Looking at the chaotic scene inside the private room, Cao Cheng, having made up his mind, gave a light cough and kicked Wang Long, who was still jumping around in anger.
Wang Long, who had been cursing Ye Yao, instantly changed his expression and lowered his head. After catching Cao Cheng’s gaze, he immediately understood. He turned around, waved at the bodyguards who had rushed in, and then said to the group of girls, “Don’t just stand there, all of you, get out.”
Seeing the bodyguards leave, the girls secretly let out sighs of relief. With their heads lowered, they hurried out of the private room.
Ye Yao endured the pain in her foot and stood up to leave as well. However, just as she reached the doorway, someone called out to her, “Wait… the one walking at the back, you, stop for a moment.”
She froze, still not reacting, when the manager outside called out, “Don’t look around, Ye Yao, I’m talking to you.”
“I… I…” Ye Yao’s face filled with fear.
She knew what kind of place this was, and what kind of people usually came here. There were almost no good people. But the pay here was too high. More importantly, her mother was ill, her younger sister was still in school, and even she herself attended classes during the day and worked part-time at night.
Faced with this situation, although she was afraid, she didn’t dare leave. In the end, she turned around, looked at Cao Cheng, and forced herself to speak, “Hello, sir, do you… need anything?”
Cao Cheng looked at her calmly and said, “I saw your foot was injured just now. Is it serious?”
Ye Yao was startled, then quickly shook her head, “It’s not serious, sir.”
“I saw it bleeding, are you sure?”
Ye Yao lowered her head. Under the dim lighting, she couldn’t see clearly, but the pain in her foot was unmistakable. Looking at the handsome man in front of her and recalling his words, her nose suddenly felt a little sour.
She had thought she would be met with insults and humiliation again, but instead, she received concern from a complete stranger.
Still, she forced herself not to show it and just kept shaking her head, “Re… really, it’s nothing, sir.”
Cao Cheng nodded thoughtfully, then said, “In that case… Xiaolong, give this young lady a 10,000 tip, and tell the manager to let her get off work now and go to the hospital.”
“Understood, Young Master.” Wang Long immediately got up to get the money.
At that moment, the manager poked his head in from the doorway, smiling obsequiously, “Understood, Young Master Cao, I’ll take her to the hospital right away.” Then he turned to Ye Yao and said, “What are you standing there for? Hurry up and thank Young Master Cao!”
“Ah… oh.” Ye Yao finally came back to her senses.
She originally wanted to refuse, but when she thought of her seriously ill mother and her sister who still needed tuition fees, she hesitated for only a moment before bowing deeply at a ninety-degree angle.
“Thank you, Young Master Cao.”
Cao Cheng waved his hand gently, his expression warm, “Alright, it’s nothing now.”
A warmth rose in Ye Yao’s heart as she slowly walked out of the private room.
Wang Long followed behind her and handed over the money, “Here, this is from our Young Master.”
Looking at the money in his hand, Ye Yao hesitated.
The manager quickly stepped forward and reminded her, “If he’s giving it to you, just take it. Don’t waste Manager Wang’s time.”
Seeing Ye Yao accept the money, and catching the subtle signal Wang Long gave him, the manager immediately understood.
“Manager Wang, I’ll have someone clean up inside right away.”
Wang Long nodded and returned to the private room, while the manager led Ye Yao away.
“Ye Yao, I’ll take you to the hospital now.”
In the corridor, Ye Yao was still staring at the money in her hand, lost in thought. Hearing the manager’s words, she raised her head.
“Manager, I’m really fine. I don’t need to go to the hospital.”
“Then… this money…”
“If it’s given to you, just keep it. And do your job properly from now on. Don’t make a mistake like today again.”
“Okay…”
“Let me tell you, it’s only because Young Master Cao is kind. If it had been someone else, forget about a tip, you wouldn’t even have been able to walk out of that room today.”
“And also…”
As Ye Yao followed behind him, clutching the money tightly and listening to his scolding, her thoughts drifted uncontrollably to Cao Cheng.
Although she knew people who came here weren’t good, she still felt a trace of gratitude toward him.
After all, she only worked here as a waitress and didn’t do things like drinking with guests or performing. Even then, she could only earn about 4,000 to 5,000 a month.
The 10,000 tip Cao Cheng gave her was enough to support her family for quite some time.
[Ding! Female lead Ye Yao’s favorability toward the host +20, current favorability: 39 (Friendly).]
[Ding! Host has completed the option, reward: full plotline of “The Mercenary Who Returned from Overseas”.]
Hearing this, Cao Cheng paused slightly.
