"Xu Yun, just tell us. What's this all about?"
Su Mu quickly changed the subject, afraid that Li Jinshu would start acting weird again and ask some embarrassing questions.
Hearing this, Li Jinshu agreed they should get down to business first.
"That's right. What kind of issue did you ask Susu to contact me about? I need to know so I can recommend the right lawyer for you."
"No rush. Let's eat first."
Xu Yun smiled. "I'm starving. After we finish eating, we can go over there, have some tea and snacks, and talk then."
Just as he finished speaking, there was a knock on the door.
"Come in."
"Mr. Xu, the red wine has been decanted," the waiter said. "May we begin serving the food now?"
"Yes."
"Very good."
The first waiter began by filling each of their goblets halfway with red wine, introducing it as he poured.
Su Mu took a sip and commented, "This wine has a smooth, delicate texture, with notes of cherry and blackberry."
"I agree, it's quite good," Li Jinshu added in approval.
Xu Yun, however, downed his glass in one go and chuckled. "Strange. Why didn't I taste any of that? I thought it was just average."
He then refilled his glass.
Everyone: "..."
'Who drinks red wine like it's water?!'
Next, other waiters began to slowly bring out the dishes.
There were three of them, and each person received their own individual portion, served course by course.
Only after they finished one dish would the second be served.
Before each course, a waiter would stand by their side and provide a detailed introduction of the dish.
There was the Hermes-style Marinated Century Egg with a soft yolk, the Low-Temperature "Gezhi" Crisps with Inscriptions, the French Foie Gras with Caviar, and the Leopard Coral Grouper in a Sculpted Chicken Broth.
Then came the Golden Pumpkin Bird's Nest Soup with Jujube Cream, Osmanthus Rice Wine Panna Cotta, Imperial-Style "Golden Dream" Shark Fin Soup, and Black Wagyu Brisket and Bamboo Pith Noodles.
These were essentially all of the restaurant's most famous signature dishes.
Although the women didn't know the price of these dishes, they could tell from the exquisite presentation that they were certainly not cheap.
At first, they ate with a bit of reservation, but soon the two women were completely immersed in the delicious food, unable to tear themselves away.
Despite the large number of courses, the portion size for each was extremely small.
So, for the women, the total amount of food was just about right after finishing everything.
But for Xu Yun, he was only about sixty or seventy percent full.
He smiled at Su Mu and Li Jinshu and asked, "Are you two full? If not, just tell me what you want, and we'll have the waiter bring more!"
"We're full, no more for us."
"You may be full, but I'm not."
Xu Yun turned to the dedicated waiter beside him and said, "This one, this one, and this one. Bring me another serving of each."
"Of course, Mr. Xu."
Seeing Xu Yun eating with such great relish, Li Jinshu whispered to Su Mu, "He looks like he hasn't eaten all day."
"..." Su Mu chuckled to herself.
'This is probably his first time eating such fine cuisine, so he must be really enjoying it.'
To be honest, she and Li Jinshu also loved the food here.
But since someone else was treating them and the dishes were clearly expensive, they couldn't bring themselves to order more. It would have been too embarrassing.
Finally, after Xu Yun finished eating and let out a satisfied burp, the three of them got up and moved to the adjacent tea lounge.
A waiter had already prepared the tea in advance.
Once the three were seated, Xu Yun finally brought up his reason for being there.
"Miss Li, I..."
Li Jinshu interrupted him. "Xu Yun, you're Susu's friend, which makes you my friend, too. Just call me Jinshu. All this 'Miss, Miss' stuff sounds weird."
"It does sound a little strange," Su Mu said, seemingly thinking of something funny as she couldn't help but suppress a smile.
"Alright, Jinshu. It's like this."
Xu Yun adjusted his address and continued, "Sister Su knows I used to have a girlfriend. We were planning to get married, so I gave her the betrothal money for safekeeping.
But a few days ago, we broke up over some issues. Naturally, I want the money back, but now she's refusing to return it and is playing dirty.
So I wanted to ask if you could introduce me to a really good, reliable lawyer who can help me sue her to get it back."
"Your ex-girlfriend didn't give you the betrothal money back?" Su Mu was a little surprised.
Xu Yun shook his head. "No. Without taking legal action, I doubt I'll ever see it again."
"How could a woman be so shameless?"
Li Jinshu was furious when she heard this.
In her eyes, for a man as wealthy as Xu Yun, the betrothal money must have been a significant amount.
