"You want to know why security hasn't come despite all this commotion?" the yellow-haired guy smirked. "Well, I wasn't just bragging when I said earlier that you'd regret it. Even you rich city people are nothing compared to the people backing this hotel."
Nina rolled her eyes. "Whether it's the police or the mafia, does it look like we don't have both options?"
The yellow-haired guy ignored Nina and spoke in a tone as if he were dropping a nuclear bomb.
"It's because this hotel is under the protection of a mafia organization. Someone even city people like you wouldn't dare provoke."
"Right, a mafia organization..." Nina looked unimpressed. "They're affiliated with every elite family. Who doesn't know that?"
The yellow-haired guy scoffed. "I'm not just talking about some mere organization. I mean Hexion."
There was a moment of silence.
Indeed, a top organization like Hexion could very well strike fear into anyone simply by the mention of its name.
"Hexion?" Levi repeated. "That Hexion? Shin Keir? Tristan Felan? And all the elite families and massive businesses affiliated with it?"
Seeing the stunned looks on their faces, the yellow-haired guy looked satisfied. Even Lizzy lifted her chin so high that she looked like she was suffering from a stiff neck.
"What, afraid now?" the yellow-haired guy said condescendingly. "Our town may be small and remote, but why do you think this hotel has managed to thrive?"
Yeri's friends unconsciously looked at her, but she had no idea either. After all, she wasn't part of Hexion, nor did she monitor what business Shin Keir did.
"Well, since you all know, you better be obedient and dare not offend us. Otherwise, there's no telling whether you'll be able to leave here," the old man from earlier warned.
"It's not that we're intentionally targeting you. We're genuinely trying not to escalate this matter. Pay up, and we'll consider what you did to our Lizzy a thing of the past."
"Actually, since you're already here, we're sincere in inviting you to the wedding. Come on, let's not be strangers. You girls look tired and hungry. There's plenty of food inside for you to enjoy."
Yeri's group still didn't move.
With Levi being the only guy among them, the others naturally felt uneasy and stayed close together.
"Who wants to eat their food? Who knows what's in there," Daisy whispered.
With the way the men across from them were leering at them, including the older men, they weren't naive enough to fall for such an obvious trap.
"If this hotel is under the supervision of Hexion, then I'd like to speak with the owner. We're guests who paid for a VIP room and came here for a vacation, yet some random people can actually harass us just because they're related to the owner? If we complain to Hexion about this hotel, I wonder if they'll turn a blind eye," Levi said.
"That's right. We're not just city people. Our families also have affiliations with mafia organizations," one of the girls chimed in.
"You dare!" The yellow-haired guy looked provoked.
He clearly didn't understand how those affiliations worked, but seeing them continue to challenge him only made him angrier.
"Of course we dare. You keep yapping, but if you're really affiliated with Hexion, then you should at least know that Shin Keir is about to get married, right?" Nina said, crossing her arms.
"Ah, I heard about that," one of the groomsmen muttered. "But so what?"
"So what? Don't you people read the news or at least browse the internet?" Daisy answered.
"Yeah. In fact, we're here to celebrate our friend's bachelorette party. If anything, you're the ones ruining the occasion."
"Bachelorette party? Who's getting married?" the yellow-haired guy asked.
Yeri moved behind Levi and spoke casually.
"Me. I'm Brother Shin's fiancée. I don't know if you're telling the truth about this hotel being affiliated with Hexion, but I'm pretty sure a business that uses its name to commit extortion, harassment, and allow random relatives to threaten guests does not align with Hexion's integrity."
The yellow-haired guy stared at Yeri for a moment, scrutinizing her from head to toe before suddenly laughing.
His friends followed along as well.
"Yeri, did you just claim to be Shin Keir's fiancée?" Lizzy asked in mocking disbelief. "Yes, you're a bit pretty, but let's not be too delusional here, okay?"
"I heard Shin Keir really loved his girlfriend. He even sent the famous Calin Ricci to prison for her sake, and Calin went crazy afterward. Aren't you afraid you'll be next?" the yellow-haired guy said.
The others who heard her also chimed in, mocking her, clicking their tongues, and throwing out snide remarks.
"If you're Shin Keir's fiancée, then I'm his mother!" Lizzy's mom said, planting her hands on her hips. "Girl, we may be rural old folks, but we at least know someone of that caliber would have no business coming here to our remote town."
"Yeah! She even dares to say they're here for a bachelorette party! Hahaha! What party is that? Just look at them. They look like soaked chickens!"
Listening to them mock Yeri, Nina immediately rolled up her sleeves, itching to teach these shameless and unreasonable people a lesson, when Lizzy spoke again.
