Dazzling

Rounding the staircase, Qing Ye saw someone performing a pole dance on the central stage above the dance floor, wearing what amounted to virtually no fabric. Xing Wu also turned his head to look. As the dancer slid down the pole and spread her legs, Qing Ye immediately turned and glared at Xing Wu: "Enjoying the view?"

Xing Wu withdrew his gaze and said with a laugh, "Not as nice as you."

After saying this, he truly didn't glance in that direction again. The manager led them to a booth at the very back. As Qing Ye followed Xing Wu and Quan Ya into the booth, she saw Shu Han standing by the coffee table. Two long rows of glasses filled to the brim were arranged in front of her. She would throw back a glass in one go, decisively and fiercely. Over a dozen empty glasses were already scattered across the table, and who knew how much she had drunk before being brought here. Her eyes were glazed over. A vintage printed jacket draped over her shoulders, revealing a sexy tight camisole and miniskirt underneath. Her expression cold and unchanged, she picked up another glass, about to down it again, when suddenly her wrist was grabbed. Xing Wu directly snatched the glass from her hand and tossed it onto the table.

When Shu Han turned her head, her surprise was tinged with an indescribable emotion. Xing Wu pulled her toward Quan Ya and turned to face Boss Jiang.

Boss Jiang, holding a cigar, smiled warmly and said, "Wu Zi, what a rare guest. What brings you here to see your old brother today?"

Xing Wu gave a faint smile. "I need to discuss something with Brother Jiang."

Boss Jiang enthusiastically patted the man beside him and made room for Xing Wu. Xing Wu walked around the coffee table and sat next to Boss Jiang. The way the two interacted didn't seem unfamiliar.

Boss Jiang offered Xing Wu a cigar, but he waved it off. "Not used to it."

Boss Jiang chuckled and gestured to the manager standing at the booth entrance. The manager immediately understood and turned to make arrangements.

Quan Ya, supporting Shu Han, frowned and asked, "How much have you actually drunk?"

Shu Han didn't answer, clutching her chest with a tight expression. Qing Ye had seen Shu Han drink before. Given her alcohol tolerance, to reach this state was unimaginable—she must have been forced to drink countless glasses.

Quan Ya helped her sit on a nearby sofa and asked a server for water. Qing Ye stood by the booth entrance for a moment before finding an inconspicuous corner to sit down alone.

Soon, the manager returned with two sexy women in low-cut outfits. Qing Ye immediately sensed something off. Sure enough, with a glance from Boss Jiang, the two women walked straight toward Xing Wu and sat on either side of him. Boss Jiang laughed and said, "Since you've come specifically to see me, little brother, your old brother must treat you well today. It's been a while since we last met, hasn't it?"

Xing Wu looked up at Qing Ye, who was leaning in an inconspicuous corner, watching him with a faint, ambiguous smile. She was very quiet, her face betraying no emotion.

Just as one of the women moved to cling to Xing Wu, he raised his arm and said to Boss Jiang, "Brother Jiang knows this isn't my thing."

Boss Jiang laughed heartily and patted Xing Wu's leg. "There isn't a man who doesn't enjoy this. You just haven't tasted the sweetness yet. How about experiencing a taste of paradise here with your old brother today?"

Qing Ye lowered her gaze, resting one hand on the back of the sofa. Xing Wu half-jokingly replied, "Sure, since you've offered, I won't stand on ceremony."

Qing Ye's eyes lifted slightly, the expression on her face vanishing without a trace. Even Quan Ya looked at Xing Wu in surprise.But then Xing Wu continued: "However, I have this particular preference—I like intelligent ones, preferably those who never lose points in math and science, and they can't be more than three days older than me."

"..."

Qing Ye pressed her lips together, suppressing the smile at the corners of her mouth.

His words made all the girls nearby laugh. Boss Jiang guffawed and patted Xing Wu's shoulder: "Brother, that's not a preference, that's practically asking to become a monk."

Boss Jiang didn't take it seriously at all, completely treating Xing Wu's words as nonsense, unaware that Xing Wu had never been more serious in his life.

But with Xing Wu's casual banter, the tense atmosphere in the private room gradually eased. Qing Ye suddenly felt great admiration for Xing Wu—he could perfectly control the dynamics among peers and navigate effortlessly among these seasoned veterans. In that earlier situation, he had managed to break the deadlock with just a few words.

Qing Ye secretly breathed a sigh of relief, watching as Xing Wu directly picked up a glass of liquor and placed it before himself, saying with a smile: "I heard Sister Shu had some unpleasantness with Brother Jiang today? You should know, she's my sworn brother's biological sister."

Boss Jiang glanced over and shook his head: "Xiao Han has worked here for quite some time. I value her highly, and she's always understood the rules. Last time when she accompanied me to a business dinner, someone touched her leg and she directly kicked them in the crotch—isn't that sabotaging my event?"

Qing Ye's gaze shifted to Shu Han sitting across from her. Leaning against the sofa armrest with crossed legs and lowered head, the seductive fox tattoo was visible below her knee-high boots, her expression defiant and cold.

Actually, Qing Ye had never asked Xing Wu what Shu Han did for a living. Clearly she was older than Xing Wu and the others, probably in her twenties and long done with school. Several encounters had given Qing Ye the impression that she must have some connections, but she never expected her to be working here.

