Chapter 27 Pei Shuwen goes to the police...
The bars in Ningcheng at night are extremely noisy, with loud music and screams, the sound waves rising one after another, so exaggerated that it seems like they could shatter your eardrums at any moment.
Lin Chaoyue tucked her ears, squeezed past two groups of people dancing wildly, and walked to the luxurious booth in the center. Colored paper fluttered on the black leather sofa, and bright red RMB notes were tucked into a deck of glittering playing cards.
Look down.
It was floating everywhere on the floor.
The man who was lying there picking up the items was only wearing a few chains on his upper body. Lin Chaoyue didn't see his lower body, but some people around her were jeering.
"Twist! Twist! Twist!"
Lin Chaoyue raised her hand to press her ear, grabbed someone and asked, "Where's Mu Qiao?"
"Who is it?" the other person shouted at the top of their lungs.
Lin Chaoyue took a breath, and her voice rose eight octaves: "Mu Qiao."
"Ahhh, Sister Qiao, who's upstairs? Sister Qiao is in a great mood and doesn't want to be disturbed..."
Lin Chaoyue ignored what was said after that and turned to go upstairs.
"Who is this guy? What's he acting all high and mighty about?"
This is a bar owned by Mu Qiao's older brother. Lin Chaoyue has been here twice. Someone recognized Lin Chaoyue and pulled away the person who was about to follow her to cause trouble, giving him a warning look.
Lin Chaoyue went up to the second floor. She walked straight to the innermost part and then pushed open the door.
Most of them were unfamiliar faces.
Seeing her dressed like that, the people sitting on the outermost edge all had strange expressions, and if you looked closely, you could even see some disgust and disdain.
Someone asked, "Did you go to the wrong place? Who called this person?"
"I don't know, I've never seen it before. Have any of you seen it?"
"No."
Mu Qiao was engrossed in playing cards and didn't even turn around. He half-jokingly warned, "Let me tell you, don't always invite shady characters over to play. Not just anyone is qualified to drink my Mu Qiao's wine."
She was furious when she thought about the people Zuo Mingzhuo and his group had called last time.
This gold digger doesn't go to bed with women, he goes to her drinking parties to try and get them. She's not gay, what's the point of spending money on women?
In this life and the next, Mu Qiao will spend all her money on men!
"I'm not worthy either?"
Lin Chaoyue was tired, so she casually pulled up a chair and sat down.
"Who do you think you are... Oh! Oh! Yueyue! You got here so quickly, why didn't you call so I could come down and pick you up? I heard you were back in China a long time ago, I've been waiting and waiting for you, and now you're finally here. What do you want to eat or drink? Just tell me, I'll get you whatever my brother has."
"You learned Sichuan opera face-changing? You can change faces so quickly."
"Hey, I didn't notice just now, did I? My brother just got a new bottle of Louis XIII Black Pearl, how about we grab a drink later?"
Lin Chaoyue wasn't in a good mood. She took out an orange she had taken from Anjiang Group from her pocket and peeled it segment by segment.
"No need, I just came to see you. Thank you for today."
"Hey, we're like family." Mu Qiao, a true northern girl, waved her hand generously: "We only have one account. As long as you don't ask me for money, I can secretly lend you anything."
Judging from Mu Qiao's genuine enthusiasm, even if they didn't know Lin Chaoyue, everyone could guess that this girl was extraordinary. However, no one could understand what Mu Qiao was saying.
Half an hour ago, this young lady spent a fortune downstairs; she's definitely not short of money.
People became curious and started glancing in their direction, intentionally or unintentionally.
Lin Chaoyue smiled bitterly: "My parents have even spoken to you. The day I end up homeless, I won't be able to borrow a single penny in this circle."
"Of course, don't even mention me, even your mother-in-law has spoken to my brother. But it's normal, you've made a huge fuss this time. It's one thing to spend money on a man, but what's the point of being cheated out of money by him? So, has that guy been caught yet?"
"have no idea."
"ha?"
"I really don't know."
Not long after that, she returned to China, and her parents entrusted the matter to Pei Shuwen, who then stuffed her into Pei Shuwen's law firm. She wasn't even given more time to react.
During this time, she was like a puppet on a string, doing whatever Pei Shuwen said and believing whatever he said.
Including the fact that he pretended to be drunk last night.
How could she believe he was drunk?
She's so naive.
Pei Shuwen, Pei Shuwen, it's Pei Shuwen again. She doesn't want to mention this person again today.
Lin Chaoyue: "Where are Zuo Mingzhuo and the others? Why are you the only one upstairs? I saw everyone in the group chat."
