Chapter 9

At the front desk, Rose was waving the card as she swept an arrogant glance at Philip before saying, “Help me check if this card can reserve us a private room.” Everyone was holding their breaths, waiting to watch Philip make a fool of himself. The girl at the front desk received the card, swiped it, and all of a sudden, her expression looked nervous. She asked, “Miss, is this your card?” When Rose saw this, she shook her head. Extending her hand with red painted nails, she pointed to Philip, who was being surrounded and laughed tauntingly. “It’s not mine. It’s his.” Haha! What a joke! Philip is going to make a fool of himself, and Wynn would lose all face along with him! This is too great. There’s actually a man who would publicly ridicule himself. Rose was dying of happiness. She glanced happily over at Wynn who was looking sullen and mocked, “Deputy Manager Johnston, your husband sure is an excellent man.” Wynn was extremely embarrassed. She shot a vicious glare at Philip, ready to reprimand him when the girl at the front desk suddenly ran out. She then stood respectfully in front of Philip and said very politely, “Sir, you are our restaurant’s platinum member. There is a special room specially reserved for you. Please follow me.” The mocking snickers around them immediately stopped! That all happened too suddenly! Everyone could not regain their sense. What was happening? A special room…? Rose was the first to speak, agitated as she pointed at Philip and nagged, “Hey, hey, hey, are you mistaken? He’s your restaurant’s platinum member?” “Take a closer look. He’s a delivery man. A kept man even! How could he be a platinum member?” Gavin, too, was dumbstruck. He had prepared a lot of sarcasm, ready to unleash! But this sudden revelation of Philip being a platinum member caught him off guard that he felt a lump stuck in his throat. Wynn was looking at the female staff, confused, and then turned to look at Philip. Was her husband a platinum member at Virtuous Court? She just heard from Gavin that a regular membership required one million in annual spending. Did that not mean that a platinum membership would cost at least a few million? The female staff smiled politely and said, “I’m not mistaken. This is a platinum card, and our restaurant has issued only eight pieces where each cardholder has a private room specially reserved for them.” “Woah!” The crowd gasped. One private room for each cardholder! This was a service fit for a king! Was this… still Wynn’s wretched husband? “Sir, this is your card. Please follow me,” said the staff respectfully. Philip took the card then looked at the crowd who was staring wide-eyed and gritting their teeth at him. He explained, “It’s not mine, it belongs to my company’s boss. I’m just here to make a reservation.” Phew! Upon hearing Philip’s explanation, Gavin and Rose let out a sigh of relief. So, it was just a case of jobbery, taking his boss’s card to put on a front. F*ck! Rose’s knees even went weak from the shock. Gavin shot Philip a furious glare then taunted, “And here I was wondering why, so it was just dishonest advertising.” At this, the others sniggered. But, since the room has been reserved, it was a waste not to use it. Philip did not explain. He only said to Wynn faintly, “Take them to dinner. I’ll go back first.” Then, without waiting for Wynn to persuade him to stay, Philip had already walked out of Virtuous Court with the box of painting in his hands. Although Wynn felt terrible, she could not resist her colleagues’ urges, and they followed the staff into the private room. Gavin and Rose naturally did not enjoy this dinner very much because it was only made possible by Wynn’s useless husband. A few moments after Philip had left Virtuous Court. He received a short message from Wynn: Thank you. Philip looked at it and smiled, replying: No problem. Philip still felt guilty toward Wynn. He was actually the heir to the world’s largest consortium, but because he was unwilling to inherit the family business, he had come to Riverdale City to experience being poor. So, when would he tell Wynn about this? Maybe after a little while. After renting a bicycle, Philip headed for the hospital. On the way there, as Philip made a right turn, a motorcycle came speeding his way! The buzzing sounds of the motorcycle’s engine rang in his ears, and in an instant, Philip felt a strong breeze beside him as the motorcycle swerved right. Following a crashing sound, the riders and the bike fell into the grass beside the road. “Oh no!” Philip tossed his bicycle away and rushed over to see if the occupants of the bike were hurt. A man and a woman climbed up from the grass. The woman’s black skirt had been torn by the tree branches and she looked frightened. The man had his hands on his waist as he bellowed, “Are you trying to kill yourself? F*ck!” Philip quickly apologized, “I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there. Are