Peng Xiaoyong wasn't exactly wrong, but he always spoke in such a pretentious tone, acting as if everyone else in the car was a naive child and he was the only one who understood how the world worked.
This made Liu Shuo very unhappy, and he couldn't help but let out a cold snort.
'Who do you think you are?' he thought. 'If it weren't for your connection to my brother, I wouldn't even give you the ti of day on the street!'
Zhou Yuwen's actual ntal age was a bit older than Peng Xiaoyong's, so naturally, he wasn't going to bicker over sothing so trivial.
Sitting in the passenger seat, he looked around at Liu Shuo's family Camry and asked, "This car is a 2007 model, right? It's practically older than you."
"It's a 2005."
Zhou Yuwen skillfully changed the topic, and Liu Shuo eagerly went along with the chatting, admitting that the car was a bit worn out.
"My dad just leaves it at ho every day with no one to drive it, so he gave it to to get around."
Zhou Yuwen remarked that it seed to drive perfectly fine, asking why he insisted on buying a new car.
"How could that be the sa? If I drive this thing, would Sister Hui even be willing to sit in it?"
Zhou Yuwen asked if she would really dare to refuse.
"If she dares not to sit in it, I'll slap her right across the face!"
Liu Shuo burst into laughter and added, "Brother, you're just ssing with . Why don't you slap my sister-in-law?"
"My girlfriend isn't as materialistic as yours. Right, baby?"
As Zhou Yuwen spoke, he tilted his head toward Su Qing in the back.
It was rare for Zhou Yuwen to call her sothing so affectionate, so Su Qing was more than happy to play along. Nodding eagerly, she chid in, "Of course! As long as I can be with you, I'd be perfectly happy even sitting on the back of a bicycle."
"Ew."
The two of them showing off their affection in public not only made Liu Shuo cringe but also had Lu Wanting giggling along. Using her slightly Taiwanese-accented Mandarin, she teased, "You guys are so cheesy."
"I'm getting goosebumps all over!"
Lu Wanting rolled up her sleeve to show Zhou Yuwen the goosebumps on her arm.
Zhou Yuwen casually dismissed it, asking what was so cheesy about that.
Being in a relationship was supposed to be sweet and affectionate, after all.
"Cousin, you should at least take so notes. The two of you don't even look like you're dating."
Zhou Yuwen joked with Peng Xiaoyong.
He was genuinely trying to look out for Peng Xiaoyong. They were relatives, after all, and it was no small feat that his cousin had actually brought a girl ho. Zhou Yuwen had noticed that even when the two sat next to each other, there was a clear gap between them.
How could that possibly work?
He had already brought her all the way ho.
Peng Xiaoyong, however, decided to put on airs. Pushing up his glasses, he declared, "Your cousin-in-law and I are engaged in a purely platonic, spiritual romance. You wouldn't understand."
The mont Peng Xiaoyong finished speaking, Liu Shuo burst into a fit of laughter. "A spiritual romance!? Haha, Cousin, you have to be joking! We're all n here, and my sister-in-law is drop-dead gorgeous! Unless you're impotent, how could it possibly be just a spiritual romance? Hahaha!"
After Liu Shuo's outburst, an awkward silence filled the car.
Peng Xiaoyong's face turned green with embarrassnt and rage.
Laughing until the end, Liu Shuo finally realized that no one else in the car was joining in, and he awkwardly swallowed his smile.
Zhou Yuwen shot him a glance and asked, "Do you think you're really funny?"
Liu Shuo scratched his head, remaining silent.
In a small county town, all the entertainnt venues were packed within a three-kiloter radius. Driving took barely five minutes, and they quickly arrived at the karaoke place.
Since it was the Lunar New Year holiday, the karaoke bars in the small town were booming with business.
Row upon row of bicycles were parked in front of the entrance.
A group of flashy young girls stood by the door, mixed with a scrawny, yellow-haired guy puffing clouds of smoke as they chatted.
The group headed upstairs.
It wouldn't be Zhou Yuwen or his friends paying for the karaoke. No matter how utterly clueless Peng Xiaoyong was about social etiquette, he would never ask a bunch of younger guys to foot the bill.
Upon asking for the prices, they were told a small room was thirty-eight yuan, a dium room was sixty-eight, and a luxury suite was ninety-eight.
Peng Xiaoyong reached into his leather jacket and pulled out two hundred yuan, thinking they would just get a dium room for two hours and call it a day. However, Liu Shuo imdiately shouted from behind, "Get the luxury suite!"
