Gu Bei glanced at Sang Yu and sneered, “Mr. Shen, you’re not getting serious here, are you? The women here are either short on money or trying to hook up with rich men. They aren’t worth your time.”
He then turned his gaze to Zong Jinghao and continued, “Since you’re friends with Mr. Zong, you’re definitely someone of status yourself. Why marry a prostitute? You’ll be laughed at by society, and Mr. Zong will be implicated as well.”
“Who are you calling a prostitute?” Sang Yu bellowed. I was tricked here! How dare you call me a prostitute!
Shen Peichuan placed a hand on her shoulder and gestured for her to stay calm. If she hadn’t met us today, she’d have been toast!
Sang Yu knew that she had acted too brashly. After all, she had studied hard to get accepted into a good university and earned her own living. Even when she was at her poorest, she had never intended to resort to prostitution. Thus, she simply could not accept such an insult.
She clenched her fists and glared at Gu Bei.
“Mr. Gu,” Zong Jinghao called out in an icy tone. “Let’s get to the point. If you want anything from me, I’d be more than happy to oblige if it’s something within my means. My friend here rarely shows interest in women, so I’m afraid I’ll have to stand up for him this time.”
Noticing the displeasure on Zong Jinghao’s face, Gu Bei mulled over it. This woman isn’t mine, after all. Like Sang Yu said, I haven’t paid her, and she hasn’t officially started work either. Technically, I have nothing on her. I might as well let Shen Peichuan have her so that Zong Jinghao owes me a favor.
When he finished weighing the situation up, Gu Bei smiled. “Since Mr. Zong has made this request, I can’t possibly refuse!”
He pointed to the other three girls at the door. “They are all virgins as well. Shall we get them to entertain us?”
It was the first time these three young women had been to such a place. Seeing that the other men were handsome as well, they were eager to give it a try.
The friend who had nudged Sang Yu earlier, Lu Wanwan, was especially hopeful. In fact, she had set her sights on Zong Jinghao.
She desperately wanted this man to fall in love with her and marry her, allowing her to become a rich housewife. That way, she would not have to study hard or worry about finding a job.
In addition to the fame and status she could attain from being with such a man, she would not have to earn a living as well.
However, Zong Jinghao was uninterested in these women. Earlier, he did not have a good excuse to refuse when Gu Bei called Sang Yu to take a seat next to him. But now, he simply told Gu Bei, “Nah, I’m no longer in the mood.”
Gu Bei had not sensed anything amiss and assumed that he merely lost the mood after Sang Yu’s matter earlier. Besides, there were other ways to have fun, other than women. He suggested, “Let’s go for something thrilling, then!”
“I have something to ask you, Mr. Gu,” Zong Jinghao suddenly changed the subject.
Gu Bei had intended to build a connection with him, but he did not want to seem overly eager, so he put on a calm expression. “Oh, what’s up?”
Zong Jinghao explained the matter with Cheng Yuxiu’s accident and asked, “I heard that Wen Qing came to look for you. Is that true?”
Gu Bei did not know about the complex history between Zong Jinghao and Wen Qing, so he merely assumed they were uncle and nephew.
On the other hand, everyone knew that Cheng Yuxiu was on bad terms with Zong Jinghao.
He did not dwell on it and offered Zong Jinghao a toast, “Let’s have a drink, shall we?”
Zong Jinghao drank the wine in one shot. Smacking his lips, Gu Bei filled up the glass again. “Well, now that we’re friends, there’s no need to hide anything from you. In fact, our families have been acquainted throughout the generations. Your maternal grandfather and my father were especially close.”
Gu Bei’s father was slightly younger than Wen Jin, but they were from the same generation. However, Gu Bei was born when he was getting old, so he was around Zong Jinghao’s age.
He had six older sisters, but most of them had been raised by his relatives because they were illegitimate children. Since he had one elder sister in name, he was the second oldest, although he had six elder sisters in total. However, this was an open secret.
“On account of the relationship between our families, I couldn’t possibly refuse him, right?”
Zong Jinghao leaned back and cloaked himself in darkness, leaving only his icy voice. “Let’s hear what this is all about, then.”
