Sun Xinyi and Zhao Yingying were both women with strict body management, so neither of them had large appetites, hence they didn’t order too much.
Soon, the dishes were all served, and the three chatted while eating. Although Yang Hao didn’t eat anything high in calories, this experience of hotpot still satisfied him mentally.
“Xinyi?”
“Is that really you, Xinyi? This is such a coincidence!”
A man holding a dish of dipping sauce suddenly stopped beside their table and then exclaimed Sun Xinyi’s name with a look of surprise.
From his voice, one could tell this surprise was genuine.
Yang Hao subconsciously glanced at the man, who was in his late twenties, quite tall, roughly around 180 cm like himself, with above-average looks and wearing a Nike tracksuit, looking quite energetic.
“Qin, what a coincidence.”
Sun Xinyi greeted the man, whose name was Qin Feng, and he was her senior from three years above at college.
They had both worked part-time as fitness coaches at the same gym, and he had pursued her for a while, but Qin Feng wasn’t her type.
“Yingying is here too.”
Qin Feng knew Zhao Yingying; he had tried to please her best friend while pursuing Sun Xinyi, but ultimately, he didn’t win her over.
Zhao Yingying gave a slight nod, a kind of greeting.
“And this is?”
Qin Feng’s gaze then fell on Yang Hao; a man dining with Sun Xinyi and Zhao Yingying could basically be one of two possibilities, either Sun Xinyi’s boyfriend or Zhao Yingying’s boyfriend, or perhaps a suitor of one of the two.
“This is Yang, a friend of mine and Yingying’s.”
“Yang, this is my senior, Qin Feng.”
Sun Xinyi briefly introduced them.
“Hello.”
Yang Hao greeted him politely.
“Yang, hello.”
Qin Feng also called him ‘Yang,’ following Sun Xinyi’s lead, and then cheerfully asked, “Yang, you don’t mind if I join your table, do you?”
“I’m an old friend of Xinyi and Yingying.”
“Uh, this meal is on me…”
In fact, Qin Feng had never given up pursuing Sun Xinyi, he had even sent her a WeChat message last week inviting her out, but she had declined, citing work reasons. So, seeing her by chance today, he didn’t want to miss the opportunity to curry favor.
“I’m fine with it; you ask the ladies.”
Yang Hao said, waving his hand indifferently.
“Since Yang has no objections, neither do I.”
Zhao Yingying spoke up first, her agreement was with a hidden intention.
Obviously, Qin Feng was here for Sun Xinyi, so his joining would mean four people could pair up nicely.
She would focus on Yang Hao, and Qin Feng would focus on Sun Xinyi.
They wouldn’t interfere with each other, otherwise her friend, who surpassed her in every respect, would be too overwhelming. Although she was acting like she and Yang Hao were just ordinary friends, if this yang started showing off his wallet, she feared her friend might not be able to resist.
“Yang, then I’ll be intruding.”
“I’ll go say hi to my colleagues; they’re about to finish up over there anyway.”
Qin Feng nodded courteously at Yang Hao and then quickly took his dipping sauce and left.
Meanwhile, Sun Xinyi gently pinched Zhao Yingying’s thigh: “Yingying, why did you agree to him!”
“The man is deeply devoted to you; don’t reject him from a thousand miles away!” Zhao Yingying teased with a chuckle.
Sun Xinyi responded with a roll of her eyes, having likely guessed Zhao Yingying’s thoughts.
But she thought Zhao Yingying was thinking too much; as for now, she only considered Yang Hao a good older brother. At 24, she wasn’t ready to become anyone’s stepmother.
A moment later, Qin Feng came back smiling. He asked the waiter for a set of utensils, his gaze sweeping over the table, noticing that they had ordered very little and nothing particularly expensive.
He thought to himself that this old man was a bit stingy, not willing to spend money when taking a lady out for a meal.
“Yang, Xinyi, Yingying, what would you like to eat? I’ll order it. This meal is on me, no one fight over it!”
Qin Feng said quite generously.
“I’m on a diet recently, just ask them.”
Yang Hao waved his hand dismissively.
“Oh, Xinyi, Yingying, then it’s your turn.”
Qin Feng nodded slightly but couldn’t help mocking inwardly, thinking that the old man was really good at finding excuses to save money.
“Just order whatever you like!”
“Xinyi and I won’t eat much either,” Zhao Yingying said.
“Okay then!”
Qin Feng ordered a serving of layered tripe, a portion of smooth beef, and a portion of handmade shrimp paste, which were among the more expensive dishes at Haidilao, but the total cost was just over a hundred.
Although Haidilao claims to be high-end, its prices are only mid-range, about thirty to forty percent more expensive than an average hot pot restaurant, but affordable for the average worker.
“Xinyi, how’s it going at Bolli?”
After ordering, Qin Feng started chatting with Sun Xinyi.
“It’s okay,” she replied indifferently.
“I’m pretty close with Old Zhu, I’ll talk to him later and ask him to look after you a bit.”
Qin Feng started name-dropping, the most low-level bragging tactic. If you’re truly impressive, you don’t need to mention others to bolster your own stature.
And the “Old Zhu” he mentioned was the very person Sun Xinyi didn’t like.
Zhu Honggang’s full name, the personal training supervisor at Bolli Fitness Center, had dubious relationships with several female clients, and he still had the nerve to pursue Sun Xinyi.
“No need,” she said.
“It’s quite good now,” Sun Xinyi said, shaking her head slightly.
In fact, Qin Feng was just making conversation; although he knew Zhu Honggang, they didn’t have much of a relationship.
“Ah, the economy hasn’t been great this year, even courses aren’t selling well. Last month I barely sold fifty thousand.”
“The other coaches in the store only sold a total of two hundred and ten thousand.”
Qin Feng seemed to be complaining, but he was actually showing off. As the personal training supervisor at a gym, he received a higher commission than ordinary coaches and also got a cut from the total store sales, plus income from class fees and the like, adding up to almost thirty thousand a month.
Of course, this wasn’t a steady income; the norm was usually between ten and twenty thousand a month.
His way of humblebragging was something outsiders wouldn’t understand because they didn’t know the commission structure in their industry, but Sun Xinyi could definitely figure it out.
So his words were actually telling Sun Xinyi that he was now earning thirty thousand a month.
And Xinyi was well aware of men’s bragging tactics, as men who pursued her often resorted to such tactics. Having seen it so often, she had become numb to it; she was even tempted to retort: You make thirty thousand a month, what’s that to me!
Besides, do you know, Yang, sitting next to you, spent over thirty thousand just on courses and membership cards yesterday, then another fifty thousand on a bag, and drives a car worth over a million.
An income of thirty thousand a month is indeed a lot compared to the average worker, but what is there to show off in front of a tycoon like Yang!
“Yang, where did you make your fortune?”
Seeing that Sun Xinyi didn’t engage, Qin Feng tactfully dropped the topic and turned to chat with Yang Hao.
In his view, there are two ways to raise one’s value: one is to elevate oneself, and the other is to use others to elevate oneself.
He had already tried elevating himself, but the effect wasn’t very pronounced.
So he was ready to try the second method, to raise his own value through a stark contrast.
Yang Hao, who had spent over a decade in the catering industry and seen all types of people, saw right through the young man’s intentions.
Young people, after all, like to show off in front of girls they fancy; it’s understandable.
So Yang Hao cooperated and said, “I’m currently unemployed and at home.”
“Uh…”
Qin Feng was taken aback, not expecting to actually come across a pushover.
Getting on in years and still damn unemployed, no wonder he’s so stingy when inviting a lady out!