Mashan led Li Muchen on a tour around the club. But as the club manager, taking good care of the patrons was his primary duty, so he greeted familiar customers whenever he ran into them.
In Ding Xiang's eyes, Brother Mashan was truly amazing, knowing so many people.
Yet Li Muchen did not feel that way. Beneath Mashan's bowing and scraping, he could sense a deep-seated unwillingness.
Li Muchen remembered how, when they were kids, Mashan had declared more than once that he would someday become a boss—the kind of person nobody dared to bully.
Just then, five young people—two men and three women—walked into the club.
The moment Mashan spotted them, he hurried over and said to the young man in the lead, "Ah, Master Zhang, what brings you over here today?"
Li Muchen noticed that the young man called Master Zhang wore a blank, frosty expression. "I brought some friends here to hang out. Do you have a private room?"
"Yes, we do, absolutely! Since Master Zhang is gracing us with your presence, we have to make room even if there isn't any. I'll arrange one for you right away."
Mashan suddenly waved at Li Muchen. "Muchen, come here, let me introduce you. This is Master Zhang Yiping from Yongqing Group, and this is my brother, Li Muchen."
Zhang Yiping frowned. A floor manager of a bar was completely beneath his notice, yet Mashan was actually introducing some sworn brother to him—how utterly lacking in manners.
He would have to tell Sister Na to replace this floor manager next time he saw her.
Still, maintaining the poise expected of his status, Zhang Yiping merely nodded at Li Muchen.
Li Muchen understood that Mashan meant well, hoping to introduce him to a few powerful people. But how could Li Muchen possibly look up to someone like Zhang Yiping? Seeing Zhang Yiping's cold attitude, he naturally wasn't going to cozy up to him either, so he simply gave a slight nod in return.
Mashan looked somewhat awkward. Just as he was about to say something, a woman behind Zhang Yiping suddenly cried out, "Ding Xiang!"
Ding Xiang only just noticed her and exclaimed in surprise, "Yao Lili, it's you? What a coincidence!"
Yao Lili walked over with a smile, not even glancing at Li Muchen, and grabbed Ding Xiang by the hand. "Ding Xiang, I never expected to run into you here! Didn't you get accepted into Nanjiang University? Come, let me introduce you to a senior schoolmate."
"Really?" Ding Xiang was both surprised and delighted.
Yao Lili pulled her behind Zhang Yiping and pointed at another young woman. "This is the eldest daughter of the Lin Family, Lin Manqing."
Hearing that name, Li Muchen froze instantly.
Lin Manqing? Could it really be such a coincidence?
He remembered the name of the bride written on the marriage contract his grandfather had left behind—it seemed to be Lin Manqing.
In fact, he had noticed this girl earlier.
Practitioners of the mystic arts were extremely sensitive to a person's aura and inner spirit. A bar was a foul, murky place, and most people who came here carried turbid qi and energy pulses. Aside from Ding Xiang by his side, every person he had seen in the club today had an ordinary aura, except for this young woman, who stood out like a lotus blooming among withered flowers and decaying leaves.
Yet he never imagined she would be the eldest daughter of the Lin Family, Lin Manqing.
Put another way, while the marriage contract was still in effect, she was his fiancée.
Without realizing it, Li Muchen looked at her a few more times.
Lin Manqing also seemed to sense his gaze and glanced back at him.
Probably finding Li Muchen's look somewhat strange, Lin Manqing frowned slightly, but still gave a polite nod.
"Miss Lin, you're so pretty!"
Ding Xiang spoke whatever came to mind, without any deliberate flattery. And Lin Manqing certainly deserved the praise.
Yao Lili chimed in, "Well of course! Manqing is the top beauty in Hecheng's upper crust!"
Sensing the young girl's innocence, Lin Manqing smiled and said, "You're very pretty yourself."
"Do you study at Nanjiang University, Miss Lin?"
"Yes, I'm in the law school. And you?"
"I just got accepted this year, into the Humanities Experimental Class."
