I've Said My Piece. Who Wants to Step Forward?
"Young Master Shun." A middle-aged man dressed in nightclub formalwear saw Chu Xiaoxin and his two companions enter the hall and immediately came running over, his face wreathed in smiles. "You really are a man of your word, Young Master Shun. Yesterday you said you'd come back to support Judy today, and sure enough, here you are. You truly deserve to be the head of Judy's Young Masters' Club."
"He's a manager here at the nightclub. His surname is Jin, but you can just call him Big-Headed Ah Jin. Li Caifa, Lichi's owner, specifically brought him over from Shanghai on a high salary. Back on the Shanghai Bund, he was the manager of the Paramount nightclub in that ten-mile stretch of foreign glamour." Chu Xiaoxin introduced the conspicuously big-headed middle-aged man to Song Tianyao.
Turning back, he introduced Song Tianyao to Manager Jin. "This is Song Tianyao, my new secretary. If I have something to do and can't make it over in the future, he might come and bring Judy gifts for me."
"Young Master Shun's secretary? Wow, one look at you and I can tell you're sharp as can be—young and accomplished, a fine-looking man. Pleased to meet you, Mr. Song. Whenever you come to the nightclub, you can come to me, Ah Jin, for anything." Manager Jin shook Song Tianyao's hand and spoke warmly.
Chu Xiaoxin did not introduce Wu Jinliang, so Manager Jin naturally did not ask. As he saw it, Chu Xiaoxin and Song Tianyao were both dressed like wealthy men, the kind of honored guests Lichi Garden needed. Wu Jinliang, wearing a long gown with calluses on both hands, was clearly visiting a place like this for the first time, judging by his expression. He might have been a servant of the Chu Family.
"Young Master Shun, Mr. Song, please follow me." Manager Jin led the way toward the nightclub.
The three followed Manager Jin across a magnificent covered bridge and arrived at the Dancefloor Nightclub. A waiter helped push open the doors decorated with silver-plated patterns, revealing a lavish stage straight ahead. Of course, as far as Song Tianyao was concerned, the word "lavish" was hardly worth mentioning. It was nothing more than a few sequin decorations paired with colored lights. In his previous life, the lighting at any random township KTV had been more lavish than this stage.
At the center of the stage, a young songstress in a splendid evening gown was singing "Rose, Rose, I Love You," a classic by Yao Li, one of the Shanghai Bund's seven great song queens, while a group of dancers accompanied her.
There were two dance floors, one on either side of the stage. On them, more than a dozen men held the nightclub's dancers in their arms and danced to the song.
Facing the stage were sofa tables, most of them already occupied by customers and dancers keeping them company over drinks. Waiters in white shirts moved between the tables with trays, bringing out the liquor and fresh fruit the customers had ordered.
Although the anger Chu Xiaoxin had shown at the entrance was gone, there was no smile on his face either. Now inside the nightclub, he looked at the songstress onstage and spoke to Manager Jin, who was about to invite the three of them to sit at a table in the front row:
"Send ten baskets of roses up there for me. Say they're from me, Chu Xiaoxin, to Gu Mei."
The smile on Manager Jin's face froze for a moment, but he immediately nodded. "Yes, yes. I'll make the arrangements right away, Young Master Shun."
As he spoke, Manager Jin beckoned a waiter over. "Send ten baskets of roses up there now. Young Master Shun's orders."
"Young Master Shun, why don't you take a seat first? We've kept your usual seat for you," Manager Jin said quietly at his side.
"No need. I'll wait right here." Chu Xiaoxin stood at the outer edge of the hall near the entrance, his face expressionless.
Song Tianyao watched Manager Jin without betraying any reaction and saw him lower his head and sigh softly. Chu Xiaoxin's words seemed to have put him in a very difficult position.
The waiters were remarkably efficient. The songstress named Gu Mei had just finished her song when ten waiters came onto the stage, each carrying a basket half as tall as a person and packed with roses. Under everyone's gaze, they arranged the ten baskets neatly along the front of the stage. The ten baskets of scarlet roses were like ten balls of flame, leaving the songstress onstage at a loss.
Then Song Tianyao saw more than twenty young, wealthy men spring to their feet at the dozen or so sofa tables closest to the stage, every face furious. One of them stood up and bellowed rudely at the customers at the other tables behind him:
"Fuck your mother! Who had the guts to flirt with Ah Mei just now?"
Chapter 10: I've Said My Piece. Who Wants to Step Forward?
The young man cursed at the customers drinking behind him, and it was as though a pot had exploded. After all, all sorts of people came here to drink and enjoy themselves: Chinese detective chief inspectors, Chinese officials, wealthy businessmen, and society big brothers. The only people missing were the poor.
So when they heard someone swearing, people immediately wanted to get up and curse him back. But their backsides had barely left their seats when they got a clear look at the young man who had cursed. They sat back down and pretended they had heard nothing. For a moment, his outburst instead plunged the entire nightclub dance hall into an eerie silence. Even the band accompanying the performance onstage stopped playing.
"I sent them. What of it? Young Master An, are you afraid I'll steal your title as head of Gu Mei's Young Masters' Club?" Chu Xiaoxin spat out the cigarette butt in his mouth and spoke to the young man who had just been cursing so arrogantly.
More than a dozen people who looked like wealthy young masters immediately rushed over in the direction of the voice. The young man who had cursed, whom Chu Xiaoxin had called Young Master An, came last, parting his companions and walking up to Chu Xiaoxin. His expression softened a little, and the arrogance vanished from his tone. "I was wondering who could make such a grand gesture. So it was you, Young Master Shun. What, could you be drunk and have sent the ten baskets of roses meant for Miss Chen Judy to Ah Mei by mistake?"
"There was no mistake. They were for Gu Mei. I'm not planning to compete with you for Miss Gu. I just heard her singing well and wanted to show my support." The corners of Chu Xiaoxin's mouth rose slightly as he spoke casually.
Young Master An stared at Chu Xiaoxin for more than ten seconds, then suddenly smiled. "If you say so, Young Master Shun, of course I believe you. Then thank you for supporting Ah Mei. Come have a drink with us."
Chu Xiaoxin nodded slightly and, together with Song Tianyao and Wu Jinliang, followed the dozen or so wealthy young men to a table in the front row. Once Chu Xiaoxin and Song Tianyao had taken their seats, Young Master An waved to one of the young masters beside him. The young man immediately understood, walked to the front of the stage, and signaled Gu Mei to continue singing.
"Open a bottle of French Lan Champagne for Young Master Shun, and bring over a dozen Carlsbergs as well," Young Master An said to Manager Jin, who was attending them carefully nearby.