Chapter 522: Chapter 522: Meeting Again
Xu Ke did not expect to meet Xu Longzhen again under such circumstances.
The entire bar was silent, devoid of its usual liveliness. Security personnel were stationed at the entrance. If it weren’t for Xu Longzhen’s assistant speaking up to let Xu Ke in, he would have had a hard time getting inside.
Upon entering the bar, Xu Ke immediately saw Xu Longzhen with her sofa positioned in the center of the room, surrounded by several injured people, with an assistant by her side tidying their messy hair with a small comb and mirror.
"What’s going on here?" Ignoring the piercing glares directed at him, Xu Ke made his way through the crowd to Xu Longzhen and asked.
The assistant put down the items in their hands and dragged a sofa over for Xu Ke, placing it beside Xu Longzhen, signaling for him to sit.
Xu Ke sat down unceremoniously, keeping his eyes on Xu Longzhen, waiting for her explanation.
"I was having a good time here when a few people came looking for trouble. I beat them up, and now things are like this. You know, you’re the only person I know in Shangjing. If you didn’t come, who knows how they’d bully an outsider like me. You can’t just stand by while your sister gets bullied." Xu Longzhen stretched her arm across the sofa armrest to hook Xu Ke’s neck, but he dodged by tilting his head.
"Don’t touch me. I have a wife. If my wife finds out I’ve got another woman’s scent on me, I wouldn’t know how to explain it." Xu Ke said as he surveyed the bar, which now resembled a ruin.
"Didn’t expect you to be so henpecked. The Chinese saying is true: you can’t judge a book by its cover. Tsk." Xu Longzhen remarked with some wonder.
Given the surrounding environment and Xu Longzhen’s personality, it wasn’t hard for Xu Ke to deduce what had happened. As he thought about it, he rubbed his temples, feeling a headache as he regretted having easily given his business card to Xu Longzhen, providing her with a convenient way to trouble him.
"Are you the one she’s been waiting for?"
While Xu Ke and Xu Longzhen were talking—or rather, while Xu Longzhen was performing a solo act—the person who had received the message of Xu Ke’s arrival slowly descended from the relatively intact second floor. If not for the broken railing nearby, this person might have appeared more imposing.
In his suit, Xu Ke seemed out of place with his surroundings, and his handsome appearance made him especially eye-catching, attracting immediate attention.
"If she hasn’t been expecting anyone else, I suppose I’m the one she’s been waiting for," Xu Ke responded without rising, observing the person approaching him.
"I don’t care if you are or not. In my place, you play by my rules. She and her lackey wrecked my place and beat my people. How do you propose to handle this matter?" The man in a gray tracksuit said.
"We’ll pay for the damages as needed," Xu Ke replied directly.
"You’re a straightforward guy." Having expected a lengthy negotiation with Xu Ke, the man was pleasantly surprised by his directness, showing a sincere smile.
But that smile only lasted a few seconds before it vanished, as if it had never been there.
Because Xu Longzhen ruined his moment of simple joy.
"Why should we pay for the damages? They bear the primary responsibility for what’s happened here. At most, it was just self-defense, just overly defensive. If they hadn’t tried to take advantage of a young woman, I wouldn’t have acted, so they deserved it. If they can’t even control their own people, why blame me?" Xu Longzhen shrugged indifferently.
The man in the gray tracksuit frowned. Over eighty percent of the bar’s decor and furnishings had been destroyed, a considerable loss that even a modest manager couldn’t bear.
The man in the gray tracksuit displayed a look of disapproval.
"I don’t care if it was excessive defense or whatever; my stuff got smashed because of you, and today’s guests left because of you. You need to give me an explanation, or none of you will be leaving today. We can stay here and see who caves in first," the man said, slamming the table in front of him, which split in two, already cracked.
"If I give you money, you’ll let us go?" Xu Ke asked.
"Of course not. It’s not that easy. The woman next to you has to apologize to my brothers. They injured twenty-three of my men, and this can’t be settled easily. But it’s not hard either. As long as the two of them kneel and apologize to my brothers individually, if they agree to forgive them, I’ll let the two go," the man said, pulling out a cigarette, lighting it, and smoking slowly.
"I’ll give you five minutes to think about it. If you haven’t decided in five minutes, none of you are leaving today," the man in the gray tracksuit arrogantly announced.
"No need for five minutes. I’ll tell you my answer now: we won’t be kneeling. That condition is off the table. I know you’re not the real boss, so call your boss out, and I’ll negotiate with them," Xu Ke said, rubbing his forehead.
"Want to see my boss? You think you’re a big shot just because you’re wearing a suit? Our boss doesn’t meet just anyone you want to see. Our boss is busy and has no time for someone as unremarkable as you," the man in the gray tracksuit scoffed as his eyes roamed over Xu Ke.
"Ha, unremarkable? Are you talking about him? Are you kidding me? I haven’t been in Shangjing long, but I know how powerful he is. Even an outsider like me knows him, yet you don’t? What a waste of eyes. It’s no wonder your place got wrecked and your men got beaten. They had the misfortune of having you as their boss."
Xu Longzhen casually picked her ear, her actions nonchalant but her eyes filled with genuine mockery.