Zhang Lei asked angrily, "All you think about is eating! Do you know how much all this food costs? And that wine, do you even know how much it costs?"
Zhou Xuan patted his pocket hard again and said, "I have five hundred yuan in my pocket. What are you afraid of? In my hometown, corn liquor is two yuan a pound. Fifty yuan can drink you until you die. You're worried about not having enough money? Don't worry, I'll take care of it!"
Zhang Lei was so angry that she laughed instead. This guy was just a complete idiot who didn't know his place. Thinking back to what happened with Liu Xingzhou, she understood. It wasn't that he had any backing, but rather that he had this kind of personality. She decided to ignore him. Anyway, he had already eaten, and it would have been the same whether she ate or not. She might as well eat. After all, he had a high-ranking official like Fu Yuanshan backing him up. If all else failed, she would just bring him out and let him handle it!
With that thought in mind, Zhang Lei didn't care anymore and picked up her chopsticks to eat. She was indeed quite hungry, and these dishes were no joke. They cost thousands of dollars, and you get what you pay for. They were truly delicious.
The waiter brought out the Wuliangye liquor and poured a glass for each of them. Zhang Lei was so angry that she was dizzy. Without thinking, she picked up the glass and drank it. The glass was extremely small. The liquor was very smooth and not harsh at all. Zhang Lei drank two or three glasses in a row.
Zhou Xuan knew the wine was very mellow, but it still had a strong aftereffect. Fortunately, the cup was indeed small, about the size of a finger, so drinking a few cups wouldn't cause any harm.
Zhang Lei was furious, and without thinking twice, she ate and drank like Zhou Xuan. When they couldn't eat anymore, the waiter was still bringing out more dishes. This top-level set meal could feed at least eight to twelve people. Even if the two of them could eat a lot, they couldn't possibly eat that much!
Zhou Xuan felt a bit full and stood up, saying, "I need to use the restroom!"
Zhang Lei wasn't about to let him go this time. She stood up and said, "I'm going with you. Don't even think about escaping!"
Zhou Xuan chuckled and said, "Why would I run away? I have money in my pocket. What kind of behavior would it be if you followed me to the toilet?"
Zhang Lei said angrily in a low voice, "You think you can run away now? No way! Do you know how much this meal costs? Ask that waiter! Do you know how much that bottle of wine costs? Do you really think it's some kind of country corn liquor?"
Zhou Xuan said nonchalantly, "How expensive can it be?"
Zhang Lei sighed, both annoyed and amused, "You're only suited to living in the mountains. I'm really surprised that there are still people like you these days."
Zhou Xuan chuckled and waved to the waiter, asking, "Waiter, how much is that wine?"
The waiter glanced at Zhou Xuan, and seeing that it was him who had asked the question, he cautiously replied, "That's 120,000!"
"120,000?"
Zhou Xuan wasn't surprised, but Zhang Lei couldn't help but exclaim. She knew the wine was expensive, and thought it would cost around 30,000 or 40,000, but she didn't expect it to be 120,000. After a moment of stunned silence, she pointed to the table full of dishes and asked, "How much does this set meal cost?"
"This tea set..." The waiter hesitated, having received instructions from the manager, then glanced at Zhou Xuan. Zhou Xuan nodded and said, "Just tell me, how much does this meal cost?"
"This is our store's highest-end package, a 360,000 yuan set meal. Even the tableware you're using is worth over 30,000 yuan!" the waiter answered very carefully.
"Three hundred and sixty thousand?" Zhang Lei, who was sitting down, almost fell over. She only had twenty thousand yuan in her pocket, not even enough to cover the difference between thirty hundred and sixty thousand and thirty thousand. If this matter got out, she would lose face and dare not let her family know. It seemed that she should just leave it to Zhou Xuan to handle and have him call Fu Yuanshan over to keep an eye on things. Otherwise, she would definitely lose face today!
Zhou Xuan immediately waved his hand at the waiter and said, "You can leave now. We didn't call anyone, so don't come in. We'll make ourselves at home!"
The waitress was overjoyed and quickly went out to wait. In rooms like this, they were served by dedicated staff. Even if the guests didn't want them in the room, they had to wait outside until the guests left. Of course, being outside the room was much better than being in the room.
Serving someone in the room means standing the whole time, pouring drinks, serving food, and taking care of them. But outside, it's much less of a hassle; you can move around freely and chat with your companions.
Once the waiter left, Zhou Xuan feigned a mournful face and said, "Xiao...Xiao Zhang, three hundred and sixty thousand... What am I going to do? Isn't this extortion? My hometown's corn liquor is only..."
"Corn my foot!" Zhang Lei was furious. She pulled out her wallet, grabbed her bank card, and threw it at Zhou Xuan. "Do you think this is still your country-style corn liquor, two yuan a pound? I only have twenty thousand yuan here. I don't care, I have no money left even if I sell it!"
Zhou Xuan couldn't help but laugh, but he forced himself to hold it in. His expression was extremely strange. This Zhang Lei was straightforward and not a bad person at heart. He was afraid that Zhang Lei would run away without money, so he didn't sneak away. He just didn't expect Zhang Lei to ask for so much money. In his haste, he took out all his savings.
