Qin Sheng told himself not to be troubled over other people’s business and drove off. He did not intend to tell on the matter to Jiang Xianbang, however, Xu Lancheng knew that Qin Sheng had a rather close relationship with Jiang Xianbang, so naturally he would be worried. Chen Xianyang on the other would definitely not know about his relationship with Jiang Xianbang and he might pose trouble. If he were to behave properly towards Qin Sheng, it would be well with him. If not, Qin Sheng would not be so kind.
“If someone gets addicted to drugs or gambling, all his money, no matter how much would be depleted in no time. I’ve heard stories from my family and friends that there were many capable people were ruined once they get addicted to either of them.” Naturally, Xue Hao and Qin Sheng had overheard the two men’s conversation, but Xue Hao mumbled that this had nothing to do with him and nothing would happen to him.
Qin Sheng pondered over the matter while he drove. “It’s good that you know that additions are detrimental. If I find out that you do drugs or gamble, I will help your parents to get rid of, lest you implicate your family and friends around you.” Qin Sheng said.
“Don’t you worry, because if that happens, I would kill myself to save the people around from trouble,” Xue Hao pouted as he said. However, Qin Sheng was rather relieved to hear Xue Hao’s words. At least he could see that Xue Hao had a sound mind with the right values. A person without the right values would become wayward no matter how capable he was.
Qin Sheng had seen too much over the past few years. He once bumped into a friend when he was in Guiyang. This friend was quite a capable man who owned the Kempinski, the tallest building in Guiyang at that time. Unfortunately he became a gambler and frequented of the VVIP halls in many casinos in Macau. Eventually he depleted all the family wealth. Qin Sheng did not know what had become of him by this time.
Qin Sheng continued in his advise, saying, “We must abstain from any drugs because whoever uses them will definitely be ruined. As for gambling, a little gambling for entertainment is fine, but it requires discipline not to go deeper into the addiction. Those with the lack of discipline will increase their stake in gambling and their end is pathetic too.”
Xue Hao chuckled and said, “Let’s not talk about this since it has nothing to do with us. I’m treating you to dinner tonight. Later on, when I get home, I will send you the information you’ve asked. How long do you need to accomplish the task?”
“Cut your nonsense. I will let you know once I’m done,” said Qin Sheng, giving Xue Hao a glare.
Xue Hao let Qin Sheng choose what to eat and he chose hotpot for dinner. They eventually settled for a Chengdu hotpot restaurant. After all, Chengdu was where he met his female confidante and he had lived there for a good few months. Qin Sheng also used to idolize this great man in Chuanyu who started with little but eventually rose to be the great Master Zhao of Chuanyu after he overcame all the obstacle that came his way. Sadly, he completely retired from the scene to live a quiet and simple life. The two major conglomerates he founded became the mothership of the business arena.
When they were eventually done with their hotpot dinner, Qin Sheng did not let Xue Hao pay the meal. Although he knew Xue Hao must have come from a wealthy family, he also knew his family was rather strict so his pocket money was limited. Qin Sheng did not want to eat off a high school student, although Xue Hao was insistent at the beginning. Finally Qin Sheng said to have a meal on Xue Hao when he completed the task, then did Xue Hao let Qin Sheng foot the bill.
“Let’s send you home, now we’ve eaten,” Qin Sheng wished to ease himself off this burden and go home to rest. After all, he could not wait to go back and enjoy the company of a beautiful lady waiting for him at home.
However, Xue Hao did not plan to go home. “I’m not going home yet. Send me to Taipei PureK on Ninghai East Road. My friends and I are having a birthday celebration so we will go singing there. Drop me off and I will find my way home,” Xue Hao said gleefully.
“Your aunt wanted me to send you home,” Qin Sheng said with a serious tone.
Xue Hao desperately said, “Big brother, I’m only going for a karaoke singing session, not a drinking session at a night club. Rest assured that I would go home immediately afterwards. We’re just a bunch of students, I promise we’ll not make any trouble. Those three students will not be there.”
“Are you sure?” Qin Sheng asked in response.
Nodding his head, Xue Hao firmly said, “I’m very sure.”
Left with no other choice, Qin Sheng finally sent Xue Hao to the KTV, believing that it must be some girl’s birthday otherwise Xue Hao would not be so eager to participate. This was no surprise to him as he had been down the same road. Moreover, he was not even Xue Hao’s parents so there was no need for his to borther that much.
By the time Qin Sheng dropped Xue Hao off at Ninghai East Road, it was already past 9pm. Less than five minutes after he watched Xue Hao walked into the KTV and drove off, he received a call from Xue Hao. “Qin Sheng, could you come back, we are being beaten up.”
“Which floor are you at?” Qin Sheng initially thought that Xue Hao was playing a joke on him, but he did not sound like it. Without questioning him further, Qin Sheng turned back. He could hear there’s a voice threatening Xue Hao on the other end of the phone, accusing him of making a phone call. Then he heard Xue Hao’s vague answer that he was on the third floor, before he hang up.
Qin Sheng began to panic as he knew that Ms Cheongsam would kill him if anything happened to Xue Hao. If that happened, he could stop dreaming about keeping his job in Shangshan Ruoshui. Even with his special relationship with Jiang Xianbang, it would be too embarrassing to stay on. This was why Qin Sheng turned back without hesitation to look for Xue Hao.
