Xu Xiuwen's straightforwardness made Liu Xinran uncomfortable.
But she really liked his honest and direct personality.
It was very different from the people she was used to.
She suddenly smiled.
"I like a man who's so honest. My phone number is 1xxxxxxxxxx."
Having received Liu Xinran's number, Xu Xiuwen turned to Meng Dong and said, "Brother Dong, it looks like I won this bet."
Meng Dong felt like his worldview had been overturned.
In his view, a goddess-level beauty like Liu Xinran was someone most men wouldn't even dare approach.
But Xu Xiuwen not only approached her but had chatted with her for so long and even got her number so easily.
Meng Dong couldn't accept the reality.
Liu Xinran curiously asked, "Can I know what the prize for your bet was?"
Xu Xiuwen shook his head.
"I'm afraid that's not something I can tell you."
"What?" Liu Xinran was surprised by this answer.
She felt both speechless and amused, finding Xu Xiuwen even more interesting.
Xu Xiuwen continued, "Our other friends are still waiting over there, so we'll be heading out now. We won't disturb you any longer. By the way, thanks for the drinks."
Without waiting for Liu Xinran to respond, Xu Xiuwen grabbed the still-dazed Meng Dong and quickly left the bar counter.
It was only after Xu Xiuwen and Meng Dong had left that Liu Xinran came to her senses.
This was the first time a man had taken the initiative to end a conversation with her.
It was a new and unusual feeling.
After leaving the bar counter, Meng Dong gradually came to his senses.
Xu Xiuwen said with a smile, "Brother Dong, I got the phone number."
Meng Dong looked at Xu Xiuwen with excitement.
"How the heck did you manage that?"
Xu Xiuwen grinned.
"It's a secret."
Meng Dong, hearing this, laughed helplessly.
He shook his head, unsure whether to feel envious or jealous.
"Looks like having a good face really does help."
After a pause, Meng Dong said, "Wait for me, I need to use the restroom."
"Okay."
Xu Xiuwen stood waiting for Meng Dong.
At that moment, a commotion suddenly arose from their old seating area.
Xu Xiuwen's keen ears picked up the noise immediately.
He turned around and saw that their original booth was now surrounded by people.
He quickly walked toward the booth, realizing something was definitely going on.
Through the gaps in the crowd, Xu Xiuwen saw what was happening in the middle.
Their booth now had some unfamiliar men occupying it.
These men looked fierce and were clearly not to be trifled with.
One of them was sitting in Xu Xiuwen's original seat.
The TV station staff were seated opposite him, each with a grim expression.
Behind them stood a burly man, their hands firmly pressing down on the staff's shoulders, preventing them from moving.
Xu Xiuwen also saw Lu Xinyao holding a cocktail, bringing the glass slowly to her lips.
From her rigid movements, it was clear she was not drinking willingly.
Just as Lu Xinyao's lips were about to touch the glass, a hand suddenly reached in from the side and grabbed the bottom of the glass.
It was Xu Xiuwen's hand.
He took the glass from Lu Xinyao and set it down on the table.
When Lu Xinyao saw Xu Xiuwen return, her suppressed emotions immediately found an outlet.
She jumped up and, with an excited expression, said, "Mr. Xu, you're back."
"What's going on?"
Lu Xinyao quickly explained the situation.
Xu Xiuwen understood what had happened right away.
It was simple.
The man sitting in his seat, referred to as Brother Long, had sent his underlings to invite Lu Xinyao over to their table for a drink.
Lu Xinyao didn't know them, so she naturally refused.
Brother Long had sent his men three times.
Each time, Lu Xinyao declined.
This made Brother Long feel embarrassed, so he came over with his gang and, taking advantage of their numbers, forced Lu Xinyao to drink the cocktail he had brought.
Lu Xinyao, under pressure, was about to drink the cocktail.
At that moment, Xu Xiuwen returned.
After listening to Lu Xinyao's explanation, Xu Xiuwen turned to the man known as Brother Long and said, "Brother Long, right? She has a low tolerance for alcohol and didn't mean to disrespect you. How about I drink this glass for her instead?"
Although Xu Xiuwen had had quite a few drinks, he hadn't lost his judgment.
The man in front of him, Brother Long, and his underlings, numbered nearly a dozen and were all quite robust.
Even under normal circumstances, Xu Xiuwen wouldn't be able to take on so many people.
Not to mention, he had been drinking.
