Xu Dong’s remarks suddenly made the atmosphere among everyone a bit awkward, as they didn’t know how to continue the conversation.

Everyone, as colleagues who saw each other day and night, naturally knew Xu Dong’s intentions, but they didn’t expect him to be so merciless. No one would be happy hearing those words.

Seeing everyone silent and the conversation cooling down, Hu Yan forced a smile and changed the topic, saying, "Mr. Ling, your name sounds familiar to me."

Ling Chen replied indifferently, "There are many people with the same name; nothing strange about that."

"Hey! Ling Chen, how much do you make a month as a security guard?" Xu Dong spoke up, not even using ’Mr.’ anymore, directly addressing him by name.

Hearing this, Hu Yan and others frowned. Even as colleagues, they felt Xu Dong was being too much. After all, Ling Chen is a friend of Leng Feifei, and one should respect the friend for their friend’s sake. Disrespecting Ling Chen in front of everyone would surely not please Leng Feifei.

After what happened today, did Xu Dong still think he could chase after Leng Feifei? It was like a fool’s dream; they were lucky not to get slapped.

At this moment, Leng Feifei, who had been silent, couldn’t listen anymore. Xu Dong repeatedly took the opportunity to humiliate Ling Chen, angering even the usually gentle Leng Feifei. She looked at Xu Dong with an angry face, opened her mouth to scold him, but before the words came out, a big hand suddenly reached out from under the table, gently patting the back of her hand.

Leng Feifei turned to look at Ling Chen beside her, seeing him giving her a look, signaling her not to rush. Thinking of Ling Chen’s capabilities, Leng Feifei forcefully suppressed her anger, swallowing the words she was about to say.

Ling Chen looked at Xu Dong with a half-smile, stating, "My salary isn’t high, certainly can’t compare to a top talent like Mr. Xu."

"There’s truly no comparison," Xu Dong replied unmodestly.

"I suppose Mr. Xu’s monthly salary must be quite high then."

"Not much, just seven or eight thousand, barely managing a middle-class lifestyle," Xu Dong said, unable to hide the smug look on his face.

Ling Chen nodded, "Seven or eight thousand isn’t much, but no worries, young people have room for improvement. Work hard, and maybe you could earn over ten thousand a month."

Xu Dong was momentarily taken aback, as Ling Chen’s tone made it seem as if Xu Dong was the security guard living at the societal bottom. Annoyed, Xu Dong scoffed, "Enough about me, how much do you earn a month?"

"Not much, this much." Ling Chen held up two fingers.

"Only two thousand?" Xu Dong looked disdainful.

"You missed a zero."

"Twenty thousand?"

At this, not only Xu Dong, but even Hu Yan and others were stunned. A security guard earning that much? They must be kidding.

Xu Dong derisively said, "Ling Chen, be realistic. If it’s two thousand, say two thousand. No one is mocking you here for that kind of money."

Ling Chen shrugged, unconcerned, saying, "Whether you believe me or not is not my problem. Nowadays, many people think highly of themselves, thinking they’re superior. In reality, to others, such people are merely clowns, not worth mentioning."

Hearing this, Xu Dong’s face turned ugly, clearly understanding Ling Chen’s implication. Although not naming names, Ling Chen’s words were obviously directed at him.

"Hu Yan, I think we should leave. There’s nothing good to talk about with this kind of person."

Leng Feifei responded coldly, "I never asked you to stay. You’re the one who insisted on staying."

"You..." Xu Dong’s face turned pale, surprised at Leng Feifei’s blunt rejection.

"What’s wrong, did I say something incorrect? Ling Chen is much more capable than you. He just doesn’t want to stoop to your level, yet you keep comparing yourself to him; how childish."

"Capability?" Xu Dong felt angry, scornfully looking at Ling Chen, scoffing, "What capabilities can a security guard have? Feifei, everyone in the company knows I like you, I want to chase you, but now I realize, we’re just not the same. Your standards are too low, actually seeing something in this kind of person."

"You..." Leng Feifei was furious.

"Feifei, don’t bother arguing," Ling Chen said, cutting her off. "Why stoop to arguing with his sort?" After saying that, he glanced at Xu Dong, speaking indifferently, "Mr. Xu, you think highly of your capabilities?"

"At least more than you."

"Good, I hope you won’t regret this." Saying so, Ling Chen kicked the table over, making a loud ’clang’ sound.

This move shocked Xu Dong and the others; they didn’t understand what he was planning.

As everyone was confused, a male store manager quickly came over, asking, "Sir, what’s the matter?"

Ling Chen said lightly, "I’m here to cause trouble."

The male manager smiled nervously, "Sir, is there some kind of misunderstanding?"

"You don’t understand my words. I said, I’m here to cause trouble."

The manager frowned slightly, "Friend, don’t say I didn’t warn you; this place is not where you cause trouble. Doing this, you’re just asking for trouble."

Ling Chen waved his hand impatiently, "Less nonsense, call someone if you can. I know people from Old City all pay protection money."

"This is self-inflicted." With that, the manager quickly pulled out his phone and stepped aside.

"What are you doing?"

Leng Feifei looked anxiously at Ling Chen, whispering, "I heard Old City is controlled by a gang with great influence. Even our company has to pay protection money on time, not daring to defy them."

Ling Chen smiled slightly, giving her a reassuring look, "Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing."

As they spoke, more than ten burly, muscular young men burst into the Starbucks.

The leader shouted as he entered, "Which blind fool dares to cause trouble in Old City?"

Seeing the newcomers, the store manager quickly went up, pointing towards Ling Chen and whispering a few words.

"Ling Chen, let’s see how you wrap this up." Xu Dong stood by, arms crossed, looking forward to the scene.

Just then, the leader and his menacing gang approached Ling Chen.

Onlookers stepped aside, fearing being caught in any potential violence.

However, after taking a good look at Ling Chen, the leader’s expression subtly changed. Then, under everyone’s gaze, he did something surprising.

"Chen."

The leader bowed, appearing extremely respectful.

"Chen." The followers echoed in unison.

Ling Chen smiled, saying, "We’re all friends here; no need for such politeness."

"Chen, what do you need us to do?"