Watching Liu Chengyin show off, the burly man from the North, Mao Gaoshan, curled his lips. "Such glory," he said with a trace of mockery.

Sitting in the row in front of him, Xu Lai simply smiled and said nothing.

Soon, the bus stopped before the main entrance of the resort's lobby. As the group disembarked, the lobby manager, who had been waiting, hurried over. He was a middle-aged man with a name tag that read 'Song Yan'. He wore a professional smile and said, "Mr. Liu, you've finally arrived. The Third Young Master specifically instructed me to take good care of you and your friends. Good afternoon, distinguished guests."

The other parents were somewhat reserved. After all, this was one of the Eighth Master's subordinates.

"Instructed?" Liu Chengyin frowned, sensing an implication in the manager's words.

"Oh, the Third Young Master had some last-minute business to attend to," Song Yan said regretfully. "So he couldn't receive you personally. However, he said he would try to get back as soon as possible."

This… Liu Chengyin was quite frustrated. He had told the parents of his daughter's classmates numerous times that Jiang Bai would personally host a banquet for them. Yet, the man himself didn't even show up. Although arranging for a red carpet and banners was already a great courtesy, the situation was still somewhat embarrassing.

Liu Chengyin forced a smile. "You're too kind, Manager Song."

"Come, everyone, please proceed to the front desk to collect your room key cards. As for your luggage, our staff will have it driven to your rooms," Manager Song said with a smile.

Everyone went to the front desk to get their key cards.

"Yiyi, which room are you in? Are we neighbors?" Qian Xiao asked, holding up a key card for Room B-07.

Ruan Tang glanced at it, and her expression soured. Her key card was for Room C-50. Looking around, she saw that nearly everyone else was in Zone B. Only Mao Gaoshan was assigned to Zone C, in Room C-49.

Mao Gaoshan glared at Liu Chengyin. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Huh?" Liu Chengyin feigned ignorance.

"Everyone else is in Zone B, but you've stuck me and Xu Lai at the very end of Zone C. How old are you? Still playing such petty tricks?" Mao Gaoshan laughed, his voice sharp with anger.

The map in the lobby clearly showed three residential areas in the resort: A, B, and C. Zone A consisted of ten independent courtyard suites, and Zone B had fifty luxury rooms. Zone C had fifty ordinary single rooms. This was the staff-living area, where the lower the number, the better the room.

He didn't really care about the quality of the room. Rather, he felt that either everyone should be given the same standard of accommodation, or none at all. This kind of differential treatment was clearly meant to humiliate them.

Liu Chengyin continued to play dumb. "Manager Song, what's going on here?"

"Mr. Liu, it's like this," Manager Song said with a sigh. "Many rooms in Zone B are currently under renovation, and it just so happens we are short two rooms. Because of that, we had to place them in the vacant rooms in Zone C. We deeply regret this."

"You see? That's just how it is. My hands are tied," Liu Chengyin said, spreading his hands in a gesture of helplessness.

The other parents had varied expressions. Some frowned, some pretended not to see anything, some seemed to revel in the misfortune, and others just scoffed.

"What's the matter? Is Zone C not good enough for you? So delicate."

"Well, they are from a wealthy family. They have to keep up appearances, you know."

"You—"

Mao Gaoshan's temper flared. If his wife hadn't held him back, he would have surely thrown a punch.

"Uncle Xu, you and your family can have my room. I'll go to Zone C," Qian Xiao offered.

Miao Momo quickly chimed in, "Yes, Mao Dou's dad can have my room. I'll go to Zone C, too. I can keep an eye on Qian Xiao." At the same time, she felt a pang of regret. If she had known this would happen, she wouldn't have let Liu Chengyin arrange everything. This conflict was just too much.

"No need." Ruan Tang's face was stern as she enunciated each word, "If there are no rooms in Zone B, then I'll pay to stay in Zone A."

"Exactly! We'll pay for it ourselves. That should be fine, right?" Mao Gaoshan said, seething.