Peng Xiaoyong's expression soured.
Zhou Yuwen interjected, "There are only five of us. There's no need for that. A dium room is fine."
"Ah, Brother, you just don't get it. The sound system in the dium rooms here is terrible, and the atmosphere is garbage. The luxury suite is completely different. Ninety-eight yuan is absolutely worth the money. What's the point of earning so much out of town if you don't spend it back ho? We have to go with the luxury suite. Hey, Cousin, if you don't want to, I can cover it?"
"There's no need."
At this point, Peng Xiaoyong was annoyed to death by Liu Shuo. Where did his cousin find this wild, uncultured friend? Didn't he have any manners? Soone else was treating them, yet he was shouting demands left and right.
"We'll take the luxury suite." As a twenty-six-year-old man, Peng Xiaoyong wasn't going to bicker with a younger guy over this. Glancing at the eight hundred yuan left in his wallet, he hesitated for a mont before pulling out two more bills.
"Book it for two hours first."
While Peng Xiaoyong paid at the front desk, Liu Shuo continued grinning in the back. "Hey, do you guys want to buy so snacks? Just grab whatever you want! Cousin, is that okay?"
Peng Xiaoyong rarely visited karaoke bars, but even he knew that the concessions were horribly overpriced. Still, he forced out, "I don't mind."
He then glanced at Lu Wanting. "Do you want anything to eat?"
"Mhm! I'd really love so potato chips!" Lu Wanting was a very genuine person who always spoke her mind.
"Then go ahead and pick out so food. I'll cover everything here," Peng Xiaoyong said.
"Thank you! You're so sweet, Xiaoyong!"
Lu Wanting blinked her eyes and smiled at him.
Only then did Peng Xiaoyong finally manage a faint smile.
Liu Shuo was holding back laughter in the background. It wasn't until Zhou Yuwen shot him a glare that he reined himself in. Still grinning, he asked, "Then, Cousin! Can I grab sothing to eat too? Thanks, Cousin! You're the best! Brother, do you want anything?"
"Just go pick it out yourself."
"You don't want anything? Then what about you, Sister-in-law?" Liu Shuo looked toward Su Qing.
Su Qing simply turned her gaze back to Zhou Yuwen.
Zhou Yuwen said, "Just go keep my cousin-in-law company."
"Okay."
And so, the three of them headed over to the mini-mart section to buy snacks.
By this ti, Peng Xiaoyong had already finished paying for the room. Once the others were out of earshot, he finally lost his composure and confronted Zhou Yuwen directly. "What is wrong with your classmate? How can he have absolutely no manners? Why do you even hang out with soone like that?"
Zhou Yuwen chuckled and replied, "That's just his personality. He doesn't have a bad mind or any malicious intent. Cousin, if you feel like you're spending too much, I can just cover it."
"There's no need. I've already paid," Peng Xiaoyong muttered, feeling thoroughly frustrated.
In that mont, Zhou Yuwen suddenly realized that Peng Xiaoyong was actually quite similar to his eldest aunt.
With a light laugh, he said, "Cousin, there's really no need to be polite with him. This is truly just how he is. If you told him to pay, he wouldn't complain at all."
"That's easy for you to say."
Peng Xiaoyong completely misunderstood the dynamic between Zhou Yuwen and Liu Shuo. He continued muttering under his breath, complaining that the guy had absolutely no sense of boundaries.
After a brief exchange of words.
Liu Shuo and the others returned from their shopping spree.
Seeing Liu Shuo laden with bags of snacks and drinks, Peng Xiaoyong couldn't help but deeply furrow his brow.
Su Qing and Lu Wanting were reasonable; they had only grabbed a few bags of potato chips and so drinks.
Su Qing had also thoughtfully brought a bottle of mineral water for Zhou Yuwen.
Peng Xiaoyong had prepared himself to pay the bill, but seeing bag after bag of items being rung up, the total soared past two hundred yuan!
Peng Xiaoyong was on the verge of exploding in anger!
Even Zhou Yuwen felt that Liu Shuo was taking things a bit too far.
He ordered, "You pay the bill."
As Peng Xiaoyong was reluctantly pulling out his cash, his movents slowed down upon hearing this command.
No matter how much he cared about his pride, he couldn't afford to keep bleeding money like this.
"You got it!" Liu Shuo replied briskly, imdiately squeezing his way to the front desk.
Peng Xiaoyong weakly protested, "It's fine, I've got it."