"Oh, you must be quite brilliant." Lin Manqing flashed an approving look. "There's no need to call me Miss Lin. I'm a year ahead of you, so you can call me Senior, or just Sister. If you need anything once you're at school, don't hesitate to look me up."
"Thank you, Senior," Ding Xiang said happily.
The man standing next to Zhang Yiping had been eyeing Ding Xiang the entire time. Seizing the opportunity, he stepped forward, reached out his hand, and said, "Hello, my name is Zhou Xu."
Caught off guard, Ding Xiang—who wasn't used to socializing—grew a bit frightened by the stranger's overly burning gaze.
Suddenly, a hand shot out from the side and gripped Zhou Xu's hand tightly. "Hello, my name is Li Muchen."
Zhou Xu's enthusiasm vanished in an instant.
If looks could kill, Li Muchen would have been sliced to pieces a thousand times over.
Suppressing his burning anger, Zhou Xu yanked his hand back and flicked it away in disgust. "Bad luck!"
Unfazed, Li Muchen intentionally or not stepped right between Ding Xiang and Zhou Xu.
Glaring at Li Muchen, Zhou Xu turned to Zhang Yiping and said, "Brother Zhang, since Ding Xiang is Lili's classmate, why don't you have her join us?"
Zhang Yiping naturally knew what Zhou Xu was up to.
He glanced at Ding Xiang. The young girl indeed possessed a strong allure, especially that aura of pure innocence that made it hard not to feel tempted.
However, he had no designs on Ding Xiang; his sole focus was Lin Manqing, the eldest daughter of the Lin Family.
Or rather, the vast assets of the Lin Family were his true target.
If he could forge a matrimonial alliance with the Lin Family, Yongqing Group could reach even greater heights.
This was not merely a matter of romance; it was a strategic political mission.
Yet getting close to Lin Manqing was no easy task. Fortunately, he had a cousin named Zhang Jie who was Lin Manqing's best friend, which gave him a convenient advantage.
Learning that Lin Manqing was back in Hecheng today, Zhang Yiping had immediately instructed Zhang Jie to find an excuse to invite her out.
Zhou Xu's family ran a clothing business and rented commercial space in a shopping mall under Yongqing Group. Having spent a lot of time following Zhang Yiping around, he was essentially one of Zhang Yiping's little lackeys.
Zhang Yiping didn't mind lending a hand to help his lackey win over a woman.
"Sure, why not. It's a bit dull with just us today anyway, so let's all hang out together," Zhang Yiping said, then looked at the other girl who had almost been ignored. "Zhang Jie, you're the one who set this gathering up, so you make the call."
Zhang Jie replied, "I don't mind. Manqing, what do you think?"
"Of course," Lin Manqing said, walking over to take Ding Xiang's hand. "It'll be a good chance to tell you about the university."
Lin Manqing didn't really care for places like bars; she wouldn't have come out if Zhang Jie hadn't insisted she keep her company due to a bad mood.
They had dined at Yongqing's clubhouse, but when Zhang Jie complained it was boring, Zhang Yiping suggested heading to the club for some excitement.
Lin Manqing knew Zhang Yiping was trying to pursue her, but she felt no spark for him.
Ding Xiang's appearance gave her a convenient way to shake off Zhang Yiping's persistent attention.
She had a favorable impression of Ding Xiang—the girl was pure, and being admitted to the humanities experimental class at Nanjiang University meant she had to be both hardworking and intelligent.
Ding Xiang had initially hesitated, but hearing that Lin Manqing wanted to talk to her about university life made her want to go along.
Even so, she hadn't forgotten the purpose of her trip today: bringing Brother Muchen here so Brother Mashan could help him find a job.
She turned to Li Muchen with a look that asked for help.
Understanding what was on her mind, Li Muchen said, "Sounds good, let's join them."
With that, he made to go along with the group.
Everyone else was stunned. Did anyone invite you?
Only Lin Manqing smiled knowingly. She realized Li Muchen was looking out for Ding Xiang, just in his own unique way.
She found this fellow rather interesting.
"Who asked you to come along? Have you no shame?" Zhou Xu said coldly.
