141-150

Chapter 141: Master Qin's Birthday Party I

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

"Hurry up! Peihan could get mad," Gu Ning said.

Although Yu Mixi was close with Chu Peihan now, she was still afraid of Chu Peihan. She knew Chu Peihan's temper. If she continued to waste time, Chu Peihan would really get mad.

In the end, Yu Mixi could only go and pick the dress.

Not only did they buy dresses, but they also bought shoes, bags, bracelets and necklaces.

Chu Peihan and Gu Ning spent dozens of thousands of yuan on the clothes and accessories. Yu Mixi didn't want to do so. She only spent two thousand yuan in the shop.

They were merely students, and didn't spend too much on the clothes actually. If they had been those noblewomen, dozens of thousands of yuan wouldn't be enough.

Yu Mixi thought that one dress would be enough, but she ended up buying a short fur coat, a pair of shoes, a bag, bracelet and necklace too. She spent a lot in total. She did try to refuse to do so, but didn't say it aloud.

The next day, Master Qin, Qin Yifan's father, was about to hold his birthday party. Qin Zixun and others gathered together heading to the house of the Qin Family after their afternoon classes.

There were eight of them in all. They needed two cars, and Qin Zixun as well as Hao Ran were the drivers.

However, before they went to the Qin Family's house, the girls needed to change, do their hair and wear makeup first.

They had contacted a makeup store yesterday, and left their clothes there too.

All of them planned to wear light makeup. And there were three makeup artists to help them. It took less than an hour for them to finish all of that.

The party would begin at 8 pm, so they still had plenty of time.

Meanwhile, Hao Ran and other boys were waiting in the parking lot. Within an hour, Gu Ning and the other two girls walked out. At first glance, no one recognized them. The boys were even discussing their good shapes from a distance away, but when the girls came closer, they finally found out who they were, and were all amazed.

Gu Ning, Chu Peihan and Yu Mixi were beauties themselves, but they always wore a school uniform without any makeup at school. They were pretty, but not stunning.

But now…

Let's begin from Yu Mixi!

Yu Mixi wore a slightly fluffy princess dress. It was pink with a round lace neck. She was also wearing a short wide-sleeved pink fur coat, and with the skirt it looked like a set. She had her hair in a bun with a pink bow.

Her shoes were a pair of white five-centimeter high sandals with thick heels.

Yu Mixi looked totally different now, and was full of energy.

Chu Peihan put on a golden silk dress, dotted with crystal sequins. She was also wearing a short black fur coat. Her hair was in big waves. She looked confident.

The eight-centimeter gold high-heels made her seem even taller. She was like a noble queen in the palace.

Gu Ning was wearing a retro dress with a cheongsam-style buckle around her neck. Its sleeves were three-quarter length. The dress was dotted with sparse blue and white patterns. Her fur coat and dress were the same color. Like everyone else, the coat was also short. She loosened her hair with a little decoration at the front. She was in a complete retro style.

Gu Ning had put on the pendant, earrings and bracelets made of Fulushou jade.

She behaved like a well-educated noble girl from a powerful family in the ancient times.

Her outfit wasn't very noticeable, but no one could ignore her outstanding appearance and air. And once your sight fell on her, it couldn't move away.

It was winter, and a little cold outside. The girls were all wearing fur coats to stay warm.

"What do you think?" Seeing the boys were all amazed, Chu Peihan laughed with pride.

"You look gorgeous!"

"Not only beautiful, but also stunning!"

"Indeed! You all look amazingly pretty after the makeup!"

The boys complimented.

However, Chu Peihan was dissatisfied. She squinted at Hao Ran saying, "What do you mean? Aren't we beautiful without makeup?"

Hao Ran immediately realized that he had said something wrong. He explained without delay, "I meant that you all are prettier with the makeup."

"Very well." Chu Peihan was satisfied this time.

"Alright, let's go now. I don't want to be a monkey in the zoo." Facing the looks from people around them, Gu Ning felt uncomfortable.

"I'm not a monkey! I'm a beauty! A beauty," Chu Peihan argued.

After that, the group of them went to the Qin Family's house.

"Ningning, I'm nervous." It was the first time Yu Mixi had attended such a significant party. She was very anxious now.

"Relax. Let's go inside hand in hand," Gu Ning comforted her.

The Qin Family house was located in a high-end villa area in the suburb with a large green land. It seemed more like a resort than a villa. It was a 300-square-meter detached three-floor villa with a garden and a swimming pool. The whole area was about six or seven hundred square meters large.

The family who could afford such a villa here in City F must be extraordinarily rich. Each villa cost at least a few dozen million yuan.

When they arrived at the villa, it was almost seven pm. The guests were mainly famous chairmen and important officials. Most of them came with their families.

"Boss, please wait in the car for a moment. I need to change first before I come out and welcome you," Qin Zixun said.

"Sure," Gu Ning replied.

In the living room, there was light, beautiful music with glasses of champagne. Everyone was having fun, and the atmosphere was harmonious.

There was central heating in the room, so the women all took off their coats wearing just their gowns. They either had the coat in hand, or put it elsewhere.

Qin Yifan, who was in a grey suit with a white, Egyptian cotton shirt and light blue tie, looked handsome and stable.

He paid a lot of attention to prepare for tonight in the aim of attracting Gu Ning and winning her heart.

Chapter 142: Master Qin's Birthday Party II

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Whether he could attract Gu Ning and win her heart remained unknown, but many girls from rich families in the living room already liked him. Many wanted to chat with Qin Yifan, but he was in a discussion with Li Zhenyu and Li Zhenzhen.

Li Zhenyu was also in a suit. People were paying attention to him as well, but with Qin Yifan being there, he seemed less attractive.

Li Zhenzhen was wearing a purple long tube dress with a whole set of jewelry made of medium-high-level jade of the hibiscus type.

However, there were lots of noble girls here today. And many of them were prettier and from richer families than Li Zhenzhen, so she wasn't actually outstanding. If she hadn't been with Qin Yifan, she wouldn't have attracted much attention.

Outside, around 20 minutes later, Qin Zixun and the rest of the boys came back. They were all in black casual suits, good-looking, young and energetic. The minute they appeared, many gazes fell on them. Especially those of the young girls, each of them got excited.

Qin Zixun and other boys went to the car where the girls had waited.

"Boss, why are you taking your backpack?" Chu Peihan noticed that Gu Ning had her backpack in hand when they got out of the car.

"Our gift is inside," Gu Ning answered.

In fact, the glass with deer heads from the Qianlong period was still in her telepathic eye space. There was something else in the backpack. Gu Ning used it as a cover.

Hearing that, Chu Peihan then realized they should send a gift. She totally forgot it. The boys were all surprised too.

"Boss, you prepared a gift?" Qin Zixun felt a little embarrassed. They invited Gu Ning only to have fun, and there was no need to prepare a gift, but now, Gu Ning prepared the gift on her own.

"I'm here to attend the birthday party. Of course I should prepare a gift. It's under our three girls' names. It isn't very expensive after all. Relax," Gu Ning said. She understood Qin Zixun would be embarrassed, so she deliberately explained that it wasn't expensive to comfort him.

Since Gu Ning had already prepared the gift, Qin Zixun could do nothing about it. Thus he didn't say anything further.

"We haven't prepared anything!" Hao Ran scratched his head.

"Exactly! I feel awkward now," Zhang Tianping said.

"Should we go back and prepare the gifts first?" Mu Ke asked.

"I have the same idea!" An Yi added.

