Feng Jun easily deduced that Wu Shaoâs father wouldnât be from the underworld, but his connections must certainly be not too shabby, and itâs very possible he has considerable influence in officialdom.
This kind of character isnât much worse than those purely from the underworld; once involved with the white-collar world, itâs likely theyâre even more troublesome.
But Feng Jun didnât care too much; instead, he glanced at Zhang Wei and spoke lightly, âLao Zhang, you and Hai Feng take my monitor and go from the back, Iâll go have a look around the front⦠see what this Wu Shao is all about.â
âEh, President Feng, arenât you insulting people?â Zhang Wei hadnât even spoken, and Wang Haifeng objected first, âDo I look like the kind of person to ditch my brothers and leave⦠Xiao Wei, you take the monitor and go from the back.â
Now Zhang Wei was really awkward. As an old driver, he dared to get into a group fight when he was hot on alcohol, but he wouldnât be stupid enough to engage in an obviously outnumbered brawl, let alone when the opponent obviously had an unusual background.
But he couldnât just desert his friends either; to put it more opportunisticallyâthe power held by President Feng and Wang Haifeng was also something he had to cherish.
So he gave a wry smile, âWhat are you two doing, we came out to have fun, right? Letâs go together.â
Feng Jun shook his head slightly, âJust go, donât worry about me⦠my car is still up ahead.â
âMy car is also up front,â Wang Haifeng waved his hand. He and Zhang Wei grew up bare-butt, knowing the lad wasnât very brave; he didnât take it to heart, âXiao Wei, you take the monitor and go.â
âMonitor?â Manager Chang heard this term several times now, always feeling somewhat perplexed, so he turned to look at Zhang Wei.
Zhang Wei gave a wry smile, raised his hand and pointed at Feng Jun, âThis Xiao Bing, was President Fengâs junior high school monitor⦠itâs a reunion of old acquaintances in a foreign place.â
Uh⦠Manager Chang ruefully touched his forehead. To think such a situation would actually happen?
Li Xiaobin had been hiding next to Feng Jun, and hearing others mention her intersection with him, she really could no longer feign ignorance, so she had to stretch out her hand to hug his arm tightly, shaking it hard and pleading in a low voice, âFatty, donât be headstrong, letâs go through the back door.â
âYou can go through the back door,â Feng Jun spoke with a stern face, âthat guy is provoking not only you but also me.â
âWhy are you like this?â Li Xiaobin stamped her foot angrily and pulled him hard outward, âIs this the time for you to be headstrong?â
Hearing her say that, Feng Jun felt somewhat better inside. Regardless of how far she had fallen, she still cared for him now, which wasnât in vainâhe had stood up for her just like he would give up his seat to the elderly on the bus.
So he frowned and said, âLet go!â
âI wonât!â
Just then, a line of people started walking out from the side of the performance stage, looking to be about seven or eight in number.
Without saying anything else, just by seeing one tall and one short, it was clear these were Wu Shao and his group.
The lighting of the performance bar was dim, but it was still bright by the side of the stage. Feng Jun was surprised to find that Wu Shao actually seemed to be younger than him, not even twenty years old, and his appearance could be reluctantly considered handsome.
By Wu Shaoâs side were two young women, who by their dress looked like they frequented the night scene.
Wu Shao was smiling and chatting with the two women, walking toward the exit like that, not even glancing at Feng Junâs side, as if he didnât know Li Xiaobin was there.
The short one didnât look this way either, but sidled up, quickly moving sideways in front of Wu Shao, his face still caked with a flattering smileâtruly the epitome of groveling.
Seeing this, Wang Haifeng gave a cold snort, âThe little punk is quite arrogant.â
They were preoccupied with watching that group of people and hadnât noticed that Manager Chang had already walked briskly towards the entrance.
The last scene Feng Jun and his group saw was Manager Chang greeting Wu Shao and his entourage at the door, everyone chattering happily for a while, and then Wu Shao left with his head held high while Manager Chang stood at the door waving.
She stood at the entrance for half a minute before coming back to Feng Junâs booth, speaking quickly, âDirector Zhang, you guys had better leave now, if you donât, you might not be able to get out the back door either.â
Her words carried a complaining toneâIâve been thinking of you all the while, and yet youâre wasting time.
Of course, Zhang Wei wouldnât mind her tone but asked outright, âAbout what happened just now, what did he say?â
âHe didnât mention it at all,â Manager Chang spread her hands helplessly, âI asked if he was having fun, and he said it was quite enjoyable⦠With his response, I couldnât bring it up myself. Arenât you leaving yet?â
Feng Jun lit a cigarette and didnât say a word, while Wang Haifeng picked up a beer, clearly intent on continuing to drink.
