Chapter 23

A sudden voice rang out in their ears, and Zhou Ming, Lin Muqing, and Tang Ran turned to see a young man in a Zhongshan suit standing beside them. He wore a gold necklace around his neck and had several gold rings on one hand, and he was smiling at Lin Muqing.

"Hello, may I ask what you need?" Lin Muqing asked politely.

The young man said, "Let me introduce myself first. My name is Pan Wei, and I am a local from Nanjiang. My family runs a textile factory in the West District, and we can easily earn a few hundred thousand yuan a year. I have been admiring your beauty since I walked in. I wonder if I could have the honor of inviting you to dinner? We can chat and get to know each other better."

"Hey, are you out of your mind? Can't you see we're having dinner here?" Tang Ran was very unhappy with this unexpected visitor.

Lin Muqing also said, "My friend and I are about to have dinner, and I don't even know you. I don't think we have much to talk about."

Pan Wei glanced at Tang Ran and Zhou Ming, nodding at Tang Ran with a smile but ignoring Zhou Ming. He said, "It's no problem if you don't know me. We all start from not knowing each other. We'll get to know each other as we chat. By the way, I don't even know your name yet!"

Lin Muqing didn't want to deal with him, but Pan Wei didn't give up. He pulled out a chair and sat down, deliberately slapping his hand with the gold rings on the table. When Lin Muqing and Tang Ran instinctively looked over, Pan Wei waved his hand in front of Lin Muqing, saying, "Beautiful lady, do you like my rings? Which one do you like? I can give it to you. This ring isn't expensive, just a few thousand yuan."

"Sorry, I don't want it," Lin Muqing said, leaning back as the hand came closer, clearly repulsed.

Pan Wei leaned in even closer, saying, "Beautiful lady, don't be shy. Just pick the one you like."

Zhou Ming reached out and grabbed Pan Wei's hand waving in front of Lin Muqing, saying, "Hey, you're really shameless. She said she doesn't want it, so why are you still pestering her?"

Pan Wei glanced at Zhou Ming and said, "Oh, so you're with this beautiful lady? I didn't notice that. Sorry, I was wondering how a migrant worker could get into such a high-class place. But then again, with so many construction projects in Nanjiang, people like you are needed."

"That's not true. He's not a migrant worker. He's a big businessman who came to Nanjiang to do business!" Tang Ran defended Zhou Ming angrily.

Pan Wei laughed, "Sis, are you joking? Which big businessman looks like him? Look at his shabby clothes and his rough appearance. Calling him a migrant worker is already a compliment. I bet a beggar from the street would look better. Sitting with him is a waste of your time."

"My friend's character is none of your business. Watch your words, or I'll ask the waiter to call the police!" Lin Muqing was getting angry.

"Don't be angry, I won't say anything more," Pan Wei said. "From your accent, you're not from around here, right? Be careful when you come to Nanjiang. There are many scammers here. They pretend to be rich in front of beautiful ladies, but they don't have much money. Don't get scammed."

Pan Wei then took off a ring from his finger and offered it to Zhou Ming, saying, "This is a pure gold ring. Many people can't afford it even if they work for a year without eating or drinking. If you leave right now, I'll give it to you. If that's not enough, I can consider giving you a job at my factory, paying you 200 yuan a month, and you don't even have to do much work. How about that?"

Zhou Ming slapped Pan Wei's hand away, "Take your dirty paws away. I don't care about your money. Get lost."

"Don't be ungrateful, you country bumpkin!" Pan Wei said angrily. But then he saw a chubby middle-aged man and a woman in her thirties enter the restaurant. He said to Zhou Ming, "See that? The man coming in is the director of the Bank of China, Mr. Yang. I bet you, a country bumpkin from the mainland, have never seen such a high-ranking official."

Pan Wei stood up and walked over to Mr. Yang, shaking his hand enthusiastically, "Director Yang, hello. I'm Xiao Pan. I owe you a lot for that 100,000 yuan loan. I heard you were on a business trip today. How did you come back so quickly? It's a great honor to meet you here!"

Zhou Ming noticed that Pan Wei deliberately emphasized the 100,000 yuan, and he knew Pan Wei's motive. He was just lusting after Lin Muqing's beauty and trying to show off his wealth to win her favor. Now he was also trying to make Zhou Ming back off by showing off in front of Mr. Yang.

If you want to play, I'll play along.

