On the way back, Zhou Liqing was speechless. "I always knew that she was rich and beautiful, but I thought her family had a military background. I didn't expect her to be so arrogant."
"So, this means you have to be careful when you speak in the future," Xiwan said, "City B is not big, but it has a lot of powerful people. If you're not careful, you'll offend people. When that time comes, you won't even know what kind of awful things could happen to you, especially in the entertainment industry. You have to be even more reserved with your words and actions. Do you understand?"
Zhou Liqing nodded and gave herself a firm slap on the thigh. "Ah. I went too far. Will Li Yan hold a grudge?" she asked.
Xiwan smiled and said, "She won't."
"Why?"
"I don't know, it's just my intuition."
Zhou Liqing thought about it for a second.
"Tell me, Li Yan has such a reputation, have you ever seen her bully other people?"
Zhou Liqing shook her head. "I'm not sure. I remember that someone in her dorm stole a watch that she'd left on the side. It was the Van Cleef Arbour Star Watch, Li Yan would always talk about it. It was quite expensive; apparently worth over a million yuan. In the end, the thief was caught by and sent to the counselor. Originally, she was going to be sent to the police station. She could've gone to jail! Li Yan didn't seem to pursue the matter any further... In the end, the girl was only expelled. Later, I heard that she had to steal to support her poor family and she studied in the Department of Performing Arts. The tuition fees and expenses were too high and the family couldn't afford to help her. They could only steal. Her dormitory was pretty bare too, apparently. In the beginning, Li Yan even hired a private investigator, all to no avail. Some people in her dormitory had even suggested that Li Yan deliberately left it there for that person to steal. Living expenses usually amount to around a thousand yuan, so it was obviously worth the risk for her, but she really could have been badly punished. She stole a person's expensive watch and was caught red-handed by the people in the neighboring dormitory. I didn't believe it at the time, but now that I think about it, it's definitely possible."
Xiwan nodded. This was the first time she had heard of this.
Thinking about it carefully, it was very likely that after the first time something was missing, Li Yan realized who was the thief in the dormitory. She was probably just too embarrassed to point out the truth because she felt sympathy for the thief. She only secretly let her steal the money. In any case, what was a thousand yuan to Miss Li Yan? The cost of a meal, probably. But Li Yan was a child after all. She thought that if the thief's basic needs were met, the thief would stop. However, she did not know that greed was difficult hole to fill.
The scariest thing in human nature was greed!
When the thief realized that the matter would not be pursued, he would only think that act was not bad. Once tasting something that sweet it is never that easy to let it go. It was a vicious cycle. This kind of thing should be put out at the very beginning. It must not be left or encouraged in such a way.
Look, Li Yan's initial kindness only served to cultivate an unrepentant, great thief. Just like how she thought she would be satisfied if she treated a person wholeheartedly and satisfied their needs without asking for anything in return, she did not expect to be used and to be hated by someone she didn't really know. In the end, she hated Li Yan and that was her downfall.
Presumably, the thief who was expelled would not remember Li Yan for the living expenses she had "provided" over the years. She would only remember that it was because of Li Yan that she was expelled from school.
* * *
Speaking of school, it was not too far from Sky Shadow Media, but it would take some time to travel back and forth every day. Xiwan and Zhou Liqing had made the decision to stay in the company's dormitory.
Xiwan called her mother to tell her the news. She had originally planned to return the house she was renting, but Xiwan quickly persuaded her to stay in the house she had bought. She also told her that she was being paid as a trainee, but of course, this was a white lie. Her mother then stopped thinking about going back to the old house. In the end, she only said, "Take good care of yourself."
The other two girls in the dormitory couldn't bear to let Xiwan and Zhou Liqing leave. Once they left, the dormitory would be half empty. How lonely it was.
But when they thought about the future, they knew their paths would be different. They worked even harder. No matter what, they couldn't be too different from their good friends.
That night, the four of them went to Fresh Gourmet for dinner, which was a rare luxury.
They ate and drank happily.
Initially, Xiwan wanted to pay the bill, but she was stopped by everyone. They split the bill, but Xiwan managed to pay some "dormitory fees" without letting them know how much money she really had.
The moon was bright and there were barely any stars visible in the sky. A rare clear night. Zhou Liqing suggested going to a bar to have a good time. Everyone was in high spirits. They searched for the most famous bar with the best security. Then, they took a taxi straight to it.
Dark Night was one of the best chain bars in City B. Business was so good and it was often full of people. One had to know that in a place like City B, the bars were competing with each other directly. Dark Night was able to hold its own and steal a huge amount of customers from nearby bars. It was a chain with a good reputaiton, and for that reason Dark Night was quite strong as a business.
