A Dish Best Served Cold (The Man In Rage)
Chapter 447 You Are Not Qualified

"Hmm? Xiao-Hong, why are you here?" Ye Fan was slightly surprised to see Li Xiao-Hong.

He remembered he had already turned her invitation down in the morning. He didn't expect her to come looking for him instead.

"Mr Chu, my father and I are here to apologize. I'm really sorry about the last time you came over, things turned out to be such a mess in the end. I was afraid that I wouldn't have the chance to apologize to you once you return to Yunzhou, so I decided to come over. I hope you don't mind?" said Li Xiao-Hong cautiously as she stole glances at Ye Fan while keeping her head lowered.

Xu Lei realized that these were Ye Fan's friends, so she excused herself and went to sit at another nearby table instead so that she wouldn't interrupt Ye Fan's conversation with them, and offered her seat to the two of them.

Ye Fan shook his head and laughed quietly when he heard how shy Li Xiao-Hong was.

"Why would I mind?"

"Since you're already here, do have a seat. Uncle Li, do take a seat too."

Ye Fan smiled and invited both of them to sit with him.

After that, Ye Fan poured tea for both Li Xiao-Hong and Li Lu-Bin.

Li Lu-Bin quietly responded, "You're really familiar with how to do this. I suppose you've done quite a bit of serving tea and pouring drinks."

Ye Fan frowned and was a little confused. He didn't understand what Li Lu-Bin was trying to say.

"Dad, what are you talking about? Don't you remember what you promised me before coming here?" grumbled Li Xiao-Hong as she turned to her father.

Li Lu-Bin just smiled gently. "Xiao-Hong, I'm just joking with Mr Chu."

Ye Fan also smiled. "Uncle Li, and Xiao-Hong too - don't call me Mr Chu, you can just call me Fan. Otherwise it makes us sound so estranged."

"Sure, I'll call you Fan then." Li Lu-Bin agreed readily, then glanced at Xu Lei before continuing, "I suppose that lady over there is someone with a fairly high status, right?"

But before Ye Fan could reply, Li Xiao-Hong proudly cut in, "Daddy, I told you about Miss Xu before. She's the richest person in Yunzhou and started up Hongqi Group all by herself, turning it into a corporation worth hundreds of millions. I used to work at Hongqi Bank, and the head of the bank was also Miss Xu."

The disdain on Li Lu-Bin's lips immediately intensified.

It was just as he thought.

"Fan, it looks like you've found yourself a good boss. But it's best if you were able to hold your own. No matter how good your boss is or how excellent your workplace might be, if you're not a capable person and you only know how to suck up to others by serving tea and pouring drinks, that's not going to work out," said Li Lu-Bin with a cold smile. His words sounded rather sarcastic.

Ye Fan frowned once more as he put his teacup down and asked in a low voice, "Mr Li, what do you mean?"

"Since you've asked, then I'll go straight to the point." Li Lu-Bin's expression also darkened and he started speaking very seriously to Ye Fan.

"To be honest, I didn't like you very much from the beginning. If Xiao-Hong didn't keep speaking up for you, I wouldn't have bothered to take time out from my busy schedule just to see you."

"Dad, what are you talking about?" Li Xiao-Hong immediately became anxious and interrupted her father when she heard what he said.

She thought that her father was serious in apologizing to Ye Fan.

But it looked like she was wrong after all.

The things that her father said were so hurtful even when she heard them, so wouldn't they be even more hurtful to Ye Fan?

Li Xiao-Hong saw that Ye Fan's expression started to turn cold and the smile and friendliness he had earlier dissipated.

"Xiao-Hong, shut up! We're having a man to man talk here, so either listen to us quietly or go out and wait," barked Li Lu-Bin fiercely. Li Xiao-Hong was now too afraid to talk.

After that Li Lu-Bin looked back at Ye Fan and continued what he was saying earlier, "But Xiao-Hong is my daughter after all, so even if I don't like you very much, I would still listen to her opinion and her ideas."

"Tell you what, I'll give you five years to prove yourself. For the first three years, I'll send you abroad for studies so that you can obtain some skills. If you do well in your studies, I'll make you a front desk manager in my hotel. As long as you can produce results in the next two years at my hotel and prove that you're a talent, then I will ignore your background and allow Xiao-Hong to marry you."

"Don't worry, I will cover all your expenses in your first three years overseas, so you don't have to be burdened by that. If you're willing, then go back and pack your things. I've already bought the plane tickets. Come back to Yanjing two days later, and I'll arrange for you to leave the country," said Li Lu-Bin in a low voice.

His voice was low, but it carried an authoritativeness and arrogance that belonged to someone who thought highly of himself.

Li Lu-Bin then placed an air ticket on the table and got up to leave.

He didn't even wait to hear if Ye Fan was agreeable or not.

There was no need to!

To him, Ye Fan would not refuse.

He was not qualified to turn this offer down.

He was just a lowly boy from a village. Sending him overseas to study for free was already an incredible opportunity.

On top of that, after Ye Fan returned, Li Lu-Bin was even going to allow him to become a front desk manager at his hotel to prove himself.

And if he did well, then Li Lu-Bin would allow his daughter to marry him.

He figured that Ye Fan would never have even dreamt of getting such a chance.

But Li Lu-Bin had no choice. His daughter really liked this guy.

In order to ensure that his daughter married a good man, Li Lu-Bin had to embark on such a plan. He was going to groom Ye Fan into a man who was worthy of his daughter instead.

"Mr Li, wait up," came Ye Fan's low and quiet voice from behind Li Lu-Bin.

Li Lu-Bin immediately shook his head.

He stood with his back facing Ye Fan, waved his hand and calmly replied, "If you're calling after me to thank me or say nice things, then it's not necessary. I'm a practical man and I don't care for these niceties. If you are truly grateful to me, then cherish this chance I've given you. Take the next five years to use actual results to prove yourself."

"But if you're like slushy mud that can't even stick to a wall, then please stay further away from my daughter. I don't want my daughter to marry a useless person in the future!"

Li Lu-Bin's voice was low and distant, but his tone of voice was filled with arrogance and authoritativeness of a person in a high position.

It was as though he had been incredibly gracious towards Ye Fan.

"Mr Li, I think you've overthought this. I'm not calling you to thank you. I just wanted you to take your air ticket back. Thanks for

the kind intentions, but I don't need to prove myself to anybody. And even if I do, that person would not be you! A hotel boss is not qualified to be in such a position," Ye Fan's icy voice spoke from behind Li Lu- Bin.

Li Lu-Bin was immediately rooted to the spot.