Whoosh—
The soda can followed a perfect parabolic trajectory!
But unfortunately, a man wearing a backwards baseball cap happened to be rushing past. The can flew towards the man's head, its sharp edge piercing his temple, causing him to curse in pain.
"This is just my rotten luck!"
Ou Yunchen wanted to apologize, but the man clutched his head and glanced behind him. Without bothering to see who had kicked him, he hurried away.
"What's going on?!" Ou Yunchen was stunned.
Ou Yunchen descended a few steps, gazing in the direction the man had run. His outstretched hand hadn't yet lowered when it seemed another person rushed past him in a hurry.
It was… a girl?
Strangely, the girl chasing behind was only opening her mouth, panting with effort, but she couldn't make a sound.
She was also dragging a not-too-large suitcase, and there was a noticeable slash mark on her backpack.
Ou Yunchen's first reaction was that the girl had her bag stolen, and the man who ran by first must be the thief.
The girl didn't look very old, her figure was thin, almost to the point of being malnourished.
Her naturally slender frame was clad in ill-fitting, oversized clothes, making her look like two chopsticks stuffed into a sack.
She ran while wiping away tears, and faint wisps of breath puffed out with each gasp. It seemed she had been chasing this thief for some distance.
As the girl passed by Ou Yunchen, she deliberately paused for a second. She glanced sideways at Ou Yunchen, who stood on the steps, seemingly high above. Perhaps she had considered asking this well-dressed man for help.
Ou Yunchen didn't step forward to assist. He indifferently watched the chase. The girl's stamina was no match for a professional thief. What kind of people appearing in the back alleys of the Athena Club were worth helping?
In this city, the glamorous facade was like the front of Athena. The luxurious entertainment clubs that people frequented welcomed guests in their most perfect state day and night. But once they left, it was Athena's backside that was greeted by the first rays of sunlight.
Bags upon bags of foul-smelling garbage were piled in a corner of the alley, awaiting collection by the garbage truck…
And down-and-outs and drunks would also loiter nearby, rummaging through those trash bags in search of half-empty bottles of liquor, or even discarded cigarette butts…
Some alleys were pitch-black, perfect for housing their fallen souls.
Finally, the girl disappeared into one of the branching alleyways.
At 8 PM, outside Athena, the lights were still dazzling. The departure of a VIP guest had not affected Ou Yunchen's reputation. Tonight, there were even more women who fancied him.
Champagne, fruit platters, snacks, and shirtless male dancers in bow ties – the madness of the party was unimaginable to those who hadn't attended.
Women loved it here because the pervasive hormones made them feel younger.
The guest who had replaced Yang Anqi was also a woman in her thirties. Time seemed to have left few traces on her face, but her thick false eyelashes made her eyes resemble a knock-off Russian porcelain doll.
Unlike Yang Anqi, she expressed her affection for Ou Yunchen more directly.
Her name was Jin Youli. She wasn't a true heiress, but she had a good brother. After some investigation, it turned out that a well-performing textile factory in the city belonged to her brother.
"You're so incredibly handsome. Be my boyfriend, and I'll buy you anything you want."
Ou Yunchen let the woman unbutton his shirt, peeking at his chest muscles. Her expensive manicured nails carefully caressed his shirt. She hadn't been drinking, yet she was intoxicated by his appearance.
"Do you like cars? I'll buy you one?"
"What did you say?"
"A car? I'll buy you a car."
Ou Yunchen put down his wine glass, a hint of displeasure showing.
"The sentence before that."
Jin Youli hadn't realized she had offended him. She had waited for a long time, finally getting her chance to enjoy this man, and she was willing to do anything now.
"Be my boyfriend?"
"The part after that!"
"It's… I'll buy you anything you want? Haha, if you want something, I'll buy it all for you!"
Ou Yunchen sneered and stood up. He had now seized upon the woman's weakness.
How could her psychology be described?
The more she couldn't get something, the more she wanted it. And when she couldn't have it, she became even more desperate.
Could money truly buy her what she desired?
"So, you also think I'm that kind of man?"
Jin Youli immediately stood up to stop him, terrified that the man she had just acquired was about to be snatched away by another woman.
"No, no, that's not it. How could I think that? I was too rude, too narrow-minded. I thought… I'm sorry, please don't leave me alone here."
"Why did you want to buy me things?"
"To please you…"
"No, I mean, the guests here are all rich. But if I don't spend more money, you won't pay attention to me as a guest. So, I thought that by buying things, I could make you happily belong to me."
Ou Yunchen continued to walk away, seeing through the pitiable woman.
"Whatever other women can buy for you, I can too, and I can give you more than they do!!!"
Seeing that Ou Yunchen was ignoring her, she rushed to say, "I'll come again tomorrow! As long as I come, you'll be my boyfriend alone, just mine, right?"
Ou Yunchen walked away, buttoning up his half-undone shirt. He fastened each button that the woman had undone and picked up his suit jacket from the sofa, slipping it on with a flourish.
The woman behind him let out a lovesick scream. See, this was a client who became more infatuated the colder he was to her.
Every client had their peculiar little habits. A top male escort had to cater to them all, didn't he?
He reached the back door, and a waiter stopped him.
His name was A'ming. Ou Yunchen didn't know his full name; everyone in the establishment called him that, and it was written on his name tag.
"Yunchen Ge, where are you going? The guest hasn't left yet."
Ou Yunchen patted his shirt pockets; they were empty. He patted his trouser pockets; still empty.
He suddenly remembered that the woman had emptied his pockets when she took off his suit jacket.
"Got a smoke?"
Ou Yunchen nodded towards A'ming.
"Yes, but Sister Hong doesn't allow smoking while entertaining guests."
Ou Yunchen took a new pack of cigarettes, casually tore off the plastic wrapper, and then said.
"Lend me a light."
A'ming was very obedient and handed Ou Yunchen a lighter.
"Yunchen Ge, are you going out for a smoke? What about the guest?"
"That woman will leave on her own. If Sister Hong asks, just say I'm stepping out for some air."
Ou Yunchen put a cigarette in his mouth, handed the torn wrapper to the waiter, pushed open the back door, and went out.