Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei Returns from Japan

The next moment, he took out the gilded black VIP card from his pocket and dialed the number on the back of the card.

"Hello, is this Lily? Yes, this is Lu Mingfei. I'd like to..."

Chapter 33 Zhao Menghua? What a coincidence!

Black Prince Hotel.

After hearing the beeping tone on the other end of the phone, Lily put down the receiver, walked through the dimly lit employee corridor, and headed straight for an elevator.

She pulled a black magnetic card from her pocket and swiped it lightly on the turnstile at the entrance. With a "beep," the metal door swung open imposingly.

The elevator wasn't large, but it felt quite empty because there were no floor buttons. It was originally designed for internal use only, stopping only on the top floor of the Black Prince Hotel.

Lily entered the elevator, and a brief feeling of weightlessness washed over her from all sides.

With another "beep," the elevator doors opened, revealing a huge living room. A projection screen hung in the center of the room, playing the Korean drama "Stairway to Heaven," which had just been released last year.

The screen was facing a Minotti upholstered sofa. A woman sat sideways on the sofa, her long hair piled up, blowing her nose as she watched "Stairway to Heaven" playing on the screen.

Her long, slender legs stretched out from under her nightgown, graceful and elegant. Her two jade feet, painted with blue nail polish, rubbed against each other like two restless little white fish.

"Waaaaah... Chengjun... Waaaaah... Jingshu..."

Many employees at the Black Prince Hotel knew of the 29th floor; they knew it was the residence of the hotel's chairman, but none had ever actually seen it. Only the owner and his close associates had the authority to use the elevator that went directly to the 29th floor.

But if they could see the interior design of the 29th floor in person, they would be shocked. Because the 29th floor... had actually been completely opened up into a huge, single-level apartment.

"Manager, I'm sorry to bother you." Lily stopped several meters away from the woman and bowed.

"What's wrong?" the woman asked, her voice trembling with tears, as she crumpled the tissue she had used to blow her nose into a ball and threw it into the nearby trash can.

"I just received a call from Lu Mingfei, who said he wanted to reserve a table at Ju De Quan."

“Then book it for him.” The woman said without turning her head. “Use my phone to call. It should be in the bathroom. Go look for it. It doesn’t need to be booked under the Black Prince Hotel’s name, just under my name.”

“Okay.” Lily nodded and was about to walk towards the bathroom, but she couldn’t help but turn back and ask, “Excuse me, manager… I’m still very curious about who that little guy named Lu Mingfei is, and why you’re taking such good care of him.”

"The reason I agreed to Mai's recommendation to make you my secretary is that your fighting skills are secondary. The most important reason is that Mai said that the Togakure ninjas are very tight-lipped and never ask questions they shouldn't."

Although the woman's voice still trembled with tears, her tone was as cold as ice, causing Lily to shudder involuntarily. She bowed and said, "Yes, I'm sorry, I was being presumptuous."

"I hope you understand that I don't have a problem with you." The woman's voice suddenly softened as she continued, "It's just that some things are better left unsaid than known."

"……I see."

"Oh, and when you get your phone, could you also grab a few bags of potato chips from the kitchen cabinet?"

……

After hanging up the phone, Lu Mingfei handed the phone back to Liu Miaomiao and became quite spirited.

He knew that Little Devil was always reliable, and he said he would try making a phone call himself, and there was a high chance that the boss of the Black Prince Group would agree to make a reservation for him.

"Who did you call just now?" Liu Miaomiao asked. She had just overheard Lu Mingfei talking about Jujuquan reserving a location on the phone.

“A friend of mine. She’s very familiar with the owner of Ju De Quan, and I asked her to see if she could reserve seats for us.”

"A friend?" Zhao Menghua came over and patted Lu Mingfei on the shoulder, sighing, "I'm not trying to discourage you, but your friend probably won't be of much use."

This is the capital city, a place where a single brick falling could bring down a billionaire. Yet, in such a place, there are very few people who can command the respect of Ju Dequan.

My dad and the owner of Juju De are old acquaintances, so I had to book a table in advance. Listen to me, let's all share a table. Don't worry, I'll pay for the three of you.

