Chapter 161: The Loss of the Reputation for Filial Piety and Benevolence

To say that the nights in Shanghai are bustling would be an understatement. Even the neon lights seem to belong to something from the nineties of the previous century, living up fully to its reputation as a modern metropolis.

Following the navigation system, Xia Wushuang found the "Pure Color" bar. It was already seven-fifty when they arrived, so at least they hadn't missed the appointed time. Putting aside the evening rush hour, the location chosen for Pure Color was far too ostentatious. Nestled right against the Nanjing Road business district, it carried the air of a private back garden for Shanghai's elite circles. Yet, it was not a grand mansion for lords with thousands of retainers, but rather a relatively unknown themed bar.

Unlike the noisy impression typical of most bars, Pure Color focused on the theme of "ideal pure color," entirely out of tune with the restless atmosphere of modern society. Xia Wushuang's first impression upon seeing Pure Color was that of a charming and decent young matron inadvertently wandering into a brothel—full of righteous airs, yet helpless against the patrons who were determined to treat her no differently than a courtesan.

"We're not late!"

Xia Wushuang parked the car, and Shangguan Qinglin opened the door and stepped out first. A group of nearly twenty people had already gathered at the entrance of the bar. Rock-and-roll youths in studded leather jackets and long hair stood about in twos and threes; they must have been friends of the bar owner. It was still too early for nightlife, and while many people passed by the bar entrance—mostly out of curiosity—there were not yet any paying customers.

"Hoo!"

A whistle rang out. Shangguan Qinglin, dressed in a denim outfit, looked all the more captivating against the backdrop of the lights, with her slender figure and pretty face. In particular, her legs were slender to just the right degree, accentuating her graceful hips. Moving further up, the exquisite combination of curves and straight lines found its finest expression in her.

When a woman is a stunner, the most terrifying thing is for her to be all body and no brain, a woman devoid of any literary grace. A slightly better outcome is to be reduced to a plaything for the scions of wealthy families, or worse, to remain mediocre and live a safe, ordinary life—what people commonly call a vase. But a woman like Shangguan Qinglin possessed a sharp and tender heart beneath her exquisite features.

For such a woman, any normal man would look up to her in admiration; to say they merely drooled would be an exaggeration, as yearning for her day and night was the norm.

Several of the rock youths were doing just that, whistling at Shangguan Qinglin.

"Who are they?"

Shangguan Qinglin frowned. This was her first time in a place like this. A gentle woman of the southern misty rain, stepping for the first time into a decadent realm of unbridled chaos, she was clearly a bit unaccustomed to it. She wasn't quite the pure "lady" she appeared to be; as a forensic pathologist, her daily life involved dissecting corpses with a scalpel. Therefore, if she were to lose her temper, it would definitely be anything but cute.

"Hey!"

"That's my girl!" Xia Wushuang parked the car and followed from behind. He casually lit a cigarette, pulled Shangguan Qinglin tightly into his arms with his other hand, and shouted to the rock youths, "Lads, hitting on an elder brother's woman is a major taboo in the martial world!"

Nestled in his embrace, Shangguan Qinglin immediately looked like a delicate little woman.

"Who the hell are you, old man? Looking for a beating?" The rock youth felt he had lost face in front of such a fairy-like beauty, and grew angry out of embarrassment.

"You little brat, showing off without even checking who you're dealing with!"

Xia Wushuang took a puff of his cigarette, grinning as he watched Qingmang—who was also dressed in rock attire—stand up and give the rock youth a slap on the head, scolding, "This is the guitarist invited by your big sister here. Address him as Brother Wushuang!"

"Sister Qingmang!" It was only then that Shangguan Qinglin noticed Qingmang, and she pulled Xia Wushuang over.

"I thought you two would be late. Not bad. The rehearsal will start in a moment, and today your big sister is going to rock the house." Qingmang shed her persona of the virtuous and devoted housewife from Jiangnan, throwing her arms around the shoulders of Xia Wushuang and Shangguan Qinglin. The others were friends from the minor league rock scene, and Xia Wushuang greeted them one by one. When it came to the young man who had just been scolded, he looked utterly dejected and unhappily complained, "Sister Qingmang, you guys actually knew each other all along. Why didn't you say so earlier? This time, not only did I break Brother Wushuang's martial world taboo, but I also became the laughingstock of everyone."

