At that moment, the entire tenth floor had only me and Liu left. He’d probably booked the whole place out. Damn, being rich really is nice.

I stopped slumping in my chair and sat up straight. Leisurely, I said, “So, Young Master Feng, what’s the occasion today? What gave you the elegant mood to treat a brute like me to dinner?”

There was a bit of a barb in that question. Liu rolled his eyes and said helplessly, “You should know better than I do.”

I smiled too, but didn’t say a word.

Know what?

For one thing, if you wanted to make a move on Long-ge? Not happening.

Honestly, the only reason I didn’t bring Long-ge today was for this guy’s own good. The bunch that beat Long-ge until he coughed blood before? This brat was definitely the mastermind behind it.

If I’d brought Long-ge along today, and this guy kept showing off, trying to impress a beauty, spouting street-boss nonsense, and accidentally let slip that he was the one who had people stab the Pearl River Little White Dragon, I was afraid Long-ge wouldn’t be able to hold back. He’d kick him straight off the tenth floor.

And this was the tenth floor. By the time the funeral home got there, they’d probably be cursing while picking up the pieces.

Seeing me smile without speaking, Young Master Feng dropped the eye-roll and said earnestly, “I know you’re protective of your girlfriend, but I’m not a bad person, right? You should understand that getting to know me would absolutely be a good thing for her…”

“My family’s business isn’t small. This might sound arrogant to you, but if any one of our companies so much as stomped a foot, the financial world would feel a little tremor.”

“You know, her temperament is incredible. I’ve never seen a girl with such presence. She could absolutely enter the film and television industry. And once that happens, from then on, she and you won’t be on the same level anymore. You can’t ruin her future just because of your own little selfish thoughts, can you?”

I kept smiling.

Leaving aside whether Long-ge really had that kind of presence, if she got to know you and entered the entertainment industry, would that mean she’d also have to go through some “casting couch” crap?

If the one he had his eye on were Old Han, I might actually hesitate a little. That almost sounded like a real career path.

And besides, with that kind of thing, it depends on whether both sides are willing. If not, that’s rape. That gets you prison time.

If it were Old Han, he’d definitely rather die than submit. Worst case, he’d just flip the table and walk.

But the key issue here was different.

The one being targeted for this “casting couch” was Long-ge.

We’re all men. I could see those little thoughts of his just fine. If I couldn’t, then all those years I spent as a delinquent in school were for nothing. Wasn’t he afraid of getting kicked crippled?

I couldn’t be bothered wasting words with him, so I crossed one leg over the other and said, “Sorry. I grew up with Xiao Long. I know better than she does what she likes and doesn’t like. So how about this? I’ll go back and ask her. If she’s really interested, I’ll give you a call. How’s that?”

Young Master Feng was about to say something else when the young waitress who’d gone to buy beer came back. Carefully, she set two bottles of beer on the table, like they were the real Lafite.

She smiled at me, and I smiled back. “Thanks for the trouble. Could you also bring a bottle opener? And open the Lafite too.”

At that moment, a big dish was brought to the table too. On a huge platter sat a whole turkey. I’d honestly never seen such a massive roast chicken in my life.

The two young women at the door came over with silver knives and forks wrapped in handkerchiefs. They set the tableware in front of me and Liu, softly said, “Please enjoy,” and then withdrew.

The girl who’d gone to get the opener came back. She was also carrying an opened bottle of Lafite. Smiling, she set the wine on the table and turned to leave. I stopped her and gave her ten yuan as a tip. After all, going downstairs to buy two bottles and bring them back up was a hassle.

The waitress covered her mouth and laughed. She didn’t look down on it either. She bowed politely and accepted it.

I was taking the bus home today. If I remembered right, I still had two fifty-cent coins in my pocket, enough for the fare. Even so, I didn’t feel bad spending the ten. I just treated it like getting to experience rich people life for once.

At the table, only Liu, me, and the turkey were left.

Liu stared at me. I calmly picked up the knife and fork and skillfully cut off a piece of turkey, then sent it into my mouth with the fork.

When Liu saw I knew how to use cutlery, he looked a little surprised.