As the old saying goes, "A wise man knows when to yield."
Another old saying is, "A strong dragon cannot crush a local snake."
This was Fei City, not Langya or Jinling.
It would be foolish to confront them now.
Xu Xiuwen thought it better to avoid trouble.
As soon as he finished speaking, before Brother Long could respond, one of Brother Long's underlings shouted, "Who the hell do you think you are? You think you can just drink our Brother Long's alcohol?"
Xu Xiuwen ignored the underling.
He looked at Brother Long and asked again, "Brother Long, what do you think?"
"I'm talking to you. Are you deaf?!" The underling yelled angrily.
"Xiaowu, don't be so loud." Brother Long said to the underling.
"Got it, Brother Long."
"Are you their boss?" Brother Long asked.
Xu Xiuwen shook his head. "They're my friends, but only she is my person."
Brother Long smiled upon hearing this.
"Your person doesn't give me face. What do you think should be done now?"
"What do you think should be done?" Xu Xiuwen realized the situation might not end well.
Brother Long held up three fingers and said, "I'm giving you three choices. First, let her drink this cocktail and then spend the night with me. Second, you kneel down and apologize to me on her behalf, and I'll pretend nothing happened. Third, none of you will leave here standing tonight. You choose."
As Brother Long finished listing the three options, the atmosphere suddenly became tense.
The onlookers found the situation more interesting.
The people from the TV station felt humiliated and indignant, but their movements were restrained by the burly men, leaving them unable to move.
Lu Xinyao's expression tightened, and she instinctively moved behind Xu Xiuwen.
Xu Xiuwen's face darkened.
He could tell that Brother Long was deliberately making things difficult for him.
"We're all here to have fun. There's no need to go this far," Xu Xiuwen said in a deep voice.
Brother Long sneered dismissively. "Your people have embarrassed me. If I don't regain my face, how will I ever get by in the future?"
At this moment, Meng Dong, who had been to the restroom, returned.
Initially, he didn't realize something was wrong, but after more than ten seconds, he finally reacted.
"What's going on?" Meng Dong asked.
Xu Xiuwen quickly briefed Meng Dong on the situation.
Meng Dong's expression turned serious.
He fished out a cigarette from his pocket and tried to offer it to Brother Long's underlings.
But no one accepted.
Meng Dong awkwardly put the cigarette box away and said to Brother Long, "Brother Long, the girl is just being naive. Why not just let it go?"
Brother Long remained unmoved.
Xu Xiuwen suddenly said, "Brother Dong, stop wasting time. Call the police."
Brother Long burst into loud laughter.
"Call the police? Go ahead. Let's see if the police dare to do anything when they arrive."
Hearing Brother Long's arrogant words, Xu Xiuwen's heart sank.
It seemed that Brother Long either knew the local police or had connections with higher-ups.
That's why he was so bold and fearless.
Xu Xiuwen quickly brainstormed for a solution.
Unfortunately, this wasn't Langya or Jinling.
If it were Jinling, he could just make a call to Li Haimei.
With Li Haimei's status, someone like Brother Long wouldn't be a problem at all.
In Langya, he could call a known leader and not be left powerless.
But in Fei City, without any connections, things were difficult.
"I'm giving you one minute to decide which option you want to choose. If you don't make a choice by then, I'll make it for you."
Brother Long, with a confident demeanor, addressed Xu Xiuwen.
Xu Xiuwen felt somewhat helpless.
He quietly leaned towards Meng Dong and whispered, "Brother Dong, do you have any ideas?"
Meng Dong shook his head gently.
Xu Xiuwen felt disappointed.
Was he really going to have to choose?
Among the three options, the first one was to let Lu Xinyao drink the alcohol and then spend the night with Brother Long.
This option would sacrifice only Lu Xinyao.
But Lu Xinyao was his secretary and had come with him on the business trip to Fei City.
He couldn't sacrifice Lu Xinyao to save himself.
He couldn't bring himself to be that shameless.
The second option involved sacrificing his personal dignity and face.
Such a humiliating act was clearly unacceptable.
It seemed like only the last option was left.
As the minute drew to a close, Brother Long coldly asked, "Time's up. It's time to make your choice."
"I…" Xu Xiuwen stalled for time.
He glanced at Brother Long and his underlings out of the corner of his eye.
He had already decided not to choose any of the options.
A man of honor would never bow for mere grains.
