129: Chapter 128 Don't let me see you in Jingzhou!

Su Bai sat in the chair with his legs crossed, not moving a muscle.

His expression was calm, as if he were watching a boring play.

"Your bodyguards," Su Bai said, "are afraid they won't be getting up now."

The Fat Man's eyes widened.

He picked up his phone, dialed a number, turned on speakerphone, and placed it on the table.

The phone rang for a long time before it was answered.

A slurred voice came from the other end, "Bo- Boss..."

The Fat Man's face tensed instantly. "Lao Zhang? Where the hell are you guys?"

"In... in the hallway... someone... beat us up..."

The voice was intermittent, accompanied by painful gasps.

The Fat Man's expression changed.

He hung up the phone, raised his head, and looked at Su Bai.

Su Bai sat opposite him, legs crossed, his expression still calm, as if nothing had happened.

The business card was still there on the table, white and small, with only a name and a phone number on it.

The Fat Man's Adam's apple bobbed.

He picked up the card and looked at it over and over again.

Su Bai.

He had never heard this name before.

Having mixed in Jingzhou for so many years, he had seen all sorts of people—big and small, those he could name and those he couldn't, those with titles and those without—he knew them all.

But the name Su Bai, he had never heard of.

Originally, he thought it was some nobody not worth his attention, but now he had to take it seriously.

He picked up his phone and dialed another number.

"Hello, President Wang? It's me, Lao Zhao. I'm asking about someone—Su Bai. Do you know him?"

There was a silence on the other end. "Which Su Bai?"

"He's... he's quite young, around twenty, and looks... quite handsome."

There was another silence on the other end.

Then the voice changed, losing its casual tone and becoming very tense. "Lao Zhao, why are you asking about him? Did you provoke him?"

The Fat Man's face went deathly pale. "I, I didn't, I was just asking..."

"Listen to me."

The voice on the other end was very low, almost inaudible, but every word felt like a nail driven into The Fat Man's ears. "You cannot afford to provoke this person, and neither can I. If you accidentally offended him, hurry up and kowtow to apologize; maybe you'll still be able to save your life!"

The phone hung up.

The busy signal beeped, sounding particularly jarring in the quiet private room.

The Fat Man sat in the chair, motionless.

His hand was still gripping the phone, holding it to his ear, having forgotten to put it down.

His lips were trembling, and the layers of fat on his chin quivered like jelly.

He looked at Su Bai and swallowed hard.

The Fat Man stood up.

The chair pushed back with a harsh screech. He walked around the table, went up to Su Bai, and then... knelt down.

His knees hit the bluestone floor with a dull thud.

He lowered his head, and the gold chain around his neck dangled and swayed in the light. His shoulders shook, and his whole body looked like a crumbling tower.

"Su, President Su... I was blind and didn't recognize Mount Tai... I didn't know that young lady was your friend... I deserve to die... I'm a bastard..."

His voice was shaking, intermittent, like a malfunctioning machine.

Su Bai looked down at him and sneered. "Trash. You dare to go around bullying people with this kind of backbone?"

Then he stood up, picked up the business card from the table, and put it back in his pocket.

"In the future, don't let me see you in Jingzhou."

Having said that, he turned and walked out of the private room.

His leather shoes clicked against the bluestone floor, a dull sound that grew fainter and fainter.

The Fat Man knelt on the floor, head bowed, his shoulders still shaking.

Sweat dripped from his forehead onto the bluestone floor, soaking into a small dark stain.

Then he scrambled to get up, his legs as soft as noodles; he had to steady himself against the table several times before he could stand firm.

He picked up his phone and dialed another number.

"Hello, book me the earliest flight for tomorrow. Anywhere, the farther the better!"

When Su Bai came out of the private room, the hallway was very quiet.

He took two steps and then stopped.

With a bewildered look on his face.

He saw Li Longyu standing at the corner of the hallway, holding an empty wine bottle in her hand.

She was standing against the wall, her back straight, one hand clutching the wine bottle, the other gripping her skirt, her knuckles white.

Su Bai was startled. He walked over quickly and snatched the wine bottle from her hand.

A little bit of wine remained at the bottom of the bottle; it sloshed, spilling a few drops onto the back of her hand.

Her fingers were still in the posture of holding the bottle, curled, before slowly relaxing.

"What are you doing here?" Su Bai's voice was a bit urgent. "Didn't I tell you to leave?"

Li Longyu looked at him, her expression uncharacteristically dazed.

She opened her mouth, her voice a bit hoarse, as if something was blocking her throat. "I... I was afraid you'd be bullied by them..."

Before she finished, she lowered her head first, as if she had said something she shouldn't have.

Su Bai gave a scoff.

His smile carried a hint of helplessness. He placed the wine bottle on the flower stand nearby and brushed the dust off his hands. "With these small fries, they wanted to bully me? Don't worry, it's all handled."

Li Longyu raised her head and looked at him.

His expression was very relaxed, as if he really hadn't taken it to heart.

Her lips moved, wanting to say something, but she didn't say it.

Su Bai frowned and looked her up and down.

Her wrinkled Hanfu, the crooked wooden hairpin, her disheveled hair, and the red marks on her hand from gripping the wine bottle.

He said, "However, is the management in this place so lax? They don't care when customers touch the staff?"

Li Longyu shook her head.

Her movement was very light, as if she didn't want anyone to see her exhaustion.

"It's not that they don't care." Her voice was very small. "They pay us very high wages here, saying... just endure it a little."

She paused, as if weighing her words. "But I didn't know it meant this kind of endurance. I thought it was just very hard work—standing for a long time, walking a lot, carrying many plates—but I didn't expect it to be this..."

She didn't finish, but Su Bai understood.

"Then you shouldn't work here anymore," Su Bai said. "Your personality isn't suited for it."

Li Longyu raised her head and nodded, her movements very slow, as if she was deep in thought.

"Thank you so much this time." Her voice was very soft. "If it weren't for you, I might have ended up in the police station tonight."

Her profile was very quiet in the light—eyelashes lowered, bridge of her nose straight, lips pursed, and a soft curve to her chin.

"You're welcome," Su Bai said. "We're classmates, after all."

Li Longyu's eyelashes fluttered.

Su Bai glanced in the direction of the private room. "I still have a dinner party over there, I'll head over first."

Li Longyu nodded. "Okay." She paused. "Um... see you at school."

Su Bai waved his hand without even turning his head.