On the oval main stage, a gorgeous singer with a slender figure swayed her slim waist. Her sweet voice rose and fell, tugging at the audience's heartstrings.
The colorful disco ball hanging overhead flashed rapidly to the beat, refracting dazzling light and setting the mood as the venue gradually came alive.
In one of the second-floor private rooms, the first thing you saw when you opened the door was a long, wide, reddish-brown leather sofa pressed against the wall, big enough for someone to lie down on.
A young man in a white suit and black leather shoes sat in the middle, his right hand gripping a rosewood cane carved with a golden dragon head.
He was tall, nearly six foot three, and his powerful muscles stretched the shirt beneath his suit taut, revealing the distinct lines of his chest.
"I put you in charge of the Midnight Palace, Ze. Business really has been getting better and better. A few days ago, I went to a banquet in the Metropolitan Area. I heard some business owners and company executives talking about this place. They praised how comfortable you made things for them and how good the service was."
The young man leaned on his cane and gently rubbed a silver ring set with a square gemstone. A domineering aura radiated from him; he was like a great python coiled up, flicking its tongue.
"It's all thanks to you, Brother Hao. If you weren't willing to put in a good word for me, who'd bother with a punk from Old Factory Street?"
Cheng Ze bent slightly at the waist and lowered his head as he spoke:
"It's all thanks to Brother Hao giving me and the guys under me a way to make a living."
The young man seemed quite pleased with the answer.
"My dad was right to think so highly of you. In just a few years, you carved out territory on North Pass Street. I told Dad about the idea you brought up last time. He discussed it with my big brother, and they think it could work.
"Those elites in the Metropolitan Area have grown bored of everything—parties, street racing, contraband. They don't even react when they see a woman strip.
"They need something more exciting. A Fighting Club is a good idea. Put on a fight once a week and get some ruthless, fierce fighters in the ring. The bloodier it gets, the better."
Cheng Ze responded with a quiet "Mm" and stepped forward, ready to explain the plan in greater detail, but the young man cut him off:
"I don't think the club should be here at the Midnight Palace. There are too many people coming and going, and it could easily get messy. Abiao, come here!"
The young man beckoned to the tall, baby-faced man standing by the door.
"Ze, Abiao's been with you for years. He's reliable, and I trust him. How about this? From now on, you focus on keeping the Midnight Palace in order. Leave the Righteous Fist Society and setting up the club to Abiao."
The baby-faced man glanced at Cheng Ze, then looked unsure what to do. His mouth opened and closed as he stammered:
"Brother Hao, I can't do it. I'm not capable enough. You should let Brother Ze—"
The young man glared at him and pointed at the baby-faced man called Abiao without the slightest courtesy.
"If I say you can do it, then you can! What, do you only listen to Ze? Are you ignoring what I say? Or am I, Qin Lihao, so insignificant that I can't make this decision?!"
Abiao was caught between a rock and a hard place. He stood trembling, not daring to say a word.
After the awkward silence stretched on for a few seconds, Cheng Ze bent even lower and forced a smile.
"Brother Hao, it's your call. Abiao, do your best. Don't let Brother Hao down."
The baby-faced man's shoulders slumped. His smile looked more like a grimace as he nodded in silence.
Caught between his boss, Brother Ze, and his boss's boss, Brother Hao, he felt like a slab of pork belly sizzling and sweating on a red-hot iron plate.
"Ze, you've been with my dad since the days when he was running ships. You're one of his old hands. Just keep an eye on this place. Later on, you can live comfortably off the dividends, keep a woman or two, and buy residency in the Metropolitan Area."
The young man who called himself Qin Lihao patted Cheng Ze on the shoulder and laughed heartily.
He glanced toward the main stage and added:
"That singer you hired? She's too old. The big bosses who come here like them young. They need to be lively, obedient, and sensible. Replace her, and do it quickly!"
By nine o'clock, the Midnight Palace was buzzing with noise and excitement.
Well-dressed office workers cuddled up to pretty women in the booth section, whispering sweet nothings and laughing together.
The promoters had brought in the hype girls to work the open-table area. In low-cut tops and hot pants, they flaunted their sex appeal without restraint, acting out the thrilling game of hunter and prey again and again.
"It's a job. Money's money, no matter whose pocket it comes from!"
Qin Shi quickly got into the swing of his part-time job, carrying fruit platters and delivering drinks with nimble hands.
Manager Yu, watching from nearby, nodded repeatedly.
"That brat Li Yuan finally introduced a decent classmate. No more bookish kids who are all thumbs and too timid to do anything.
"But it's a shame to have this new guy working as a waiter. He'd be better suited to promoting drinks."
Manager Yu wore a strange smile. The plain shirt-and-vest uniform fit Qin Shi just right. After starting out in the Old Martial Arts Cultivation Method, his frame had grown even more upright, making the most of his broad shoulders, narrow waist, and long legs.
The single women sitting alone at the bar had their eyes shining, and they were ordering drinks more often.
Though women often stopped him to flirt, chat, and keep him talking, Qin Shi never let it interfere with his actual work. He easily dealt with them by putting his best skill to use: a customer-service smile.
"He's got the natural build of a golden gigolo saint!"
Manager Yu sighed.
That young face was scholarly and refined yet sunny and handsome. In the Midnight Palace, a place of decadence and extravagance, he stood out like a small white flower blooming amid a riot of color.
The lonely young wives kept casting him interested glances, then whispering to their friends.
One after another, they came over to ask for his contact information.
Watching the scene, Xie Yucheng gritted his teeth.
"I never realized working at the Midnight Palace came with perks like these!"
