Chapter 12: I Dare You to Pretend

Yi Xiaoyan hurriedly shouted, "You don't need to do anything, I'll go have a drink with your boss."

"Hmph, none of the people who hit me just now are getting away," the bald thug sneered. "And you, come with me quietly now, or you'll regret it."

He Haoxuan also sneered, about to make a move, when suddenly a shout came from outside, "Damn it, who's causing trouble in our hotel?"

A man strolled in, followed by several security guards.

When He Haoxuan saw the man, he was momentarily stunned, recognizing him as Little Qiang, the head of security at the Starlight Club.

Little Qiang didn't notice He Haoxuan in the back and instead cursed at the bald thug, "Baldy, damn you, are you tired of living, causing trouble in my place?"

"Brother Qiang, that's not it. I was passing by this private room, and they all ganged up on me. I came to get revenge," the bald thug said, bowing his head, clearly intimidated.

"They started it?" Little Qiang glared coldly at Xu Jipeng's group.

The rule at the Star Hotel was simple: whoever started the fight was doomed.

"Of course they started it. How could I dare lie to you?" the bald thug replied.

"Alright, take it outside and settle it. Don't make trouble in our hotel. We run a law-abiding business here," Little Qiang waved his hand, ready to leave.

Suddenly, he spotted He Haoxuan inside. Startled, he rushed over and bowed, "Good evening, Mr. He."

"Brother Qiang, that guy also hit me," the bald thug said arrogantly, pointing at He Haoxuan. "I'll have my boys drag him out and give him a good beating."

"I'll beat the hell out of you," Little Qiang didn't hesitate. He charged at the bald thug and slapped him twice.

"Ah, Brother Qiang, you hit me?" the bald thug asked incredulously, clutching his face.

"I'm not just going to hit you. I'll finish you off," Little Qiang, afraid He Haoxuan might think he was in cahoots with the thug, kept beating him.

"Ouch, Brother Qiang, please stop!" the bald thug begged, falling to his knees. The other thugs stood by, too scared to make a sound.

Xu Jipeng and his friends stared in shock as the once-arrogant bald thug was beaten mercilessly by Little Qiang, now groveling and begging for mercy.

My God, the people in this hotel are that tough.

They knew the bald thug worked for the Picture Perfect Group, not someone ordinary folks could compare to.

In truth, they had no idea—Little Qiang was not only the general manager of the Star Hotel but also the head of security at the Starlight Club, truly a force to be reckoned with. To the bald thug and his kind, seeing him was like a mouse seeing a cat.

"Little Qiang, have them pay for medical expenses and then get out," He Haoxuan said.

Little Qiang immediately stopped. He worried that if he kept going, he might beat the bald thug to death.

"Yes, Mr. He." He turned and glared at the bald thug, "Baldy, how much are you paying in compensation?"

At this point, the bald thug noticed Little Qiang's respectful attitude toward He Haoxuan and realized he had kicked an iron wall today.

Little Qiang was always dominant in front of them, but now he was so deferential to He Haoxuan—it was clear this man was no ordinary person. Fortunately, he hadn't dared make a move earlier, or he'd be dead for sure.

"I'll pay ten thousand," the bald thug quickly said.

He Haoxuan had intended to ask for ten thousand from each of them, but Xu Jipeng and his male classmates nodded in agreement, thinking that was good enough.

After handing over the money, the bald thug hurriedly took his men and slunk away.

"Wow, who is this Brother Qiang? He’s so powerful he actually made that arrogant bald guy pay up," a girl exclaimed in surprise.

"Brother Qiang called He Haoxuan 'Mr. He.' Looks like they know each other," someone else observed.

Little Qiang walked over to He Haoxuan and said, "Mr. He, I didn’t know you were dining here tonight, or I would have come to toast you earlier."

"It’s nothing, just a class reunion," He Haoxuan smiled. "Go on with your work."

"It was our hotel's fault just now. Tonight’s meal is on the house," Little Qiang said quickly.

Chen Hanfei, having just been upstaged by He Haoxuan, immediately stepped forward and said to Little Qiang, "Brother Qiang, a few thousand is nothing—let me, the class monitor, pay for it all."

He calculated that since Little Qiang had offered to waive the bill, he surely wouldn’t let him pay, so he could use this chance to show off in front of Yi Xiaoyan and the others. "By the way, I work at the City Personnel Bureau. Let’s keep in touch."

For someone as formidable as Brother Qiang, it was wise to get acquainted—who knew what benefits it might bring? What was so special about He Haoxuan anyway? Just a laborer who happened to know Brother Qiang and was being shown some courtesy. If even a laborer could befriend Brother Qiang, then so could he.

He Haoxuan sneered, "Little Qiang, since Monitor Chen Hanfei insists on paying, let him do it."

"Ah!" Chen Hanfei cried out in shock.

He had only been putting on a show, not actually volunteering to foot the bill.

But Little Qiang was shrewd and immediately understood He Haoxuan's meaning. He nodded, "Alright, Class Monitor Chen, make sure you settle the bill later." With that, he left quickly, not daring to linger.

Chen Hanfei's face turned green. He had only been pretending, so why had Brother Qiang taken him seriously? But he didn’t dare argue; he didn't want to risk offending Brother Qiang.

"He Haoxuan, you’re toying with me! You made me pay," Chen Hanfei shouted at He Haoxuan.

He Haoxuan asked deliberately, "Monitor, what do you mean? Didn’t you just say you wanted to pay for everyone? Why are you going back on your word now? Are you telling us you were just pretending and never really intended to treat us?"

"I—I—" Chen Hanfei stammered, unable to speak.

Everyone knew that if he admitted he was only pretending and never meant to treat his classmates, no one would bother with him at future gatherings, and the social circle he’d cultivated for years would collapse overnight.

Cao Dawei joined in, "Since the monitor doesn’t want to treat us, let’s just split the bill ourselves. Two hundred each isn’t much."

Seeing how things stood, Chen Hanfei had no choice but to agree dejectedly to pay for everything.

But he wasn’t stupid. He immediately pulled Xu Jipeng aside. "Jipeng, do a good job tonight—pay the bill, and I’ll look after you in the future."

At first, Xu Jipeng was unwilling, but fearing Chen Hanfei would give him trouble later, he sighed and went to settle the bill.

When Xu Jipeng returned to the private room and saw all their classmates surrounding He Haoxuan, asking questions, he grew even more resentful.

Damn it, isn’t He Haoxuan just a laborer? Why are they treating him like some big shot?

Wait a minute—He Haoxuan, isn’t that the same name as the useless son-in-law of the Li family from the Bailey Group? He’d heard that name before when dining with Li Liang and his cronies.

Could it be the same person? Or just someone with the same name?