Hades, the Urban Legend

Chapter 607: Chapter 609: Professional

Seeing Zhu Kangyu leave the room, the people in the private room lost their enthusiasm for making Yang Chen drink more. After all, they just wanted to curry favor with Zhu Kangyu and felt somewhat sorry for Liu Mingyu and the unfamiliar Yang Chen. However, since things had escalated to this point, they were too embarrassed to say much to Yang Chen and pretended as if nothing had happened, continuing their conversations among themselves.

Yang Chen whispered to Liu Mingyu beside him, "You asked me to come with you because you knew beforehand and wanted me to shield you from that guy Zhu, right?"

Liu Mingyu bit her lip and nodded in agreement.

"This feels like you're using me," Yang Chen frowned.

"Are you angry?" Liu Mingyu looked up worriedly, apologetic. "Zhu Kangyu pursued me during university, but I never accepted him. Later, he went to work in Jiangsu Province, and things got better, but every time he came back to Zhonghai, he would call me. I wanted him to give up. I didn't expect him to do what he did just now. I used to think he was just ordinary, not so sinister."

Yang Chen chuckled, "Not really angry, but I do feel a bit wronged. Being used as a pawn by someone I love, I'm almost getting alcohol poisoning."

Liu Mingyu understood the undertone in Yang Chen's words. This guy didn't seem the least bit drunk. She gave him a sidelong glance and said, "Consider it my fault this time. I'll make you a good meal as compensation next time."

"I don't want your cooking," Yang Chen shook his head.

"Then what do you want?" Liu Mingyu asked.

"You. I'll eat you," Yang Chen whispered into her ear.

Liu Mingyu's face turned beet red, and she lowered her head, too shy to respond, afraid the others would notice her embarrassment.

Yang Chen didn't continue to tease her. He sipped his wine and said softly, "Actually, I hope you can use me more, let me do more for you."

"Hmm?" Liu Mingyu looked up, puzzled.

"I can't give you a complete relationship, always keeping you in the shadows. I want to make up for this guilt as much as possible," Yang Chen said quietly. "So, being able to help you, to give something, makes me feel better. I even think that if you find another man you like, though I'd be regretful, I wouldn't be too sad. As long as you're happy, I, who am inherently greedy, would be willing to step aside."

Tears glistened in Liu Mingyu's eyes as she unconsciously held Yang Chen's rough hand in the dim light.

"I also try hard not to like you, so I wouldn't feel so imbalanced and miserable when I'm unhappy. But I can't do it, now or ever. You've taken away my ability to love someone else. You should spend your life making up for it, don't you think?"

Yang Chen smiled shyly and nodded.

"What are you two whispering about, ignoring your old classmate here?" Zhao Haili finally noticed the two murmuring and glared at them playfully.

Liu Mingyu smiled apologetically at Zhao Haili. "Alright, sorry for neglecting you. I'll toast you as an apology."

The two women clinked glasses and drank. Liu Mingyu, being in public relations, could handle her alcohol well and wasn't affected.

"Where is Minister Zhu? Why hasn't he come back?" someone suddenly asked, curious.

The others also wondered, checking the time. It had been nearly ten minutes.

"Hey," Yang Chen sighed. "Maybe he's dealing with something personal."

Everyone looked at him, and Zhao Haili asked curiously, "What personal issue?"

Yang Chen grinned and said, "Well, you know how it is for men. With the pressure, sitting in an office for long periods, it's easy to have issues with the prostate or kidneys. Our diligent class monitor, who works so hard for the country, might have a little problem. Let's not hold it against him."

His words made everyone laugh. This guy was too much—first turning the tables on Zhu Kangyu, and now implying he had prostate issues behind his back. If Zhu Kangyu heard this, he might go berserk!

Just then, the door opened, and Zhu Kangyu walked back in, looking as if he was in a good mood, his steps light and cheerful.

"What's so funny? Is there a joke I missed?" Zhu Kangyu asked, seeing everyone laughing.

Unexpectedly, all the old classmates fixed their gazes on Zhu Kangyu, and some even subtly focused on his lower body. Zhu Kangyu was full of questions but received no answers. Suppressing his doubts, he sat down and continued, "Sorry to keep everyone waiting. The recent People's Congress session has kept me busy. Let's continue drinking."

