ASFSODS 53

The mood in the private room seemed to shift after that little incident. Seeing Wen Chi down his drink in one go, Chen Han and the others burst into hearty laughter.

One man, with a protruding belly and three layers of double chin, grinned at the girl and said, “Xiao Qing, why don’t you give everyone a toast too?”

At his words, Wen Chi frowned. Every bottle on the table was strong liquor, and he had just downed one glass himself. His throat and stomach felt as though they were on fire. He wasn’t sure he could stay sober if he drank another.

The girl clearly knew it was strong liquor too, and she had already had a drink earlier. While she did drink with friends sometimes, it was usually beer. It was something entirely incomparable to this.

Qin Yiqing felt her company boss watching her. He might have been smiling, but his eyes carried a clear threat.

Pressing her rosy lips together, Qin Yiqing stood, picked up her glass, and put on a perfectly measured smile. “I’d like to toast everyone. Thank you, Director Chen, and all the other bosses, for giving me the opportunity to audition.”

The liquor slid from her throat down her esophagus to her stomach, the burning sensation making her feel awful. She had only intended to take a small sip, but just as she was about to set the glass down, Chen Han lightly pressed her wrist—though to her, it felt like a boulder pinning her hand.

Chen Han smiled. “Only a little? Isn’t that a bit disrespectful? Look at Xiao Wen, you should finish it too.”

Qin Yiqing’s cheeks were already flushed, and her mind was starting to blur. She knew she couldn’t drink anymore.

“That’s right, Xiao Qing, I remember you’re a pretty good drinker,” her boss said.

She forced a small smile. “Sorry, I’m not feeling well. I can’t drink anymore.”

“Not feeling well? You didn’t say that earlier. Or is it that you just don’t want to give us that little bit of respect?”

The man on her left rested one arm on the back of her chair, the other pressing the glass to her lips as if ready to force it down her throat.

“President Liu.”

Qin Yiqing froze, her resisting hands pausing midair. She turned toward the source of the voice.

At some point, Wen Chi had stood up, holding a glass of golden liquid in his hand. His expression was calm as he looked at the president of Liu’s company. “I’ll drink this for her. Is that alright?”

President Liu, looking pale and weak, paused for a moment. His gaze roamed over Wen Chi’s refined features, and his voice turned openly lewd. “You’ll drink for her?”

“Mm.” Wen Chi didn’t explain why, he simply stood there.

President Liu kept one arm draped over Qin Yiqing’s chair, seeming to weigh whether to agree.

“President Liu, it doesn’t matter who drinks. It’s all about keeping the atmosphere going,” President Li called out, his words laced with the stench of strong alcohol.

President Li hadn’t forgotten that after Wen Chi had downed that first glass of liquor, a faint blush had spread over his fair skin, and the corners of his eyes had taken on a vivid red. It was such an intoxicating sight.

Qin Yiqing looked at Wen Chi.

He once again drained the glass in one go. After setting it down, he remained standing and asked, “Director Chen, when will the audition start?”

“Audition?” Chen Han seemed momentarily taken aback. Realizing what he meant, he smiled dismissively. “No rush. We can do the audition anytime.”

“So you’re saying there’s no audition tonight?”

Chen Han seemed to catch Wen Chi’s meaning. The smile at his lips faded slightly, his gaze darkening. “That’s right.”

As soon as Chen Han finished speaking, Wen Chi gave a faint smile. “In that case, I’ve got something to take care of, so I’ll be leaving first. My apologies.”

His tone was calm, neither humble nor arrogant.

He walked toward the door, though his attention stayed on the people behind him. Strangely, none of them objected to him leaving midway, as if whether he stayed or went didn’t matter in the slightest.

Then, a sharp female scream split the air—“Don’t—!”

Wen Chi whipped around to see President Liu and Chen Han each holding down one of Qin Yiqing’s arms. President Liu’s other hand was forcing a glass of liquor into her mouth. Because she resisted, the liquid spilled from the corners of her lips, trickled down her neck, and seeped into the fabric of her dress, leaving dark stains.

Her boss looked up and saw Wen Chi standing motionless in the doorway, his gaze cold as it rested on Qin Yiqing.

Qin Yiqing hadn’t noticed his presence. After all, when Wen Chi left his seat earlier, she was certain he had gone. She never expected that in the very next moment, the two men beside her would try to force liquor down her throat. One was a business mogul, the other a famous film director and offending either was unthinkable.

Her eyes darted toward her boss, hoping he might help her for the sake of their working relationship. But she seemed to have forgotten that he was the one who brought her here in the first place.

The company boss didn’t move, his indifference like a silent verdict. In his eyes, she could almost read his decision. Despair and fear welled up in her tear-filled gaze.

The others only laughed, with not the faintest hint of wanting to help a woman being humiliated. If anything, they might have been accomplices.

Forced to open her mouth, she felt the burning liquor poured in against her will, the struggle sending it gurgling down her throat, making her choke violently.

As the strap of her dress began to slip from her shoulder, President Liu’s eyes darkened. His hand slowly reached toward the loose strap—

Only for a pale, slender hand to shoot out from the side and seize his wrist, the fingers as elegant and beautiful as their owner.

“President Liu, this doesn’t seem quite right, does it?” Wen Chi’s voice was mild, but his grip was iron-strong despite his lean build.

The sound of his voice froze everyone in place.

