"Uncle Jin, sorry I'm late!"
The young man greeted him and then casually took a seat between Yu Xin and Bi Jin. He helped himself to the decanted red wine on the table, pouring a glass.
Then, he gestured with his chin towards the young man and woman behind him. "This is my Uncle Jin, the Director of the Provincial Radio Station."
"Uncle Bi, these are both my friends. They're quite popular in the industry right now. I hope you can look out for them in the future."
The man and woman immediately greeted Bi Jin respectfully, their tones laced with a hint of flattery.
"Director, hello!"
"Director, hello!"
Bi Jin merely gave a faint nod.
To be honest, his impression of these two minor celebrities was far less favorable than his impression of Yu Xin, who sat diagonally across from him.
Yu Xin was quite attractive too, and compared to these two overly polished and powdered stars, she was more intelligent, possessing an innate air of confidence.
This was something those two couldn't hope to match.
Yu Xin had also recognized the pair. The girl was a rising starlet who had recently gained attention in a youth idol drama. The young man also looked familiar, seemingly a singer from some talent show.
"Xiao Chen, what are you doing here? Can't you see I'm discussing business?" Bi Jin said.
Xue Chen replied nonchalantly, "Just came here for dinner with my friends."
"Uncle Jin, who is this beauty? You're not being fair, keeping such a pretty lady to yourself for a date without telling me. I had to come find you myself and catch you red-handed, hahaha..."
Bi Jin frowned. "Don't talk nonsense. This is President Yu from Wanlong Technology. We're here on business. President Yu, this is Xue Chen, the son of an old superior of mine. Young people speak their minds, please don't mind him."
Yu Xin smiled slightly. "It's fine. I can see Young Master Xue is a straightforward person, speaking his mind."
Hearing this, Xue Chen wasn't offended at all. Instead, he chuckled heartily. "Haha, beautiful lady, I'll take that as a compliment."
He leaned forward, staring at Yu Xin. "I've heard of your 'Wanhui Youxuan'. I just never expected the president to be so young and beautiful. Impressive!"
His tone clearly carried a condescending air.
The young starlet who had just sat down also chimed in with a flattering laugh. "Young Master Chen is absolutely right. President Yu is truly both beautiful and elegant."
Xue Chen obviously enjoyed this, smiling smugly before getting straight to the point. "Beautiful Miss Yu, your Wanhui Youxuan is doing quite well. So, interested in collaborating on something else? I have plenty of resources on my end."
Yu Xin asked calmly, without showing her hand, "What kind of collaboration do you have in mind?"
"I want to..."
Xue Chen suddenly became coy. "How about we have a drink first? Whether we can collaborate depends on how well the drinks go down. Someone as beautiful as you, President Yu, must have a good tolerance, right? Come on, let me propose a toast to celebrate our meeting!"
With that, he filled Yu Xin's glass to the brim, then raised his own, looking at her with an air of insistence that brooked no refusal.
Yu Xin looked at the nearly overflowing glass of red wine before her, the smile on her face fading a little.
She did not reach for the glass. Instead, she met Xue Chen's gaze head-on, not yielding an inch.
"Young Master Xue, I apologize. My alcohol tolerance isn't great. I'm afraid I'll disappoint you."
Xue Chen clearly wasn't buying it, and his tone hardened. "President Yu, that's not very gracious, is it? In this circle, who doesn't drink? Look, even my Uncle Jin is here. Won't you even give him this little bit of face? Or do you look down on me, Xue Chen?"
Seeing the atmosphere turn sour, Bi Jin wanted to smooth things over. After all, it was because of Xue Chen's request that he had changed the meeting venue today.
Xue Chen's sudden appearance, claiming it was a coincidence, was all an act. In fact, the person who really wanted to meet Yu Xin was Xue Chen himself.
Bi Jin was only helping him out of respect for his father.
Precisely because of this, he didn't want to see Xue Chen go too far.
"Xiao Chen, President Yu is a lady. If she can't drink, let it be. You should focus on discussing business..."
Hearing Bi Jin say this, Yu Xin understood completely why the other party hadn't chosen the radio station for their first meeting. It seemed this Xue Chen was the one who truly wanted to see her.
This visitor meant no good!
"Uncle Jin, please don't worry about this."
Xue Chen cut Bi Jin off, his eyes fixed intently on Yu Xin as he continued, "President Yu, you're not going to refuse even a single glass with me, are you? Around here, not many dare to refuse me this courtesy."