When Xue Hao first got to the room in Taipei PureK where his friends were, there were seven to eight men blocking his four classmates. Both parties were apparently a little drunk so and obviously irritated with each other from the way they talked. Two of his classmates came from wealthy families so they were rather spoilt. Having them as backing since Xue Hao was on good terms with them, he was not too concerned about the situation. They were also not ready to back down since it was the birthday celebration of the girl Xue Hao fancied.
Xue Hao who had not touched any alcohol yet, quickly walked up to be the peace maker. Xue Hao, unguarded, was pushed down onto the floor. When the four classmates saw that the men had resort to violence, they decided to retaliate. By the time Xue Hao recovered, the rest were already fighting each other.
Xue Hao could feel his heart beating wildly. While he was not here to make trouble, trouble came knocking on his door. He and his classmates together only made five of them, while their opponents were tall and burly. At his wits end, Xue Hao quickly made a phone call to Qin Sheng to ask for help, but was immediately being discovered.
After he hang up the phone, Xue Hao realized that three other female classmates who were in the room had heard the commotion and were coming out to check out what was happening. One of them was the girl he fancied and Xue Hao could she was frightened with her face drained of its colors. At this sight, Xue Hao could no longer hold in his anger. He shouted for the girls to get into the room, and he himself joined in the fight.
Within a few seconds, the corridor turned into a chaotic state.
However, these five students were no match for their opponents. They were soon beaten up and lying on the floor, surrounded by the seven to eight men. Xue Hao was careful to protect his face from all the blows, however, he was eventually hit with a punch.
“Didn’t you think that you were very powerful, get up and fight!” the leader of the gang shouted at them.
The five student did not dare to reply. Xue Hao, who still possessed a reasonable EQ knew it was not time to speak up so he kept quiet as well. He could only pray that Qin Sheng would contact his aunt quickly. If his aunt were to appear now, things would be settle immediately and they would not be further beaten up.
“Big brother, it was our fault! Please accept out apologies, come on, we are all friends and had just drunk a bit too much. Please don’t behave like us, who are just a bunch of kids,” Xue Hao finally stood up after they stopped scolding. As Xue Hao did this, he was very calm. In fact, he did not look at all like someone who had just received a beating. His father had always reminded him to keep calm, to think of solutions instead of running away.
“What have we done wrong? Kill me if you are capable enough. If you don’t, I will take revenge on you later,” one of Xue Hao’s wealthy classmate blurted out right after Xue Hao tried to make peace. This made Xue Hao wanted to kill him.
As expected, he invited a kick from one of the men right after that, and he cried out in pain.
“Look like you have some backing. Alright, I’m going to give you chance to call for help. We’ll wait here, let’s see who’s afraid of who,” the leader of the group of men said, chuckling.
The girls in the room, including Xue Han’s crush was so freaked out that they did not dare to come out of the room and did not dare to call their families. However, they managed to called for the police.
The security guards of the KTV had arrived by now, but was threatened by those few men, who said they would also bash them up if they did not back off.
When Xue Hao heard the man’s threats, he immediately knew that they were not from simple backgrounds, so he forced himself continue to appeace the situation by saying, “Big brother, let’s not get to that. Why don’t we pay you a compensation? Let us know how much you want.”
“Alright, come, you kowtow to me three time,” he directed his words to Xue Hao, whom he thought was full of nonsense. Xue Hao really wanted to settle the conflict.
The man’s words were rather offensive and Xue Hao was a little provoked by them. However, Xue Hao tried to suppress his emotions and continued to say, “Don’t joke, big brother.”
“Alright, if not kowtows, how about a few slaps from us?” the furious man shouted, getting ready to strike Xue Hao.
Xue Hao was not aware of how long Qin Sheng had been there. He was not in a hurry to help, but his perception of Xue Hao changed a bit when he saw his composure. Qin Sheng realized that this was not a simple conflict between high schools boys, like the Xue Hao had with the three boys a few days ago, so he went up to them.
Qin Sheng stretched out him arm to hold on to the arm of one of the menn and said, “Brother, I think that’s enough. There’s no need to be upset over a few students.”
The man did not expect there to be anyone who would stand up to him, since the corridor was lined with people, including the waiters and security guards and none had the guts to come up to him. Those who attempted earlier on were frightened by his threats and shrunk back.
The men was barely 30 years old. He turned around to check out who this person who dared to confront him was. After sizing Qin Sheng up, he chuckled and said, “Who the hell are you, trying to stop me?”
“Finally you’re hear, Qin Sheng. Did you call my aunt yet?” Xue Han breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Qin Sheng.
Qin Sheng was dazed for a moment before he responded, “Oops, I forgot!”
Stunned by Qin Sheng’s answer, Xue Hao felt like crying. “Oh my!” Xue Hao cursed in his heart.
Qin Sheng recovered and let go his hand on the man’s arm when the man threw him a punch. Fortunately, Qin Sheng was prepared for this. He dodged the punch and lifted his knee onto the man’s chest, held him by his shower and threw him out. “Hey, we should talk first, before resorting to violence!” Qin Sheng said.
When the other six to seven men saw that Qin Sheng manhandled their companion, they charged towards Qin Sheng. Neither was Qin Sheng fearful. “So what if you want to fight, I’m not afraid,” Qin Sheng seemed to say.
Instantly, the situation along the corridor became chaotic once again…
