Chapter 021: A Despairing Reality

Chen Xiao had completely forgotten his identity—a supernatural being possessing the divine essence of the Supreme God. At this moment, he had returned to the past, to his ordinary college days filled with struggles.

When he saw Li Chengyun and Murong Zi entering, Chen Xiao immediately wore a smile. Under the envious gazes of the other servers, he walked toward them. In their eyes, such a wealthy young master and beautiful young lady were undoubtedly easy targets. As long as they provided excellent service and said a few kind words, tips would flow endlessly.

Chen Xiao had similar experiences before. His smile now wasn’t artificially stiff like a professional’s, nor was it annoyingly flattering—it was just right.

When he saw Murong Zi, his eyes lit up. This woman was about his age, with long black hair, big sparkling eyes, a small nose, a cherry-like mouth, and a curvaceous figure that could make any man fall for her.

However, having been exposed to Shui Miao’s stunning beauty, Chen Xiao was almost immune to women. Unless another woman appeared even more beautiful than Shui Miao, it would be hard to distract him.

Looking at Li Chengyun beside Murong Zi, he was tall and handsome, with a constant sunny smile on his face.

“What a perfect couple!”

Chen Xiao couldn’t help but exclaim softly. His voice was loud enough for the two of them to hear, yet his expression was controlled so well that it seemed like an accidental remark.

Li Chengyun couldn’t help but smile. He was very satisfied with this waiter—whether it was his demeanor, smile, or those last words, everything impressed him greatly.

Most importantly, Chen Xiao’s gaze lingered on Murong Zi for only a moment before he wisely looked away. Murong Zi was his chosen wife—which man would like his woman being stared at by another man?

Unbeknownst to him, though Chen Xiao understood men’s psychology well, he couldn’t fathom women’s thoughts—a blank spot in his understanding.

At that moment, Chen Xiao’s behavior made Murong Zi furious. First, this guy had only glanced at her before looking away. She had always been confident in her beauty—which man wouldn’t be captivated by her?

Had this kid’s sense of beauty gone wrong, or did he simply not know how to appreciate beauty, or maybe he didn’t like women at all?

Worse still, he had called them a “perfect couple.” Did he really think she and this annoying rich boy were a good match?

“Hmph,” Murong Zi snorted slightly before heading straight inside the hotel. Li Chengyun, who was about to take out his wallet to pay for Chen Xiao’s service, saw her leave without even saying goodbye and hurried after her.

Chen Xiao rolled his eyes. He was about to earn a substantial sum of money when this “irresponsible” woman interrupted him. With no choice, he resigned himself to his fate and hurried after her. Chen Xiao led the two of them to a luxurious room by the window on the second floor and handed them a menu. “Zi Er, you go ahead,” Li Chengyun politely handed the menu to Murong Zi. Murong Zi didn’t hesitate and ordered over a dozen of the most expensive dishes in the entire hotel—things Chen Xiao could never even dream of ordering. “And two bottles of 1978 Scottish whisky,” Murong Zi added calmly. Chen Xiao almost choked on his spit. 1978 Scottish whisky? What on earth was that? Not long ago, he had heard the hotel staff discussing how a bottle of 1982 whisky had been sold for $54,000 by a collector. Now this woman wanted two bottles of 1978—even if it weren’t the Flowing Cloud Hotel, not even the top five-star hotels in Jinghua could afford that many bottles. Was this girl here to eat or to waste money? As the saying goes, poor children grow up early—having lived at the bottom of society since childhood, Chen Xiao had no respect for such elite lifestyles. “I’m sorry, miss. We don’t have 1978 Scottish whisky. If you’d like, please choose something else—brandy, vodka, or our oldest whisky, from 1992.” Chen Xiao remained calm, still wearing a faint smile, but in his heart, he now had absolutely no good impression of this extravagant woman. Just for interrupting his chance at making money, that was already a grave offense. “Never mind,” Li Chengyun said at that moment. “This isn’t home. There’s no such thing as 1980 whisky. Let’s order a bottle of brandy instead. It’s not good for a girl to drink so much.” Li Chengyun still wore a kind smile. With that, he handed the menu back to Chen Xiao, along with five red old-man heads placed on it. Murong Zi nodded slightly without objecting, but for some reason, she found this waiter unpleasant. Why did a man need such good skin? His skin was even better than hers—simply unreasonable. Chen Xiao, on the other hand, felt relieved. All this trouble just for this? In his eyes now, nothing was more important than those red old-man heads. Even the slight displeasure caused by Murong Zi earlier disappeared. Unbeknownst to him, he had already been hated by someone else. “Okay, please wait a moment,” Chen Xiao said with a smile, this time one that came from the bottom of his heart. He turned around, quickly stuffed the five old-man heads into his pocket, then left. After handing the menu to the kitchen, he stood there quietly waiting. The Flowing Cloud Hotel was quite efficient, especially thanks to the status of Li Chengyun and Murong Zi. In less than half an hour, those dozen expensive dishes that shocked Chen Xiao were ready.

Soon, a team of servers led by Chen Xiao arrived at the elegant pavilion where Li Chengyun and Murong Zi were. Chen Xiao held a bottle of fine brandy in his hands. After the dishes were served, Chen Xiao took out the bottle, uncorked it, and poured drinks for the two of them. Throughout the whole process, his behavior was extremely proper, without the slightest impropriety. “Please enjoy your meal slowly,” he said, then walked away from the pavilion. His task was complete here, and it wasn’t his turn to handle the billing later. It only took a short while to spend five hundred yuan—how could that not upset him? But the moment he was about to turn around, the smile on his face froze. Murong Zi gently frowned and suddenly shouted, “Stop! What kind of service attitude is this? Is this how the servers at your Liuyun Hotel treat guests?” Her voice wasn’t loud, but in the quiet second-floor pavilion area, it was extremely harsh. To Chen Xiao, however, it sounded like a thunderclap. Even Li Chengyun, sitting across from her, was stunned. In his eyes, this server was quite good and seemed like a pleasant person. But in his view, this server was just a minor figure, nowhere near as important as Murong Zi’s little finger. “What’s going on?” In less than thirty seconds, Gu Weihé, the hotel manager who had been watching the situation, rushed over. “This server’s service attitude is terrible! I’m very angry!” Murong Zi said to Gu Weihé. “You’re officially fired from the hotel. You may leave now,” Gu Weihé said to Chen Xiao without hesitation. Chen Xiao was stunned for a moment, then shook his head with a bitter smile. He didn’t even know what he had done to offend this woman. “The world is just that realistic—so realistic that it’s despairing,” he thought. Without saying another word, he shook his head and walked out. This scene made him realize that no matter how he explained himself, it would be useless.