Bar Counter
Due to her striking appearance, Tangxi Li had barely sat down when several men came over one after another to strike up a conversation.
The talkative Zhou Zhou intercepted them all on her behalf.
Her dear A’Li didn’t smoke, drink, or walk side by side with men.
She absolutely detested men.
The last guy who was rejected but still shamelessly persisted—the grass on his grave was now three feet high.
Zhou Zhou also realized that Tangxi Li had brought her to the bar to cheer her up after her breakup.
So, not wanting to let her friend’s kindness go to waste, she decided to head to the dance floor and let loose.
But before she could stand up, a heavy hand suddenly landed on her shoulder.
“Zhou’er!” A cheerful male voice sounded from behind. She looked up and followed the large hand on her shoulder to see who it was.
A handsome face with sharp features came into view.
“Fourth Brother?” she exclaimed in surprise, then broke into a bright smile. “What a coincidence!”
“It really is,” Chen Zui replied, withdrawing his hand and openly gazing at Tangxi Li.
The girl had snow-white skin and flower-like beauty, wearing a black backless halter dress. Enchanting red spider lilies bloomed seductively across her back.
Undoubtedly, her figure was graceful and alluring, but her aura was overly aloof, with a cold indifference in her eyes that seemed to disdain everything.
She stood out starkly against the decadent, desire-filled atmosphere of the bar.
That day, Chen Zui had been too far away to see her clearly. Now, up close, he found her breathtakingly beautiful.
“Who’s this, Zhou’er? Your friend?” Chen Zui asked with a smile.
Noticing his lingering gaze on Tangxi Li, Zhou Zhou subtly shifted to block her from view and introduced her seriously, “This is my best friend, Tangxi Li.”
Then, turning to Tangxi Li, she said, “This is my childhood friend Chen Zui. We grew up together in the same compound.”
“Miss Tang, hello.” Out of courtesy, Chen Zui extended a friendly hand.
“Miss Tang?” Before Tangxi Li could respond, Zhou Zhou corrected him, “Fourth Brother, it’s not Tang—it’s Tangxi. ‘Tang’ as in ‘hall of gold and jade,’ ‘xi’ as in ‘stream.’ It’s a compound surname, with ‘Li’ as her given name. You got it wrong!”
“Oh… Sorry…” Chen Zui chuckled and greeted her again, “Hello, Miss Tangxi.”
“Hello.” Tangxi Li responded politely without looking up at Chen Zui, nor did she return his handshake.
Clearly, she had no intention of doing so.
Chen Zui felt a bit awkward. He considered himself presentable and couldn’t claim to charm every girl he met, but he’d never been so outright dismissed like this.
It was a first for him.
Fortunately, he had a particularly good temper when it came to beautiful women. He brushed it off with a laugh and pointed toward a direction on the second floor, telling Zhou Zhou, “Your Chuan Ge is back. We’re throwing him a welcome party. Why don’t you and Miss Tangxi join us?”
“Yunchuan is back?”
Really?
Zhou Zhou was thrilled and was about to head over but hesitated, pulling her foot back. “Never mind, maybe next time.”
Her dear A’Li disliked socializing and would feel very uncomfortable.
Chen Zui, seeing her obvious eagerness yet refusal, was puzzled. “Why next time? Your Chuan Ge rarely comes back. He’s so busy—who knows when ‘next time’ will be?”
Hearing this, Zhou Zhou wavered, blinking her eyes and looking at Tangxi Li pitifully like a kitten. “A’Li?”
Her soft, drawn-out tone carried a coaxing plea that no one could refuse.
As for Yunchuan, Tangxi Li was aware of him.Zhou Zhou’s childhood friend, a high-ranking official’s son who had made outstanding contributions in the medical field, was an internationally renowned and excellent doctor.
During their university years, she often heard Zhou Zhou mention this name.
Her original intention in coming here was to make Zhou Zhou happy, so she agreed without much thought.
The two followed Chen Zui upstairs to a private room.
The room was dimly lit and filled with the pungent smell of smoke.
The marble coffee table was laden with expensive bottles of alcohol.
Five or six young men sat around the sofa, clinking glasses and chatting animatedly.
Three were playing billiards inside.
Two others held microphones, singing in front of the large screen opposite the coffee table.
When they saw Chen Zui bring two girls in, the chatter in the room abruptly ceased, and all eyes focused on Zhou Zhou and Tangxi Li.
“Zhou Zhou?” Yunchuan, seated in the middle of the sofa, was the first to recognize her and called out in slight surprise.
Zhou Zhou also spotted Yunchuan—a handsome man with an air of scholarly refinement, dressed in white casual wear and wearing gold-rimmed glasses, looking every bit the elegant gentleman.
“Yunchuan.” Zhou Zhou walked over happily. “Long time no see.”
Yunchuan stood up, staring intently at Zhou Zhou across the marble coffee table.
His eyes, hidden in the dim purple lighting, swirled with ambiguous, unreadable emotions.
“Long time indeed,” he said after several seconds of gazing, his voice slightly hoarse.
The men beside Yunchuan, meanwhile, eyed Tangxi Li with keen interest, asking in pure Beijing accents, “Zhou’er, who’s the beauty with you?”
“Aren’t you going to introduce her?”
“She’s my friend,” Zhou Zhou replied with a smile, introducing them one by one.
Everyone stood up to greet Tangxi Li.
The three playing billiards and the two singing also gathered around.
They were extremely gentlemanly, carrying the unique pride and confidence of their social class.
Even if it wasn’t obvious they had grown up in elite compounds, one could tell they came from prominent families.
For others, interacting with these high-ranking officials’ children might evoke some degree of inferiority.
But not for Tangxi Li—class differences meant nothing to her.
She held an equal disdain for everything in this world.
Still, disdain aside, she had to save face for Zhou Zhou. Since she was here, she needed to rein herself in.
She responded with a perfunctory, insincere smile.
Just as the greetings finally ended and she was about to sit down with Zhou Zhou, Chen Zui suddenly called out to her again, gesturing with one hand to introduce someone. “Miss Tangxi, this is my third brother, surnamed Yong…”
Tangxi Li paused, a flicker of annoyance in her eyes. Another one?
So annoying!
She gave a perfunctory “Hello” in the direction he indicated.
Without even lifting her eyelids.
Zhou Zhou, however, straightened up instantly as if a subordinate had suddenly encountered a senior executive, looking at the spot Chen Zui pointed to with reverence.
In the corner, a man sat quietly reclined in a single-seater sofa.
His long legs were crossed, and he held a cigarette with a faint glow between his fingers.
He was entirely concealed in the darkness beyond the reach of the lights, his face unclear, but his aura was undeniably powerful, like that of a high-ranking authority.
“Th… Third Brother.”
Zhou Zhou was so overwhelmed by his presence that she nearly stumbled over her words, quickly bowing and discreetly tugging at Tangxi Li’s dress, whispering urgently, “A Li, hurry and greet Third Brother.”
In her extreme nervousness, she forgot to introduce him properly and overlooked that her request was inappropriate.
To Tangxi Li, he was just a stranger.It was clear that the people in the private room looked up to this man as their leader, making it easy to guess that his status and position were higher than everyone else present.
Tangxi Li had no desire to cause trouble and greeted him once more, “Hello, Mr. Yong.”
She did not address him as “Third Brother.” Third Brother was their title for him, not hers, and she had no intention of using it.