{“I’m gonna make them pay.” 2}

Come on, this is Qian Xu, recognized as a great beauty in Ohio and among the international student community, and a top student on a full scholarship. Yet, he considers her to be his and his children’s personal maid?

Yan Li was seething with anger, nearly throwing the booklet back at him.

Qian Xu stopped her, “Boss Huang, did you hear what I said?”

“If you want us to pay for these two nights, we’re ready to do so at any time,” the smile on Qian Xu’s face had vanished, “But if you continue to misunderstand my relationship with Shen Qi, I think you might find the days at your hotels increasingly troubled.”

Qian Xu’s threat was powerful.

Even if Boss Huang initially believed Shen Qi’s substantial evidence, the aura of the woman before him was starkly different from the meek maid he had thought she was. She might not be the same person recorded in the book.

He hesitated.

“Alright, if you’re willing to pay, that’s fine. I won’t be asking you to stay,” the frugal Boss Huang even picked up the pizza tray he had left in the garden. He stood up, considering the logic of making business where he could, “If you want to extend your stay…”

“We don’t want to.”

Qian Xu didn’t even bother to lift her eyelids, resolutely rejecting Boss Huang’s suggestion.

She had never been as courageously resolute as she was today. If given a choice, who wouldn’t prefer to lie comfortably in a greenhouse rather than concocting excuses in a foreign land just to secure a place to stay?

After Boss Huang left in a huff, Yan Li immediately embraced her.

Her body wasn’t so tense anymore, but her heart sank into a new despair—

She had originally thought she could escape all of this.

She believed that if she could just retreat back into her shell like a snail, the pain would seem as if it had never existed. She knew of his cold betrayal, but she did not expect that his heartlessness and ruthlessness could reach such a callous and indifferent extent.

Her companionship during his times of greatest hardship—he had never regarded it as the hard-earned generosity of a fellow traveler—

Instead, he had treated her as a lowly and inferior servant.

“Yan Li, this time, I don’t want to let them off the hook no matter what,”Qian Xu laughed and laughed until she began to cry, her laughter tinged with bitterness and almost sadness, while tears streamed down her face.“I want to get back at them, and I want to make each and every one of them pay a heavy price.”

Some people are immersed in the humiliation of being betrayed and deeply insulted.

In the same northern hemisphere, on this snowy night, the man who was once looked down upon by his circle is now enjoying success and the joy it brings.

One of his former friends organized a gathering for him.

In Jiangcheng’s most thriving commercial center, there’s a discreet entrance in a shopping mall that leads directly to a high-class bar. This place operates on a private membership system and is generally not open to the public. Most of its members are prominent figures from Jiangcheng, including many first- and second-tier celebrities from the entertainment industry.

Even during Western holidays like Christmas, the bar doesn’t sacrifice its exclusivity or recruit inappropriate guests for the sake of atmosphere.

In the heart of the bustling city, the bar offers a haven of tranquility. The lighting is enchanting, but not at all cheap; even the most ordinary light bulbs are designed by Swiss designers.

Tonight, the bar’s highest-spec private room has been reserved by Shen Qi’s former acquaintances.

“Mr. Shen, we always knew this day would come.”

“Yes, we’re not surprised at all that you’re back.”

“You’re amazing, truly the Silicon Valley’s pride. I’ve heard from a few Vietnamese friends that now the Chinese circle around you is following your lead.”

“Did you guys know? I spent three years at an international high school with Qi Ge. During those three years, he was always the formidable number one, so I’m not at all surprised by his achievements today.”

Shen Qi seldom mingled and thought he wouldn’t need to socialize with most of these people in the future.

These people had offered no help when his family was in decline, and instead, they looked down on him, treating him like a worn-out shoe. Now, they were all eager to speak kindly. The only person who seemed like a brother, Gu Wei, had also been indifferent back then.

The more these people talked, the more enthusiastic they became, as if they were desperate to impress Shen Qi, “Qi Ge, Xu Yanquing is in the next room. How about we invite him to toast you?”

