Lu Jingyang walked out of the private room and immediately called Lu Yanbei.
Lu Yanbei had anticipated this and replied indifferently, "Got it."
"Anything else?" Lu Yanbei was driving and didn't want to chat for long.
"Brother, why aren't you surprised at all? Did you expect them to come to me?" Lu Jingyang entered an empty room and collapsed onto the sofa.
"It was only a matter of time," Lu Yanbei replied concisely.
"Then, how should I respond to them?" Lu Jingyang had always lacked his own opinions and was completely subservient to Lu Yanbei, treating his words as divine decrees.
Lu Yanbei repeated his earlier instruction. "Make them wait."
"The Qi family in Nancheng is considered a prominent influential family. Is it really okay to treat them like this?" Lu Jingyang, for once, put his brain to work.
"Since they are here to apologize, they should have an apologetic attitude," Lu Yanbei stated.
Lu Jingyang, though not fully understanding, nodded in agreement. "Okay, I know what to do."
After hanging up the phone, Lu Jingyang put the matter out of his mind.
The next morning, he was woken up by the ringing of his phone while still in a deep sleep. Having only gone to bed at three in the morning, his morning temper was exceptionally bad. "Sleeping?"
"Boss Lu, it's your old friend Qi. How is it, will Mr. Lu meet us?" The other party, without much pleasantry, got straight to the point.
Lu Jingyang, his sleep disturbed, replied with a poor tone, "My brother is on a business trip and is not in B City recently. Whatever you need, you can discuss it when he returns."
The Qi family knew very well whether Lu Yanbei was in B City or not.
Just last night, Lu Yanbei had attended a charity gala hosted by a wealthy businessman. It was too coincidental for him to be on a business trip the very next day.
However, Qi Zhao dared not question it. After exchanging a few jokes, he hung up the phone.
"This Lu Yanbei really puts on airs!" Qi Zhao, having been pampered since childhood, never denied anything he wanted, where had he ever been treated with such disregard? Thinking about it made him furious.
"Third Master, please calm down. The monk can't run away from the temple; we'll get to see him eventually," his confidant advised from the side.
Qi Zhao snorted, "I think he's deliberately trying to embarrass me!"
In his opinion, Lu Yanbei was making a mountain out of a molehill!
Wasn't Mrs. Lu fine? Why was he still holding onto this matter!
He had offered his apologies, said all the right things, what else was he unsatisfied with!
Qi Zhao paced back and forth in the room, agitated and wanting to punch someone.
"I heard there's a famous club in B City called Cloud Above, with many things to do, and the waitstaff are all flight attendants..." His subordinate, seeing his anger rising, quickly tried to divert his attention.
Qi Zhao was known for his love of entertainment and women.
Upon hearing their description, his interest was indeed piqued. "Is that true?"
"They say it's a paradise for men!"
"The membership threshold is outrageously high, so it must be worth the price."
Several subordinates described it with exaggeration.
"Let's go and take a look!" Qi Zhao was indeed persuaded.
The group soon left the apartment and headed for the Cloud Above club.
As soon as there was movement on this end, Lu Yanbei received the news.
"They went to Cloud Above?" Lu Yanbei was in his car, still on his way to the office.
"Yes."
"Have someone stop them at the entrance and raise the membership fee tenfold," Lu Yanbei replied with a cold smile.
The person who received the message couldn't help but gasp.
A tenfold membership fee, most fools wouldn't even consider it.
Even as a descendant of the Qi family with a net worth of hundreds of millions, Qi Zhao hadn't reached the point of disregarding money as dirt. Even if he had the nerve, the money in his card might not be enough.
After all, as long as Old Master Qi was still around, they wouldn't get their share of the family fortune. That money hadn't reached their hands yet, so it was of no consequence.
Before meeting them, Lu Yanbei intended to make them shed a layer of skin.
Qi Zhao and his companions arrived at the club's entrance and were indeed stopped. Upon learning the amount of the membership fee, his eyes nearly popped out. "Aren't you guys robbing people!"
The manager bowed respectfully, "Sir, you may not know, but this is the lowest tier. For guests who patronize us, their nightly expenses start from six figures."
"I think you're abusing your dominant position!" Qi Zhao's subordinate snorted indignantly.
The manager didn't get angry, still smiling, "You gentlemen must be from out of town; perhaps you don't understand the local market. The entrance fee for high-end establishments naturally needs to be higher..."
"What kind of place charges a hundred million for membership!" Qi Zhao's face was grim.
"The people who come here for leisure are all wealthy and noble; this amount is nothing to them. Moreover, entertainment is secondary; the most important thing is networking. These intangible benefits cannot be measured by money." It must be said that the manager had a silver tongue, and with a few words, he rendered the other party speechless.
Qi Zhao either paid promptly or left. Any further argument would only make him appear petty.
"Third Master, this..."
Qi Zhao wasn't foolish; he wouldn't spend a hundred million to get a membership card here. He mostly stayed in Nancheng, and his visits here were few and far between.
After glaring fiercely at the manager, he huffily led his men away.
"Please take care!" The manager smiled and bid them farewell from behind.
"This is outrageous!"
"What a lousy place, we don't care about it!"
The group got into the car indignantly. Before the car could even start, they saw several luxury cars slowly driving in, and elegantly dressed guests emerged from them.
Seeing these esteemed guests arrive, the manager's smile widened.
"Mr. Lin, long time no see!"
"Mrs. Chen, it's been a while, and your complexion is still so good!"
"Director Dong, it's been some time since you last visited, we've missed you dearly!"
Watching the manager bow and scrape, Qi Zhao was suddenly bewildered.
These were faces he was all too familiar with. He often saw several of them on television, and one of them was mentioned repeatedly by his grandfather.
Recalling the manager's words, Qi Zhao hesitated.
The people who patronized this place were indeed influential figures with status and background. If he could get acquainted with one or two, it would be nothing but beneficial. With these connections, how could the Qi family not establish themselves in this land sooner!
Qi Zhao's intentions were good, but his wallet was too thin.
The money in his card was simply not enough!
With this thought, Qi Zhao had no choice but to take out his phone and call his mother to transfer money.
"What do you need so much money for!" The Fourth Madam, who was having a facial at a beauty salon, heard her son's words and dismissed the people around her, sitting up to admonish him.
"To open up the market here, we need to build connections first. I've met some important people recently, and I need to entertain them. Besides, the cost of living here is not low, and my money is not enough." Qi Zhao complained to the Fourth Madam.
Although the Fourth Madam had her doubts, considering the disaster they had previously caused and the need for an opportunity to redeem themselves, she gritted her teeth and lent him her private savings.
"Find out clearly first, don't get swindled!"
"I'm not a child anymore; I know what I'm doing."
Qi Zhao, who claimed to know what he was doing, ultimately suffered a major setback.