10: Beautiful girl with pretty boy

Inside the Deda Western Restaurant in the Shanghai, the singing was soft and the music was decadent.

Men and women were eating steaks and sipping wine, chatting and laughing while exchanging toasts.

Facing a lukewarm steak, Lu Fan felt completely uninterested.

What he hated most was eating Western food.

In all of Europe, the only cuisines that could pique his appetite were from Italy and Spain.

Compared to Chinese food, the rest were all second-rate.

Especially Britain—aside from fish and chips, it was just more fish and chips.

That was the worst of the worst.

"Brother, is it not to your taste? I thought that since you lived abroad for so long, you'd be used to Western food."

"How about we switch to another place?"

The expression was written all over his face; how could a social butterfly like Tang Jifeng not notice?

"No need, I just haven't gotten over the jet lag yet, so I don't have much of an appetite."

After brushing it off, Lu Fan quickly changed the subject: "Is the matter settled?"

"Settled~" Tang Jifeng put down his knife and fork and took a sip of wine before continuing.

"In this Shanghai, I still have some influence; everyone gives me a bit of face. By the way, what do you plan to do now that you're back? If you need anything, just ask."

It was comfortable talking to smart people, so Lu Fan didn't stand on ceremony.

"Fourth Young Master, I plan to do some trading in the Shanghai and want to secure some space in the Sihang Warehouse to use as a storehouse."

In a few months, the Battle of Shanghai would break out, and the Shanghai would become a meat grinder.

As someone who could travel between two worlds, he certainly, definitely, absolutely had to do something.

He couldn't change the general trend.

After all, Baldy Jiang's choice to fight the japanese in the Shanghai area was a mistake.

One must realize that the japanese Navy was currently one of the top three in the world.

The Shanghai, facing the open ocean, was entirely within the range of naval guns.

Without the ability to deal with the japanese Navy,

no matter how many men were sent, they were just being thrown away.

As short-video bloggers of later generations summarized: the courage of the Battle of Shanghai was commendable, the determination could move the heavens, but everything else was a mess.

However, he could make some of the smaller tragedies less painful.

For example, the Defense of Sihang Warehouse.

With some planning, it was possible to bite a chunk of meat off the japanese.

If I'm not happy, nobody's going to have a good time.

Tang Jifeng put down his wine glass: "That's simple. I'll have a word with a friend later, and you can handle the rest with Wang Tianxi."

Lu Fan casually inquired: "Fourth Young Master, what's the background of this Wang Tianxi? He works efficiently and seems to be very well-connected."

"How should I put it?" A look of difficulty appeared on Tang Jifeng's face, and he spoke after a moment of thought.

"This man is very capable, but his bottom line is very low; he listens to whoever pays him. A person like this thrives in times of peace, but in times of war, he's very likely to become a Traitor and a lackey. As for him, use him if you can, but never become close friends."

"Understood. Come, let's have a drink!"

After Lu Fan took the initiative to propose a toast, the conversation between the two quickly turned to romance and entertainment.

Two men, a bottle of wine—mention women and they'll talk all night.

Although Lu Fan's track record wasn't as glorious as Tang Jifeng's, he was still a man with stories.

When it came to discussing relationships, he didn't fall behind at all.

After all, having been baptized by the modern internet, who wouldn't know a few witty golden quotes?

"When I love you, whatever you say goes; when I don't love you, who do you think you are?"

"Use less emotion for women who can be won with money; spend more money on women who can be won with emotion."

"Ask the world what the best medicine is: first is women, second is money."

"Brothers are trees, women are roads; don't chop trees when you have no money, and don't lose your way when you have money."

Each sentence struck right at the heart of Tang Jifeng.

After three rounds of drinks, the two officially began calling each other brothers.

"Brother Fan, I'm curious. With your wit and humor, you must have had plenty of girlfriends abroad!"

"What girlfriends? They were just 'close combat' friends."

A playful remark that expressed the helplessness in Lu Fan's heart.

