Chapter 74: Women as a bet?

Going down the mountain, Wen Ling still drove, because Zhou Yinhe's excitement hadn't subsided, he basically couldn't drive; Wen Ling feared aggravating his excitement, so she drove very steadily.

She lazily turned the steering wheel, from time to time glancing sideways at Zhou Yinhe, whose expression was calm but whose arms still trembled.

"What about Baobao?" she asked him with a smile, "You haven't not driven, have you?"

Zhou Yinhe slowly shook his head, raised a hand to shield his eyes, his voice still hoarse: "Not the same."

"Where is it different?" Wen Ling didn't understand.

Zhou Yinhe pressed his lips, deeply exhaled, and forcibly suppressed the strange feeling throughout his body.

After returning to the club, they went together to their exclusive lounge to rest.

Wen Ling leaned on Zhou Yinhe, playing with her phone while listening to them discuss the project; feeling a bit bored and not wanting to disturb them, she leaned close to Zhou Yinhe's ear and whispered, "Help me ask them for a cigarette and a lighter."

Zhou Yinhe leaned over, picked up the cigarette and lighter Zhao Ningyan had tossed on the table, and handed them to her, ignoring their glances at the two of them.

After taking them, Wen Ling was about to get up when Zhou Yinhe grabbed her hand and asked puzzledly, "Where are you going?"

"I'm going outside; you all keep talking, I'll be back shortly."

Everyone in the lounge was wary of Zhou Yinhe's delicate nature; anyone wanting to smoke had to go outside, and Wen Ling didn't want him to inhale secondhand smoke even more than they did.

Zhou Yinhe squeezed her palm before letting go, his gaze following Wen Ling's retreating back until the lounge door closed.

Ke Chengyu raised an eyebrow and asked, "Does Wen Ling smoke?"

Zhou Yinhe, no longer needing to worry about a posture that would make Wen Ling uncomfortable, crossed his legs, hummed, frowned at him, and said, "Making a fuss over nothing."

Ke Chengyu had only asked casually; hearing that, he was amused by his annoyance, rolled his eyes, and couldn't be bothered to respond.

Wen Ling walked out of the club, leaned against the dark frosted glass wall on the side, lowered her eyes, and lit a cigarette for herself.

After just two puffs, she heard a man and woman arguing from the other side; she hadn't been curious about it, assuming it was just a lovers' quarrel she didn't want to meddle in, until she heard the woman crying out sharply.

Wen Ling furrowed her brows, the cigarette still held between her slender fingers not yet extinguished, she walked a few steps toward the corner to see the two figures tugging at each other.

The woman cried, "What gives you the right to use me as a stake in your bet with someone else?!"

"That's how we play here; I can't possibly not afford to play," the man said impatiently, "Just let you accompany him for a night—it's not like I'm asking you to do anything; afterwards I'll buy you a bag as compensation, won't that do?"

"Accompany him for a night?" the girl looked at the man in disbelief, tears slipping down one by one, clearly visible even in the dim light.

"Aren't we boyfriend and girlfriend? How can a girlfriend be pushed out to accompany another man?" she continued to press, shouting angrily, "Are you even a man?!"

With a slap, the man, flushed with anger, swung at the woman, grabbed her collar and gritted his teeth: "Who the hell said you're my girlfriend? You, a gold‑digger, actually think that playing with me a few times will let you climb up? I tell you, you'd better behave and go back with him honestly, or else I…"

"Or else what?"

Wen Ling really didn't want to meddle, but the man's words were getting more and more outrageous, so she couldn't help wanting to interrupt him.

The man glared at the woman who had interrupted him, finding her utterly unfamiliar, and thus assumed she was like the women beside him—followers of other young masters, usable as a betting tool.

But the woman before him was exquisitely beautiful; even just her petite face elicited a reaction from him.

It's no wonder he didn't recognize Wen Ling; he arrived late, so he hadn't seen her at the restaurant, and usually he had no contact with Zhou Yinhe's group, so when he came he could only drive a few laps on another track.

That track is frequented by some well‑heeled playboys from Sijiucheng who often use women as bets; those young masters are all aware of it, they just can't be bothered to intervene.

Now those few young masters are in their private lounge, so he grew bold, narrowed his eyes, and warned, "Beautiful lady, I advise you not to meddle."

Wen Ling gave him a once‑over, contempt flickering in her eyes; she lowered her gaze, took a puff of her cigarette, then extinguished it, and lightly laughed, "If I insist on intervening, what are you prepared to do?"

"Then I'll have no choice but to talk to your sponsor," he said, his face darkening as he glared at Wen Ling, threatening, "Let's see whether your sponsor is willing to protect you."

"I don't need his protection," Wen Ling said, curling her lips, stepping forward lightly; the woman, seeing her approach, hurriedly gave her a look.

She didn't want the woman before her to get hurt because of her.

Wen Ling returned her a reassuring glance, lowered her eyes to the man's hand gripping the woman's collar, and said evenly, "Hitting a woman—don't you feel ashamed?"

"Ha!" the man laughed as if hearing a joke, and tightened his grip on the woman's collar even more.

Wen Ling raised an eyebrow, the corners of her eyes curving, and asked softly, "You're sure you won't let go?"

The man opened his mouth, but before he could utter an insult, Wen Ling kicked him squarely in his most vulnerable spot; hearing his anguished cry, she narrowed her eyes in excitement.

Probably hearing the man's anguished cry, a few more men emerged from the side door; seeing the scene, they were furious, shouted a curse, and rushed forward.

"Who are you? Don't you know what place this is? Dare to act violently here?!"

They had seen Wen Ling in the restaurant, but because they were too far away they couldn't make out her face; they only knew that the woman in a short skirt and leather jacket didn't match the woman before them in a racing suit.

Like the man curled on the ground covering his groin and wailing, they assumed she was a woman favored by her sponsor, who had changed into a racing suit to go out on the track.

Wen Ling pulled that woman behind her, pressed on her neck to loosen her muscles and bones.

She lightly laughed, "Looks like we'll have some activity today—perfect, let's teach them how to be human, how to respect women."

That woman stopped her, crying and urging, "Don't offend them; they're people we can't afford to provoke. Those few young masters know their behavior, yet no one has reined them in; the person you're with can't protect you."

"Is that so?" Wen Ling said lightly, lifting her eyelids, her thick lashes fluttering, and added calmly, "In this world, there are hardly anyone I can't afford to offend."

She pushed away the hand gripping her arm, stepped forward slowly, then, before the others could react, lifted her leg, swept it sideways, and kicked the toe of her foot into the face of the man who had spoken first.

"Damn!" the others exclaimed, realizing she knew some moves, and all rushed forward together to gang up on her.

But as soon as they took a step forward, they saw several men appear behind Wen Ling that made them fearful.

"Lingling!"

Wen Ling looked back, her face slightly cold.

Zhou Yinhe hurriedly ran up, grabbed Wen Ling's shoulder, and asked anxiously, "How are you? Are you hurt?"

Wen Ling brushed off his hand, stepped back, and said, "So, you also know they use women as bets, right?"