Although she did not like to go to bars in her previous life, Xiwan had visited Dark Night a few times. The privacy was always secure and the soundproofing effects were very good. More than that, it was creative. If they were lucky, they might even see big-name artists singing and dancing here.
Of course, an entrance fee was also necessary.
Other bars didn't have entrance fees, but Dark Night charged an entrance fee of 200 yuan per person. They didn't hesitate to put the prices to a premium, but no one felt that they were being taken advantage of. Of course, if you felt that the entrance price was too expensive, you could also apply for their VIP cards. They were made of real gold and silver, and they were worth the cost; they gave you a discount in the shop, which made things much less expensive. Some VIP cards were limited in circulation, so many wealthy and powerful people in City B fought over them. One card was sold at a sky-high price, but they were kept in short supply. The boss behind the scenes was really good at doing business.
When they arrived at the nearest Dark Night bar, it was nine o'clock in the evening. It was early, so the bar wasn't packed yet. The four of them quickly bought tickets and went inside.
The exquisite service girl led them to a four-person booth. There were already some people sat around. On the stage, a group of handsome men and beautiful women were dancing. The scene was very glamourous.
Although the girls did not usually go to bars, they all had their fair share of experiences. Therefore, they were not naive people who would fall for novelty.
Not long after they sat down, the waitress brought the menus. Another server came with a free fruit platter. There was another tray with peanuts, seaweed knots, and chicken rice.
They ordered some cold dishes and drinks and then began to watch the program on the stage.
Qian Mengfei said, "You guys should play while you can. It's going to be hard to come out so freely in the future!"
Zhou Liqing pouted. "Ah, it's not going to happen that fast. I'll sign the contract, and I can't just debut just because I signed the contract. Sky Shadow is so strict. Oh, right, and there's something else too... Li Yan, she's the eldest daughter of Tianying."
"So... Awesome?" It was obviously the first time the other two had heard anything about it, so Zhou Liqing told them what had happened during the day.
Everyone clicked their tongues when they heard what had gone on. "No wonder she's so arrogant at school usually! It turns out that she comes from a strong background. She's the eldest daughter of the legendary Tianying. Then, isn't her mother the movie queen Zheng Yinyin from back then? No wonder she's so beautiful. It turns out it's in her genes."
They gossiped about Li Yan and Sky Shadow Media for a while. After a while they moved onto recent big gossip in the entertainment circle. Time passed quickly.
The official opening of Dark Night was about to begin. At this very moment, the host was warming up.
Xiwan had probably drunk a little too much wine over the course of the evening, so she got up and went to the bathroom. The venue was large, but she'd been here before once or twice in her old life, and she remembered where to go.
No one worried about her going alone. After all, Dark Night was famous for its security. Otherwise, all those guests would be paying for nothing.
* * *
Xiwan smoothed down her outfit as she walked out of the bathroom. She felt more relaxed.
When she came out, she noticed something in the secret corner of the public toilets. A man and a woman were passionately kissing. Even though there were people coming and going in the washroom, the two continued to kiss without any reservations. The woman was flirtatious and let out a lewd moan. Just listening to it would make any sensible person's blood boil.
The woman's heavy makeup hid her appearance, and as for the man, although it was only his side profile, he was very family to Xiwan. The famous singer, Xiao Yinzheng. The theme song of the movie War S was sung by her and Xiao Yinzheng together.
He was considered something of an ascetic and had a good reputation in the industry. He had never been part of any scandals with female celebrities; he did not appear previously to have such a wild side.
Xiwan washed her hands and no longer paid attention to the scene over there. She left out of the bathroom without looking back. When she walked through the passageway, she stumbled and tripped over someone. When she turned around, she saw that it was a red-haired boy. Behind him were a few blond guys wearing gold and diamonds in their ears, which sparkled under the lights. They were looking at her provocatively.
"Do you want to go on a date, pretty girl?"
"The security in Dark Night is pretty good." Xiwan looked at this group of transgressive people and was not afraid. He probably didn't have the courage to act recklessly.
"They can't do anything outside of Dark Night." He smiled wickedly.
"Is this your first time here?" Xiwan didn't get angry and asked instead. Looking at their expressions, she guessed that her guess was right. "If you don't know the rules, go and look them up online." After saying her piece, she turned around and left.
"F*ck, I don't believe it!" The guy with red hair shouted excitedly. Just as he was about to move, he was pulled back by his friend. "Brother Qian, this is Dark Night, don't bother. We'll talk after we get out."
"Okay. Li Zi, keep an eye on this girl for me!" Red Hair took a sip of his drink.
"She can't avoid us forever."