"I'm sorry, but we don't take outside reservations," Song Yan said, shaking his head. "However, if Mr. Liu were to speak to the Third Young Master, perhaps an exception could be made."

"Ah, asking Young Master Jiang isn't impossible, but well..." Liu Chengyin said, a smirk playing on his lips.

He had already decided. Once Xu Lai and Mao Gaoshan came to him for help, he would coldly refuse and watch them lose face completely.

However, he had miscalculated.

Xu Lai didn't even spare Liu Chengyin a glance. He took his wife and daughter by the hand and started walking toward Zone C, not even bothering with the resort's shuttle service.

"Xu Lai!" Mao Gaoshan called out irritably, hurrying to catch up. "He's pushing us around like this, and you're not going to say anything?"

"A bed is a bed. It doesn't matter where we sleep. Let's go check out the room first," Xu Lai said indifferently.

Under the strange gazes of the others, Xu Lai left with his wife and daughter.

Once everyone else had been escorted away, Manager Song looked at Liu Chengyin. "Mr. Liu, those two families don't have any significant background, do they?"

"Rest assured, Manager Song," Liu Chengyin said with a smile. "I've looked into them. Mao Gaoshan is in the liquor business, and Xu Lai is just an ordinary school doctor. His wife used to be from a prominent family, but she was kicked out of it."

"That's a relief," Song Yan said cheerfully. "Mr. Liu, I'll have to trouble you to put in a good word for me with the Third Young Master."

"You're too polite, Manager Song. It's the least I can do," Liu Chengyin replied with a smile.

***

Pushing open the wooden door of Room C-50, a musty smell wafted out. The sheets and floor were filthy, clearly uncleaned for a long time.

Xu Yiyi held her nose and muttered, "Daddy, Mommy, it stinks. Yiyi doesn't want to sleep here."

Ruan Tang's face darkened. "Xu Lai, let's go home."

"Okay."

Xu Lai's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. He had thought that no matter how narrow-minded Liu Chengyin was, he would at least provide a clean room, even if it was small or poorly furnished. As it turned out, he had given Liu Chengyin too much credit. Since that was the case, there was no point in staying.

"We're going home!" A few meters away, in Room C-49, Mao Gaoshan's wife shouted, "There is no way in hell I'm staying here!"

"Our luggage hasn't arrived yet. Let's wait a bit," Mao Gaoshan said angrily.

Mao Dou, a chubby little girl, walked over to her father and whispered, "Daddy, I'm a little hungry."

Mao Gaoshan looked at his wife and hesitated. "Should we eat here before we leave?"

His wife snapped, "Eat, eat, eat! That's all you think about! We're being humiliated like this, and you're thinking of food? I'm too full of anger to eat!"

"No matter how angry we are, we can't go hungry," Xu Lai said with a smile. "I'll cook. I'll treat you to a feast, and then we can all leave together."

"Great!" Mao Gaoshan was overjoyed. Xu Lai's cooking skills were the stuff of legend, nothing short of miraculous.

Mao Dou was also delighted. "Thank you, Uncle Xu."

"Let's go to the lakeside."

When they reached the lakeside, Mao Gaoshan's family watched in astonishment as Xu Lai produced all sorts of ingredients, pots, and pans as if by magic. They were completely stunned.

Mao Gaoshan marveled, "It's not the first time I've seen this magic trick, but it still startles me every time. It's so realistic."

"How does your husband do that?" Mao Gaoshan's wife asked, pulling Ruan Tang aside to whisper.

Ruan Tang had no idea how he did it, so she could only bluff. "A magician never reveals his secrets. It's... a trade secret."

"Oh, alright then." Mao Gaoshan's wife was a bit disappointed; she had hoped to learn the trick to amuse her daughter.

A gentle breeze blew across the lake. The shore was lined with potted flowers, their fragrance wafting through the air.

While Xu Lai was cooking, a Mercedes-Benz pulled up to the main hall.

The resort manager, who was sitting on a sofa, glanced outside and suddenly went pale. He scrambled to his feet and scurried out to greet the newcomer, stammering nervously, "Eighth Master, you've arrived!"

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