Shen Hao was like a diligent ant, carrying crate after crate of beer into the private room. He hauled in a full eight crates before saying it was enough for now and that they could replenish later if needed.

During this time, the private room had already descended into ghostly wailing and howling. All the remaining hostesses had been called over, accompanying the guests as they drank, chatted, and sang. The place was extremely lively.

After leading them in, Hong Jie found herself unable to get away for the moment. She was deliberately stopped inside the room as a group of people started egging her on, insisting that she drink a few cups before leaving—and they had to be cups of hard liquor.

Hong Jie had no choice. This was her job, after all, so she could only agree, watching cup after cup of liquor being poured down her throat.

What good intentions could men possibly have when forcing a woman to drink?

Any man understood perfectly well why they wanted to get a woman drunk.

Seeing this, Shen Hao grew a little anxious, but there was nothing he could do. After making several trips back and forth, he noticed that Hong Jie was already a bit drunk. Suddenly, an idea occurred to him. He stepped out for a moment, then came back and deliberately shouted loudly, “Hong Jie, the manager is looking for you!”

“What the hell would the manager want?”
“Hong Jie, keep drinking!”
“Don’t leave! You’re not done drinking yet!”

Before Hong Jie could even speak, several people who were urging her to drink had already started shouting.

However, Hong Jie was a seasoned veteran. Whether what Shen Hao said was true or not, it was a rare chance to get away. After pushing back a bit and being forced to drink two more cups amid cheers, and with the other hostesses joking around to divert attention, she seized the opportunity to slip away. Ignoring the shouts behind her, she stepped out and slammed the door shut with a bang. The corridor instantly fell quiet.

As she left, Hong Jie was still holding Shen Hao’s hand. Once outside, she seemed unable to hold her liquor anymore, leaning her back against the door while still gripping his hand with the other. Her face was flushed as she looked at him and smiled. “Xiao Hao, you’re quite clever.”

Before Shen Hao could say anything, she straightened up and tried to take a step forward, only to stumble and fall straight toward him. Shen Hao hurriedly stepped forward to catch her, and as a result, her entire body ended up pressed against his, her head resting on his shoulder.

If anyone else had been there, they would probably have thought the two of them were embracing, doing something intimate.

Shen Hao hadn’t expected this either. Feeling the soft, full body pressed against him, breathing in through his nose, he caught a faint fragrance with no trace of alcohol. His heart couldn’t help but ripple, yet his body showed no reaction at all. It was as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head, instantly calming him down.

“Hong Jie, you’re drunk. Let me help you to the lounge to rest,” Shen Hao said.

“Sorry to trouble you,” Hong Jie replied, her head resting on his shoulder. The breath she exhaled brushed against his earlobe, making it itch slightly.

Shen Hao endured the sensation, slipped one arm around Hong Jie’s back, wrapped his hand around her slender waist, and supported her as he guided her to the lounge on the second floor.

The lounge wasn’t very large. It served both as a resting area and a place for the hostesses to touch up their makeup. One wall was lined with a vanity and mirrors, while the other had sofas.

Previously, when he notified the hostesses, he had only knocked on the door from outside. This was his first time actually entering. As soon as he pushed the door open, he saw underwear and bras scattered almost everywhere—on the sofa, on the vanity. Even before fully entering, a strong, mixed odor hit him, something neither exactly foul nor exactly fragrant, just strange.

Standing at the doorway, Shen Hao took several deep breaths of fresh air before helping Hong Jie inside. He laid her down on the sofa, her head resting on the low armrest, which fit just right.

Hong Jie seemed to have fallen asleep by then, her eyes closed and breathing steady.

After settling her, Shen Hao stood beside her, looking down at the woman lying on the sofa. Her cheongsam was stretched tight against her body—so white, so full. Even though he wasn’t a man anymore, he couldn’t help but take a few extra looks. If someone else with bad intentions were here, they might even try to sneak a touch.

Fortunately, he wasn’t that kind of person. After a brief glance, he turned around, left the lounge, and quietly closed the door.

The moment the door shut, Hong Jie, who had seemed asleep, suddenly opened her eyes. Her gaze shifted slightly, the corner of her mouth curling upward in a silent smile. Then she closed her eyes again, as if she had truly fallen asleep.

Returning to the bar counter, Shen Hao saw that the server who had come up to help earlier stood up and left, heading back downstairs to work.

Shen Hao thanked him and sat back down at his position, finding himself idle once more.

Time ticked by, second by second. During this period, some guests came and went, and the large private room called for beer refills several times.

It wasn’t until ten o’clock, when another server, Li Cheng, arrived, that Shen Hao finally dared to step away to use the restroom.

There was nothing to deliberate about which restroom to use—he always went straight to the men’s room. Even for urinating, he did the same. He could just squat in a stall, and nothing would go wrong.

He hurried into a stall, pulled down his pants, and squatted. Just as he started, he heard someone come in outside and use the urinal.

Halfway through, the person outside seemed to get a phone call.

