Chapter Fifty-Three: Until He Yields

“Not much,” Yang Meng shook his head. “We’re already seated, why should we move?”

The bald man frowned slightly at this. “Guys, how about this—you let us have the table, and I’ll cover all your drinks tonight. How does that sound?”

The price for a VIP card here wasn’t exactly outrageous. The minimum charge was five thousand yuan, which sounded like a lot, but the VIP area was spacious enough for over a dozen people to have a good time. But as soon as he finished speaking, Ale came over carrying a tray with six bottles of Hennessy Richard, neatly arranged. Several other servers followed behind with beer, soft drinks, fruit platters, and snacks, quickly filling the table.

“Brother Yang, our boss said all your expenses tonight will be at a twenty percent discount. He’s busy with something very important right now, but he promised to join you as soon as he’s finished and toast you personally. Brother Yang, how many bottles should I open?” Ale asked.

After Li Xiaoqing heard what drinks Yang Meng’s group had ordered, she went straight to find her boss. She wanted to give Yang Meng and his friends the VIP treatment, but they didn’t seem to need it. Since Long Teng couldn’t find his favorite ‘Highland Knight’ 40-year here in the VIP section, they ordered the best available—Hennessy Richard. On the market, a single bottle cost over twenty thousand, but here at Focus? One bottle was forty-eight thousand eight hundred—at a discounted price, no less.

And Long Teng had ordered six bottles at once.

There was a commission for bringing in customers. When Li Xiaoqing heard that Long Teng’s group had ordered six bottles of Hennessy Richard, she proudly went to the club owner to claim her share—ten percent of their bill.

Upon learning that someone had ordered six bottles of Hennessy Richard in one go, the club owner nearly lost his mind.

Most customers here were young and typically went for the three-liter Hennessy VSOP—big bottle, good value, one bottle for fifty-eight hundred, enough for a comfortable night in the VIP area. The wealthier ones would splurge on Hennessy XO, also in a three-liter bottle, at fifteen thousand eight hundred per bottle. But these guys? They’d ordered six 0.7-liter bottles of Richard without hesitation, and looked like they might order more once they were done.

These were true high rollers.

How could he not treat such VIPs with the utmost care? He immediately ordered that no fake liquor was to be served, and gave them a twenty percent discount.

But he wasn’t actually busy elsewhere as Ale claimed. To be precise, he said that as a matter of social finesse—to show how much he valued Yang Meng’s group without lowering his own status.

Yang Meng, still somewhat petty, said, “Open them one at a time, and drink slowly. By the way, brother, are you sure you want to cover all our expenses tonight?”

The bald man glanced at the table and nearly cursed out loud. The drinks alone were worth over two hundred thousand yuan. He was wealthy, sure, but not to that extent.

He looked at Yang Meng and said, “Judging by your accents, you’re not locals, are you?”

Yang Meng ignored him and poured himself a glass, tasted it, and frowned. “This stuff doesn’t taste great. I really don’t get why it’s so expensive.”

Qi Kun chuckled. “We don’t really get imported liquor, but if it sells for this much, there must be a reason.”

Hu Erleng chimed in. “Maybe it’s better for showing off. That’s a solid reason, right?”

The bald man was infuriated by Yang Meng’s group ignoring him. “You’re not giving me any respect at all? I don’t care where you’re from, but don’t let a little cash go to your head! Around here, who dares not give He Kui some respect?”

Yang Meng scratched his head. “Buddy, do I know you? You just show up demanding respect. Respect is earned. What have you done that I should respect you for?”

Long Teng was about to speak up and reveal his identity, but Yang Meng patted his arm and shook his head. Long Teng didn’t understand why, but chose to remain silent.

He Kui narrowed his eyes and glared viciously at Yang Meng. “Haven’t you ever heard the saying, ‘A powerful outsider can’t overpower the local kingpin’? Do you really think I can’t keep you from walking out of this club tonight?”

Yang Meng shook his head. “I really don’t believe you.”

“Oh? You want to challenge me?” He Kui sneered. “Looks like being polite is a waste of time. Biao, go call some guys. We can’t let these out-of-towners off without a lesson!”

Hu Erleng snorted coldly, grabbed a beer bottle, and stood up. “You must be stupid. If you’re going to throw down, you think I’ll let you call for backup?”

Qi Kun said quietly to Ling Feng beside him, “Madman, this isn’t your business. You should go. If things get ugly, it’ll be trouble.”

With that, he too grabbed a bottle and stood up.

But He Kui didn’t look worried. “Are you idiots? You think I need to go out and make a call?”

As soon as he finished speaking, more men gathered around, all glaring menacingly at Yang Meng and his friends.