"Yes, they're all here. Let's go downstairs. They're all downstairs. It's been so long since we've seen you. Let's have a drink together today and reminisce about our carefree, leisurely life of eating, drinking, and having fun together."
“Hey you… go to my brother’s place and steal two bottles of the liquor he’s hidden away. Here’s the room key.”
He tossed out the room key, and Mu Qiao's slender arm quickly draped over her shoulder, leading her through a private passage directly to the first floor.
Although Lin Chaoyue and Mu Qiao were not as close as Weng Yao, they often hung out together during their school years. Lin Chaoyue didn't like physical contact, but she let Mu Qiao put her arm around her shoulder.
"Sister Qiao, you left such a handsome young man downstairs and are hugging a woman. You don't actually like women, do you?"
"Screw you! I'm straighter than the telephone poles on the street."
As he spoke, Mu Qiao released Lin Chaoyue's hand, turned off the loud music in the glass room, and turned on the lights.
Lin Chaoyue looked around the dance floor separated by a glass partition and thought to herself, "No wonder I didn't see anyone earlier."
She hadn't even noticed the glass room until Mu Qiao brought her here.
Mu Qiao: "It was built last year, just for us guys to come in and have some fun. It has one-way glass, so people outside can't see inside."
"Zuo Mingzhuo, come out and greet the emperor."
"Zuo Mingzhuo!"
"They're probably playing cards in the back room. I'll go call them. You can sit down; pick any of the ones on the sofa."
The person on the sofa was quite tactful; upon hearing this, they made room for Lin Chaoyue in the middle.
After glancing at the limited amount of cloth on those people's clothes, Lin Chaoyue silently sat down to the side.
"How come you're still so conservative after living abroad for a few years? Yueyue, this won't do." Before going inside, Mu Qiao pulled the man sitting on the far side and gave him a deep kiss.
The way he raised an eyebrow at Lin Chaoyue was as if to say: Watch out, I'll give you an example.
"You should go now."
No matter how outgoing she is, she wouldn't just hug and kiss anyone. Besides, these people are clearly not her type.
Lin Chaoyue did not take the initiative.
These men were quite proactive, scrambling around her. The man who had just kissed Mu Qiao even poured her a glass of wine.
"Sister, this wine was brought by Young Master Zuo. It tastes very good. Please try it."
Lin Chaoyue politely accepted the wine glass, glanced at the man in front of her, and remembered that she had seen him before; he was the one who had been picking up money from the ground outside just now.
"Thank you, I can do it myself."
She had just taken a sip of wine when someone came out from the inner room. Leading the way was Zuo Mingzhuo, Li Cong's cousin, who immediately gave Lin Chaoyue a hug without any formality.
"Sister Yue, you have no idea how much I miss you, even more than I miss my brother."
Lin Chaoyue had long seen through the brothers' penchant for exaggeration.
She pushed him away with disdain, took the keys out of her pocket and tossed them to him: "Your brother asked me to give these to you. He said the car is in his underground garage, so you should drive carefully."
"Okay, thank you, Sister Yue."
"Long live Sister Yue!"
Lin Chaoyue knew most of the people who followed her out. After exchanging greetings, they couldn't wait to start gossiping about her.
Lin Chaoyue had prepared herself mentally before she came.
But I always held onto the illusion that since we hadn't seen each other for so long, she would be more reserved when asked questions.
But just when everyone finally got to the heart of the gossip, they started bombarding her with questions, and she was starting to struggle to keep up.
"...Ah, I was scammed. Everyone was drugged. Money? No money, my account is empty. Keeping a sugar daddy? That's all nonsense. Who knows who made it up? There were so many people that night... My mother-in-law believed it. Even if she didn't, she wouldn't have suspended my card. Well, she suspended it. How am I going to eat? Go to work, of course..."
When Lin Chaoyue mentioned going to work, everyone was quite curious. Few people in this circle had ever worked before; most of them had simply gone home to inherit their family fortune.
The only one who resonated with this was Li Wei, who last year went viral for smashing up a female celebrity's door in the middle of the night after she rejected him. He was then sent to the family branch office for "re-education" (a form of grassroots reform).
Li Wei: "Yueyue, I heard you went to Pei Shuwen's law firm. How's it going? Have you been having a great time lately?"
"good."
Li Wei: "Really? Your parents have spoken up. Do you think someone like Pei Shuwen would let you off the hook? Don't be fooled by his respectable appearance. Once he takes his clothes off, he's a heartless monster. It's always better to avoid him!"
"How do you know so much about him?" Before she returned to China, she had hardly ever heard anyone mention Pei Shuwen.
