Chapter 147: Are You Worthy?

Jiang Jingru squeezed out a smile and said with a tone of envy, jealousy, and resentment, "It must be nice to be rich..."

Upon hearing Jiang Jingru’s lament, Jiang Hao remained expressionless, while Su Qingli covered her mouth and chuckled softly.

It took only ten minutes for Jiang Hao, Su Qingli, and Jiang Jingru to arrive at the Qingli Health and Dietary Therapy Restaurant. Su Qingli, fulfilling her role as a gracious host, took Jiang Jingru on a tour, explaining everything in great detail.

"The two branches in Maple Leaf City and the one in Donglin City have already begun renovations. I estimate we’ll be ready to open in about a week. The decor of those branches will be basically the same as this one... Jingru, would you prefer to be the manager of a branch in Maple Leaf City, or would you rather go to the one in Donglin City?" Su Qingli looked at Jiang Jingru, waiting for her answer.

Jiang Jingru thought for a moment and replied, "I think I’ll head to Donglin City. I spent a few years there, so I’m more familiar with it."

"That’s fine. I’ll leave the Donglin City branch in your hands. Please, make sure you manage it well for me," Su Qingli said with a beaming smile.

Just then, Jiang Jingru’s stomach suddenly gave a loud growl. She was instantly overcome with embarrassment, so ashamed she could hardly lift her head. Jiang Hao and Su Qingli felt a bit hungry themselves, as they had barely touched their food at the gathering, so it was only natural for them to feel the same.

"You two wait here, I'll go make us something to eat," Su Qingli said. She changed her clothes and headed to the back kitchen to get busy.

"I’ll help you!" Jiang Jingru, wanting to curry favor with Jiang Hao and Su Qingli, wasn't about to sit idly by. Helping Su Qingli was the perfect opportunity to build a rapport. However, just as Jiang Jingru entered the kitchen, her phone suddenly rang.

"Let me take this call," Jiang Jingru said. She pulled out her phone and, upon seeing the caller ID, her expression turned to one of shock. "It’s Li Dong calling me."

"Go ahead," Su Qingli said, nodding indifferently, her expression unchanged.

Jiang Jingru gave a soft acknowledgment, answered the phone, and switched it to speaker mode. Hearing the commotion in the kitchen, Jiang Hao walked over as well, remaining silent as he saw Jiang Jingru on the call. Li Dong’s voice drifted out from the phone.

"Hello, Jingru? Where did you go?" Li Dong asked anxiously on the other end.

"I’m with Jiang Hao and Qingli, at Qingli’s restaurant," Jiang Jingru replied.

Li Dong immediately said, "That’s perfect! Send me the location. I’m coming over right now with the others."

Hearing this, Jiang Hao frowned. Su Qingli was also displeased. Back at the class reunion, Li Dong had mocked Jiang Hao repeatedly, showing no regard for Su Qingli’s dignity. Now, he wanted to bring the other classmates here? What was he playing at? Did he intend to chase them down just to continue humiliating Jiang Hao? That was going too far!

Jiang Jingru didn’t agree immediately. She countered, "Why are you coming to Qingli’s restaurant? Jiang Hao and Qingli are in a bad mood, and they don’t want to see you."

Li Dong’s voice suddenly carried a hint of a sob. Trembling, he said, "I... I need to apologize to Jiang Hao and Qingli... I was wrong... Please, send the location quickly, otherwise we’re going to be... we’re going to be in real trouble!"

Apologize? What on earth was going on? Jiang Hao frowned slightly but nodded, saying, "Send him the location. Let him come. I want to see exactly what he’s trying to do!"

"Alright." Jiang Jingru nodded, hung up, and sent the location to Li Dong.

Twenty minutes earlier, at the Tianlong Grand Hotel:

Just after Jiang Hao, Su Qingli, and Jiang Jingru had left, Li Dong was still venting his frustration in the private room when the door suddenly swung open. A burly, bald man led several others inside, with Huang Ya trailing behind him. The massive man was none other than Zhao Tianlong, the owner of the Tianlong Grand Hotel.

"I am Zhao Tianlong, the owner of this establishment. How is everyone enjoying their meal? Are you satisfied with our service?" Zhao Tianlong asked with a sycophantic smile.

Li Dong stood up and laughed, "Excellent, excellent! Boss Zhao, the food and service here are truly first-class!" Hearing this, Zhao Tianlong beamed. He turned to scan Chen Wei, Huang Qian, and the others sitting in the room. His gaze didn’t linger on anyone, pausing only briefly on the bottle of Pordoko wine on the table, which was nearly empty.

"Boss Zhao, are you looking for someone?" Li Dong asked, puzzled.

Zhao Tianlong smiled and said, "Yes, I heard from my staff that Mr. Jiang and Ms. Su were dining in this room for their reunion, so I had my men send over a bottle of Pordoko wine for them to enjoy... Where are they? Where did they go?"

Upon hearing this, Li Dong’s face drained of color! Huang Qian, Chen Wei, and the others in the room turned deathly pale as well! That bottle of Pordoko wine, worth three million, had been a gift for Jiang Hao! No, no, no—could it have been a mistake? How could a small fry like Jiang Hao possibly be someone the owner of this hotel would send wine to, especially a famous vintage worth millions?

Li Dong hurriedly stammered, "Boss Zhao, this Mr. Jiang and Ms. Su you mentioned... could they be..."

"It’s Mr. Jiang Hao and his wife, Ms. Su Qingli, of course. Are they not holding their class reunion in this room?" Zhao Tianlong’s expression darkened.

Beside him, Huang Ya chimed in, "Brother Tianlong, this is the room. I saw Mr. Jiang and Ms. Su here when I brought the wine."

The words of Zhao Tianlong and Huang Ya left Li Dong and the others stunned into silence. A moment later, Li Dong said awkwardly, "Boss Zhao, I am so sorry, but Jiang Hao and Su Qingli have already left."

"Left? What do you mean? It’s only been half an hour; how could they have left so soon?" Zhao Tianlong asked, annoyed. He had worn that fawning expression solely to curry favor with Jiang Hao. Now that Jiang Hao was gone, there was no need to keep up the charade, and he immediately reverted to a menacing demeanor.

"Well... they had some things to attend to... Boss Zhao, we thought the wine was a gift for us, so we opened it... We are truly sorry, please forgive us..." Li Dong was incredibly embarrassed, apologizing profusely.

The people in the room were now too shocked to speak. How could a nobody like Jiang Hao be someone the owner of this hotel would treat with such respect? What in the world was going on?

Zhao Tianlong glared coldly at Li Dong and said with disdain, "A gift for you? Who do you think you are! You’re nothing but trash. You think you’re worthy of me gifting you wine?"