Everyone, including Xia Wushuang and Shangguan Qinglin, burst into laughter at the kid's expense.

Xia Wushuang bumped fists with him and comforted, "You already called me brother, and an older brother could never pin such a heavy charge on his own younger brother. You are acquitted."

"Really?"

"Really. Your Brother Wushuang keeps his word. Besides, everyone appreciates beauty, and no one is going to laugh at you."

Even Shangguan Qinglin stepped forward to comfort him, and everyone burst into laughter once more. The kid's face turned completely red, and he didn't dare look at her.

"Brother, Sister-in-law, my name is Pidu. Please accept Pidu's bow!" The rock youth was a straightforward guy; he tied a red headband around his head and played a passionate, high-energy drum solo with great flair as a gesture of apology and compensation.

A quiet girl sitting nearby—who was supposed to be the drummer—stared wide-eyed and snapped, "Pidu, you jerk! How dare you touch this lady's drums!"

Qingmang introduced, "This is our female drummer, Cuicu." If it weren't for the presence of an "outsider" like Xia Wushuang, Cuicu looked ready to hunt him down for blood.

Xia Wushuang experienced a sudden jolt, realizing that Liang Feicai's intelligence might have been inaccurate. The so-called "Spring Bar" was actually "Pure Color Bar"—a mistake of a single character, yet the meaning was worlds apart. Moreover, Cuicu was completely different from what he had imagined; she was not a depraved woman mired in drugs and gambling. The matter regarding Little Hei was worth re-evaluating.

......

Next, the band had to make the most of their time for rehearsal.

Qingmang was the lead vocalist, Xia Wushuang on guitar, Pidu on bass, Qinghong on keyboards, along with Cuicu on drums and backing vocals.

As the night grew deeper, the rehearsal went into full swing.

Music is one of those things that demands the utmost focus. Despite everyone joking around privately, the moment Cuicu's drums sounded, the entire band instantly reined in their sharp edges, converging into a single entity like a freshly unsheathed sword on a frontier battlefield, immediately seizing everyone's hearts. During the performance, each of them displayed their own unique flair, much like a cavalry squad galloping across the grasslands, invincible and unstoppable. Wherever their hooves reached, heads rolled amidst tens of thousands of troops; anyone could harvest a full bag of enemy corpses, and none of them were mediocre.

Xia Wushuang had loved music back in his college days. In those times, when food and clothing were abundant, he feared nothing more than having nowhere to vent his youth. Playing in a band and shining brightly on stage, or playing football and running wild on the pitch—these were the ways he squandered his time. Although he hadn't touched a guitar in two years, his old foundation was still there. After playing three songs in a row—aside from initially struggling a bit to catch Qingmang's rhythm while playing *I Hate Myself for Loving You*—in the subsequent two songs, *The Power of Love* and *Outlaw* (the Taipei SuperBand version), Xia Wushuang not only kept up with Qingmang's rhythm but, to a certain extent, also stirred up the emotions of both Qingmang and Cuicu.

Sitting far away from the dance floor were Pu Yu and Shangguan Qinglin.

Both of them watched Xia Wushuang with looks of pure adoration. Pu Yu and Xia Wushuang were buddies who had gone through thick and thin together during their college years, so his eyes held more a sense of envious admiration. After all, two years after graduation, Xia Wushuang was still the same passionate Xia Wushuang. Pu Yu also genuinely loved his job as a journalist, but the intensity of the work was gradually becoming too much for him to handle, especially when he put in the same amount of effort—or even two or three times as much—only to remain subordinate to others. Meanwhile, the adoration in Shangguan Qinglin's eyes was the purest form of appreciation; Xia Wushuang was not only the man who had entered the depths of her soul, but also a man of infinite charm on stage.

"It's really nice."