Li Yuan teased him:
"Brother Yu once told me they call this a 'face card game' in the Metropolitan Area. We're all high school seniors, but A Shi's the six-foot-tall, lean-and-muscular hot guy from the Sports Academy. You're just some random extra in the background. You can't compare."
Xie Yucheng grumbled indignantly:
"A Shi made more in tips on his first day than I did! My mom's been telling me since I was a kid that being handsome won't put food on the table! She lied to me!"
Li Yuan shrugged.
"Don't be jealous. The Midnight Palace has so many promoters, and every night they bring pretty girls and handsome guys here to have fun. Didn't you hear them? Rich people are into some pretty kinky stuff—wire brushes, whips. You think you could handle that?"
Xie Yucheng suddenly felt a chill below the belt. He hadn't trained in the Iron Crotch Technique and had no desire to experience some rich woman's pleasure ball.
"No way! Tomorrow I'm mooching another half-tube of Nutritional Paste from A Shi! I want my brother to do well, but not this well!"
As the two of them chatted and laughed, the door to a second-floor private room burst open.
Qin Lihao in his white suit walked in the middle, while Brother Ze, whom everyone at the Midnight Palace revered like a god, hung his head and bent over like an underling.
"Which one is Brother Ze? The guy in the suit?"
Qin Shi finally got a moment to catch his breath. After escaping the clutches of a few older women, he ducked into a corner to slack off.
"The man in the suit is Brother Ze's Big Boss's son. He's from the same family as you. His surname's Qin, too."
Xie Yucheng rubbed his chin.
"Everyone calls him Brother Hao."
What a commanding presence!
Qin Shi wondered: if Brother Ze was Chen Haonan, then was this Brother Hao supposed to be Jiang Tiansheng?
Judging by that arrogant way he looked down his nose at people, wasn't he more like Dongxing Yaoyang?
"So who exactly is Brother Ze's Big Boss?"
Qin Shi asked curiously.
Since ancient times, groups with this kind of rough-and-ready energy had rarely been able to operate in the open.
Behind them, there was usually a Big Boss providing financial backing or connections.
In other words, a so-called "big money source."
"I don't know. I've never heard Brother Ze mention him."
Li Yuan shook his head.
"Anyway, he's got a lot of clout and close ties to the Tai'an Metropolitan Area."
"Ze, you don't have to see me out."
Qin Lihao puffed on his cigar and exhaled blue smoke.
"Abiao's one of your top men. I'm taking him with me. You're not going to get mad and complain to my dad, are you?"
Cheng Ze lowered his shoulders and replied respectfully:
"Don't joke, Brother Hao. Abiao and I both make our living under the Big Boss. Without his support, punks like us would either starve to death or get beaten to death."
A silver-gray stretch limousine was parked outside the Midnight Palace. Qin Lihao straightened his suit, the thick cigar still between his lips, then bent down and got inside.
Only after the engine started and the million-value extended Weirong sped away did Cheng Ze, hailed as "the top man on North Pass Street," slowly straighten his back.
"Brother Ze..."
His trusted underling started to say something.
"Brother Hao has his reasons for doing this."
Cheng Ze waved him off.
"Don't get involved with the Righteous Fist Society from now on. Brother Hao wants to set up a club, and he'll need plenty of fighters. As for the Midnight Palace, we'll stick to the old rules: take in some poor kids who dropped out of school, give them jobs, and teach them gradually."
His trusted underling grumbled:
"If Brother Hao wants to monopolize the club business, he could just say so. Why did he have to disrespect you, Brother Ze?"
Cheng Ze shot him a look, his expression cold.
"Cut the crap. Since when did the club belong to the Cheng family? This place, along with the dozens of shops on North Pass Street, all belong to the Qin family.
"If Brother Hao wants to replace someone or bring in new blood, it's his call."
Stepping back into the Midnight Palace, Cheng Ze wore an air of calm composure. He continued as usual, drinking with a few big clients and keeping in touch with the regular VIPs.
Around ten thirty, the first round of songs and dances ended, and the show took a break.
After finishing his work, Li Yuan led Qin Shi to the front-row booth where Cheng Ze was sitting.
"Brother Ze, this is my classmate, A Shi. He's looking for a summer job."
Cheng Ze narrowed his eyes.
"You go to Ninth High School?"
"A Shi's good at school. He got into New No. 1 Middle School."
Cheng Ze was a little surprised. For a worker's child from Old Factory Street to get into a school in the Tai'an Metropolitan Area on his own merit was no easy feat.
He beckoned the manager over.
"Okay, A Shi, right? Xiao Yu, get him a staff badge."
Then Cheng Ze took a wallet from his breast pocket, pulled out a few bills, and handed them to Qin Shi.
"Study hard. You can work here, but don't let anyone lead you astray. If you get into college, I'll give you a big red envelope."
Qin Shi accepted the money with both hands, putting on the excited look of a well-behaved boy.
"Thank you, Brother Ze!"
Cheng Ze had drunk quite a bit that night. His gaze was slightly unfocused as he casually asked:
"Li Yuan, aren't you a student at Ninth High School? Why'd you say A Shi was your classmate?"
Li Yuan answered honestly:
"A Shi and I go to Teacher Liang's tutoring class together. He's got a great natural aptitude. He picks up all the training and fighting techniques Teacher Liang teaches!"
Teacher Liang... training and fighting techniques... Old Martial Arts!
Cheng Ze suddenly jolted. He sat bolt upright on the sofa.
He stared straight at Qin Shi, the scholarly, refined young man.
"Are you Teacher Liang's disciple?"
Before you continue