"Miss Liu, since you've come to the imperial capital, that's fate. As the host, I have to fulfill my duties as a proper host."
Zhou Heng raised his glass: "Come on, let's have a drink."
Liu Yutong looked down at the glass in front of her without moving.
Seeing this, Zhou Heng's smile faded a bit.
Chen Xinhuai and Sun Mo, two popular young actors, exchanged glances at this scene.
In all of the imperial capital, they had never seen anyone dare to disrespect Young Master Zhou like this.
"Miss Liu, Young Master Zhou is one of the top figures in the imperial capital. Getting to know him is your blessing."
"That's right, that's right. With one word from Young Master Zhou, you can walk sideways in the imperial capital. Just give him some face and have a drink."
Liu Yutong glanced at them and said unhurriedly, "Walking sideways is for crabs. But the two of you really do resemble crabs."
Chen Xinhuai and Sun Mo's faces instantly darkened.
Zhou Heng paused for a moment, then burst into loud laughter.
"Interesting! Truly interesting!"
"Miss Liu, with a mouth like yours, you absolutely have to drink this glass."
Liu Yutong still didn't budge.
Lin Yue cursed Liu Yutong inwardly for being clueless and quickly stepped in to smooth things over: "Brother Heng, Yutong is here for the first time and a bit nervous. Please don't mind..."
Zhou Heng waved his hand, cutting her off, his eyes still fixed on Liu Yutong.
"Not drinking?"
Liu Yutong shook her head. "I'm not drinking."
Everyone in the private room fell silent.
This girl had no idea what she was doing.
If she kept talking to Young Master Zhou like this, things wouldn't end well for her.
Zhou Heng's gaze turned cold: "Miss Liu, do you know who I am?"
Liu Yutong: "Didn't you just say? From the Zhou family."
Zhou Heng: "Knowing I'm from the Zhou family, you still dare to disrespect me like this?"
Liu Yutong: "So what if you're from the Zhou family? Does that mean I have to be your drinking companion?"
Zhou Heng's smile froze slightly.
Chen Xinhuai couldn't help but speak up: "Miss Liu, that's not right. Young Master Zhou's status in the imperial capital is unmatched. Countless people would kill for a chance to suck up to him. Sitting here today is a stroke of luck for you."
Sun Mo added: "Yeah, don't be ungrateful."
Liu Yutong turned to look at the two of them.
"You two work in entertainment, right? Seems like you're pretty famous."
Chen Xinhuai and Sun Mo were taken aback, then puffed up with pride.
"Oh, Miss Liu recognizes us? Well, we are quite popular."
"We've been on shows like 'Star Light' and 'The Base' twice each. If you want an autograph, we can give you one later—just as long as you have that drink with Young Master Zhou."
Liu Yutong: "I won't need the autograph."
"I just want to ask: if you two soft-skinned pretty boys ended up in a safe place, do you think you'd last?"
Chen Xinhuai: ???
Sun Mo: ???
A safe place? Was this place unsafe? What was this woman babbling about?
Just then, Gao Min, who hadn't said much, stretched lazily and interjected: "Hey, big stars, I'm getting sleepy. Know any places that could wake me up?"
Chen Xinhuai and Sun Mo's eyes lit up immediately, and they nodded eagerly.
"Yes, yes! There's a private party tonight—super exhilarating, all kinds of fun. Want us to take you?"
Gao Min agreed readily: "Sure!"
Chen Xinhuai then looked at Zhou Heng: "Young Master Zhou, we'll head off then?"
Zhou Heng, whose mind was entirely focused on how to conquer Liu Yutong, knew exactly what those two were up to, and since his target was this woman surnamed Liu, he didn't want any interruptions. He waved them off impatiently.
"You two, settle it with Miss Lin."
After all, this Gao Min was connected to the Lin family, so he couldn't make the call himself.
Lin Yue naturally didn't object: "Sister Min wants to go, so take her then."
In truth, she looked down on this country bumpkin from the start.
If it weren't for her connection to her third aunt, she might have sold them both out already.
Now that she wanted to go 'chase stars' and get into those shady places, it worked out perfectly. If some scandal happened, it wouldn't be on her hands.
Lin Feng was burning with curiosity and desperately wanted to check out that kind of party. He quickly raised his hand: "Can you take me along?"
Chen Xinhuai and the others had no reason to refuse—he was from the Lin family after all—so they nodded: "Sure, come along. We'll show you the ropes."
Gao Min then winked at Liu Yutong: "I'm off first."
And she discreetly made an OK gesture, as if to say: Can you handle this scene on your own? Call for help if you can't.
Liu Yutong nodded slightly, signaling for her to be at ease.
After Gao Min and the others left the private room.
"Well, your friend here sure knows when to make herself scarce."
Zhou Heng leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs, and looked at Liu Yutong again, his gaze growing bolder.
"The question is, do you know when to play along?"
He pointed once more at the glass in front of Liu Yutong.
"Miss Liu, I'm a man of limited patience. Now that your friend's gone, isn't it a bit much to keep acting so high and mighty?"
Lin Yue chimed in again: "Yutong, just give Young Master Zhou a break! One drink, and it's all good. After that, you'll have Young Master Zhou's protection in the imperial capital. What a great deal!"
Liu Yutong: "Lin Yue, do you think every woman in the world should be falling all over this guy surnamed Zhou?"
Lin Yue's face stiffened: "Yutong, I'm saying this for your own good! Do you know who Young Master Zhou is? So many people would kill to get close to him! You're from out of town—if you can latch onto a big tree like him, you'll have everything you want in the imperial capital!"
Liu Yutong genuinely felt this girl was beyond help, and turned back to Zhou Heng.
"Young Master Zhou, right? Let me ask you something."
Zhou Heng: "Go ahead."
Liu Yutong: "If the person sitting here right now were the daughter of some top-tier imperial capital family, would you still dare to talk to her like this?"
Zhou Heng froze.
Liu Yutong continued: "You wouldn't. Because you know there are some people you can't afford to offend."
"But you dare to talk to me like this. Why?"
"Because in your eyes, I'm just some outsider from the countryside—no connections, no backing, an easy pushover. Drinking with you is me doing you a favor; refusing is me being ungrateful. Am I right?"
Zhou Heng's expression twisted.
Liu Yutong stood up and looked down at him from above.
"But what if you've misjudged your mark?"
