On a summer night, after a few muffled thunders, it began to rain heavily. The city was drenched with rain in a matter of seconds, even washing out the neon sign that read ‘The Beauty Welcomes the Noble Guests, Indulging Them in a Dreamlike Gentleness’.
This was a signboard from Lihao. As the largest nightclub in K City, the sudden heavy rain did not have much impact on its business. It was like a demon squatting in the city, exuding a seductive aura that attracted people who were greedy for pleasure, fabricating ambiguous and erotic nights and greedily sucking up the money in their pockets.
A window in the third-floor corridor was open, and the bright yellow light outlined a dark shadow beside the window. It was of a young man, about twenty-seven or seventy-eight years old, with particularly conspicuous burgundy hair. The bangs were very long and hung low, almost covering his eyes. He was resting his elbows on the window frame, quietly looking at the rain outside.
He took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and took a drag. The overly strong nicotine breath rushed into the lungs and irritated his throat, making him cough uncontrollably.
They said that alcohol relieved worries and smoke dissipated sorrow. As for this cigarette, he still couldn’t get used to it.
The cigarette burned inch by inch between his fingers. His fingers were long and slender, with distinct joints, and clean without any traces of labour. His tall and upright figure, dressed in the standard white shirt and black vest of a waiter, looked somewhat handsome, but unfortunately, the bright red, punk-style hair on his head completely ruined the effect. On his chest, he crookedly wore a gold nameplate with a golden eagle emblem on the front and the words ‘Lihao 3rd Floor Waiter—Ah Zhou’ on the back.
The cigarette was left behind by a guest, quite strong and not from a high-quality brand. The third floor where he worked catered to ordinary customers with modest spending and even more modest tips, unlike the higher floors. The structure of Lihao was very clear: the higher the floor, the more upscale the service, and the more extravagant the customers, leading to higher tips. However, serving those high rollers required more careful attention, and since he had only been there for three months, he hadn’t had a chance for a promotion yet.
“Tsk, Ah Zhou.” A similarly dressed waiter came out of the private room, leaned over, and grabbed the cigarette in his hand. The waiter took two puffs, then stuffed it back into his hand, grinning, “You’re quite good at slacking off.”
He frowned slightly, almost unnoticeably, and turned sideways to avoid the man’s approach. He threw the cigarette butt on the ground and said, “Are you saying I should just stand there and be a spectator while they’re doing that kind of thing inside?”
The waiter with the name tag ‘Xiao Ding’ on his chest knew what he meant. He smiled, tilted his head and said, “Have you heard that there is a new nightclub in the south of the city, and it is quite big? Ah Qing’s brother works there, and I heard the pay is not bad.”
“You want to change jobs?”
“No.” Xiao Ding pointed to the eagle on the name tag on his chest and said with some pride, “K City is Golden Eagle’s territory, and Lihao is Golden Eagle’s industry. We are all Golden Eagle people and anyone daring to compete with us for business is just seeking their own demise.”
Ah Zhou looked at him noncommittally, “You certainly have a strong sense of belonging.”
“Of course, the first rule of the employee code is to be loyal to the group.” As he was talking, the buzzer in his hand buzzed. He frowned and said, “This guy keeps asking for drinks, then calls for a girl but complains about the prices, always picking the cheapest options. What a cheapskate… Anyway, stop talking and get in there quickly. It would be a disaster if Ning ge caught you slacking off.” He hurried back to the private room to serve the guests.
The rain was still falling, washing over the entire city, and the cool and moist wind came with it, blowing away his burgundy hair, which was hanging on his forehead, exposing his entire face.
It was a very fair face, without any impetuous air. The eyes exposed from under the exaggerated bangs had a distant and lonely look, indifferent to a bit of cold, which was incompatible with this luxurious occasion.
