Everything changed so fast and so weirdly. No one had ever expected that a girl who looked pretty quiet could become so wild and unrestrained in an instant. Seeing this scene, Ning Qiancheng and Li Baitian froze, not to mention Li Tianlan.
They had planned to pick up girls, but never did they expect that one of them would be bullied by a girl.
Sitting still on the pool table, Li Tianlan took a cigarette with his index finger and middle finger. He failed to react to what had happened quickly.
Li Baitian maintained the posture of hitting the ball, and it seemed that he was stunned by all this.
There seemed to be some lingering anger on Han Xinyan, who looked gentle and quiet but actually had the demeanor of a sa.s.sy girl. She carried the cue and was about to hit Zhang Houlong hard before he could get up.
Zhang Houlong, who had long abandoned the idea of struggling, immediately struggled as if he was a pig who was going to be killed while he saw this situation. By rolling and crawling, he escaped from Han Xinyan’s cue frantically and screamed exasperatedly, “Han Xinyan, are you serious?”
“What do you think?”
Han Xinyan charged forward with the cue in hand. “Don’t you dare f*ck me and let your friend do that to me as well? You really have the b.a.l.l.s! Zhang Houlong, you are indeed not bad! I never expected that you should be so freaking awesome because it’s just a few days since we met each other last time. Hum? Show me what are you capable of!”
The room was in an awful mess.
In the beginning, the third floor appeared to be desolate and cheerless because there were only a few people here, but it suddenly became extremely noisy; Zhang Houlong was escaping frantically and Han Xinyan was chasing him with the cue in hand. Li Baitian had a complicated expression on his face, while Ning Qiancheng and Li Tianlan were struck dumb.
This scene could not be more aesthetically pleasing.
The chase lasted around 10 minutes and nearly half of the area on the third floor was a mess with billiards of all colors rolling everywhere. Han Xinyan, who had been wielding the cue wildly, was finally exhausted. She threw the cue on the ground and said angrily, “You b.a.s.t.a.r.d!”
Zhang Houlong, who had been beaten but never fought back, took out a bottle of water from the bar and threw it to Han Xinyan with a bitter smile. “I did this for the good of both of us. Xinyan, don’t be angry. I’m telling you that the three are top-notch and reliable; both their moral standing and talent are outstanding. Don’t you like Mount Shu very much? Baitian comes from Mount Shu. What are you dissatisfied with?” he said helplessly.
“I like Mount Shu’s sword instead of someone from there. What do you mean, you son of a b.i.t.c.h? Do you still want your friend to f*ck me?”
Although Han Xinyan looked delicate, her watery eyes opened wide with rage. “Do you need a spanking?”
“It’s for your own good.”
This matter gave Zhang Houlong a headache. “Look, Xinyan, as long as you find a boyfriend, my mother will not stare at you all day and want you to be her daughter-in-law. Furthermore, the person I found for you is absolutely reliable!”
“Wow! You’re so smart. How did you come up with such a good idea? I failed to notice that you’re so clever before. Are there any other good ideas? Tell me…”
While speaking, Han Xinyan fumbled for another cue with a sweeter smile on her face.
“Go for him.”
When it came to the crunch, Zhang Houlong was no longer loyal to his friend. He directly pointed at Li Baitian and said, “This is my cousin’s brother and my brother as well. He is Li Baitian, the Great Void Sword Master of Mount Shu. He said he’d like to pick up a girl, oh no, find the best girlfriend. I had no choice but to find you. Luckily, you like Mount Shu…”
Li Baitian suddenly felt a quiver of panic. Before he could scold Zhang Houlong for his lack of loyalty, Han Xinyan had rushed over with the cue in hand.
“You want to pick up girls, do you? You are the Great Void Sword Master, right? Come on, I am right here. Come and pick me up.”
Li Baitian’s reaction was exactly the same as Zhang Houlong’s. He covered his head with his hands and scurried off like a frightened rat. “He didn’t tell me that it’s you. I’m trapped. d.a.m.n it, Little Throat, you dared to trap me! Wait and see…” he howled.
