4 La Chaleur

Crack!

The cue ball flew across the table, smashing into its target. There was a satisfying thump, and the eight-ball sank into the corner pocket, ending the game. The small crowd that had been drawn to the two girls and their heated duel burst into cheers at the crushing victory. Ai Jing straightened up, a smug look on her face.

"That's three in a row, Bella."

"Gah!"

Isabella's expression was a mix of annoyance and begrudging admiration.

"I'm going to beat you one of these days. I swear it."

Ai Jing laughed as she placed her cue back in the rack.

"I look forward to it."

As the crowd dispersed – not before a few men tried to get Ai Jing and Isabella's phone numbers – the two friends returned to their booth near the main dance floor. Sitting next to each other at their circular table, they ordered a bottle of Rose d'Or Champagne. After popping it open, they were soon kicking back, enjoying their sweet, fizzy drink as they gazed out at the bright scene before them.

The La Chaleur Nightclub, a high-end establishment in the heart of the city. Located at the very top of the second tallest skyscraper in the entire province, it was famous for its amazing view, fantastic service, and perhaps most importantly, the seemingly endless list of beverages they had on offer. German craft beers? Canadian ice wine? Argentinian Cabernet? If you could name it, the La Chaleur almost certainly had it.

The locals affectionately referred to the club as the "La Xialou" (translates to "dragged downstairs"), a name that was not only easier to pronounce than the original French, but also aptly described an all too common scene there. Almost every night, some bigshot would drink far more than they could handle, and they would be slowly carried out by their friends and bodyguards, puking the entire elevator ride down.

Even so, the La Chaleur held itself to a very high standard. The entire place was impeccably cleaned and maintained – the table and couch Ai Jing and Isabella were sitting at might have been brand new for all they could tell. Entry was also limited to members and friends of members only, and the 10,000 Yuan membership fee meant that the club was almost exclusively frequented by people who were rich, famous, or both.

Flashing lights, uplifting music, and a flowery aroma that seemed to suffuse the entire place. This was only the second time Ai Jing had ever been there, the first time having been many years ago. Clubbing wasn't exactly her cup of tea, but she could definitely see the appeal. Toss in a bit of champagne, and it quickly became a great way to unwind.

"I was hoping you'd be a bit rusty, Jinjing! It's literally been over a year since we came out together like this!"

Though they were sitting right next to each other, Isabella was shouting her words. With the booming bass of an EDM track hammering against their ears, she would have been impossible to hear otherwise.

"Wasn't I rusty?" Ai Jing shouted back.

Isabella rolled her eyes, jabbing her fist teasingly into Ai Jing's shoulder.

"I've been playing every chance I get, and you still shut me out three-to-one! Does that sound 'rusty' to you?"

"Haha, I guess not!"

Isabella sighed.

"I suppose you did learn from the best!"

And indeed she had. Ai Jing's brother had been something of a pool prodigy, and a pool table was one of the first pieces of furniture he had bought for their penthouse. When Ai Jing was at home and had nothing better to do, she would often play on her own. And on the rare occasions when her brother was off-work during the day, she would sometimes even get free coaching, too.

Now that she thought about it, she hadn't picked up a pool cue a single time since she became CEO. Not until today. She'd just been that preoccupied...

She took another swig of her drink, reveling in the sharp, bubbly goodness.

"Anyways, you should definitely come out more often! I'll introduce you to some of my other friends next time, too! I'm gonna make you forget all the crap you've gone through recently!"

"Sounds good to me!"

The music suddenly hit a fever pitch, and Isabella motioned towards the center of the room.

"Wanna go?"

As Ai Jing nodded yes, she noticed that a number of people on the main floor had stopped dancing, their heads turned towards the entrance to the club.

"Hey. Hey! Is that who I think it is?"

The people at the next table over were standing, pointing in the direction everyone was looking.

"I didn't know he came here!"

Isabella's interest must have been piqued by these words because she also stood up, craning her neck so she could see over the top of the booth.

"What's all this about…"

She trailed off.

"Oh!"

Isabella pulled Ai Jing to her feet.

"You see that guy? That really tall one in the suit! I'm sure you've heard of him before! It's Gao Ming!"

Gao Ming?

It was definitely a name she was very familiar with. It had been mentioned in almost every major meeting she'd ever attended, and never in a positive light, either. Gao Ming… the… chairman? Of Starview International, a massive holdings company that had gotten in Edelweiss's way many times in the past.

And if she remembered correctly, she had also heard his name on that business segment she'd watched, earlier in the day...

She realized she had never actually seen the man. Though truth be told, she wasn't that interested in doing so anyway. He was just another super-rich tycoon. Probably plain looking, maybe a bit large around the belly... But as her eyes fell on Gao Ming's lithe frame, her face scrunched in confusion.