Yao Lili wore a look of utter contempt as well. "Ding Xiang, as an old classmate, let me give you some sincere advice. Since you've been accepted into Nanjiang University, you shouldn't hang out with riffraff anymore. Take a page from my book and work your way into upper-class social circles. Otherwise, no matter how good your grades are, it's useless. Master Zhang has piles of PhDs working for his family, and whether they keep their rice bowls depends entirely on a single word from him."
Hearing this, Ding Xiang grew displeased. "Brother Muchen is no riffraff."
Yao Lili sighed, looking utterly disappointed in her.
"Enough," Lin Manqing interjected. "Either we all hang out together, or we call it a night. When we're out having fun, there's no need to divide people into different classes."
Li Muchen glanced at her, thinking to himself that this fiancée of his seemed not too bad.
Seeing Lin Manqing speak up, Zhang Yiping put on a magnanimous air and said, "No worries, let's all hang out together."
He shot Zhou Xu a look, then told Mashan, "Get me the biggest private room."
"No problem."
Mashan thought this turned out pretty well too.
Zhang Yiping was quite well-known among the young elite of Hecheng, not to mention the eldest daughter of the Lin Family was present—someone you couldn't invite over even with an eight-bearer sedan chair.
Even though he knew they looked down on Li Muchen, so what?
Given their social standing, let alone Li Muchen who didn't even have a job, what was a mere floor manager like himself in their eyes?
If they happened to be in a good mood and hooked Li Muchen up with any sort of job, surely that would beat being a bar waiter.
Once the private room was arranged, Mashan went back to his duties.
After hanging out for a while, Zhou Xu suggested that since there were new friends present, everyone should exchange WeChat contacts.
His target was naturally Ding Xiang, but to make it less obvious, he approached Li Muchen first. "Brother, add me on WeChat."
"What is WeChat?" Li Muchen asked.
The rest of the group froze.
"Bro, are you kidding me? Don't tell me you don't even know what WeChat is?" Zhou Xu's mouth curled upward with a hint of anticipation.
Ding Xiang quickly stepped in to explain for Li Muchen. "Brother Muchen just came from the mountains..."
Had she kept quiet, it would have been fine, but that explanation only intensified the contempt on everyone's faces.
"So he's just a country bumpkin," Yao Lili said with a sneer.
Zhang Yiping walked over and sat beside Li Muchen. "It's fine, everyone has a first time. Come on, take out your phone and let big brother teach you how to use WeChat."
Li Muchen pulled his phone out of his pocket.
"Whoa!" Zhou Xu exclaimed in an exaggerated tone. "A Nokia! Haha, I can't believe someone is still using a Nokia!"
Laughter broke out across the private room.
Even Lin Manqing couldn't help but crack a smile. She bore no malicious intent; she simply couldn't fathom how someone young had managed to get by all these years using a Nokia.
Even the most remote mountain villages had smart phones by now, didn't they?
Looking at the phone, Zhang Yiping said, "Brother, I can't help you with this one. How about this—sing us a song, and I'll buy you a brand new phone."
Emboldened, Zhou Xu chimed in, "Right, sing a song—how about one of those mountain ditties from your village? I'll buy you a new phone too, the most expensive kind. You can throw this piece of junk away."
As he spoke, he snatched Li Muchen's phone and made a motion to toss it.
Li Muchen snatched it back with lightning speed, moving so fast that Zhou Xu didn't even have time to react.
"What do you think you're doing?" Zhou Xu demanded angrily.
"If you break it, you can't afford to pay for it," Li Muchen said.
Zhou Xu was laughed into a rage. "Ha! He actually said I can't afford to pay for this piece of trash phone. Hahaha!"
The others joined in laughing as well.
Zhang Yiping chuckled. "My friend, you're the source of our amusement today."
Watching everyone mock Li Muchen, Ding Xiang grew so anxious tears welled up in her eyes.
Unable to watch any longer, Lin Manqing spoke up. "Enough. Are we going to enjoy ourselves or not? If not, let's just split up."
Seeing Lin Manqing flare up, Zhang Yiping quickly sat up straight; he didn't want his scheme to backfire.
