Chapter 127: Intolerable Bullying

Zhang Wenhao gave Chen Feng a call, expressed his gratitude, and then relayed the situation to Li Nan. Upon hearing it, Li Nan was ecstatic and immediately said, "Your friend is incredibly reliable! This is far better than going to the Jiangcheng Hotel."

Zhang Wenhao urged, "Call the classmates quickly, have them spread the word, and let's meet at the No. 1 Middle School gate at five o'clock."

Li Nan nodded and suggested, "We have less than an hour. Why don't we go ahead and book a KTV first? Once we return from dinner, we can head straight there to sing."

Zhang Wenhao had no objections. In a place like Jiangcheng, the standard routine for friends hanging out was simply dinner followed by karaoke; there really wasn't much else to do. He immediately drove to one of the larger KTVs in Jiangcheng to book the largest private room available.

Many KTVs had massive rooms nearly a hundred square meters in size, specifically designed for large gatherings. However, these were few in number. If they weren't booked early and weren't available later, accommodating such a large group would be a problem. To Zhang Wenhao's surprise, business at the Jiangcheng KTV was booming. It wasn't even evening yet, and most rooms of all sizes were already booked, with those rare large rooms being snapped up completely.

Unwilling to bother Chen Feng again, Zhang Wenhao checked several places before finally walking into a KTV called Melody with Li Nan.

Since it was summer vacation, the KTV had started its afternoon session. Seeing how busy it was, Zhang Wenhao didn't have high hopes, but he approached the front desk and asked, "Excuse me, how many people can your largest room hold?"

The waitress replied, "Sir, our largest room can easily accommodate sixty people."

"Are there any rooms left for tonight? I'd like to book one," Zhang Wenhao asked.

The waitress checked and said with a smile, "You're in luck, sir. We have four super-large rooms, and three are already booked."

Zhang Wenhao was delighted and quickly said, "Then please book that one for me!"

"Certainly," the waitress nodded. "Our rooms are charged by time slot rather than by the hour. For a super-large room from 7:00 PM to 1:00 AM, the fee is 5,888 yuan, which includes 3,000 yuan worth of alcohol, beverages, and snacks. You can choose those from the shop upstairs."

At 5,888 yuan, that came out to just over a hundred per person, so Zhang Wenhao agreed immediately. The waitress asked him to pay a 1,000-yuan deposit and leave his name and phone number. After paying and receiving the deposit receipt, Zhang Wenhao mentioned he would arrive between 8:00 and 9:00 PM.

The waitress noted, "Our deposit is non-refundable. If you haven't arrived by 9:00 PM, we won't be able to hold the room."

Zhang Wenhao nodded and was about to leave with Li Nan when a man in a black suit and white shirt walked over with a young man about Zhang Wenhao’s age. The manager told the waitress, "Yangyang, save that largest room for Young Master Xu. He’s hosting a party tonight."

The girl said awkwardly, "Manager, the remaining room was just booked by this gentleman."

The manager glanced at Zhang Wenhao, saw he looked like a student, and waved his hand. "Refund his deposit and save the room for Young Master Xu."

Without even looking at Zhang Wenhao, he turned to the young man and said, "Young Master Xu, don't worry about your dinner. Just come over whenever you're ready. This one is on me; I’ll handle everything perfectly for you."

The girl asked hesitantly, "Manager, is that really appropriate?"

"What’s inappropriate about it?" the manager said impatiently. "Refund his deposit and get him out of here. Give him an extra fifty for taxi fare—put it on my tab."

Zhang Wenhao was furious. "I don't want the deposit. I booked this room first. There is such a thing as 'first come, first served.' Do you not understand how business works?"

The manager sneered, "What are you babbling about? This is my place; I give the rooms to whoever I want."

Zhang Wenhao retorted, "I’m taking this room tonight!"

"Oh?" The manager laughed coldly. "Playing hard to get, are we? Take the money and get lost! Back when I was running this place, you were still in diapers!"

The young man beside him added smugly, "Who are you trying to impress? Do you know who I am? How dare you compete with me for a room!"

Zhang Wenhao frowned. "Clean up your language. Who do you think you’re talking to?"

"Damn it, he's addicted to acting tough!" The manager signaled, and two security guards who had been greeting guests at the door immediately approached with menacing expressions.

The manager tapped the counter. "Yangyang, deduct another hundred from his deposit! Consider it tuition. Hurry up, don't stall!"

The waitress, intimidated, took 900 yuan from the register and handed it to Zhang Wenhao.

