The mighty Min River divides the ancient city of Fuzhou into north and south. Nestled amidst the lush greenery on the south bank, the Jiangbin No. 1 Club boasts a tranquil and elegant environment, making it the preferred venue for Fuzhou's elite to entertain guests and relax.
The club's facilities are quite comprehensive, including a gym, swimming pool, tennis courts, and even a small horse stable. Naturally, the prices are extremely high. The club operates on a membership system; aside from special cards given to certain government officials, regular membership cards are sold in limited quantities, with an annual fee of 500,000 RMB.
Despite this, the wealthy still flock to it. Scarcity increases value, and the rarer something is, the more it reflects status and prestige. Moreover, those who frequent the club are either high-ranking officials or business elites; it has become a place for the upper class to communicate, exchange information, and build relationships. Therefore, many consider owning a membership card at Jiangbin No. 1 Club an honor.
Chen Yang was seated in the reception area on the first floor of the Jiangbin No. 1 Clubhouse. He was still wearing his blue Adidas tracksuit, and an inconspicuous black plastic bag lay at his feet, seemingly out of place in the luxuriously decorated environment.
However, Chen Yang appeared completely at ease, occasionally picking up a sip or two of the fragrant tea from the coffee table in front of him, his movements impeccably elegant. Beside him, a waiter stood respectfully, ready to be summoned at any moment—one-on-one service was a hallmark of the Jiangbin Clubhouse.
Chen Yang received this treatment because he held the clubhouse's highest-level membership card—the Diamond Card.
Of course, the membership card didn't belong to Chen Yang; he had borrowed it from Ning Qiaoqian before coming.
The behind-the-scenes owner of this club is Ning Kuncheng. As the princess of the Qiankun Group, Ning Qiaoqian's membership card number is memorized by all the club staff. This is because, unlike Ning Kuncheng and other senior members of the group who mostly reside in Xiamen and rarely visit Fuzhou, Ning Qiaoqian lives in Fuzhou. She might suddenly decide to visit the club at any time, so the club manager takes her very seriously.
Therefore, as soon as Chen Yang presented his card, the hostess immediately notified the manager via walkie-talkie. The manager rushed over to personally greet him and immediately reserved the club's most luxurious VIP room, number one, with the best river view, for Chen Yang. When the manager heard that Chen Yang was waiting for guests on the first floor, he immediately assigned his most capable waiter to attend to him.
Chen Yang was hosting a banquet for Guan Weiping, Director Kan Xufeng of the Municipal Public Security Bureau, Deputy Director Xie of the Municipal Housing Management Bureau, and others.
School has started summer vacation today. A few days ago, Professor Yan informed Chen Yang and Liu Xinyao that their paper had passed the conference review and they would be presenting at the Boao International Law Forum. Professor Yan would be taking Chen Yang and Liu Xinyao to Sanya City tomorrow to attend this international event.
Chen Yang had already asked Zhou Weiqiang for leave. He remembered that he had promised to treat Guan Weiping and others to dinner, but hadn't kept his promise. Since he would be going to Sanya for several days, he contacted Guan Weiping to help arrange things, and they agreed to meet at the Jiangbin No. 1 Club tonight.
The agreed time was 7 PM. As the host, Chen Yang arrived at the club half an hour early and personally greeted them on the first floor—basic courtesy.
Chen Yang checked the time; there were still a few minutes until 7 PM. He leaned back on the soft sofa and closed his eyes to rest. But not long after closing his eyes, Chen Yang heard a somewhat familiar voice coming from the doorway.
"Why can't we go in? Don't we have money to spend?"
"I'm sorry, sir, our club is only open to members. Without a membership card, we cannot let you in."
"Why are you so stubborn! I already told you my uncle is Deputy District Chief Yan of Cangshui District. He has a membership card and will be here soon. Can't we go in and wait?"
Hearing this, Chen Yang opened his eyes and looked around. Yan Huiming and a thin middle-aged man were standing at the club entrance, negotiating with the security guard. Yan Huiming seemed quite agitated, waving his hand as he spoke, apparently feeling humiliated by being stopped outside.
The middle-aged man beside Yan Huiming was relatively calmer. He spoke politely to the security guard:
"Young man, we really are relatives of Director Yan. Director Yan has a membership card; you can check. Director Yan will be here soon. We just want to wait in the lobby. Could you please do us a favor?"
"I'm sorry, sir, I really don't have that authority. Please understand. If I let you in, I'll be fired!" The security guard remained unmoved, but his tone was still quite polite.
"Dad! Why are you being so polite to a security guard?" Yan Huiming was very dissatisfied with the guard. "No matter how powerful his club is, it's still located in Cangshui District, isn't it? I'll have Uncle shut it down later..."
