Chapter 35 Reckless
Chapter 35 Reckless
James was so stingy that he didn't even spare Maria a glance when Alina mentioned her. Instead, he just said indifferently, "I have no time."
Upon hearing his response, Alina only shrugged her shoulders. She was not in the mood to provoke Maria today, either, so she followed James to their reserved private room quietly.
After a short while, Maria saw Alina's parents arrive and enter the same private room. So she surmised that the whole Tang family had invited James for dinner.
She got more convinced that her speculation was right when ten minutes later, a man in a white shirt, black suit, and black tie walked into the restaurant. He was Ronald, Alina's younger brother. Even if he was formally attired, he still looked like a ruffian.
As soon as he entered the restaurant, two managers walked up to him, bowed, and greeted, "Good day, Mr. Tang. Welcome to our
restaurant. We hope you will enjoy your meal."
The managers were extra courteous because they knew that he was not only a Tang but also James Xi's future brother-in-law.
Ronald was known as a bully in the entire H City. And now that Alina was about to get engaged to James, he became more arrogant. He walked with his chin up all the time as if he looked down his nose at everyone.
Ronald was about to follow the manager to their reserved private room when he caught sight of a familiar woman eating at one table. He suddenly turned back.
The other manager behind him got so startled when they almost bumped into each other. The manager quickly stepped back and asked, "Mr. Tang, do you need anything?"
Ronald just ignored him and walked towards the direction where Maria was. He then shouted, "Holy crap! Look who's here!" Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.
Since they were in a high-end restaurant where the atmosphere was always calm and quiet, his voice that resounded through the dining hall attracted all the customers' attention.
Maria lowered her head and focused on the food on her plate, pretending not to see him. She felt like it was such a disgrace when people found out that she knew him.
But Ronald deliberately walked to her table. He stood beside her and exaggeratedly exclaimed, "Hello, my cousin Maria!"
Since he mentioned her name, Maria couldn't ignore him anymore. She raised her head and plastered a fake smile on her face. "Oh, Ronald, it's you. What a coincidence." They hadn't seen each other for a few years, but Ronald still looked the same. With his hair dyed purple, he looked like an idiot.
Ronald then glanced at the man opposite her. He couldn't see anything special about the man's outfit and appearance, so he laughed and deliberately asked, "Maria, who is he?"
For him to leave immediately, Maria answered at once, "He's a friend."
When the man heard Maria introduced him to Ronald, he greeted politely, "Hi." The truth was, he was not Maria's friend but a client.
But Ronald just ignored the man. He said to Maria again, "Your boyfriend? I guess he is already in his forties. You really have good taste, my dear cousin."
Maria's client felt so embarrassed by Ronald's words. With a flushed face, he explained, "Mister, I think you misunderstand. Ms. Song and I are just friends. I am a married man."
Although the man had said that he was already married, Ronald still didn't intend to stop bothering Maria. He remembered that she slapped Alina's face last time, and he had not avenged his sister yet. Now was his best chance. He felt more courageous this time because James and his parents were inside the private room, so many people would back him up. Maria would definitely be doomed.
Ronald looked at the food on the table and exclaimed, "Jesus! Maria, you've ordered oysters? Such a great aphrodisiac! You know very well. You have a thing for this man, don't you?"
Maria put down the fork in her hand and stared at Ronald expressionlessly. He continued, "Wow! You also have this duck's chest and drumstick. From the dishes on your table, I can say that a prostitute is having dinner with her client first to prepare him for bed later."
This time, his words were offensive and disgusting. Maria's client couldn't contain his anger anymore. "Mister..." He was about to stand up and say something, but Ronald pressed his shoulder down.
He then turned to Maria and continued to provoke her recklessly. "Maria, can you still remember how you've slapped Alina last time? I'm sure that today is the best time for you to apologize. Go with me to our private room, kneel down, and apologize to my sister in front of my parents. After that, I will let you go. What do you think?"
Maria sat still and didn't say anything. It was as if she hadn't heard anyone talking.
Her calmness made Ronald look like a clown. Perhaps he also noticed it, so he felt a little embarrassed. Furious, he reached out his hand and patted her face slightly. "Weren't you just an ugly duckling before? What happened? Why are you so good-looking now? Is it because of the nourishment you get from having sex with different men? You love drumstick, don't you?" Ronald aggressively spat at the plate of drumstick and pushed it in front of Maria. He then ordered, "Now, eat this!"
Maria unhurriedly stood up and looked at him coldly. In her eyes, he was a lunatic.
Today, she was wearing a long ginger loose dress with petal-shaped cuffs and a white chain belt. The moment she stood up in her high-heels, Ronald was stunned by her charm.
"Ronald Tang," she called out softly.
"What? Are you going to apologize to Alina?" Ronald stammered. He didn't sense the sudden change of the atmosphere inside the restaurant, and he keep acting arrogantly.
At the moment, James and the Tang family were all waiting for Ronald inside the private room. Alina had been calling him all the time, but he was not answering his phone. All of a sudden, one of the managers came in and said to her, "Ms. Tang, Mr. Tang is outside..."
A bad hunch suddenly rose up in Alina's heart. Ronald loved making trouble, and Maria was having dinner at the dining hall. So before the manager could finish his words,
she turned to James, who was discussing some business matters with her father, and said, "James, would you mind going outside with me? I just have to check on Ronald. He's outside, and it seems like he saw Maria..." As soon as Alina's father, Clayton Tang, heard Maria's name, he frowned and interrupted, "Maria Song?" He exchanged a glance with Alina's mother, Miranda Song.
Both Clayton and Miranda knew that Alina's face got swollen because Maria slapped her a few days ago, and they were still furious about it.
"Okay," James agreed at once.
Since they were in a public place, Clayton and Miranda didn't go out. They let Alina and James handle the matter.
The moment James and Alina stepped out of the private room, they saw that Ronald spat on the dish in front of Maria.
Alina's heart skipped a beat. She was so shocked that Ronald dared to make trouble in a public. She knew that Maria wouldn't let go of Ronald so easily.
With this thought, Alina quickened her pace.
But before she could get close to them, Maria had already slapped Ronald hard in the face. The loud sound shocked everyone in the restaurant.
Ronald stood rooted to the spot. He had the same reaction with Alina when Maria slapped her last time. Never did he expect that Maria would be brave enough to hit him in a public place.
Maria's beautiful eyes looked around. Then her gaze fixed on the red wine on the table next to hers.
When she walked over to that table, the group of people who were eating there got so frightened that they quickly stood up and looked for a place to hide.
Maria picked up the half-empty bottle of red wine and walked back to Ronald. With an expressionless face, she smashed it on his head without hesitation.