As soon as Zhu Kangyu raised his glass, Liu Mingyu interjected, "Class monitor, Yang Chen and I have something to do at the company this afternoon, so we can only stay for a while. Let's meet up again another time."

Her words implied that they were about to leave, indicating their polite refusal to stay longer. Liu Mingyu was worried Zhu Kangyu might do something against Yang Chen again, and she couldn't bear to let Yang Chen suffer for her sake.

The group expected Zhu Kangyu to try to persuade them to stay, but instead, he simply smiled and said, "Mingyu is leaving already? Since it's for work, we can't delay. Let's escort you two out."

Everyone agreed and stood up to send off Yang Chen and Liu Mingyu.

Yang Chen didn't mind. If Liu Mingyu said to leave, he would follow. However, he had a feeling things weren't that simple.

The group escorted Yang Chen and Liu Mingyu out of the private room, enthusiastically suggesting they gather again soon. They praised Yang Chen's impressive drinking capacity, acting as if they were all old friends.

Yang Chen cursed inwardly. Who said only he was thick-skinned? These people were just as shameless, changing faces faster than flipping a book!

As they were about to leave the clubhouse, a short, chubby man in a striped gray suit walked towards them, deep in thought. He didn't notice the group walking out and quickly approached.

Instinctively, Yang Chen tried to step aside to avoid the man.

However, the man's "accidental" bump didn't happen as planned. Yet, he still "dedicatedly" fell to the ground!

Yang Chen found it amusing. He didn't even do anything, and this guy's acting was top-notch!

"Ouch!"

The man cried out in pain, holding his arm as if it had hit the doorpost. Tears were almost streaming down his face as he clutched his arm and shouted, "Help! It hurts so much! Are you trying to kill me?!"

Before anyone could react, seven or eight men dressed in various styles suddenly rushed out from a corner outside the clubhouse. One of them, a square-faced man with curly hair and a silver necklace, shouted urgently, "Old Fatty! What happened to your hand?!"

The short, chubby man, referred to as Old Fatty, cried out in pain, "Brother! I was about to enter, and this guy bumped into me! My hand, my hand feels broken!"

"What?!" The square-faced man glared at Yang Chen, "You little punk, how dare you hit my brother?! You won't walk out of here in one piece unless you give us an explanation!"

The group of men helped the pretending injured man up and, along with the curly-haired man, shouted at Yang Chen to give an explanation.

Everyone present realized that this was a classic case of a "scam". These men were obviously waiting for an opportunity to target someone.

But how could such a high-end establishment have no security, allowing a group like this to operate? It seemed suspiciously directed at Yang Chen!

Several sharp-minded individuals subconsciously glanced at Zhu Kangyu, who had stepped out earlier for unknown reasons. However, Zhu Kangyu's face was full of concern, showing no signs of involvement.

"This is daylight robbery! If you don't leave, we'll call the police!" Liu Mingyu guessed that Zhu Kangyu was behind this but couldn't prove it. Seeing Yang Chen remain silent, she resorted to threatening the thugs with the police.

"Call the police? Tsk tsk, you're quite the feisty one. Don't you know the times?" The curly-haired man leered at Liu Mingyu. "Even if the police come, we have the right of way. Your man hit our brother! We can just go to the hospital for an injury examination!"

"He's not even injured!" Zhao Haili, unable to stand it any longer, defended Liu Mingyu.

Curly Wolf sneered, "We'll only know if he's hurt when we get to the hospital."

Yang Chen shook his head inwardly. The issue wasn't whether the old fat man was injured or not. Even if he wasn't hurt, if they went to the hospital, these people's "professional skills" could easily cause real injuries for examination later. The key issue was to find the root cause of the incident.

In the past, Yang Chen thought the easiest way to settle this would be to take down all these people in front of him. But doing so would play right into their hands. Whether he injured or killed them, he'd end up with a lot of trouble, with endless problems following, adding unnecessary burdens for Liu Mingyu. It wasn't worth it.

After careful consideration, Yang Chen had an idea. He turned to Liu Mingyu and said, "Call the police. We'll wait for them to come and deal with this."