The waitress delivering the drinks turned out to be the female lead, Shen Xinhe. Shen Xinhe was actually working as a waitress here?
Wasn’t she working as a waitress at the revolving restaurant? Why was she here in the evening?
After arranging the fruit platter and drinks, Shen Xinhe pushed the cart out. Sheng Xia stared intently at Shen Xinhe’s retreating figure.
Su Qiao poked her: “What’s up? What’s so interesting?”
“That’s the Shen Xinhe I told you about! Shen Xinhe! Isn’t she beautiful? Beautiful and inspiring, right? She can juggle multiple jobs at once. I think I can do that too. Maybe I should start as a waitress?”
“Shen Xinhe? The one just now? She’s not bad-looking, but nothing extraordinary. Where’s the stunning beauty you described? I think she’s not even as pretty as you.”
“Huh? You’re my friend, so it’s fine to praise me in private, but don’t spread it around—people will laugh. Honestly, I think Shen Xinhe is really beautiful. Let me tell you, when Gu Cheng’an saw her today, he couldn’t take his eyes off her.”
“Hah, men are such pigs, always eyeing what’s in the pot while eating from the bowl. Forget about the scumbags and cheaters. First, take a look at the video and edit it before posting.”
The two of them sat on the sofa editing the video, and soon Sheng Xia posted her first singing video on her newly created account, “Wang Xiao’er Who Struck It Rich Overnight.”
Su Qiao was about to follow and like the video when Sheng Xia stopped her: “Don’t follow it. If people who know you see it, they’ll quickly figure out it’s me. Just leave it as is for now; we’ll deal with it later.”
Cheerfully, she started singing again while Su Qiao recorded the video. The sound system at Lan Club was exceptional, and Sheng Xia was indeed a talented singer. They quickly recorded three or four videos.
As they huddled together editing, the private room door opened, and a male waiter pushed a drinks cart inside.
Expensive liquor was placed on the coffee table. Sheng Xia thought Su Qiao had ordered it: “Qiaoqiao, did you order this wine? Such expensive liquor—don’t waste it. Should we return it?”
“I didn’t order it,” Su Qiao said, puzzled. “Did you deliver it to the wrong room?”
“No mistake. This is from Young Master Shen.”
“Young Master Shen? Who’s that?” Sheng Xia and Su Qiao exchanged confused glances, unable to think of anyone they knew who would spend a fortune treating them to drinks.
They weren’t about to accept drinks from a stranger. They asked the waiter to take the liquor back.
Just then, Shen Jingze appeared at the door, leaning against the frame with a smile. “Ladies, do me a favor. I just got back and wanted to treat some girls to drinks. If you return them, where will I put my face?”
Seeing that it was Shen Jingze who had sent the drinks, both Su Qiao and Sheng Xia were surprised. Shen Jingze’s gaze lingered on Sheng Xia.
She was still wearing the hoodie from earlier in the day, full of youthful energy. It did look a bit out of place in such a high-end venue, but Shen Jingze didn’t think Sheng Xia looked bad in it.
He offered: “It’s boring coming here alone. How about we share the room? I’ll cover all the expenses for tonight.”
Sheng Xia was about to refuse, but Su Qiao accepted first: “Then we’ll gladly accept! Thank you, Young Master Shen!”
Sheng Xia lowered her voice: “Qiaoqiao, isn’t this inappropriate? Doesn’t he have issues with Gu Cheng’an? If Gu Cheng’an finds out, he’ll definitely cause trouble for me.”Su Qiao also lowered her voice: “What’s wrong with that? More friends mean more opportunities. Gu Cheng’an is busy looking for his next move anyway, so why would he care what you’re doing? Let me tell you, the Shen family’s influence in Jingnan is no less than the Gu family’s. Making friends with someone like Shen Jingze won’t do any harm.”
After leaving the Li family, Gu Cheng’an went for dinner. During the meal, he checked his phone several times.