Sensing Qing Ye's gaze, Shu Han looked up and glanced at her. Even for a woman like Shu Han who had seen through many things in life, she still disliked being looked down upon—especially by a girl like Qing Ye who seemed utterly untainted. Under these circumstances, the contrast felt particularly ironic.

From the first moment Shu Han saw Qing Ye, she detected a kind of radiance she had never encountered before. Shu Han had seen plenty of girls, but none possessed Qing Ye's composed dignity. What made it more ironic was that her composure didn't come from worldly experience—it emanated from her very bones, pure and unadulterated.

Though Shu Han's expression remained neutral, Qing Ye seemed to detect a barely perceptible hint of embarrassment on her face. Qing Ye then casually shifted her gaze to the dance floor, no longer looking at her.

Xing Wu and Quan Ya exchanged glances. Quan Ya shook his head slightly, and Xing Wu immediately understood there must be more to the story. Having dealt extensively with these big bosses, Shu Han was usually smooth and diplomatic—she wouldn't have embarrassed Boss Jiang unless the other party had crossed a line.

Xing Wu lowered his eyes with a faint smile, picked up the glass before him and downed it in one gulp, then said leisurely: "I noticed Sister Shu has already had quite a bit to drink. What would it take for Boss Jiang to let this matter go?"Boss Jiang shooed away the girl sitting between them, slung an arm over Xing Wu's shoulder with a chummy demeanor, picked up another glass of liquor, and said, "She's been pestering me to resign lately—isn't that just an international joke? All the girls at Star of Joy take orders from her. If she quits and ends up taking them with her, who am I supposed to reason with?"

Xing Wu knew right away this was Boss Jiang's pretext. He chuckled and replied, "Who on this turf would dare mess with your people, Brother Jiang? Unless they're planning to take them out of town?"

Boss Jiang laughed heartily and gave Xing Wu's shoulder a heavy, deliberate slap, his smile not reaching his eyes. "Exactly—I'm worried someone might try to poach my team."

He downed his drink in one gulp, and the booth fell dead silent. Though both men wore smiles, the atmosphere had clearly turned tense. Qing Ye instantly felt a chill run down her spine.

Shu Han uncrossed her legs and started to rise, but Quan Ya pressed a hand on her shoulder to stop her. Boss Jiang kept his arm draped familiarly over Xing Wu, who lowered his gaze, making his expression unreadable to Qing Ye. She frowned inwardly: this damn Boss Jiang was forcing Xing Wu to take a stance. If Xing Wu claimed he wouldn’t touch his people, he’d be throwing Shu Han to the wolves. But if he admitted otherwise, given the current standoff, a fight might break out—and Qing Ye wondered if the police would even side with their "disadvantaged group" in a place like this.

One way or another, their group of four—one drunk, one with near-zero combat ability, leaving only Quan Ya and Xing Wu—wouldn’t make it out unscathed today. Should they just raise the white flag and surrender?

Just then, a staff member rushed in frantically and called out, "Boss Jiang, bad news! That Teacher Fang said her child has food poisoning and she has to go to the hospital—she can’t make it." The flustered young man completely missed the strained mood in the booth.

Boss Jiang’s face darkened as he set down his glass and stood up. "Is Chairman Jia here?"

"We’ve already seated Chairman Jia’s group in the private room upstairs."

Boss Jiang walked to the booth entrance and glanced upward. Qing Ye, seated in the corner by the door, followed his gaze and spotted a unique, open luxury booth atop a staircase, filled with middle-aged men who appeared to be VIPs.

Boss Jiang immediately cursed, "You’re all fucking useless! Can’t even find one piano player? Is it so hard to find someone to play Mozart for Chairman Jia? Go ask who can play and get them here now!"

The staff member grimaced. "I’ve asked everyone backstage. Only one of the girls can play 'Two Tigers.'"

"…"

Leaving aside "Two Tigers," what puzzled Qing Ye was the absurdity of someone coming to a place like this and demanding to hear Mozart—a request both ridiculous and unreasonable, reeking of pretentious tackiness.

She leaned forward to look and saw people moving a piano onto the stage where the dancers had performed. She had no idea who this Chairman Jia was, but he clearly mattered to Boss Jiang.

Qing Ye stood up and asked calmly, "Which Mozart piece?"

It was as if the others only noticed her presence then, staring at her in bewilderment. Dressed in an expensive ripple-pattern wool coat, her calm demeanor exuded an air of refined elegance that seemed utterly out of place here. Boss Jiang glanced back at the manager, likely questioning who she was.The staff guy said to Qing Ye, "It's Mozart. You don't know this famous Mozart song?"

"..." Qing Ye really wanted to tell him Mozart was a person, for fuck's sake.

Then she lowered her head and began unbuttoning her coat, instantly confusing everyone. Where did this girl come from? Who is she? Why is she taking off her clothes?

Ignoring the stares, Qing Ye unfastened the buttons, casually took off her coat, and walked straight to Xing Wu, tossing it to him. Xing Wu reached out to catch it, narrowed his eyes, and asked in a low voice, "You sure?"

Qing Ye raised an eyebrow at him with a confident smile. He suddenly remembered the photo he'd once seen on Qing Ye's computer—her home in Beijing had an expensive grand piano.

The corner of Xing Wu's mouth lifted as he watched Qing Ye stride elegantly in her high-heeled ankle boots to the young guy and say calmly, "Lead the way."

The guy looked surprised and glanced at Boss Jiang, who in turn swept a look at Xing Wu before nodding to the guy.