The security guard smiled slightly, inwardly quite dismissive. Ning Ye's business, and a mere relative of a deputy district head, dares to talk about shutting it down so casually? Doesn't he fear his words will slip up? Yan Huiming took in the security guard's disdainful smile and instantly flew into a rage. Just as he was about to explode, he suddenly caught sight of Chen Yang sitting on the lounge sofa. His eyes flashed with extreme resentment, and he pointed at Chen Yang, yelling at the security guard:
"Didn't you say no one could get in without a membership card? How did he get in?"
Yan Huiming had originally intended to sabotage Chen Yang's house purchase to annoy him, but unexpectedly, Yue Lei ended up in a detention center, and even Yan Jinlong, the deputy director of the police station, was imprisoned and still hasn't been released; his fate is likely grim. To make matters worse, his uncle, Yan Songshan, has been treating Yan Huiming with contempt ever since that day, finding fault with everything he does, and hasn't explained in detail what happened at the billiard hall that day.
Yan Huiming only knew that Chen Yang was responsible for all of this. Not only had Yue Lei and Yan Jinlong fallen, but he himself had also been reprimanded by Yan Songshan. Naturally, Yan Huiming held Chen Yang responsible for all of this, and his hatred for Chen Yang was boundless. Blinded by hatred, Yan Huiming failed to consider that Chen Yang couldn't possibly have accomplished all this without any background, as the information he obtained from the Rongda Police Station suggested.
The security guard glanced back at Chen Yang and said calmly,
"That gentleman has a membership card for this club, of course he can go in!"
Yan Huiming laughed angrily, pointing at Chen Yang, and said,
"Pshaw! You mean that country bumpkin... he has a membership card? You must be joking!"
The security guard stared coldly at Yan Huiming and said seriously,
"Sir, please don't insult our distinguished guest! If you continue to cause trouble, we will call the police!"
"Haha! Call the police? My uncle is the director of the Cangshui branch of the Public Security Bureau. If you want to call the police, wait until he gets here and call him directly!" Yan Huiming gritted his teeth and said, "Get out of the way! Let us in!"
After saying that, Yan Huiming tried to force his way in. This was now a matter of pride. They wouldn't have made a big deal of waiting at the door for a while, but seeing Chen Yang leisurely drinking tea and watching the commotion inside while he was being refused entry, Yan Huiming felt extremely unbalanced, and his actions became impulsive.
The security guard spread his arms, blocking Yan Huiming's way. Yan Huiming stepped forward and shoved the security guard hard, but instead of moving him, he was thrown back several steps by the impact. If his father, Yan Gaoshan, hadn't caught him in time, he might have fallen to the ground.
The club's security guards were all handpicked, the vast majority being veterans of frontline field units. In a one-on-one fight, even five of Yan Huiming wouldn't be a match for them.
"Damn it! You dare hit someone? I'll fight you to the death!" Yan Huiming's emotions grew increasingly agitated. Yan Gaoshan couldn't hold him back; he charged forward again, brandishing his claws.
"Yan Huiming! What are you doing!" An angry voice rang out, and Yan Huiming froze as if struck by lightning.
He turned around, a timid expression on his face, and whispered, "Uncle..."
"What are you doing? Why are you fighting with someone?" Yan Songshan looked at his nephew with slight disgust, frowning as he asked.
"Uncle, we arrived a few minutes early, gave your name, and wanted to go inside and wait, but this security guard was being stubborn and wouldn't let us in!" Yan Huiming said indignantly, "They really look down on people!"
"Shut up!" Yan Songshan shouted, then took out his membership card and handed it to the security guard, saying politely, "Excuse me, young man, this is my membership card, please check it!"
Yan Huiming was ignorant of his place, but Yan Songshan knew it very well. This club was located within his jurisdiction, and Yan Songshan knew its situation perfectly well. This was not a place he could cause trouble.
Of course, perhaps this place would soon no longer be his jurisdiction.
Thinking about this only made Yan Songshan more agitated. He glared fiercely at Yan Huiming; it was all this good-for-nothing nephew's fault…
The security guard carefully examined the card, then handed it back to Yan Songshan, bowing slightly and saying politely,
"Hello, Mr. Yan! Please come in!"
With that, the guard stepped aside to make way.
Yan Huiming, startled by Yan Songshan's glare, lowered his head, muttering under his breath,
"They're just looking down on people. How could that country bumpkin Chen Yang possibly have a membership card? He still got in, didn't he?"
"Chen Yang?"
Upon hearing this name, Yan Songshan's heart skipped a beat. This seemingly unremarkable name was the root of his biggest recent troubles.
"Look…" Yan Huiming pursed his lips, saying indignantly, "That guy sitting in the lobby drinking tea is just a poor student, how could he…"
Before Yan Huiming could finish speaking, he noticed that his uncle, Yan Songshan, suddenly quickened his pace and walked towards Chen Yang. From a distance, Yan Songshan enthusiastically stretched out his hands, as if he were facing a superior.