"Please…" Qin Zixun didn't know whether to cry or to laugh.

"Well, there is no time for that. The gift can be under all our names. We're merely students. One gift is enough," Gu Ning said. She didn't mind sharing the gift with her friends. In addition, she didn't want to cause a sensation alone.

"It's inappropriate!"

"And we didn't pay for it." The boys said.

"I'm the boss, and I think it's alright," Gu Ning said. Now, no one dared to refuse. Gu Ning handed the backpack to Hao Ran. They walked to the door together.

Qin Zixun and Hao Ran stood at the front, followed by Chu Peihan, Gu Ning and Yu Mixi. Mu Ke, Zhang Tianping and An Yi were at the back. Others who didn't know them would probably think that they were bodyguards.

Everyone dressed up for this party, so their outfits weren't actually that noticeable, but when a group of them showed up people around couldn't help paying attention to them. And when their sights fell on Gu Ning and the girls, their eyes lit up.

Chu Peihan and Gu Ning were gorgeous beauties with elegant air. Yu Mixi was pretty too, but she dressed like a young girl. Men weren't completely visually satisfied to see her. They fixed their eyes more on Chu Peihan and Gu Ning.

When they stepped in the door, the girls took off their coats leaving them to the boys.

The minute they appeared in the living room, more gazes fell on them. Men appreciated the girls, while women were mostly jealous of them.

Qin Yifan also noticed Gu Ning. His heart lost a beat all of a sudden. He soon got his mind back, walking towards them without delay. He even forgot to excuse himself to Li Zhenyu and Li Zhenzhen.

Seeing Gu Ning, Li Zhenzhen was also surprised by her beauty. She was so envious of Gu Ning, especially when Qin Yifan left her for Gu Ning.

"Zhenzhen, calm down." Although Li Zhenyu was displeased too, he understood it wasn't a good time to annoy Gu Ning right now.

Li Zhenzhen forced herself to calm down.

Gu Ning didn't miss the looks of Li Zhenzhen. She gave her a meaningful smile. Li Zhenzhen immediately turned away.

"Welcome!" Qin Yifan greeted all of them, but he only looked at Gu Ning. He was curious to see her reaction when he appeared in her sight.

However, to his disappointment, Gu Ning didn't seem impressed. She called him as usual, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Qin."

"Hi, my cousin Yifan!"

"Nice to meet you!"

The others all greeted him.

Although Qin Yifan was a little disappointed, he didn't show it. "Follow me please. The party hasn't begun yet."

They walked to a sofa aside. Most of the guests were walking around, chatting with people and building network. There were very few people sitting. In addition, there weren't enough seats for so many people to sit.

"Gu Ning?" Right at that moment, a female voice sounded.

Before seeing the person, Gu Ning already knew who she was from her voice.

Gu Ning stopped, looking over. It was exactly An Qian. She was in a light blue deep V-neck gown. The color accentuated her charming white skin. She was wearing a blue diamond necklace, bracelet and a pair of earrings. Her hair was fastened high in a bun. She looked sexy and charming.

The man standing next to An Qian was Le Zhengyu. He was also in a light blue suit. His suit matched An Qian's dress on purpose.

Le Zhengyu was as handsome as Qin Yifan. Compared with Qin Yifan, Le Zhengyu seemed more mature. He was more attractive to women in reality, but An Qian was beside him. And they were apparently close, so no one dared to interrupt them.

Chapter 143: A Male Gold Digger?

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

"An Qian, Executive Le," Gu Ning greeted them.

"Miss Gu, nice to meet you," Le Zhengyu greeted her.

"Hi, Executive Le, Miss An." Qin Yifan came over.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Qin," An Qian and Le Zhengyu said.

"I was wondering who is so attractive! It's you!" An Qian looked at Gu Ning joking.

"It was our group of people entering together. It's hard to ignore us," Gu Ning said. She was being modest.

An Qian smiled. She then noticed a familiar figure behind Gu Ning. She was slightly surprised. "Yi, don't you hate these parties? Why are you here today?"

"Cousin Qian, since my close friends are all here, I didn't want to be alone," An Yi answered.

Gu Ning was astonished to find out that An Yi and An Qian were cousins!

"Alright! You all have fun. We need to greet our other friends there," An Qian herself wanted to talk with Gu Ning, but Le Zhengyu needed to socialize with his friends. As his female partner, An Qian had to follow him.

After that, An Qian and Le Zhengyu left.

Qin Yifan guided Gu Ning and others to a sofa. Qin Zixun understood that Qin Yifan would be busy tonight, so he said, "Brother, you can go and welcome the other guests. I'll handle it here."

"Great! You all have fun. I must leave now." Although Qin Yifan wanted to talk with Gu Ning, he was occupied tonight. He told Qin Zixun to take care of them before walking away.

Seeing that Qin Yifan was finally alone now, some girls from noble families immediately went to chat with him. Out of politeness, Qin Yifan behaved like a gentleman, even though he disliked them.

"What do you want to drink? I'll get it for you," Qin Zixun asked his friends.

"Red wine please," Gu Ning said.

"Me too," Chu Peihan added.

"Orange juice please!" Yu Mixi said. She was still not used to drinking wine.

The boys all ordered red wine as well.

Some men around them had the intention to chat with the girls, but Qin Zixun and other boys were there too. They behaved like bodyguards, sitting or standing beside the girls. No man dared to come near. And some girls who wanted to chat with the boys all stayed away too.

"With you all standing here, no one dares to chat with us," Chu Peihan joked.

"I don't think a man who randomly chats with beautiful girls is a gentleman. Besides, look at their faces! I think we're much more handsome than them!" Qin Zixun said.

"Exactly, we're young and good-looking. Aren't you satisfied with that?" Hao Ran added.

"We're too familiar with each other. I get bored," Chu Peihan said.

Qin Zixun and the boys were speechless.

Meanwhile, some saw a familiar face. It was Qin Zheng.

Qin Zheng's family wasn't a rich family, but a powerful one. Thus his family had received an invitation letter too.

As for those businessmen who only had dozens of million yuan of wealth, they weren't qualified to get an invitation letter. The guests here were either the super-rich, or the authorities. The super-rich ones all had hundreds of million yuan of wealth, while the powerful ones were at least in the positions of vice director of a department.

Qin Zheng's family name was Qin too, but he had nothing to do with Qin Yifan's family.

Qin Zheng was a tall handsome boy. He was wearing a formal suit, and looked mature. Many girls found him attractive as well.

"What is he doing here? Is he a male gold digger here for the super-rich girls?" Hao Ran asked with curiosity.

"Ha-ha." Hearing that, Gu Ning and others laughed out loud. They knew Hao Ran was joking, but they couldn't deny it.

Parents attended such parties to build or strengthen network. And their children were here for the same aim: to have or maintain a close relationship with the second generation of the super-rich or the authorities.

If anyone could settle a marital alliance, it would be much better. Everyone was here for an aim. Benefit was the most important motivation.

Qin Zheng had been with Gu Xiaoxiao because he approved her background. Although Gu Xiaoxiao's family was scarcely comparable with the families in this party tonight, she was the best Qin Zheng could get. And the real super-rich girls couldn't care less about Qin Zheng's family.

It was fine to become friends with Qin Zheng, but no super-rich girl really wanted to marry him.

Before long, Qin Zheng also noticed Gu Ning and others. Especially when he saw Gu Ning, he was completely stunned by her beauty.

