Inside the villa
Liu Jinxiong and Luo Youyi had already left with a hint of regret.
Neither of the two great water hoses had selected a spot among the death-row inmates, so this time, they had merely come to go through the motions.
As for Guo Can, the King of Home Appliances, although he had picked a death-row inmate to enter the ring, before it even began, Song Ren had manually helped him forcibly "log out."
Having lost face—and to a death-row inmate at that—Guo Can was seething with anger.
But the other man had already obtained an admission ticket to the top-floor boxing ring, which meant he was no longer merely a death-row inmate.
He was also a top-floor boxer backed by Fook Shing Building. If Guo Can wanted to "look after" him again, he could no longer do so so directly.
Therefore, after it ended, he could not be bothered to stay and meet him, and left immediately.
At this moment, only the wealthy woman Tong Peipei, tycoon Xu Jiaqi, and Sir Zhu's beloved daughter, Zhu Bao'er, remained in the villa's main hall.
Chen Sheng led Song Ren and the others into the villa. The first thing they saw was a huge, deep-blue swimming pool beneath orange-and-white glazed lamps.
The small trees in the garden were lush and verdant.
The three-story villa was decorated in beige, while its roof was covered with large areas of dark-red dragon-patterned wood carvings.
On the wall directly opposite, dragons and phoenixes had been carved and painted in dark-brown ink, outlining a huge character: "harmony."
Staff dressed in suits or maid uniforms were often busy coming and going on both sides of the garden.
Whenever they saw Chen Sheng, most of them would respectfully bow and call out, "Brother Sheng."
Once they entered the villa, the interior was even brighter. Its décor leaned toward blue and white, giving the whole place a cool-toned atmosphere.
The LCD screens hanging on the hall walls had all been turned off.
In the living room, blue-and-white glazed lamps hung from the four upper corners, shining brilliantly.
At the very center, people sat on a ring-shaped blue-and-cyan leather sofa, elegant redwood chairs, and a snow-white egg-shaped hanging chair.
Xu Jiaqi, dressed in a suit and leather shoes, sat on the redwood chair.
A pair of gold-rimmed glasses rested on the bridge of his nose. He set down his wineglass and gave Song Ren a polite smile.
Sitting on the sofa was a lazy, mature woman. She wore a blue-purple, fitted qipao with carved floral patterns. Her exquisite features were cool and striking, while her long black hair was tied into a braid that draped over her shoulder and fell across her chest.
Tong Peipei's legs were pressed together as she leaned slightly against the armrest. Her toes, painted with blood-red nail polish, curled faintly.
The moment Song Ren entered, he keenly sensed that this woman's gaze toward him was somewhat heated.
Meanwhile, in the corner, Zhu Bao'er sat in the snow-white hanging chair. She wore a beige, fitted long dress. Her black hair was fluffy and smooth, her features beautiful, and two faint dimples appeared at the corners of her mouth.
A pair of clear, chestnut-colored eyes was fixed on Song Ren.
The sight left Song Ren slightly stunned. At first, he had thought the great water hose who had chosen to back him was the man with the gold-rimmed glasses.
Later, he had guessed it might be the strikingly beautiful woman on the sofa.
Now, it seemed that the young woman in the hanging chair was also a possibility.
Song Ren could not make heads or tails of it, so he could not be bothered to think too much about it.
Among his companions, Du Youbang fixed Tong Peipei with an extremely aggressive gaze.
After spending several years locked up in Stanley, he had just come out and encountered such a stunning woman. A heated glint immediately rose in his eyes.
As the former head of Fu Yi and a former Double Flower Red Stick of the triad, Du Youbang had left people with two main impressions: his superb skills and ruthless conduct. Aside from those, there was only his lust for women.
Although Lu Zhengyang looked somewhat miserable at this moment, he still maintained his full-blooded pride. He stood silently to one side, his gaze carefully restrained.
He was neither as natural as Song Ren nor as brazen as Du Youbang. Instead, he displayed more of someone who had recognized his own position.
There was no helping it. Of the three, he was the most miserable.
After entering, Chen Sheng greeted them with a smile. "Mr. Xu, Sister Peipei, Miss Zhu."
Tong Peipei's highly aggressive gaze shifted away from Song Ren. After sweeping over Lu Zhengyang, an unavoidable trace of disappointment flashed through her eyes.
Back when she had seen the list of death-row inmates, she had taken a liking to Lu Zhengyang at first glance.
The main reason was that, according to his information, Lu Zhengyang's powerful, muscular physique was incredibly striking.
At a glance, he looked just like the Terminator.
If nothing unexpected happened, a physique like that should have been capable of making him a contender at the top-floor boxing ring level.
But, as expected, something unexpected happened.
This death-row inmate who looked like the Terminator had successfully terminated Tong Peipei's beautiful fantasy about the Terminator.
After officially meeting him now, she was even more disappointed.
He was simply too restrained.
He had no boldness to speak of, and his skills could only be called passable.
Especially with Song Ren's excellent performance before him, Lu Zhengyang's showing seemed even more unacceptable.
He was even somewhat inferior to the other death-row inmate, whose gaze was so aggressive.
In the end, she disappointedly shifted her gaze to Chen Sheng. A hint of a smile immediately appeared on her cool, beautiful face.
With her sexy toes, she pushed over a glass filled with red wine.
"A Sheng, long time no see."
Chen Sheng did not mind. He walked over generously, lifted the glass, and drained it in one gulp.
Tong Peipei looked appreciative and sat up straight, crossing her legs. "Tsk, tsk. After looking around Fook Shing, it really is you, A Sheng, who suits my taste the best."
"When are you coming over to let your sister back you up? You haven't shown your face in the boxing ring for a long time, have you?"
"Be careful that the people in the triad forget the reputation of Handsome Boxing King Sheng."
Chen Sheng did not refuse outright. Instead, he turned around and said, "Sister Peipei, you're joking. Forget the masters in the boxing ring—just here, there's already someone who makes me feel inferior."
Tong Peipei followed his gaze and lingered on Song Ren's face before letting out a soft sigh. "But someone is already backing him."
As she spoke, her gaze turned faintly resentful, and she glanced back at Zhu Bao'er, who sat radiant in the hanging chair.
Zhu Bao'er smiled brightly, making the dimples on her face even more pronounced. "Sister Peipei, you still have several boxers under you. Don't keep staring at just him."
Tong Peipei could only withdraw her gaze.
Only then did Song Ren finally understand which great water hose had chosen to back him.
He turned and looked once more at the woman sitting in the hanging chair.
His first impression was that she was young.
Her looks were also quite outstanding, though the aura around her was still somewhat immature.
She seemed like a rather gentle lady. Who would have thought that she, too, would be someone with a taste for underground boxing?
Seeing this, Tong Peipei said with a slightly sour tone, "Don't look around. She has a fiancé..."
Song Ren raised an eyebrow. What the hell does it matter to me that she has a fiancé?
At that moment, Tong Peipei continued, "And he's the Crown Prince of Fok's Bank, at that."
Song Ren looked over in slight surprise.
Huh? What a coincidence.
Then it might actually matter a little.
Only, it has something to do with her fiancé's father.
Wishing everyone a happy New Year and a joyous family reunion.
—Jesus
╭(′ o′)╭, I'm talking about you readers!