Mu Feng smiled faintly. "Professor Li, I'm just an ordinary person right now."
Hearing this, Professor Li understood and didn't say much, only nodding with a smile. However, the shock in his eyes still lingered.
At this moment, Zhang Meili suddenly stood up, holding her wine glass. "Teacher, today is your seventieth birthday. I specifically contacted classmates, but only these twenty-odd people could make it."
"The others are busy and don't have time to come. Let's all raise our glasses to toast our teacher."
Professor Li picked up his tea and smiled. "My health isn't very good, and I can only drink tea now. I'll use tea instead of wine..."
However, before he could finish, Zhang Meili suddenly sneered, "Teacher, you're not giving us face. We're all raising our glasses of wine, and you're holding up tea."
This sudden remark caught Professor Li completely off guard.
He didn't react for a moment.
Du Jiaojiao's eyebrows shot up. "Zhang Meili, what do you mean by that?"
"You know the teacher is in poor health, yet you talk about not giving you face."
Zhang Meili burst into laughter, her eyes filled with resentment and mockery. "Do you think I specifically booked a table at this hotel for this old man's birthday banquet because I truly regard him as a teacher?"
"Let me tell you, he always showed special favoritism to you when we were in school, which made me very unhappy. Last time I messed with you, he returned all the gifts from everyone and reprimanded us for mocking you."
"I've held a grudge ever since, for him embarrassing all of us for the sake of just you."
"I heard you returned from overseas and specifically invited him here just to get even with him for what happened back then."
After speaking, Zhang Meili threw the wine in her glass.
Mu Feng casually picked up a menu and blocked the thrown wine.
Professor Li also reacted, his eyes filled with anger, but it quickly turned into a sigh. "What's the point?"
"What's the point?"
Zhang Meili gritted her teeth. "Kerry Hotel is our family's property. You were a teacher in school, but what are you outside of school? You still dare to lecture us relying on your age."
Upon hearing her words, the more than twenty people present also stood up, most of them with mocking expressions.
"Don't you even look at your own status? A penniless professor dares to speak disrespectfully to Miss Zhang."
"We wanted to curse you years ago, but we held back then, out of consideration for Miss Zhang."
"Old man, you're almost in your coffin. It's a favor to celebrate your birthday. If you're offered a drink, you drink it."
The mocking words of those people made Professor Li's gaze dim even further.
He said nothing, turned, and prepared to leave.
Du Jiaojiao, however, directly blocked Professor Li and turned to glare at Zhang Meili. "Apologize immediately!"
"You people are worthy of my apology?"
Zhang Meili sat down, her mocking smile even more pronounced. "All the classmates present are now management personnel under me. We have all left school, and this old man can't control us anymore."
"You don't need to rely on him to support you and act superior to me."
"You still want me to apologize to you? Look at yourself, are you even worthy!"
The crowd burst into laughter.
Du Jiaojiao's face turned pale with anger, and she was about to say something.
Just then, someone mockingly chimed in, "Du Jiaojiao, what gift did you bring this year? Did you swap the fruit for a gift box this time?"
"Looking at that long box you're holding, it doesn't look like dried fruit. Don't tell me you got some nutritional supplements or something?"
"If you're poor, don't come out and embarrass yourself."
Du Jiaojiao said angrily, "You group of hypocrites, the teacher was so good to you when you were at school."
"But look at your faces now."
"It's one thing for you to mock me, but now you're speaking disrespectfully to the teacher. Have you forgotten filial piety and respect for teachers?"
Those people laughed even louder.
Zhang Meili sneered, "Du Jiaojiao, do you still think this is school?"
"We've entered society now. Money is power."
"You're angry, aren't you? Here's a chance for you. The consumption in this private room is at least fifty thousand yuan. If you can produce fifty thousand yuan, we'll immediately apologize to the teacher. If you don't have the money, just shut up."
Du Jiaojiao truly couldn't produce fifty thousand yuan at the moment. All her money had gone towards the down payment for a car. Her gaze subconsciously drifted towards Mu Feng.
Mu Feng's lips curved into a slight arc. "Let alone fifty thousand yuan, it would be easy to buy this entire hotel."
As his voice fell, the surroundings fell into a brief silence, followed by uproarious laughter.
"I think I see cows flying in the sky. No wonder beef prices are so high now; it's all because you're blowing them up to the heavens."
"Du Jiaojiao's boyfriend must not be a good person either. He talks about buying the hotel as if it's nothing. Does he know how much this hotel is worth?"
"Let alone buying it, you probably can't even afford to stay here for one night."
"Alright, let's not bother with such idiots; it'll make us look foolish too."
Professor Li wanted to speak but hesitated. Others might not know about Mu Feng's life, but he did.
Some things couldn't be made public, and they certainly couldn't be told to others.
Mu Feng smiled. "Professor Li, it's your birthday today. Don't dwell on unpleasant matters. Just watch the show from now on."
Then, he turned his gaze directly to the crowd. "Zhang Meili, you said this hotel is owned by your family?"
"Isn't that obvious?"
"All the classmates here can vouch for me. They all work under my family's company."
Everyone present looked at Mu Feng with mockery.
Mu Feng said lightly, "If I recall correctly, the owner of this hotel is surnamed Lu, not Zhang. He is the largest shareholder of the hotel."
Zhang Meili was slightly taken aback but quickly recovered, her mocking smile undiminished. "I didn't expect you to know about Kerry Hotel. That's right, the largest shareholder is indeed Mr. Lu."
"However, Mr. Lu is elusive, making fewer than three visits to the hotel a year. He holds seventy percent of the shares, while our Zhang family holds twenty percent. The hotel is almost entirely managed by our Zhang family."
Zhang Meili didn't hide these details. Even with only twenty percent of the shares, it was enough to make ordinary people envious.
She didn't take Mu Feng seriously at all. The clothes he wore were unbranded, and they looked quite old. He was definitely not a wealthy person.