Chapter 1692: Beiping Old Dreams: Beauty Performer Overpowers the Big Shot 07

Jin Chen entered the theater, covered his ears to avoid hearing the double‑faced faction class leader's apology, did a few basic warm‑up stretches, then casually found a corner, lay on the long bench, and went back to sleep for a nap.

Yesterday he didn't lie to Pei Yinnian either—the original owner truly had childhood opera training, and if it weren't for the later family‑destroying catastrophe he wouldn't have switched trades mid‑life.

That saved him a lot of trouble.

But the pretense of looking for relatives is false—he came to Beiping specifically to find his wife; what relatives could he have?

Jin Chen turned over on the long bench, wondering what Pei Yinnian could dig up.

The training courtyard was crowded; among the troupe there were always those who disliked Jin Chen, and some uncouth martial students from the streets, having risen from lowly origins, drooled over his looks—little did they expect that this person would first climb onto a branch and become Mr. Pei's man.

A few martial students, having just finished training, shirtless with a sweat towel draped over their shoulders, wiped their foreheads as they walked toward the steps, intending to sit down and catch their breath.

As soon as they sat down, they happened to see Jin Chen dozing in the corner.

They bumped shoulders, exchanged glances, jerked their chins toward him, and blurted out vulgarities, only daring to speak while Jin Chen slept and couldn't hear.

"Look at him, already nodding off this morning."

"Who knows how exhausted he was last night, probably sucking up to Mr. Pei—if I'd known he was such a lecher." The speaker spat, eyes full of resentment.

"Exactly, we brothers should have… damn! Who!"

A training longsword suddenly flew over; they jumped back in fright, and the last martial student, despite exerting great effort, failed to catch it—instead he was shaken and flung sideways.

All those training stared in surprise as Jin Chen, unbeknownst when, lazily sat up, one leg bent on the bench, picked up a broadsword from the prop rack to play with, and fixed the martial students with an icy gaze that held an astonishing, uncanny beauty.

"What are you saying? Say it so I can hear too."

Jin Chen lifted his lips, his soul‑capturing pupils pitch black, and said, "Finish speaking, and I'll make you mute."

How can this person also wield spears and staffs!

The martial student whose arm went numb from the shock stared wide‑eyed, unaware that this required such strong fundamentals—it was practically no different from real kung fu, nothing like the opera's fancy fists and embroidered kicks.

They looked at each other, this gaze filling them with fear—afraid of being hit again, and even more afraid that Jin Chen would report them to Mr. Pei.

The courtyard fell silent, except Xu Nanchun gave a mocking sneer: "You're in a seductive line of work—don't get too full of yourself; face and dignity aren't things you ought to worry about."

Jin Chen tossed the sword, shifted his posture on the bench, gave him a lazy glance, and spoke indifferently.

"Who's stopping you from being lowly? What do you want from me?"

Xu Nanchun: "……"

What a sharp‑tongued mouth.

He was so angry he smoked, his face twisted for a while, not to mention the several injured martial students who kept apologizing to Jin Chen, almost kneeling.

Jin Chen, annoyed by the noise, turned his head and slipped into the room to sleep.

——

Dock.

Half a morning passed; only after lunchtime did today's meeting end, with Pei Yinnian seated at the head of the long table, lightly sipping a refilled cup of tea, seeming unfatigued.

The black Zhongshan suit made Pei Yinnian look ever more profound, easily causing people to overlook his under‑thirty age; his aura could suppress everyone present wearing gold‑trimmed Western suits.

Those below admired Pei Yinnian all the more, and few youngsters could match his iron‑fisted methods—thanks to the Pei family's consistent adherence to the capital Jiangning policies; were it not for the higher‑ups covering them, their undertakings wouldn't feel solid.

The room full of bosses was not lacking those who had just joined the merchants' association, exactly the moment they wanted to show themselves.

Immediately, a Boss Liu with two small mustaches spoke up: "It's already past noon—why not invite Boss Pei to dinner? Everyone here can relax; we can't be tied up all day."

Almost the instant Boss Liu finished speaking, the people who had just been chatting and laughing fell silent, either surprised or oddly staring at him.

Boss Liu blinked, "How come?"

"Tsk, Boss Liu just arrived not long ago and doesn't know the rules—originally it wasn't a problem."

Yun Cunxuan, thinking this person was someone they needed to cooperate with, smoothed things over: "You don't know—after this evening, not seeing guests is Pei Yinnian's rule; just remember that from now on."

"That's right… I really didn't know, so rather than pick another day, let's just hit today—let's go to Lai Shun Restaurant for lunch and ask Boss Pei not to refuse."

Boss Liu first changed his expression, then, as if nothing had happened, continued the invitation,

Pei Yinnian glanced at Boss Liu, the cigarette between his fingertips burning down, he raised his hand to stub it out, and said lightly, "Sure."

"Since Boss Liu is hosting, I, Pei, will naturally accept the invitation."

Boss Liu burst out laughing, then invited the remaining ten‑odd bosses to join, hearing that they could also bring their outside‑kept persons; a woman boss in a little Western dress rolled her eyes, stayed out of it, and politely bade farewell to Pei Yinnian before leaving.

Immediately afterward a few more backed out; in the end, besides Pei Yinnian, only eight bosses accepted the invitation to the meal.

As Boss Liu walked out he still didn't forget to say to Pei Yinnian, "Why don't I order a few close companions for you, Boss Pei? So lunch won't be lonely."

He didn't know Pei Yinnian's rule of not seeing guests in the evening, but every merchants' association member knows that Pei Yinnian used to spend money freely without getting anything in return—yet yesterday he sent a flower basket to a new actor at the Weiyang Theater and even personally brought him home.

This was clearly a deliberate probe.

Yun Cunxuan laughed for no reason, took half a step forward and lightly bumped Pei Yinnian's shoulder, saying, "Why not bring Jin Chen along? If you really keep him by your side, today's incident would at least be an eye‑opener."

Given the situation, letting Jin Chen come is safer than keeping him hidden; if they really tried to conceal him, who knows how many people might later see him as Pei Yinnian's weak point.

Furthermore, the dinner might involve other moves—giving Jin Chen a scare wouldn't hurt.

"Have the driver fetch Jin Chen."

Pei Yinnian said lightly, thinking of the boy in the car smiling brightly and saying he fears nothing,

whether he's lying or truly unafraid—it'll soon be clear.