Li Tianlan instinctively lit another cigarette. He looked at this farce and asked helplessly, “Does Baitian know her?”
“He hasn’t met her, but I guess he might have heard of her.”
Ning Qiancheng sat down beside Li Tianlan with a faint smile on his face and observed this scene with relish. He lifted his chin to point at Han Xinyan, saying in a low voice, “Her father is Han Donglou.”
“Who is he?”
Li Tianlan was very curious about that. He knew Zhang Houlong, but he had never heard of Han Donglou and Han Xinyan. Yesterday, Qin Weibai showed him the data, most of which were about the people inside the Sky Academy and few were related to those in the outside world. Zhang Houlong, to be precise, the Zhang family, was only highlighted by Qin Weibai because it had relations with Ning Qiancheng.
The Zhang family of Huating!
Nowadays, an undercurrent of strife was surging in Huating and influential families were rare. The Zhang family, however, was definitely one of the most powerful ones of said families in Huating. Moreover, it was an important part of the Southeast Group.
Five years ago, the Southeast Group, led by the w.a.n.g family of Beihai, suffered a severe setback. It lost Huating, a place that used to be served as its backyard garden but was occupied by the Prince Group later. The landmark of this incident was the Zhang family’s head’s early retirement.
The early retirement of the elder indicated that the Southeast Group directly lost the absolute initiative of Huating.
Although the elder had retired, his influence in Huating had not been eliminated. Because of his retirement, his offspring made further progress in the official career and there was even plenty of room for them to climb higher.
Zhang Houlong was the heir of the Zhang family. His father was a high official in political circles, and his mother was Ning Xinyi—Ning Qiancheng’s aunt, the vice-president of the Huating University, the School Master of the Business School as well as a famous economist in Zhongzhou State.
Li Tianlan did not feel anything when he heard of the Zhang family yesterday, but he didn’t expect to see its heir only one day later. While he was exclaiming how miraculous fate was in his heart, he deduced that the Zhang family seemed to have the idea of matching Han Xinyan and Zhang Houlong from their dialogues. However, neither of them seemed to have a crush on each other, and that was why the farce happened today.
“Han Xinyan.”
“Han Donglou.”
Li Tianlan thought carefully and was certain that there were really no names of these two people on the data he browsed yesterday.
But given Ning Qiancheng’s tone of voice and Han Xinyan’s att.i.tude, he was clear that the Han family’s strength was probably no weaker than the Zhang family’s.
Ning Qiancheng glanced at Li Tianlan and said in an odd tone, “You’ve heard of the Flourishing Age Fund, haven’t you? Han Donglou is its founder.”
“No, I haven’t. Tell me more about it.”
Li Tianlan took a puff on a cigarette and laughed. There was still a long way for him to go if he wanted to get in touch with real wealthy families in Huating, but it seemed not bad to appreciate their elegant demeanor ahead of time.
“I don’t know much about that either.”
Ning Qiancheng shook his head and continued, “Han Donglou is presumably the biggest financial giant in Zhongzhou State. He had stirred up several international financial storms and the amount of working capital at his disposal is horrendous. It is conservatively estimated that he can directly or indirectly affect the flow of trillions of funds at least. This is a real financial giant.”
“The financial crisis in several countries in Southeast Asia a few years ago was probably triggered by the Flourishing Age Fund secretively. Han Donglou is influential not only in Huating but also in the entire Zhongzhou State.”
“He’s indeed awesome.”
Li Tianlan replied and laughed gently.
“The cruelty of currency wars is even more poignant and painful than real ones. Although Han Donglou is internationally notorious, he is a famous philanthropist in Zhongzhou State. He is ready to do charities and is socially active. He has close contacts with the important figures of the six major groups in Zhongzhou State, but he doesn’t take sides explicitly. In short, the Han family is neutral. With this alone, I can figure out that Han Donglou is unfathomable.”
Ning Qiancheng’s tone of voice was filled with heartfelt admiration.
It was something easy to do, be it to remain neutral amongst the six groups or to become an influential family, but it was as difficult as to climb up to the sky if anyone wanted to achieve both. However, Han Donglou made this. It showed the horror of the web of relationships that spread beneath his financial empire.
