“Let me introduce someone.”
Shen Yuan unexpectedly led a man over. He looked about the same age as the others, around thirty, and was reasonably good-looking, though his features were somewhat ordinary beside the many striking men gathered there. His spectacles gave him an educated, refined air.
Since Shen Yuan had brought him over personally, he was certainly no ordinary guest.
“This is Gu Ping, a relative on my grandmother’s side.”
Gu? Did that mean the Gu family?
There were plenty of people named Gu in the capital, but only one Gu family with real weight. They were involved in biopharmaceuticals, although in a very different way from Shenghui Pharmaceutical. The Gu family’s projects were large-scale and connected directly to the state, which meant the family had the government behind it.
Once Shen Yuan spoke, everyone finally understood why he had organized this gathering so suddenly. It was most likely because of his grandmother, and because of Gu Ping.
Gu Ping belonged to the Gu family, but his standing was not so lofty that he could act however he pleased in this company. Before anyone reacted, he greeted them in a warm, easygoing way. He had apparently studied the guests beforehand, since he could call each one by name. When he reached Chu Yifeng, he paused noticeably, then smiled and extended his hand.
“Young Master Chu, I’ve heard so much about you.”
The people around them slowly fell silent. Several of those who had been trying to learn Chu Yifeng’s identity finally understood. Some looked as if they had seen a ghost. The legendary eldest young master of the Chu family was actually here?
Someone immediately slipped out a phone to take a photograph. They would never dare spread it, but could keep it for themselves in case they met him again. Unfortunately, the room was dim, and Chu Yifeng was sitting in an even darker corner. The photograph showed little more than a dark silhouette.
Chu Yifeng did not shake Gu Ping’s hand. He merely replied, “Hello,” his manner quite aloof.
Gu Ping did not look embarrassed. He withdrew his hand naturally, his smile unchanged. Shen Yuan said nothing either and took him to meet other guests.
For some reason, Wang Cheng disliked this man. He had the feeling Gu Ping was putting on an act. He rubbed his overfull stomach. After several drinks, he suddenly needed the restroom. He had come directly from dinner and had not gone since.
Chu Yifeng recognized the gesture and leaned closer. “Shall we go together?”
Thinking he needed the restroom too, Wang Cheng agreed.
As they stood, everyone’s attention naturally turned toward them. Wang Cheng let Zheng Jingen know where they were going. There seemed to be a trace of resignation in his elder brother’s eyes, as though he were thinking that even a trip to the restroom had to be taken together.
Wang Cheng did not notice. Once the pair left, the room’s lively atmosphere resumed.
At the restroom, Wang Cheng reached for the door, only to discover it would not open. Someone seemed to have locked it from the inside.
“What is it?” Chu Yifeng came over.
“Someone’s locked the door.”
There was no cleaning sign outside, so it could not be a cleaner working within. The only explanation was that someone using the restroom had locked it. Just then a stream of angry curses came from inside, followed by a clatter as though something had been kicked over. A man was swearing and apparently preparing to hit somebody.
Chu Yifeng took one step back and drove his foot against the door, kicking it open. The enormous crash startled those inside. The man’s cursing stopped at once.
“Big Brother?” Wang Cheng glanced inside, and his eyes went wide as he recognized the man at the back. It was his own eldest brother, Wang Ning’an, wearing an expression of utter disgust. The man being cursed at was him. Wang Ning’an was just as surprised to see Wang Cheng.
“Chengcheng, what are you…” Wang Ning’an caught sight of Chu Yifeng and immediately understood how the coincidence had happened. Fortunately, they had come before the situation grew still more humiliating.
The man who had been shouting was middle-aged, bald and potbellied, with rolls of flesh across his face. His eyes were unpleasantly leering. At first he assumed they were ordinary customers entering the restroom. Discovering that they knew Wang Ning’an and could probably overpower him, he resorted to threats. “Who are you people? Do you know who I am? Interfere with my business and you’ll regret it. Get out if you know what’s good for you!”
