Li Muchen couldn't help but glance at her a few more times.
He had to admit—this Lin Manqing was strikingly beautiful. More than that, she carried an air of dignity and calm that set her apart.
Cultivators were highly sensitive to a person's bearing and inner spirit. Most people in this bar had muddied qi and lifeless energy. Aside from Ding Xiang, the only one here who stood out was Lin Manqing—like a lotus blooming in a patch of withered weeds.
Lin Manqing seemed to sense his gaze and faintly furrowed her brows.
"Miss Lin, you're so beautiful!"
Ding Xiang spoke whatever came to mind, not out of flattery. And indeed, Lin Manqing deserved such praise.
Yao Lili chimed in, "Of course! Manqing is the number one beauty in He City."
Lin Manqing was clearly used to such compliments. She only smiled lightly at Ding Xiang and replied, "You're very pretty too."
"Are you studying at Nanjing University, Miss Lin?" Ding Xiang asked.
"Yes, I'm in the law school. What about you?"
"I just got in this year—Humanities Experimental Class."
"Oh, that's impressive." Lin Manqing's eyes carried genuine approval. "No need to call me Miss Lin. I'm a year ahead of you. Just call me senior or big sister. Once you're on campus, if you need anything, come find me."
"Thank you, Senior!" Ding Xiang beamed.
Yao Lili quickly began introducing others, deliberately highlighting each person's background to show off both their prestige and her own wide connections.
From her, Li Muchen learned that the one called Young Master Zhang was named Zhang Yiping, son of the chairman of Yongqing Group.
The girl standing beside Lin Manqing was Zhang Jie, also from a Yongqing Group family.
As for the man glued to Zhang Yiping's side, he was Zhou Xu. His family ran a clothing business—reportedly a large one.
Once introductions were over, Ding Xiang pulled over Ma Shan and Li Muchen to be introduced as well.
When they heard Ma Shan was the floor manager here, the group treated him with surprising warmth, even asking him to arrange a good private room.
Then came Li Muchen.
Yao Lili noticed that although he was dressed plainly, he was good-looking and carried himself with a refined air. So she asked, "Mr. Li, where do you work?"
"I'm still looking for a job," Li Muchen replied.
Yao Lili's face immediately showed disdain. "Looking for work, huh? Want Young Master Zhang to put in a word for you?"
Zhang Yiping said generously, "No problem, you can always come to me."
But he didn't say how, nor did he offer a card. Clearly, it was just empty courtesy.
Meanwhile, Zhou Xu's gaze was fixed on Ding Xiang, his eyes burning with desire.
"Zhang, since Ding Xiang is Lili's classmate, why don't we all hang out together?" Zhou Xu suggested.
Zhang Yiping immediately understood his intent.
He glanced at Ding Xiang. She was indeed attractive—especially that air of innocence. Hard not to be tempted.
But he had no interest in her. His eyes were only on Lin Manqing, the eldest daughter of the Lin family.
Or rather—the Lin family's vast fortune.
If he could marry into the Lin family, Yongqing Group would rise to another level.
This wasn't just love—it was a political mission.
But approaching Lin Manqing wasn't easy. Fortunately, he had a cousin, Zhang Jie, who happened to be her close friend. That gave him the perfect excuse to get near her.
As soon as he heard Lin Manqing had returned to He City today, he told Zhang Jie to find a reason to bring her out.
As for Zhou Xu—his family's clothing business rented property from Yongqing Group's mall, so he always tagged along with Zhang Yiping like a lackey.
If his little lackey liked a girl, Zhang Yiping didn't mind helping.
"I don't mind," Zhang Yiping said, then looked at Lin Manqing. "Manqing, what do you think?"
"Of course." Lin Manqing smiled and pulled Ding Xiang closer. "Come on, I'll tell you about the school."
Lin Manqing didn't care much for bars. If Zhang Jie hadn't insisted she was in a bad mood and begged for company, she wouldn't have come at all.
They'd already had dinner at Yongqing's clubhouse, but when Zhang Jie complained it was boring, Zhang Yiping suggested a bar for more excitement.
Lin Manqing knew he was pursuing her, but she had no feelings for him.
Ding Xiang's arrival was a welcome excuse to escape his attention.
She liked this girl—simple, pure, and smart enough to get into Nanjing University's Humanities Experimental Class.
Ding Xiang hesitated at first, but hearing that Lin Manqing wanted to chat about school made her interested.
