“If he couldn’t find you, he had no choice but to come looking for me!”
This matter truly had nothing to do with him, but given Si Jinnian’s vindictive and petty personality, how could he possibly be willing to swallow such humiliation without a fight?
“When I saw the trending search on Weibo this morning, I guessed right away that you were the one who did it. I also guessed that he would definitely come to me to fish for information about you.”
“To avoid trouble, I hung up a ‘Closed for Maintenance’ sign and wanted to lie low for a bit. Who could have expected that lunatic would actually send people to smash up my place?”
Lin Jiayi sighed, looking rather helpless.
Hearing that Lin Jiayi had suffered such heavy losses entirely because of him, a flash of guilt pierced Pei Shuchen’s heart.
A moment later, Pei Shuchen said with deep remorse, “I’m sorry, Jiayi. I told you I wouldn’t drag you into this, but I ended up involving you anyway.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll make him compensate you twofold for your losses. I won’t let you suffer for nothing.”
“Don’t misunderstand. I’m not calling you to ask for compensation. I’m just worried about your safety and wanted to warn you to be careful. Si Jinnian is scouring the entire city for you right now. Since you caused him to lose such a massive amount of face, he’s never going to let you go.”
“He smashed my bar simply to squeeze information about me out of me so he could settle scores. Fortunately, I had the foresight to stay away from the shop after seeing the hot search. I’m just really worried about you.”
Wiping the foam from his mouth, Pei Shuchen gave a bitter smile at his reflection in the mirror. “Don’t worry about me. I have ways of dealing with him. Where are you right now? I’ll come find you in a bit.”
“I’m not in Beijing anymore. Since the bar was smashed, I can’t operate for the time being anyway. I figured I’d take this opportunity to head back to my hometown and visit my parents. Don’t worry about me, and just watch your back. Si Jinnian is no good. He’s a notorious second-generation heir all over Beijing, so you really need to be careful when you go out lately. Make sure he doesn’t catch you.”
Hearing his friend’s genuine concern, Pei Shuchen felt an even deeper wave of shame and self-reproach.
“I know, don’t worry about me. Give my regards to your uncle and aunt when you get home.”
“Alright. Take care of yourself, and contact me anytime something comes up. Don’t worry about the bar; I’ve already called the police and hired a lawyer to handle it. Stay out of it so he doesn’t come looking for trouble with you.”
“Okay, I know.”
After hanging up, Pei Shuchen stood in front of the mirror in a daze for a long time before finally fishing out Si Jinnian’s phone number and dialing.
Even though Lin Jiayi told him not to get involved, this whole mess had started because of him in the first place. If he really did nothing at all, it would be too heartless.
In the private club suite, Si Jinnian sat on the sofa drinking in gloomy solitude. Flanking him on either side were young men specially brought by his friend Gu Ming to keep him company and cheer him up.
The two young men looked quite young, and each one of them was exceptionally obedient and cute, but Si Jinnian showed not the slightest bit of interest.
Ever since he laid eyes on that absolute stunner Pei Shuchen last night, ordinary people simply couldn’t catch Si Jinnian’s eye anymore.
Seeing the incoming call from an unknown number on his screen, Si Jinnian pressed the hang-up button without a second thought.
Si Jinnian was in an extremely irritable mood right now. He had sent people searching all over Beijing all day without finding any trace of Pei Shuchen, and the bar owner Lin Jiayi had also seemingly vanished into thin air without a single piece of news.
The more Si Jinnian thought about it, the angrier he got. He picked up his glass and drained it in a single gulp. Seeing that he was in a bad mood, the companion beside him leaned in close to try and curry favor, only to be shoved away with a hard push.
“Get lost, stay away from me. That cheap perfume on you is suffocating.”
The boy was shoved to the floor, his forehead bumping against the table and instantly swelling up into a large bump.
Seeing this, Gu Ming hurried forward to help the boy up, offered a few words of simple comfort, and then sat down beside Si Jinnian.
“What’s wrong, Nian-ge? Why are you so furious? It’s just a matter of not finding someone yet, no need to make such a big deal out of it.”
Throwing an arm over Si Jinnian’s shoulder, Gu Ming picked up a wine glass to comfort him.
“Come on, buddy will drink a few rounds with you.”
“How is it not a big deal? Do you know that every time I remember being stripped naked and hung from a tree, I just want to grind that bastard into dust and tear him to pieces?”
Before Si Jinnian’s voice had even faded, the phone on the table rang once more. Si Jinnian frowned and pressed the hang-up button again.
Having his call rejected twice in a row, Pei Shuchen frowned with mild displeasure. After a moment of thought, he sent Si Jinnian a message.
“Young Master Si, regarding what happened last night, I’d like to talk to you.”