I admire you; you truly are worthy of being Zhou Ji's subordinate.
The city is brightly lit and bustling with traffic at night.
Zhou Jun often wanders around at night, but rarely looks at these night views alone.
Many people describe "nightlife" in countless ways, but for someone like Zhou Junchang, he has seen many people getting drunk late at night and has also heard songs sung from hoarse throats.
Zhou Jun often believed that once the superficial glamour faded, everything was just monotonous and dull inside.
Zhou Jun often couldn't muster any interest.
The shop Xu Li found was located a few streets behind Tianguang Hall. The shop was built with wood covered in thick paint, and its main feature was the atmosphere of a traditional tavern. At night, the lights emitted a warm yellow glow, and bells hung at the door and by the window, jingling in the wind. Such a scene was indeed very suitable for having a few drinks with two or three friends at night.
Zhou Jun and Xu Li came together.
At that time, Zhou Jun was still logging into the private room information when Xu Li urged him to leave Mingyue Night.
Neither of them spoke the rest of the way. Zhou Junchang was holding his breath because Xu Li hadn't apologized yet. He wasn't one to initiate conversation, and because of what happened that morning, he was even less likely to start a topic.
Xu Li didn't notice anything amiss, because in her eyes, Zhou Junchang had always been a man of few words.
When they arrived at the restaurant, the two of them chose a seat by the window.
Actually, it was Xu Li who chose it. As soon as they entered the store, Zhou Junchang followed Xu Li and sat directly by the window.
Before sitting down, Xu Li reached out and touched the bell by the window. The bell was hanging quite high, and even though Xu Li was wearing high heels, she still tiptoed.
Xu Li must be a regular customer here, very familiar with the store's layout, Zhou Jun often thought.
But Zhou Junchang didn't care about any of that, since he came here simply because of Xu Li.
"What do you want to eat?" Finally, Xu Li spoke the first words they exchanged that evening.
Zhou Jun took the menu from Xu Li, glanced at it briefly, and before he could say anything, he heard Xu Li call out to the waiter, "A dozen beers over here!"
Zhou Junchang glanced at Xu Li, who looked at her with a puzzled expression and blinked, asking, "Have you ordered?"
Zhou Junchang said to the menu, "You order."
Xu Li complained, "Why should I order? I'm the one treating you!"
"You don't come here often, why don't you order some of our local specialties?"
Xu Li didn't ask Zhou Junchang how he knew she often came here; she could guess that it was because she had acted too familiarly and naturally just now.
Seeing that Zhou Junchang said this, Xu Li didn't refuse and casually ordered a few dishes that she thought were okay.
While we were waiting for the dishes, the wine was served first.
The beer was just taken out of the refrigerator and is still chilly.
Xu Li opened a bottle, took a big gulp, frowned, and closed his eyes tightly, as if he still couldn't swallow it.
Zhou Junchang then realized that Xu Li didn't seem to drink much, nor did she like drinking.
Because very few people drink with their eyes closed. Even when drinking strong liquor, they will only smack their lips and move their cheeks. No one closes their eyes, especially since this is just beer with a very low alcohol content.
Xu Li's expression suggested she was making a big decision, and she used a lot of effort to swallow the wine.
Zhou Junchang saw through everything but said nothing, only smiling contemptuously throughout his life.
When Xu Li opened her eyes, she saw Zhou Junchang's still-sharp lips, and then opened another bottle for Zhou Junchang.
The two of them just kept drinking and waiting for the food to be served.
When Xu Li finished another bottle and was about to open another, Zhou Junchang finally couldn't help but speak up to stop her: "That's enough."
Xu Li burped, and the smell of alcohol rushed from her stomach into her nasal cavity. Xu Li couldn't help but frown again.
Zhou Junchang added, "I don't want to get slapped again."
This not only deterred Xu Li from continuing to drink, but also reminded her of the purpose of inviting Zhou Junchang to dinner.
Xu Li almost forgot while drinking.
The atmosphere between the two became somewhat awkward as they recalled that slap.
Zhou Jun saw that Xu Li had quieted down and was not making a sound, just waiting for Xu Li to hear something.
Xu Li began to explain after the waiter had served all the dishes.
What happened this morning was my fault.
"..."
Zhou Junchang remained silent, waiting for Xu Li to continue.
Xu Li is not someone who apologizes, at least not now, but she did start the fight, so even if she was unwilling, out of humanitarian considerations, she still had to apologize to Zhou Junchang.
Moreover, Zhou Junchang works for Zhou Ji, so they will inevitably need to cooperate in the future.
Xu Li was still organizing her thoughts when she heard Zhou Junchang speak.