He was aware that Gu Ning and Qin Zixun were friends, which was the reason Gu Ning was here. He also knew that Gu Ning was beautiful, but she was stunning tonight after she had dressed up.

All of a sudden, Qin Zheng fell in love. He was so regretful that he had broken up with Gu Ning.

In addition, he didn't care about Gu Ning's background any more at that moment. He clearly knew that he fell in love with Gu Ning now.

Unfortunately, he didn't dare to come up to talk to her.

Chu Peihan approached Gu Ning gloating over Qin Zheng's misfortune. "Look at his gaze on you! He must be greatly regretful!"

Actually, Chu Peihan never understood why Gu Ning, who was an excellent girl, had been with Qin Zheng before. Even though it was the truth, Chu Peihan couldn't believe it.

Indeed, if the old Gu Ning had been today's Gu Ning, she would have been together with Qin Zheng, but today's Gu Ning was totally different from the old one.

Gu Ning only smiled but didn't say a word.

She apparently noticed the regret on Qin Zheng's face, but she didn't care. She had never respected him.

A few minutes later, An Guangyao got there too. However, the minute he appeared, an ironic male voice sounded, "Oh! Isn't this Chairman An of Shenghua Real Estate? I heard you've sold your company already. And you're still the chairman, oh, the executive chairman to be specific. Congratulations!"

Congratulations?

An Guangyao almost went bankrupt, but the man congratulated him still?

The man obviously did it on purpose to make fun of An Guangyao. And everyone present knew it.

The business world was like the war field. Not many of the businessmen could be real good friends. Therefore, not only the man, but other businessmen were also happy to see that An Guangyao was in trouble.

Chapter 144: Hao Ran's Parents

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

However, others also disliked the man's behavior. It was Master Qin's birthday party. He shouldn't cause An Guangyao trouble right now, and he would only leave a bad impression on the Qin Family.

The man was named Wu Lianqin, a president of a branch of a giant group in City F. He was the same age as An Guangyao.

This branch was involved in the real estate industry and had one billion yuan in assets. Wu Lianqing, as the president, owned 25% shares of this branch. His net wealth was two or three hundred million yuan at most.

Wu Lianqin was ambitious. He had planned to acquire Shenghua Real Estate as his own private property, but he hadn't been willing to pay a reasonable price for it. Thus Gu Ning had seized the chance.

An Guangyao was annoyed, but he didn't show it on his face. He replied, "Oh, I almost went bankrupt, but President Wu still congratulated me. That's interesting!"

"Chairman An, please don't be mad at me. I didn't mean that at all. I congratulated you only because you kept your job as the chairman of Shenghua Real Estate," Wu Lianqin explained. He of course wouldn't admit it.

"Well, President Wu, I don't think you need to explain it. You will only make it worse. You congratulated me because I kept my job as the chairman. However, I could keep my job only because I sold my company. Otherwise, I wouldn't need to work as an employee, and the company would still belong to me," An Guangyao said.

"You…" Wu Lianqin didn't know what to say. He realized that he had been rude. He wanted to make fun of An Guangyao, but now he was a joke himself. "Chairman An, if you insist on saying that, I can't do anything about it."

Then Wu Lianqin walked away, like he was the victim.

An Guangyao let him go. It wasn't appropriate to cause a scene at this party after all.

He turned and immediately noticed Gu Ning and her friends. An Guangyao was amazed by Gu Ning's outfit. This girl could always surprise you.

An Guangyao walked towards them. An Yi greeted him at once. The others did the same thing without delay.

In public, An Guangyao had to keep his relationship with Gu Ning a secret, so he treated her the same way he treated the younger generation.

After a while, a couple stepped up to them, but before they came near, the woman opened her mouth. "Ha, there you are. I told you to come with us, but you refused. I thought you're not interested in this party. Unexpectedly, you secretly came here with your friends."

Gu Ning and the others didn't know who they were, and they were puzzled. Right at that moment, Hao Ran replied with obvious dislike, "I didn't want to come with you adults! I want to be with my friends."

Hearing that, Gu Ning and the others immediately realized that this couple was Hao Ran's parents.

"Don't you want to see me? Honey, look at him. Our son dislikes us," the woman complained like a child to the man beside her.

Um…

Gu Ning and others were struck dumb. Was this Hao Ran's mother? She was so adorable!

However, both Hao Ran and his father, Hao Zhonglong rolled their eyes with one accord. Hao Ran said, "Mom, it's a public place. Could you please behave normally?"

"What did you say?" Hao Ran's mother suddenly changed her face, like she was irritated.

Gu Ning and others were once again surprised by Hao Ran's mother's quick reaction, but it was much easier to get along with such a delightful person.

"Chairman An, please don't mind her." Hao Zhonglong ignored Hao Ran and his wife, talking to An Guangyao instead.

"Chairman Hao, so nice to meet you! I don't mind at all," An Guangyao replied. He shook hands with Hao Zhonglong.

Hao Zhonglong ran a business in the hotel and catering industry with five hundred million yuan of wealth. His company was ranked just behind Shenghua Real Estate in City F according to the assets. The two families didn't have any conflict in business, so they got along well.

In addition, An Guangyao and Hao Zhonglong now found out that their sons were close friends already. They naturally became friendlier to each other.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Hao," Gu Ning and others greeted them.

When Mrs. Hao noticed the three girls, her eyes lit up. "What three beautiful girls you are! Is there any of you who like my son? Are you willing to marry my son?"

Everyone didn't know what to say all of a sudden.

"Mom…" Hao Ran failed to argue back.

"Alright, let's stop bothering those kids, and go over there to greet other people!" Hao Zhonglong pulled his wife away at once, in case she would continue to surprise those children.

"Oh, wait…" Mrs. Hao apparently wanted to say something more, but she was pulled away by her husband.

"Um, my mom behaves like a child sometimes. Please don't mind her," Hao Ran explained.

"It's fine. I think you mother is adorable," Gu Ning said.

"Well, I need to socialize with my friends too. You all have fun," An Guangyao said then he walked away.

Although An Guangyao wasn't the owner of the Shenghua Real Estate now, he was still the chairman with absolute executive right. And his business partners were willing to maintain a good relationship with him as usual.

After that, Gu Ning and her friends went back to eat and drink.

"Mu Ke, I haven't seen you parents yet," Hao Ran asked. It was almost 8 pm, but Hao Ran's parents were absent.

"Oh, my father is on a business trip. He isn't available, so he let his secretary come here on behalf of him," Mu Ke said.

When there were only a few minutes away from 8 pm, Qin Yifan's father, Qin Haozheng arrived.

Qin Haozheng was in a black Chinese tunic suit. He was sixty, but still strong and tough.

There was a woman in her early fifties to the right of Qin Haozheng. She was in a dark red cheongsam. The color of her clothes matched his. This woman was Qin Haozheng's wife, Qin Yifan's mother.

To the left of Qin Haozheng stood a woman in her late thirties. She was in a rose red cheongsam. The woman was Qin Yifan's elder sister, Qin Yiqing.

Qin Haozheng and his wife had their only son, Qin Yifan, at a very old age. Thus they had spoiled him ever since he had been a baby, but they were also strict parents when it came to education. Therefore, Qin Yifan hadn't been spoiled rotten, but had grown up to be an outstanding man.

Now, Qin Yifan was gradually taking over his family business.

The minute that Qin Haozheng appeared, the crowd became quiet. Everyone focused on him.

After a short speech, it was the time of sending gifts.