"Just joking around," he said smoothly as he poured two glasses of wine, sliding one over to Li Muchen. "Come on, brother, a toast to you."
Li Muchen didn't take the glass.
"Hey, Brother Zhang is offering you a drink," Zhou Xu reminded him.
Li Muchen replied indifferently, "He isn't qualified."
Zhang Yiping's face turned dark in an instant.
The atmosphere in the private room dropped to freezing point.
"Punk, refusing a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit, is that it?" Zhou Xu snarled viciously. "Do you know who Brother Zhang is? In Hecheng, who dares refuse to give him face?"
Li Muchen didn't even look at Zhou Xu, treating him as if he were thin air.
Casting a glance at Lin Manqing, Zhang Yiping raised a hand to stop Zhou Xu from acting up further, then sneered:
"No matter. There will be plenty of chances later."
Lin Manqing knew Zhang Yiping wouldn't let Li Muchen off the hook.
She hadn't expected Li Muchen to utter such arrogant words either, and couldn't help shaking her head.
...
At that moment, a Mercedes-Benz pulled up to the club entrance.
A middle-aged man with a protruding belly stepped out of the car.
Accompanying him were two burly men who clearly had martial arts training.
Leopard hurried out from the entrance to greet them. "Boss Liu, you sure got here fast."
Liu Hongyu threw an arm around Leopard's shoulder. "Since Brother Leopard called me, how could I not hurry?"
Leopard looked flattered. "Boss Liu is joking. I don't carry that kind of weight—you coming here is doing me a huge honor."
Liu Hongyu laughed heartily. "Let's go! Tonight I'm going to have a blast!"
...
Leopard had no idea Zhang Yiping had arrived and taken Ding Xiang into a private room.
Once he found out, he was put in a difficult spot.
Boss Liu was not someone he could afford to offend, but Master Zhang from Yongqing Group was equally untouchable.
His only option was to first bring in two pretty hostesses to accompany Boss Liu and stall for time as much as possible.
Instead, Liu Hongyu grew impatient and demanded that Leopard bring Ding Xiang over.
With no other choice, Leopard had to tell the truth.
"Boss Liu, the girl you want is in another room. Once things wrap up over there, I'll definitely bring her to you."
"Bah!" Liu Hongyu leaped up from the sofa. "Leopard, are you playing games with me? You're the one who invited me here tonight."
"I wouldn't dare play games with you."
"Hmph, if it weren't for Zhou Na, I would have chopped that punk up long ago. You dare play me? Believe it or not, I'll chop you up right along with him!" Liu Hongyu threatened coldly.
"I'm really not playing games with you. That's Master Zhang's gathering over there, so I can't just brazenly walk in and demand people."
"Master Zhang? Which Master Zhang?"
"Master Zhang from Yongqing."
Hearing this, Liu Hongyu grew even angrier. "Damn it, that little bitch! Playing the pure and innocent act with me, but the moment she sees a young guy she throws herself right at him. Go tell Zhang Yiping to send her over here."
"This... might not be a good idea?" Leopard said, feeling cornered.
"There's nothing bad about it! Even if Zhang Yiping's old man were here, he'd still have to give me this face!" Liu Hongyu said coldly.
Leopard couldn't help feeling a tinge of regret. He definitely didn't want Liu Hongyu and Zhang Yiping causing a scene inside his club.
He was in charge of running this venue; if he couldn't smooth things over, he wouldn't be able to survive in this circle anymore.
Besides, Zhou Na had already settled the matter today; it was his own impulsive decision that caused this mess, so he naturally had to take the blame.
It was all Mashan's fault!
Refusing to see any fault in himself, Leopard shifted the blame onto Mashan.
"Boss Liu, just wait a moment."
Leopard stepped out, found Mashan, and ordered, "Mashan, go quickly and call Ding Xiang out."
"What do you want with my sister?" Mashan asked, bewildered.
"What else? To go apologize to Boss Liu, of course."
"Brother Leopard, didn't this matter already pass?"
"Pass?" Leopard snorted. "Not that easily."