Zhou Ming thought coldly. He recognized the woman with Mr. Yang as the Zheng sister he had met in the afternoon, so Mr. Yang must be the Bank of China official who was coming to discuss the exchange business with him.

Zhou Ming walked over to Mr. Yang and said, "Director Yang, hello. I'm Zhou Ming."

Seeing Zhou Ming approach, Pan Wei immediately scolded, "Didn't I tell you to wait over there? This is for leaders and bosses. What are you doing here?"

But Mr. Yang's reaction stunned Pan Wei. He immediately let go of Pan Wei's hand and shook Zhou Ming's hand enthusiastically, "Mr. Zhou, hello. I'm the director of the Bank of China. I was on a business trip today, but I heard from Xiao Zheng that you need to exchange 400,000 yuan, so I came back immediately."

Zhou Ming said, "It's fine. I'm not in a hurry."

Zhou Ming and Mr. Yang's conversation left Pan Wei completely flustered. He couldn't believe that Mr. Yang, the director of the Bank of China, was being so courteous to Zhou Ming. Even if Mr. Yang was just the director of a branch, he still held significant economic power, and many bosses treated him with utmost respect to get loans. Why was he being so courteous to Zhou Ming? This didn't make sense!

Moreover, what did Mr. Yang say just now? He said Zhou Ming needed to exchange 400,000 yuan? How could a migrant worker like Zhou Ming have 400,000 yuan? This was impossible!

Mr. Yang looked at Pan Wei and asked Zhou Ming curiously, "Mr. Zhou, do you know each other?"

Zhou Ming shrugged, "No, but he's been pestering me since I got here, probably trying to interfere with my business with Director Yang."

Mr. Yang was immediately displeased, glaring at Pan Wei, "Xiao Pan, what's going on? Mr. Zhou is an important client of mine. If you offend him, I'll have to reconsider your loan."

"Director Yang, please, my factory needs that money to survive!" Pan Wei said urgently.

Mr. Yang gave Pan Wei a look, and Pan Wei realized that Zhou Ming was the key. He then said to Zhou Ming, "Mr. Zhou, I'm really sorry. I was out of line. Please don't hold a grudge against me."

Pan Wei's tone was humble. He knew that anyone who could come up with 400,000 yuan at once was not an ordinary person.

Zhou Ming didn't say anything and brought Pan Wei to Lin Muqing's table, saying, "Sister Muqing, this guy is here to apologize."

Pan Wei was stunned. He didn't expect Zhou Ming to give him no chance to save face and bring him directly to apologize to the two beautiful ladies. He felt like he wanted to find a hole to crawl into, but the situation was beyond his control. He had to bow his head and say, "Beautiful ladies, I'm sorry. I was out of line. If I disturbed you in any way, please forgive me."

Tang Ran was surprised and exclaimed, "Mr. Pan, what are you doing? You were so arrogant just now, calling us country bumpkins and offering to give my brother a ring to make him go away. Why are you apologizing now?"

Tang Ran's words, though light and cute, felt like a slap in the face to Pan Wei, making him feel a burning pain.

"Sorry, sis, I was wrong. I shouldn't have come to bother you. I know you are magnanimous people and won't hold a grudge against a small person like me," Pan Wei said.

"You have such poor manners! How could you talk like that?" Tang Ran pouted, clearly unhappy.

"Yes, yes, I have poor manners. My mouth is cheap, and I always say unpleasant things. I apologize!" Pan Wei said, slapping his own face repeatedly, "I'll make my mouth cheap, I promise I won't do it again..."

Compared to Tang Ran's natural black and somewhat pouting, Lin Muqing was much more composed. She was already used to the surprises Zhou Ming brought her. She looked at the pitiful Pan Wei, who was slapping himself, and said calmly, "That's enough. Be more careful in the future and remember that there are always people better than you."

"Beautiful lady, you're right. I promise I won't look down on people again," Pan Wei said, bowing like a lackey. But he didn't dare to look up at Lin Muqing again, because he felt that his performance in front of her today was that of a clown, not only failing to win her heart but also making her feel disgusted. If given a chance to redo today, Pan Wei would never dare to provoke Zhou Ming or try to show off in front of Lin Muqing again.

After getting Lin Muqing's forgiveness, Pan Wei turned to Zhou Ming, who waved him away impatiently, "Get lost. I don't want to see you."

"Okay, I'll go, I'll leave right away," Pan Wei said, bowing and leaving the restaurant as quickly as possible.

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