The Clubhouse

The car stopped outside a Clubhouse downtown. Shi Yuan was dragged stumbling out of the car and hauled into the bar on the first floor. The sun had yet to set, so there weren't many people inside. Wei Zexuan had brought a sizable group, and they looked like trouble. No one even dared turn their head in that direction.

This seemed to be Blondie's turf. As soon as he entered, the bartender and passing servers greeted him.

"Hey, Ren!"

"You're here early today, Ren!"

"Ren."

Blondie dropped his earlier bootlicking act. As he greeted his buddies, he actually carried himself with a certain authority.

He waved over several trendy young men in leather vests and ripped jeans.

"A Wei, A Biao, come say hello to Xuan."

The young men clearly respected Blondie and immediately called out.

"Hello, Xuan!"

Wei Zexuan didn't even raise his eyelids. He simply told Blondie, "Huang Shiren, he's all yours. Do whatever you want, as long as he doesn't die."

"Don't worry, Xuan. I'll take care of everything for you."

Huang Shiren gave him his assurance.

Swinging his car keys in his right hand, Wei Zexuan headed outside with his bodyguards, grumbling, "All those random people sat in it. It's filthy now."

There were so many of them that they had brought two stretch cars specifically for the bodyguards. With Blondie and Shi Yuan added to the group, several extra people had ridden in Wei Zexuan's personal car.

Wei Zexuan singled out a bodyguard. "Xiaofeng, drive the sports car I left at the old family home to the office."

"Hey, you."

He stopped at the entrance, pointed at Blondie, and casually tossed him the keys.

"Didn't you say you liked this car? It's yours."

Blondie didn't mind this seven-figure "filthy car" in the slightest. He caught the keys Wei Zexuan tossed him, delight written all over his face.

"Thanks, Xuan!"

He hadn't even done anything yet, and he'd already gotten a nice car for free. No wonder so many people fought tooth and nail to suck up to this young master.

Blondie was also a rich man's son, but unlike his father's illegitimate son, he wasn't good at school and had little education. His family hadn't made their fortune when he was little. His father worked away from home and only came back a few times a year. His mother wasn't educated either, and he had dropped out young, stumbling his way through life. Only after he'd found a few brothers on the streets did he discover by chance that his father had long since struck it rich-and that his illegitimate son was already in middle school.

Blondie was shrewd. He knew falling out with his father would gain him nothing. His father now had money and influence. If he took his mother to make a scene and pushed his father too far, the man could simply divorce her. At most, the two of them would get a little money, while the mistress would become the legal wife and his father's future wealth would all go to her family. As long as his mother didn't divorce him, his father cared too much about appearances to openly abandon the wife who had been with him from the beginning.

Now the two women each lived in a separate house. His father usually stayed with his mistress and occasionally visited his wife, perfectly content with a wife and a concubine. He supplied enough money that neither woman dared openly upset the balance, though there was no shortage of underhanded maneuvering. The mistress's child did well in school, with enough awards to cover an entire wall of their villa. With the mistress whispering in his father's ear, and his father catching him drinking with his buddies at the Clubhouse a few times, the man had grown increasingly displeased with him.

"A disgrace who'll never amount to anything!" That was his father's verdict. But he did have a few useful men working for him and some influence on the streets. If he really had been completely useless, Wei Zexuan wouldn't have employed him.

After Wei Zexuan left, Blondie pointed at the tightly bound Shi Yuan.

"Boys, take him to that empty room in the basement."

Blondie had built this Clubhouse from nothing, and it was his most important asset. The next three floors were all karaoke rooms, while the fifth and top floors housed suites. The second basement level was a parking garage, and the first housed the Disco. Between the Disco and the ground-floor bar was another small half-level, only about six feet high, containing the staff break room and storage rooms. Taller people would hit their heads going in. That was the basement Blondie meant.

Shi Yuan was hauled away again. The basement was crowded, and every so often, servers just starting their shifts came down to change. When they saw Shi Yuan, they wisely pretended not to.

Blondie and his men threw him into a cramped storage room.

"A Wei, move all the knives, food, and stuff out of here."

"Sure thing, Ren."

Two of the younger men were especially curious. "Ren, who is this guy? Did he piss off that Xuan guy just now?"

"What'd he do? Steal his woman?"

"Who is that Xuan guy, anyway? A Biao and the others had their noses pointed at the ceiling when they talked to him."

"Ren..."

Blondie gave a sinister smile. "Not enough work to keep your mouths busy, huh? Go haul champagne through the side entrance in a minute."

"No, no, no!"

"Don't listen to this kid, Ren. We'll get back upstairs to work once we've cleared this out. Just call if you need anything."

As the people around him gradually dispersed, Shi Yuan tried to calm himself. You Gui had seen him being taken away, so she would at least call the police. Whether the people at the Police Station would accept her report was another matter.

Once his men had left, and seeing that Shi Yuan was fairly quiet, Huang Shiren casually shut the door. Copying Wei Zexuan, he patted Shi Yuan's face and asked in puzzlement, "I heard you used to run with Xuan too. What possessed you to go against him?"