"Since you claim to be Shin Keir's fiancée, why not call him now? If you're really his girlfriend, then I'll definitely apologise to you."
"If she's really Shin Keir's fiancée, then I'll let my neighbor's mad dog chase me all over town!" the yellow-haired guy proclaimed.
His friends immediately joined in.
One said he'd livestream himself making out with his cow. Another said he'd kowtow to her a thousand times. Even Lizzy's parents joined in, proclaiming that they would donate their village's entire yearly crop earnings to Yeri as a marriage gift.
Yeri wasn't the least bit provoked. She recalled Shin calling her that morning and saying he would be traveling around noon. Judging by the time, he might still be on airplane mode.
Moreover, why should she call him?
"Even if I call him, it's not like you'll recognize his voice," Yeri said nonchalantly.
Instead, she pulled up her photo gallery and showed them a photo of herself with Shin Keir.
Those who had been laughing and mocking her just seconds ago immediately widened their eyes in shock. Some swallowed hard, while others even staggered backward.
But Lizzy just narrowed her eyes and sneered.
"Yeri, you must really look down on me to think a mere photo could fool me. Don't insult my intelligence. Don't forget, I was a scholarship student. No matter what, I still know what AI is."
At the mention of AI, the older people didn't understand what she meant, but the younger ones clearly did. They immediately went back to scolding Yeri.
"That's it!" Nina exclaimed, wanting to rush over if not for Levi holding her back. "Let me go! Don't you know it's impossible to reason with a bunch of ignorant fools? Just beat them up!"
"What is going on here?"
A stout, middle-aged man in a high-end suit walked over.
The yellow-haired guy suddenly looked tamed. He rubbed his hands together as he called out, "Uncle, don't worry. We aren't the ones causing trouble. It's them!"
Their side immediately began speaking over one another, each giving their own version of the story.
The uncle frowned and glanced at Yeri's group.
"We're VIP customers who just happened to pass by. You can check your surveillance cameras if you don't believe us. They're the ones stopping us from leaving and even trying to extort money from us," Levi explained.
Hearing the word "VIP," the uncle remembered that the manager had mentioned some wealthy guests who had booked their most expensive rooms for the day.
Suddenly, he looked conflicted.
Although the yellow-haired guy was a distant relative, he also didn't want to offend these wealthy city kids. Who knew what kind of backgrounds they had?
"I'll make a call," Levi said.
This whole matter had started simply because Lizzy recognized the three of them. It had nothing to do with their other companions.
Besides, his father was no longer a minister but a shareholder of KGG. It would be easy enough for him to pull some strings.
Yeri understood, but she stopped Levi.
"I have a faster way to deal with this," she said, then turned to the uncle. "Your relative here said this hotel is affiliated with Hexion. It just so happens that my family is affiliated with Hexion as well. Let's have Hexion's representatives settle this. How about it?"
The uncle was taken aback. "Your family? What's your name?"
"Yeri Zhi."
"Hmm... Yeri Zhi..." the uncle muttered.
Then, as if he had suddenly been struck by lightning, his eyes widened.
"You- you said Yeri Zhi?!"
Now that he looked at her more closely, he realized she was becoming more and more familiar.
Unlike most people in that town, whose livelihoods required them to work in the fields all day, he was different. He was eager to climb the ladder and had naturally made an effort to familiarize himself with influential and elite people, particularly those connected to Hexion.
"Uncle, do you know her?" the yellow-haired guy asked, still oblivious. "Funny thing is, she actually dared to say she's Shin Keir's fiancée. Hahaha!"
But before he could blabber any further, his uncle angrily smacked him, then smacked him again and again.
"Uncle, why are you suddenly hitting me? Ah, wait! Not the face!"
Seeing her husband getting beaten, Lizzy immediately reacted.
"Uncle, what's wrong? It's our wedding today! Please don't hit my husband. It's my fault that he's too protective of me."
The uncle's face had turned red. He pointed at them with trembling hands, then looked at Yeri before looking back at his nephew.
He was so angry and frightened at the same time that he couldn't utter a single word.
Then, to everyone's astonishment, the uncle suddenly bent forward in a 90-degree bow to Yeri.
"Miss Zhi, I sincerely apologize for overlooking your visit and failing to realize that you had graced this meager hotel with your presence. My good-for-nothing nephew is simply too stupid to tell east from west. Please, just treat him as a maggot that has soiled your eyes."
The yellow-haired guy stared at his uncle in confusion, wondering if he had heard him correctly.
Was he perhaps talking to someone else?