's family and Fourth Brother's family started trying to mediate.
Of course, it goes without saying they naturally took Second Brother's side, ganging up against the poorer Eldest Brother's family.
Qiao Ying sat expressionlessly in her chair, watching this farcical scene of the Qiao family young and old.
As Second Aunt and Li Lilian's cursing grew more and more offensive, the impatience and irritation brewing between Qiao Ying's brows intensified further and further until all her emotions peaked.
Right at that moment, an authoritative middle-aged male voice suddenly broke in. "Oh, if it isn't Ms. Qiao!"
Wearing a fine suit and leather shoes, square-faced features, slightly overweight, glasses, full of political aura that couldn't be suppressed - it was Feng Teng.
Feng Teng's appearance instantly defused the situation with barely any effort, quieting down in just three or four seconds.
The Qiao family, upper and lower, shut their mouths and looked towards Feng Teng.
"Mayor Feng." Qiao Yi was anxious, worried a fight might break out soon and his family would suffer. Seeing Feng Teng come, he instantly felt relieved.
"Mayor?" Qiao's third brother Qiao Shenxiang blurted out reflexively.
"Mayor?" Second Aunt froze, looking between Qiao Yi and Feng Teng, wondering if she had misheard.
"Qiao, classmate, long time no see." Feng Teng was all smiles, warmly shaking Qiao Yi's hand and chumming up to him.
He glanced around at all the curious peering eyes, then smiled and said to Qiao Ying, "Ms. Qiao, what a coincidence running into you here eating too. Why eat in the lobby? I booked a private room upstairs."
Feng Teng warmly invited Qiao Ying to go upstairs and eat together.
"Old Feng, what are you doing, everyone else is here, we're just waiting for you," Deputy Mayor Xu said as he came downstairs with his son Xu Mingchen to pick someone up.
Ye's father eagerly brought his daughter Ye Jingning downstairs with him too.