The first group naturally was the people from the Qin Family. Qin Haozheng's younger brother, Qin Zixun's father, Qin Haozhi was the first one.

Qin Haozhi was the general secretary in the committee of City F.

Gu Ning didn't know Qin Zixun's father was a powerful official until now.

Chapter 145: Birthday Gifts

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

However, Qin Haozhi was an honest official. He hadn't prepared a very expensive gift, but sent his older brother his blessing calligraphy. Qin Haozhi was famous for his excellent handwriting in City F so it was actually a good gift. They were family, and valued sincerity the most.

The second one was Qin Haozheng's eldest daughter, Qin Yiqing.

Qin Yiqing was a clothing designer, so she designed a Chinese tunic suit for her father. She used the best materials she could afford.

Qin Yiqing's husband sent his father-in-law a pair of decorations made of medium-high-level jade. They were in the shape of lion heads with Qilin patterns, and worth a lot. Because the jade was valuable, Qin Haozheng liked the gift very much.

Qin Yifan was the next one. He sent his father a wide jade ring made of the King's Green. Although the King's Green was only as big as a quail's egg, it was enough for a wide jade ring.

Knowing that it was made of the King's Green, the crowd erupted into discussion. Qin Haozheng was also stunned. He couldn't believe that it was real. He took the wide jade ring, and checked it. It proved to be the real King's Green. Qin Haozheng's face was aglow with happiness.

"Yifan, where did you get the King's Green?" Qin Haozheng asked.

"My friend happened to have a small King's Green to sell, so I bought it. I got the carver from Yicui Jade-store to carve it," Qin Yifan explained. Gu Ning had told him not to tell others that this King's Green was from her, because she didn't want to attract unnecessary attention. Therefore, Qin Yifan didn't say her name.

Other than the wide jade ring, Qin Yifan had used the rest of the jade to make a necklace, and kept it himself.

"Oh," Qin Yifan said taking out another box, "I've prepared a gift for mother too."

"Really? I can receive a gift as well? What is it?" Mrs. Qin was surprised.

"Have a look yourself, please." Qin Yifan didn't directly tell his mother what it was, but let her open it herself.

Qi Yifan's mother had been married to his father for so many years that she was very familiar with different kinds of jade.

"Do you still want to keep it a secret?" His mother wore a smile and opened the gift.

There was a pendant with three colors in a wing's shape as wide as a thumb, and a pair of round earrings.

Seeing that it was jade again, Qin Haozheng immediately took it, having a closer look. After a while, Qin Haozheng's eyes went bright with excitement. "This-this is Fulushou jade!"

It caused a sensation once more. Qin Yifan was being really generous with his money today!

"Did you buy this from your friend too?" Qin Haozheng asked.

"Yes," Qin Yifan answered. And Qin Haozheng stopped asking.

Then, it was the time for those guests to show their presents. The gifts were naturally all valuable. The price ranged from hundreds of thousands to several million yuan.

Only a minority of the guests sent a gift at the price of several million yuan. It wasn't appropriate if the gift was too expensive after all. And there could be a rumor that the sender of the gift wanted to ride on the Qin Family's coattails.

Everyone knew Qin Haozheng liked Jade, but it wasn't easy to get jade of high quality. Besides, the price of good jade was too high.

Like the gifts from Qin Yiqing's husband and Qin Yifan, even the cheapest one was worth seven million yuan.

Not only Li Zhenyu and his younger sister, but also their father, Li Shengming, was here in person. Li Shengming and Qin Haozheng were close friends, and Li Shengming couldn't miss his good brother's birthday party.

The gift from the Li Family was certainly extraordinary. It was a brave troops 1 made of a medium-high-level jade. Because the jade wasn't big, the size of the brave troops was limited, but it was still worth over ten million yuan.

When it was An Guangyao's turn, he took out the The Pond and The People handed to him by Gu Ning.

Once the landscape painting was shown, the crowd became excited again. Wu Guanzhong was a famous modern artist, so most people had heard of his name.

They weren't shocked by the price of this painting, but its value. There were many things without a price tag after all.

"What? Is it really Wu Guanzhong's landscape painting, The Pond and The People ? Let me have a look!" An old man in his seventies was thrilled. He stood up walking over at once.

This man was the curator of the museum and the head of the Antiques Association, Gu Changjiang.

Gu Changjiang wasn't questioning the authenticity of this The Pond and The People in An Guangyao's hands. He merely couldn't wait to see it.

Qin Haozheng was also excited, because he had a great interest in antiques and paintings too.

An Guangyao knew that Gu Changjiang was an important figure, so he gave the painting to him without delay. Qin Haozheng came near immediately, followed by other art lovers.

In the beginning, some didn't believe that it was real, because the authentic one was rare, but after a while, Gu Changjiang proved it was real.

He said, "A few years ago, The Snow of Peking was sold at the price of five million yuan. This The Pond and The People must be more expensive than it!"

Knowing that, everyone took a long breath. The price of this painting was higher than five million yuan.

At the same time, everyone believed An Guangyao sent this very valuable gift for an aim. He must be fawning on the Qin Family. Therefore, many people gave him an unkind look.

An Guangyao didn't mind though, but explained, "Master Qin, I assume you must already know that I've sold my company. Actually, this painting is from the real boss of Shenghua Real Estate. My boss coincidentally bought it with only a thousand yuan in the antique market. Please take it if you like it."

What? A thousand yuan?

Hearing that, everyone rounded their eyes in shock.

A thousand yuan to buy a valuable painting at the price of five million yuan? It was unbelievable!

If it was true, the real boss who had bought Shenghua Real Estate must be an outstanding person!

"Ha-ha, I of course like it very much!" Qin Haozheng laughed. This gift was right up his alley! He didn't even want to disguise his happiness.

Although he was curious about who the real boss of Shenghua Real Estate was, he didn't ask the question. Since the real boss wanted to keep it a secret, he didn't bother to find out the answer.

The guests continued to show their gifts. Some also sent antiques at the price from hundreds of thousand yuan to several million yuan.

Although the price wasn't low, no other gift was more valuable than The Pond and The People . Gu Changjiang might have taken a look at the other gifts, but he wasn't as excited.

Chapter 146: An Ugly Smile

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

When the part of sending gifts almost ended, Gu Ning took her backpack from Mu Ke. She stepped back to where no one noticed her. Gu Ning opened her backpack exchanging what was in it with the gift she had prepared. She then returned with the gift in her hands leaving the backpack with Mu Ke again.

Qin Yifan paid attention to Gu Ning from time to time. He saw Gu Ning coming back with a wooden box in her hands. It was 20 centimeters wide, and 30 centimeters long. Without a doubt, it was the gift for his father.

He didn't expect that Gu Ning would be here with a present. It wasn't his intention.

Once Gu Ning walked ahead, everyone focused on her. Some were amazed. Some were appreciating her beauty, while some were jealous of her. Gu Ning ignored them directly.

Qin Haozheng didn't know Gu Ning. He only thought that she must be a well-educated girl from a noble family.

"Master Qin, it's so nice to meet you. My name's Gu Ning, a friend of Qin Yifan and Qin Zixun. It's my honor to be here tonight. Please allow me to represent my group of friends, may your happiness be as immense as the East Sea, and may you live as long as the Zhongnan Mountains!" Gu Ning said.

"Very well. Thanks you so much, Miss Gu," Qin Haozheng smiled.

Qin Yifan stepped forward to take the box. According to the rules, he needed to announce the name of the gift.