She wasn't going crazy, was she? His features… They reminded her a lot of… Raphael… from her mobile game?!

"Jingjing! Isn't he so, so handsome? Ahhh!"

While Isabella was busy squeeing, Ai Jing rubbed her eyes to try and make sure the champagne wasn't clouding her vision. When she was sure she wasn't just seeing things, she blinked and looked at Gao Ming again. Indeed... the resemblance was there, but it wasn't nearly as strong as when she first laid eyes upon him. That is, all except for one thing.

Under the white strobe light flashing over the room, she could make out that Gao Ming's eyes were a deep, sapphire blue.

"Hey, Bella?"

She nudged her friend.

"I'm not seeing things, am I? His eyes are blue?!"

"They are! He gets them from his mom, I think? She's like… three-quarters European? Or something like that! I don't know the details!"

"Oh! I see."

"Jingjing, have you been living under a rock? He's a pretty popular figure these days! What with his looks and hilariously deadpan personality… I don't know how to put it! But there's something that's just… Oh, that's just magnetic about him!"

By this point, Gao Ming and his entourage had already been shown to their table by a visibly excited waitress. After giving a short bow in thanks, Gao Ming took a seat in the back of the booth, and he was quickly surrounded by hostesses and female patrons alike. His bodyguards, meanwhile, took up their positions a few feet away from the booth, standing quietly at attention.

For whatever reason, Ai Jing found the scene hilarious – one man being bombarded with girls while his suited, sunglasses-wearing friends were forced to stand to the side. It was as if all the unfairness of the world had been summed up in a single image.

She sat back down and started giggling uncontrollably.

"What are you laughing about?"

Isabella was raising her eyebrow at her.

"I don't know, just… how ridiculous everything is, I guess. Did you see how quickly all those girls flocked to his side?"

"It is pretty absurd, isn't it? But at the same time, I can't really blame them. Some good-looking mega-billionaire just strolls right on into here… I almost want to head over to his table myself!"

Ai Jing poured herself another glass of champagne. The rest of the club had slowly begun to get over the excitement of Gao Ming's arrival, and everything was returning to normal. The crowd of girls around Gao Ming had dwindled to just two individuals. She recognized one of them as the rising film star, Lu Xiaoyu. No wonder all the other girls had given up, she mused.

"Oh, crap! I can't believe I forgot!"

"Hm?"

Isabella was typing madly at her phone, her expression distraught.

"I'm so sorry, Jingjing! There's a business partner I'm supposed to be meeting at the airport, but I somehow forgot to account for the time difference. I thought he was arriving tomorrow morning… But he's already here!"

Ai Jing grimaced.

"That doesn't sound good. You better get going, then."

"Yeah, I need to get over there as soon as I can. At least this guy's pretty good-natured, from what I hear. Anyways, you wanna head out too, then? It probably isn't a great idea for you to hang around a nightclub alone."

"Mmm I think I'll stick around for a bit longer."

"Well, if you're sure… Oh, and don't worry about this! Not that it's really a big deal for either of us, hahaha!"

Plucking the tab off the table, Isabella slipped out of the booth.

"I'll see you around, Jingjing."

Isabella hesitated briefly.

"Be safe, okay?"

"Don't worry about me Bella, I'll be fine."

Ai Jing smiled, and the two of them exchanged a wave. With that, Isabella turned her back, quickly ducking out of sight.

Now that she was alone, Ai Jing began to drift away into her thoughts. The music had calmed somewhat too, the heavy electronic tunes from earlier replaced with a mellow house playlist. And as she sipped on her drink, she found her eyes constantly moving back to a single point of interest.

Ai Jing couldn't quite place it. Maybe it was his looks. Maybe it was the fact that he had basically been her enemy when she was the CEO of Edelweiss. She was pretty sure that it wasn't attraction, at least not in that way… But whatever it was, Isabella had definitely been right. There was something magnetic about this Gao Ming.

For a brief moment, he turned his head towards her general direction, and she imagined their gazes met. Just as quickly as he had faced her, however, he was looking away again. How disappointing.

Well…

She finished off her glass, letting out a sigh of contentment as she did so. That was about as much as she could safely drink, and she reached for her phone, intending to call for a cab.

As she gathered her things and moved to get up, however, a man she had never seen before walked up to her booth. He appeared about her age, and he had a smoky sort of look about him – how would she describe it? Boyishly handsome, perhaps?

"Hey! I couldn't help but notice that a pretty girl like yourself was sitting on her own."

He gestured to the spot next to her.

"Mind if I join you?"