I mean, of course I knew how. Western restaurants weren’t some sacred luxury. It was just three or four hundred yuan a meal. The food felt pretty average to me, and whether it even filled you up was another question. I just didn’t go often.

My family was at least comfortably well-off. Not freakishly rich like this guy, sure, but why wouldn’t I know how to use a knife and fork? Who in Harbin hasn’t eaten red sausage? Even street barbecue stalls serve roast lamb leg.

Ever since the food was served, Liu Renfeng had been sitting there with a pensive look. His knife and fork rested untouched on the table. He didn’t say a word.

I ignored him and focused on eating back the twenty yuan I’d spent on the taxi. Before long, I’d already eaten one whole turkey leg.

Honestly, I kind of wanted a plastic glove so I could just dig in with my hands. That would’ve felt way better than using a knife and fork. But I figured this guy had already embarrassed himself enough today, so I held back.

After a long while, he let out a heavy sigh. Looking wilted, he slowly raised his knife and fork and made a few aimless motions over the turkey.

Hearing him sigh, I felt a little bad for him.

The guy really was kind of pitiful. He’d tried to fish for information and got absolutely nothing. This meal had to cost at least tens of thousands. Compared to the rest, the turkey was probably cheap, but even that had to be over five hundred yuan.

And that was just the side stuff. If I remembered right, a bottle of ’82 Lafite went for over fifty thousand on the market. I had no idea how much his bottle cost, but it didn’t feel any cheaper.

This meal was absurdly expensive, and on top of that, he’d lost face for nothing. He’d taken a total bloodbath.

My two bottles of Snow Beer didn’t even count as pocket change next to it. He’d casually tossed out two hundred, and whatever was left after buying them became the tip.

I let out a long sigh too. I stopped eating, put down my knife and fork, and said frankly, “Young Master Feng, I’ve got two things to tell you. One good news, one bad news. Which do you want first?”

He glanced at me weakly and kept poking at the turkey. “What is it? Don’t tell me you’re not used to the knife and fork and want me to get you a plastic glove?”

This time I was the one who froze for a good while.

Holy shit. How the hell did you know?

After thinking for a bit, I shook my head. “No. It’s about the Xiao Long you can’t stop thinking about. Do you want the good news first, or the bad news?”

He paused, then immediately stopped messing with the turkey. Hesitantly, he said, “Then... the good news?”

I said it bluntly. “Xiao Long isn’t my girlfriend.”

He shot to his feet and snapped, “Then you still dared to mess with me? Are you tired of living?”

I stayed seated, leisurely fiddling with the knife and fork. I cut another piece of meat, speared it, and stuffed it into my mouth.

When he saw that, he realized there was more to come. So he sat back down resentfully and asked coldly, “And the bad news?”

I didn’t answer right away. I swallowed the turkey, then chugged a full glass of Snow Beer in one go. With a satisfied sigh, I casually flicked the dinner knife in a flourish. Only then did I smile and say, “Ah, now we’re getting to the point. Young Master Feng, the thing we need to talk about today is exactly that bad news.”

I set the knife on the table.

The moment he saw the knife flourish, his eyes went wide. He blurted out, “You’ve run with the underworld before?”

I folded my hands together and smiled without speaking.

Run with the underworld, my ass. Back in school, I learned that knife trick to look cool and pick up girls. I could spin a ZIPPO lighter too.

But he was exactly the kind of guy I thought he was: a rich second-gen who’d read too many mafia novels and wanted to buy his way into that world.

The thirty-some people he brought the other day definitely weren’t the kind of punks who brawled outside school gates. They had to be his personal bodyguards.

I’d seen thirty-on-thirty street fights before. Those guys around him were on a completely different level. The aura wasn’t the same at all. More than half of them were probably ex-soldiers. If Long-ge and I had actually fought them that day, the odds would’ve been terrible.

I stayed silent for a moment.

Ever since I did that knife flourish, this guy’s eyes had been shining. After thinking it over, I said, “Young Master Feng, I wonder if you know someone.”

He asked, “Who?”

I said, “Bai Hailong.”

He froze for a second. “The Pearl River Little White Dragon?”

