Chapter 53: A Slap to the Face

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Night fell, bringing with it a myriad of shining stars.

A multitude of different models of luxury cars parked outside a scenic manor.

In the center of the manor surrounded by lush hills and flowing creeks, sat a palace constructed of white bricks. The interior of the palace was brightly lit and the sound of melodic, relaxing music flowed out from within.

All the important characters from the southwest region were gathered here.

There were political powerhouses, wealthy tycoons and businessmen, as well as the leaders of some very illustrious family clans. They were all gathered here upon accepting Zheng Hongyi’s invitation.

A fatso caught a glimpse of a bespectacled middle-aged man in the crowd and immediately walked up to greet him with a wide smile plastered on his face. “Mayor Liu, what an honor it is to see you here!”

The middle-aged man smiled lightly upon seeing the fatso. “I am only here to accompany Mayor Qin today.”

The fatso stalled slightly in surprise, clearly not expecting even the likes of Mayor Qin to participate in tonight’s event.

It was important to note that Mayor Qin was a deputy provincial level official who rarely ever attended social events such as this one. What could the purpose of tonight’s event be, to have even garnered interest from Mayor Qin?

The fatso’s name was Wei Ronghui, he was a prominent businessman in the real estate sector, having recently acquired a large block of land in Rong City. Now presented with the rare opportunity to meet Mayor Qin face-to-face, he was debating to himself whether it was wise to take advantage of this opportunity to forge closer relations with Mayor Qin.

After making a bit of small talk with Deputy Mayor Liu, Wei Ronghui began to make his way toward Mayor Qin.

As he was making his way toward Mayor Qin, he suddenly caught sight of a well-built man who looked to be in his forties, standing in silence by himself.

Hmm… he looks a little familiar.

Wei Ronghui walked towards him, hoping to get a closer look.

Holy f*ck! Isn’t that the director of the provincial department of security, Zhou Zheng?

Isn’t he currently busy investigating the bizarre homicide cases in Huang Xi Village? How does he have the time to attend this ball?

A look of shock appeared on Wei Ronghui’s face. He recalled when Zheng Hongyi extended an invitation to him, he did say something about introducing a few people to everyone.

Upon recollecting this, Wei Ronghui’s eyes narrowed into a slit. Could there be some sort of VIP set to make an appearance tonight?

At this moment, three young people also made their way into the venue.

Leading the way was a tall and lanky man. A hint of a smile appeared on his face as he surveyed the scene before him.

Following behind him was a beauty with long flowing hair and glamorous features, as well as a man with a smile on his face, looking very pleased with himself.

“Wuhua, all the people at this ball tonight are important characters in the southwest region, be careful with your actions and words.” the man precautioned.

The two standing behind the tall and lanky man were none other than Lin Wuhua and Gao Peng.

Lin Wuhua nodded earnestly in response to Gao Peng’s words of caution.

They originally did not even have the right to attend a ball of this prestige, the only reason why they were able to attend at all was because of the Young Master Zheng leading the way in front of them.

Zheng Yong was the name of this Young Master Zheng, he was also the son of Zheng Hongyi, who was, in turn, the host of tonight’s ball.

Gao Peng and Zheng Yong attended the same university and could be considered good friends.

It was exactly due to his relationship with Zheng Yong that Gao Peng had the opportunity to attend this ball with Lin Wuhua.

Gao Peng looked at the prestigious characters around him with a scorching heat in his eyes. If he was able to forge relations with the people here, his company would definitely advance in leaps and bounds.

Most of the people at the ball nodded and smiled upon seeing Zheng Yong, with some even approaching him to strike up a conversation.

All the young beauties around Zheng Yong also uniformly cast their gazes upon him, a look of anticipation in their eyes.

Zheng Yong would also size up the beauties around him from time to time. There was certainly no lack of beauties amongst the young women in attendance tonight, but there was no one that particularly caught his eye.

Having seen countless beautiful women in his time, Zheng Yong had become desensitized to the sight of them. Most beauties to him now were no different from your average person and could no longer ignite the passion within him.

However, at this exact moment, a figure appeared in his line of sight, instantly rooting him to the spot.

Zheng Yong stared in a daze at the beauty in the red evening dress, the sight of her filling him with an unprecedented shock.

He had never seen such a beautiful and dazzling woman before. Her perfect figure and proportions, her indescribably gorgeous features, all the other beauties in attendance paled in comparison to her.

Sensing Zheng Yong’s dazed state, Gao Peng also cast his view in the same direction, before exclaiming, “It’s them!”

Hearing Gao Peng’s exclamation, Zheng Yong turned to him. “Gao Peng, do you know them?”

Gao Peng nodded. “I’ve only met them once, but I recognize one of the guys, his name is An Lin, he’s a student. As for the other two, I don’t really recognize them.”

Gao Peng intentionally hid the fact that An Lin and the woman accompanying him appeared to be in a relationship.