There was no movement from Sheng Xia’s side. He ate without tasting the food, returned to his car, and dialed Sheng Xia’s number once again.
Sheng Xia still didn’t answer. Gu Cheng’an was extremely displeased.
Her little tantrum should have been enough by now. He had already bought a gift to subtly apologize and even chased her to the Li family, only to be turned away. Gu Cheng’an had never been this humble before—his patience was completely worn out.
Pursing his lips, Gu Cheng’an started the car and dialed Ye Nuozhou’s number: “Want to grab a drink?”
Ye Nuozhou chuckled: “A drink? Sure! Just come straight to Lan Club. By the way, I saw your wife! She’s at Lan Club tonight too.”
Gu Cheng’an didn’t quite believe it. Wasn’t Sheng Xia supposed to be having dinner with her parents? How did she end up at Lan Club? Were they having dinner there? He had Jing Ci track her location, and it was also at Lan Club. If her family was having dinner there, why didn’t they let him join?
“Are you sure it was her?”
“How could I mistake your wife’s face? But your wife seems to have changed. She was wearing a plain hoodie, looking completely different from her usual flashy peacock style.”
Ye Nuozhou laughed heartily: “Is this another role she’s playing just to get your attention?”
“How would I know?” Gu Cheng’an replied gloomily.
“Your wife ran into He Jiajia at the club entrance and got a mouthful from her, saying she was so poor she could only wear cheap clothes. I thought she’d start a fight after being talked to like that, but she didn’t say a word. Su Qiao even tried to talk back, but she stopped her. Honestly, she’s changed so much. Before, whenever she got into conflicts, she’d always bring up how you’d back her up. This sudden change is really hard to get used to.”
Gu Cheng’an frowned, also unable to understand why a perfectly normal person would suddenly change.
It wasn’t just Sheng Xia—even Li Wenshan’s attitude seemed different.
In the past, if he showed up at the Li family’s doorstep, Li Wenshan would have rushed back to meet and talk to him no matter what. Why was he making excuses tonight?
The more Gu Cheng’an thought about it, the more his head hurt. He decided to stop overthinking. Sheng Xia, with her materialistic nature, would never give up a wealthy patron like him.
Not to mention how much she loved him, and with that marriage agreement in place, even if Sheng Xia tried to stir up trouble, she wouldn’t be able to escape his grasp.
Gu Cheng’an’s car soon arrived at Lan Club. He got out and entered the club. As he stepped out of the elevator, he unexpectedly saw Shen Xinhe.
Shen Xinhe was wearing a uniform, pushing a cart of drinks through the hallway.
She was beautiful, and the uniform made her look particularly striking.
When Gu Cheng’an’s eyes met Shen Xinhe’s, her face lit up with delight, smiling like a flower.
Gu Cheng’an showed no reaction and quickly averted his gaze, walking expressionlessly toward the private room where Ye Nuozhou was.
Before he reached the room, he heard Shen Xinhe scream: “Let go of me!”
Gu Cheng’an turned around and saw Shen Xinhe, who was pushing the drink cart, being blocked by a man.
The man leered and reached out to touch Shen Xinhe’s face. Shen Xinhe stepped back in fear.The man pressed forward step by step, quickly pinning Shen Xinhe against the wall.
Shen Xinhe had probably never encountered such a situation before and pleaded, “Sir, please let me pass, okay?”
“No, little beauty, why not keep me company? Don’t worry, I’m very generous—I’ll give you as much money as you want.”
“I’m just a waitress, please let me go!” Shen Xinhe’s voice trembled with fear.
Ignoring her pleas, the man shamelessly grabbed Shen Xinhe and began tearing at her clothes.
Shen Xinhe resisted desperately, but the physical disparity between them was too great. The buttons on her uniform were ripped open by the man.
Furious and humiliated, Shen Xinhe slapped the man across the face. The man, no gentleman himself, snarled, “You bitch, how dare you hit me? Let me teach you a lesson!”
With those words, he raised his hand and struck Shen Xinhe hard across the face.