Qin Yiqing thought she must be hallucinating. Why would someone who had already left come back? If he could have walked out of here safely, shouldn’t he have run as far as possible?

Her muddled mind couldn’t hold the thought for long. Somehow, she found the strength to break free from the two men’s grasp, clutching at Wen Chi’s clothes and hiding behind him.

“Help me…”

“Please, please help me…”

Facing Wen Chi’s cold eyes, Chen Han wasn’t the least bit intimidated. If anything, he looked at him with interest. “You left, so we could only have her drink instead. That’s normal, isn’t it?”

“Like hell.”

The curse caught Chen Han off guard. “You—”

Wen Chi lifted a hand slightly to shield Qin Yiqing behind him. Sweeping his gaze across the room, he let out a scornful smile. “Forgive me for being blunt, but people like you, who only know how to enjoy life with the lower half of your body, are truly disgusting.”

The company bosses, the men used to being flattered and fawned over, were now being openly insulted by a no-name young actor. One by one, their faces turned as black as coal.

“Wen Chi! Watch your mouth!” Producer Feng slammed the table hard, nostrils flaring at him. “Apologize to Director Chen and the bosses immediately!”

Wen Chi snorted. “Why would I curse you and then apologize? Am I that bored?”

Director Chen’s face was cold, his gaze like a viper’s on its prey. “Wen Chi, do you know who you’re talking to? If I were just a bit more ruthless, the two of you would lose your audition chance right now.”

He said it as if he were a merciful benefactor, implying that without him, Wen Chi and Qin Yiqing would be doomed to a lifetime of poverty.

Wen Chi replied, “If I remember correctly, my company boss told me I was coming here for an audition for a drama role, not to wine and dine a bunch of bosses.”

From behind him, Qin Yiqing nodded in agreement.

“Xiao Qing.” Her boss’s expression shifted subtly as he stared at her. His tone was utterly flat. “Come here and apologize to Director Chen and the others.”

Qin Yiqing’s head shot up, disbelief in her eyes. “You want me to apologize to the people who forced liquor down my throat and tried to take advantage of me against my will?”

Her boss frowned. “If you want fame, want to make it big, want to earn enough money for your brother’s education, this is the only way. If you behave, Director Chen might even give you a better role.”

“How many women in this industry are clean? Don’t pretend to be some pure little flower, you might be climbing into one of our beds the next minute.”

“Hahaha—maybe she’ll climb into all of our beds before long.”

“Alright, we don’t want people saying we bullied you. Just finish this bottle, then dance for us, and we’ll pretend nothing happened.”

The stream of filthy, predatory voices poured into Qin Yiqing’s ears. In agony, she clamped her hands over them. “I don’t want to, I don’t want to…”

President Liu picked up a nearly full bottle of strong liquor, stood, and yanked Qin Yiqing’s slender wrist, dragging her out from behind Wen Chi. Then, before anyone could react, he upended the bottle over her head.

“Aaahhh—!”

President Liu burst into loud laughter.

“What the hell is wrong with you?!”

Even though Wen Chi reacted fast, kicking President Liu away, Qin Yiqing was already drenched in alcohol. The once bright and youthful girl now looked utterly disheveled, the light in her eyes slowly fading.

“F*** you!” Wen Chi’s eyes reddened, veins standing out. Whatever flashed through his mind made the rage explode. He lunged forward, fists pounding into President Liu’s face. Years of drinking, banquets, and indulgence had left the man in no shape to match a young man in his twenties. Pinned to the floor, he could only clutch his face and take the blows.

“Stop… stop…”

“Wen Chi!!!” Producer Feng rushed over to drag him off, raising his hand to slap Wen Chi hard across the face but Wen Chi seemed to anticipate it, turning his head aside to dodge, and drove a fist into Feng’s gut instead.

The others, enraged by his defiance, surged forward to surround him. They refused to believe that a whole group of them couldn’t take down one kid.

Qin Yiqing was frozen by the scene. When she saw someone grab an empty bottle and swing it toward the back of Wen Chi’s head, she screamed, “Wen Chi, behind you!”

He was already stretched thin, and at her voice he instinctively turned his head. Facing multiple opponents, no amount of skill could win against sheer numbers.

A sharp crack rang out. Pain exploded in the back of his skull, and hot blood trickled from the wound, hidden in his dark hair.

Gritting against the pain, Wen Chi twisted toward Qin Yiqing and shouted, “What are you standing there for?! Run!”

“But…” Even terrified, she knew she shouldn’t abandon him.

“Go!!!”

She froze for a second, meeting his bloodshot eyes then choking back tears, she turned and ran from the private room. She didn’t even know where she was heading. Slamming the door open, she stumbled down the stairs.

Sang Sang stared anxiously at the countdown timer, biting her lip as the minutes ticked away. There’s five minutes left until the half-hour mark. Wen Chi still hadn’t messaged her. Still hadn’t appeared. She shot to her feet, ready to rush upstairs, but a startled cry stopped her in her tracks.

“Oh my god, miss, are you alright?!”

The front desk staff, in the middle of checking in guests, heard a noise from the emergency exit stairs. Turning her head, she saw a drenched, bedraggled girl stumble out and collapse to her knees.

The girl couldn’t make out her surroundings. She only instinctively grabbed the nearest ankle, tilting her tear-reddened eyes upward, voice breaking as she poured every ounce of strength into her words. “Please… go save him, go save Wen Chi—”