“It was Pei Shuwen who helped resolve Li Wei’s matter last time,” Zuo Mingzhuo interjected, his tone tinged with schadenfreude. “Later, he also suggested that Li Wei be sent to the company’s grassroots level for reform, since your brother Wei has been holding a grudge for a long time.”
"Is that so?"
Mu Qiao sat on the sofa with her arms around both of them, crossed her legs, and continued, "Yueyue, you have no idea, Li Wei was so excited for days after hearing that you went to work at Pei Shuwen's law firm. He kept saying that he wasn't the most miserable person in the group anymore, and that you were definitely more miserable than him, which made him feel much better."
"No, no, don't spread rumors. Yueyue and I are on good terms. I was just feeling sorry for Yueyue being exploited as soon as she returned to China."
"You're talking nonsense! That's not what you said last time..."
"No, you've all got it wrong..."
"Do you dare swear under the light that if you lie, you'll marry someone with pockmarked skin?"
They were supposed to be talking about her, but they ended up arguing back and forth.
While criticizing Pei Shuwen, he was also speaking out in her defense.
But thinking about it carefully, it seems that she's not actually doing that badly... at least not as badly as they say.
Although she didn't move back to her big house in Ningcheng, Pei Shuwen's place wasn't too bad; she ate at the law firm's cafeteria, which was much better than the food served to white people abroad; as for work... let's not talk about the past, she felt a little sense of accomplishment when she got the signature today.
If I had to point out anything wrong with it...
Pei Shuwen is just too... too cunning.
Within his control, he can stand by and watch what others do with a detached eye. He was clearly not drunk last night, and he knew she had been bewitched and made some outrageous moves, but he pretended not to know yesterday. When it came up today, he just casually told her not to take it to heart.
Thinking back to what happened in the stairwell.
If she stayed even one more minute, she would be so embarrassed she could dig out a huge apartment.
Lin Chaoyue was lost in thought when Mu Qiao called her twice before she heard him.
"Huh? What's wrong? I didn't hear what you were saying."
"Yueyue, tell me, have you been exploited? You look so haggard lately, it must be because making a living under Pei Shuwen's clutches is too hard."
The group of people who had just been arguing heatedly have finally reached a consensus.
All eyes turned to them.
Everyone was staring at her. Lin Chaoyue wanted to say it wasn't that exaggerated, but under the burning gazes, she was forced to nod: "Mm."
Everyone then understood.
Pei Shuwen then whispered a few words to Lin Chaoyue behind her back.
"Yueyue, if you ask me, you should just run back to New York. There you'll be far away from the emperor, and your parents won't be able to control you even if they wanted to."
"Pei Shuwen? What are you afraid of? You're not related to him at all. Do you think he can fly abroad and bring you back?"
"Go to work? How much money can you make these days by working like a beast of burden? Don't listen to that old man's nonsense. Your family isn't short of money, so why work so hard? You could live off your savings for generations, why would you need to work hard?"
Lin Chaoyue coughed lightly: "Pei Shuwen isn't old, he's quite young." And he's good-looking too.
"Is that the point? And even if I'm younger, can I be younger than any of them?"
As she spoke, Mu Qiao pulled the two men sitting next to her into her arms again: "These are all new guys my brother brought in. There are rooms upstairs, so feel free to have fun. Just relax today."
Mujo was very 'generous'.
Lin Chaoyue refused without even thinking about it.
"No way, we're on the other side of the ocean. I've already been criticized even before I've had a chance to play here. If I actually play here today, I'm afraid my parents will kick me out right away."
Mu Qiao still wanted to persuade him.
Lin Chaoyue then added, "If you all get implicated and punished, I won't even have a place to freeload a meal."
"Is it possible..." Mu Qiao shuddered at the thought of Lin Chaoyue's parents.
It seems like it really can.
"Alright, alright, let's not talk about that anymore, but think carefully about what we just said."
"What?"
"Hey, Yueyue, are you even listening to me? Let's run away! Let's run away!"
"ah. "
"It's better to just make a quick getaway than to stay here and suffer."
Lin Chaoyue took a sip of her drink: "Okay, I'll think about it some more."
After drinking a few more glasses of wine, she was really sleepy and prepared to leave. Mu Qiao tried to stop her a couple of times but couldn't, so she let her go. Before leaving, she pointed to a young boy to see her off. The boy was only wearing a black mesh shirt on his upper body, and his face looked even younger than hers.
"Mu Qiao, are all the people here adults? Don't do anything illegal or criminal."
"Attorney Yue, don't worry. Even if you look young, you won't be afraid even if you're taken to the police. We're a legitimate company."