The minute Qin Yifan opened the box seeing the name on the card, he was astonished. He glanced at Gu Ning and her friends, then slightly raised his voice, "A glass with deer heads from the Qianlong period in the Qing Dynasty."

"What? Are you sure?" Hearing that, Gu Changjiang once again stood up all of a sudden. He immediately approached.

Qin Haozheng did the same thing.

People who had heard of the glass were all surprised. And those who hadn't heard of it knew that it must be very rare because Gu Changjiang was so thrilled.

Gu Changjiang held the glass in his hands carefully. He checked it for a long time with excitement on his face.

Although this glass was cheaper than The Pond and The People , it was as valuable as the landscape painting. It was an antique from the Qianlong period after all! And it was even in soft pastels.

Qin Zheng didn't believe that Gu Ning had paid for this glass, because she was too poor to afford it. It must be the others who had bought it.

The part of sending gifts ended. The party went on, and everyone enjoyed it.

Li Zhenzhen wanted to talk with Qin Yifan to stop him from getting near to Gu Ning, but she was too late to do that. Qin Yifan was already standing by Gu Ning. Li Zhenzhen was so mad, but she didn't dare to interrupt them.

She was afraid Gu Ning would tell Qin Yifan what she had done to her.

Li Zhenzhen wasn't the most stunning lady in this party, but she was beautiful. Many men tried to chat with her, but Li Zhenzhen only wanted Qin Yifan. She turned them down with the excuse that she didn't feel well.

Those men didn't show their displeasure for the sake of Li Zhenzhen's background, but they disdained her behavior in their hearts.

Qin Yifan apologized to Gu Ning, "I invite you all to have fun here tonight. I don't expect that you prepared a gift. I'm sorry to let you spend so much money on it."

Chu Peihan and others felt a little embarrassed, because they hadn't prepared the gift at all. Gu Ning actually handled it alone.

"It's nothing," Gu Ning said airily.

Qin Yifan smiled and dropped the topic. He asked with care instead, "Do you feel at ease at this party?"

"Yes," Gu Ning answered. In her previous incarnation, she had attended countless parties. She was totally accustomed to it.

"That's good to hear," Qin Yifan said.

At that time, a young couple walked over.

The man was Wei Zhirui, but the woman was unfamiliar to Gu Ning.

"Miss Gu, it's been a while," Wei Zhirui said to Gu Ning.

"Mr. Wei, nice to meet you!" Gu Ning said. She then nodded to the young woman beside him with a kind smile on face. The woman smiled back as greeting.

Gu Ning didn't know their relationship, so she didn't call the woman randomly.

"Are you used to living in the Fenghua Luxury Mansion?" Wei Zhirui asked.

"Yes, thank you for asking, Mr. Wei," Gu Ning replied.

"It's my pleasure! You are the client introduced to me by my good brother. I of course need to care more about you! Otherwise, my good brother would be displeased," Wei Zhirui said, half joking.

Gu Ning just smiled a little.

The couple didn't stay long before they left.

Qin Yifan wanted to stay longer by Gu Ning's side, but as the host, he couldn't spend all his time and energy on only one of his guests. Therefore, he walked away after a short while.

As soon as Qin Yifan left, Gu Ning found out that the jealous looks that had been on her the whole time was finally removed too.

It must have been from Li Zhenzhen.

Gu Ning looked over seeing Li Zhenzhen sitting in a corner alone. She took her wine glass, and said something to Chu Peihan and other before walking to Li Zhenzhen.

Li Zhenzhen fixed her eyes on Qin Yifan, so she didn't notice that Gu Ning was coming over. When she realized it, Gu Ning was right before her.

Li Zhenzhen felt anxious, but it was too late to avoid her. Besides, if she avoided her in front of Gu Ning's face. It would be too clear that she was afraid of Gu Ning.

Although Li Zhenzhen was frightened by Gu Ning her pride would never allow her to escape while in Gu Ning's sight.

"Miss Li, so nice to meet you, again." Gu Ning smiled greeting to Li Zhenzhen. The fake smile on her face was quiet sarcastic.

"Oh! Nice to meet you again." In the public, Li Zhenzhen had to greet Gu Ning back, but her smile was even uglier than a crying face.

"Unfortunately, Miss Li is here with your brother and father tonight, or I would treat Miss Li well," Gu Ning said in a meaningful way.

Would treat her well? Did Gu Ning want to hurt her?

"You…" Li Zhenzhen was annoyed, but she had to curb it. "Gu Ning, don't be so mean!"

��Am I being mean? Miss Li, I don't understand." Gu Ning pretended to be puzzled.

"You…" Li Zhenzhen was so mad, but didn't dare to tell the truth.

Seeing that Li Zhenzhen couldn't do anything but swallow her anger, Gu Ning was greatly pleased. She stopped pretending, but said it plainly, "Li Zhenzhen, I told you that you must bear the consequences of what you've done to me. However, when and where I'll pay you back totally depends on me. I assume you must already know that those hoodlums are still in the hospital right now."

Chapter 147: What does Gu Ning want?

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

And how Gu Ning would get revenge was also up to her mood.

"You…" Li Zhenzhen's face turned pale in fear. Her body tightened.

The minute Li Zhenyu noticed that Gu Ning was with Li Zhenzhen, he knew that something must be wrong. He walked to them without delay.

Seeing that, Gu Ning didn't waste her time, but left at once.

"Zhenzhen, what did she say to you?" Watching Li Zhenzhen being scared, Li Zhenyu asked with worry.

"She said I should bear the consequences of what I've done to her," Li Zhenzhen said. Her voice was trembling.

"Damn it! Damn that Gu Ning! What does she want?" Li Zhenyu lost his patience. A long time had passed after what Li Zhenzhen had done to Gu Ning, but Gu Ning hadn't done anything ever since it had happened. Meanwhile, she always threatened Li Zhenzhen that she would get revenge. What did Gu Ning want?

Both Li Zhenzhen and Li Zhenyu didn't tell their father what had happened. They still didn't want their father to find out.

The birthday party ended at 10 pm. Gu Ning and her friends left.

Qin Yifan wanted to drive Gu Ning home, but he wasn't available now so he could only let Qin Zixun do it.

An Yi went back home with his father.

As for the rest, Hao Ran and Qin Zixun would send them home.

Gu Ning and Yu Mixi were in Hao Ran's car, while Zhang Tianping, Mu Ke and Chu Peihan were in Qin Zixun's car.

"I've noticed you were talking with the girl named Gu Ning most of your time tonight. Do you like her?" Qin Yiqing walked to Qin Yifan's side and asked.

Although it was a question, Qin Yiqing already knew that the answer was affirmative. As Qin Yifan's older sister, she knew her younger brother very well.

Qin Yifan seldom talked a lot with females. Even with Li Zhenzhen, who he had grown up with, Qin Yifan remained quiet a lot.

In addition, Qin Yifan couldn't help glancing at Gu Ning from time to time, and his gentle attitude towards her explained everything already.

"Yes!" Qin Yifan didn't bother to deny it. He couldn't lie to himself now. Yes, he liked Gu Ning, but unluckily, in Gu Ning's eyes, he was only an ordinary friend for now. Qin Yifan had no idea how he should chase Gu Ning.

"I've never heard of a super-rich family with the family name of Gu," Qin Yiqing said. It was obvious that she demanded that the girl must be from an equal family.

Qin Yifan was upset at once. He said with displeasure, "I don't care."