As expected, for the current Ye Yao, no amount of words could compare to 10,000.
Chewing on the fruit in his mouth, he asked slowly, “That manager doesn’t have any problems, right?”
Wang Long immediately replied with a confident smile, “Don’t worry, Young Master, he’s one of us.”
“Good. Wait for my instructions.” As he spoke, Cao Cheng stood up.
Wang Long looked confused, “Young Master, are you leaving? Don’t…”
Cao Cheng glanced at him, “Did you forget Xiaohe is still alone in the car?”
Wang Long slapped his forehead, suddenly remembering the ticking time bomb in the car. If anything went wrong, he might not be able to get out of bed for months again.
He hurriedly got up to follow Cao Cheng, but just as he stood, Cao Cheng said, “You don’t need to follow me. Stay here and have fun.”
“N-no, Young Master, please let me follow you,” Wang Long panicked. At the same time, he felt a faint pain in his right leg, making him want to cry.
Seeing his almost tearful expression, Cao Cheng couldn’t help but feel amused. It was just a broken leg, was it really that serious? And he still wanted to act tough outside?
“Just stay here and relax. I’ll explain things to Xiaohe.”
“R-really, Young Master…?”
Cao Cheng waved his hand lightly and walked out without another word, leaving Wang Long alone in the private room, on the verge of tears.
As the door closed, Cao Cheng’s figure disappeared.
An inexplicable unease rose in Wang Long’s heart.
If it had been any other time, he would have already excitedly called in some girls and started having fun. But now, he felt weak all over, his legs trembling, his head spinning, and a nauseating urge to vomit.
Bang!
The bodyguards stared at Wang Long, who had collapsed onto the floor, their jaws nearly dropping.
Was this really the imposing Brother Long they knew?
“What are you looking at?! Hurry up and help me up!”
Suppressing his fear, Wang Long allowed them to help him up. He took a deep breath and tried hard to steady himself.
Soon, he forced himself back to normal and called in a few girls, pretending to enjoy himself as usual.
But after sitting down, holding two girls in his arms, he secretly clasped his hands together and prayed in his heart that Cao Cheng would be reliable this time…
…
Meanwhile, the manager had just driven the car out of the parking spot and was about to leave when he casually glanced at the entrance and saw Cao Cheng walking out with people.
His mind immediately started working. He discreetly observed Ye Yao beside him.
When he noticed that Ye Yao was also looking toward Cao Cheng, an idea formed in his mind.
“Stop looking, and don’t think about anything. You and Young Master Cao are impossible.”
“Manager, what are you saying? I wasn’t thinking anything,” Ye Yao replied, her face slightly flushed. She had only glanced over out of curiosity.
After all, Cao Cheng should have been inside enjoying himself, not coming out so soon.
The manager glanced at her and said calmly, “That’s for the best. Let me tell you, every day, there are thousands of women who want to climb into Young Master Cao’s bed, but not a single one has succeeded so far. Even the girls working here, which one doesn’t want to throw themselves at him? But none of them have succeeded.”
Ye Yao nodded slightly, agreeing with him. She had seen how those girls reacted when they heard Cao Cheng had arrived. They were almost like they had gone mad.
Still, she felt a bit confused, “Really? Then does he come here just to sing and not look for…”
Too embarrassed, she didn’t finish her sentence.
But the manager understood and, after a brief pause, made something up, “Are you joking? Young Master Cao is young, rich, and handsome. Does he need to come here to find women? Every time he comes, it’s like today, he stays for a while and leaves. He’s never even called for girls to accompany him, let alone anything else.”
Ye Yao let out a soft “oh” and didn’t ask further.
The manager glanced at her secretly and saw the change in her expression, knowing she had believed him.
He silently let out a breath of relief.
In reality, what he had said didn’t match Cao Cheng at all. The reason those girls liked Cao Cheng was simply because he spent money generously.
Meanwhile, Ye Yao worked here purely as a waitress and didn’t do anything else. This made her, in the eyes of the other girls, someone pretending to be pure while still working in such a place.
Since Ye Yao rarely interacted with them, and the manager noticed her exceptional looks, he had already warned the others not to speak nonsense in front of her.
As a result, Ye Yao had never heard any bad rumors about Cao Cheng and easily believed the manager’s words.
Looking at the constantly changing scenery outside the window, the innocent Ye Yao unconsciously raised her impression of Cao Cheng even higher.
He was different from the others who came here… he was a good person.
[Ding! Female lead Ye Yao’s favorability toward the host +2, current favorability: 41 (Close).]