Jimmy closed his phone, annoyed, and signaled the waiter to order.
A couple sat down at the table next to them. The man was in a black suit, clearly an expensive Armani. The woman wore a deep-V red backless evening gown. They were dressed to impress.
"Oh, darling, what's going on today? How did poor people get into a high-class place like the Waldorf? Is this a charity event?" the woman snarked in a high-pitched voice.
The man glanced at Jimmy, frowning. "What's happening? Has the Waldorf sunk so low that someone in a tracksuit can dine here? This completely compromises our noble status. I'm going to complain to the manager. He doesn't deserve to sit next to me."
Su Xiaoyan gently touched Jimmy's arm and shook her head. "Xiao Chuan, don't pay attention to them."
Jimmy smiled and nodded. With my current status, why would I argue with mere ants?
The waiter approached Jimmy's table with a menu. "What would you like, sir?"
Jimmy didn't even look at the menu. He simply said, "One Chef's Signature Tasting Menu each."
The Chef's Tasting Menu was the most expensive option, a culmination of all the Three-Star Chef George's best creations. Naturally, the price was steep: 19,999 Yuan per person. For two people, that was nearly 40,000 Yuan ($5,600 USD).
The waiter was stunned. "Sir, that's the 19,999 set. Are you sure?"
"Yes."
The waiter quickly wrote it down and rushed to place the order. Moments later, he remembered something and hurried back. "Sir, what kind of drinks would you like?"
Yes, the 19,999 tasting menu was just the food; drinks were separate.
Jimmy thought for a second. "Two bottles of the '74 DRC Romanée-Conti."
The man at the next table instantly fell silent, mortified.
The woman whispered, "Honey, what's the '74 Conti? Is it better than the '82 Lafite?"
The man sweated. "He's talking about the 1974 Romanée-Conti. One bottle sells for $34,000 USD now. The '82 Lafite is a little brother compared to it."
The woman was shocked. "$34,000?! He ordered two bottles at once?! That's impossible. Who spends nearly $70,000 USD on a dinner?" The woman looked at Jimmy again. He was dressed normally, and his wrist was bare—no watch. She was convinced he was an imposter, a deadbeat who would eat and then refuse to pay.
The waiter was now sweating cold. Taking an order and serving was normal, but this was his first time dealing with an order for two bottles of 1974 Romanée-Conti. If the customer was a scammer, he wouldn't be able to afford the nearly $70,000 loss even if he sold himself. He rushed to the lobby manager to explain the situation.
The manager treated it as a serious crisis. He approached Jimmy and politely said that the wine was too expensive and they needed to verify the funds first.
Jimmy considered it. The manager was right. Two bottles totaling $68,000 USD was too great a risk for them. But when he reached into his pocket, he realized he had left his Black Card in the hotel room.
"I apologize. I left my Black Card in the room," Jimmy said.
The man next door instantly pounced on the opportunity. "I knew he was a scammer! Trying to swindle a meal and look rich to pick up girls! He's trying to dine and dash!"
The woman sneered. "See? Clothes make the man. Someone who comes to such a high-class place in a tracksuit is either a super-rich mogul or a cheating deadbeat. Scumbag! Trying to pretend to be a God-Tycoon to fool women."
The manager's suspicion of Jimmy's identity solidified. Ordering a $5,600 Tasting Menu and two bottles of '74 Romanée-Conti—he was either a true tycoon or a swindler. Since he couldn't even pay for the meal, he had to be a swindler.
Just as the manager was about to throw Jimmy out, a voice came from the entrance. "So, there you are! I've been looking all over for you!"
Xia Ying rushed to the table, out of breath, and looked at Jimmy.
"Hahaha! A show is starting! Looks like this scumbag tricked more than one woman. Another victim has arrived!" the man next door exclaimed gleefully.
The manager recognized Xia Ying. He had seen her profile on the internal website—she was the secretary to the Group CEO, a high-level executive.
"Secretary Xia," the manager greeted, trembling.
Xia Ying ignored him. She opened the folder in her hand and pushed it toward Jimmy. "Mr. Qin, you forgot to sign the documents earlier."
Jimmy calmly borrowed the waiter's pen and scribbled his name, "Jimmy," on the file. "Done," he said, handing the file back to Xia Ying.
Seeing Jimmy's nonchalant, uncaring attitude, Xia Ying bristled. "Mr. Qin, the Hilton Group is a Fortune 500 company with tens of billions in annual revenue. Could you at least show some respect?"
Jimmy narrowed his eyes. "It's just a group with revenue of only tens of billions of USD. Why are you so proud?"
"You..." Xia Ying was speechless. He was the owner, and he had the capital to speak like that. She turned and walked away, giving her young boss no face whatsoever.
Jimmy just smiled. He wasn't going to argue with a young girl.
The couple next door had turned completely green. What were we just doing? Mocking the owner of the Hilton Group?! The woman felt cold sweat break out. She had repeatedly called him a penniless bum. The couple quickly slipped away without ordering anything, terrified of the unpredictable consequences if he got angry. A billionaire who owned a $10 billion USD conglomerate could crush them like ants.
The lobby manager was drenched in cold sweat. The Waldorf Astoria restaurant and hotel were part of the Waldorf brand, which was owned by the Hilton Group. The man in front of him was the owner of the entire global corporation!
Jimmy slowly looked up and asked blandly, "Now, do you still need to verify my funds?"
"No! No need at all! I will arrange everything for you immediately! I guarantee your satisfaction!" With that, he fled the scene. He couldn't handle the pressure of being in the presence of such a high-tier executive.
Su Xiaoyan watched everything unfold. Her shock slowly turned into acceptance. Though she had a million questions for Jimmy, she was a smart woman. If Jimmy didn't want to talk about something, she wouldn't ask.
"As long as you're here, Xiao Chuan, nothing else matters."
"Hm? What did you say, Big Sister Xiaoyan?"
Su Xiaoyan quickly covered her mouth. She had said her thoughts aloud!
"Family, look! From here, you can see the East City CBD!"
"Wow, family, look at this huge Boston Lobster tonight!"
"Followers first..."
"The Boston Lobster is so juicy and tender!"
Little Mei was streaming from a corner. Her voice was quiet, but it was clear she was working hard to keep the stream lively.
While waiting for the food, Jimmy opened TikTok and followed Little Mei. He liked her for standing up for him at the door. He clicked on her avatar and entered her live stream. The viewer count in the top right was 788. Viewer interaction was directly related to the live count. Aside from the robots, the few real people were mostly heckling her.
"Streamer, go back to the factory and screw bolts. This isn't for you."
"Little Mei, just change your style. Be a provocative streamer."
"Yeah, if you wear black stockings, I'll even give you a membership badge."
Little Mei endured the rude comments in silence. Her original intention was just to share her life, and even with her appealing figure, she never wanted to use underhanded methods to make money. She sadly calculated that her stream revenue so far wasn't even three digits, not even a tenth of the four-digit price of her dinner. She sighed into the camera. She had been eating instant noodles for a month to afford this stream.
Just as she was about to end the stream, her phone screen flashed with a few blocks, and then three words slowly rose from the bottom: [CARNIVAL!]