"Nevertheless, our family cares. We don't demand that you have to marry a woman from a family as rich and powerful as ours, but she can't be a random girl. I think Zhenzhen is an excellent choice." Actually, Qin Yiqing said that not because she liked Li Zhenzhen, but because she knew Li Zhenzhen so well. For now, Li Zhenzhen was the best choice.

"I only regard Zhenzhen as my younger sister. I won't marry her, alright. Please don't get involved in my personal affairs," Qin Yifan said with impatience. He then ignored Qin Yiqing, turning and heading to his room.

Qin Yiqing let him go, but she had an evil idea in her mind. Since Qin Yifan wouldn't listen to her, she could only deal with Gu Ning now. The Qin Family would never allow him to marry an ordinary woman.

Li Zhenzhen was hiding not far away from them. She heard their talk clearly. She had sensed Qin Yifan's affection towards Gu Ning, but it was totally unacceptable to her when she heard it herself.

Li Zhenzhen hated Gu Ning to the death. She wanted Gu Ning to disappear right away, but now, she couldn't do anything. If Qin Yifan found out about what she had done, their relationship would be ruined.

Yu Mixi changed her clothes before she went back home, because she didn't know how to explain it to her father.

Gu Ning didn't have that problem. She went straight home in her gown. Gu Man complimented her continuously.

When Gu Ning had just changed her clothing, she received a message from Qin Yifan. He asked her whether she was home or not.

Gu Ning sent a message back: "I'm home now."

Qin Yifan: "Great."

Actually, Qin Yifan wanted to say more, but didn't know what to begin with. He didn't have the courage to tell Gu Ning that he liked her yet.

…

Time flew. It was Friday already. Gu Ning had been living a peaceful life these past few days. Because of what happened to Gu Xiaoxiao, both Chen Ziyao and Shao Feifei kept a distance away from Gu Ning.

For now, they didn't dare to annoy Gu Ning, but it didn't mean that they hated Gu Ning less.

In the afternoon on Thursday though, Qin Zheng had come to Gu Ning. He had wanted to talk to her, but had been refused by Gu Ning.

Zhang Yiming and Fu Mingliang didn't understand why Qin Zheng had done that. They asked him whether he liked Gu Ning for real now. Qin Zheng wasn't sure whether he liked Gu Ning, but he was sure that he regretted breaking up with her.

He probably really liked Gu Ning now. The only reason why he hesitated was that he hadn't fully accepted Gu Ning's poor family. However, even though he accepted Gu Ning's everything now, he knew that Gu Ning had lost interest in him already. She was more and more indifferent to him.

However, he wouldn't give up. Why had Gu Ning been so normal when they were together? And once they had broken up, she suddenly became so outstanding! The more Qin Zheng couldn't accept the truth, the more he wanted to get Gu Ning.

Early in the morning, Chu Peihan told everyone that her older brother invited them to have a meal together.

In fact, Chu Peihan did it on purpose. She wanted Gu Ning to have a fight with Chu Xuanfeng. She was curious to see who the winner would be. Hao Ran and others were all happy to hear that. They were also eager to know if their boss could defeat Chu Peihan's older brother.

Chu Peihan had said that her older brother was really good and had trained like a professional.

This weekend, Gu Ning had no plan to go to City G because there was nothing she needed to deal with herself. Everything went on smoothly. Zhou Zhenghong told her that the registration and other documents could be done by the next Monday.

They had also hired 10 staff members. A male store manager, five saleswomen, one male after-sale service worker and one female office worker, as well as two guards who were retired soldiers.

They offered a high salary with great benefits, so there were many interviewees. They soon hired enough people with experience.

Once the people were employed, the training started. During the training, the employees could get their pay already, thus they all worked hard.

The decoration of the shop would be finished after four days. And the opening ceremony was on the next Saturday. What they needed to do right now was advertising.

They had worked twenty-four seven to make jewelry. The machines had already produced over a hundred pieces of jewelry.

It was much slower to make jewelry by hand, so there were only a dozen handmade ones, but each of them was of high quality.

Gu Ning had also told Zhou Zhenghong to advertise the King's Green mainly.

They planned to promote the King's Green by reservation. The first come, first served. And the number of clients was limited by the consumption of the jade.

Chapter 148: Accident in the V5 Bar

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

However, each client could only reserve one piece of jewelry. This King's Green was big enough to make four bracelets, two wide jade rings, several pendants and several pairs of earrings.

If the size of the jewelry was smaller, the amount of it could increase a little bit.

Actually, Gu Ning wasn't very hopeful that there would be many clients to reserve the King's Green. Its price was too high after all. Not many could afford it, or were willing to pay a fortune for it, but it was still a good promotional plan.

In the afternoon, Gu Qinyang told Gu Qinxiang that he had settled the school. It was a normal high school, No. 2 High School, in City G. Gu Xiaoxiao could go and register on Monday.

Even though, Gu Qinxiang was satisfied already. Gu Qinyang asked Gu Qinxiang whether Gu Xiaoxiao would live in the dormitory or outside the school. If she lived outside, she needed to rent a house first.

In fact, Gu Qinyang turned to the No. 2 High School on purpose. It was far away from his home, so that Gu Xiaoxiao couldn't stay in his place.

Gu Qinxiang wasn't in the mood to deal with this mess now. He understood his daughter's character, thus he let Gu Qinyang find an apartment for Gu Xiaoxiao near the school. He planned to buy Gu Xiaoxiao a house when she went to university.

When the afternoon classes were over, Chu Peihan and her friends took a taxi heading straight to the hotel where Chu Xuanfeng had booked a room. It was a five-star hotel in the downtown.

When they arrived there, Chu Xuanfeng was waiting for them.

Seeing Gu Ning, Chu Xuanfeng was a little uneasy. He wasn't confident enough that he could beat Gu Ning. It would be super embarrassing if he lost, but he couldn't behave like a coward. Therefore, he wore a calm and relaxed face even though he wasn��t confident.

"Nice to meet you all! Come on and have a seat," Chu Xuanfeng said to them, like he was their older brother next door. No one would believe that such a gentleman was the vice-chairman of the Qing Gang. Chu Xuanfeng's appearance lied.

"Nice to meet you too, brother Chu!"

Everyone knew that he was Chu Peihan's older brother, so they all called him "Brother Chu".

After they were all seated, they started to order one by one.

When the waiter was gone, Hao Ran said, "Brother Chu, Peihan told us you're going to have a fight with our boss. I assume you must be very good at fighting! I've never seen our boss lose a competition yet!"

Hearing that, Chu Xuanfeng felt cornered. He also knew that Gu Ning was powerful, and he wasn't sure of himself at all.

"I'm not going to have a competition with Gu Ning, but learn from her," Chu Xuanfeng explained. It seemed as if he was being modest, but it was also a great way to save his face if he lost.

"Don't flatter me. I could easily beat you down because you all are too weak. Brother Chu is different," Gu Ning said. Although she was confident, she couldn't be arrogant. In addition, it was too early to know the result.

Hao Ran and others felt awkward when Gu Ning said they were all too weak, but they weren't mad at Gu Ning, because she told the truth.

After that, they chatted for a while longer.

When they finished the meal, they went to an empty place with few people around. Gu Ning and Chu Xuanfeng were about to have a fight.

However, just as they walked out of the hotel, Hao Ran received a call from the manager of V5 bar. Some people were causing trouble in the bar. Therefore, they decided to postpone the competition, getting into a car heading to V5 bar instead.

The bar was located in downtown too, so it only took them several minutes to get there.

