Chapter 10: We'll compensate you?

“F*** you…”

“Who the hell do you think you are…”

“Do you know who I am? I’m from Fangshan…”

Countless profanities drifted through the crack in the private room door and into Zhang Yuan’s ears, causing him to frown slightly.

People often say that one loses their moral compass when drunk, but in reality, those who lose their morals after drinking weren't exactly good people when sober; they were simply using the alcohol as an excuse to expose their true nature.

However, he didn't stop because he was a crusader against evil or because he wanted to stand up for the insulted waiter.

It was because he recognized the young man being berated.

“Isn’t that Xiao Yueyue?”

With a round face and small eyes, he looked like nothing more than an unremarkable migrant worker at this moment, but in just ten years, this man’s annual income would easily exceed ten million.

Zhang Yuan recalled an interview he had seen online. When this man was working at a restaurant, he had been cursed at for three full hours simply because he had overcharged a customer for two bottles of beer.

That incident had become a shadow that haunted him for the rest of his life.

What a coincidence that he had run into it himself!

Since he had encountered it, he couldn't just ignore it. Zhang Yuan took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

“Hello, gentlemen.” Zhang Yuan entered with a smile. As the saying goes, you don’t hit a smiling face. The moment he entered, the man who had been shouting stopped and stared at him blankly.

“I’m eating here too. I just happened to pass by and heard the gist of it.”

“This young man isn’t very bright. He made a mistake with the bill and offended you gentlemen—he deserves a scolding!”

Zhang Yuan deliberately sided with the drunkard first. Sure enough, the men at the table immediately chimed in.

“Exactly! This kid tried to scam us, and it’s a good thing we caught him.”

“You be the judge, buddy. These people from the countryside just need a beating.”

“Trying to scam us true Beijingers? Not a chance!”

Zhang Yuan’s expression darkened imperceptibly. Whether in his past life or this one, he was a child from the countryside, and the phrase “people from the countryside” made him very uncomfortable, but he quickly suppressed it.

“That’s true. I can see you gentlemen are straightforward people.”

“Let him pay for the extra beer, and I’ll cover your table. Let’s let bygones be bygones, have a few drinks, and make friends. How about that?”

In truth, this should have been handled by the restaurant owner. When trouble arises, the manager or owner should step in, offer a discount or a free meal, and apologize to settle things.

But no one from the management had appeared, leaving a young waiter to deal with it alone.

Hearing Zhang Yuan say this, Xiao Yueyue, who had been keeping his head down, bit his lip and looked up slightly. For the first time, there was a glimmer of light in his eyes.

He was young, but not stupid; he knew this stranger was helping him out of a jam.

“Who the hell are you? We don’t need you to pay our bill!” To his surprise, the drunkard remained relentless.

“What’s the meaning of this? You think we can’t afford to eat and need your charity?”

“Get out the same way you came in, or we’ll beat you up too!”

Zhang Yuan thought to himself that he had really run into a bastard today. One of the men on the other side already had his hand on a beer bottle.

But as the saying goes, the bully fears the tough, the tough fears the fierce, and the fierce fears the one who doesn't care about his life!

Zhang Yuan’s smile remained, and he pulled his phone out of his pocket.

“What, you want to call for backup?”

“We haven’t suffered a loss on Beijing turf yet. Go ahead and try calling someone.”

Zhang Yuan didn't answer; he just waited quietly.

Within two minutes, footsteps could be heard outside the door.

“Is this the place?”

“Zhang Yuan, are you inside?”

“I’m here. Come on in, guys.”

“Damn, I want to see who you can bring here.” The man holding the beer bottle looked indignant, and then…

Sun Honglei, with his buzz cut, squinted eyes, and black suit, led the way into the room, scanning everyone with a smile—a particularly “nuclear-friendly” smile.

Following him was Wang Debao, the bald actor who played Feng Biao in the show; he had a cigarette dangling from his mouth, wearing a smirk that didn't reach his eyes.

Behind him, the tall and muscular Chen Bing, who played Hu Dahai, squeezed through the door, his muscles bulging under his black tank top.

Wang Dapu and Zhang Li, who had delivered the iconic “muzzle-flashing” scene in the show, followed closely behind, eyeing the table with side-glances.