But before he could even finish his sentence.
Liu Shuo had already slapped a card on the counter. "Hey, beautiful! Put it on the card!"
"???" Peng Xiaoyong froze in utter bewildernt.
Liu Shuo rattled off a phone number.
"Liu Jian. Yep, that's my dad!"
"Alright, please enter the password."
"Beep-beep-beep!"
Checking out complete.
The receptionist at the front desk announced, "The remaining balance on the card is over eighty thousand yuan."
"?" Not only was the rest of the group stunned for a mont, but even the flashy young girls standing nearby looked at Liu Shuo with newfound respect.
Good lord, he had actually managed to pull off an incredibly badass flex.
After paying, Liu Shuo grabbed the receipt and shalessly asked, "Beautiful, are you going to send over a complintary fruit platter later?"
"It's complintary."
"Perfect! Let's go, ti to sing!"
As Liu Shuo strutted arrogantly at the front of the group, Peng Xiaoyong felt as completely sick to his stomach as if he had just swallowed a fly.
Even Zhou Yuwen couldn't stand watching him show off so blatantly.
He delivered a swift kick right to Liu Shuo's buttocks.
"Ouch! Brother, why did you kick ?"
Zhou Yuwen demanded to know why he hadn't ntioned having a mbership card earlier.
"I really wanted to bring it up earlier, but Cousin was in such a rush to pay!" Liu Shuo said, his expression full of exaggerated feeling wronged. "Besides, it's my dad's card, not mine."
Zhou Yuwen chuckled, noting that his dad was quite a character to load fifty thousand onto a karaoke card.
Liu Shuo waved his hand dismissively. It wasn't nearly that much out of pocket.
"If you top up fifty thousand, they give you fifty thousand for free!"
"My dad and the boss are tight connections!" Liu Shuo puffed out his chest with imnse pride as he said this.
Zhou Yuwen laughed. "Then why the hell did you let him pay earlier, hehe."
Peng Xiaoyong trailed behind Zhou Yuwen and the others, listening to their conversation.
To be completely honest, Peng Xiaoyong didn't want to speak a single word right now.
This guy Liu Shuo was undeniably an erratic ss, but one thing he said was absolutely true. The luxury suite was leagues above the dium rooms. The small and dium rooms were just for students wanting to casually sing a few songs.
The luxury suites were likely designed for those seeking hostess services.
Just a mont ago, Liu Shuo had pulled Zhou Yuwen aside, trading whispers as he confided, "My dad didn't just load fifty grand onto this card for nothing."
"Brother, there are so many hidden perks here!"
Liu Shuo told Zhou Yuwen that there were quite a few gorgeous girls working there, and as long as you topped up your card with ten thousand, you could easily take one to bed.
"My dad has a lot of business dinners and social networking to do. Stashing so money here is an absolute win for him."
Zhou Yuwen raised an eyebrow. "You sure know a lot about this. Looks like you're quite the regular."
"No way, I just eavesdropped on their conversations. I wouldn't dare co here on my own. Let's sneak over here together soday," Liu Shuo suggested.
Zhou Yuwen outright rejected the idea, telling him to forget about it.
Lu Wanting had a rather playful and vibrant spirit. As soon as she entered the room and saw the state-of-the-art equipnt in the luxury suite, she looked deeply satisfied and imdiately went to grab a microphone to select so songs.
anwhile, Peng Xiaoyong, still feeling thoroughly humiliated and outplayed by Liu Shuo, walked into the room in a foul mood and slumped directly onto the sofa.
Noticing that Su Qing looked sowhat absent-minded, Zhou Yuwen asked her what was wrong.
Su Qing replied softly, "When I was outside just now, I think I saw your sister."
"My sister?"
"I an Yilin," Su Qing clarified.
Zhou Yuwen let out a soft "Oh" of realization and suggested that she might have just co out to hang around with her classmates.
"Yeah. Or maybe I just saw wrong," Su Qing mused.
Within the span of their brief conversation, Lu Wanting had already finished queuing up her songs and was standing with the microphone, ready to sing.
It felt as if stepping into the karaoke bar had completely transford Lu Wanting into a different person. She was a natural at hyping up the crowd. Today, she was wearing a white knitted round-neck tight skirt that perfectly complented her long hair, paired with fleece-lined nude stockings.
Standing happily in front of the coffee table, she smiled radiantly and asked, "Does anyone know how to sing this? If you know the lyrics, join in!"
