Seeing there was no point to talk sense with Guo or Nan, the manager gave in. He quickly apologized, but his insincerity was written all over his face. He accepted the coupon, but it was as if the coupon were an accusation for an obvious injustice or the unfairness of life that couldn’t be rejected. This made him believe more argument would only shame him.
We left the restaurant like a bunch of warlords. Fearing a loss of face, Guo fought and won the coupon, which only gave him 25% discount; Nan didn’t want Guo to lose face and fought for Guo; Ru stood aside as a helpless housewife; Mr Bao departed with embarrassment; and I was speechless. In a word, it was a disgraceful prank, and the day a practical joke.