As long as you're an adult.
Since they were just dropping her off at the door, Lin Chaoyue didn't refuse again.
However, this guy was quite shrewd. After seeing her off, he barely exchanged a few words with her before the conversation veered towards asking for her contact information. She had just been coaxed by Mu Qiao into adding a few people, and now he wanted her to add more, which annoyed her.
But before she could say anything, the boy made that aggrieved expression.
"Sister Yue, I'm not good with words and I'm not very eloquent. If I make you angry, just scold me and I'll definitely change."
"But Sister Mu Qiao said that if she can't get your contact information tonight, then you don't need to go back..."
She was with Mu Qiao the whole time, how come she didn't hear that sentence?
But Lin Chaoyue guessed that Mu Qiao's brother's bar probably had some performance requirements, and maintaining customer relationships and contact information was one of them.
So tonight, she took out her phone for the sixth time and had the other person scan the QR code.
Is that alright now?
But to her surprise, it still didn't work. When the other person saw the word "Pass" on the phone screen, they who had been keeping a certain distance from her just now came right up to her.
He very naturally took her hand and asked her to go upstairs to play.
"Play? When did I say I was going to play?" Lin Chaoyue deftly pulled her hand back.
"That's what Sister Mu Qiao just said."
Lin Chaoyue: "Then go back and tell Mu Qiao that I appreciate her kindness, thank you for today, and I'll treat her to drinks another day."
But the boy still didn't want to let her go.
With a touch of deliberate coquetry, he pulled her along, saying, "Sister Yue, what's so great about work? There's a card game upstairs. What would you like to play? I'll have someone play with you; or anything else is fine too, whatever makes you happy."
The lights were dim, and loud music was playing all around. There was no need to say anything, but Lin Chaoyue knew what 'other' meant.
Lin Chaoyue raised an eyebrow, her tone turning cold: "What else did Mu Qiao say to you?"
The boy hesitated for a moment, but having been in this circle for a long time, he knew that just because Lin Chaoyue seemed easy to talk to didn't mean she was actually easy to talk to.
After thinking about it, I told the truth.
"She said you must be very tired lately, and asked me to find a way to help you relax... Don't let you leave easily. She hired a magician in the middle of the night, and there's even a magic trick of making people disappear. She said she'd bring you down to see it when you wake up."
Lin Chaoyue turned to leave, but was stopped again.
"Don't go... I'll definitely get scolded when I get back if you leave. Sister Yue..."
Lin Chaoyue was so angry she laughed.
She wondered why Mu Qiao hadn't kept her in the end, and it turned out he'd orchestrated this whole thing.
Getting scolded?
Let them scold me if they want.
Even if Lin Chaoyue wanted to show kindness, he wouldn't do it in a way like this. He patted the boy on the shoulder and said, "They know they can't keep me here, so they won't make things too difficult for you. I'll let them know in the group chat later, so don't worry."
But the boy seemed determined not to let go. In the past, Lin Chaoyue would probably have just shaken him off, but this time she was asking him for a favor.
"Okay, if you're worried about getting scolded, I'll go back with you one more time... Hey, why did the music stop?"
The bar was noisy, and Lin Chaoyue had to shout to speak, but the last sentence she uttered was particularly loud.
Then the lights came on, and the dim surroundings instantly became bright.
A group of plainclothes officers had somehow squeezed into the dance floor amidst the scantily clad men and women.
"Don't move! Police! Don't move!"
--
I encountered a police raid when I arrived at the bar.
Without realizing it, Lin Chaoyue ended up in the police station with a large group of people.
The police were about to let her go after checking her ID, but then they glanced at the boy hiding behind her and decided to pack both of them into the car.
Lin Chaoyue smiled bitterly the whole way.
I've been back in China for a month and have been arrested twice.
Last time she was at least a victim, but this time she's become a prime target in the 'anti-prostitution and anti-gang' campaign. Looking at the pale face of the boy next to her, Lin Chaoyue couldn't help but ask, "Little brother, are you an adult?"
"No dialogue, no communication."
The boy didn't say anything, but nodded.
Okay, at least you're an adult now.
--
Upon arrival, they were questioned. After a few questions, the police found that Lin Chaoyue knew nothing and seemed a bit dazed. They checked her identity information again but didn't make things too difficult for her, simply telling her to wait.
The waiting room wasn't big, but after a short while, one, two, three, Mu Qiao, Li Wei, and the others also came over.
What's going on with you guys?
Mu Qiao, looking disheveled and silent, came in and sat down on the ground.
Li Wei must have just finished making a phone call; he must have checked his phone at the door before coming in.
