Zhou Yinhe returned to his office holding the flowers, placing them on his desk. He reached out to touch the teardrop still lingering on the petals, lowered his gaze to stare at the watery trace on his fingertip, and remained dazed for a long time.
His secretary had not yet left and was currently outside his office. Zhou Yinhe asked him for a vase, carefully arranged the flowers inside, and placed it where he could see it the moment he looked up.
He leaned against the desk, staring blankly at the vase before him, his mind filled with Wen Ling's figure from just moments ago.
Agitated, he ruffled his hair. Zhou Yinhe turned neatly and left, his hair in disarray.
After eating, Wen Ling returned home. Aunt Zhou had already gone to the park with Qiao Hongyun, so she bathed and returned to her room, feeling that every day in the Four Nine City was utterly boring.
Unable to sleep, she changed her clothes, brought two bodyguards along, and had the driver take her to Nyx Bar. It wasn't that she wanted to run into Zhou Yinhe—she simply wanted to relax.
She danced in the crowd to the music for a long while. Only when she grew tired did she walk to her reserved booth, flinging herself onto the sofa and squinting at the flickering lights.
The female manager at Nyx had known from the moment Wen Ling entered the bar that she was no ordinary person. What ordinary person visited a bar with bodyguards? Though she hadn't booked the most expensive private room, Nyx was one of the Four Nine City's premier money pits; anyone who could reserve a booth was no ordinary person. Who knew if this young lady simply enjoyed the liveliness?
Seeing Wen Ling return to her booth, she walked over. The bodyguards had been standing to the side; when they saw her approaching, they extended their arms to block her. The manager looked toward Wen Ling in astonishment, and Wen Ling waved her hand to signal them to step back. Only then did the manager step forward and ask with a smile, "Miss, are you enjoying yourself tonight? Would you like to order more drinks?"
Wen Ling slowly sat up and beckoned her to sit by her side.
"If you drink with me, I'll order the most expensive liquor in your bar," Wen Ling said, her eyes curved in a smile.
The manager was taken aback but nodded anyway.
She didn't know why she had agreed. Perhaps she simply felt sympathy for such a beautiful young girl who had come here alone with two bodyguards, seeming so lonely.
Wen Ling bent down to pour her a drink, lifted the glass, and pressed it into the manager's hand. Smiling, she clinked glasses with the manager and downed it in one go.
She drank rather aggressively, cup after cup. Though she was clearly smiling, her round eyes remained constantly moist, making one feel that she seemed somewhat sad.
For the first time, the manager felt that this commission wasn't worth earning.
Wen Ling didn't know how much she had drunk either. She shook her dizzy head and said to the bodyguards, "I'm going to the restroom. Don't follow me."
The bodyguards halted, their gazes turning to the manager. One of them stepped forward and said to her, "Please help keep an eye on our miss."
The manager nodded and caught up to Wen Ling, supporting her unsteady steps. Wen Ling gave her a sweet smile, and the manager's heart couldn't help but soften.
Just then, a man appeared ahead, a cigarette dangling from his mouth as he sauntered over with a rascally air.
"Yo, isn't this our Manager Song? Who are you supporting? A new girl?" The man's tone was frivolous from the outset. The manager suppressed her displeasure and smiled at him, explaining, "This is a guest, not a staff member."
The man didn't care at all and continued staring at Wen Ling, his gaze lewd and sticky. When the manager noticed, she blocked Wen Ling and said with a smile, "I hope you have a pleasant time today. We'll be taking our leave."
After speaking, she supported Wen Ling to leave, but the man reached out to directly block the two of them and said, "You want me to have fun? Sure. Leave her here to play with me, and I'll naturally be happy. Then we can serve whatever liquor is most expensive in the bar. How about it?"
The manager's face completely chilled. She threatened, "Young Master Wu, this is Young Master Jiang's territory. If you want company, I'll arrange for someone to come to your private room, but don't even think about this customer."
"Ha, would Young Master Jiang really turn against our Wu family over a woman?" Young Master Wu stepped forward to grab Wen Ling's arm. Wen Ling wanted to dodge but couldn't react properly due to her intoxication.
The manager said angrily, "Young Master Wu! If you don't let go, I'm calling for people. Don't blame me for not giving you face then."
"Go ahead and call. Even Young Master Jiang has never turned against me. A mere manager like you sure has a lot of power." Young Master Wu let out a disdainful cold snort and dragged Wen Ling toward the private room. Wen Ling struggled to shake off Young Master Wu's hand, but he was a man after all, and with Wen Ling drunk, how could she break free?
"Let go of me!" Wen Ling shouted angrily.
"Beauty, come with me obediently. Afterward, whether you want a house, a car, or designer bags, I can buy them all for you." As Young Master Wu spoke, he moved to embrace Wen Ling. The next second, he was kicked to the ground.
Wen Ling was nearly caught in the crossfire. Fortunately, the manager reacted quickly and pulled her into her embrace. Looking up, it was precisely the two bodyguards who had caught up. Seeing that something was wrong, they had charged directly over.
Young Master Wu clutched his painful abdomen and cursed, "You dare hit me? Do you know who I am? One word from me and you'll never survive in this city!"
The two bodyguards had been with Wen Ling for several years. Seeing that Wen Ling had nearly been bullied, they were already furious. Now, hearing Young Master Wu's words, the two directly struck hard, kicking him repeatedly and making him cry out in pain.
Wen Ling squinted at the scene, suddenly clapping and shouting crisply, "Good hit! Kick his legs! Kick his stomach!"
But the manager frowned tightly, wanting to step forward and intervene. After all, the Wu family still held considerable status in the Four Nine City. Offending the Wu family would definitely bring retaliation upon the young girl beside her.
"Stop, stop, stop. Don't hit him for now," the manager said urgently.
How could the two bodyguards listen to her? Their ears only heard Wen Ling cheering them on, so their strikes became even heavier.
Young Master Wu's wails attracted onlookers from the other private rooms. They all poked their heads out to watch the commotion. When they saw that the one being beaten was Young Master Wu, they felt a certain schadenfreude, yet also lamented inwardly that those who struck him would definitely be driven out of the Four Nine City.
At this moment, another male manager from Nyx ran up. Seeing the situation, he quickly had the security guards behind him pull the bodyguards away.
Seeing the crowd, the bodyguards didn't stubbornly insist on continuing to fight. They took the opportunity to step back, standing in front of Wen Ling to block her from view, cracked their joints, and fixed their sharp gazes on the male manager.
The male manager said angrily, "The nerve of you two! You dare strike someone on Young Master Jiang's territory? Do you know who you're hitting? This is the young master of the Wu Group!"
A cold snort came from the bodyguards. Whoever he was, if he dared to have designs on their miss, they would beat him first and ask questions later. Before Wen Ling came to China, Old Master Wen had specifically summoned this team of bodyguards and told them that if anyone acted against the miss, they could simply beat them to death, and he would handle the aftermath.
By now Young Master Wu had recovered his wits. Lying on the ground, he bared his teeth and said through gritted teeth, "I'll definitely make you pay! I'm telling you, not just you two, but that girl you're protecting—I'll make her pay too!"
Hearing this, the bodyguard directly kicked Young Master Wu in the mouth, making him yelp in pain once more.