When the driver turned around, he was also stunned. He had brought these three kids from their city high school.
It was like watching a scholar transform into a ghostly figure, a thunderclap out of nowhere.
“Thank you, driver,” Jiang Gezi said with her big red lips, smiling as she took out money from her pocket and handed it forward.
“Hey, let me pay,” Cheng Yue finally realized, but after pulling out the money, he found it was all in U.S. dollars.
“Bro, you’re impressive! U.S. dollars!” Chen Zong, like a wild donkey seeing a grinding wheel, grabbed the money from Cheng Yue’s hand.
After getting out of the car, Cheng Yue, feeling a bit embarrassed, apologized to Jiang Gezi.
“It’s fine,” Jiang Gezi’s face also turned red.
“You two, give it a rest,” Chen Zong laughed mercilessly, “Enough with the thank-yous. Why not just bow down right here and see who can bow the loudest?”
After saying this, Chen Zong pointed to a short-haired girl in a black lace and leather skirt, “Ge Qi, give Cheng Yue a set of gear. Make sure he’s not stopped later.”
Ge Qi, hearing this, reached into her small bag and pulled out ten large gold chains. Shyly, she handed them to Cheng Yue and said quietly, “Pick whichever one you like.”
“Huh?” Cheng Yue stared at the gold chains in her hand, then turned to Chen Zong, “What’s this for?”
“Ah… it’s a long story…” Chen Zong pretended to wipe away tears, pointing to a nearby pink milk tea shop and complaining, “They won’t let anyone in who looks pure and innocent!”
Cheng Yue looked at the pink milk tea shop and then at the clothes the others were wearing.
He really wanted to pull Ji Xu over to see what these people were wearing. His own clothes seemed insignificant compared to those of his classmates. He felt nervous and bold at the same time.
Cheng Yue realized his idiom was actually quite fitting.
As Chen Zong draped a gold chain around Cheng Yue’s neck, Cheng Yue felt weighed down, straightened his posture, and finally understood why those wearing gold chains looked increasingly arrogant.
You have to be arrogant with a gold chain; it’s heavy on the neck.
When Cheng Yue followed them into the pink-themed milk tea shop, he realized there were no waitstaff.
He was still puzzled about how they were going to get their milk tea when Jiang Gezi opened a door covered in pink hearts on the wall.
After Jiang Gezi opened the door, Chen Zong pushed the group down a corridor.
As Cheng Yue entered the corridor and heard faint, energetic music, he realized it was actually a bar.
Cheng Yue was amazed by the day’s events and looked at Chen Zong with admiration.
This guy was talented not only in name.
“This way, this way!” Chen Zong shouted back to the group and led Cheng Yue and the two girls to their reserved booth.
Cheng Yue saw the familiar scene and felt both excited and anxious about needing to get home soon.
He glanced at their table, which was covered with fruit juices and milk. It turned out they really were here for milk tea.
“Come on, stand up, stand up! It’s time to play games and write poetry!” Chen Zong shouted.
The seven of them joined in with the music, shouting along. Cheng Yue watched them play a round but still didn’t understand.
Mainly because the drinking games and poetry rituals they were doing were completely new to him.
During the second round, Cheng Yue was forcibly pulled into the circle and, unsurprisingly, lost.
He thought that since they were drinking fruit juice, he had no reason to hesitate and poured it all into his mouth.
As the spicy liquid flowed down his throat, Cheng Yue’s eyes widened.
Damn it!
Not far from the lively environment, in a circular sofa area, sat five people who had attracted most of the attention in the bar.
Except for the fat guy standing with drinks.
The remaining two men and two women, especially the tall man in a suit on the left, drew most of the attention.
“It’s rare to have a gathering,” Tang Jing poured a drink for everyone, “Let’s celebrate.”
“Celebrate your ascension to the 200-pound throne?” Mu Jia laughed as she looked at her full glass.
Tang Jing quickly shifted the focus, laughing as he tapped his glass against Ji Xu’s, “Let’s celebrate Lawyer Ji’s 30 years of being single! Your dad must be going crazy with worry, seeing you approaching thirty and still single, while even your niece is starting to date!”
“Fat Tang, you beast! My little girl is only three years old!” Ren Yu, sitting to the side, scolded Tang Jing before turning to Ji Xu with a serious tone, “Ji Xu, my little girl even asked if she should set you up with a girlfriend last time. She can get you a boyfriend too!”
Tang Jing immediately burst into laughter, collapsing onto the sofa. He held his glass against his round belly, and his laughter caused him to spill half of his drink.
Ji Xu chuckled and cleared his throat before speaking.
Tang Jing promptly shut up and straightened up.
Ren Yu turned a blind eye to their banter, pretending not to know anything.
Among their group, no one could compete with Ji Xu from their university days. Today, the two were eager to tease Ji Xu, hoping to amuse him.
Seeing their playful attitudes, Ji Xu took a sip of his drink and decided not to engage.
