Blooming Everywhere

As the year draws to a close and the weather gets colder day by day, the domestic hot pot market is a fiercely competitive red ocean.

Meanwhile, Soup King Hotpot's expansion is accelerating, and the day when the total number of stores will exceed one hundred is getting closer and closer.

Zhang Yang, however, remained calm and composed, displaying a serene and unhurried demeanor, as if watching the clouds drift by and the flowers bloom and fade.

There's no rush anyway.

What is meant to be will come naturally in due time; everything will fall into place naturally.

During his time in Beijing, Zhang Yang had nothing else to do but spend his days going out and having fun with his newly acquainted friends.

While we wouldn't call ourselves close friends, we're at least fair-weather buddies.

Drinking buddies also have their uses. Besides providing relaxation and entertainment, their biggest function is to further expand his social circle in the Beijing. Through these people, he naturally made more acquaintances with heavyweight friends from all walks of life.

These friends, whether from prominent families or from generations of business owners, are all people with high aspirations.

With his wealth of billions, his appearance, demeanor, and personal charm, Zhang Yang was an outstanding individual, making it easy for him to make these new friends.

Deep friendships take time and mutual benefit. For Zhang Yang, it's enough to have made an initial acquaintance and be able to get together for drinks from time to time, becoming an indispensable member of their respective circles.

It was midnight in one of Beijing's top nightclubs.

In the best booth, various young men sat scattered about, surrounded by a group of beautiful women vying for attention.

"Young Master Zhang, don't neglect your sister. Look at you, you're daydreaming again," Li Xingyu said with a smile.

"I was indeed thinking about something," Zhang Yang said with an apologetic smile, glancing at the girl beside him.

This girl has a delicate figure and a pure and innocent look. She's supposedly from the Beijing Dance Academy. Right now, she's holding a wine glass and looking at me expectantly.

"Young Master Zhang, I salute you." Her eyes were full of hope.

"Hmm." Zhang Yang raised his glass, casually clinked it against his own, and then put it down.

The girl was overjoyed, raised her glass with immense satisfaction, and drank it all in one gulp, which surprised Zhang Yang.

It's rare to see a girl who drinks so freely.

"Brother Zhang, don't be picky, this girl really is from the Beijing Dance Academy, no doubt about it," Li Xingyu said with a laugh, taking a sip of his drink. "The most beautiful one is yours, don't waste her."

He had women on both sides of him, though their quality was slightly inferior to those around Zhang Yang, he still managed to catch up in terms of quantity.

At that moment, with a signal, the two girls kissed.

Zhang Yang noticed that ever since Li Xingyu's long-distance girlfriend was stolen away, he seemed to have let himself go. A promising young investment star and heir to a multi-billion dollar family business, he now appeared to be living a dissolute life.

"You've been indulging yourself a bit lately," Zhang Yang said, glancing at him.

"It's not that I've become promiscuous, it's that I've come to terms with it... Women are just something to amuse yourself with when you're in a bad mood." Li Xingyu said dismissively. "They're just clothes and tools, why do I need to maintain an image in front of them?"

His words caused the girls present to look somewhat embarrassed, but no one dared to say anything.

What could they say? This was the eldest son of the Li family in the Beijing, a figure of immense influence in their eyes. Of course, they dared not utter a word.

"Alright, whatever makes you happy." Zhang Yang raised his glass and clinked it with Li Xingyu's.

After finishing his drink, Zhang Yang, unusually, found himself in the mood to chat with the girl next to him for a couple of minutes.

What's your name?

"Brother, my name is Kexin, Liao Kexin," the girl replied, somewhat flattered. "Let me pour you some wine."

She stood up, her two legs fitting together perfectly, slender and long.

"Thank you." Zhang Yang patted the sofa seat next to him. "Make yourself at home, don't be so formal. Do you often come to nightclubs?"

"I rarely come here," the girl answered cautiously. "I've only come with classmates before, brother. I'm not into the nightclub atmosphere..."

She seemed eager to explain, afraid of being misunderstood as one of those nocturnal atmosphere groups, like the Little Bees.

But in reality, Zhang Yang didn't care about any of that.

He was just trying to start a conversation, asking casually. Whether the other person was telling the truth or not was irrelevant; it was just a performance.

At least this girl looks quite innocent.

No man likes the type who's overly flirtatious and has a sleazy vibe. For Zhang Yang, even being kissed by that kind of guy would make him feel disgusted.

"Yes, let's drink." Zhang Yang didn't ask any further questions, but simply gestured for her to pick up her glass.

Liao Kexin quickly picked up her wine glass, clinked glasses with Zhang Yang, and then sipped her wine slowly.

