Charlie Wade did not return home immediately after leaving Emerald Court.
As he thought about the past, he remembered how he and Claire Wilson had rushed to register their marriage at the request of Lord Wilson, Claire's grandfather. Unfortunately, they never had the chance to hold a proper wedding ceremony.
Lord Wilson had planned to choose a date for a grand wedding celebration. However, not long after Charlie and Claire got married, Lord Wilson became seriously ill and was admitted to the hospital.
Later, Lord Wilson passed away.
After his death, Charlie was completely ignored by the Wilson family, and the wedding plans were eventually abandoned.
The first place that came to Charlie's mind when he thought about their wedding anniversary was the Sky Garden at Shangri-La.
Shangri-La was the most prestigious hotel in Aurouss Hilll at the time. The hotel occupied a huge area and featured luxurious, extravagant decorations. It also had a high-end shopping mall within the complex.
The Sky Garden was the grandest and most luxurious banquet hall in Aurouss Hilll. Holding a wedding there would cost at least several million dollars.
But Charlie was wealthy now, so a few million dollars meant nothing to him.
More importantly, he wanted to make his wife happy.
With that thought in mind, Charlie arrived at the entrance of Shangri-La, intending to reserve the Sky Garden for their anniversary.
However, Charlie was unaware that Shangri-La was an exclusive members-only hotel.
Guests needed to be members to dine, stay, or hold events there. Moreover, there were several membership levels, each offering different benefits.
Ordinary members could only dine in the lobby and stay in standard rooms.
Silver members could dine in private rooms and stay in deluxe rooms.
Gold members could dine in luxurious dining rooms and stay in luxury suites.
Platinum members could dine in the Sky Garden and stay in executive suites.
The highest membership level was Diamond.
Only Diamond members were qualified to stay in the Presidential Suite, and only Diamond members could reserve the entire Sky Garden for private events.
Before Charlie could even enter the hotel, several men dressed in black stopped him.
“Excuse me, sir. Please show us your membership card.”
The clothes Charlie was wearing that day were rather plain and inexpensive. They were a stark contrast to the other guests, who were dressed elegantly.
Charlie politely said, “Hello. I'd like to speak with your hotel manager about reserving a venue.”
The security guard replied flatly, “I'm sorry, sir, but you can't enter without a membership card.”
“Can I apply for membership now?”
The man shook his head.
“I'm sorry, but you need an existing member to refer you before you can apply.”
Charlie frowned in frustration.
Why was Shangri-La so troublesome?
As he stood there wondering what to do, he suddenly remembered that when Lord Wilson had helped him enroll at Aurous University, he had been in his senior year with Claire. One of his classmates, Sabrina Lee, worked here.
He quickly took out his phone and called Sabrina.
After Charlie explained the situation, Sabrina replied, “Don't worry, class representative. I've got this! I'll be there right away!”
Charlie quickly thanked her.
It seemed that although they had only been classmates for a year, their relationship had remained somewhat intact.
He would repay her favor someday.
A few minutes later, a woman's sharp voice suddenly echoed through the hotel entrance.
“Hey, class representative!”
Charlie looked up and saw a woman in an office-style outfit walking out of the hotel. She wore heavy, fashionable makeup.
Was that Sabrina?
She had changed so much that Charlie could barely recognize her.
As the attractive woman approached, the two security guards in black immediately bowed and greeted her respectfully.
“Miss Lee.”
Charlie looked at her in surprise.
“Wow, Sabrina! It's been a long time since we last saw each other. You're a manager at Shangri-La now? That's impressive!”
Sabrina smiled.
“Class representative, you're too kind. I'm actually just a small-time manager in the HR department. At most, I'm considered lower- to middle-level management at Shangri-La.”
Charlie sincerely complimented her.
“That's still very impressive. I've heard that Shangri-La has extremely high standards when it comes to hiring managers. You're doing really well.”
Sabrina giggled happily.
Then she turned toward the security guards and asked coldly, “Were you the ones who stopped my university classmate at the entrance and refused to let him in?”
The guards exchanged nervous glances.
One of them quickly said, “I'm sorry, Miss Lee. We didn't know that he was your university classmate. Besides, he doesn't have a membership card. We were only following the hotel's procedures.”
Sabrina snorted.
“Rules are made for people, not the other way around. Don't you understand that?”
Charlie assumed that Sabrina was about to punish the guards, so he quickly said, “Sabrina, don't blame them. They're just doing their jobs.”
Sabrina turned her gaze toward Charlie.
Suddenly, she burst out laughing.
Her expression changed, and she began mocking him.
“My dear class representative, you really think you're somebody important, don't you? Did you honestly think I would punish my employees just because of you?”
Charlie frowned in confusion.
“What do you mean?”
Sabrina smiled disdainfully.
“Isn't it obvious? Do you really think someone as pathetic as you can enter Shangri-La?”
Charlie clenched his fists.
“What the hell do you mean?”
Sabrina grinned like a Cheshire cat.
“I'm just teasing you!”
She looked at him with contempt.
“I hated you when we were in university. How could a loser who knew nothing except studying, and who couldn't even afford a decent meal in the cafeteria, become my classmate?”
She continued mockingly, “Who were you to lecture me about my studies and grades? Yuck! Didn't you ever look at yourself in the mirror?”
Charlie looked at her coldly.
“Sabrina Lee, I don't think I've ever offended or provoked you. So why do you keep mocking me?”