Qin Sheng had always thought that someone with an elder brother or sister was very fortunate. No matter what happened, there would be someone by their side, reassuringly telling him that everything would be fine, because his elder brother or sister would be there for him.
Qin Sheng did not have an elder brother or sister. He no longer needed someone there to protect him because he had gotten use to this kind of life over the years. However, he had Xin Xin as his little sister and he vowed to protect Xin Xin like he was her older sibling, so that no one would lay a finger on her.
He accompanied Xin Xin to go shopping in Xin Tian Di. In reality, apart from Su Qin and the women in the Lin family, he had never accompanied any other women on a shopping trip. In the past, Su Qin, knowing he preferred quiet activities, often accompanied Qin Sheng to the library. In those days, Qin Sheng and Su Qin were a much envied couple in the campus of Fudan University. When the two eventually separated before graduation, many were disappointed and thought that their breakup was such a great pity.
Most women would have some common characteristics such as their love for flowers. Although some may think that it was tacky to give girls flowers, it actually depended on who was giving the flowers. If it were from someone the lady fancied, the flowers would be very effective. If it were from someone the lady did not like, she would not appreciate it even if he were to give her the whole world. Another example would be that the lady’s mood also played an important part in whether they take shopping as a celebration or a channel for venting their frustration. Every woman would want appear their best before others, even if she was in fact more sloppy than some man.
Therefore, after Qin Sheng accompanied Xin Xin to go shopping for the entire afternoon, eventually her spirit was lifted. They continued shopping until Xia Ding was about to arrive at the designated restaurant for dinner. By that time, Qin Sheng was utterly exhausted, more exhausted than if he had not slept for three days in a row. Xin Xin, however, was still in high spirits because Qin Sheng had bought her many sets of clothes as well as make up sets. Qin Sheng was aware that Xin Xin had scrimped and saved after misfortune befell her family. All along, she was not a spoilt fair-skinned, rich, and beautiful lady. She was simply a girl-next-door, which was one of the thing Qin Sheng liked most about her.
“This place where you have chosen was so hard to find. I had been going around looking,” Xia Ding blurted out when he finally found Qin Sheng and Xin Xin. Xia Ding could not stop worrying about Qin Sheng when he went to Tianshui because of the things Qin Sheng said before he left. Thank goodness Qin Sheng had returned unharmed. At first, he was even mentally prepared for Qin Sheng’s funeral.
In the last couple days, Xia Ding had been trying to ask Qin Sheng out. To his frustration, Qin Sheng was always tied up with some business. Finally on this day, while Hao Lei could watch over Han Bing and Chang Baji was following Zhao Dongsheng, he could excuse himself for a while to meet Lin Xin and Xia Ding.
When they finally sat down in the restaurant, Qin Sheng poured Xia Ding some tea and cheerfully said, “Xin Xin said she had been craving for the dishes in this restaurant. Since I’m only a poor man, this meal will be on you, Xia Ding.”
“Indeed you have high regards for me for asking me to treat you to this meal. How about we order the best food here!” Xia Ding said, taking off his coat. He was very thirsty by now so he picked up the cup of tea and sipped some. In fact, Xia Ding sounded as if he were mad at Qin Sheng.
At a lost of how to react, Qin Sheng could only explain by saying, “I have been really busy recently. Will you forgive me if I down three cups of tea?”
Xia Ding was actually joking around and did not really mean what he said, but playing along with Qin Sheng, he said, “That’s more like it.”
Turning to Xin Xin, Xia Ding said, “This delightful lady must be our little sister Xin Xin? No wonder Qin Sheng refused to introduce us earlier. He’s wary of me. What a cunning fox!”
“Hello, big brother Xia Ding,” Xin Xin greeted him politely. Upon hearing her sweet voice of greeting, Xia Ding’s frustration towards Qin Sheng was immediately abated.