you guys alright? Do you want to go to the hospital? I’ll compensate for the bike.” Upon hearing this, the man exploded in a fit of rage and started scolding Philip. “This is a Harley-Davidson Sportster Iron 883 Custom! It’s worth two hundred thousand! Can you afford to compensate for it?” Philip answered, “I’ll compensate you three hundred thousand. The hundred thousand is for medical expenses.” The man broke into a sarcastic laugh before giving Philip a furious shove. “You think you have a lot of money? Three hundred thousand? Can you pay up? What are you pretentious for?!” Philip staggered backward from the shove. He frowned and said, “You’re the ones running a red light. I’m already kind enough to not argue with you on that, don’t push it!” Philip was not in the wrong for turning right. The rider was just trying to run a red light. If they were to be reasonable, it was the rider’s fault. “You said I’m running a red light? Which eye did you see it with?” The biker let out a sudden outburst and roared. Just then, the girl behind him finally regained her senses. She took off her helmet, looked at Philip, and screeched, “Why are you here?” Philip looked at the source of the voice to realize that the girl was Lynn Johnston! The atmosphere immediately became awkward. “Brother Jacob, don’t let him off so easily!” Lynn shouted harshly. This man was Jacob Wells, the son of a wealthy man. As Philip looked at Lynn, feeling a little hesitant, Jacob pointed at Philip’s nose and asked Lynn, “Do you know him?” Lynn nodded, glaring at Philip. “My cousin brother-in-law, but we’re not close. He’s a kept man.” “Shit! A kept man was trying to act all pretentious in front of me? Are you tired of living?” Jacob scolded before taunting Philip, saying, “Alright then, didn’t you say you would compensate three hundred thousand dollars? Pay up!” A contemptuous smirk appeared on Lynn’s cold expression. Three hundred thousand? Hah! Where would useless trash like Philip find three hundred thousand? Philip had initially wanted to pay up, but now he did not want to. “I don’t feel like it anymore because you guys were the ones running a red light.” If Lynn had not been here, Philip might have paid up to settle the matter quietly. But now, he could not do so. Lynn let out a cold laugh. “Haha! I think you just don’t have the money. Weren’t you doing really well in your act earlier? Why back down now?” Jacob roared, “Three hundred thousand! Pay up or I’ll call some guys over.” Call some guys over? Philip was not at all afraid. “Call them then,” said Philip calmly. “Alright, you’re a tough brat! Don’t run away in shock later!” threatened Jacob as he pointed at Philip. The former then took out his phone to make a phone call, sounding furious as he said, “Brother Kyle, bring some men over to Silverstone!” After hanging up, Jacob stared straight at Philip and said, “My bros will be here soon. Get ready to beg.” Philip looked indifferent. There was no telling what he was thinking. He finally let out a helpless sigh and took out his phone to call Agnes Summer. “Agnes, bring some men over to Silverstone. The more, the better!” As soon as he hung up, Jacob practically split his sides with laughter. “Hahaha! You’ve called someone too? Hilarious! Okay, let me see just who you managed to get.” Lynn was only watching quietly at one side. Philip had been staring at her for a few times now, making her uncomfortable. What was Philip thinking? He was, of course, thinking that Wynn’s cousin sister was really awesome to be able to change boyfriends so quickly. He should tell Wynn so that she could school her cousin. If she did not learn at a young age, she would get into trouble in the future. At Gopher Delivery Services, Agnes immediately spread the word after getting the call from Philip. In an instant, all the delivery men in the city under Gopher Deliver Services got onto their standard red scooters, put on their bright red vests and helmets, and drove past streets and alleyways, heading for Silverstone! From an aerial view, it looked like countless red dots were moving slowly to assemble at Silverstone. Back at Philip’s side, the men that Jacob called for were already here. Four Harley Davidsons! There were eight people, a mix of men and women, all wearing stylish biker outfits, looking very cool and fashionable. They had driven over with deafening buzzing sounds of their bikes. Their leader was a 1.8 meter tall and handsome man. He was buffed, sporting a buzz-cut, and very handsome. “Jacob, what’s going on? Your ride’s trashed.” Kyle Lyon strode over obnoxiously with his group in tow. He swept a glance and Philip, easily figuring out the situation. “You did this?” Kyle asked in a deep voice as he stared at Philip. Philip kept quiet. “Brother Kyle, it’s him alright! Don’t let him think about leaving without coughing up three hundred thousand!” Jacob called out from the background.