Wang Cheng walked over and kicked him hard enough to send him flying.
The bald man screamed as his heavy body hit the ground. He curled up and could not get back to his feet. Wang Cheng had held nothing back, and the man almost vomited up his insides. But Wang Cheng still felt nowhere near satisfied. If he had not happened to arrive today, there was no telling what might have occurred.
“Make me regret it? Who do you think you are? You dared lay a hand on my big brother. I’ll make you pay with your life first!” Wang Cheng’s expression turned fierce as he stepped on the man’s hand.
The man howled in pain and began begging for mercy.
Seeing that Chu Yifeng had no intention of stopping his brother, Wang Ning’an caught Wang Cheng’s arm. “There’s no need to dirty your hands over someone like this. Let’s get out of here.”
A crowd had quickly gathered at the door, drawn by the commotion. Chu Yifeng’s tall frame blocked their view of what was happening inside. A waiter hurried to alert the manager of Feise. Many of its customers were people of status, and any incident involving them would be difficult for the establishment to handle.
By the time the manager arrived, only the bald man remained in the restroom. As he was carried out, he kept shouting that he would make the people responsible pay.
Wang Cheng did not care how Feise settled the matter. Even if the bald man chose not to pursue them, Wang Cheng would pursue him. If he didn’t make the man pay with his life for daring to hurt his family, his name wasn’t Wang Cheng.
Wang Cheng and Chu Yifeng took Wang Ning’an back to their room. The newcomer drew attention, partly because of the company he arrived with.
Gu Ping noticed how differently Zheng Jingen and the others treated Wang Ning’an. Quietly, he placed the man on his list of people not to offend, and perhaps to cultivate. He even found an opportunity to approach, but nobody would explain much to him. Zheng Jingen merely said Wang Ning’an was his friend.
Luo Sheng, Shen Yuan, and the others knew Wang Ning’an was Wang Cheng’s elder brother. Why he had been at Feise was a mystery, but something must have happened outside. Wang Cheng seemed much angrier than when he had left. Shen Yuan soon learned why.
The manager of Feise appeared unexpectedly, and Shen Yuan, as host, stepped outside to talk with him.
After being beaten, the bald man demanded to know who had attacked him. The manager, hoping to calm an important customer, agreed to investigate. The inquiry revealed that the people in question had come from Young Master Shen’s private room.
There was nothing more to investigate. The manager immediately warned the bald man that he had offended someone beyond his ability to deal with. If he valued his life, he should go home, call in his contacts, and see whether he could escape the consequences. The bald man refused to believe him, insisting that the manager was covering for the attackers.
Since the man appeared determined to court disaster, the manager stopped trying to dissuade him and simply brought him along. Wang Cheng did not even have to show his face. Shen Yuan alone was enough to frighten the man out of his wits.
Inside, Wang Cheng was already asking Wang Ning’an what had happened.
It turned out Wang Ning’an had come to Feise for a business meeting with that bald man. The meeting had been pushed onto him at the last minute by Yu Hongzhi, under some pretext.
The bald man was infamous for his predatory interest in attractive people, especially men. He frequently used business meetings as an excuse to make advances. Yu Hongzhi knew all about this, yet deliberately assigned Wang Ning’an the meeting and arranged in advance for it to take place at a bar. His intentions could hardly have been clearer.
Wang Ning’an understood as soon as he saw the man, though he had not expected him to be so brazen. The man began touching him even with other people present in the private room. Wang Ning’an excused himself to go to the restroom, but the man followed, apparently treating him as someone Yu Hongzhi had provided for his entertainment. Wang Ning’an suspected Yu Hongzhi had explicitly encouraged that belief.
“Big Brother, you can’t keep putting up with Yu Hongzhi targeting you like this. Today he practically pushed you into a trap. Next time he’ll go even further. We have to teach him a lesson.” Wang Cheng had met Yu Hongzhi at his birthday banquet.