Zhang Wei was out of options, took out his mobile phone, âIâll call a few police friends to come over.â
Feng Jun took a drag on his cigarette and glanced sideways at Li Xiaobin, âArenât you leaving?â
âIf youâre not going, why should I?â Li Xiaobinâs mouth twitched before she opened a beer bottle and started drinking on her own, âIf you canât win, Iâll just go with him if I must. I canât let you suffer too much of a loss.â
Feng Jun laughed, âThatâs pretty good, quite the monitorâs spirit⦠Donât be mad. If it comes down to a fight, I wonât be able to look after you.â
Li Xiaobin gulped down several big swigs of beer before slamming the beer on the table, letting out a belch, and spoke dispiritedly, âThen donât look after me, itâs just this hundred pounds of rotten flesh, after all.â
When Wang Haifeng saw Zhang Wei making a phone call, he too felt the urge to use his phone and glanced at Feng Jun, âShall I give Sister Hong a call?â
Feng Jun frowned, âWhatâs the point of calling her when nothingâs happened yet? It would be just humiliating⦠You could always take a back door approach.â
Upon hearing this, Wang Haifeng thought it better to simply flee than to get in touch with Sister Hong. He begrudgingly put away his mobile phone with a huff, âI definitely canât take any back door today, but as for you and your squad leader⦠thatâs a different story.â
At those words, Feng Jun couldnât help but turn his head to steal a glance at Li Xiaobin, only to catch her looking at him, which made his heart flutter slightly.
Back in the day, he seemed to have had a fleeting fondness for her, and later, due to her fatherâs incident, heâd felt immense pity for her.
But a back door arrangement, wasnât that a bit much? Especially since he didnât like using protectionâ¦
Tsk, what am I thinking? In the next moment, he shook his head, crushed out the half-smoked cigarette in his hand, lifted his beer to take a few deep gulps, then slammed the bottle down onto the table and turned to look at the stunning hall manager.
Then, as if it didnât particularly matter, he casually asked, âManager Chang, are there surveillance cameras around here?â
Upon hearing this, Manager Changâs heart couldnât help but tremble ever so slightly. The question may have sounded innocent, but she could sense an ominous vibe coming from it.
She trusted her instincts and quickly nodded, âYes, there are cameras⦠There are a lot of lighting and sound equipment here, so we definitely need cameras.â
âOh,â Feng Jun nodded, raised his hand to beckon a waiter, âCome, send a flower garland to the girl performing on stage right now.â
The girl currently dancing solo on stage was another one whoâd toasted him earlier.
His nonchalant demeanor also influenced Wang Haifeng and Li Xiaobinâthe two of them decided to let go of their worries and started drinking.
About ten minutes later, a security guard came over and whispered something to Manager Chang.
Manager Chang glanced at Feng Jun, and without bothering to find Zhang Wei, she addressed Feng Jun directly, âPresident Feng, there are six cars outside with about twenty people. What are your plans?â
âPlans?â Feng Jun looked at her, smiled, and said, âMy plan is to drink a little more⦠Let them wait.â
Manager Chang had nothing more to say at this point and just gave Zhang Wei a helpless look as if to say, âIâve really tried my best.â
But Zhang Wei wasnât thinking much about it; what occupied his mind now was: as long as thereâs surveillance, the worst-case scenario is getting beaten up.
Director Zhang was too delicate to even contemplate being beaten, but if this beating could help him get closer to Feng Jun, then it might be worth itâafter all, how could one rise above without paying a price?
So, the three of them drank for over an hour in the venue and as it neared eleven oâclock, Coach Wang received a phone call from the police at home, urging him to get back.
Seeing this, Feng Jun unlocked his mobile phone, âWait a moment, Iâll call a couple of designated drivers, we definitely canât drive in this state.â
By then, Manager Chang had already gone off to entertain other customers. The hostess at their side immediately piped up upon hearing this, âPresident Feng, thereâs no need, Manager Chang has already made arrangements. The designated drivers are on call and will be here shortly.â
About five minutes later, the designated drivers arrived at the entrance, and Feng Jun and the other three walked out the door. Manager Chang also came out with them.
The parking lot outside the entertainment bar was brightly lit by two xenon spotlights, lighting up the ground as bright as day without affecting the nearby residents.
At the parking lotâs exit, six cars were parked, blocking the exit in such a way that only one car could get through. Sparsely scattered next to the cars stood a dozen guys, with one tall and one short standing out among them.
Feng Jun didnât even bother to look at these people and just handed the car keys to the designated driver, âHere, thatâs the car.â
Seeing this, Wang Haifeng followed suit, but then he stealthily took out a brass knuckle from his trouser pocket and slipped it onto his hand.
The person receiving Feng Junâs keys was a rather plump young manâthere was no help for it, these days many youngsters tended to be well-nourished.
The young man took the keys and glanced around, only to notice that some of the guys in the distance were eyeing him predatorily. He immediately felt a twinge in his heart: This looks like trouble⦠But since he was in this line of work, there were some things he had to face⦠Surely these people werenât harder to deal with than drunk clients?
He steeled himself, visibly nervous, as he approached the Volkswagen-branded car, his eyes darting around.
Just as he was about to open the door and get in, he was startled to see bright headlights flare up ahead of him, followed by the sound of an engine starting.
Without a second thought, he leapt to the side and after taking a couple of quick steps, hid behind another car.
He had already planned for such a contingency and executed the series of actions with remarkable speed, his plump body as agile as a bird.
Therefore, under everyoneâs watchful eyes, a Jetta smashed heavily into Feng Junâs car.
Seeing this, Manager Chang panicked and signaled to a nearby security guard who immediately rushed out, shouting, âHey, what are you doing?â
(Updated to, calling for monthly tickets.)