Chapter 53: Seeking Refuge with Yan Xiaobao?

Chapter 53: Chapter 53: Seeking Refuge with Yan Xiaobao? ... Biaozi secretly breathed a sigh of relief; Jinsha Night Club had narrowly avoided disaster for the time being. At the same time, he more deeply understood one thing—Yan Xiaobao was not someone to mess with... After the commotion, seeing Yan Xiaobao chase after Han Ruobing outside, Xia Rou lost all interest in drinking and singing. She returned to her private room and was about to tell Zheng Xiaoyu and Chen Long to leave. But then she reconsidered: Today is my celebration; why should I leave? Why should I let his departure ruin my fun? Thinking of this, Xia Rou angrily opened three bottles of beer and proactively joined Zheng Xiaoyu and Chen Long for drinks. ... When Zhao Erhu arrived, the storm had already passed. The shattered glass shards, spilled alcohol, and the blood stains spat from Liu Jian’s mouth had all been cleaned up. The scene showed no signs of the previous chaos. Biaozi followed Zhao Erhu into the office, reporting the entire incident in detail. Then he said, "Brother Hu, that bastard Brother Cheng clearly came today just to mess with us! Even without Xia Rou, he would have found someone else to stir up trouble. His real goal is to make Liu Jian team up against us." "I know." Zhao Erhu nodded. Brother Cheng’s intentions were as clear as day; his motives couldn’t be more obvious. "Brother Hu, what should we do now?" Biaozi asked anxiously. "Liu Jian ended up hospitalized after being beaten by Yan Xiaobao here. Even though it technically has nothing to do with us, he’s surely holding a grudge against us now. On top of that, Brother Cheng, that son of a b**ch, will definitely seize the chance to fan the flames. Liu Jian won’t let this go easily." Zhao Erhu pondered for a bit and sighed, "Brother Cheng has Liu Jian backing him up. We need to find ourselves a supporter too." "Everyone understands the logic, but..." Biaozi lit a cigarette with a defeated expression, "Support is only temporary; people come and go. To have truly reliable connections, where are we supposed to find that?" Zhao Erhu and his crew had frequently slipped bribes to local arrest officers and inspectors for "favors," but those were unreliable too. Small matters were fine; they’d help. But for bigger issues, they’d never step in for long. As for truly powerful backers, they’d never bother with small-time players like them—after all, they’re just a group of low-level thugs, not worth the trouble. "That brat who slapped Brother Cheng, what’s her name?" Zhao Erhu asked after thinking for a moment. "No idea," Biaozi shook his head. "I only heard her call Xia Rou ’Third Sister.’ Could they be relatives? Also, Han Ruobing showed up so quickly—it seems like she’s closely connected to Han Ruobing." "Oh, by the way!" Biaozi’s eyes suddenly lit up as he added, "After Yan Xiaobao knocked Liu Jian out, he cursed him, saying he’s nothing, daring to force his Rourou wife, Reserve Concubine wife, and Bingbing wife to drink with him. Maybe that brat also has a thing with Yan Xiaobao!" "Hmm..." To suggest Yan Xiaobao and Xia Rou don’t have a thing—Zhao Erhu didn’t believe it. But to say Yan Xiaobao and Han Ruobing had something going on—that, Zhao Erhu also didn’t buy. Yet he personally overheard Yan Xiaobao call Han Ruobing "Bingbing wife," and Han Ruobing neither fought back nor denied it—a puzzling detail. "In any case, all three women seem to share a close relationship with Yan Xiaobao," Zhao Erhu observed. "Maybe, for us, he’s currently the most suitable ally." "Rely on Yan Xiaobao?" Biaozi was stunned at first but then nodded. "This guy’s background is a mystery, his skills are unrivaled, and I’ve heard Baofeng District’s Chief Constable Zhang Zhixue highly respects him. Just a few days ago, Luo Jianbi’s guys over at Night Banquet also got crushed by him. If we lean on him, at least people like Brother Cheng and Captain Liu wouldn’t be a concern anymore. But... we’ve had some conflicts with him. Would he even help us?" "Those small conflicts could be spun around—sometimes fighting builds familiarity," Zhao Erhu chuckled. "As for whether he’d help, that depends on how sincerely we make our approach..." ... "After the clouds leave, the sky still acts out.Does it believe caring only leads to giving up? Must it lose everything, only to fear nothing..." Chen Long was belting out a tune in the V868 private room. Zheng Xiaoyu was carefully selecting the next song, while Xia Rou sat dazedly, lost in thought, staring blankly ahead. The private room door swung open. Xia Rou glanced over her shoulder and noticed Yan Xiaobao had returned, sending an inexplicable flicker of joy across her eyes. However, her tone was icy as she asked, "Weren’t you off with your Bingbing wife? Why’d you come back?" "Bingbing wife is dropping off Reserve Concubine wife at home, then she’s heading to work," Yan Xiaobao, totally oblivious to the quirk in Xia Rou’s tone, casually plopped down beside her. "Rourou wife, let’s have a drink." "Not drinking." "There’s still so much beer here. Why not drink?" Yan Xiaobao looked at the full table of bottles. Ye Shanshan had ordered three rounds of beers earlier, barely touched them, and over sixty bottles remained. Xia Rou: "I’m singing." Yan Xiaobao grinned and clapped his hands. "Great, great, I’ve never heard Rourou wife sing. You’re definitely better than Reserve Concubine wife." "I don’t feel like singing now. I’ll listen to Chen Long and Xiao Yu sing first," Xia Rou said, feeling unexplainably obstinate toward Yan Xiaobao. "Oh..." Yan Xiaobao picked up his glass again. "Then we’ll drink and listen to them sing." He had heard Xia Rou couldn’t hold her liquor and continuously tried persuading her to drink. If Xia Rou got drunk tonight, he’d definitely be delighted. "Not now; I’ll drink when I get thirsty after singing," Xia Rou deflected, clearly avoiding letting him get his way. As Yan Xiaobao pondered another excuse to coax Xia Rou into drinking, the private room door opened again, and two men walked in. Leading the pair was Zhao Erhu, who strode up to Yan Xiaobao with an attitude of utmost respect and humility. "Boss, you’re gracing our place with your presence—why didn’t you let us know earlier? This room is too small; it doesn’t suit someone of your status. Let me take you to the Supreme VIP suite." The moment Xia Rou and the other two saw Zhao Erhu, their hearts tightened slightly. Yet Zhao Erhu’s overtly deferential way of addressing Yan Xiaobao as "Boss" completely baffled the trio. "Who’s your boss?" Yan Xiaobao glared at Zhao Erhu, his voice sharp. "Don’t go calling people randomly—or I’ll beat you up!" "Right, right, my mistake—Mr. Yan is no ordinary man. Not just anyone qualifies for the title ’Boss,’" Zhao Erhu quickly apologized with an ingratiating smile, lowering his posture even further. You know what they say: fists don’t land on smiling faces. Yan Xiaobao noticed Zhao Erhu’s friendly demeanor and softened slightly, though annoyance still lingered. "Whatever money Rourou wife owes you, I’ll settle it in a couple of days. Don’t bother her in the meantime, and don’t interrupt her singing." "Eh! Boss—um, Mr. Yan, don’t mention it." Zhao Erhu clapped his thigh emphatically. "About that debt, forget the payment. Consider it my humble offering for Madam to pick up some cosmetics or anything she likes." ... [Please don’t forget to bookmark, recommend, reward, and support us!] ...