The buzzer in his pocket vibrated, making a monotonous electronic sound. A trace of exhaustion and boredom flashed across his eyes. He wiped his burgundy hair carelessly, turned around and walked towards the private room he was responsible for. His eyes accidentally caught a glimpse of the person looking at him not far away, and his steps stopped. After a moment of astonishment, he quickly lowered his gaze and even deliberately lowered his head to let the bangs on his forehead fall down to cover his eyes and said in a formulaic and plain voice, “Good evening, General Tang, and welcome to Lihao.”
The man who stopped in the corridor curved his lips and smiled. He walked to him and stood in front of him. He said, “It’s almost the end of your shift. Let’s go out for a snack together?”
“Thank you. I’m not hungry.” Ah Zhou lowered his gaze and said, “I have to go to work. I wish you a good time at Lihao tonight.” After saying that, he was about to go around the other party but was caught. he was taken aback and instinctively shook his hand to break away, but unexpectedly the other side squeezed it very tightly and didn’t shake it off. He raised his eyebrows at the other party with anger.
Tang Shaocheng, who had been rejected, initially intended to lose his temper, but the sight of the other party’s cold, stern expression stirred something in his heart. His anger immediately dissipated, and he slowly let go.
After all, there were so many beautiful young men. He had lowered his pride and persisted for so long just for this rare, distinctive cold demeanour, hadn’t he?
Tang Shaocheng, who prided himself on his refined taste, always looked down on the women with a whiff of the underworld in the soul-selling cave. One night three months ago, as he was going downstairs, he happened to see a waiter entering the VIP elevator. When their eyes met, the waiter immediately realised and stepped back.
Just this look was enough to make him stunned. He thought he had it within his grasp, but three months had passed, and he had used every trick in the book without getting him into bed. The fact that he was occasionally willing to have a meal with him alone was a great honour. However, he did not intend to give up.
This Ah Zhou really made him curious.
Despite being someone struggling on the lower rungs of society, he never showed any eagerness to please. Even when he was being humble and compliant, there was an indescribable aloofness about him. Though he had an exceptionally handsome face, with eyes as clear as a tranquil pool that could captivate anyone, he stubbornly refused to cut his bright red punk hair. Despite the opportunity to use his connections to advance by associating with influential people, he refused to attend any gatherings or accept any gifts from him. Even though financially strained, he maintained impeccable dining etiquette in upscale venues, exuding a remarkable composure. On one occasion, he inadvertently saw Ah Zhou showing a mocking expression when a waiter said the wrong name of a wine.
The more he came into contact with him, the more he felt that there was an elegant and calm demeanour in Ah Zhou’s movements. This magnanimity seemed to be innate, and deeply ingrained, and even someone who had been raised in luxury like him might not measure up. For this reason, he had even gone so far as to have someone investigate Ah Zhou’s background, but so far, he had found nothing.
Beautiful, cold, defensive, and rebellious.
Like a leopard dormant in the mountains and forests—it was difficult to approach and could not be caught. He was also like a flower on a high mountain, standing proudly on a cliff, tempting people to flock to it.
Difficult puzzles always sparked a deeper curiosity, making him, as a puzzle-solver, eager to delve into them endlessly.
“Are you free tomorrow afternoon? I asked someone to bring some beef over from Japan. Let’s try it together.” Tang Shaocheng sometimes felt that Ah Zhou was the true nobleman who would disregard a fortune, while he himself had become the one fawning over a wealthy patron. From the initial novelty to later exerting all his effort to discover who had the upper hand, he found that he only grew more determined in this dynamic, and he even admired his own patience.
“I have a night shift tomorrow, and I have to sleep in the afternoon.”
Tang Shaocheng was not surprised at all by his rejection and continued, “Then I will come to your private room tomorrow night.”
“If General Tang is not afraid of losing reputation by coming to this floor, I don’t mind.”
“Reputation is nothing compared to you.” Tang Shaocheng smiled, “See you tomorrow night.”
Ah Zhou looked at him, said, “I’m leaving,” and turned back to room 364. The guests inside were already very drunk. Their bloated bodies were leaning against the almost naked escort Lan Xin, and they kept shouting, “One more round.” Lan Xin threw the dice on the table and said with a sweet smile, “Boss Zhang, you haven’t drunk this plate of fine wine yet. You are a grown man; you can’t play tricks with a little girl like me.” After saying this, he drank heavily from the wine glass in his hand. The fat man drank it all down, muttered noisily for a short while, and was completely drunk.