Li Muchen saw her thoughts and said, "Sounds good. Let's all go together."
He moved as if to follow.
The others froze. Did anyone invite you?
Yao Lili muttered, "Shameless."
Only Lin Manqing smiled knowingly. For some reason, she found Li Muchen… different. Though she couldn't say exactly how.
"Who said you could come? You really are shameless," Zhou Xu sneered.
"Exactly," Yao Lili added. "Ding Xiang is my classmate. Young Master Zhang is giving her face by letting her join us. But you? Who do you think you are?"
Zhang Yiping just smiled, saying nothing.
Ding Xiang looked embarrassed. "Maybe… I shouldn't go, then."
Lin Manqing cut her off. "Enough. Either we all go together, or we call it a night. What's the point of dividing people into ranks when we're just out to have fun?"
Li Muchen glanced at her. This fiancée of mine isn't so bad after all.
Since Lin Manqing had spoken, Zhang Yiping generously said, "No problem. Let's all go."
He shot Zhou Xu a look, then told Ma Shan, "Get us the biggest private room."
"No problem." Ma Shan snapped his fingers.
Zhang Yiping was fairly well-known among He City's second-generation elites. He'd been to this bar before, but usually the owner, Sister Na, personally arranged things. Rarely did he just walk in.
And with the Lin family's eldest daughter here—someone who usually wouldn't come even with a grand procession—this was a rare occasion.
Ma Shan thought Li Muchen was incredibly lucky.
Sure, the others looked down on him. But so what?
In their eyes, even he, the manager, was nothing but dirt.
If they happened to get in a good mood and threw Li Muchen a job—any job—that would be far better than working as a waiter.
Once the room was ready, Ma Shan got busy arranging things.
Zhang Yiping's goal tonight was obvious: get closer to Lin Manqing.
Zhou Xu, meanwhile, was completely smitten with Ding Xiang, his eyes glued to her.
But with Lin Manqing holding onto Ding Xiang, neither of them could get close.
So Zhou Xu suggested, "Since we've got new friends, let's all add each other on WeChat."
Of course, his real target was Ding Xiang. But to cover his intentions, he turned to Li Muchen first. "Bro, add me on WeChat."
"What's WeChat?" Li Muchen asked.
Everyone froze.
"Bro, you're kidding, right? Don't tell me you don't even know WeChat." Zhou Xu's lips curled, excitement flashing in his eyes.
Ding Xiang rushed to explain, "My cousin Muchen just came down from the mountains…"
That only made it worse. The disdain on their faces deepened.
"So he's a hillbilly." Yao Lili sneered.
Zhang Yiping pretended to be generous, patting Li Muchen on the shoulder. "No worries, there's a first time for everything. Take out your phone, I'll teach you."
Li Muchen pulled a phone from his pocket.
"Whoa!" Zhou Xu shouted theatrically. "A Nokia? Hahaha, who still uses a Nokia?"
Laughter erupted around the room.
Even Lin Manqing couldn't help but smile. Not maliciously—just surprised. She simply couldn't imagine a young man in this era still using a Nokia. Even the most remote villages had smartphones by now.
Zhang Yiping chuckled. "Bro, I can't help you with that one. How about this: sing us a song, and I'll buy you a new phone."
He burst into laughter.
Zhou Xu was even more excited. "Yes! Sing one of your mountain folk songs. I'll buy you the most expensive smartphone and you can toss that old brick away."
He snatched at Li Muchen's phone, pretending to throw it.
But Li Muchen snatched it back with lightning speed. Zhou Xu didn't even see the motion.
"If you break it, you can't afford to pay."
Zhou Xu froze, then burst out laughing. "Did you hear that? This piece of junk—he says I can't afford it! Hahaha!"
The others roared with laughter.
Zhang Yiping slapped Li Muchen on the shoulder. "Brother, tonight you're our source of entertainment."
Ding Xiang's eyes brimmed with tears, distressed as everyone mocked him.
Lin Manqing finally couldn't stand it. "Enough. Do you want to play or not? If not, we're leaving."
Just then—
Bang!
The private room door slammed open.
A bald, tattooed man strode in, flanked by two lackeys.
"Well, well, looks lively in here."
His eyes swept the room and landed on Ding Xiang. His lips twisted into a lewd grin.
"Hey, little beauty, come with me. I'll give you a fat red envelope."