I nodded.

He thought for a bit, then sighed and said wistfully, “Yeah, I know of him. Back then, I really admired him. I wanted to invite him to dinner and make friends, but he cursed me out instead... I guess I was too abrupt.”

“People with real standing in that world all have a bit of a temper. Later, I wanted to call him a few more times, but I didn’t know whether he was busy or not. One thing led to another, and eventually we just stopped having any contact.”

Inside, I cursed Long-ge.

Why the hell did he have to go around cursing people out all the time? If his temper hadn’t been so foul, wouldn’t he have one more long-term meal ticket by now? Just look at this meal alone. Fifty grand. Way more valuable than seven-yuan malatang.

Then I thought about Long-ge’s current look of complete indifference, and the miserable state he was in now, and I sighed again.

At this point, I wasn’t worried those little gang punks would find Long-ge. After all, who’d believe a living man turned into a woman overnight? Anyone who believed that had something wrong with their head.

The problem was, even after turning into a woman, she still wouldn’t behave. Just a few days ago, she got into a fight with someone at an internet café. Long-ge had always been a bit wild. If she turned into a woman and still kept living however she pleased—

Then we’d just end up with Bai Hailong 2.0.

And after becoming a woman, there was no telling what kind of filthy tricks those social scum might use.

Better to just solve this whole matter once and for all. From now on, we’d tell everyone that Long-ge was Bai Hailong’s younger sister.

That way, Bai Hailong would still be the same Bai Hailong no one dared provoke. And because of his old reputation, Long-ge’s life after becoming a woman would be a lot more peaceful too.

I hesitated, then said, “Young Master Feng, if he cursed you out, then yeah, that was his fault. But after that, people surrounded him, and he even lost his job. Doesn’t that mean both sides are even now?”

Young Master Feng gave a bitter smile and shook his head. “Those people weren’t sent by me. Honestly, I didn’t care at all. But a few of my big brothers really hated him. Every time we ate together, they’d talk about how to get revenge on him...”

“I didn’t dare say much. I tried to persuade them a few times, but they wouldn’t listen. There wasn’t really anything I could do.”

The moment I heard that, I was speechless.

Nothing you could do?

A rich second-gen worth millions, acting like some lackey under these so-called big brothers? What did you just call them? Big brothers? And you didn’t dare speak? If you called over those thirty-plus bodyguards from last time, let’s see who wouldn’t dare speak then.

I sat there in silence for a while, then asked, “What about those thirty-some bodyguards from last time?”

He looked at me strangely. “How did you know they were bodyguards? They’re all my personal bodyguards. I can call them anytime. But I hate being followed.”

“And besides, I once read a book...”

Young Master Feng looked at me seriously for three full seconds, then said in a solemn voice, “That book said only your own strength is truly your own. Everything that belongs to others is external. Only when you yourself are strong are you truly strong.”

I kept smiling, but inside I was already wailing.

That sounded fine in theory, sure. But if you’ve got something useful and refuse to use it, doesn’t that mean your brain’s broken? If you have a gun, are you really going to box someone barehanded?

I suppressed the overwhelming urge to roast him.

This Young Master Feng had completely shattered my impression of rich second-gens. Other people were arrogant and domineering.

This one was just dumb.

After thinking it over, I chose my words carefully. “Young Master Feng, whether something counts as external or not, that’s getting off topic... Anyway, do you know who Xiao Long is?”

He looked up at me. “Who?”

I decided to just make something up on the spot. “Bai Hailong’s younger sister.”

He stared blankly for a long time, then let out a long sigh. “So that’s it... No wonder. The first time I saw her, she felt strangely familiar... Huh? Do siblings usually have scars on opposite sides?”

That nearly made me choke. I took a swig of Snow Beer.

“If you want to pursue Xiao Long, I can help you. But right now, everyone’s saying it was Young Master Feng who took the lead in going after Bai Hailong. Think about it. As Bai Hailong’s sister, could Xiao Long possibly have a good impression of you?”

He froze again and hurriedly said, “I didn’t! Who said I did?”

I gave a bitter smile inwardly.

Of course I knew it wasn’t you.