He had already detected that Zheng Yong seemed to be interested in the woman.

Although that was fair enough, such regal beauty was enough to tug at anyone’s heartstrings.

He was familiar with Zheng Yong’s personality, once he had his eyes set on something, he would spare no effort to pursue them, even by unscrupulous means if required.

All that was left was to sit back and watch things unfold…

“Oh?” Zheng Yong began to size up the three people across the room upon hearing Gao Peng’s remark.

All three of them were new faces and appeared to be quite young. However, they did not look like your run-of-the-mill average person, so they are probably from some prestigious clan.

“Liu, bring on the beverages!” Zheng Yong said with a wave of his hand.

A housekeeper hurriedly made his way toward Zheng Yong while holding a platter, before expertly presenting two glasses of pre-concocted wine.

This was no ordinary wine, this was captivation wine brewed by the Religion of the Heaven Magus, with very strong selective aphrodisiac properties.

Zheng Yong could not be bothered wasting time on relationships if he fancied someone, all he needed was a glass of captivation wine.

He held the wine glass in his hand, looking at the woman across the room with a scorching gaze. Such perfection… I must have her tonight!

…

Zheng Hongyi and Huang Shanshan have just left to attend to a guest.

As a result, An Lin, Xu Xiaolan and Xuanyuan Cheng have begun to wander aimlessly in the venue.

“Hello there, my name is Zheng Yong. Welcome to the ball.”

A tall, lanky man suddenly appeared in front of them, holding a wine glass with a smile on his face.

“Hi, my name is An Lin.” An Lin replied politely.

Following this, Xuanyuan Cheng and Xu Xiaolan also introduced themselves.

Upon hearing their names, Zheng Yong’s body quivered in shock and he began to feel a little ill.

He recalled the words Zheng Hongyi spoke to him before leaving to attend to a guest. “Yong, there will be three government special envoys attending this ball. Their names are An Lin, Xu Xiaolan and Xuanyuan Cheng.

“This ball is being held for them, remember, you’re nothing to them, don’t get on their bad side…”

Zheng Yong was, of course, aware of the meaning behind Zheng Hongyi’s words.

These three were definitely not people he could mess with.

My God… and he was just considering feeding the captivation wine to the woman…

A light sheen of cold sweat appeared on Zheng Yong’s forehead as he considered what he had almost just done.

“Are you ok, Mr. Zheng?” An Lin asked in concern upon seeing Zheng Yong’s pained expression.

Zheng Yong recovered from his dazed state, with an apologetic expression appearing on his face. “Uh… I actually feel a little ill at the moment, I’m really sorry but I must take my leave now.”

His only thought at this moment in time was to get the captivation wine as far away from this place as possible.

The wine was like a ticking time bomb, keeping him on edge constantly.

“Hmm, this wine looks quite exuberant.”

An Lin grabbed a glass of wine from the housekeeper’s platter.

What the f*ck!

Zheng Yong’s legs almost gave out from under upon seeing this.

“All encounters are a product of fate, I propose a toast!” An Lin smiled as he held up his wine glass.

Upon hearing this, Zheng Yong only wanted to smash the wine glass in his hand.

A toast? Then what? Have An Lin fall in love with him?

Are you kidding?!

Zheng Yong and An Lin’s conversation had already attracted the attention of many guests.

Gao Peng stared in confusion at the scene unfolding in front of him, unable to get a grasp on the situation.

Zheng Yong was brimming with confidence only a moment ago, why has he backed down?

…

Sensing Zheng Yong’s hesitation, An Lin’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Are you feeling too ill to drink?”

“Sigh, my apologies, I really am feeling quite unwell…

“Once I have recovered, I will be sure to invite Mr. An to drink to our heart’s content!”

Zheng Yong responded.

“That’s ok, I think I know how to make you feel better.” An Lin smiled lightly.

“Mr. An is familiar in the way of medicine?” Zheng Yong suddenly began to feel a little uneasy.

“M-hm, this is what I call, physical therapy…” An Lin smiled devilishly.

He suddenly raised his right hand before bringing his open palm down through the air, making a solid connection with Zheng Yong’s face!

Slap!

A loud slap reverberated throughout the whole venue.

Zheng Yong’s body flew a full two meters through the air before tumbling to the ground. He spat out two teeth along with a mouthful of blood, as his face began to swell up drastically.

Gasp

The guests keeping an eye on An Lin and Zheng Yong’s exchange all stared in disbelief at the scene unfolding in front of them, letting out a collective gasp.

Gao Peng was the most shocked of all, standing rooted to the ground.

Holy f*ck! What is going on here? Why has An Lin suddenly physically assaulted Zheng Yong?

An Lin turned to Xuanyuan Cheng and Xu Xiaolan with a smile on his face.

“M-hm, when dealing with scum like this, it’s best not to use words when you can use actions!”