In V5 bar, the consumers were all gone. The music was stopped while the lights were on bright. There were two groups of people standing against each other with broken chairs, desks and bottles scattered around.

Those who caused trouble in V5 bar were around 20 hoodlums, all with steel sticks in their hands. They couldn't be common consumers.

At their opposite side were around 20 normal bar workers too, but they were apparently terrified facing the hoodlums.

The manager of V5 bar was a 30-year-old man. Although he was afraid of those hoodlums, he still questioned in anger, "Who are you? Why do you want to damage our bar?"

"You don't need to know who we are. We're merely doing our job for money. Your bar is too popular, so someone wants it to close," the head of those hoodlums said.

Hearing that, all the workers of V5 bar were annoyed. This was insane! Why should they close the bar just because it was too popular? The person who hired those hoodlums was so shameless!

"What if we don't?" the manager clenched his teeth and said.

"Well, then we'll keep coming to cause trouble and a mess. I don't think your bar can continue opening after that," the leading hoodlum said with disdain.

"You…" The manager was mad. "Aren't you afraid we'll call the police?"

"The police? Ha-ha, if we were afraid of the police, we would not be here today. Let me tell you something. We're from the Flying-eagle Gang. Even the police keep a distance away from us, and we have our people in the police station too," the leading hoodlum said with pride.

The Flying-eagle Gang was a small gang with two hundred people. Although it was hardly comparable with the Qing Gang, not many dared to mess with them.

Once they heard that those hoodlums were from the Flying-eagle Gang, the staff of V5 bar lost their courage.

"So, if you don't want to be in bigger trouble, close the bar as soon as possible. Let's go," the leading hoodlum warned before they started walking out.

They only damaged stuff in the bar, and had no intention to hurt people.

"Do you want to leave? V5 bar isn't some place you can come and go as you like,"

Right at that moment, a cold male voice sounded outside. Hao Ran and the others walked inside.

"How did you get in?" Seeing them stepping towards him, the leading hoodlum was surprised. There were two hoodlums guarding the door outside. How come no one informed him that Hao Ran and others were coming inside.

"The two outside are merely waste," Hao Ran said with obvious disdain.

The leading hoodlum was displeased, but it was understandable that the two weren't able to stop the group of them.

In addition, Hao Ran and others were mostly in school uniform. The leading hoodlum believed that they must be ordinary students, so he raised his voice, "So what? We just come and go as we like!"

Chapter 149: The Qing Gang's Support

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Superficially, those hoodlums from the Flying-eagle Gang had an advantage over Hao Ran and his friends.

"Tell me, who sent you here?" Hao Ran asked angrily.

"What if I don't?" the leading hoodlum replied.

"If you don't, then we can only use violence," Gu Ning said. She knew those hoodlums wouldn't say anything unless they felt threatened. However, if they beat them down to the ground, they would probably tell them everything.

Gu Ning looked to Chu Xuanfeng saying with great interest, "Brother Chu, why don't we have the competition here? There are around 20 hoodlums before us. The one who can beat down the most is the winner."

Chu Xuanfeng's face remained calm, but he was reluctant to do that. He knew that he would lose even before the competition began. However, it would be more shameful if he gave up right now, so he answered, "Sure."

"But boss, there are so many of them, and they all have steel sticks in their hands." Hao Ran tried to stop Gu Ning.

Although Gu Ning was better than him and the other boys, the situation was different now. There were too many hoodlums with steel sticks.

"Indeed, boss," Qin Zixun and the others were also worried.

"It'll be fine. I think it's much more exciting to grab the steel sticks from them by hand, isn't it?" Gu Ning said. She seemed very excited, and not nervous or terrified at all. After that, she warned her friends in an undeniable tone, "You all must stay here. Do not get involved, understand?"

Hao Ran and the others couldn't change her mind, but said yes. They chose to believe in Gu Ning. Since she said that it would be fine, she was confident that she would win.

"How dare you say that! Let us teach you a lesson! Beat them!" The leading hoodlum was greatly displeased by Gu Ning's words. He raised his steel stick attacking straight at Gu Ning and Chu Xuanfeng.

Meanwhile, both Gu Ning and Chu Xuanfeng ran ahead. It was a fierce fight.

Although there were many of those hoodlums with steel sticks, they weren't skilful at fighting. They could easily defeat an ordinary person, but could do nothing before Gu Ning and Chu Xuanfeng.

Gu Ning and Chu Xuanfeng hit them in a quick, heavy, accurate and violent way. Those hoodlums were in great pain after their punches, and soon lost their ability to fight. Some were kicked off, and some got broken bones, but Gu Ning and Chu Xuanfeng stayed safe and sound.

Those hoodlums panicked now. They didn't expect that the man and the woman in front of them were so powerful.

Hao Ran and the rest were all astonished by the scene. They felt like they were in an action film. No, even an action film couldn't be this exciting. They were fighting against each other for real, while scenes in the movie weren't real.

Gu Ning was obviously moving faster than Chu Xuanfeng. After several minutes, the fierce fight ended. Gu Ning had beaten down 11 in all, while Chu Xuanfeng had only beaten down 9. Gu Ning won.

Actually, Gu Ning didn't want Chu Xuanfeng to be embarrassed, so she hadn't used her full force. Otherwise, the gap could be bigger.

"I lost," Chu Xuanfeng admitted it without hesitation.

Chu Xuanfeng of course understood that Gu Ning helped him save face. She had injured several hoodlums, then left them to Chu Xuanfeng on purpose. Chu Xuanfeng now thought more highly of Gu Ning.

"Wow, you two are so amazing!"

"Exactly! It's so exciting!"

…

Hao Ran and the rest all shouted in excitement. They admired Gu Ning and Chu Xuanfeng more than ever now and the staff of V5 bar were also looking at them with admiration. Chu Xuanfeng was the God, while Gu Ning was the Goddess in their eyes.

"Alright, let's get down to the business first," Gu Ning said.

Hearing that, everyone then realized that there was still something important to deal with.

Those hoodlums were all moaning in pain on the ground. The staff of V5 bar were eager to kick them a few more times.

"Now, can you tell us who sent you here?" Gu Ning stared at the leading hoodlum.

The man unconsciously huddled in horror, but he didn't compromise right away. He threatened instead, "We're from the Flying-eagle Gang. Aren't you afraid we'll revenge ourselves on you?"

Hao Ran and several boys hesitated. Although they were from either powerful or rich families, they weren't willing to have bad blood with the gang. However, Gu Ning, Chu Xuanfeng and Chu Peihan didn't care about that at all.

"Flying-eagle Gang? Oh, isn't it just a small gang with only 200 people? This place has the Qing Gang's support," Chu Xuanfeng said. Since he said so, he decided to protect this V5 bar. However, those who didn't know his identity were all astonished. Since when had the Qing Gang supported V5 bar?

They soon realized that Chu Xuanfeng must be threatening those hoodlums with the Qing Gang's name, but was it appropriate that he used the Qing Gang's name casually? What if the Qing Gang was irritated?

Some felt worried, but no one said it aloud.

From Gu Ning's perspective, Chu Xuanfeng wouldn't use the Qing Gang's name for no reason. It wouldn't do any good for V5 bar. Thus she believed that Chu Xuanfeng must know someone in the Qing Gang.

Only Chu Peihan knew the real reason.

"What?" Those hoodlums immediately changed, their faces trembling in shock, but they still doubted it. "Are-are you sure?"

"Do you think anybody can just use the Qing Gang's name?" Chu Xuanfeng asked coldly.