“No need.” Lu Mingfei calmly removed Zhao Menghua’s hand from his shoulder. “I think my friend is quite reliable.”

"Alright. Then you can wait here for your friend's news." Zhao Menghua turned around, gestured, and called out, "Let's go inside."

Zhao Menghua was ushered into Ju De Quan by his classmates who were shouting and cheering, leaving Lu Mingfei and the others to wait in place.

Qiao Yiran patted Lu Mingfei on the shoulder: "Is your friend really reliable?"

Lu Mingfei shrugged. "We'll find out soon enough. We've already waited this long."

In fact, Lu Mingfei trusted Lu Mingze completely, but he was unsure about the owner of this so-called Black Prince Hotel and didn't know who this person came from.

Even though the other party agreed, what if they are not capable enough?

If you've already put on a show in front of that girl and then fail to deliver, it'll be a disaster.

Fortunately, not long after, just a few minutes later, Lu Mingfei saw a tall man hurriedly come downstairs, rubbing his hands and looking around.

The man surveyed half of the crowd before his gaze precisely locked onto Lu Mingfei's side, and he jogged over.

"Hello, are you Mr. Lu Mingfei?" The manager bowed and smiled obsequiously. Despite being nearly 1.9 meters tall, he was shorter than Lu Mingfei by bending over.

“It’s me.” Lu Mingfei scratched his head. “Straighten up before you speak. I’m not used to you like this.”

Lu Mingfei couldn't stand seeing others acting so subserviently. Everyone was just out there working to make a living; no one had it easy. Why be so timid and subservient?

This is the 21st century, why are we still playing the old tricks of the serfdom era?

"Okay, okay." The other person obediently straightened up, instantly becoming more than half a head taller than Lu Mingfei.

"Let me introduce myself first. My surname is Wang, and I am the store manager of Ju De Quan's main store. I just received a call from Miss Su, saying that a young master named Lu Mingfei wants to reserve a table at the entrance of Ju De Quan, so I rushed out to find you."

Miss Su? Lu Mingfei was puzzled. Was it the owner of the Black Prince Hotel whose surname was Su, or was it Lily's surname?

"Here's the thing, although Miss Su said we could make room for you in a private room, we've been too busy lately and all our private rooms are full. We really can't make room for you, so we can only clear out a table for you in the main hall. Is that alright?"

“Sure, the main hall is enough,” Lu Mingfei said, but then asked with some concern, “But if I do this… am I cutting in line for others?”

The manager was taken aback, completely unexpected that Lu Mingfei would care about this, but he quickly explained:

"Don't worry, that table was added for you. Originally, that was a large grandstand. If you hadn't come, this table wouldn't have been added."

"That's good, that's good." Lu Mingfei breathed a sigh of relief and turned to look at Liu Miaomiao and the others. "Shall we go in?"

……

Before the roast duck was even served, Zhao Menghua was already too full to eat anymore.

He had originally booked a seat near the Jujuquan Grandstand, where he could enjoy a panoramic view of Qianmen Street and the Hundred and Eighty Hutongs of Zhushikou.

But just as they sat down, ordered their food, and were about to enjoy the expansive view of the old imperial capital from the stands, several staff members suddenly carried a round table and placed it beside the stands.

Then, ten carved pearwood chairs were arranged in a circle according to their importance, like ten screens, completely blocking Zhao Menghua's view.

Zhao Menghua's face turned ashen; he was furious.

What is this like? It's like spending a lot of money to buy a river-view apartment on the Huangpu River.

When you move in, you discover that the developer has built another building directly opposite your balcony, blocking your view of the beautiful river.

Just as Zhao Menghua was about to call the waiter over to ask them what they meant, he saw Lu Mingfei walk past him from behind and sit down at the table that had taken his view.

What's even more infuriating is that Lu Mingfei greeted him with delight after seeing him sitting next to him.

"Oh, Zhao Menghua? What a coincidence!"

Chapter 34 Get out of the way, Lu Shenren is about to show off.

"Yes, what a coincidence, Lu Mingfei." Zhao Menghua gritted his teeth. "Is this your seat?"

