In the middle of winter, a pitcher of cold water can stir up anger in even the calmest of people, let alone a non-mainstream couple cursing in a café.
The woman let out a sharp scream, while the man stood up angrily, glaring at Angelina Dream. "What the hell are you doing?"
"I'm sorry! This young lady was having a fight with her boyfriend and you got caught in the middle. My apologies," the waitress quickly offered a towel, apologizing profusely. It's a tough job, having to apologize for others' mischief.
The young man sneezed as he walked up to Leon Chen, "If I catch the flu, you're responsible! How are you going to compensate me?"
"Shameless!" the woman cursed as well.
Angelina didn't say a word. Instead, she picked up another pitcher from a nearby table and doused them again. The onlookers were stunned, and even Leon was at a loss for words—dealing with women and scoundrels is truly difficult.
"Who are you calling shameless?" Angelina sneered.
The couple looked at Angelina, hesitant. Despite her disguise, there was something familiar about her, something reminiscent of the celebrity they had just been discussing. But seeing the boy next to her dispelled their doubts—there was no way Angelina Dream would be with a boyfriend in public.
The young man, his pride wounded by being soaked twice, lunged forward, ready to slap Angelina.
A hand, firm as a vice, stopped him.
Leon, though not fond of Angelina's brash behavior, wasn't about to let this young man succeed. He grabbed the man's wrist and twisted it, causing him to wince in pain, cold sweat breaking out. The young man had never expected such strength from the seemingly docile boy.
"Watch your mouth next time," Leon said coldly, applying a bit more pressure.
The young man, his brow knotted in pain, started spewing apologies like a machine gun.
Leon released him with a shove.
"Darling," the woman rushed to his side.
"You'll pay for this!" the young man spat a classic villain's line before storming off.
"You're amazing, darling!" Angelina laughed.
"And I thought you had great composure," Leon said, taking a sip of his coffee.
"Letting people walk all over you isn't composure, it's cowardice, okay?" Angelina retorted.
Leon decided it wasn't worth arguing. This domineering diva wasn't his type, and he wondered if listening to her music would ever be the same.
The café soon returned to normal, though the waitresses occasionally shot curious glances at Leon's table, whispering among themselves.
"Hey, your disguise might be blown," Leon warned.
With Angelina's concert playing on the screen and their earlier commotion, someone was bound to connect the dots eventually. Fortunately, Angelina had no boyfriend rumors, so people were just guessing for now.
After a while, Angelina's music session ended, and they paid and left the café.
They had barely walked ten meters when a group of people rushed towards them aggressively.
The young man, who had delivered the classic villain line, had indeed returned with reinforcements.
"Darling, let's run," Angelina said, sticking out her tongue playfully. She hadn't brought any bodyguards, and never expected to cause such a ruckus. Despite Leon's earlier display, she didn't think he could handle a whole gang like Bruce Lee.
The prospect of Angelina Dream being chased and hacked at in the street was a headline Leon wanted no part of.
Moreover, he didn't want to cause trouble on the streets and end up at the police station, which would be even worse.
"Are you a blockhead?" Angelina cursed at Leon's inaction. "A scandal like this could affect Lily's debut!"
"I know!" Leon replied.
"Then why aren't you running?"
"This trouble is your fault," Leon snapped back.
As the gang got within a few meters, Leon's eyes sharpened like a hawk's, an overwhelming aura emanating from him like a thousand charging soldiers.
The pedestrians witnessed a bizarre scene. A gang of tough-looking youths seemed ready to pounce on a couple, but just as they expected to see a fight, the gang's faces turned pale, and they fell to the ground in a panic, scrambling away.
Throughout it all, the couple—more specifically, the boy—remained as calm as a mountain in the face of a landslide.
Is this a movie?
"Huh?" Angelina's mouth formed an 'O' shape, disbelief etched on her face at the comical turn of events.
"How did you do that?" Angelina asked, dumbfounded.
"There was a police car passing by," Leon shrugged it off. It was a good excuse, though in truth, his mental shockwave was proving useful for handling minor nuisances.
