Chapter 15

Zhou Yinhe held the flowers and returned to his office, placing the flowers on his desk. He reached out to touch the tear still clinging to a petal, lowered his gaze to the water mark on his fingertip, and stared for a long time.

His secretary hadn't left yet; at that moment he was still outside the office. Zhou Yinhe asked him for a vase, carefully placing the flowers inside and setting it where he could see it just by looking up.

He leaned against the desk, blankly staring at the vase before him, his mind filled with Wen Ling's figure from just moments ago.

He irritably raked his fingers through his hair, then Zhou Yinhe turned decisively and left, his hair a messy tangle.

Wen Ling finished her meal and returned home; Aunt Zhou and Qiao Hongyun had already gone out together to the park. She took a shower and went back to her room, feeling that every day in Sijiucheng was utterly boring.

She couldn't sleep, changed clothes, took two bodyguards, and had the driver take her to Nyx Bar—not hoping to run into Zhou Yinhe, just wanting to relax.

She bounced to the music on the dance floor for a long time; when tired, she went to her reserved booth, flung herself onto the sofa, and narrowed her eyes at the flashing lights.

The female manager of Nyx had already known, as soon as she entered the bar, that she was no ordinary person—who ordinary person goes to a bar with bodyguards? Although she hadn't booked the highest-spending private room, Nyx is the top money-sink establishment in Sijiucheng; being able to reserve a booth already marks one as not ordinary. Who knows if this lady just likes the hustle and bustle?

Seeing Wen Ling return to the booth, the manager approached; the bodyguards, who had been standing aside, saw her coming and stretched out an arm to block her. The manager looked at Wen Ling in surprise, and Wen Ling waved them off. The manager then stepped forward, smiling, and said: "Miss, are you having fun tonight? Would you like to order more drinks?"

Wen Ling slowly sat up, waved at her, and gestured for her to sit beside her.

"If you drink with me, I'll order the bar's most expensive drink," Wen Ling said, smiling with her eyes curved.

The manager froze for a moment, then nodded.

She didn't know why she agreed; perhaps she felt sorry for such a pretty girl coming here alone with two bodyguards, looking so lonely.

Wen Ling bent over to pour her a drink, picked up the cup and shoved it into the manager's hand, then clinked glasses with her and downed it in one gulp, smiling.

She drank cup after cup rather quickly; although she was smiling with her round eyes, they were constantly moist, making it seem she was somewhat upset.

For the first time, the manager thought, it's fine not to earn this commission.

Wen Ling didn't even know how much she'd drunk; she swayed her dizzy head and told the bodyguards, "I'm going to the restroom—don't follow me."

The bodyguards halted their steps, gazing at the manager; one stepped forward and said to the manager, "Please go check on our miss."

The manager nodded and followed Wen Ling's steps, supporting the already unsteady Wen Ling; Wen Ling gave her a sweet smile, and the manager felt her heart soften uncontrollably.

At that moment, a man appeared, a cigarette dangling from his lips, sauntering over in a carefree manner.

"Yo, isn't this our Manager Song? Who are you supporting? A new chick?" the man said in a frivolous tone. The manager suppressed her displeasure, smiled, and explained, "She's a guest, not staff."

The man didn't care; he kept staring at Wen Ling with lecherous, sticky eyes. The manager, noticing, stepped in front of Wen Ling, smiled, and said, "Hope you enjoy yourself today; we'll be leaving now."

After saying that, she tried to escort Wen Ling away, but the man reached out and blocked both of them, saying, "If you want me to have fun, fine—leave her with me so I can play with her; then I'll naturally be happy. As for what drinks are expensive in the bar, how about that?"

The manager's face turned completely cold, and she threatened, "Young Master Wu, this is Young Master Jiang's territory. If you want someone to accompany me, I'll arrange people to find you in your private room—but as for customers, you can forget it."

"Hah, could Young Master Jiang really fall out with our Wu Family over a woman?" Young Master Wu stepped forward to grab Wen Ling's arm; Wen Ling tried to dodge, but her drunkenness slowed her reaction.

The manager snapped, "Young Master Wu! If you don't let go, I'll call for help—then don't blame me for not giving you face."

"Go ahead and shout—Young Master Jiang has never fallen out with me, yet you, a tiny manager, act like you wield great power." Young Master Wu gave a disdainful cold snort, seized Wen Ling and headed toward the private room. Wen Ling struggled to shake off his hand, but being a man and with Wen Ling drunk, she couldn't break free.

"Let go of me!" Wen Ling shouted angrily.

"Beautiful lady, just come with me obediently; afterward I can buy you a house, car, or handbag." Young Master Wu said, moving to hug Wen Ling, but the next second he was kicked to the ground.

Wen Ling almost got caught up in the fallout, but the manager reacted quickly, pulling her into her embrace. Looking up, she saw the two bodyguards rushing over, having sensed the situation was wrong.

Young Master Wu clutched his painful abdomen and shouted angrily, "You dare hit me? Do you know who I am? One word from me and you won't be able to get by!"

The two bodyguards, who had been with Wen Ling for years, were already furious at seeing her almost bullied; hearing Young Master Wu's words, they both laid into him hard, kicking him repeatedly, causing him to wail in pain.

Wen Ling narrowed her eyes at the scene, then suddenly clapped and cried out crisply, "Well done! Kick his leg! Kick his belly!"

But the manager frowned tightly, wanting to step forward to stop them, after all the Wu Family still holds some sway in Sijiucheng; provoking them would surely bring retaliation upon this little girl beside her.

"Stop, stop, stop—don't hit anymore," the manager urged urgently.

The bodyguards couldn't hear her; their ears were filled only with Wen Ling's cheers of encouragement, so they struck even harder.

Young Master Wu's wails drew onlookers from other private rooms; each poked their head out to watch the spectacle. Seeing that it was Young Master Wu being beaten, they felt a bit of schadenfreude, yet inwardly regretted that whoever dared to strike would surely be expelled from Sijiucheng.

Then, another male manager of Nyx rushed over, seeing the scene, and quickly had the security guards behind him pull the bodyguards away.

Seeing the crowd, the bodyguards didn't insist on fighting; they yielded, stepping back to stand before Wen Ling to shield her, stretched a bit, and then fixed the male manager with sharp gazes in unison.

The male manager snapped, "You two have some nerve—daring to cause trouble on Young Master Jiang's turf? Do you know who you hit? This is the young master of the Wu Group!"

A cold snort came from the bodyguards' nostrils; no matter who he is, if he harbors designs on our miss, we strike first and talk later. Before Wen Ling came to Hua Guo, Wen Laoxiansheng had specially summoned this team of bodyguards, telling them that anyone who harmed the miss should be beaten to death on the spot, and afterward Wen Laoxiansheng would handle the aftermath.

Young Master Wu, now regaining his senses, lay on the ground gritting his teeth and snarled, "I will make you pay! I tell you, it's not just you two—I'll also make the girl you're protecting pay the price!"

Hearing that, the bodyguards kicked him straight in the mouth; Young Master Wu howled in pain once again.