17: 17.
Starlight KTV, Pay Back or Go to Jail!!
17: 17.
Starlight KTV, Pay Back or Go to Jail!!
In Jianghai City, outside the glittering Starlight KTV, Gu Yan looked up at the luxurious venue.
A piece of the novel’s original plot naturally came to his mind.
It was a storyline created by the author to introduce Shen Tian, the younger brother of Shen Wan’er.
In the book, Leng Ling’er and her classmates planned to go to Starlight KTV for karaoke after school.
However, when they arrived, they found that the friend who had invited them was being aggressively force-drink alcohol by Shen Tian.
Leng Ling’er and her group were outraged, a fight broke out with Shen Tian, and the conflict only ended when the police arrived.
Shen Wan’er knew her brother had a dubious character but didn’t want him to get into trouble.
She went to Gu Yan, asking him to find the girls and telling him that a simple apology from her brother would fix everything.
However, before Gu Yan could find them, Shen Tian was found dreadfully dead at home just a few days later, his face horrifyingly disfigured.
Gu Yan sighed quietly as his memories ended.
He hadn’t understood it before, but after reviewing the later chapters, he finally figured out how Leng Ling’er’s tragic end began.
Shen Tian’s death drove Shen Wan’er to the brink of insanity.
It was during this time that the novel’s male lead, Xiao Lin, made his appearance and stayed by her side.
Learning about her pain, a furious Xiao Lin swore to find the killer and avenge her.
There was a high chance that Leng Qingqiu was behind Shen Tian’s death, though Gu Yan wasn’t sure how she did it.
However, the blame for the later death of Leng Ling’er fell entirely on Shen Wan’er, who directed her resentment over her brother’s death toward Ling’er.
To avenge his partner, Xiao Lin chose to kill Leng Ling’er.
The author had clearly dedicated a whole section to the conflict between Leng Ling’er and Shen Tian just to push Leng Qingqiu into complete breakdown and incarnate her into the true antagonist.
But since I’m here now, I won’t let this happen, Gu Yan thought.
I’ve already figured out a way to keep this situation from getting out of hand.
He turned to the older man beside him.
“Let’s go, Old Gao.” “Yes, Young Master.” Old Gao turned and signaled to the men waiting behind him.
“Move out.
Follow the Young Master inside.” A moment later, a commotion arose as dozens of men in black suits stepped out of their cars, following Gu Yan into Starlight KTV.
— Inside one of the private rooms, a group of people sat drinking.
“You really live up to your reputation, Brother Tian.
Even the girlfriend of Starlight’s boss has to sit with you for karaoke.” “Haha, we’re definitely enjoying ourselves thanks to you, Brother Tian.” Several young men and women looked at the youth sitting in the seat of honor, offering flattering compliments.
The owner of the KTV stood to the side, smiling nervously at the arrogant youth on the sofa.
The young man, Shen Tian, looked frail and pale, as if drained by a wild lifestyle.
In his arms, he held a girl who looked like a student, her brows furrowed in resistance.
The girl showed visible distaste at his tight grip, especially from the pungent smell of alcohol on him, which made her feel sick.
She turned to the KTV owner in a plea.
“Brother Tao…” Seeing the pleading look from his new girlfriend, Jiang Tao felt helpless.
Because of the guest’s identity, he didn’t dare offend him.
Left with no choice, he could only smile awkwardly.
“Little Wei, please cooperate just for a moment.
Let Brother Tian hold you, it will be over soon.” Hearing this, Little Wei’s expression soured.
She clenched her teeth, trying to pull away from the man holding her.
“Let me go!
I want to go home!” She had not expected her new boyfriend to simply hand her over to a customer.
Who cared if his family was important?
She couldn’t tolerate this anymore.
“Hmm?” Shen Tian saw the girl pulling away and immediately looked unhappily at the KTV owner.
“Boss, is this how your girlfriend treats guests?” The moment Shen Tian spoke, his friends also tightened their grips on the women beside them and yelled, “Jiang Tao, what’s wrong with this little girlfriend of yours?
Apologize to Brother Tian right now!” “Yeah, do you even know who Brother Tian is?
If you offend him, your KTV won’t survive in Jianghai City!” “Exactly, Jiang Tao.
Coming here today was giving you a chance, don’t ruin this opportunity!” Jiang Tao quickly apologized, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
“I’m sorry!