Inside the VIP booths, the young masters displayed their talents, exuding prestige by picking up the hottest girls, drinking the most expensive drinks, and basking in the most envious glances from the entire room.

The marketing staff, busy running around, were obsequious and had smiles on their faces.

Suddenly, a large group of people arrived at the nightclub entrance in the distance and headed straight for the booths next door.

The boy in the lead was pale-skinned and dressed head-to-toe in trendy brands.

"Huh? Young Master Li!"

The boy suddenly stopped and looked at Li Xingyu. "What a coincidence, Young Master Li, how about we grab a drink later?"

"No thanks," Li Xingyu said with a laugh, without even lifting his buttocks. "Go drink yours."

The boy didn't seem to mind, and with a smile, he put his arm around the girl next to him and the group of people and sat down in a booth.

Liao Kexin, who was next to Zhang Yang, seemed to exchange a few glances with the girl next to the boy.

"Do you know anyone here?" Zhang Yang asked, glancing around.

"Young Master Zhang, that girl over there is one of my senior classmates," Liao Kexin quickly and cautiously explained. "I didn't expect to run into her here."

"She's really in trouble then," several young men around her shook their heads and sighed.

"That's Luo Zhenyu, the third young master of Farreach Industries. He's a playboy, nothing special, except his methods for picking up women are really perverted," Li Xingyu casually mentioned, pointing to his own head.

"I heard that the baby suffered from oxygen deprivation at birth, so there's something wrong with that."

Liao Kexin, who was listening nearby, turned pale and kept glancing worriedly at the booth next door.

"But while this guy's having fun, he's certainly willing to pay a good price. It's all consensual inducement; I haven't heard of any coercion or anything like that," Li Xingyu chuckled. "If you're worried, just send a message to your so-called senior to remind her."

Liao Kexin held her phone, then hesitated and looked down.

The group laughed and joked around, sharing anecdotes about the young master Luo next door as topics of conversation after drinking, but no one really took the other seriously.

"He's dim-witted, a good-for-nothing who just loafs around and waits to die. He has two older brothers, so of course the inheritance isn't going to him."

"I heard his mother spoils him rotten; he's gotten into big trouble several times, and it's always his mother who smooths things over."

"Let's drink, let's not talk about this idiot."

The crowd laughed and joked, drinking and teasing each other.

Zhang Yang listened with great interest for a while, then noticed that Liao Kexin finally lowered her head and sent the message.

But the other party doesn't seem to have replied.

Looking over, the next booth was unusually lively, with people drinking and laughing, and the sounds of girls talking could be heard.

It's likely that no one noticed the message.

"Didn't you reply?" Zhang Yang asked casually.

"Yes, I heard that my senior's family seems to have run into some trouble recently and is short of money. I'm afraid she might do something foolish," Liao Kexin said, covering her phone with some concern.

Zhang Yang simply said "oh," didn't respond, and turned back to continue chatting with Li Xingyu and the others.

Liao Kexin bit her lip and glanced at Zhang Yang, her eyes filled with disappointment.

She thought this incredibly handsome guy would chat with her a bit more, but to her surprise, he just asked casually and didn't take it seriously at all.

Inside the booth, the group drank glass after glass of wine and played game after game.

Zhang Yang didn't pretend to be a gentleman; he simply put his arm around the girl next to him, who leaned against him obediently, as if she would fall over at the slightest push.

They would frequently urge others to drink, pour drinks, and offer toasts.

She always wanted to strike up a conversation with Zhang Yang.

Unfortunately, Zhang Yang didn't have the habit of getting emotionally involved with girls in nightclubs; it was all just a superficial game.

"That bastard Luo Zhenyu is at it again..." One of the young masters turned his head and glanced over.

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound.

Inside a booth some distance away, the boy from before stood up high.

"Five thousand per cup, no upper limit, but everyone who participates has to drink at least ten cups. If you give up before you've drunk ten cups..." the boy chuckled. "We could also charge by the cup, but you'd have to bark like a dog... Raise your hand if you're interested."

Immediately, hands were raised in droves below.

Zhang Yang noticed that Liao Kexin's senior classmate seemed to be among those raising their hands as well.

"It's just a game of trampling on dignity; only he seems to enjoy it so much." The young masters shook their heads and sneered.

Although they don't take girls seriously either, they don't actually engage in such blatant acts of trampling on human dignity. Overall, they still have a bottom line and certain principles.

Of course, as outsiders, no one can say what is right and wrong.

After all, it was all voluntary.

A short while later, a girl stood up in the next booth.

She seemed confident and had an amazing capacity for alcohol, raising her glass and downing it in one gulp.