“Hello?” the man answered. Then, sounding excited, he said, “What is it? … You found the woman in the photo? You’re sure? … Hahaha! Why didn’t you say so during the day? Forgot? Forgot your ass! … Where? Fujia Residential Area? … Okay, okay, that works, that works. That’s it.”

With that, he hung up the phone, whistled for a bit, and then said smugly to himself, “Finally found that woman. At least I can give Old Cripple an explanation… But it’s only been four days! There are still three days left… I’ll tell him in a few days. Hehe…”

The man chuckled to himself as he left the restroom.

After he left, Shen Hao still hadn’t finished. He remained squatting in the stall until he was done, then pushed the door open and walked out. Just as he was about to wash his hands, he suddenly noticed a photo lying on the floor beside the urinal.

Did that guy drop it?

The thought flashed through his mind.

Originally, he hadn’t paid much attention to the man’s phone conversation, but now that he saw the photo on the ground, curiosity got the better of him. Wondering who they were looking for, he walked over and bent down to take a look. Instantly, he felt it looked familiar, and his brows furrowed.

Just as he was about to pick up the photo, he suddenly heard hurried footsteps approaching from outside. His heart stirred, and he quickly turned around, went back into the stall, and closed the door.

Right after he shut the stall door, the man came back into the restroom. He seemed to search around briefly, then spotted the photo on the floor. Letting out a sigh of relief, he said, “Good thing I found it. If I’d lost this photo, Old Cripple would be a pain to deal with. I don’t know what this woman called Bai Mudan means to him, being so tense about her every single day.”

Bai Mudan?!

Hearing this name, Shen Hao, hiding in the stall, was shocked. He immediately grew suspicious—was the Bai Mudan they were talking about the same Bai Mudan who had given him The Sunflower Manual?

Why was this “Old Cripple” looking for Bai Mudan?

Judging from the man’s tone on the phone earlier, he sounded like a hooligan through and through, clearly not a good person. And the “Old Cripple” he mentioned was undoubtedly cut from the same cloth.

Why would a bunch of thugs suddenly start looking for Bai Mudan? There had to be something fishy about this.

Had Bai Mudan offended someone from the underworld?

The uncertain thought crossed his mind.

However, in his imagination, Bai Mudan was highly skilled in martial arts and shouldn’t be in any danger. After all, she was capable of giving him The Sunflower Manual, so she herself certainly…

Wait—did Bai Mudan also practice The Sunflower Manual? Was she originally a man?

He had never really considered this before. Today, by sheer coincidence, the thought suddenly crossed his mind. Since she possessed The Sunflower Manual, she must have practiced it, right?

But on second thought, maybe not. It was entirely possible that Bai Mudan had other martial arts techniques and simply looked down on The Sunflower Manual. After all, the very first step of that manual required self-castration…

Although he had inadvertently learned that some thugs were looking for Bai Mudan, he didn’t take it too seriously. In his view, Bai Mudan was a mysterious figure. A few street punks were nothing—forget Bai Mudan, even he himself, with his current skills, wouldn’t be afraid.

As for whether any real criminal organizations were involved, Bai Mudan should be able to handle it, right?

What really left him conflicted was whether Bai Mudan had practiced The Sunflower Manual. In the end, he felt the probability was only fifty percent. After all, when he had seen Bai Mudan before, although he hadn’t clearly seen her face, her figure and attire were undeniably feminine. Unless someone had a cross-dressing fetish, it would be hard for an ordinary man to accept dressing like that, wouldn’t it?

This was merely his own preconceived notion. In truth, he preferred to think this way because deep down, he was faintly worried that he himself would one day be forced to grow long hair and wear skirts, completely transforming.

Lost in these tangled thoughts, he walked back out. Before he even reached the bar counter, he heard movement from the corridor entrance—it seemed more guests had arrived.

He shook his head, tossing aside the chaotic thoughts, and got busy again.

Business was quite good that night. It was rare to host such a large group of over twenty people, successfully putting the large private room to use. The other rooms were also mostly occupied. The entire night was nonstop work.

In the blink of an eye, it was time to get off work.

Just as Shen Hao stepped out of the bar’s front door, his phone rang. Glancing at the caller ID, he saw it was Guo Zhengde.

Even before answering, he had a premonition that Guo Zhengde probably knew something—that was why he was calling at this hour. After all, Guo Zhengde knew his schedule. It was already past midnight; under normal circumstances, he would never call at this time.

After a brief hesitation, thinking that avoiding it now would only delay the inevitable, he answered the call.

“Hey! Haozi, where are you?” Guo Zhengde’s loud, casual voice came through the phone.

“I’m at home,” Shen Hao tried to lie.

“Bullshit! You think you can fool me? I can see you!” the voice on the other end said angrily.

Hearing this, Shen Hao immediately realized that there was no way to hide his resignation anymore. He raised his head and looked around, quickly spotting Guo Zhengde standing across the street, leaning against the taillight of a car, phone in one hand. When he noticed Shen Hao looking over, he even waved at him.

Seeing this, Shen Hao sighed helplessly, put away his phone, and walked toward Guo Zhengde.