I’m truly sorry!
She’s new here and doesn’t know how things work.” He then walked up to Little Wei, ignoring her protests, and pushed her back into her seat.
“Little Wei!
Don’t be so foolish!
If you take good care of this master, you’ll have whatever you want!
Do you know who Brother Tian is?
He is the younger brother of the woman the young master of the Gu Family is chasing!” Jiang Tao looked at her desperately.
Did this woman not understand the value of a connection to the Gu Family?
All it took was for Shen Tian to say a few good words to the young master of the Gu Family later.
If that happened, their KTV could easily become the most successful venue in Jianghai City over time.
Hearing this, Little Wei froze, and her face turned pale.
In Jianghai City, nobody dared to provoke the Gu Family.
She stopped struggling.
Seeing this, the others joined in the cheering.
“Brother Tian is powerful!” “Even if the young master of the Gu Family comes, he has to show our Brother Tian respect!” “Yeah, I heard that the young master of the Gu family is nothing more than a simp chasing after Brother Tian’s sister!” Shen Tian felt incredibly satisfied and waved his hands.
“Hey, don’t say that.
We need to leave the young master of the Gu Family some dignity.” He stood up with his glass, and the others quickly raised their glasses to join him.
Shen Tian waved his hand grandly.
“I’m in a good mood today!
I’ll cover all your expenses!” “Brother Tian is awesome!” the flatterers shouted in unison.
However, in the next second, a loud crash echoed through the room.
The door of the private lounge was kicked open with immense force, slamming hard against the wall.
Old Gao walked into the room first.
The sudden intrusion left everyone stunned.
Before Shen Tian could say anything, his friends jumped up unhappily.
“Hey, old man!
Who are you?” they yelled, smashing their glasses.
“Do you know who we are?
How dare you kick our door down!
Are you tired of living?” Old Gao frowned slightly and said quietly, “Quiet down.” In the next moment, a large group of men in black suits flooded into the room, instantly crowding the space.
The people who had been shouting turned pale, realizing they had run into people they shouldn’t mess with.
They began to tremble.
“Wait, sir, who are you?
Is there a misunderstanding?” Shen Tian was even more terrified.
Shrinking back onto the couch, he pleaded in a shaking voice, “Wait, I’m Gu Yan’s future brother-in-law.
You can’t do this to me.” Old Gao heard him and let out a contemptuous laugh.
“Well, you can tell that to our young master yourself in a moment.” — The moment the words left Old Gao’s mouth, the men in black moved forward.
Before Shen Tian and his friends could react, they were all forcefully pinned to the ground.
Another bodyguard stepped over to shut down the sound system, and the entire private room plunged into a quiet panic.
Shen Tian and his group were forced into a kneeling position by the bodyguards surrounding them in a circle.
Shen Tian looked terrified.
He had never expected that using Gu Yan’s name would fail to work.
What was going on?
In the past, whenever they encountered trouble, they could resolve it instantly just by mentioning Gu Yan.
“Young Master, everything has been dealt with,” Old Gao said respectfully toward the open door.
“Mmh,” a voice responded, followed by a steady rhythm of footsteps.
Recognizing the sound, Shen Tian snapped his head up.
A very familiar figure slowly walked into the room.
“Gu…
Gu Yan?!” Shen Tian exclaimed in shock.
“Are these all your people?!” His face turned completely pale as a sickening realization washed over him.
He felt like he had been played.
Gu Yan entered with a calm expression, glanced at the group kneeling on the floor, and fixed his gaze entirely on Shen Tian.
He walked straight over.
Then, under everyone’s incredulous eyes, Gu Yan delivered a sharp kick with the inside of his boot straight to Shen Tian’s face.
Bang!
“Ugh!” Gasps and exclamations of shock rippled through the room.
“Gu Yan!
What is the meaning of this?!” Shen Tian cried out in pain, clutching his face as he looked up in absolute disbelief.
Why was he daring to hit him?
Wasn’t he afraid that Shen Wan’er would find out?
Gu Yan’s cold, indifferent gaze sent a chill down Shen Tian’s spine.
His voice was calm and entirely empty of emotion.
“What do I mean?
The point is, Shen Tian, your good days have come to an end.” He gestured with his hand, and a subordinate immediately handed him a document folder.