"That's five thousand, keep going!"

Young Master Luo clapped and laughed. The people around him seemed to join in the commotion.

One cup down, then another.

The girl drank six or seven cups in a row, until her face turned red and she covered her mouth several times as if she was about to vomit. Finally, the tenth cup seemed to have reached her limit.

"Vomit!"

The girl braced herself against the table and immediately vomited.

"Get lost, disgusting." Young Master Luo waved his hand with a laugh. "Ten cups for fifty thousand, here's the money. Take a taxi home yourself, don't let someone else take advantage of you..."

"Thank you, Young Master Luo, thank you, Young Master Luo." The girl thanked him profusely and struggled to her feet in overwhelming joy.

"Who else? One by one." Young Master Luo was in high spirits and continued to ask.

Liao Kexin's senior sister stood up.

"I... I want to come."

"You're here, right?" Young Master Luo sized up Liao Kexin's senior sister. "Ten cups, are you sure you can do it? No backing out."

"I... I can!" She seemed to hesitate for a moment, then nodded decisively.

Before long, glasses of wine were poured out.

Under the light, the amber-colored liquor seemed to be bubbling.

"Come on, let's see how you do," Young Master Luo said with a smile. "Five thousand per cup, the more you do, the more you earn."

Liao Kexin's senior sister gritted her teeth, picked up the first glass of wine, and drank it down in one gulp.

The liquor dripped from the corner of her mouth, causing her to cough repeatedly.

"Haha, this is interesting." Young Master Luo's eyes seemed to light up, as if he had seen something interesting. "Continue."

The second cup.

He drank it down with considerable difficulty.

The boys around them kept cheering and jeering, their eyes gleaming with a kind of excited look, as if they were finally about to see the scene they wanted to witness.

Next, Liao Kexin's senior sister suddenly became ruthless.

He downed several cups in a row.

That's the beginning; I've already downed five drinks.

"No, I have to persuade my senior sister." Liao Kexin couldn't sit still any longer.

"I advise you not to go," Li Xingyu said with a smile. "It's a consensual game between them. Do you think your senior sister will thank you if you go now?"

"But... Liao Kexin was very worried."

"No buts." Zhang Yang put his arm around Liao Kexin's shoulder and laughed, "What's it to you?"

Liao Kexin opened her mouth, but seeing Zhang Yang's calm, unwavering eyes, she sat back down, her bottom already lifted.

Meanwhile, the game continues.

"This is the sixth cup. If you really can't take it anymore, just give up," Young Master Luo laughed. "It's just barking like a dog, what's the big deal..."

"I... I can still manage." Liao Kexin's senior sister, supporting herself on the table, struggled to drink again.

She had only drunk half of the glass when she covered her mouth and, unable to hold it in any longer, began to vomit.

"It's always like this, it gets everywhere." Young Master Luo put one foot on the table, and a girl volunteered to come up with tissues to wipe it up.

"Want to come again?"

"Young Master Luo, I... I can't drink anymore." Liao Kexin's senior sister covered her mouth, her face flushed, and shook her head repeatedly.

"If you can't drink it, don't force yourself. It's not like I'm forcing you to drink," Young Master Luo shook his head and laughed. "This cup counts as yours too. Six cups in total, thirty thousand..."

"Thank you, Young Master Luo," Liao Kexin's senior sister said repeatedly.

"Hey... don't thank me yet, did you forget? Barking like a dog?" Young Master Luo and the boys around him exchanged amused glances and then took out their phones.

Liao Kexin's senior sister was stunned and stood there in shock.

"You··"

"Study... quickly." Young Master Luo picked up a glass of wine and gently poured it onto her face.

At this moment, a face that could be described as aloof and beautiful was half-reclined, with drops of wine on it. If it were to start barking like a dog later, it would be simply...

"Are you going to take pictures?" she asked, somewhat alarmed.

Among those present were her classmates, and she could almost imagine what would happen to her at school if the video of her barking like a dog and being doused with alcohol got out...

It has become rotten goods... rotten goods that everyone despises.

"Stop talking nonsense. Here's 100,000 yuan. Now, obediently squat down and study..." Young Master Luo said impatiently in a commanding tone.

"I... I don't want it anymore." Liao Kexin's senior sister quickly shook her head and struggled to stand up.

"Hey... did I tell you you could leave? You can't quit halfway through the game!" Young Master Luo grabbed her hand. "You either drink ten cups right now, or you obediently bark like a dog. I said, I'll give you more money if necessary."

"I don't want money, Young Master Luo, I'm not playing this game anymore, I'm leaving!" Liao Kexin's senior sister struggled.