The ones he'd been with over the years all required 'bag-based therapy,' so things could only be limited to that.

"Haha~~" Tang Jifeng grinned. "One of these days, I'll have your sister-in-law introduce you to a gentle, home-oriented girl."

"No, no, no! I definitely don't want that!"

Lu Fan felt a headache coming on; he was here to rake in money, yet the other man wanted to tie him down here.

A wicked smile appeared at the corner of Tang Jifeng's mouth: "After fighting too many 'big foreign horses,' are you... not up to it anymore?"

"Fourth Young Master, what do you mean?"

Lu Fan swirled his wine glass. "'Incapable' is a denial of me, but 'worn out' is an affirmation of me. You can eat whatever you want, but you have to get your words straight."

Tang Jifeng understood instantly and gave a thumbs up with a laugh: "Brother Fan, classic. That's motherfucking classic."

It was dinner time, and the restaurant was quite crowded, so their conversation reached the ears of others.

The men laughed heartily upon hearing it, while the women covered their faces in bashful smiles.

They were all experienced people; everyone knew what was being said.

Suddenly, a sharp, cold voice rang out: "Vulgar, shameless, cultured scum!"

Just as the words fell, Lu Fan felt a gust of cold wind coming from behind him.

He turned around to see a woman in a form-fitting cheongsam, cold as frost, standing right behind him.

The beauty held a wine glass, staring at him with eyes full of rage.

In his confusion, the red wine in the glass flew straight toward his face.

Lu Fan instinctively dodged, but he was still splashed with a little.

However, Tang Jifeng, who was opposite him, wasn't so lucky; he took the full splash right in the face.

"Su Pu, Great Beauty Su, what are you doing? I haven't offended you recently."

"You playboy, you vulgar pig."

The beauty clenched her fists and turned her focus to Tang Jifeng.

Seeing the situation, Lu Fan realized they were acquaintances. Recalling Tang Jifeng's label as the Wei Xiaobao of the Republican era,

he instinctively stepped back two paces, looking at the two with a meaningful gaze.

"Brother Fan, don't look at me like that; it's not what you think."

"Look closely, she's the Movie Queen, Su Pu."

The best friend of my wife, the 'Golden Voice' who has taken the Shanghai by storm."

Tang Jifeng wiped the wine stains off his face and hurriedly explained.

No impression, absolutely no impression!

There were as many legends in the Republican era as there were hairs on an ox. He hadn't even memorized them all, so who had time to remember some actress?

Lu Fan spread his hands, looking completely blank: "I don't know her..."

The greatest insult to a star is to not be recognized.

Hearing this, Su Pu bit her lip tightly, her body trembling slightly with anger.

"Baby, calm down."

At this moment, a man with slicked-back hair and a powdered face stood up and walked over, glancing at the two with disdain.

He gently put his arm around Su Pu's shoulder and comforted her in a low voice: "You know what kind of person Tang Four is."

"Let's just ignore him; there's no need to get upset."

"Birds of a feather flock together; trash hangs out with trash."

"They are all cut from the same cloth."

His voice got quieter toward the end. Others might not have heard it, but Lu Fan heard every single word.

Su Pu splashing him could be excused as a reaction to his own rowdiness.

But the words from this pretty boy were a bit too unpleasant.

"Why don't you explain to me what you mean by 'birds of a feather' and 'cut from the same cloth'?"

Faced with the questioning, the pretty boy raised his hand to smooth his slicked-back hair and didn't respond directly.

His gaze swept over Lu Fan with contempt and landed on Tang Jifeng.

"Tang Jifeng, Fourth Young Master Tang, keep a leash on the people you bring."

With a mouth full of filth, if you want to be debauched, you should go find some tramps at the Paramount Hall.

Lest you turn such an elegant place into a foul..."

Before he could finish, a dark shadow suddenly flashed by.

Immediately after, a miserable scream rang out: "Aaaah!"