CHAPTER 205: CHAPTER 205: RESOLUTE

Seeing that Zhou Xiangqiao wanted to say something more, Shi Qiang forced the words from between his teeth.

"Get lost!"

Hearing Shi Qiang’s harsh words, the women beside him finally spoke up.

"Hey! Didn’t you hear him? Brother Shi told you to get lost!"

"You’re so shameless. When he loved you, you played him for a fool. Now that he doesn’t love you, you come crawling back."

"Exactly. You’re just asking for a scolding, aren’t you?"

"This is hilarious. Scram already, don’t embarrass yourself."

...

With every word, the color drained from Zhou Xiangqiao’s face. Seeing the expression on Shi Qiang’s face, she knew that staying any longer would only lead to further humiliation. Reluctantly, she bit her lip and said, "I know you’re angry and don’t want to see me. Fine, I’ll go. But I hope you won’t let your emotions get the best of you. Drink less alcohol; it’s bad for your health."

After speaking, Zhou Xiangqiao turned and left. A part of her wanted to walk out and immediately block all of his contact information, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. As long as there was even a sliver of a chance to go back to how things were, she wouldn’t give up. That was why, even in a situation like this, she had to remind him to drink less. It had to be said, she was a master at keeping men on the hook, showing just the right amount of feigned concern.

Her words struck a nerve in Shi Qiang’s heart. He even had the fleeting urge to call her back, but he managed to restrain himself.

Zhou Xiangqiao, for her part, wondered if her parting words had any effect as she walked away. But by the time she left the bar, the call she was half-expecting never came.

Shi Qiang watched her silhouette disappear, then slumped dejectedly onto the sofa. The surrounding women saw their opportunity. After all, a man was at his most vulnerable at a time like this.

"Brother Shi, don’t be like this. Let’s keep drinking."

"Yeah, Young Master Shi, it’s just one girlfriend, right? If you’re interested, how about me?"

"Pfft, in your dreams! Look at that plastic face of yours."

"You’re the one who’s had plastic surgery! I’m all-natural!"

...

Hearing them bickering, the already dejected Shi Qiang grew even more irritated.

"Can you all just shut up? You’re so annoying!"

Honestly, even though Shi Qiang had the appearance of a chubby, good-natured guy, he was genuinely intimidating when he lost his temper. His single shout silenced the group of squabbling women, none of them daring to make another sound.

"That’s about enough," Xia Liang chuckled softly, patting Han Mengyu’s back. "Time for my entrance."

At his words, Han Mengyu obediently stood up.

"Ladies..." Under Han Mengyu’s astonished gaze, Xia Liang pulled out two thick stacks of cash and tossed them onto the table. It looked like over 20,000 Yuan. Considering there were only five or six women there, each of them would get around 4,000 Yuan. In Shangluo City, that was an average person’s monthly salary. "My brother isn’t in a good mood today, so please don’t bother him. Take this money as thanks for keeping him company. You all can continue having fun. We’ll be leaving now."

Looking at the stacks of cash on the table, the women’s earlier resentment vanished instantly. They all broke into wide, joyous grins.

"Thank you, handsome!"

"You’re so generous, handsome!"

"Okay, handsome, we won’t bother you guys anymore."

"Brother Shi, call me if you miss me, okay?"

...

As Xia Liang and Han Mengyu headed for the exit, Shi Qiang quickly followed. When he glanced back, the group of women was still blowing kisses at him.

Once outside the bar, Shi Qiang took a deep breath of fresh air and felt his head begin to clear.

Just then, Xia Liang’s voice drifted over.

"Why did you let Zhou Xiangqiao leave like that? You know as well as I do that in that situation, getting her back as your girlfriend, or even taking her straight to a hotel, wouldn’t have been impossible."

"I know," Shi Qiang replied, his voice laced with bitterness. "But so what? Once she learned the truth, she’d just leave me again, and she’d look down on me even more."

"Haha!" Xia Liang chuckled lightly. "Do you regret it?"

Shi Qiang shot him a look. "What do you think? It’d be a lie to say I don’t, but I still think I made the right choice."

Xia Liang nodded in agreement, speaking seriously. "If you had really chosen that path back there, I would have lost all respect for you."

Hearing this, Shi Qiang feigned indignation. "So you were just messing with me! Did you arrange for her to come here just to watch me make a fool of myself?"

"Yes and no," Xia Liang said, his smile fading. "How did it feel tonight, being surrounded by all those women?"

"What kind of stupid question is that?" Shi Qiang rolled his eyes. "It was the high life, a world of debauchery with all the women cheering for me."

Xia Liang continued to press him. "So, don’t you want to keep living like this? To make this your everyday life?"

????

Shi Qiang was bewildered for a moment, then his eyes widened in shock. "Holy shit! Brother Xia, don’t tell me you’re going to keep bringing me to places like this to spend money! No way! I’m still agonizing over that half a million we spent today! I know we have money, but we can’t just waste it like that! That was half a million Yuan—enough to buy a house!"

Seeing Shi Qiang rambling on, Xia Liang’s face darkened. "Can’t you be a little more ambitious? Can’t you think about what you could achieve yourself?"

"Me?" Shi Qiang pointed at himself and let out a deflated sigh. "Just forget it. You know I’m too stubborn and simple-minded. Making big money is beyond me."

Seeing his spineless attitude, Xia Liang cut him off. "Enough of that nonsense! I say you can do it, so you can do it. In a few days, you’re coming with me to Qingyun City."

Shi Qiang was confused. "What for? What’s in Qingyun City?"

Xia Liang didn’t beat around the bush. "I’m planning to start an entertainment company. And you’re going to help me run it."

"Me?" Shi Qiang pointed at himself again. "Aren’t you afraid I’ll run your company into the ground?"

For fuck’s sake!

Xia Liang had never met someone so utterly devoid of ambition. He took a deep breath and said in a calm, even tone, "Qiangzi, do you know why I spent so much money on you today? It’s because I believe you have the potential to earn it all back for me. You need to believe in yourself. You have immense talent hidden inside you..." As he spoke, Xia Liang patted Shi Qiang’s chest.

"Really... really?" Hearing this, a powerful surge of emotion welled up in Shi Qiang’s chest.

"Really," Xia Liang nodded, adding some fuel to the fire. "Don’t you want to live this kind of life? Work hard! Once you have all of this, won’t Zhou Xiangqiao come running back to you on her own?"

At the mention of her name, Shi Qiang’s breathing grew ragged again.

He’s right. Xia Liang can give me the platform; all I have to do is work hard.

Shi Qiang had been a literature major in college. He’d even written a few scripts that sold for a decent amount of money. Back then, he was full of hope for the future. But ever since the breakup, he had let himself go completely.

For a moment, Shi Qiang stood there, his fists clenched fiercely.

"Alright!"

A flash of determination ignited in his eyes.