Seeing that Ji Xu wasn’t in the mood to argue, Tang Jing eagerly started the first round of drinks.
Meanwhile, Cheng Yue had suffered a significant loss in the drinking games with his classmates next door. Although his classmates didn’t insist on drinking excessively, Cheng Yue, not knowing that the bottle contained alcohol initially, had taken too much on his first sip.
Even though he didn’t drink excessively afterward, he began to feel dizzy.
After stumbling to the restroom with Chen Zong’s assistance, Cheng Yue got separated from him as they moved through the crowded bar.
Cheng Yue shook his head, trying to push through the crowd, but in the next moment, a girl grabbed his hand.
Surprised, Cheng Yue looked at the girl and shouted, “Wrong person!”
The girl glanced at him and, not understanding his words, smiled and pulled him to the center of the stage.
Realizing the situation was not right, Cheng Yue tried to leave, but in an instant, he was surrounded by at least seven or eight girls.
No matter which direction he tried to move, he bumped into someone, making him freeze and desperately search for Chen Zong.
Chen Zong, also searching for Cheng Yue, became anxious after not finding him. He didn’t want to lose a new friend on their outing. Spotting Jiang Gezi coming out of the restroom, he immediately pulled her along to help find Cheng Yue.
Jiang Gezi, with her good eyesight, quickly saw Cheng Yue surrounded by girls on the stage and pointed, shouting, “Over there!”
Chen Zong saw it too and cursed, realizing that the girls were part of the bar’s usual activity. They selected a guy, stripped him, and surrounded him to touch.
Such activities only occurred on the 15th of every month at this old establishment, but it seemed they were doing it today to warm up the new bar.
Seeing Cheng Yue being pushed around on stage, Chen Zong grew increasingly anxious and led Jiang Gezi through the crowd towards him.
“Hey, look at the stage! That kid’s got a great body! Those long legs and that slim waist!”
Tang Jing exclaimed, watching the boy on stage surrounded by girls, then glancing at Ji Xu, who was focused on his phone. Tang Jing, who enjoyed provoking Ji Xu, smirked, knowing how Ji Xu was known for his strict morals but relished making him uncomfortable.
Tang Jing took a sip of his drink and continued, “Isn’t this your type? Want me to call him down for a chat?”
Ji Xu, after sending a message to Cheng Yue to go home early, finally looked up at the stage.
The boy in a white shirt and black cap on stage seemed familiar to him.
Ji Xu’s eyes twitched, and after a closer look, his expression darkened instantly.
Tang Jing, excitedly stirring the situation, urged, “Do you like him? If you do, we can get him down here for you!”
Ji Xu, with a grim face, dialed Cheng Yue’s number, but the call went unanswered and eventually disconnected.
At first, Cheng Yue didn’t mind being touched by several girls. Although he felt nervous being surrounded, he tried to deflect and get down as quickly as possible.
However, he underestimated the girls’ enthusiasm. When one girl tried to unbutton his shirt, he began to panic.
He managed to block the first hand but couldn’t stop the second one. As his shirt started to come undone, his expression turned serious.
Ji Xu, calmly watching from the sofa, observed Cheng Yue, now half-naked and surrounded by girls, with a darkened expression.
He looked at the message he had sent to Cheng Yue about going for milk tea earlier, and it made him furious.
Cheng Yue felt several hands twisting his waist, causing him pain and bringing tears to his eyes. Dizziness from the alcohol made the crowd seem to spin around him.
In a moment of disorientation, he must have kicked someone and started to fall.
Instinctively, Cheng Yue tried to catch himself, but his wrist twisted painfully against the ground, making him cry out.
The surrounding crowd, oblivious to his situation due to the loud music and darkness, tried to pull him up. Cheng Yue, frustrated, attempted to push them away. Everything turned black in front of him, and his head and upper body felt enveloped.
Before he could react, he only heard a chorus of screams.
In the instant he was lifted, he clung to the person carrying him, muttering, “Damn you!”
Ji Xu, with a grim expression and an intimidating aura, protected Cheng Yue from the crowd as he carried him on his shoulder.
“Put me down! Who the hell are you?!” Cheng Yue shouted, “Put me down! Damn you!”
Ji Xu, maintaining his cold demeanor, gave Cheng Yue a firm slap on the buttocks and said in a deep voice, “Be quiet.”
The deep, husky voice cut through the loud music and the crowd’s screaming, reaching Cheng Yue’s ears.
Cheng Yue instantly fell silent.
The four people on the sofa below also became quiet.
Mu Jia and Ren Yu were visibly frightened.
In the brief moment they had blinked, Ji Xu had rushed in and pulled Cheng Yue away.
Half of them were supposed to uphold justice and the integrity of the legal profession.
But now, they were torn between contempt and a strong desire to pretend they didn’t see anything.
Tang Jing was so startled by the scene that he dropped his glass. Watching Ji Xu, who carried Cheng Yue swiftly, he stared in disbelief and muttered, “How does a lawyer go from being so prim to just taking people away like that…?”