Xia Ding always behaved gentlemanly before beautiful ladies. “I was rushing to leave the house this morning, and had forgotten to bring you a gift. Let me make it up to you next time. In future, whenever you need any help and your brother is busy, just let me know. Since you are my boss’s little sister, you are also my little sister. Moreover, you are also our junior from the same school.”
“Thank you so much, big brother Xia Ding,” Xin Xin said cheerfully.
When they finally settled down and the dishes they ordered arrived at the table, they were all famished and ready to eat. Qin Sheng downed three cups of tea, asking for Xia Ding’s forgiveness as he promised. Eventually, Xia Ding drank the last cup of tea with him.
After dinner, Qin Sheng and Xia Ding sent Xin Xin back to school. How she wished she could spend the rest of the evening with Xia Ding and Qin Sheng. However, it was not appropriate for a lady to tag along with the men for their night activities.
After dropping Xin Xin off at the school, Xia Ding brought Qin Sheng directly to MYST.club. Xia Ding, being an experienced chauffuer in Shanghai, as well as being a frequent patron of night clubs, was very familiar with these entertainment spots. Most importantly, he was the most suitable person to critique since he had lots of personal experiences in these places.
MYST.Club was definitely one of the best night clubs in Shanghai. It was also one of Xia Ding’s favorite places. Being a regular customer, the employees of the club had already prepared a place for them by the time they arrived, and Xia Ding simultaneous invited two pretty ladies to be their company. These ladies could at least score over 80% in terms of their beauty.
One of the ladies was an air stewardess, and the other a white-collar worker. Both of them were frequent patrons of the club who had a close relationship with its boss and were also familiar with Xia Ding. In fact, the air stewardess had even been in a romantic relationship with Xia Ding once. Xia Ding had kept his distance from her when he found out that she was two-timing a few boyfriends. Nowadays he usually just drank with her. However, it did look much better to be accompanied by these elegant-looking ladies than those women working in the night club.
“Are you done with the Han’s business?” Xia Ding had to raise his voice when he asked Qin Sheng this question. MYST had managed to invite a number of world-class DJs because of its scale. The club was filled with patrons especially because it was weekend. The patrons were well into dancing and the place was exceptionally noisy.
Qin Sheng downed a glass of wine and said, “Not yet, but soon.”
“Don’t you think I’m in the dark. I have found out that Zhou Wenwu, who showed keen interest in the Han’s inheritance, had suddenly disappeared. Does this have to do with you, boss?” Although Qin Sheng did not reveal any information to him, Xia Ding was not an easy character and was secretly aware of many things.
Qin Sheng clinked wine glasses with the pretty lady beside him, whose name was Ding Jie, and said to Xia Ding, “I’m merely a small fry. How could I have something to do with that big shot?”
“I know you have the guts to do anything, boss, but I’m glad you are not involved in this. Zhou Wenwu was not a simple character. He had the Yans backing him up and I’m sure you know that you’ll be digging your own grave if you offend the Yans,” Xia Ding reminded him out of concern, then he lifted his glass and toasted Qin Sheng.
Sometimes the ones who had nothing to lose are the real scary ones. They are the ones who would go all out and be ruthless, compared to the powerful and wealthy families. The rich and influential people would take many factors into consideration before they make a move and would basically not dare to offend big shots.
In Xia Ding’s mind, Qin Sheng belonged to the group who had nothing to lose, and would therefore be daring enough to do all kinds of things. Which was why he was suspicious of Qin Sheng being involved in Zhou Wenwu’s disappearance. The second generations of rich families would never have the guts to provoke Zhou Wenwu.
Some people said these entertainment establishments got increasingly bold and wild the further south they were, and Qi Sheng agreed with this saying. The entertainment industry in the coastal cities and the southern cities was especially vibrant. In inland cities such as Xi’an, there were fewer night clubs and the patrons were less varied and more conservative in their behavior. They were also more reserved in their way of venting their bottled up pressure from life.