Li Tianlan did not speak. He was smoking and deep in thought.
The distinctive sound of high heels stepping on steps sounded from below.
w.a.n.g Yuetong went up to the third floor and stopped at the stairhead.
The third floor was still bustling with activity. Han Xinyan seemed to have regained her strength because she was pursuing Li Baitian with a cue in hand. Zhang Houlong got caught in the chase as well. Like Li Baitian, he scampered off like a frightened rat.
w.a.n.g Yuetong turned a blind eye to everything in sight. She just stared at Li Tianlan, who was smoking on the pool table, with eyes full of grievance.
“Hey, Yuetong.”
Ning Qiancheng said h.e.l.lo to her and a trace of naked amazement could be seen from his eyes.
The little princess from the w.a.n.g family of Beihai wore a light make-up today and this made her beautiful face become much more charming. Except for a pair of high-heeled shoes, she also put on skinny pants and white shirts. She looked simple and elegant with her hair hanging loose over her shoulders.
She just stood at the stairhead and looked at Li Tianlan silently. In this way, she looked quite lovely and pitiful.
Li Tianlan sighed gently. Perhaps Ning Qiancheng could not figure out anything abnormal about w.a.n.g Yuetong’s dressing, he himself surely could.
It was almost a copy of what Qin Weibai wore yesterday.
w.a.n.g Yuetong may not have the kind of calm and cold that Qin Weibai possessed, but her slightly mature dressing added her the charming of youth. She was surely beautiful, but Li Tianlan could not figure out why would she compete with Qin Weibai so deliberately.
Thinking of what Yu Donglai had told him, he immediately got a headache.
“Does I try to be clever but end up with egg on my face?”
He really did not have the slightest intention of playing cat and mouse with her. He had no idea what he should do to cope with this situation. After all, he was forced to lose his virginity last night.
“I’m going to stop them from fighting each other.”
Ning Qiancheng was by no means a fool. Of course, he had sensed the subtle atmosphere between Li Tianlan and w.a.n.g Yuetong. Thus, with a cough, he turned away and fled.
Li Tianlan sat where he was quietly and kept smoking, without uttering a word.
w.a.n.g Yuetong looked at him for a while. She bit her lips and walked up to him, saying gently, “Senior brother…”
Li Tianlan glanced at her and nodded his head, without knowing what to say.
Their relationship seemed a little bit awkward currently.
“How… how are your injuries?”
w.a.n.g Yuetong added gently, “I brought some medicines and a few medicinal herbs with me. They are in my car now. I’ll give them to you later.”
“No need.”
Li Tianlan shook his head while looking at w.a.n.g Yuetong. Deliberately, he said politely, “My wounds have healed, thank you.”
w.a.n.g Yuetong twitched her nose and her eyes grew more and more bitter. Her voice trembled slightly as if she was trying her utmost to suppress her inner feelings. “I don’t like it when you say thanks to me.”
“Thank you.”
There was a long silence. However, Li Tianlan still chose to break the silence with the two words.
w.a.n.g Yuetong no longer spoke. She just stared at Li Tianlan stubbornly.
Li Tianlan took puffs on a cigarette and lit another cigarette after the first one was consumed.
When he saw the grievance and stubbornness in w.a.n.g Yuetong’s eyes, he felt it was difficult for him to describe his mood. He felt like to inform her of his ident.i.ty, let her know that their best result was to be even, and tell her he couldn’t join the w.a.n.g family of Beihai.
He was dying to do all this.
But he could only think about that.
He didn’t believe he could afford the consequences if he said all this.
The cigarette was burning out.
Li Tianlan’s calm face grew cold.
He suddenly stood up to avoid w.a.n.g Yuetong. “Sorry, I’m going to the bathroom,” he said calmly.
With a brisk nod, he turned around and left.
Nevertheless, w.a.n.g Yuetong grabbed him by the arm.
Although her hands were delicate and slender, her grip was firm.
A cry sounded behind Li Tianlan, each word piercing the heart.
“What’s the matter with you? What have I done to you? Why are you doing this to me? You mustn’t go! I need an explanation.”