Seeing that he didn’t respond, Lan Xin stopped smiling, pushed him aside hard, and said in a cold voice, “Touching and kissing and still not giving a tip. Does he think five hundred yuan is enough to get me to perform? Bah!” After saying that, she neatly picked up a cigarette and put it in her mouth, but the lighter could not be lit. She cursed irritably and turned around to see Ah Zhou standing by the door. She curled her red lips, crossed her legs and hooked her fingers, “Here, light a cigarette for me.”
Ah Zhou didn’t say anything. He bent down to pick up the red coat that had been thrown on the ground. He walked over and put it on her body. He then took out a lighter from his vest pocket with the words ‘Lihao welcomes you’ printed on it, lit it for her, and then sat down next to her.
Lan Xin looked at him for a while and then said, “Why? Isn’t this sister good-looking?”
“Tired of seeing it.”
Hearing his answer, she couldn’t help but burst into laughter, “You’re something else… There are plenty of people who want a taste of me, and you’re not interested. Could it be that you’re actually into guys? That Boss Tang seems quite taken with you.”
“That’s his business.” Ah Zhou said very coldly.
Lan Xin smiled, hooked his shoulder, and brought the half-smoked cigarette to his mouth, “Take a puff.” Seeing him frown, she stopped her hand and said, “Okay, I won’t play with you anymore. What about this fat guy? I don’t want to stay here with him; it’s greasy and disgusting.”
A Zhou fiddled with the glowing order device in his hand and said, “Send him to the panoramic suite upstairs.”
“He is so stingy how can he order that…” Lan Xin paused at this point as if she suddenly came to her senses, her red lips curled up, “You are a bad boy. But, if he gets into trouble…”
“He is not Lihao’s VIP, no one will care.”
“That’s right.” She pinched the fat man’s face with her bright red nails and said with a smile, “I’ve let you take advantage of me; this time, I’ll make sure to drain you properly.”
The top three floors of Lihau featured various high-end rooms, offering the most ‘comprehensive’ services to satisfy those wealthy patrons who were reluctant to wake from their indulgent dreams, with prices often exceeding tens of thousands. Zhang Pangzi, being just a small-time individual boss, usually only sneaked out some private money to indulge himself in secret, liked to get hands-on but was very stingy, even reluctant to leave a tip. He would never have dared to book such an expensive room. When he was drunk, Ah Zhou took the liberty of booking it for him. When Zhang Pangzi woke up and caused a scene, Ah Zhou and Lan Xin both insisted that it was Zhang Pangzi’s own choice. The fat man had no choice but to swallow this silent loss. As a result, he probably wouldn’t have had the money to come back for a long time.
“The person who is waiting for the guest room will come to pick him up. You can get off work.” Ah Zhou said.
“Mm. Yuanyuan is still waiting for me at home.” Lan Xin put on her clothes, took out a small mirror from her handbag, and quickly used a wet wipe to remove her lipstick and eyeshadow. Her face, now bare, showed a clean and gentle appearance, lacking the sharp allure of smoky makeup and revealing a softer, more subdued warmth. Compared to other hostesses, at thirty-eight, she was no longer young. There were fine lines at the corners of her eyes, and her skin looked somewhat dull from the frequent use of poor-quality cosmetics. Before leaving, she waved her hand and said, “Thank you.”
Ah Zhou replied, ‘En’. He was indifferent to everyone except Lan Xin because Lan Xin helped him. He was a person who remembered favours.
Support the author by buying the author’s works and/or giving some kisses here~
(It’s very easy to buy from myrics.com because they support Paypal payment in small amounts~)
We have a discord server for those who want to receive an update ping and various announcements~
Join here ^^
And please buy me some kofi if you like the translation~
Also leave some ratings if you like this series here~
Leave a Reply