As a major international city, Shanghai was the most advanced of all the cities in China in terms of its financial scene. Naturally, it would be more vibrant and advanced in its entertainment industry and other enterprises. Qin Sheng had come to Shanghai exactly for this reason. It meant that he would find a lot more opportunities here.
“What are your plans, Boss? You can’t just continue to stay on with the Hans!” Xia Ding was very concerned about Qin Sheng, who was after all a big brother to him when they were in their university days. There were some people who could not stand others being better than them. In order to protect their own sense of superiority, they felt good when people around them fair badly in life. However, Xia Ding was definitely not one of the kind. On the contrary, he had wished that all his friends do well in life.
Qin Sheng thoughtfully said, “Don’t be anxious. I will reconsider once Han’s family matters are settled.”
Some man gets sick of alcohol after a few shots, but others could not stop taking in more. Xia Ding was the latter. He got a little high after a while and pulling the air stewardess to the dancing floor, they started dancing.
Ding Jie, who was still standing by Qin Sheng, chuckled and said to Qin Sheng, “Do you want to dance too?”
“Not me, you go ahead!” Qin Sheng shook his head. He did not know much about this lady beside him named Ding Jie, and he was not sure if she was a decent woman.
Ding Jie, who was wearing a white blouse and tight skirt was indeed an alluring sight to all man. She had unbuttoned the top few buttons of her blouse so that one could vaguely make out her cleavage. Suddenly she seemed to have guessed what was on Qin Sheng’s mind, so she smiled and said, “I don’t come here very often, it’s just because I was feeling down today.”
“Why? Are you broken hearted from a recent break up?” Qin Sheng asked casually, knowing that Ding Jie was trying to explain herself.
Ding Jie let down her hair and at that instant, Qin Sheng was taken in by her amorous gesture. She lifted her wineglass and replied, “Not really. It’s because of work and family issues.”
“I suppose you’re not married yet?” anyways Qin Sheng had nothing to do so he played along.
Ding Jie laughed. “Why must one be married? I think it’s great to be single.”
“Looks like your emotions had been hurt. I can’t be sure what happened to you at work, but with regards family issues, you are likely being forced into marriage by your parents,” curious, Qin Sheng made a guess.
Ding Jie stared at Qin Sheng and said, “You are quite smart.”
“I was just making a wild guess,” Qing Sheng said, shrugging.
Having met with an interesting man as Qin Sheng, Ding Jie did not want to let the opportunity slip. She came close to Qin Sheng and whispered into his ears, “I’m feeling down today. Let’s see if you are able to cheer me up, then I will keep you company tonight.”
Ding Jie’s seductive voice could paralyze any man, but not Qin Sheng, who was completely not interested in her. He shook his head and said, “My wife and kids are at home waiting for me, I have to check if my son needs a diaper change.”
Ding Jie was taken aback by Qin Sheng’s words as she really despise married man who continued to frequent night clubs to fool around. Before she could react, Qin Sheng got up to leave, saying, “Tell Xia Ding that I made a move first.”
Qing Sheng simply walked out of MYST, ignoring the stunned expression on Ding Jie’s face…
After a long time, Xia Ding and the air stewardess finally returned. When Xia Ding realized that Qin Sheng was not there, he frowned and asked, “Sister Ding, where’s my friend?”
“He left, saying he had to go home and check whether he needed to change his baby’s diaper,” Ding Jie said, sounding frustrated.
Xia Ding burst into laughter upon hearing Ding Jie’s words and immediately, Ding Jie realized that she was being fooled by Qin Sheng. She had always been the one to turn down other men, who were usually the ones who made advances towards her. Little did she expect that she would be turned down by Qin Sheng today. Was she lacking in her charm?
After Qin Sheng left MYST, he flagged down a taxi to bring him to Thomson Golf Resort. On the way there, he received a call from Chang Baji. Before he could say anything, Chang Baji interrupted him saying, “Qin Sheng, Zhao Dongsheng is dead…”