Yu Xin still wouldn't comply. She knew that once she started with this first glass, there would be a second, a third... an endless stream.
Moreover, when out and about, she would never allow herself to get drunk.
In short, no matter how much influence Xue Chen had, she would not drink this wine.
"Young Master Xue, forced fruit is never sweet. I've said I don't drink. If you really want a toast, I can use tea instead."
Xue Chen's face darkened completely. "Don't you fucking dare refuse a favor when it's offered! In Lucheng, when I, Xue Chen, ask you to drink, it's an honor! You're just a small-time boss from out of town. Who the hell do you think you are, putting on airs? Believe me, I can make your pathetic little company disappear with just one word!"
Faced with Xue Chen's sudden insults and threats, Yu Xin showed not a trace of fear. Instead, she stood up, looking down at Xue Chen who remained seated.
The last vestiges of her polite smile vanished completely from her face, leaving only icy coldness.
Did he think such a petty scene could intimidate her?
Then she would have wasted her time at the Wanlong Association.
"I thought I was going to meet someone of importance today. Turns out, what showed up was a third-rate, utterly useless piece of trash."
"Always threatening people with just your mouth, talking about making our Wanlong Company disappear. You're like a toad yawning—what a big mouth you have!"
"If you've got nothing better to do, don't go out. Go home to your mommy. Otherwise, if you get lost, it'll be hard to find you."
Xue Chen's face instantly flushed crimson.
In all his life, he had rarely encountered an outsider who dared speak to him like that, and with such harsh words.
"You're fucking looking for death! Do you believe I..."
Before he could finish, Yu Xin directly picked up the glass of red wine he had just filled to the brim. Then, under the astonished gazes of everyone present, she tilted her wrist.
Splash!
The crimson wine, not a drop spared, poured entirely over Xue Chen's head.
Xue Chen froze completely in place, seemingly unable to believe it.
Damn it, this was his turf! He'd been drenched with wine? And by a woman?
Yu Xin placed the empty glass back on the table with a sharp clack, pulled out a tissue, and meticulously wiped her hands.
"Young Master Xue, this glass of wine is for you. How does it taste?"
The two minor celebrities were the first to react, immediately accusing Yu Xin.
"How dare you treat Young Master Chen like this! Do you know who he is?"
"You're finished! Absolutely finished!"
"Shut up!" Yu Xin swept a cold glance at them, and the two immediately fell silent, too scared to utter another word.
Xue Chen finally snapped out of his shock and humiliation, his face twisting into a vicious snarl.
"Bitch! I'll fuck your mother! You filthy whore who doesn't know what's good for her!"
He then roared towards the door, "Get the fuck in here, all of you! Now! Immediately!"
No sooner had the words left his mouth,
Several young thugs with dyed hair burst into the private room from outside.
They probably would have barged in sooner if Bi Jin hadn't been present.
After all, Bi Jin was a man of some influence, and most importantly, he was quite familiar with Xue Chen's father.
That was precisely why Xue Chen hadn't brought those thugs into the room initially—to avoid a lecture from Bi Jin.
"Master Chen!" The thugs were shocked to see Xue Chen drenched head to face in red wine.
Who in Lucheng would dare to throw wine in Xue Chen's face?
Had they grown tired of living?
"Beat her! Beat this bitch to death! I'll take care of any fallout!" Xue Chen screamed, pointing at Yu Xin.
Bi Jin could stand it no longer and shot to his feet. "Enough! All of you, stop right there!"
"Xue Chen, I'm warning you, you'd better not do anything reckless!"
If Xue Chen actually laid hands on Yu Xin here today, it would be a direct slap in Bi Jin's face, since he was the one who had arranged for her to come out.
If it weren't for the respect he held for his old superior, he would have thrown this punk out long ago.
But Xue Chen was beyond caring. Publicly humiliated and disgraced in front of so many people, this young master, spoiled and arrogant since childhood, could not swallow this insult.
"Get her! Anyone who doesn't, don't blame me for being ruthless!"
The thugs clearly obeyed Xue Chen more. They immediately lunged towards Yu Xin.
Yu Xin's face remained utterly calm, without a trace of fear. She merely parted her lips slightly and uttered a single word: "One."
Boom!
The door to the private room was instantly kicked open with tremendous force from the outside, and a powerfully built man in a black suit strode in.
The man's gaze was sharp, his expression resolute.
Before anyone could react, he had already positioned himself between the thugs and Yu Xin.
The next second!
A series of agonized screams erupted within the private room.