"Don't worry. The lawyer I know is from The Only One, Jiangcheng's only Red Circle firm. He's very good."
"That's perfect. I'll leave this matter to you, then."
Li Jinshu then asked curiously, "How much betrothal money did she take from you in total?"
"Less than 200,000 yuan."
Xu Yun replied, "To be precise, it's 166,000 yuan."
"Uh..." Li Jinshu was speechless.
'That's it?!'
Seeing Li Jinshu's awkward expression, Xu Yun asked, "What's wrong? You can speak freely."
"Well, the lawyer I know is very good, but his fees are also very high."
Li Jinshu tried to reason with him. "For a financial dispute of less than 200,000 yuan, I doubt he would even take the case.
And even if he did, I'm afraid that after you win and his fees are deducted, there won't be much of your money left."
"Then there's really no point," Su Mu added from the side. "Jinshu, do you know any lawyers from other firms? Maybe find a cheaper one for him."
"Alright, I'll ask around tomorrow."
"No need. Let's go with that Red Circle firm lawyer you mentioned."
Xu Yun refused. "Tell the lawyer that the money isn't important. The key is that I have to win. I can even pay the legal fees in advance."
Li Jinshu: "..."
"Xu Yun, don't be reckless."
Seeing this, Su Mu tried to persuade him, "This is a Pyrrhic victory. You'll hurt yourself almost as much as you hurt her. It's not worth it over a woman."
"I agree."
Li Jinshu said, "Handsome, for such a minor case, there's really no need to hire a lawyer from a Red Circle firm."
"Don't worry, I have the money. This is mainly about getting my satisfaction. I can't let that woman off the hook."
Xu Yun said with a smile, "So it's happily decided. Once you've inquired, you can contact me by phone or WeChat. Sister Su has my contact information."
"Since you insist, alright then." Li Jinshu agreed at once.
Su Mu, however, was feeling conflicted.
She saw Xu Yun as an ordinary person, and what he was doing was no different from mutual destruction.
But it was someone else's business, and as an outsider, it wasn't her place to say more.
With the matter settled, Xu Yun stood up and called out, "Waiter, the check!"
"Hello, Mr. Xu. Your total comes to 123,000 yuan. The manager said that since this is your first visit, he can give you a discount. We'll waive the odd amount and just charge you 120,000 yuan."
As soon as the waiter said this, the two women beside him were dumbfounded.
Compared to the average person, they were considered high-earners.
They lived refined lives and had been to their fair share of slightly more upscale places.
They had also met some wealthy people.
But spending 120,000 yuan on a single casual meal was just outrageous.
Su Mu felt that even her multimillionaire cousin wouldn't dare to be so extravagant on a whim.
On Xu Yun's behalf, she questioned the waiter doubtfully, "Isn't that a bit too expensive? There's no way the few dishes we ate are worth 120,000 yuan."
"That's right, and this isn't our first time eating here."
Li Jinshu chimed in, "This is a little absurd, don't you think?"
"Ladies, the food itself isn't that expensive. The wine is."
The waiter explained, "Mr. Xu ordered one of the most precious red wines in our collection, a Bordeaux Petrus Dry Red Wine, priced at 88,888 yuan.
We confirmed this with Mr. Xu before placing the order."
"..." Su Mu.
"..." Li Jinshu.
They both turned to look at Xu Yun in unison.
'Holy crap, a single bottle of wine for eighty-eight thousand, eight hundred and eighty-eight yuan!'
'Does that mean every little sip they took just now cost several thousand yuan?'
Xu Yun smiled. "Well, if we're going to drink, we might as well drink something good."
"You're way too extravagant," Li Jinshu couldn't help but exclaim.
'No wonder he insisted on hiring her expensive, impractical Red Circle firm lawyer.'
'This guy clearly isn't short on cash!'
But the most shocked of all had to be Su Mu, who actually knew him.
After all, she had known Xu Yun for almost two years.
Based on his past words and actions, it was really hard to associate him with a wealthy person.
Even tonight, before the bill came, she had just assumed he was "revenge spending" because he was in a bad mood after his breakup.
But now, she had her doubts.
Because even for revenge spending, you still need to have the money in your pocket.
Besides a tycoon, what normal person would be willing to spend over 80,000 yuan on a bottle of wine?
'I can't figure him out.'
She really couldn't figure Xu Yun out anymore.