Her first choice was an English song. The intro sounded vaguely familiar to Zhou Yuwen, but if he were asked to actually sing it, he wouldn't be able to recall a single lyric.
Lu Wanting swayed her body gracefully to the rhythm, her smile as bright and open as a sunny day. She called out again, "Co on, sing along if you know it!"
She then extended the second microphone toward Peng Xiaoyong.
Peng Xiaoyong adjusted his glasses and took it from her.
The lody of the English track was quite catchy, falling squarely into the upbeat and cheerful category.
The lyrics loosely translated to:
I'm ready to love, I'm willing to give my all to you!
After just a few lines, it beca abundantly clear that Lu Wanting possessed genuine vocal talent. She had an excellent sense of rhythm and a highly recognizable, distinct voice.
Technically, this was supposed to be a duet with Peng Xiaoyong.
However, Peng Xiaoyong's voice was so thoroughly overpowered by Lu Wanting's that it could be entirely ignored.
Lu Wanting was completely absorbed in her performance. She transitioned from playfully jumping around to sitting gracefully on the sofa, her legs elegantly crossed as she belted out the lyrics.
When Zhou Yuwen looked over at her, she happened to turn her head and lock eyes with him.
The way she leaned slightly to the side was undeniably charming.
However, Zhou Yuwen only spared her a fleeting glance. When Liu Shuo ca over to chat, Zhou Yuwen imdiately turned his attention to his friend.
Liu Shuo held up his phone to show Zhou Yuwen, grinning widely. "Brother, this is a pretty crazy coincidence. I just saw in the group chat that they're hanging out here too."
Zhou Yuwen noticed that the group chat Liu Shuo was referring to was the Xuhuai Association. "That's perfectly normal. This county town is tiny. Running into people we know is nothing to be surprised about."
"Brother, should I go over and say hello?" Liu Shuo asked.
Zhou Yuwen shrugged. "Go ahead."
"Are you coming with , Brother?"
"Give a break. You can go by yourself."
Liu Shuo looked helpless. Scratching his head, he pleaded, "Brother, shouldn't you at least make an appearance for your underling? Your underlings all practically worship you."
Zhou Yuwen firmly stated that those people were not his underlings.
"They absolutely are your underlings!"
"Cut the crap. The one they follow is you, not ."
"If you want to go, then go. Just don't drag them over here," Zhou Yuwen warned.
Hearing this, Liu Shuo couldn't help but pout.
After exchanging a few more words with Zhou Yuwen, he finally turned around and walked out.
Just then, Lu Wanting finished her song and looked curiously at Liu Shuo's retreating back. "Huh? Where is he going?"
"He bumped into so acquaintances and went out to say hi."
"Oh, I've realized the people around here are quite lovely. You seem to run into familiar faces no matter where you go."
Zhou Yuwen nodded, conceding the point. "I suppose so."
"Do you want to sing?" Lu Wanting asked.
"You guys go ahead. Honestly, my girlfriend and I aren't very good at singing."
"Liar. Your girlfriend told you even know how to write songs."
"She was just bragging."
"How about I pick a song for you?"
Lu Wanting was incredibly enthusiastic. She clearly felt that it wouldn't be right to just sing by herself; a party needed everyone involved to truly co alive.
Zhou Yuwen finally caved. "Alright, then queue up 'Rice Field'."
"Wow, you like Jay Chou too!?" Lu Wanting asked with pleasant surprise.
Zhou Yuwen nodded. "Of course. We share the sa surna, after all!"
Lu Wanting covered her mouth as she laughed in amusent.
Peng Xiaoyong, thoroughly annoyed by how happily his girlfriend was chatting with Zhou Yuwen, imdiately walked over to intervene. He asked Lu Wanting what song she wanted to sing next.
"Oh, I'm going to queue up a song."
With that, Lu Wanting stood up and returned to the karaoke machine.
A short while later, Liu Shuo returned, grinning from ear to ear while carrying half a case of beer. "Brother, they actually have a pretty big group going on! They booked two whole rooms. I just went over and sent them two cases of beer."
"There are that many of them?"
"Yeah, it looks like so kind of class reunion. They found out you were over here, and now they all want to co pay their respects."
"Give a break!"
Zhou Yuwen had zero interest in putting on such an arrogant, badass act. In the eyes of these young people, playing the part of a mob boss might seem incredibly cool and impressive. But Zhou Yuwen was a middle-aged man on the inside; he didn't find the whole charade appealing in the slightest.
He firmly told Liu Shuo to just let them enjoy their own party.
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