“I know. But he’s my superior’s son.” Wang Ning’an did not regard Yu Hongzhi as a serious opponent. The man was merely a persistent nuisance. Like his sister, Yu Hongzhi was always trying to force his way into Wang Ning’an’s attention, though for a very different reason: one admired him, the other hated him.
Wang Cheng immediately thumped his chest. “Then leave it to me. Easy.”
Wang Ning’an laughed and affectionately rubbed his head. “It’s only been a few days. How did your confidence grow so much?”
“If it didn’t, they’d start bullying you with impunity,” Wang Cheng said pointedly. “And it would be a shame not to use the excellent resources at my disposal. Don’t worry. I’ll see to it that Yu Hongzhi never dares try anything like this again.”
“Very well. Then I’ll look forward to seeing what you do.” Wang Ning’an did not refuse. It would indeed be awkward for him to deal directly with Yu Hongzhi. If anything happened to the man, Chairman Yu would naturally suspect Wang Ning’an. An intervention by Wang Cheng, however, would be understood as a younger brother avenging his elder brother, and Chairman Yu would have to take his status into consideration. Wang Ning’an was, after all, the victim.
“By the way, Big Brother, there’s something else I need to tell you. This isn’t the place for it, though. When are you free?”
“Is it important?”
“Very important,” Wang Cheng replied firmly. “Extremely important.”
Wang Ning’an considered it. “Then tomorrow. Come to my apartment. I’m not going to work.” He almost never took time off without a reason, and Chairman Yu was bound to ask questions when he found out. That could prove useful.
The gathering appeared to be Shen Yuan’s reluctant attempt to arrange introductions for Gu Ping at an elder’s request. Shen Yuan was resistant to the whole thing. He had introduced Gu Ping to the guests, and that was as far as he intended to go. He would not broker the connections for him. Whether Gu Ping could build relationships with them was his own business.
Wang Cheng had a vague idea what Shen Yuan was thinking, so after sitting for a while he suggested they leave. The evening’s events had not been particularly pleasant, and he was already tired of the gathering.
Shen Yuan did not try to keep them. The fact that his friends had agreed to come at all was enough of a favor.
Zheng Jingen, Luo Sheng, and several others left soon afterward. Another guest arrived very late: Jiang Xuan. It was not that Jiang Xuan wanted to slight Shen Yuan. When invited, he had already explained that he had family business to attend to and might arrive later.
The people Gu Ping most wanted to cultivate were Chu Yifeng, Zheng Jingen, and their circle. Seeing them leave, he was disappointed. But he noticed that Shen Yuan treated Jiang Xuan well and decided Jiang Xuan must be important. He approached and tried to learn who Jiang Xuan was. Gu Ping thought he was being subtle, but Jiang Xuan saw through him at once.
Jiang Xuan had no interest in this kind of person. Rather than play guessing games, he told him everything he asked. Gu Ping quickly lost interest and moved on to another group.
Shen Yuan came over and handed Jiang Xuan a glass of wine.
Jiang Xuan shook his head. He still had to drive and could not drink.
Shen Yuan did not insist.
Glancing at Gu Ping, who was busy making acquaintances, Jiang Xuan remarked unusually, “Young Master Shen, you’ve gone to a lot of trouble.”
Shen Yuan understood the pointed remark. He gave Gu Ping a meaningful look and raised his glass. Just before drinking, his lips moved in a mutter.
“What a piece of work…”
Jiang Xuan had not been sitting long when Yuan Xia called him. He answered and returned. Before he could say anything, Shen Yuan waved at him impatiently.
“All right, all right. I know you’re leaving too. Go on, then. Out of sight, out of mind.”
Jiang Xuan had not actually planned to leave, and Yuan Xia had not called to summon him home. But he really did not wish to spend much longer in a place like this, so he accepted the suggestion and left.
Feeling lonely and restless, Shen Yuan decided to go out looking for a fling.