Chapter 103: A Slap Worth Ten Thousand

Nighttime, Golden Palace Club.

"Mr. Xu, is it? Please follow me upstairs."

The waiter looked at the man in front of him, smiling as he bowed respectfully.

With his hands in his pockets, Xu Huoqing lazily looked up and clicked his tongue inwardly.

Bankrupt, yet he still has the money to come to a place like this.

But then again, the An family is quite wealthy.

Xu Huoqing and the waiter arrived at the door of a private room.

Pushing the door open, the main suite was incredibly spacious, with several bottles of expensive foreign liquor displayed on the table.

A man sat on the leather sofa. His features were cold and handsome, his aura noble and aloof. His long legs were casually crossed as he looked down at his phone, seemingly chatting with someone, faintly revealing a luxurious, expensive watch on his wrist.

Hearing the noise, he put down his phone and lifted his eyelids to cast a glance over.

Xu Huoqing took off his hat, walked over, and plopped down onto the sofa. "You found out this quickly? I didn't lie to you, right? Just one test and you'd know."

The man set his phone aside, resting his arm casually on the back of the sofa. His tone was unhurried. "When did you find out?"

"Me?" Xu Huoqing poured himself a glass of wine and smirked. "I already told you I've known An Ling for a long time. I was..."

"In junior high, right?"

The man's flat voice interrupted him.

Xu Huoqing froze, blurting out subconsciously, "How did you know?"

Could it be that An Ling had told him?

But Shen Linyan merely chuckled upon hearing this.

He lowered his eyes, the corners of his lips curling into a peaceful arc. "Does it matter? I also heard that An Ling transferred schools because of you."

"Tsk, she told you, didn't she? It was just a joke back then. I didn't expect her to actually transfer schools over it."

Xu Huoqing didn't really want to discuss the past. He took a sip of his wine. "Since you already know An Ling has face blindness, it makes things simple."

He pulled a bank card from his pocket and slapped it onto the table. Crossing his legs and leaning back on the sofa, he said, "I know you're bankrupt and in desperate need of money. Here is two million. That shouldn't be a small amount for you. I want to make a deal."

Shen Linyan glanced at the card on the table, lightly tapping his fingertips against his knee. His tone was indifferent. "Is that so? Let's hear it."

Xu Huoqing poked his inner cheek with his tongue. Remembering the hickey he had seen last time, he clicked his tongue again. "An Ling must taste pretty good, right?"

As his words fell, the man's movements suddenly halted, and the temperature in his eyes plummeted.

Xu Huoqing, however, was completely oblivious to the heavy, dangerous atmosphere around him.

His mind was filled with that woman's face, and he swallowed unconsciously. "You know An Ling has face blindness, right? She wouldn't be able to tell anyway. Help me set up a date with her. Once I'm done, I'll give you another million. How about it?"

Fuck, who told An Ling to treat him like that.

Xu Huoqing felt this wasn't a bad deal for Shen Linyan at all.

He lifted his chin. "I know you're living off An Ling's money right now. You'll be earning from both sides anyway, and you don't have to worry about being found out. I've tried this before; if I change into your clothes, An Ling definitely won't recognize me."

The only response in the private room was an eerie, suffocating silence.

Seeing the man remain quiet, Xu Huoqing assumed he felt the money wasn't enough. "If you think it's not enough, I'll add another million..."

"Heh."

The man on the sofa suddenly let out a low laugh.

He slowly took a cigarette from his pocket and lit it with a crisp click. The curling smoke obscured the icy coldness in his eyes, and his tone was unexpectedly calm. "So you've done this before."

Just as Xu Huoqing was about to speak, the door beside him was suddenly thrown open. His expression froze, and as he looked up, he didn't even have time to see who it was.

"Slap—!"

A crisp, vicious slap echoed through the room.

"Xu Huoqing!! What the fuck are you talking about!!" A man's furious, teeth-gritting roar exploded in the private room.

Xu Huoqing's face was knocked to the side, a burning pain radiating from his cheek. But he had no time to care about the pain, staring blankly at the person in front of him.

"...Uncle?"

Why was his uncle here?

Guo Yu's face was dark with rage. Grabbing his nephew by the collar with furious disappointment, he couldn't resist slapping him hard across the face again. "Didn't I tell you to stop provoking An Ling?! What the fuck are you doing here!"

Provoking An Ling was bad enough, but to actually provoke Shen Linyan!

He grabbed the dazed Xu Huoqing and mercilessly kicked him in the calf.

"Thump—"

His knees slammed heavily against the floor. Xu Huoqing knelt pathetically in front of Shen Linyan, his face twisted in agony.

Guo Yu also dropped to his knees, his tone panicked and desperate.

"Chairman Shen, my nephew is ignorant. Please be the bigger person and don't hold it against him. I will make him get out of your sight forever."

Watching his uncle's subservient, terrified demeanor, Xu Huoqing's delayed realization finally kicked in.

He looked up at the man on the sofa, his eyes filling with absolute terror, and swallowed hard. "I..."

Gu Xiaochi, standing to the side, didn't dare make a sound, his eyes full of pity.

This kid was completely doomed; his whole family might as well restart their lives in the next world with him.

Looking at the two men kneeling before him, Shen Linyan's expression remained perfectly indifferent as his long fingers slowly flicked his cigarette ash.

"Let him go? Fine. If Mr. Guo slaps him twenty thousand times, I'll consider letting him go."

Guo Yu looked shocked. "This..."

How is that possible?

The man let out a soft laugh. "You can't do it? Then we'll have someone else do it."

As soon as he spoke, the door to the private room opened.

Several heavily built, neatly dressed bodyguards marched in from outside.

Shen Linyan leaned back on the sofa and said lightly, "Ten thousand per slap, until the two million is reached."

The bodyguards replied in loud, clear voices: "Yes, sir."

Seeing those men walking towards him, all the blood instantly drained from Xu Huoqing's face. He finally realized Shen Linyan wasn't joking.

He really wanted his life!

A bone-deep chill spread from the soles of his feet, and a wave of pure terror surged up.

Trembling in all his limbs, Xu Huoqing crawled forward, his eyes wide with fear and his voice shaking violently. "Chairman Shen, I was wrong! Just pretend I didn't say anything... I will apologize to An Ling, I won't say a word to anyone! Please let me go this time, I really won't say anything!"

"Apologize?"

Shen Linyan crushed his cigarette out, stood up unhurriedly, and stepped his leather shoe firmly down onto Xu Huoqing's hand.

His thin lips curled up, but his pitch-black eyes were freezing cold, completely devoid of any warmth.

"Are you implying that you still want to see my wife?"