Had you really spent all your time treating people to meals and doing nothing else? Not only were you being used as a gun, they’d even spread the word outright that it was your doing. And you still didn’t know. You were playing the perfect airtight diaper.

My guess was that although this Young Master Feng got cursed out back then, he didn’t actually bear Long-ge any ill will.

The ones who wanted Long-ge dead were those so-called big brothers behind him.

How deep was the grudge?

Not that deep, really.

These little off-campus gangsters were all hypersensitive, volatile types. The slightest offense was enough for them to remember you until they got their revenge.

In small cities in the Three Northeastern Provinces, all kinds of bizarre things happened nonstop. The reasons people got offended were just as bizarre.

Every fight you couldn’t avoid, you had to fight.

And you had to fight hard.

For example, if you got into a fight and knelt to beg for mercy, then your school life was basically over. From then on, endless people would hear about it and come squeeze you like a soft persimmon. You could just be walking down the hallway, and someone would tell you to kneel. Refuse even a little, and you’d get the shit beaten out of you.

In a place this small, when some random fight comes your way, you can only fight. And you fight like your life depends on it. Even if you lose, you have to make sure they remember you. That's the only way to avoid all the trouble after.

I ran into something like that back in high school. One day, I got off the bus and, for no reason at all, got singled out. Later that night, during evening study hall, a whole group showed up outside our classroom and shouted for me to come out. I was only a first-year then, still a good student. When that happened, I was completely dumbfounded. Like, what the hell had I even done?

When we got to the hill behind the school, every single one of them pulled out telescopic batons. There were a lot of them, and they surrounded me, talking at me, shoving me now and then. In the end, a guy who looked like the boss stopped them. Then he gave me a long, earnest lecture about all kinds of so-called street rules, basically saying I wasn't allowed to make the same mistake again.

When they were leaving, I really couldn't hold back my curiosity anymore, so I asked what I'd actually done. They said I'd stepped on his foot on the bus.

Anyway, as for why those street big shots had it out for Brother Long, the reason was simple. I already said it before—Brother Long was blunt and spoke without thinking. To put it plainly, he had a foul mouth. Who knew which line had made someone hold a grudge?

I sighed, drained the Snowflake beer in my cup in one gulp, and said earnestly, "Young Master Feng, if you say it wasn't you, I can believe that... but will other people? Will Little Long? Anyone can say whatever they want, right? Hell, I can say I'm Tony Stark."

"You need to do something. Use your actions to show Little Long this wasn't your doing. Then I can put in a few good words for you with him... right?"

Young Master Feng froze again for a while. He stayed silent for a long time, deep in thought.

After quite a while, he finally said, "Got it. I'll ask around when the time comes."

By the end of the meal, we'd eaten our fill and had plenty to drink. When we were leaving, that qipao-clad young lady stared at me for a long moment. I hadn't drunk in a long time, and after two bottles of Snowflake, my face was already a little red. So I casually shot her a flirtatious look, making her cover her mouth and giggle. Young Master Feng rolled his eyes again from the side, then pulled out his wallet and took out his credit card.

I smiled and said, "Thanks for the meal, Young Master Feng. Sorry for the expense."

The kid waved it off and let out a sigh.

I figured he was actually a pretty decent guy, and kind-hearted too. He just couldn't see a lot of things clearly. On top of that, he'd read too many underworld novels and gone stupid from them. He'd been getting bluffed by people the whole time, used like a gun.

I said, "Young Master Feng, a strong man is someone who knows how to use his own power. If he doesn't, then he's just a dumbass... Honestly, compared to you, those big brothers behind you ain't worth shit."

Young Master Feng only gave a bitter smile and shook his head. He probably thought I was flattering him. I smiled and said, "Don't sell yourself that short."

He didn't say anything. Cars streamed back and forth on the street. Young Master Feng got picked up by a Porsche, while I stood there under the city lights. Neon and headlights mixed together, casting a bizarre wash of shifting colors.

Compared to back in high school, my alcohol tolerance really had gotten worse.

I shook my head to clear it a little, pulled out a Hongjinlong cigarette, lit it, and headed straight for the bus stop.