"Brother Leopard, Sister Na already said she'd take responsibility for this. What more do you want?"
"Don't pull Sister Na out to pressure me. Boss Liu is waiting right in the private room—Sister Na coming here won't help either," Leopard said coldly. "You brought this trouble on yourself, you fix it."
Hearing that Boss Liu had arrived, Mashan knew things were turning sour.
Without another word, he turned and hurried toward Zhang Yiping's private room.
Leopard offered a disdainful smile. "Some people never shed tears until they see their own coffin."
...
Both Zhang Yiping and Zhou Xu were thoroughly displeased.
Each harbored his own hidden agenda—one wanted to get close to Lin Manqing, while the other wanted to hook up with Ding Xiang.
Yet after Li Muchen's disruption, they had completely lost their mood.
On top of that, that guy stood there like a giant, high-wattage light bulb glaring away.
Meanwhile, Lin Manqing and Ding Xiang remained seated together, chatting continuously.
Zhang Yiping could only drink in sullen silence.
Zhou Xu channeled his energy into singing, wailing like a ghost.
Having vented his emotions through a song, Zhou Xu leaned close to Zhang Yiping's ear and whispered,
"Brother Zhang, the more I look at that punk, the more annoyed I get. Should I call some guys over to teach him a lesson?"
Zhang Yiping replied, "No rush. We can't let Manqing find out about this. Take it slow and break him down piece by piece."
"Don't worry, Brother Zhang." Zhou Xu clinked his glass against Zhang Yiping's.
They spoke in low voices, and with the music playing in the room, they assumed the others couldn't hear them.
Yet Li Muchen heard every word clearly; given his acute hearing, he could even hear a mosquito fly into the room.
He remained still, judging it not worth his time.
In his eyes, Zhang Yiping and Zhou Xu were nothing more than a couple of clowns.
He was willing to sit right here purely to keep Ding Xiang happy.
And by the way, to observe his fiancée.
After all, the engagement hadn't been canceled and remained in full effect.
Whether to call it off later was entirely up to him, and also depended on the attitude of the Lin Family.
Just then, the door of the private room was flung open with a loud bang.
Mashan rushed in looking frantic, muttered an apology to Zhang Yiping, grabbed Ding Xiang by the hand, and called out to Li Muchen, "Let's go, quickly!"
"Brother Mashan, what's wrong? What happened?" Ding Xiang asked anxiously as she saw Mashan's expression.
"Don't ask, just go!"
Mashan pulled her toward the doorway.
Before they could step out, however, Leopard appeared at the door, blocking their path.
"Want to leave?" Leopard sneered. "Not that easy."
Mashan pulled Ding Xiang behind him. "Brother Leopard, can you leave us a way out?"
"A way out? If I leave you a way out, who the hell is going to give me one?" Leopard stamped out the cigarette butt in his mouth fiercely onto the floor. "Hand this girl over to Boss Liu and we'll call it even. Otherwise, don't even think about walking out of Bridge Club."
Zhang Yiping watched the scene with avid interest, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
He knew it was time for him to step up; otherwise, the overly sympathetic Miss Lin would probably get angry.
"What's going on here?" Zhang Yiping stood up. "Brother Leopard, dragging someone out of my private room—isn't that a bit outside the rules?"
Of course Leopard recognized Zhang Yiping, and immediately put on a smiling face. "Ah, Master Zhang, I had no idea this was your private room. These damn people, why didn't anyone tell me? It's all a misunderstanding, a total misunderstanding!"
Having already prepared his excuse, he pointed at Ding Xiang and said, "Boss Liu asked for her, but she stood him up. Now that he's come looking for her, I have to give him some sort of explanation. I didn't know you had claimed her company—how about you all continue having fun for now?"
Hearing this, even Zhang Yiping was somewhat taken aback. "She's a hostess here?"
Yao Lili shrieked, "Oh my god, Ding Xiang, how could you stoop to becoming a hostess in a bar?"
Lin Manqing stared at Ding Xiang with a look of utter confusion.
Ding Xiang shook her head frantically, on the verge of tears. "No, I'm not a hostess..."