Chapter 90: Am I Dreaming?

Yi Xiaoyan looked at He Haoxuan with worry. “Haoxuan, I’ll find a way to pay these fifty thousand yuan. Please, whatever you do, don’t use a fake bank card to fool people. Something terrible could happen.”

“You think it’s a fake card?” He Haoxuan did not know whether to laugh or cry.

So he had kept such a low profile that Yi Xiaoyan still believed he was poor.

Well, let her believe it. It did not matter. Such was life. When he told the truth, others thought it was false. When he told a lie, others believed it was true.

“Haoxuan, hurry up and go get the waiter. I’ll handle the bill.” As she spoke, Yi Xiaoyan clenched her teeth so hard it seemed her lips might bleed.

He Haoxuan took her hand. “Really, there’s no need. It’s fine.”

Not long after, the waiter came in with the card reader.

“Waiter, is this card real?” Lu Huaxing asked with a malicious smile. “Are you getting ready to call the police?”

“It seems to be genuine. It connected successfully; now it needs the password,” the waiter replied.

The smile on Lu Huaxing’s face stiffened at once.

“This is a real bank card?”

“Director Lu, don’t worry. Even if it is real, there can’t possibly be that much money on it,” Zhu Pei chimed in.

He Haoxuan ignored them and entered the password directly.

Very quickly, the card reader displayed that the transaction had succeeded, then printed a receipt. The waiter respectfully handed it to He Haoxuan. “Mr. He, please sign here.”

Anyone who could order six bottles of fine French red wine without blinking had to be someone formidable.

He Haoxuan nodded, signed his name, took back his bank card, and slipped it into his pocket.

Zhu Pei immediately slapped himself. “Ouch. So I’m not dreaming.”

“Waiter, did He Haoxuan really pay successfully?” Lu Huaxing could not believe his eyes.

“Yes, it went through,” the waiter said.

“Are you sure you didn’t make a mistake? I’m telling you, that was nearly fifty thousand yuan. If you’re careless and cause the hotel to lose fifty thousand yuan, the boss won’t let you off the hook,” Lu Huaxing warned.

The waiter had no interest in talking to such an idiot. He took the card reader and walked out.

The card reader belonged to the bank; if there was any problem, the bank would bear it. What did it have to do with the hotel?

“Lu Huaxing, didn’t you just say that if I paid the bill, you’d kneel down and bark like a dog? Hurry up and get on your knees,” He Haoxuan said with a cold smile.

“I-I was only joking,” Lu Huaxing stammered. “Everyone, hurry and eat something. It’s getting late.”

Lu Huaxing certainly had no intention of kneeling and barking like a dog. Anyway, if he denied it, what could He Haoxuan do to him?

But just as Lu Huaxing reached the chair, the chopsticks on He Haoxuan’s side seemed to spring up and shoot toward him.

“Ah!” One chopstick struck Lu Huaxing’s right leg, and he immediately dropped to his knees with a miserable cry.

At that moment, he was not barking like a dog, but his screams were even uglier than a dog’s bark.

“Director Lu, what are you doing?” Zhu Pei hurried over. No one knew what had happened, but something seemed to strike him as well. His body jerked violently, and then he lunged forward.

He had intended to help Lu Huaxing, but instead he crashed straight ahead, and his right foot happened to stomp hard onto Lu Huaxing’s mouth just as it had opened.

“Mmm! Mmm!” Lu Huaxing tried to shout, but with Zhu Pei’s foot on his mouth, he could not make a sound.

Seeing that something was wrong, the other teachers rushed over, pulled Zhu Pei away, and helped Lu Huaxing to his feet.

“Director Lu, what’s wrong?” they asked anxiously.

“I, I—” Lu Huaxing did not know what to say.

If he claimed he was fine, then he clearly was not. He had dropped to his knees, and Zhu Pei had stepped on his mouth.

But if he admitted something had happened, then in front of Yi Xiaoyan, wouldn’t he look utterly humiliated?

In the end, Lu Huaxing simply sat to the side, fuming in silence.

He was still a little hungry, but with his mouth swollen from Zhu Pei’s stomp, how was he supposed to eat anything?

“Director Lu, I just now did it on purpose—no, I mean, I didn’t do it on purpose,” Zhu Pei hurriedly explained, flustered.

Lu Huaxing said nothing and continued sitting there.

As the evening was drawing to a close, Lu Huaxing knew the main event was about to begin. He immediately shouted, “Xiaoyan, since today is your celebration, I bought you a very beautiful piece of jade—very expensive. It’s for you.”

As he spoke, Lu Huaxing pulled a heart-shaped jade pendant from his pocket and waved it proudly before everyone.

“Wow, Director Lu, what kind of jade is that? Is it jadeite? And is the chain white gold?” one of the teachers exclaimed in surprise.

Lu Huaxing lifted his head smugly. He had bought the piece from a friend.

In truth, it was an alloy, but it looked very much like white gold. His friend had said that as long as it was not sent for appraisal, no one would be able to tell it was alloy.

Something that cost only a few hundred yuan could easily be passed off as worth several thousand outside.

Seeing Lu Huaxing’s self-satisfied expression, the teachers assumed it really was white gold and could not help but admire him in secret. They felt he was truly willing to spend money for Yi Xiaoyan.

And if the piece was jadeite, then it was even more impressive.

“Xiaoyan, I’m giving this to you,” Lu Huaxing said happily.

He had originally planned to use this birthday gift tonight to confess his feelings to Yi Xiaoyan, but he had never expected He Haoxuan to come out of nowhere and ruin everything, which made him furious.

Yi Xiaoyan quickly waved her hands. “Director Lu, this is far too valuable. I can’t accept it.”

How could she not understand what Lu Huaxing was after? That was exactly why she would not take it.

“Xiaoyan, you’re right. This isn’t white gold; it’s an alloy. At most it’s worth a few hundred yuan. If you wear it outside, people will only laugh at you,” He Haoxuan said with a nod.

That set Lu Huaxing off. “Damn it, He Haoxuan, what do you mean by that? I-I bought this as white gold. You deliver parcels for a living—what do you know about white gold and alloy? Ridiculous.”

Yi Xiaoyan shook her head. “Director Lu, whether it’s white gold or alloy, I still can’t accept it. I appreciate your kindness.”

Seeing that Yi Xiaoyan would not take his gift, Lu Huaxing turned angrily on He Haoxuan. “You poor nobody, it’s Xiaoyan’s birthday. Did you bring her a gift?”

Ding, ding, ding.

He Haoxuan’s phone rang.

He took it out, glanced at the screen, and smiled. “Sorry, I need to step out and take this call.”

At first, He Haoxuan had not known that it was Yi Xiaoyan’s birthday. After he found out, he had called Xiao Qiang to help buy a gift and arranged for someone from the shop to send it over.

And this call was from the shop.

A short while later, He Haoxuan came back carrying a platinum necklace. Hanging from it was a small ornament set with diamonds.

That diamond necklace had cost a full 3.18 million yuan.