Chapter 17

On a dark and windy night in Sanlitun.

Xiaoyu stepped into the Dynasty Nightclub, his footsteps guided by the flickering neon lights. He passed through the pulsating music, enveloped in a rainbow of lights, and made his way to the most luxurious private room at the end.

Without knocking, he pushed the door open, and a dozen pairs of fierce, unfriendly eyes turned to him.

Inside the room, Liu Lei and a middle-aged man were sitting on the sofa.

The middle-aged man had a ponytail and a trendy appearance, with a touch of artistic flair. Around him, a dozen thugs stood or leaned, playing with butterfly knives, boxing gloves, chains, and steel pipes, exuding a fierce aura.

Xiaoyu's lips curled into a smile. "Such a grand welcome for me."

"You still dare to come!" Liu Lei glared at him with venom.

"Shouldn't the one who's afraid be you?" Xiaoyu pulled out the sofa in front of him and sat down opposite Liu Lei and the middle-aged man.

Liu Lei wanted to say more, but the middle-aged man stopped him, staring coldly at Xiaoyu. "Where's the stuff?"

Thud. A stack of photos was thrown onto the coffee table, the kind that were not suitable for children.

The main characters in the photos were Liu Lei and the middle-aged man, engaging in various intimate activities in a hotel room, from tongue kisses to oral sex... The scenes were intensely passionate and blinding.

Xiaoyu knew Liu Lei's private life was messy, but he never imagined it was this bad. When he received these photos from the private detective last night, he was so shocked that he almost vomited his dinner.

No discrimination, just a matter of not being used to it.

"Damn!"

Liu Lei screamed, snatched the photos, and tore them into pieces in a few swift movements.

The middle-aged man stared intently at Xiaoyu, his clenched hands and trembling shoulders betraying his inner turmoil.

Xiaoyu lit a cigarette and said casually, "So Director Sun has this taste, quite heavy, isn't it?"

"Where are the negatives!"

Xiaoyu pulled out a paper bag and tossed it over. Liu Lei pulled out a roll of negatives and examined them in the light, nodding vigorously.

"Are there any more?" Director Sun said coldly.

"Director Sun, I'm here to negotiate. There's no negotiation without discussion. This isn't your film set; you can't rule with a single word."

"Negotiate? Ha, once you're here, it's not up to you to decide!"

"What, do you think I'll be afraid of a few lackeys?"

"Motherfucker, who are you calling lackeys!"

"Motherfucker, are you itching for a beating!"

The thugs cursed loudly, and one of them put on boxing gloves and lunged with a punch.

Xiaoyu's eyes gleamed with mockery. He used his feet to push into the attacker's chest, dodging the gloves and landing a punch on the man's chest. The thug grunted and fell to the ground like a paper doll, vomiting uncontrollably.

"Brother!"

"Fuck, take him out!"

"Kill him!"

The thugs shouted in alarm and surrounded him. A bald man in the corner, his eyes flashing with a sharp light, shouted, "Stop!"

Too late. The thug with the butterfly knife cursed and rushed forward, the blade glinting as it stabbed toward Xiaoyu.

Xiaoyu's eyes flashed with a cold light, even colder than the blade. He sidestepped, grabbed the thug's wrist, and with a twist and a thrust, the thug immediately howled in pain.

"Ah!"

The butterfly knife was still in his hand, but it was now embedded in his thigh!

"Everyone, stop!" The bald man shouted, quickly approaching. "Friend, which gang are you from? Give me your name."

"Making a movie, and you want my name. If you want to fight, fight; if not, get lost. Do you think being in a gang makes you so great?"

This time, the thugs didn't dare to curse.

Two thugs were taken down in just two moves, with quick and decisive strikes, and no change in expression even when blood was drawn. Clearly, he was a formidable opponent.

The bald man, though losing face, didn't get angry. "You've got guts. My brother offended you, and he deserves it. But there must be a resolution, or it will spread that we..."

"Are you done? Either fight or get lost. What's the point of all this nonsense?"

"Alright, you've got guts. You wait!"

The bald man left a threat, had his subordinates help the injured thugs, and led them out. The once bustling private room was now left with Xiaoyu, Liu Lei, and Director Sun.

"Use whatever tricks you have quickly. We still need to negotiate after this."

The thugs who came to confront Xiaoyu were humiliated, but surprisingly, Director Sun and Liu Lei were neither angry nor afraid. Instead, they looked at Xiaoyu with a mocking gaze, as if they were watching a man about to die.

"Are you two crazy? I have limited time. I want to find a girl and have some fun after this."

"You still want to find a girl?"

"You still want to finish this?"

"Do you know who they are?"

"Do you know whose territory this is?"

Xiaoyu sneered. "Are you two so obsessed with each other that you've gone crazy? I don't care who they are or whose territory this is!"

"Who's so arrogant?"

The door was pushed open, and the bald man returned with over twenty thugs. This time, the leader was not the bald man but a scar-faced man, tall and muscular, with a long scar running from his left eyebrow to his right ear, looking extremely fierce.

"Brother Scar!" Director Sun and Liu Lei quickly stood up to greet him, making room on the sofa.

The scar-faced man didn't even look at them, walking straight to sit opposite Xiaoyu. He took out a cigar, and the bald man eagerly lit it for him, then stood by his side, while the thugs surrounded Xiaoyu.

He took a few puffs of the cigar, blew out a series of smoke rings, and said with his nose in the air, "You're quite bold, aren't you? Daring to cause trouble in the Dynasty and even hurting people. If I don't teach you a lesson today, you'll think Brother Scar is made of paper!"

"Is he made of paper? We'll find out, won't we?"

"Still putting on a show at the end of your life, Brother Scar will kill... Mai, Mai?"

The scar-faced man's voice trailed off, staring at Xiaoyu as if he had seen a ghost, his cigar trembling in his hand.

Xiaoyu's brows furrowed. "Do you know me?"

"Is it really you? You, you're back?"

"I don't know you, but I seem to remember your scar."

Without a word, the scar-faced man got up and left, leaving the thugs staring at each other in shock.

Didn't he say he was going to teach this kid a lesson?

"Brother Scar?"

"Scar, you're kidding, follow me!"

"Wait!" Xiaoyu called out to the scar-faced man.

"What?"

"Don't tell anyone you saw me, and don't tell anyone I'm back."

"Don't worry, I've never been to the Dynasty tonight, and I've never been in this room." The scar-faced man quickly left the room, shouting back, "Are you deaf? Didn't you hear me? Get out!"

The over twenty thugs who had rushed in now filed out, each with a question mark in their minds. In a moment, the large private room was left with Xiaoyu, and the wide-eyed Director Sun and Liu Lei.

What's going on?

Didn't they say Brother Scar was so cool?

Didn't they say there was nothing he couldn't handle?

Why did they all leave?

He knows Xiaoyu?

But he can't just leave like that!

What about the money I spent?

Rumors on the street can be deadly!

Xiaoyu picked up a bottle of Hennessy from the table, poured himself a glass, and drank while looking at the stunned Director Sun and Liu Lei. "Stop standing there like fools. Call whoever you need to call. If there's no one else, let's sit down and talk."