Chapter 101: Smashing Your Coffee Shop

This coffee shop was a run-of-the-mill Starbucks, though its interior was decorated with a strong romantic atmosphere, dominated by pink hues and filled with cute teddy bear plushies and Hello Kitty merchandise.

A small conflict arose while they were ordering. Both ordered a latte, and the clerk asked if they wanted a large or a medium. Neither of them had been to a Starbucks before; Xia Qing never had the time, and Shi Bai looked down on such places. As a multi-billionaire, Shi Bai only drank hand-ground coffee made from beans flown in specially from abroad, so he had no reason to step into a fast-food coffee chain like this. Consequently, he had no idea about the Starbucks sizing system.

Shi Bai wanted a medium, so he asked for one, and Xia Qing did the same. To them, a medium seemed just right—not too small to be unsatisfying, yet not so large as to be difficult to finish.

However, the frustrating thing about Starbucks is its pretentious insistence on nomenclature: its "medium" is actually the small size, its "large" is the medium, and the biggest one is called "venti." Because Shi Bai asked for a medium, the clerk handed him the smallest cup.

Both Shi Bai and Xia Qing were baffled. "We asked for a medium," they said.

The clerk gave them a look of disdain, as if they were ignorant. "I gave you the medium, just as you asked."

They exchanged confused glances and frowned. Xia Qing, being a young woman who preferred to avoid trouble, thought about just letting it slide. But Shi Bai was not about to have it. Given his status, he wasn't going to be swindled like this. "What kind of nonsense are you spouting?" he demanded. "Small, medium, large—I am talking about the middle one! You clearly should have given me the smallest one if that’s what you call a medium!"

The bespectacled female clerk crossed her arms, her face filled with impatience and contempt. "I already told you, what I gave you is what you asked for. Our smallest is called a medium, the middle one is called a large, and the biggest one is called a venti!"

"Venti your grandmother!" Shi Bai slammed his coffee onto the floor, brown liquid splashing everywhere with a loud splat. "Get your manager here! I want to have a word with him!"

The clerk was startled, wondering if she had run into a hothead. She quickly hurried into the back to fetch the store manager.

The manager was a man in his thirties, dressed very sharply. Seeing that Shi Bai was just a student-looking youth, he immediately felt a sense of condescension, though he maintained a strained, polite smile. "Is there a problem, sir?"

Shi Bai pointed at the coffee cups on display. "Why do you call the middle cup a 'large'?"

The manager raised an eyebrow. "That is our company's policy," he said, his tone arrogant. "It is our freedom to decide which cup is large and which is medium. There is no law against it, and no one has the right to criticize it." He crossed his arms over his chest.

Shi Bai frowned. "Your freedom? Isn't this just blatant consumer fraud?"

"I apologize, but if you had listened carefully to our staff, I am sure you would have known which was large and which was small. Therefore, we are not deceiving anyone. I must warn you: if you continue to cause a scene, I have the right to sue you for slander."

"Ha!" Shi Bai let out a loud laugh, narrowing his eyes as he stared at him. "What did you say? You're going to sue me for slander?"

The manager seemed intimidated by the sudden shift in Shi Bai's aura, but he darkened his expression. "That's right. If you continue this unreasonable behavior, we will indeed sue you for slander and for disturbing the peace."

Shi Bai was speechless. He had intended to enjoy a coffee with Xia Qing and didn't want to make a scene, but things had reached a point where he couldn't back down without losing face in front of her.

With a swift kick, he smashed the coffee shop's counter to pieces. "I'll show you a 'large'! I'll show you a 'large'!"

Other customers in the shop screamed and fled. Xia Qing rushed to pull him back. "Are you crazy? Stop smashing things!"

But Shi Bai wasn't listening. He continued, destroying the display case, the espresso machine, the tables, the chairs, and the light fixtures. "Damn you! Coming here to scam people! 'Large'! I'll show you how big I can make it!" He grabbed a coffee mug and hurled it at the window, sending shards of glass flying everywhere.

The manager and staff were terrified by Shi Bai's raw power. They had intended to intervene, but they all scrambled outside instead. Trembling, the staff asked the manager what to do. The manager dialed the company's regional head. "Hello, Mr. Zhang? We have a lunatic in the shop, he's tearing the place apart!"

"What?" a surprised voice replied. "Who is it?"

"I don't know, just some student!"

Mr. Zhang replied, "Forget it, call the police immediately!"

"Understood!"

About five minutes later, Shi Bai had essentially demolished the shop. With his world-class martial arts, destroying a coffee shop was effortless.

Xia Qing, however, was already in tears. "I shouldn't have come here with you," she sobbed. "I never imagined you had such a bad temper! Wuwuwu... now look what's happened, who knows how much you'll have to pay in damages..."

Shi Bai reached out to stroke her hair, trying to comfort her, but she swatted his hand away. "Don't touch me! You violent maniac!"

Shi Bai looked helpless. "Am I violent?" But looking at the wreckage around him, he scratched his head in embarrassment. "I suppose I am a bit..."

Just then, a fleet of cars arrived. Dozens of men in suits stepped out, all armed with batons. The manager rushed to meet them. "Mr. Zhang, why did you come in person?"

Mr. Zhang, wearing sunglasses, gave a crooked smirk. "The higher-ups said this is a sensitive situation, so I had to handle it myself." He looked at the ruined shop and gritted his teeth. "Is the brat still inside?"

"Yes! He hasn't left!"

Mr. Zhang spat on the ground. "Damn it, to think he’d dare to run wild on our turf! Everyone, get in there and cripple him!"

"Yes!" The group barged in, shouting aggressively.

Seeing so many men enter, all clearly looking for trouble, Xia Qing’s legs went weak. "What... what do you want?"

Mr. Zhang gave a cold smile, weighing his baton in his hand. "You dare cause trouble in our shop and expect to get away with it?" He roared, "Get him! Break the brat's legs!"

"Yes!"

At that moment, Shi Bai turned around. "You said you were going to break whose legs?"

As soon as Mr. Zhang saw Shi Bai, he suddenly threw his hands up in shock, causing his sunglasses to fall to the floor. "G-Grandmaster!"