“It’s okay, Yueyue. I called my dad’s company’s legal counsel, and he said he’ll be over soon. He should be able to leave tonight after I pay the bail.”
"Li Wei, don't be too optimistic. Zuo Mingzhuo played too big tonight. He had 700,000 chips piled up on the poker table alone. The rest of them still haven't come out. Damn it, some bastard must have reported them."
Lin Chaoyue hadn't actually gone into the inner room at the time: "What are you reporting? Gambling? Brother Mu Yang's bar is a private casino?"
Lin Chaoyue remembered that the crime of operating a casino in China seemed to be quite serious.
The fact that they're making such a big fuss about arresting people definitely doesn't look good.
Mu Qiao had already started pulling out her hair: "No, it's just a few of us hanging out. We usually get together to pass the time when we don't have anything else to do. My brother doesn't do this kind of thing. Yueyue... are we okay? Will we implicate my brother? You're a law student, you must know."
Mu Qiaoren was clearly panicked and started trying anything in desperation.
Don't you realize that someone of her level could possibly know anything?
Lin Chaoyue: "Don't rush, let's wait a bit longer. Didn't Li Wei say that their company's legal counsel will be here soon? We're in the city center, so it shouldn't take long."
Mu Qiao was still worried: "Li Wei, my phone broke just now, I don't know if I can send the message. Please tell my brother again, I'm afraid he doesn't know yet."
Li Wei was actually a little frightened.
Lin Chaoyue: "I'll go. Is Brother Mu Yang still using the same phone number?"
"Yes, the last seven digits are seven. Wait... Yueyue, if my brother is sleeping, don't tell him yet. Just say that you haven't seen him in a long time and you miss him."
Lin Chaoyue felt that this excuse was not as good as saying that she had made a mistake.
"Don't worry, I'll watch how it goes."
Lin Chaoyue left the room, where police were guarding the area. She briefly stated her demands, and the police took her to the lobby.
The lobby was crowded. There was more than one case tonight, and everyone was talking at once.
People were asking about the situation, making accusations, arguing about what had happened, and complaining that the police were arresting people without any investigation.
Lin Chaoyue squeezed through the crowd to get her phone. She found Mu Yang's number and tried to call him, but the call didn't go through after two tries. She knew that the call was probably going to fail. She scrolled through her contacts.
Finally, the hand stopped on Pei Shuwen's name.
Should we ask him for help?
She should be fine; once everything is confirmed, she can leave. But the others might not be so lucky.
With Pei Shuwen's help, we can be more confident...
Lin Chaoyue was still hesitating. She turned her head to look.
The people next to them started fighting. A man and a woman, neither of them were wearing much clothing. They had just been arguing, but now they were all twisted together in a chaotic mess, looking like a twisted dough stick that hadn't been fried yet.
The police officers nearby all rushed over and pulled him up.
But the two of them were pulling each other's hair like madmen, refusing to let go no matter what, leaving even the police somewhat helpless for a while.
More and more people gathered, quickly pushing Lin Chaoyue to the back. She glanced at the commotion, still hesitating whether to make the call. She wondered if Pei Shuwen was asleep.
Just then, a clear voice reached my ears.
According to Article 26 of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Penalties for Administration of Public Security, anyone who causes disorder in a public place, arbitrarily assaults others, and whose circumstances are serious, shall be detained for not less than 10 days but not more than 15 days and may also be fined not more than 1,000 yuan.
According to Article 277 of the Amendment to the Criminal Law, anyone who violently attacks a police officer who is lawfully performing his duties shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention, or public surveillance.
"Everyone, if you want to cause trouble, you should first look at where you are."
The voice sounded somewhat familiar.
Lin Chaoyue turned her head to look, her eyebrows suddenly twitched, and her eyes widened.
Pei Shuwen?
It really was him.
He was dressed casually, with his sleeves rolled up halfway and the zipper at the collar pulled down, giving him a very sporty look. There was a thin layer of sweat on his neck, and he didn't look like he was there for work at all. Not only was she looking at him, but everyone around him was also looking at him.
However, although he was dressed informally, his cold and indifferent tone, which put on an air of "I am the only one who matters," created an aura of immense power.
No one knows whether what he just said was right or wrong, but the fighting people stopped, the arguing people shut up, and the man and woman finally stopped entangled together. Both of them showed more or less a look of lingering fear on their faces.
Pei Shuwen showed his identification to the police, then glanced indifferently across the hall until his gaze settled on Lin Chaoyue in the corner, at which point his expression finally changed.
Lin Chaoyue did not notice such a subtle change.
I was just wondering: why did he come?
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