Knowing that Pu Yu and Shangguan Qinglin were friends of Xia Wushuang, the owner sent over some drinks.

Pu Yu picked up a glass of foreign liquor, drank it by himself, and said, "In people's eyes, Wushuang looks like a carefree man, but actually, not many people understand the drifting and wandering in his heart. I'm glad for him that he found a partner as good as you."

"Thank you!"

Shangguan Qinglin took a sip of plain water and smiled, "He and I are bound so closely our bones are intertwined. As for the two of you, your relationship from your days as poor students has remained as pure as ever after being tempered by two years in society—that's truly not easy."

"Haha!"

Pu Yu laughed. As a renowned literary talent of their university's literature club, he was certainly no ordinary man. He and Shangguan Qinglin raised their glasses to toast each other.

"By the way, I read the report in your newspaper's electronic news livelihood section. Was that interview planned by you?" Shangguan Qinglin asked.

"No. Although my name is on it publicly, the whole thing was actually Wushuang's idea. I still don't understand how someone as arrogant as Liang Feicai could remain so quiet and take no action after this. I refuse to believe he is the type to let a grudge go unpunished. You should remind Wushuang at an appropriate time that the Black Gold Group is not so easily trifled with, and the amulet of being a journalist isn't always effective."

"If you tell him, he'll be more likely to listen," Pu Yu added.

Without needing further explanation, Shangguan Qinglin had already guessed most of the story. She smiled, "My man is not someone who can be bullied by a mere low-class so-called group."

"Liang Feicai being kidnapped is no small matter, yet the police haven't dug deep into the root causes. Miss Shangguan, could it be that your Shangguan family of Nanjing is actually able to interfere in matters of Shanghai?" When Pu Yu asked this, he felt even more envious of Xia Wushuang.

"I only found out about this matter later. Besides, I rarely ask my father to handle things, and this matter has nothing to do with our family." A trace of doubt also lingered on Shangguan Qinglin's face. Deep down, she held a profound expectation—expecting that Xia Wushuang was also the kind of "resourceful" person who planned ahead. Even Pu Yu could effortlessly figure out her family background; if Xia Wushuang had also known to be a bit more calculating, skipping twenty or thirty years of hard struggle would have been effortless.

Yet, he was simply such a "stoic and dull" man.

At this moment, guests were trickling into the bar, and a scream broke up their casual chat.

It turned out that Mo Xiaoyu, Zhong Ling'er, and Bai Tu had walked in together as a trio of beauties. Among the crowd were a few regulars, but since Mo Xiaoyu and the others had come just to join in the fun with Xia Wushuang, their faces were unfamiliar. It was rare to see three beauties of such distinct temperaments appearing at Pure Color Bar simultaneously, and whistles rang out continuously.

By now, the band's rehearsal had concluded, and Xia Wushuang, feeling an itch to play, took the stage to sing a solo rendition of *Elopement*.

The moment Mo Xiaoyu walked in, her eyes held no one else; she stared fixedly at Xia Wushuang, who was singing with deep emotion on stage.

"Mo Xiaoyu, over here!"

Spotting Mo Xiaoyu, Pu Yu hurriedly waved for the three of them to come over, otherwise the girls would inevitably attract a lot of unnecessary trouble.

Shangguan Qinglin suddenly came to an understanding: the reason the Shanghai police force appeared "indifferent" regarding the kidnapping of Liang Feicai was partly because that scoundrel was ruthless and had committed too many evil deeds, but ninety percent of the reason was because of Mo Xiaoyu.

After chatting for a while, it unconsciously reached ten o'clock. Suddenly, over twenty luxury cars pulled up outside the bar entrance, capturing an immense amount of attention. "Ling'er, must be your a**hole friends arriving, right?" Mo Xiaoyu said upon hearing the commotion outside.

Zhong Ling'er jumped up. Today she was dressed like a sexy little pixie, and she said to Shangguan Qinglin and the others, "You guys sit for a moment, I'm going to welcome my friends!"

After all, the bar owner had some connections; more and more cars were arriving at the entrance, and the underground parking lot was already packed.

A mixed bag of people, all gathered under one roof.