Right now, those hoodlums from the Flying-eagle Gang believed that it was true. No one dared to use the Qing Gang's name randomly. If the Qing Gang found out, the person would be unable to bear the consequences of failure.

Accordingly, the leading hoodlum had to compromise. "Fine, I'll say it. It's the boss of the nearby Charm Bar who sent us here. Because ever since V5 bar opened, the foot traffic of the Charm Bar has greatly reduced. Only less than half of the previous customers are willing to walk inside the Charm Bar."

Hearing that, Hao Ran, Qin Zixun, Zhang Tianping and the staff of V5 bar were all mad.

"Hao Ran, what should we do next?" Qin Zixun asked.

"Boss, what do you think?" Hao Ran asked Gu Ning instead.

Gu Ning didn't answer his question right away. She turned to looking at the leading hoodlum and asked, "Are you sure it's the boss of the Charm Bar who sent you here? If you've lied to me, you'll pay for it."

Gu Ning wanted to make sure the leading hoodlum was telling the truth, instead of fooling them.

Although it was highly possible that the Charm Bar did it, there were many other bars around this area. It could be another bar that deliberately used the Charm Bar's name.

Chapter 150: The Truth

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

"It's true! It is the boss of the Charm Bar who sent us here!" The leading hoodlum seemed serious. He didn't dare to lie to them.

"Do you have the boss's number?" Gu Ning asked.

"Yes," he answered.

"Give it to me," Gu Ning said.

"Sure." The hoodlum didn't hesitate. Despite the painful injuries around his body, he struggled to take out his phone telling Gu Ning the number.

Gu Ning, instead, directly used the hoodlum's phone to call.

The phone hadn't even rung three times when the other side picked it up. Either the phone lay by his hands, or the person must have been waiting for this call.

Gu Ning thought that the person was certainly waiting for this call, because before Gu Ning could say a word, the person asked with eagerness, "How is it going? Are the people in V5 bar scared?"

The man told Gu Ning the truth himself.

There was a light smile on Gu Ning's lips. She spoke to the man in a threatening way, "Mr. Wang, do you want to settle the compensation here in V5 bar, or should I go and smash everything in your bar too?"

Hearing that, the Mr. Wang was shocked. He knew that he did something wrong. He himself revealed the fact that he had sent those hoodlums to the V5 bar. And now those hoodlums were in Gu Ning's hands.

It was a little unacceptable for Mr. Wang. He had hired 20 people from the Flying-eagle Gang! How could they lose? Was it because the people in V5 bar were too powerful? However, he had investigated it before. The owners of the V5 bar were merely three high school students, and knew nobody in the gangs.

However, no matter what, he wouldn't admit it of course. Thus he tried his best to calm down, and said airily, "Who are you? What did you say? I don't understand."

Gu Ning sneered, "Mr. Wang, I know you understand, so stop acting. What you've said at the beginning already told me the truth. So, please never try to challenge our patience. We aren't good-tempered at all. Besides, your men are here in our hands. Do you really think the Flying-eagle Gang is able to deal with us?"

"You…" Mr. Wang didn't know what to say, but he was displeased at being threatened. Meanwhile, he was slightly terrified.

They weren't afraid of the Flying-eagle Gang, which meant they couldn't be simple.

But Mr. Wang, whose full name was Wang Dacheng, had a powerful background, so he didn't yield right away. He threatened instead, "So what? My uncle is the head of the office in the Industry and Commerce Bureau! If you dare to damage my Charm Bar, I'll let him officially close yours!"

"Oh, the head of the office in the Industry and Commerce Bureau? Is he even more powerful than the director?" Gu Ning sneered with disdain.

"Who-who are you?" Wang Dacheng immediately misunderstood, thinking Gu Ning had a relationship with the director. He was on alert now.

Actually, Gu Ning did it on purpose.

"I told you. I'm from the V5 bar," Gu Ning said.

Wang Dacheng clenched his teeth. He made a bad decision this time.

"What do you want?" Wang Dacheng asked in anger.

"I told you. Either you pay the compensation or we'll ruin your bar. It's up to you," Gu Ning said. She put it so airily, like it was an easy choice.

"Fine, I'll pay the compensation. I'll be there within 10 minutes," Wang Dacheng replied before he hung up heavily. He was so mad that he smashed his cell phone on the floor. The bar manager beside him was astonished. "Boss, what's wrong?"

"The plan failed. Those hoodlums from the Flying-eagle Gang were caught on site. A girl used Chen Laoer's phone to call me. She threatened me to compensate, otherwise they will damage our bar. They aren't afraid of the Flying-eagle Gang at all, nor my uncle! I think they must have a powerful support," Wang Dacheng said in anger.

Chen Laoer was the leading hoodlum. He was kind of an important figure in the Flying-eagle Gang.

"What?" Hearing that, the manager was greatly surprised. He didn't expect that the people in V5 bar were so powerful. "What-what should we do now?"

"We have no choice but to compensate. I don't want them to ruin my bar! The bar is hardly afloat now. If they damage it I would have to close the bar." Although Wang Dacheng was reluctant to do it, he had no choice.

The compensation was probably merely around a few hundred thousand yuan. He could afford it.

Later, Wang Dacheng and his several men walked towards the V5 bar.

Hao Ran had already arranged for his people to be outside of the V5 bar, in case normal customers accidentally got in.

Wang Dacheng and his men arrived before long.

In the V5 bar, everything was kept in the same mess. Gu Ning didn't allow them to clean it up. It was the on-site evidence after all! And those hoodlums from the Flying-eagle Gang were all squatted at the corner. None of them dared to move.

Gu Ning and the others faced the door standing in a line, waiting for Wang Dacheng.

The minute Wang Dacheng walked inside a group of students in school uniform came into his sight. Although he already knew that the owners of the V5 bar were three high school students, it was hard for him to accept it when he saw it with his own eyes.

He even thought that he must be in the wrong place. Then, Wang Dacheng noticed that the hall was in a mess and Chen Laoer as well as his men were all squatting in the corner with injuries.

Wang Dacheng was slightly afraid that he would be beaten like that.

"Who is the boss?" Wang Dacheng asked. He knew that the boss was a student, but he didn't know which one was the boss.

"It's me."

Hao Ran stood out.

"How much should I compensate?" Wang Dacheng asked.

This time, Gu Ning walked ahead and said, "We've done the math. There are 72 smashed pieces of furniture to sit on.10 of them are booths. Each booth is 2,000 yuan, so it's 20,000 yuan in all. 10 of them are sofas. Each sofa is 4,000 yuan then it is 40,000 yuan in all. 20 of them are chairs, and each is 800 yuan. That is 16,000 yuan in all. Besides, there are 32 broken stools. Each is 200 yuan, and 6,400 yuan in all. The bar counter costs 30,000 yuan. The stage is 10,000 yuan, and the whole set of the music equipment cost 100,000 yuan. We naturally have to redecorate the bar after it has been damaged so badly. It takes a week at least. According to our previous renovation fee, we need 50,000 yuan. Our turnover in a week is between 400,000 and 600,000 yuan. Take the middle number, and that's 500,000 yuan. Oh, there should be a mental loss for our employees as well. 10,000 yuan per person, and we have 23 workers here. That's 230,000 yuan in total. And the reputation loss of our V5 bar cost 500,000 yuan. All in all, the amount you need to compensate is 1,502,400 yuan. Let's exclude the fraction of the price; that will be 1.5 million yuan. Do you want to pay it with cash or credit card?"