Han Yueping and Bai Hongbiao, with their dyed yellow hair and tough-guy faces, entered, threw their cigarette butts on the floor, and ground them out firmly with their leather shoes.

Jin Bao and Li Jingxiang, tall and thin with the look of hardened criminals, walked in and extinguished their cigarettes with their fingers.

Finally, bringing up the rear was the police chief Xu Guoqing (played by Shi Zhaoqi), who looked even more ferocious than Liu Huaqiang. He stood directly in the doorway like a temple guardian.

As these men entered one by one, the drunkards who had been shouting about beating up Zhang Yuan sobered up in a second.

They had been feeling hot and bothered from the 42-degree Niu'lanshan liquor, but now they felt a chill running down their spines.

Every single one of these men, based on their looks and aura, looked like someone who had slipped through the cracks of the legal system.

Not to mention their fierce appearances, the crew had just wrapped up filming; they had been playing gangsters for over two months, and many of them hadn't fully stepped out of character yet.

From their eyes to their demeanor, every one of them was perfect material for a crime documentary!

The guys causing the scene were, at best, petty thugs.

The men Zhang Yuan had “summoned” were, to put it mildly, “hardened criminals.”

Before these men even spoke, just a glance from them was enough to make the men on the other side break into a cold sweat.

*Clang!*

The hand of the man holding the beer bottle went limp, and the bottle hit the floor, causing a stir in the silent room.

Sun Honglei raised a hand and touched his buzz cut: “Gentlemen, let me give you a piece of advice: don’t be too arrogant in your words and actions!”

*Gulp.*

The man who had been causing the scene swallowed hard. With a hoarse voice, he looked at Zhang Yuan: “L-little brother, we were just joking.”

“Yeah, yeah, just joking.”

“We were just having a bit of fun.”

“Well, we have things to do, so we’ll be going now.”

The group stood up to leave, but Zhang Yuan blocked them.

“Gentlemen, you haven’t paid the bill yet. Didn’t you say you wanted the young man to pay? How about we pay you instead?”

The leader’s legs went weak. Not daring to say another word, he hurriedly pulled a few large bills from his pocket, threw them on the table, and squeezed through the doorway. They moved with their heads bowed and bodies turned sideways, more cautious than if they were walking through a minefield, terrified that these men would stop them and they wouldn't be able to leave!

After they scrambled out of the restaurant like madmen, they kept running.

“They didn't follow us, right?”

“No one behind us.”

“Scared the hell out of me.”

They didn't stop until they had run three blocks, leaning against a wall and gasping for air.

“That was terrifying. They looked like real killers.”

“I thought they looked like professional robbers.”

The actors from the *Conquest* crew had given these men psychological trauma just by showing up.

Back in the restaurant’s private room.

“Brother Honglei, it’s fine now. You guys go back to your room; I’ll be there in a moment.” Zhang Yuan thanked them with a smile.

He had enjoyed the thrill of “borrowing the tiger’s might” today.

After seeing them off, Zhang Yuan walked over to Xiao Yueyue, who was still standing there with his head down in silence.

“What’s your name?” he asked, knowing the answer.

“My name is Yue Longgang…” After a long pause, the little chubby guy spoke with a thick Henan accent, still not daring to meet Zhang Yuan’s eyes.

Oh, right, he didn't have a stage name back then… Zhang Yuan suddenly realized that at this time, his future master was probably still struggling below the poverty line.

I’ll have to find a chance to pay him a visit!

Having made a secret decision, he looked at the chubby guy again.

“How long have you been in Beijing?”

“Three years.”

“What are your plans for the future?” Zhang Yuan asked casually.

The chubby guy kept his head down and didn't answer; it was clear he was very lost regarding his future.

“Alright then.” Zhang Yuan tore a page from the bill pad on the side, scribbled something down, and handed it to him.

“This is my phone number. If you run into any trouble in the future, you can call me.”

With that, he turned and walked toward his own room.

“Big brother!”

Halfway there, the chubby guy rushed out of the room, wiping the tears from the corners of his eyes.

“Thank you for speaking up for me.”

[Received gratitude from Yue Longgang, Comedy Talent +3, Temperament +8 (Cheeky)!]

Seeing the system notification, Zhang Yuan stumbled and nearly fell.

You brat, returning kindness with a prank…

(End of chapter)