Of course, everyone knew about the entangled past between Shen Qi and Cheng Shuangyi and knew that Cheng Shuangyi had abandoned Shen Qi for Xu Qingyan, which was an old and unpleasant story.

However, they also heard that although Cheng Shuangyi didn’t come today, she had thoroughly broken off with Xu Qingyan just before Shen Qi returned to the country.

In short, Xu Qingyan was no match for Shen Qi at this moment. When people spoke of him, it was as if they were talking about a lapdog beneath Shen Qi’s feet.

People were eager to step on him a few more times in front of Shen Qi, hoping to gain even the slightest bit of favor from him.

In the crowd jostling to curry favor, Shen Qi hadn’t even had a chance to say “no need.”

The night was cool, and at the entrance of their private room, under the fluorescent lights, sat another man. In the alluring light, half of his face was clearly visible, while the other half was shrouded in the deepening darkness of the night.

“Are you even speaking human language?” Zhao Buhui scolded.

He scolded without hesitation, his lazy gaze sweeping the room as if he wasn’t targeting anyone in particular, yet it seemed he was scolding everyone present.

The group eager to please Shen Qi was immediately silenced, like small turtles retreating into their shells.

Their mouths, which had been as smooth as honeyed pipes, were now blocked.

Their reluctance to speak up was obviously due to Zhao Buhui and his formidable backer, Zhao Tian Holdings. Zhao Buhui rarely made appearances, and he disliked being disturbed during drinking sessions. No one knew why he had shown up in this private room today.

It seemed there were people who wanted to climb onto more than one bandwagon.

As expected, Gu Wei, Shen Qi’s best buddy from high school, came out to smooth things over. “Buhui, give me some face. My brothers here may not know any better, but you should just consider it as listening to some jokes.”

“This joke is as ridiculous as your grandmother’s foot-washing cloth.” Zhao Buhui took a sip of rum, placed the bottle heavily on the glass coffee table, and then left the scene without giving any face.

Since Shen Qi entered today, he had kept silent, but with Zhao Buhui’s departure, he suddenly laughed.

Zhao Buhui was rather intriguing. However, people with similar sharp edges and social status wouldn’t get close, just like at school, where they were naturally aligned with different camps.

To be honest, Shen Qi felt a twinge of envy towards Zhao Buhui. He had never experienced a decline in fortunes and thus didn’t care about giving face to these people.

He could speak up at any time to defend an insignificant figure like Xu Qingyan.

What he envied was Zhao Buhui’s free-spiritedness. Behind Zhao Buhui was Zhao Tian Holdings, founded by his father, which had never needed outsiders. The company was as stable as Mount Tai, and as long as Zhao Buhui didn’t self-destruct, he might never run out of wealth.

The relationship between his father and his partners was another story.

Without those few individuals, his family’s decline wouldn’t have happened so early.

A flicker of resentment flashed in Shen Qi’s eyes, but he didn’t show it. Instead, he continued to listen to the irrelevant flattery, almost believing it himself.

Gu Wei snuffed out his cigarette, poured more wine, and repeatedly emphasized, “Back then, it was because my dad and uncle wouldn’t help, otherwise, once I was out of the mountains, I would definitely have assisted Uncle Shen.”

“No worries.”

Over the years, Shen Qi had learned to see through the warmth and coldness of human relationships. Seeing Gu Wei struggle to put on an act, he couldn’t bear it and accepted the drink.

It was better to accept it. Once Shen Qi took the first glass, the subsequent drinks flowed like water. He maintained his usual aloof demeanor and looked down on this group of people, but he considered that this chorus was not a slap in the face.

At least, the lost dignity from his youth was being restored time and again.

Look, whatever he wanted would eventually return to his grasp.

As Shen Qi got a bit drunk, he became less resistant to flattery. Though the praise was belated, it was finally here. Sitting in the center of the crowd, he listened to their monotonous words and off-key singing, indifferent to participating but unable to refuse.

He had returned to a life of high status.

He had long forgotten that today was Christmas, who he was supposed to spend it with, and was unaware that someone had been expelled from the hotel overnight due to the relationship he had once registered, wandering the cold streets of New York.