Wang Ming hadn't expected Xiang Yu to dare hit him. "Motherfucker, I'm going to kill you..." Wang Ming yelled, preparing to teach Xiang Yu a lesson. He had never been humiliated like this before, let alone by an inmate.
"Stop!" Lei Tingfeng shouted. He too hadn't expected Xiang Yu to suddenly pull this stunt; in his many years on the job, no one had dared to do such a thing. This kid in front of him acted so fearlessly—it must be that he had some powerful figure backing him. No, he must thoroughly investigate this kid's background when he got back. Until he understood him, he'd better not touch him.
"You can go now, kid," Lei Tingfeng said, pointing at Xiang Yu.
"But Director Lei, he's..." Wang Ming protested unwillingly.
"Shut your mouth!" Lei Tingfeng barked at Wang Ming.
At that moment, although Wang Ming was angry, he hadn't lost his reason. Lei Tingfeng was his direct superior, and his promotion depended on him. If he fell out with him, he could forget about moving up the ranks for the rest of his life.
"I'm not leaving unless this little shit apologizes," Xiang Yu said, lying back down on the bed and continuing to sleep.
That almost made Wang Ming spit blood with rage. "What did you say? That I should..."
"Wang Ming!" Lei Tingfeng glared at Wang Ming, signaling for him to apologize quickly.
"Director Lei..." Wang Ming looked at Lei Tingfeng in disbelief. He didn't understand why Lei Tingfeng was acting so out of character today. Usually, Lei Tingfeng lived up to his name and was decisive and efficient; naturally, his subordinates respected him greatly, but today...
Seeing that Lei Tingfeng wasn't joking, and though he was seething with anger, Wang Ming approached the bed. "Sorry."
"I didn't hear that."
"Sorry," Wang Ming said louder.
"Still didn't catch that, louder."
"Sorry! Xiang Yu, don't get too cocky—sooner or later, I'll deal with you." Wang Ming turned around and walked out of the prison, his lungs about to burst with fury. "You little bastard, if you fall into my hands again, I'll make sure to kill you."
After watching Wang Ming leave, Xiang Yu stood up, dusted himself off, and walked toward the exit without looking back. As he just stepped out of the prison gate, he heard someone honk a horn.
"Is that you?" Xiang Yu approached the car and asked.
"Hmph! Get in the car," the person inside the car shouted—it was Shi Jian.
Without lingering, Xiang Yu hopped into the car. "You've got quite the guts, kid," Fang Kuohai suddenly said from behind.
"Was it you who got me out?" Xiang Yu turned and asked.
"Who else besides us could it be? Who do you think you are?" Shi Jian said irritably, glancing sideways at Xiang Yu.
"What's with the attitude? Did I ask you to rescue me? Hey, why is there such a huge booger on your face?" Xiang Yu said in surprise as he looked at Shi Jian's face.
Hearing that, Shi Jian quickly felt his face, but found nothing. "You little shit, you dared to trick me?"
"With a dumbass like you, who else would I trick?" Xiang Yu burst into laughter.
Just then, Fang Kuohai's phone suddenly rang. Shi Jian quickly shut up when he saw this. "What? That happened?" Fang Kuohai looked at Xiang Yu and burst into laughter. "Thanks to Director Lei this time, I'll make sure to pay him a visit and express my gratitude another day." Fang Kuohai then hung up the phone.
"You've really got some guts, kid, even daring to hit a cop," Fang Kuohai laughed.
"By the way, how did you guys get me out of there? The offense I committed should've had me locked up for a while," Xiang Yu said, looking at Fang Kuohai.
"That's the magic of money..."
...
After this incident, Xiang Yu naturally became a part of the Underworld Bar crew. Now that he was in, there was no need to stay in a hotel anymore. Therefore, he checked out, thinking it was also a good way to save the country some money. The service staff were reluctant to see him leave, making Xiang Yu feel as if he had slept with them.
Although Xiang Yu had joined the Underworld Bar, Fang Kuohai didn't fully trust him. Once Xiang Yu was past that point, he was just standing guard in the bar and not involved in the inner workings. In the bar, while all the other security staff were dressed in suits, he alone still wore his tattered clothes. Fang Kuohai didn't force him to change, so that was that.
"I never imagined you'd still be able to stand here, jumping around alive," Lan Tingting said as she poured a glass of wine for Xiang Yu at the bar. Lan Tingting knew that Xiang Yu had joined their ranks, but he was different from the others. The other guards always had their faces tightened up, looking like they'd just lost their fathers. Meanwhile, he was cheerful every day, doing nothing but sitting there, drinking.
"Can't help it, who made me so capable, right, Sister Tingting?" Xiang Yu said, throwing Lan Tingting a flirtatious glance.
Lan Tingting rolled her eyes at him, unamused. Working here, she often encountered guys with bad intentions trying to make a move on her, but compared to those, Xiang Yu was relatively decent.
"Boss, should we take care of him right here?" In a corner of the bar, four men sat staring intently at Xiang Yu.
"Are you looking to die, starting trouble here? Do you know who the boss of this place is? He would definitely kill us, just have our guys outside wait and don't rush," one of them said.
These few were the street thugs Xiang Yu had encountered on the streets a couple of days ago. They had set their sights on Xiang Yu.
"Be careful, those guys over there have been watching you the whole time," Lan Tingting warned Xiang Yu with a glance.
"What's this, you're starting to care about me? Why not become my wife..." Xiang Yu said, dragging out his words playfully.
"Drop dead," Lan Tingting retorted, turning away to continue with her work. But truth be told, although Xiang Yu was slick with words and hardly serious, he wasn't all that bad, and he was pretty handsome too...
Xiang Yu took another gulp of beer, then staggered slightly as he made his way outside.
Outside, he zigzagged into a quiet street. Suddenly, about twenty people, each wielding a steel pipe, surrounded him. "Boy, remember us? Today we're going to teach you a proper lesson."
"Did you bring the five thousand yuan?" Xiang Yu asked the blonde-haired guy speaking.
"You're about to die and you're still asking for money? Only you would think of something like that," the blonde-haired guy said, looking to his boss.
"Boys, get him. Teach this kid a good lesson and let him know not to mess with my people." As he finished, the twenty-some people all charged toward Xiang Yu at once.
The blondie and his boss, with their arms around each other's shoulders, watched with pleasure. They seemed to envision Xiang Yu kneeling on the ground, begging for mercy.
"Big brother, let's really make this kid suffer later. Let him know what happens when he messes with us brothers," said one.
"You'll be in charge of him later," said the boss-like figure.