Li Nan, who had just finished his call, walked in. Zhang Wenhao took the money, walked up to the manager, and shoved it into his suit pocket. He said, word by word, "I will be here before nine tonight. Either keep that room for me, or kill me here!"

As Zhang Wenhao turned to leave, the manager grabbed his wrist, shouting, "Damn it, you're looking for death! If I don't teach you a lesson, you'll think I, Zhao Meng, am a pushover!" He swung his other hand toward Zhang Wenhao’s face.

Zhang Wenhao easily caught the manager's wrist, twisted it slightly, and caused the man to grit his teeth in pain. He yelled to the security guards, "Beat him to death!"

The two guards charged, but to Zhang Wenhao, they were nothing. Angry at being bullied, he applied force, and with a *crack*, the manager’s wrist dislocated.

As the manager howled, the guards rushed forward. Zhang Wenhao grabbed their collars and slammed them together. The force was so great that they collided nose-to-nose, knocking out each other's front teeth and biting through their own lips.

The manager was stunned, fumbling for his walkie-talkie with his left hand. Zhang Wenhao stepped forward, gripped his throat, and said coldly, "Stop acting tough. Since I booked this room first, you aren't giving it to anyone else. I'll be here at nine. If you're not happy, bring enough people to wait for me. But if you try to act tough when I return, I'll break your hand."

Ignoring the manager's fear and fury, Zhang Wenhao patted Li Nan on the shoulder and said, "Let's go."

Li Nan, finally snapping out of it, followed Zhang Wenhao out, and they drove away in the Scirocco.

Zhao Meng finally exhaled. He had been genuinely intimidated by Zhang Wenhao’s presence. He had assumed the boy was just a high schooler, but he hadn't expected such ruthlessness.

"Brother Zhao," Young Master Xu asked, "What now? Should I come back tonight?"

Zhao Meng, feeling provoked, spat and gritted his teeth, "Young Master Xu, you enjoy yourself. If that kid dares to show up, I'll kill him!"

Satisfied, Young Master Xu nodded and left. Zhao Meng kicked his two groaning subordinates and cursed, "Useless trash! Always bragging about how tough you are, and you get taken down by a kid in one move!"

Unable to speak through the pain, the guards just lay there. Seething, Zhao Meng pulled out his phone and called, "Get twenty of the best fighters from the other venues to come over tonight. Someone is here to cause trouble!"

In the car, Li Nan said excitedly, "Wenhao, I always heard you were skilled, but that was shocking! That was so cool!"

Zhang Wenhao didn't respond. Dealing with such clowns wasn't even worth a mention; he didn't even feel like they were worth the effort.

"What about tonight?" Li Nan asked. "Are we going or not?"

"Definitely!" Zhang Wenhao couldn't swallow this insult. Zhao Meng had been far too arrogant. He had to go; he had to win this fight.

He then asked, "Did you notify all the classmates and Teacher Song?"

"Yes," Li Nan replied. "Five o'clock at the school gate."

"Let's go pick up Ruoran first," Zhang Wenhao said.

"You're just showing off for us bachelors," Li Nan joked.

Zhang Wenhao smiled and called Su Ruoran to tell her he was on his way. When he arrived, Su Ruoran came down, looking impeccably beautiful in a lace-trimmed beige V-neck blouse, a blue skirt, and black mid-heel shoes, her hair in an elegant bun. Zhang Wenhao was momentarily dazed.

Even Li Nan was stunned, not daring to look at her as he moved to the backseat. After greeting them, Su Ruoran asked if they had found a place. Zhang Wenhao told her about the ecological park Chen Feng had helped arrange.

They arrived at the school gate at five o'clock. The bus was waiting, and the class was ready. Zhang Wenhao held Su Ruoran’s hand and they boarded. The classmates cheered and teased them, calling them "Beauty and the Beast" and comparing Zhang Wenhao to King Kong.

Their teacher, Song Yanni, joked, "Wenhao, you’ve really changed since graduation, starting to appear as a couple."

"Teacher Song, we've been a couple for a long time," Zhang Wenhao laughed.

The manager of the Hanlin Ecological Park, Zhang Zhi, introduced himself and greeted Zhang Wenhao warmly, treating him like a brother because of Chen Feng. He had arranged everything—the tour, the photography, and the meal.

As the bus drove into the park, Zhang Wenhao was amazed by the lush scenery and the rare trees. Zhang Zhi acted as their guide, explaining the park's features, from the botanical gardens to the man-made lake and golf course. Zhang Wenhao realized that this was far more luxurious than he had expected, and he owed Chen Feng an even greater favor.