“Yes, yes.” Lu Mingfei nodded. “My friend asked the boss to add it for me.”

What the hell? Why did you have to add it here?

Zhao Menghua was seething with hatred, but he also became even more wary of Lu Mingfei. Lu Mingfei, an outsider, had connections in the capital, a place teeming with hidden talents. It seemed that the saying that there were no unknown people at Shilan Middle School was true.

But when he was at another school, he never heard of Lu Mingfei at Shilan Middle School.

As the saying goes, "A golden carp is no ordinary fish." Logically speaking, someone with Lu Mingfei's impressive background should have been famous long ago.

Unless... he is not only capable, but also very low-key!

Young Master Zhao suddenly realized that this made sense. Lu Mingfei was taking a completely opposite approach to showing off; he himself displayed all his assets openly, as if he wanted to wear them on his body to tell everyone how rich he was.

Lu Mingfei, on the other hand, concealed his true abilities, deliberately remaining timid and unassuming in ordinary times, only revealing his skills at crucial moments.

Damn, you can even show off like that?

Zhao Menghua looked at Lu Mingfei sitting directly opposite him, their gazes inevitably clashing in mid-air, making him feel like he was in prison.

Just then, the waiter brought over the plates, presenting the dishes that Zhao Menghua had ordered.

"Come on, let's eat."

Taking advantage of this moment, Zhao Menghua looked away and called to his classmate at the same table, deciding not to look at Lu Mingfei's side.

"Forget it, forget it. If my view is blocked, so be it. It's not like it's something I absolutely can't see. Out of sight, out of mind," Zhao Menghua muttered to himself.

"Hey, why are you serving pancakes and scallions? How do you eat Peking duck the authentic way?" a classmate who had never eaten Peking duck before asked.

“You don’t understand, do you?” Zhao Menghua rolled up his sleeves, his eyebrows dancing with excitement. “You have to tear open a sheet of the flatbread first, spread it out, brush the sauce on it, and then put in duck meat, cucumber, and scallions. Remember, one piece of duck meat, one cucumber, and one scallion, then wrap it up. That’s the authentic way to eat Peking duck at Ju De.”

As Zhao Menghua spoke, she demonstrated the steps of wrapping the roast duck. When she stuffed the roast duck roll into her mouth, tears almost streamed down her face.

It wasn't because the roast duck was so delicious, but because I was moved.

That's right, that's right. Having a few less knowledgeable classmates ask me questions, and then having the knowledgeable me answer them without hesitation, in a back-and-forth exchange—that's the high school life I dream of.

Seeing Zhao Menghua eating roast duck with tears streaming down his face, Lu Mingfei almost thought it was Fingel who had arrived.

"Lu Mingfei, your elementary school classmate..." Liu Miaomiao asked in a lowered voice, "Does he particularly like roast duck?"

"Right, right?" Lu Mingfei replied casually, thinking to himself that Zhao Menghua shouldn't be someone who had never seen the world, how come he almost cried from eating roast duck?

If Zhao Menghua knew what Lu Mingfei was thinking about him, he would definitely grab his chopsticks and fight Lu Mingfei to the death.

"Shall we order some food first?"

Lu Mingfei handed the menu to Liu Miaomiao and the others, while the waiter took notes in a notebook.

However, there's nothing particularly special on the menu. Apart from the roast duck, which is somewhat of a gimmick, it basically has all the dishes that Ju De has, which any hole-in-the-wall restaurant in Beijing could make.

The waiter was from Tianjin, and every time Liu Miaomiao and her friends ordered a dish, the waiter would repeat it to them in Mandarin with a Tianjin accent.

As Lu Mingfei listened, he felt as if the waiter was about to recite the menu like Guo Degang at any moment.

Liu Miaomiao and her friends ordered roast duck, four-happiness meatballs, and mock crab, then handed the menu to Lu Mingfei. Lu Mingfei's face fell when he saw the prices, and he handed the menu back to the waitress, telling her to hurry up and serve the food.

"Why aren't you ordering any food?" Liu Miaomiao asked.

"Three dishes should be enough; ordering more would be a waste," Lu Mingfei chuckled.