Swish.
Gu Yan dropped the papers right in front of Shen Tian.
“This document records every single sum of money I’ve transferred to you over the years, totaling 23.48 million yuan.
If you can’t pay it back, you’re going to be charged with major fraud and face life in prison.
On top of that, you’ve been misusing my name outside to commit crimes.
The offenses you’ve racked up during this time are more than enough to land you a life sentence.” Struck dumb by the legal terms, Shen Tian cried out in a panic, “What are you talking about?!
Gu Yan, didn’t you just give me that money?!” “Give?” Gu Yan pondered the word for a moment, then replied nonchalantly, “Every single time you asked me for funds, you explicitly used the word ‘borrow.’ The chat history is fully archived.” This left Shen Tian completely dumbfounded.
Man, you’re a billionaire.
I only borrowed money from you out of courtesy.
How come you’re actually demanding it back?!
Moreover, as a rich young master, is it really necessary for you to bring up the law with someone like me?
You’re even planning to involve the police?!
Can’t you be a little generous?
Who has ever seen a wealthy heir resort to the law and the police?
“I…
I have no money,” Shen Tian stammered.
“Oh.
Then enjoy jail,” Gu Yan nodded calmly, turning on his heel to leave.
“Wait!
Hold on!
Brother-in-law!
My dear brother-in-law!” Shen Tian hastily shouted, his mind racing.
In his view, Gu Yan was nothing but a devoted simp of his sister, and he was likely just annoyed because she had been ignoring him recently.
No, no, no.
If Gu Yan stops chasing my sister, then I really have to go to prison!
“My sister has money!
I’ll make my sister pay you back!” Hearing this, Gu Yan secretly shook his head in amusement.
On the surface, he turned around with an indifferent expression.
“Make sure Shen Wan’er sends the full amount to my account within three days, or else you better get ready to spend the rest of your life behind bars.” Hearing these words, Shen Tian believed he finally understood Gu Yan’s underlying intent.
At the same time, a sense of relief washed over him.
These people from affluent families were truly not to be trifled with.
He had been under the impression that Gu Yan was a helpless admirer, but it seemed his patience had simply worn thin after being rejected so many times.
No, I must persuade my sister to hurry up and accept Gu Yan.
I can’t afford to lose this luxury lifestyle!
He nodded frantically.
“Fine!
I will make sure my sister contacts you immediately!” Gu Yan casually waved his hand, and the bodyguards released their hold on Shen Tian and his associates.
Though they were freed, the arrogant expressions on their faces were completely gone, replaced by pure fear.
The imposing aura radiating from Gu Yan’s side was genuinely terrifying.
At this moment, Gu Yan’s gaze drifted over to the owner of Starlight KTV.
The moment Jiang Tao saw him looking, he instantly dropped his head in terror.
“Young Master, that’s the owner of Starlight, Jiang Tao,” Old Gao reminded him from the side.
“Mmh,” Gu Yan nodded.
His face grew completely cold as he added, “I don’t like that name.
From today onward, I don’t want to hear the names Jiang Tao or Starlight anywhere in Jianghai City again.” “Yes, Young Master.” Old Gao stepped to the side and immediately dialed a number on his phone.
Jiang Tao’s face turned as white as a ghost, and he thumped heavily onto his knees.
He knew it was over—everything he owned was gone.
Little Wei huddled in the corner, shivering with fear.
Everyone in the room had been subdued, leaving her as the only one left standing.
She looked at Gu Yan with a curious yet frightened gaze.
Is this the legendary young master of the Gu Family?
He’s terrifying…
but incredibly impressive…
Coincidentally, Gu Yan turned his eyes toward her at that exact moment.
As their eyes met, she trembled and hurriedly lowered her head.
She must be Leng Ling’er’s classmate who was supposed to be force-fed alcohol in the original story, Gu Yan thought to himself.
Without uttering another word, he turned around and walked toward the exit.
“Old Gao, you handle the clean-up.” “Yes, Young Master,” Old Gao nodded.
He quickly caught up to ask, “Where do you intend to head next, Young Master?” Gu Yan didn’t stop, leaving Old Gao with nothing but a casual wave from his departing silhouette.
His voice echoed down the corridor, “I’m heading back to cook lunch for Qingqiu.” Old Gao stood in place, completely speechless.