Unable to resist any longer, Zhou Xuan picked up his teacup and took a big gulp of tea before stopping. He then looked at Zhang Lei's angry and annoyed expression. Since she had also eaten, she couldn't get away from the situation, but ultimately, the responsibility lay with Zhou Xuan.
Zhou Xuan thought for a moment, then glanced at the door, which was closed, and lowered his voice, saying, "I only have five hundred yuan on me, which is definitely not enough. There's only one way out now!"
"What road?" Zhang Lei asked angrily.
"Run!" Zhou Xuan said, gesturing as he spoke. "We'll pretend to go to the toilet, and then slip away!"
"Pah!" Zhang Lei scoffed, thinking that there was some good idea. He also thought that Zhou Xuan was going to call Fu Yuanshan over. Given Fu Yuanshan's official position, he would definitely be easier to talk to. Maybe he could get away with giving him ten or twenty thousand, or even if he didn't, but Zhou Xuan came up with this shameless idea.
However, there was no other way to think of it. Judging from Zhou Xuan's expression, it was clear that his family was not well-off. Even if they were doing alright, it was probably not easy for them to spend 360,000 yuan on a single meal. In an ordinary family, that would be an enormous sum.
Zhou Xuan acted immediately, rolling up his sleeves and getting up to leave. Zhang Lei hurriedly followed. If Zhou Xuan was determined to escape, she had no other choice but to run away. If she stayed here and her family found out, it would be a huge embarrassment!
Zhou Xuan found it amusing to see Zhang Lei following him fearfully. This girl, who usually seemed fearless, was now running for her life because he had dined and dashed. He had really made a fool of himself!
After the door opened, the two waiters standing at the door quickly bowed. Zhou Xuan smiled and pointed in the direction of the restroom, saying, "Go to the restroom!"
Although Zhang Lei was spoiled and willful, she had never done anything like this before. Feeling guilty, she hid behind Zhou Xuan with her head down, not daring to lift her head at all.
As Zhou Xuan reached the corner, he grabbed Zhang Lei's hand and hurried downstairs. Zhang Lei's heart trembled violently, and she dared not say a word, but simply followed closely behind Zhou Xuan.
Fortunately, at the checkout counter, the several female staff members bowed and didn't ask about the bill. They simply said in unison, "Please take care, and welcome back again!"
The two went out together. Zhou Xuan was pretending, but Zhang Lei was genuinely anxious. His heart was pounding in his chest, and those few steps felt like a long march.
After finally getting out of the gate, Zhang Lei shoved Zhou Xuan's hand away and hurriedly drove her car out of the parking lot. She slowed down at the intersection before Zhou Xuan got in, and then she stepped on the gas. The car sped onto the road, and Zhang Lei drove like a race car, making Zhou Xuan sway from side to side and hit her head on the car door several times.
After driving for a mile or two, Zhang Lei slowed down, first checking her rearview mirror for any suspicious vehicles following her, and then began to breathe heavily.
Volume 1, Chapter 548: The Ultimate Superpower
Zhang Lei was just driving and didn't do any physical labor, but at this moment, it felt like she had climbed a high mountain. She was exhausted to the extreme and almost collapsed!
So she pulled the car over to the side of the road and rested for a while before angrily saying to Zhou Xuan, "You bastard, I told you long ago that it's very expensive there, but you insisted on going, and you even wanted to book the best and biggest room. Now look what happened, you spent 360,000 yuan and then ran away. I reckon we'll see the police report by tomorrow morning when we go to work. 360,000 yuan is a lot of money for anyone. Let's see what you're going to do about it?"
"Now that we've successfully escaped, how would they know who we are or where we live?" Zhou Xuan replied nonchalantly. "If it really comes to that, we'll deal with it then. What's the point of thinking so much now? It only adds to our worries and keeps us up at night!"
Zhou Xuan was really bringing up the very thing she didn't want to talk about. Zhang Lei was already so anxious that she was at a loss. Although she had escaped, she had never done anything like this before, and the amount involved was too huge, more than 300,000 yuan. How could she bear it?
The more Zhou Xuan said that, the more anxious Zhang Lei became. It was certain that she wouldn't be able to sleep that night. If it were just that she couldn't sleep, that would be a minor issue. The key issue was that this matter would weigh heavily on her heart, like a mountain!
Zhou Xuan opened the car door and said, "Don't think about anything, we'll talk about it tomorrow. I'll get off here and take a taxi home myself!"
Zhang Lei was so worried that her eyebrows and eyes were all bunched up, and her pretty face was full of worry.
As if she hadn't heard Zhou Xuan's words, Zhou Xuan was taken aback. It seemed he had really scared her. Given her current state of mind, he didn't dare let her drive; something might happen. He had truly shot himself in the foot. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Sigh, look how scared you are. To tell you the truth, I was lying to you earlier. I've already paid for the meal. Don't worry, don't be afraid, nothing will happen!"