Affluent Friends

November 7, 20XX (Wednesday)

Fourth Floor, Jin's Place Bar, Beijing

A bartender going by the name 'Jin' looked at the scene in front of him with a shake of his head in his helplessness. On the five bar seats that were in front of his counter, was seated two recently arrived men on the edges while the other two was fooling around at the billiard table, fighting using cue sticks as their swords.

Jin could not believe his luck when these four men plus that one man that was still in Milan offered him large amounts of money to use his small bar every Tuesday and Thursday night. He had assumed that the small bar he had built his blood, sweat, and tears on would be bankrupt as the competition on the main street before his was neck to neck, only to be saved by five affluent friends showing up with an offer he could not refuse. Slowly and surely, his business boomed with the discreet influences of these young men but he did not stop providing them refuge every Tuesday and Thursday night. On the fourth floor of his now five-floor building, then it was a measly two storey, was a room designed to cater only to them. In that floor, expensive wine, high-end beer, different levels of different alcoholic beverages, billiard table made of expensive materials, vintage cue sticks, cigars, mahjong table, poker table, and dart boards were placed to specially cater to them.

"Jin, can I have a Macallan 1926?" The man seated near him on his left side said while pointing at the expensive seventy-five thousand dollar whiskey. The said man had dark brown hair and light brown eyes with a mix of foreign and Chinese features. This man was known to be the aloof CEO of the Xue Corporation of Weapons and Machinery named Xue Chang Min that had been notorious for his quiet and hard to approach personality. He was the pickiest amongst his customers, preferring expensive whiskeys and brandy only.

The other man on the other edge of the counter seats snorted with the usual fake grin that made Jin sometimes shiver in fright especially when the man was under the low light of the Edison light bulb as if he was a criminal questioned for murder. The said man turned to Xue Chang Min and said, "…you're too predictable with your drink."

Jin eyed the man who had spoken with careful scrutinization, he was the richest in the room having five large business to his name with three of the businesses internationally renowned. Zhao Yang, 24th head to the Zhao Conglomerate, Noble blood, and also the scariest of his customers. Jin knew how deceptive the smile that was always plastered in his face truly is. He had seen the said man smile while ordering for women who had annoyed him to be thrown out of China with their families never to be seen again. Amongst his costumer, Zhao Yang always preferred aged wine.

"Look who is talking, wine lover." Snorted the other man who was fending off the cue stick that was dangerously close to hitting his right arm. This man is the most famous doctor/surgeon in Beijing, is only 31 and already specializing in three hard areas, general surgery, neurology, and internal medicine. It was said having him on the surgical table was 99.5 Percent guaranteed survival of the patient which made him earn millions and sometimes billions from clients. He is known intimately by others to be the passionate and playboy Dr Zhang Li Xi. Amongst Jin's customers, this man preferred soft flavoured beer that would not hinder him to obvious drunk.

The other man who had closely smacked Dr. Zhang Li Xi just clutched his cue stick and wrestled the cue stick out off of the doctor's hands before putting them back on the rack then sitting down beside Zhao Yang. He was the youngest of the four men, only 27 years old and still the heir to the Hao International Pharmaceutical Company named Hao Chen. He was the quietest yet the most compassionate of their friends and the most versatile with his alcohol preference.

Jin briefly remembered the last member of this bunch of friends. Li Alexandre is with his wife in Milan on a business trip and leisure trip both rolled on the same package. That man was the foreigner of the group but was also the most cheerful and easy going. True to his status as a European, he preferred wine just as CEO Zhao.

This group of five friends are the top of the country's leading men in the business; they were the envy of ordinary men like Jin, the dream boyfriends or husbands for average girls, and the top ladder to climb for average employees. Jin could not believe that these affluent men treated him like their easy-going uncle.

"I'd like a shot of tequila please," said Heir Hao Chen while managing the bridge of his nose, must be feeling a raging headache. Jin helplessly took the tequila bottle while watering it down because who drinks tequila with a headache?

"I'd like another glass of beer, Shifu Jin." Dr Zhang Li Xi joked as he walked towards the middle seat of the five chairs on the counter, putting a large gap between him and CEO Xue. It made the absence of CEO Li more obvious to Jin. With a nod, Jin took the empty used glass and refilled it again with the same beer he had given to him before

After finished the orders of the other three did he turned to CEO Zhao to inquire, "How about CEO Zhao's alcohol for the evening?"

"Just give me soybean milk, I know you hide in the lower refrigerator below the counter for your consumption," Jin touched the back of his head at being discovered while three heads simultaneously turned right to look at CEO Zhao with surprise which Jin was also because CEO Zhao alway undoubtedly order wine. He was famous for his love with it.

"That's surprising…" drawled Xue Chang Min with suspicion as the hand that gripped his glass tightened with concealed anger that was noticed by Yang, but he ignored it.

"I just wanted to try the drink that Old man Jin likes so much," Yang said as an excuse.

Xue Chang Min snorted, "Is this because of Wu Mei Li?"

Dr. Zhang Li Xi and Heir Hao Chen both bolted in surprise as a girl's name being mentioned as their heads immediately turned again to Yang, awaiting the other's answer.

"Mostly because of her…" Yang's smile was full of mystery. Normally most people would be too scared to ask him more questions because of that scary smile that naturally makes people run away with tails between their legs but not his friends.

"Who is she?"

"Is she going to be our sister-in-law?"

"When are you going to introduce her to us?"

"When did you meet?"

"Do we know her?"

"Is she pretty?"

The endless questions from Hao Chen and Zhang Li Xin were not answered. They were left hanging as Yang just drank his soybean milk as if they were air.

Xue Chang Min chugged his whiskey with large gulps, hoping to erase the regret and the pain that entered his heart.

'You're talking about my little sister, you drunkards.' He helplessly thought to himself, knowing this fact must not be known to anybody else, not even to his friends.

At least, his little sister would have more protection with the Zhao Family than he could ever provide. He has to make sure that this sadistic friend of his was serious about her, 'Couldn't be too hard with that foolish grin in Yang's face.'