Phew! Stepping out of Lycar, Su Xuan took a deep breath of the cool night air. The hotel bosses had all been heavy smokers, puffing one cigarette after another, which had left him feeling dizzy and lightheaded. The meeting had turned into the formation of a hotel alliance, and he had been elected its president. The title would be useful, as it allowed him to mobilize the resources of the surrounding hotels. Ah! Another busy day! Su Xuan raised his wrist, glancing at his fifty-million-dollar Vacheron Constantin. It was already past two in the morning. He got into his Charman King and drove toward his mansion on Houhai Street. RING RING! RING RING! Halfway there, his phone rang. It was Alice. "You’re still awake at this hour?" Su Xuan asked. The background on Alice’s end was a bit noisy. "Su Xuan, could you come pick me up? I was at a party with some classmates tonight and had a little to drink. It’s so late now, I’m scared to go home alone." "Tell me where you are," Su Xuan said. "I’ll send you my location." After hanging up, Alice sent Su Xuan her coordinates. He glanced at it—a bar. He turned the steering wheel and headed in that direction. Twenty minutes later, Su Xuan parked his car in front of a bar named ’Passerby.’ The name of the bar is quite fitting, he thought. There’s that poem: ’Heaven and Earth are an inn for the myriad creatures; Time is a traveler of a hundred ages. And life is but a fleeting dream; how much joy can there be?’ It’s both literary and grand! Alice was waiting for him at the entrance of the bar, all by herself. Just as Su Xuan was about to greet her from the car, a man with braids staggered out of the bar. His eyes lit up when he saw Alice, and he immediately started talking to her. Heh, she’s getting hit on, Su Xuan mused with a smile. The curse of being beautiful. He quietly got out of the car. "Miss, you are truly beautiful, with such an international flair. Are you interested in acting in a movie?" the braided man said, pulling a business card from his multi-pocketed jacket and offering it to Alice. "I’m a director, and I can make you a top-tier star!" Alice frowned slightly and didn’t take the card. "Not interested." The man flicked his braid. "Do you think I’m a con artist? Let me tell you, I’m a famous director. I directed a movie called ’Love on Your Kang,’ and it’s a big deal—it won the Golden Bird Award! The lead actress in that movie became a huge star because of me. She gets endorsement deals every day!" The movie he mentioned sounds like garbage, she thought, turning her head away. The man scowled. "It doesn’t matter if you haven’t heard of me. You must have heard of my brother, Jiang Wen. He directed ’Let the Nuclear Bombs Fly,’ which won numerous international awards. My brother and I are going to co-direct a movie called ’Aluminum Alloy Man’ next, with a one-billion-dollar investment, a top-tier foreign special effects team, and a cast of veteran actors. If you’re interested, I can arrange an audition for you!" The man’s voice suddenly turned sleazy. "If you take a walk with me later, with my connections, I can guarantee you’ll be the female lead!" Alice immediately took two steps back. The man persistently stepped closer. "The pay will be very high too! Fifty million, starting! Don’t you want to get rich?" As he spoke, he reached out to grab Alice. He had clearly lost his patience with her coldness. Why is she so indifferent to fame and fortune? he wondered. Usually, when I pull this on other girls, they fall for it! "Dude, make way!" a voice commanded. "Let me handle this!" Just as the braided man’s hand was about to touch Alice, another hand shot out from the side, knocking his away. The braided man turned his head in annoyance, ready to see who was bold enough to ruin his fun, but he was met with an unbelievable sight. Right in front of the braided man, Su Xuan walked up to Alice and lifted her delicate chin. "Babe, I’ve got one question for you," he said, deliberately putting on a roguish expression. "Will you come home with me? My place is huge and spacious. I guarantee you’ll be satisfied." Alice gazed into Su Xuan’s eyes. "And if I’m not willing?" Su Xuan pinned her against the wall in a classic *kabedon*. He leaned in close, his lips near hers, and whispered, "Why are you alone? Didn’t you say you were with your classmates?" To the braided man, it looked as though he was forcibly kissing Alice! Alice wrapped her arms around Su Xuan’s neck, her breath carrying the faint, sweet scent of red wine. "They’re lightweights. I drank them all under the table, so they went home." "Impressive," Su Xuan replied. Alice parted her soft lips. "Master, take me home." In the next second, Su Xuan bent down and swept Alice up in a princess carry. He placed her in the Charman King, slammed his foot on the gas, and sped away with a roar. Before leaving, he gave the braided man one last, meaningful look. "Holy shit!" the braided man exclaimed, his eyes nearly popping out of his head. "Dude, you’re so damn cool! Bro, I kneel before you!" I’ve never seen anyone pick up a girl like that before! Powerful! Dominant! Manly! What an aura! Compared to him, my pickup routine was like an old lady’s foot-binding cloth—stinky and long! "Thanks, bro!" he shouted after Su Xuan’s departing car. "I’ve learned my lesson!" Just then, he spotted a long-haired girl in a short skirt walking out of the bar. He didn’t care if she was willing or not. He strode in front of her, grabbed her chin with one hand, and pushed her against the wall with the other. "Girl, I’ll just ask you one thing!" he said domineeringly, imitating Su Xuan’s roguish tone. "Will you come home with me? My place is—" Before he could finish, the girl drove her knee straight into his groin. The braided man doubled over, clutching himself and letting out a heart-wrenching wail that seemed to hang in the night air forever. I think I can hear his miserable screams from here, Su Xuan thought as he drove away. "Everyone, get out here!" the girl yelled into her phone. "Some dumbass is trying to drag me home with him!" In the blink of an eye, a group of young men stormed out of the bar. They rained punches and kicks down on the braided man. Lying in the ambulance on the way to the hospital, the braided man was still in a daze. He still couldn’t figure out why he had failed... Thɪs chapter is updated by 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵※𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾※𝙣𝙚𝙩 After dropping Alice off, Su Xuan returned home. "Old Liu, can we skip practice tonight?" he asked. To his wry amusement, he had found Butler Liu waiting for him in the yard to practice Ruyi Tai Chi. "In the martial arts, you either progress or regress," Butler Liu stated with a serious expression. "Surely the Master does not wish to give up halfway?" Su Xuan sighed. "Alright, let’s practice." He had no choice but to go through the motions with Butler Liu. When he finally finished his Tai Chi and returned to his room, he stopped dead in his tracks, stunned. Clothes were strewn all over the floor. And on the bed... lay a golden-haired girl who looked as if she had stepped out of a fairy tale.