Chapter 14 (1/2)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Saturday night, Haizhou:

Haizhou was the financial center of Huaxia, a globalized city with a population of over 200 thousand.

More than 10,000 people flocked to the city every day with dreams and dreams of profit, working and fighting hard in the city that was deemed to have endless opportunities, in hopes of building a better tomorrow.

When night came, the place became both heaven and hell, with the rich and privileged partying and splurging away without a care, while the working class would, for the most part, simply hole up in their place, several square meters at most, hoping to see a better life in the days to come.

It was a city that was filled with both opportunities and dangers, like a torrent with treasures at the bottom, with everyone riding on their kayaks and wading through its waters, trying to get a piece of the treasure buried deep within the sands at the bottom—a way of life that could be doomed with a single misstep.

The Coastal International Hotel was one of the more renowned five-star hotels in Haizhou, a place synonymous with ‘money dump’, as the people that went in and out of the place were either of high social status or simply very rich. A yellow taxi stopped at the front door of the hotel at that moment. Zhang Heng opened the door lazily and flipped a 20-yuan bill to the driver and said, “Keep the change.”

“Fare’s 25 yuan, mister.”

Zhang Heng dug out another five yuan from his wallet, feeling like he was cutting away a piece of his flesh, before getting out of the car and heading for the door of the hotel.

Two receptionists came up when he reached the door and got in his way, saying, “I’m sorry, sir. The venue today is booked by Mr. Liang Chao, and the place would be off-limits to anyone not in proper attire, anyway.”

Zhang Heng was stunned for a bit and took a look at his casual attire, before turning his eyes at his classmates, who were all dressed in suits and leather shoes, and realized what was happening.

He’d kept a low profile while he was at school and he hailed from a regular family, which meant that he had never been part of such high-class gatherings. Furthermore, due to having been steeped in the research of the T-Virus, any thoughts of proper dress code escaped his mind entirely, which made the scene at the moment looking rather awkward.

“Zhang Heng? What are you doing here?” Just when he was feeling troubled at how to proceed, he heard a familiar voice from behind. He then turned around and saw a young woman with shoulder-length hair, looking fabulous, looking at him with a rather dumbfounded expression. That young woman was none other than Li Yiru, who invited him to the gathering in the first place.

“Class rep?” Zhang Heng wore a bitter grin and continued, “Well, the staff of the hotel isn’t letting me in, so it seems like I won’t be joining the party after all.”

Li Yiru took one look at Zhang Heng’s attire and understood what was happening in an instant. She went up to the receptionists and said, “Please, consider this favor owed to your manager, but could you…”

The receptionist replied immediately, before Li Yiru could even finish. “Oh, it’s you, Ms. Li. Well, if he’s your classmate, we will definitely be willing to overlook it, just this once. Please come in…”

Zhang Heng was finally able to get inside the Coastal International Hotel, somehow. It was only then he realized that the entire lobby of the hotel seemed to have been booked by Ling Chao, and everyone present was a student from his class.

“Yiru!” A man dressed in black attire and looking rather smart called out to Li Yiru, before taking a glass of champagne and walked up to her in a dashing manner, with a lackey following by his side.

That dashing young man was Liang Chao, the man who had been going after Li Yiru for years to no avail. If one were to just judge the man by his looks and his family background, he appeared a prince charming, wooing maidens. But Zhang Heng, who had been in the same class with him for four years, knew very well that he was nothing but a typical rich playboy.

While he looked proper and dashing on the outside, the man was rotten on the inside. He had ruined more girls than anyone could bother counting throughout those four years.

That dreadful, subservient-looking lackey by his side was named Pan Bo, a man who dedicated himself to sucking up to Liang Chao. As the son of the vice mayor, it was a given that a good number of people would try to get close to him and that lackey of his would be the one who did the job of boot-licking better than everyone else.

“I believe we haven’t gotten familiar enough for such a way of addressing each other, Mr. Liang,” Li Yiru evaded his advances without making a scene, with a tinge of disgust seen in her eyes for a brief moment.