Leon glanced around. "I'm heading back. This should be enough."
"Back? The real fun's just starting." Angelina grabbed Leon's hand, ignoring the propriety of a superstar holding hands with an ordinary guy.
"What fun?" Leon asked, puzzled.
"First, we need to get you some decent clothes." Angelina eyed Leon's casual attire and shook her head.
"I'm not interested in cleaning up your messes," Leon grumbled, thinking Angelina was nothing but trouble.
Angelina blushed, her eyes wide with indignation. "Clean up your head! Besides my personal reasons, someone else wants to meet you."
"Who?"
"Ethan Li!"
"Never heard of him," Leon said, unimpressed.
Angelina rolled her eyes. "If you had, would I need to introduce him? Do you know about the Freemasons?"
"From watching 'Black Lagoon,' I think it's a Hong Kong crime syndicate?" Leon guessed.
"Crime syndicate? There are no crime syndicates in China, haven't you heard some official say that?" Angelina laughed heartily, then explained.
The Freemasons, originally the Tiandihui society formed to overthrow the Qing Dynasty, now referred to Chinese criminal organizations, including those in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, and Chinatowns worldwide.
They were as notorious as the Italian Mafia, the American Ku Klux Klan, and the Russian Bratva, making up the four major criminal organizations in the world.
Ethan Li was the head of the Freemasons in West Capital.
He wanted to meet Leon because he had heard about his altercation with Chase Wei. The Freemasons, keen on expanding in West Capital, saw the Wei family as an obstacle. The Wei family, with their dominant presence, despised all criminal organizations, not allowing any to operate in their territory. Naturally, hearing about someone who had bested Chase Wei piqued their interest. Due to certain restrictions, they couldn't approach Leon directly. Coincidentally, Ethan Li knew Angelina Dream, and even more coincidentally, Angelina knew about Lily Lin. Given all these coincidences, it made perfect sense to arrange a meeting.
Leon remarked that it was a fall from grace for a world-famous beauty to be associated with the number one Chinese crime syndicate.
Angelina retorted that without powerful backing, someone in her position would be truly fallen. For Lily Lin, this was also beneficial. The entertainment industry's dark underbelly was well-known. Even the company president, Chu Tian, couldn't offer comprehensive protection. Some other measures were necessary.
"Besides, I'm still a virgin. Where's the fall from grace in that? At most, they're just my fans," Angelina added disdainfully.
Leon was left speechless by her comment. The angelic singer's image had shattered repeatedly before his eyes today. Reality was indeed harsh.
Angelina seemed unconcerned, finding someone like Leon a trustworthy confidant who wouldn't gossip behind her back.
They spent over two hours shopping, with Angelina picking out a complete outfit for Leon, from undergarments to outerwear and shoes. She even got a hairstylist to give him a new look. After all this, Leon joked that Angelina was acting like his girlfriend, preparing him to meet her parents.
Angelina could only respond with a heartfelt scorn.
It's said that clothes make the man. After a few hours of effort, Leon's previously honest and easygoing appearance transformed into one of restrained confidence. To put it bluntly, he now had an air of concealed menace.
Angelina then drove them to her private villa in West Capital.
When the garage door opened, the scene inside left Leon awestruck.
The garage, half the size of a football field, housed an array of luxury cars.
Mercedes, BMW, Porsche, Ferrari—these familiar brands were just the beginning. There were also many new models Leon had never seen before.
It was like a car show, featuring every brand and type of car imaginable. Yet, the unique "White Queen" Maserati alone outshone any car exhibition.
"Are all these yours?" Leon asked.
"Some were gifts from manufacturers, others are part of my collection," Angelina said nonchalantly, frowning slightly as she pondered which car to choose.
Leon was surprised to learn she had a passion for collecting sports cars.
After circling the garage, Angelina settled on a dark green Dodge Viper, saying it had a great predator-like feel, like a cobra eyeing its prey.
After informing her manager, the Dodge Viper roared into the night like a menacing serpent.
Their destination: West Capital Freemasons!