Shi Yuan gave a bitter laugh. "You know I used to run with him, and now look where I've ended up. Do you think you'll fare any better?"

Huang Shiren smiled indifferently. "Life's pretty comfortable under the Wei Family's protection. I'm after his money and influence. If I have to grovel, what difference does it make who I grovel to?"

"But..."

His expression abruptly darkened. "If he tries to kick me aside once he's done with me, I'm no pushover either."

Shi Yuan hadn't expected such a clear head beneath that flashy exterior. He probably had some real ability too, unlike "Shi Yuan," who had been a complete fool. So he tried to stir things up. "Wei Zexuan is so arrogant. Who knows what'll happen to the Wei Corporation once he takes over?"

"Even if you want someone to follow, he's hardly a good choice of master."

Huang Shiren wasn't about to switch sides over a few words. He didn't care about the Wei Corporation's future, only about what he could gain from Wei Zexuan.

"Whatever. I'm just getting what I can out of him. Our business interests aren't tied together. Having Young Master Wei look out for my little patch of turf is already a huge perk. As for the rest, why the hell should I care?"

Shi Yuan gave him a couple of astonished looks. Appearances really could be deceiving. Blondie might not look impressive, but he understood things more clearly than anyone. If the original Shi Yuan had possessed half his shrewdness, he would never have ended up in such a sorry state.

Huang Shiren stood and stretched, revealing his lean waist. Shi Yuan could even hear his bones cracking.

"Don't blame me, brother. When Young Master Wei wants something done, there are plenty of people willing to do it, even if I don't."

"You'll have to suffer a little, or I won't have anything to show our young master. Just stay here and behave. As long as you don't cause me trouble, I won't make any for you."

Shi Yuan let out a long breath. Honestly, he'd been terrified when those burly men hauled him away. Fortunately, he'd encountered someone who was at least reasonable, and half his fear subsided.

A moment later, A Biao and A Wei came in one after the other. Shi Yuan had a bad feeling, remembering Blondie's words about having to "suffer a little."

With his long legs draped over the armrest, Wei Zexuan lounged sideways in his dining chair, roaring with laughter as he watched a video on his phone of Shi Yuan being beaten black and blue.

An occasional scream escaped the phone's speakers, making Mother Wei frown. "What's that noise? We're eating. Can't you be quiet for a while?"

Wei Zexuan placed his phone facedown on the table and shrugged.

"Nothing."

"Dad, isn't it time we made a move against the Shi Family?"

A beating alone still didn't satisfy him. For someone like Shi Yuan, being driven out of high society would hurt worse than death.

Father Wei put down his chopsticks and frowned. "Come to the study after dinner. We'll discuss it there."

At the far end of the table, Wei Zelin remained silent, like a ghost whose presence went unnoticed. Hearing that they intended to target the Shi Family didn't stir him at all.

You Gui proved even more dependable than Shi Yuan had imagined. She knew full well the Wei Family's standing in Capital City, but still called the police, hoping she might get lucky. After a few perfunctory questions, the police sent her away on the grounds that there was no clear evidence Shi Yuan had been kidnapped and that he hadn't been missing for forty-eight hours yet.

Leaving the Police Station, You Gui dialed Shen Duo's number without another moment's hesitation. The pounding in her chest was louder than the ringing on the line.

At last, the person on the other end answered.

"Is that... Gui? What's wrong?"

The instant she heard Shen Duo's voice, You Gui's eyes reddened. She had thought she could face him calmly, and in fact, she'd been doing well all along. But the moment he asked, "What's wrong?" all her hurt surged up, leaving her unable to get a complete sentence out.

She took several breaths, trying her best to steady her voice.

"Shen."

"It's me, Gui."

"Wei Zexuan took Shi Yuan away. He brought a lot of people. I don't know where he took Shi Yuan."

Hearing the urgency in her voice, Shen Duo reassured her. "All right, don't panic. I'll send people to find him right now. What about you? Are you all right? Did Wei Zexuan do anything to you?"

"I'm fine. Please hurry and save Shi Yuan. He only offended Wei Zexuan because of me."

Shen Duo asked You Gui a few more questions about what had happened. Then, at her urging, he contacted people to trace Shi Yuan's whereabouts and also called Wei Zelin.

"President Wei, you must know that Wei Zexuan took your wife away."

Wei Zelin's voice was flat. "Did he?"

"I hear you have a very well-informed man working for you. How could you not know?" Shen Duo didn't believe him.

"President Shen, you also know I only use my people when it matters, and I don't expose them lightly. I revealed some of my cards to you because I genuinely considered you a trustworthy business partner. Please don't make unfounded assumptions." He wasn't about to take risks for Shi Yuan, especially since he himself had had a hand in this.

The Wei Family's roots ran deep and its branches spread wide. Without knowing where those roots reached, how could he hope to bring it down?

Shen Duo was both surprised and unsurprised by his reply. Wei Zelin had always been difficult to read.

"You can stay out of it, but Shi Yuan is Gui's friend. I promised her I'd find him."

Once again, their conversation ended on bad terms.