Xu Xiuwen, having been reborn, would never kneel and apologize to a scum like Brother Long.
It was unthinkable.
Xu Xiuwen had resolved to let Lu Xinyao and the others escape first, while he would do his utmost to hold off Brother Long and his underlings.
As long as Lu Xinyao and the others could get away.
Xu Xiuwen thought that even if he couldn't beat so many people, he should still be able to escape.
He had prepared himself to be beaten up and possibly injured.
At that moment,
Suddenly, a man's voice rang out from the side.
"Wang Erlong, who gave you the guts to cause trouble in my bar?"
Xu Xiuwen turned towards the voice.
A man in his thirties stepped out from the crowd. He was a robustly built man, dressed neatly, with slicked-back hair, projecting the image of a successful businessman.
Wang Erlong, also known as Brother Long, narrowed his eyes upon seeing the man.
"Li Xiangjun, this has nothing to do with you. You'd better not interfere."
"This is my bar. If I don't handle it, how will my bar continue to operate? Who would dare come here?"
"Li Xiangjun, you really don't give me any face, do you?"
"Wang Erlong, if it weren't for giving you face, do you think you'd still be standing here talking to me?"
"Li Xiangjun, don't think that I'm afraid of you. I, Wang Erlong, have cared most about face all these years. This girl disrespecting me is like slapping me in public. I can't let them go."
Although Li Xiangjun intervened, he didn't know what had happened.
He scanned the crowd with his eyes and soon fixed his gaze on Xu Xiuwen.
"Could someone explain what's going on?"
Xu Xiuwen calmly explained the whole situation.
Li Xiangjun nodded after hearing the explanation. "Wang Erlong, give me face and let this matter pass. I'll cover your group's expenses for today."
Li Xiangjun's concession gave Wang Erlong a boost in confidence.
"I don't care about that. I have plenty of money. I don't need you to cover my bill."
Li Xiangjun thought: What a brainless and reckless fool.
Li Xiangjun turned to a nearby waiter and said, "Xiao Wang, have Manager Lou bring the brothers here right away."
Upon hearing that Li Xiangjun was calling for reinforcements, Wang Erlong immediately became anxious.
He quickly changed his tune. "I can give you, Li Xiangjun, some face."
Li Xiangjun looked at him, remaining silent, waiting for what he had to say next.
Wang Erlong was in a difficult position.
He was unwilling to let Xu Xiuwen and his group go without any consequence.
But he was also afraid of Li Xiangjun taking serious action.
In his hesitation, he noticed the cocktail on the table, the one he had brought.
He suddenly came up with an idea.
"Li Xiangjun, if he drinks that cocktail, I'll consider this matter resolved."
At Wang Erlong's words, everyone's attention shifted to Xu Xiuwen and the cocktail on the table.
Li Xiangjun also looked at Xu Xiuwen.
With Li Xiangjun's intervention, the situation was completely turned around.
At this point, Xu Xiuwen didn't need to make a choice among three options.
He just needed to drink the cocktail.
Xu Xiuwen was straightforward.
He picked up the glass and drank the cocktail in one gulp.
The cocktail was different from a martini; it had a bittersweet taste, but the bitterness was limited, mostly leaning towards a sweet flavor.
Xu Xiuwen didn't savor the taste.
Seeing Xu Xiuwen finish the cocktail, Wang Erlong sneered, then led his underlings away.
Xu Xiuwen and the others breathed a sigh of relief.
At that moment, Xu Xiuwen noticed that the male host was also standing behind the crowd, observing the scene.
Given the commotion earlier, he surely couldn't have missed it or just heard about it.
It seemed he was afraid of getting involved, so he didn't dare to step in.
This significantly lowered Xu Xiuwen's opinion of him.
But Xu Xiuwen didn't say anything.
He walked over to Li Xiangjun and said sincerely, "Brother Jun, thank you for your help earlier."
Li Xiangjun looked Xu Xiuwen up and down and said, "No need to thank me. Tonight, it's my fault for not managing the bar properly. As compensation, I'll cover all your expenses for tonight."
With that, Li Xiangjun turned and walked away.
He went back to the vicinity of the bar.
Xu Xiuwen looked over and saw that he had approached Liu Xinyao.
Liu Xinyao naturally moved to link her arm with Li Xiangjun's.
Their posture was quite intimate.
Liu Xinyao happened to glance over.
Their eyes met in mid-air…