Chapter 5: Chapter 5: Toast Not Taken Leads to Punishment Drinking
Xiang Yu saw the thugs attacking so viciously that a surge of anger rose in his heart, and with a slap, he sent the bleached-blond sprawling to the ground. Then, with several "bang bang" kicks, the rest were also knocked to the ground; dealing with these punks, Xiang Yu didn't need to use his full strength.
The gangsters had come to their senses by now, "Do you know who we are? You're dead, you know that?" the bleached-blond shouted as he scrambled up and pointed at Xiang Yu.
Without a second thought, Xiang Yu kicked him back to the ground, then landed a few more kicks to his stomach.
"Big brother, big brother, spare my life, I was wrong, please let me go," the bleached-blond couldn't withstand it any longer before Xiang Yu could even start caring.
"You lot still trying to act tough like gangsters, you're an embarrassment to them," Xiang Yu said with some resentment, "Bring five thousand in cash tomorrow and deliver it to Xiangyun Hotel, or I'll beat you up every time I see you."
"Yes, yes, big brother, I'll remember, I'll definitely bring it tomorrow," the bleached-blond hastily buttered up to him.
Seeing this, Xiang Yu didn't pursue it any further and walked away. The thugs, including the bleached-blond, scrambled up after Xiang Yu had gone far. "Xiangyun Hotel my ass, does he think I'm stupid? If the likes of him could stay at the Xiangyun Hotel, then we'd be the king of heaven. Using Xiangyun Hotel to scare us, tomorrow you'll see how tough I am."
Of course, Xiang Yu was unaware of these rascals' thoughts. He arrived in front of a bar with "Riverside Bar" written above it, and out of curiosity, he walked in.
Although it was already late into the night, the bar was still packed with people. Xiang Yu made his way to the bar and took a seat.
"What would you like?" a woman's voice rang out.
Xiang Yu looked up and saw a round-faced, fair-skinned woman smiling at him.
"A beer," Xiang Yu said. After his encounter with the hotel staff, Xiang Yu felt a little stung and found himself glancing at the woman more than necessary. Compared to the hotel staff, she appeared much more presentable, which inadvertently led his thoughts to wander.
The woman didn't say much and turned around to get Xiang Yu a beer.
"You're new here, aren't you?" the woman asked cheerfully. Noticing Xiang Yu's ogling eyes, she rolled her eyes at him but didn't mind it—they were used to seeing all kinds of people here.
"How do you know?" Xiang Yu asked casually.
"I haven't seen you before, plus your accent is quite different."
"I used to live here when I was a child," Xiang Yu said casually. He was keen on befriending this forthright woman, sensing that she had been here for quite some time and that he could get more information from her. "My name is Xiang Yu." He reached out his hand to the woman.
"Lan Tingting," the woman said, then quickly swatted Xiang Yu's hand away without shaking it. His hand brushed aside, Xiang Yu wasn't offended; he just picked up his glass and took a sip.
At that moment, the thunderous music of the bar stirred some excitement. The crowd of young men and women danced along with the music, some even wrapped in each other's arms, dancing vigorously.
Just then, someone suddenly yelled out in the middle of the crowd, "You **** tired of living, huh? Daring to touch my woman?" one of the men said.
"What are you anyway? So what if I touched her? Here," the other man retorted and then kissed the woman. She wasn't angry and continued swaying to the music.
Seeing the commotion, the surrounding crowd stepped back to make room. Such brawls were common here, and while they were not surprised, it added a certain indescribable pleasure to their night.
"****, I'll kill you," one man charged at the other. They came together, grappling and fighting, equally matched, with neither gaining the upper hand. Seeing this, the crowd began to cheer and shout, "Ao ao."
The two moved gradually closer to where Xiang Yu sat. The others, not wanting to get involved, dodged away, but Xiang Yu still sat there drinking.
"Better move away quickly, or you'll be unlucky if they bump into you," Lan Tingting said with a smile from the side. Having been here for a long time, she had seen plenty of fights and faced such a scene very calmly.
"What, concerned about me?" Xiang Yu said to Lan Tingting with an ambiguous smile.
"Tsk," Lan Tingting rolled her eyes at him and didn't speak.
At that moment, two men grappling with each other surged towards Xiang Yu, looking as if they were about to collide with him. Xiang Yu stretched out his leg and kicked one of them in the butt, sending both tumbling back into the middle of the fray.
"Who the **** kicked me?" one of them yelled, then let go of his opponent and glared at Xiang Yu with malice. The other man also looked ready to throw a punch at Xiang Yu.
"I told you so, you've gone and caused trouble now," Lan Tingting said with a hehe, clearly enjoying the spectacle.
Indeed, after releasing each other, both men charged at Xiang Yu. "You ***** dare to kick me." The surrounding crowd, seeing the scuffle escalate, watched eagerly to see who was tougher.
"What's going on?" At that moment, a middle-aged man holding a cigar came out from the second floor.
"Boss, it's nothing, just a couple of punks fighting," said one of the men dressed in black. He had been watching the scuffle for a while but hadn't tried to stop it, keen on enjoying the show himself.
"Well, don't just stand there, make them stop fighting and throw all the brawlers out," the middle-aged man commanded with a glare at the man in black.
"Yes!" Seeing his boss get angry, the man hurriedly responded, "Team Three, take notice, throw out everyone who's fighting." The man in black didn't move but repeated the order into his walkie talkie.
No sooner had he finished speaking than the two fighters were lying on the ground, unable to move.
"Team Three, throw that kid who was hitting people out as well," the man in black ordered.
After Xiang Yu had knocked the two men to the ground, he had just planned to continue drinking when four burly men positioned themselves behind him. "Brother, are you walking out on your own or do we need to throw you out?" one of them said coldly.
Xiang Yu turned around, looking puzzled, and pointed at himself, "Are you talking to me?"
The four burly men didn't say anything, just coldly stared at him.
"I'm not leaving. I'm having a good time drinking here, why should I go?" Xiang Yu replied in a rascally manner.
At this, Lan Tingting dropped her amused expression and gestured to Xiang Yu with her eyes, signaling that he should leave quickly as these men were not to be trifed with. Xiang Yu noticed that Lan Tingting in front of him wasn't bad, then he smiled at her and continued to drink.
Worried that Xiang Yu hadn't understood her, Lan Tingting went over, snatched the glass from him, and said, "You better leave now."
"Why aren't you guys, a bunch of dark and burly men, being reasonable? I'm just fine here, why should I leave?" Xiang Yu stood up and addressed the burly men.
Seeing that Xiang Yu had no intention of leaving, two of the burly men grabbed his arms, ready to drag him out.
"Sigh, this kid really doesn't know when to give up."
"He's going to get it this time."
The onlookers sneered at the sight and followed to catch a glimpse of the kid getting beaten up.
Seeing this, Lan Tingting sighed and shook her head without saying anything, continuing with her work.