Zhou Junchang remained unconvinced, his tone icy: "Then why didn't you leave this morning so decisively?"
Xu Li's expression became slightly awkward for a moment when she thought of this, but she quickly regained her composure, as if she was trying to cover something up. She said, "That's enough. I wasn't thinking straight at the time."
Even though Xu Li apologized, she still couldn't tolerate Zhou Junchang's arrogant and overbearing behavior.
Zhou Junchang wasn't a petty person. In fact, Xu Li didn't need to go to such lengths to invite him to dinner. Even if they had just met briefly at the restaurant and the matter had been discussed directly, Zhou Junchang would have been fine with it.
Zhou Junchang didn't say anything more, not just because he had already moved on from the past, but because he had noticed that Xu Li's hand had tightened around the beer bottle after he finished speaking.
Just like Zhou Junchang's illusion, he felt that Xu Li really didn't want to face this matter, but was forced to face it for some reason.
Zhou Jun often said, "You have such a bad temper, but I see you're quite good-natured with that thug."
"How can they be the same?"
Zhou Jun chuckled softly.
"I just don't want to cause trouble. Besides, the more you argue with that kind of person, the more stubborn they become. You can't win an argument with thugs in society."
"Those who are not to be trifled with know how to apologize, but those who are easy to mess with get angry."
Xu Li clicked her tongue, no longer wanting to talk to Zhou Junchang.
After a while, Xu Li thought of something else and asked, "You know he's a thug, so how did you let him get such a good deal?"
Xu Li was referring to the fact that Zhou Jun had been giving that scoundrel discount cards for six months.
Zhou Junchang smiled and said, "The most important thing in this kind of thing is to solve the problem first. As for what happens afterward, let him get away with it and have nowhere to use it, that's fine."
Xu Li understood; it meant blacklisting the scoundrels so they wouldn't be able to get in again, and therefore wouldn't be able to get any discounts.
This kind of scoundrel is obsessed with saving face, so Zhou Junchang first suggested calling the police, giving the scoundrel a hard time. Of course, he knew he had no reason or evidence and wouldn't get away with it at the police station. Then Zhou Junchang said he wouldn't call the police, letting the scoundrel back down gracefully. Finally, he even gave him a discount card, making him think he had gotten a great deal.
Xu Li smiled knowingly, raised his glass and toasted Zhou Junchang: "I admire you, no wonder you are Zhou Ji's subordinate."
It was almost 10 p.m. after dinner. Zhou Junchang still had to go back to the store, while Xu Li went home by herself.
After that night, Zhou Junchang and Xu Li didn't see each other much. They didn't have much interaction to begin with, one lived upstairs and the other downstairs. At most, Xu Li would see Zhou Junchang when she passed by the bar after get off work. They didn't have much to say to each other, and a glance was enough for them to say hello. But sometimes there were too many people at night, and Zhou Junchang would be busy, so she couldn't see him at the bar anymore.
During the few days that Zhou Jun was often at the shop, Hu Hei and A Feng would sometimes come over to help. Zhou Jun often said that he could handle the things at the shop, but he couldn't resist their enthusiasm: "It's okay, I'm just idling around anyway."
Zhou Junchang didn't say anything more. Let them come if they want; there's nothing much going on at the shop anyway.
A few days later, Zhou Ji returned.
On the day Zhou Ji returned, he booked a large private room under the bright moonlight. Most of Zhou Ji's men were there, and Zhou Ji and his brothers drank and talked.
Only Zhou Junchang could sense that Zhou Ji seemed to be in a bad mood. Although he was acting as usual, Zhou Junchang knew that Zhou Ji had always been a very restrained person.
Zhou Ji often drinks; he's the kind of person who enjoys drinking, but he rarely gets drunk. He often tells Zhou Jun that this is called "knowing when to stop," meaning not to go beyond a certain point in doing things, otherwise many things will get out of control.
But that night, Zhou Ji got drunk.
After that day, Zhou Junchang never saw Zhou Ji again.
The men under him didn't know where Zhou Ji had gone. This was a common occurrence. When Zhou Ji went out to discuss business or go home, he rarely told his subordinates. He would only say that he had something to do and needed to go out for a while.
Zhou Ji came from a powerful family and started managing the family business when he was a teenager. Tian Guang Ting and Ming Yue Ye were just a small part of Zhou Ji's businesses, which were also his own entertainment venues. So when Zhou Ji was often away, he left these places to his brothers to manage.
His subordinates rarely contacted Zhou Ji, and few even knew his phone number. Usually, Zhou Ji would give instructions directly, or the brothers would relay messages to each other.
Since Zhou Ji didn't say anything, Zhou Junchang continued to guard the shop every day as usual these past few days.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