Ale, seeing this, hurriedly called out, “Brother Kui…”

But one look from He Kui and he fell silent. He Kui was the top enforcer here—the boss’s trusted man, which was why he could summon so many people with a word.

At that moment, more people walked over.

“Everyone, stop! He Kui, what do you think you’re doing?”

Ale was visibly relieved. “Boss, Sister Qing, you’re finally here.”

“You must be Mr. Yang whom Xiaoqing mentioned?” The newcomer immediately shook hands with Yang Meng and his group. “Allow me to introduce myself—I’m Zhang Qiang, the owner here.” He finished the introductions and turned to He Kui with a frown. “He Kui, what’s going on? You run security for me, I even gave you a share in the business, but what is this? Are you here to wreck my club’s reputation?”

He Kui glanced at Zhang Qiang. “Boss Zhang, you gave us a stake and we keep your place safe—it’s a partnership. But for those of us in this line of work, face is everything. If word gets out that these out-of-town monkeys didn’t give me any respect, I can’t show my face anymore! Today is the day my big brother leaves the hospital, and I arranged a party for him here to help your business. If my brother comes to your place, who’d dare make trouble in the future?”

Zhang Qiang frowned. “If that’s the case, then I don’t see any point in us working together anymore. I brought you in to protect my business, not destroy it. And speaking of protection, when our staff were harassed just yesterday, I didn’t see you do anything!”

He Kui lit a cigarette. “No need to work together? Fine, tell Boss Zhai that yourself. And as for yesterday—what about it? Every girl who works in a place like this gets harassed. If they can’t handle that, why work in a nightclub at all?”

The mention of ‘Boss Zhai’ made Zhang Qiang’s face go stiff, and Li Xiaoqing glared at He Kui in fury. “What the hell did you just say?”

He Kui looked at Li Xiaoqing. “What, you want to play tough? Don’t say I didn’t warn you—Deng Chao knows you dared to come back to work, so he slipped out of the hospital and will be here soon to deal with you. Better be ready for it!”

Zhang Qiang frowned. “He Kui, you’ve gone too far! Are you really trying to burn every bridge? If Boss Zhai hears about this, you’ll be in trouble too. This isn’t how things are done!”

He Kui shrugged. “You think Boss Zhai doesn’t know? Do you even know who Deng Chao—the guy this little bitch cracked over the head yesterday—is? That’s Boss Zhai’s nephew! You think Boss Zhai will just let this go? You should be grateful Deng Chao didn’t smash up your club. If he didn’t want to teach this little bitch a lesson himself, you think you’d still be standing here? I’d call you ‘Boss Zhang’ if I’m being polite, but if not, you’re just a nobody. After what happened, whether you can keep your business is another story. You’re a mud Buddha crossing a river—barely able to save yourself, let alone help others. You really think my brother came here tonight just to have fun? Enough, shut up! As for you country bumpkins, you’ve got two choices: either each of you breaks a leg and kneels down to kowtow three times to each of us, and we’ll call it even…”

Yang Meng still wore a gentle smile. “And the other choice?”

He Kui grinned lewdly at Long Xixiang. “The other choice? That girl looks nice. When my brother gets here, let her keep him company and show him a good time. If she serves him well, maybe we’ll let this go.”

Long Xixiang slammed the table and stood up. “What did you just say?”

He Kui looked even more delighted. “Great temper—you’re just his type.”

“You—” Long Xixiang raised her hand to slap He Kui, but it was caught—by Yang Meng.

“Brother Yang, don’t hold me back!” Long Xixiang said angrily.

Yang Meng replied, “Sit down. With all these grown men here, are we supposed to let a woman fight for us? Where’s our dignity?”

At this, Long Teng also stood up, glaring coldly at He Kui. “Of all the things you could do, you shouldn’t have set your sights on my sister. Brother Yang, let me handle this. I won’t be satisfied until he can’t take care of himself anymore.”

Yang Meng pulled Long Xixiang back into her seat. “Xixiang, didn’t you say earlier: ‘Who bullies people these days?’ In your so-called upper-class world, even if someone is rotten inside, they pretend to be all sunshine and virtue. But your circle doesn’t represent the whole. Do you see now? This is what ordinary people deal with. Look at Zhang Qiang here—he’s well-off, but when faced with local thugs, there’s nothing he can do. What use is money, when you’re up against people with power or nothing to lose? He’ll comfort himself, telling himself he’s not afraid, just a legitimate businessman who doesn’t want to waste time on trouble, so he backs off and keeps the peace. That’s human nature—and it’s what lets these thugs survive.”

“So what should you do when this happens?” Long Xixiang asked.

“Fight! Beat them until they give up!” Yang Meng said, standing up.