"What, Brother Song, you... you won't help me?"
Inside the dance hall of the entertainment club, Gao Mengmeng's eyes widened. She had thought that her relationship with Song Qiao was so good that she could ask him for help.
But who would have expected Song Qiao to refuse directly.
"Do you know who this Sheng Xiong is?"
Song Qiao didn't answer, but instead asked earnestly, because he knew how terrible this person was.
"I... I only know he has a lot of influence. My dad seems to be a little afraid of him."
"A little influence?"
"Heh heh, you're wrong. He's more than a little influential. He's very influential."
He chuckled, sighing with a hint of melancholy.
"This Sheng Xiong founded the Haining Gang himself. Now he's one of the biggest powers in the whole of China."
"Someone like that is definitely not simple. I don't want to provoke him."
"Ah? This... he's that powerful?"
Gao Mengmeng was on the verge of tears. She hadn't expected her father to have gotten involved with such a formidable figure.
"But... but that's my dad."
Her eyes were misty, and she looked at Song Qiao pitifully.
"Can you really not help me?"
"Even if it's for me, can't you help?"
Her soft words were accompanied by an intense gaze fixed on his face, her heart filled with apprehension and nervousness.
She had always felt that their relationship was already very close, and her feelings were obvious. Would Song Qiao really refuse her?
"Sigh."
Song Qiao looked at her fair and flawless beautiful face and couldn't help but sigh deeply, his heart softening.
"Alright, I'll consider this. If I can help, I definitely will, but I can't guarantee that Secretary Gao will be safe and sound."
He finally agreed. Although he wasn't confident, his words made Gao Mengmeng instantly turn from sorrow to joy.
"Yay! That's great, I knew you would help!"
She was overjoyed, like a child receiving a reward.
Snapping back to reality, she quickly took out her phone again.
"Wait for me, I'll call my uncle and the others to report."
With that, she hurried to the side to call her uncle.
Song Qiao's gaze shifted away from Gao Mengmeng, and he looked around.
The dance halls and music of this era seemed rather vulgar compared to twenty years later.
But in this era, it was still the favorite haunt of young people.
As his gaze swept across the room, a young man in a floral shirt swaggered up to Song Qiao.
"Kid, I just saw you dancing with Gao Mengmeng. What's your relationship with her?"
"Who the hell gave you permission to get so close to Mengmeng?"
The young man sneered at Song Qiao, his demeanor flippant, completely disregarding Song Qiao.
This kind of person was clearly a typical loafer who frequented entertainment venues. He might have some status and background, and had made quite a few friends, but he had definitely never encountered true power.
"Are you her boyfriend?"
Song Qiao sized him up and asked back.
"Uh-huh, Gao Mengmeng and I have known each other for a long time. What right do you have to dance with her?"
The young man adjusted his open collar and tossed his hair back with what he thought was a dashing gesture.
Song Qiao had no mood to deal with such trivial people.
"No matter who you are, don't bother me if you have nothing else to do."
He was actually a bit helpless, not expecting someone to come up and pick a fight just because he was standing there.
"Hey, kid, you're pretty arrogant!"
This time, the young man in the floral shirt was displeased.
"Damn it, Hu family, have you heard of Hu Chao!"
"Everyone in our neighborhood knows my name, Hu Chao. A woman like Gao Mengmeng has a very deep background. She's not someone like you can afford."
He announced his name, his face full of pride and arrogance.
"You don't even look at who you are, yet you dare to approach Gao Mengmeng and dance with her. I wouldn't even dare to do that."
Song Qiao paused for a moment.
"I approached Gao Mengmeng? Did you get something wrong?"
It was Gao Mengmeng who had called him to come over, and she had initiated holding his hand to dance.
"Damn it! Stop playing dumb. There are plenty of people who want to get close to a woman like Gao Mengmeng!"
"I'm telling you, guys like you who don't know their limits, I, Master Hu, have to deal with several every month. I, Hu Chao, have dozens of men under me in this area."
Hu Chao flaunted his capital with smugness.
Seeing Song Qiao's lack of reaction, he assumed the young man was scared silly by his identity and let out a mocking laugh.
"Heh heh, it's good that you know your place."
"I'm telling you, be sensible. Don't rashly touch people you shouldn't, especially beautiful women with status like Gao Mengmeng."
"You're not worthy of her."
He lectured condescendingly, recalling how Gao Mengmeng had danced with the other man just now, and feeling a pang of envy.
After all, although he and Gao Mengmeng knew each other, they had never danced, nor had they been so close.
Song Qiao found it somewhat amusing.
"It seems you care a lot about Gao Mengmeng?"
Looking at the jealousy displayed by Hu Chao, a hint of playfulness arose in his heart. He then turned to look at Gao Mengmeng, who was engrossed in her phone call.
"Mengmeng, from now on, you'll be my woman. How about it?"
Song Qiao's words were not very clear, and the music in the dance hall made them even harder to hear, but this was precisely the effect he wanted.
Gao Mengmeng was focused on her phone call. She only heard Song Qiao call her name, but didn't quite catch what he said. Thinking he was just greeting her, she quickly nodded in response.