But Bo Jingzhou shot her a glance. “Your position as lead dancer—you don't want it anymore?”
The dance company Jian Weining had joined ranked among the top three in the world, and the lead dancer's spot was something everyone dreamed of.
That one sentence was enough to silence her, and to make her understand his bottom line.
Finding it tedious, Bo Jingzhou tapped his fingers impatiently against the steering wheel. “Get out.”
“Jingzhou, I…”
The man turned his head, those pitch-black eyes in the dark night cold as a pool of water that could freeze a person solid. “Wanning, you know I've never had much patience—don't make me say it twice.”
Twenty minutes later, when Bo Jingzhou arrived at Yelan, he happened to see several male hosts walking into the private room Shen Wanci was in.
Through the half-open door of the room, he could see the woman's face, flushed an especially alluring red from the wine.
Inside the room, Qin Yuezhi nudged Shen Wanci beside her. “What are you looking at? You're so lost in thought you didn't even answer when I called you.”
Shen Wanci felt a little dizzy and shook her head. “I think I just saw Bo Jingzhou…”
“What?” Qin Yuezhi didn't quite believe it and looked up toward the door. It was empty—not a soul in sight. “I think you've had too much and you're hallucinating. Even if Bo Jingzhou were at Yelan, there's no way he'd be on this floor.”
She pointed at the ceiling. “That crowd of young masters and capitalists are all up there, looking down on the rest of us!”
Shen Wanci figured she must have been seeing things too, and withdrew her gaze, looking back at the row of assorted men standing before her. “You called them over?”
“Yep. Called them to pour the drinks. We ordered all this alcohol anyway, so might as well let them earn a cut.”
She'd arranged for the hosts back when she booked the room that morning—originally to celebrate Shen Wanci's return to single life. But now… the divorce hadn't gone through, so they could only be looked at, not touched.
Shen Wanci wasn't keen on this kind of setting and didn't enjoy drinking, but since Qin Yuezhi said the ordered drinks couldn't be returned, she could only grit her teeth and down the two cases of beer.
The consequence of finishing it was that both of them got drunk—not to the point of passing out, but enough that they swayed and staggered when they walked.
Two hosts supported them, one on each side, but when they reached the elevator, Shen Wanci accidentally bumped into someone—
The other party was a middle-aged man in his forties, short and stout, with a beer belly. At that moment he was eyeing Shen Wanci lecherously. “Well now, if it isn't Assistant Shen. I'm Feng Jianhui from Wanhui—we met once before at the Bo Group. Do you still remember me?”
That time his company had run into a bit of trouble, and he'd pulled strings to beg before Bo Jingzhou, where he'd met Shen Wanci once—and had been unable to forget her ever since.
Shen Wanci sobered up a little, pulling her arm out of the man's grip, her voice flat. “Mr. Feng.”
“Assistant Shen here to drink with friends?” The two men beside her had Yelan staff badges pinned to their chests—clearly hosts. “Why not move to another room and keep the fun going? I happen to have a little something I'd like to discuss with Assistant Shen.”
Shen Wanci's head was a bit foggy, and she refused outright: “Sorry. If it's business, I'm only a lowly assistant—I can't make decisions on Mr. Bo's behalf.”
This man clearly meant no good, so she didn't mention that she'd resigned. With a great Buddha like Bo Jingzhou backing her, no one would dare lay a hand on her.
“It's not business,” Feng Jianhui said, seeing Shen Wanci's face darken. “But it's certainly a good thing for you, Assistant Shen. I know you're not valued at the Bo Group—assistant in name, but really just an errand-runner. Come work for me as my assistant instead. Name your own salary, and you'll be chief assistant—head of the whole assistant department. How about it?”
As he spoke, he reached out to grab Shen Wanci's hand. “The Bo Group may be a big company, but you could work there for several lifetimes and still never afford an apartment in the capital. Come with me, and tomorrow I'll take you to pick one out and transfer the deed straight into your name.”
Shen Wanci took a step back, pretending not to understand his insinuation. “Sorry, I have no desire to buy property in the capital. I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you, Mr. Feng.”
Feng Jianhui had set his sights on plenty of women—which of them hadn't pressed up against him at a single word? It was the first time he'd ever met someone who'd refuse him to his face so mercilessly, and his expression changed at once. “Shen Wanci, don't refuse a toast only to be forced to drink the forfeit. That I could take a liking to you is your good fortune. Spend three months with me, and I'll give you more money than you could earn in this entire lifetime!”
Shen Wanci's face turned colder still. “I don't—”
But Feng Jianhui gave her no chance to refuse, seizing her hand directly and trying to drag her by force into the room.
He dared to be so brazen and unscrupulous because he knew the third floor was the ordinary section—no one with any background or means would be caught on this floor.
Shen Wanci struggled, trying to break free of his grip. “Let go of me!”
Seeing this, Qin Yuezhi fought through her dizziness, stepped in front of her, and swung her bag down hard onto Feng Jianhui's head—
“Let go of her! Go take a piss and look at your own reflection—what kind of toad dares dream of swan meat?!”
Feng Jianhui hadn't expected Qin Yuezhi to strike, and for a moment failed to react in time to block it, instantly seeing stars from the blow!
But it lasted only a few short seconds. The man's innate physical advantage soon let him take control, and with a sweep of his arm he shoved Qin Yuezhi hard against the wall. “You fucking dare hit me? I'll kick you to death!”
He raised his foot to kick at Qin Yuezhi, with no regard for his force—luckily he was short and fat, so at most he could only reach her thighs.
Shen Wanci shoved at him with one hand while pulling Qin Yuezhi behind her with the other.
In the midst of the scuffle, her peripheral vision swept toward the back… and there, not far off, stood Bo Jingzhou, coldly watching this scene unfold—for how long, she had no idea.
Her resisting hands suddenly froze, and the blood throughout her body seemed to ice over, going cold from head to toe.
Three years of marriage, and he simply stood off to the side, cold-blooded and unfeeling, watching her be bullied?
This farce began quickly and ended quickly too; in the end Feng Jianhui was subdued by Yelan's security guards.
Yelan's manager came over, first apologizing to Shen Wanci and Qin Yuezhi, then having a doctor examine them. Only after arranging all that did he turn to the restrained Feng Jianhui. “Mr. Feng, Yelan's rules don't permit brawling, much less harassing female guests.”
Feng Jianhui grimaced in pain, but he wasn't talking tough now. He didn't know who Yelan's big boss was, but he understood clearly that it was someone he couldn't afford to cross.
So he turned the blame around, pointing at Shen Wanci. “I didn't harass her—this woman wanted to sleep with me, and the price I offered didn't suit her, so she struck first!”