Zhang Xingyue felt that this fat, tattooed character was no good, and offering a toast was nothing virtuous.

Moreover, as a woman of the Zhang Family, toasting these social scum? How could that be proper?

There and then, she waved her hand and said with cool indifference, "No need, thank you. Zhizhong, let's just eat in the main hall!"

After speaking, she even reached out to pull on Liu Zhizhong's hand.

But as soon as she touched Liu Zhizhong's hand, her face started to heat up, shyness welled up inside her, and she quickly retracted her hand as if struck by lightning.

Zhang Xingyue immediately turned and walked towards the main hall, eyeing a small empty table in the corner.

When Liu Zhizhong was pulled, oh, that delicate and smooth hand of her set his heart aflutter.

Right there and then, Liu Zhizhong took two steps to catch up with Zhang Xingyue, seized her hand, and the touch was truly soft and tender. He had never expected that at her age, she could be so delicate!

He said directly, "Wife, why bother? It's so noisy outside, let's stay somewhere quieter! This brother is so righteous, we shouldn't disappoint his kind intentions!"

This handshake made Zhang Yuxing feel both shy and angry.

That term of endearment he used, "wife," spoken with such a magnetic warmth, made Zhang Yuxing's ears tingle, but it infuriated her even more.

The fat, tattooed man beside them chuckled, sensing an opportunity and said, "Come on, beauty, we're about to leave anyway! Listen to your husband!"

This made Zhang Yuxing's face turn even redder, her shyness becoming more enticing. Unable to help herself, she glared at Liu Zhizhong and snapped, "Let go of me, if I say I won't go, then I won't..."

But subconsciously, seeing Liu Zhizhong giving her a meaningful look, she had no choice but to bite back the rest of her words, just as Liu Zhizhong was giving her that look while saying, "Wife, why bother? It's a waste of good intentions! You've been down lately, we're out here to unwind, wouldn't it be nice to have a quiet meal in the private room? Let's go, we shouldn't keep people waiting."

After he finished, he didn't let go of Zhang Yuxing's hand and, pulling on it, said to the fat, tattooed man, "Brother, thank you, please lead the way?"

"Hehe, sure, sure..."

The fat, tattooed man glanced at the couple's clasped hands, especially Zhang Yuxing's slender hand, which made him itch with anticipation.

Zhang Yuxing really felt depressed, but she didn't want to make a scene with Liu Zhizhong.

This really let him take advantage both by hand and by mouth. The kid had too much nerve—just wait until she took him to task for this later!

Liu Zhizhong was also secretly thrilled.

Holding that small hand in his, he felt over the moon.

The ice-cold nun of the Yangzhou Municipal Committee, haha, he got her in his grasp.

And as for calling her "wife," well, he just did—what about it?

Anyway, he had his designs on Zhang Yuxing, so it no longer mattered.

A woman from the Zhang Family, he was not going to let even one slip by, hehe...

Once they entered the private room, the other three fashionably tattooed men actually started clapping enthusiastically.

The fat, tattooed man seemed to be the boss here. He chuckled, invited Liu Zhizhong and his companion to sit down, and then immediately summoned the waiter to order more dishes, especially the finest mutton chops and to bring two cases of beer.

With all this revelry, were they really preparing to leave?

Were they trying to stuff Liu Zhizhong and his "wife" to death, or to get them drunk?

Right there, Zhang Yuxing felt uneasy, sensing that the four tattooed men meant no good, not a single one of them.

Now, they seemed somewhat drunk. Their eyes were leering at her, almost as if they were going to strip her dress off with their gazes.

Zhang Yuxing felt her skin crawl with discomfort, and she inwardly cursed Liu Zhizhong, that little rascal, for being such a troublemaker!

Liu Zhizhong was well aware of what was going on, but he didn't show any fear. Considering the vibe of these folks, what were they but trifles?

Thereupon, he also indicated that he couldn't drink much.

But they insisted that meeting by chance was fate, and that there wasn't much alcohol anyway, so it was a good opportunity for everyone to get to know one another better.

The boss, the fat-tattooed one, even mentioned that they were from the Provincial City, planning to take Route 718 into Tibet, and had a big imported camper van worth over a million. Along the way, it would be good to look out for Liu Zhizhong and travel together.

Liu Zhizhong then said, "We're not heading to Tibet, just going up to Dingkang City. We have to hit the road early tomorrow, so we really can't drink much."

"No problem, Dingkang is close by, have a drink, just a drink. How about each of us has three glasses?"

In the end, Liu Zhizhong didn't bother to argue. Once the mutton arrived, he ate, and when the beer was poured, he drank.

But he claimed his wife had a weak stomach and couldn't drink beer—he would drink for her.

Zhang Yuxing, had it not been for Liu Zhizhong's constant squeezing of her hand under the table, signaling her not to get too worked up, she would have really lost her temper.

Nevertheless, in less than twenty minutes, Liu Zhizhong had sussed out the background of the others.

Turned out, these four guys ran a small company in the Provincial City. The most influential among them—the fat-tattooed one—had some connections. An uncle of his was a city enforcement bureau chief in a certain district.

With such a background, Zhang Yuxing really looked down on them. Liu Zhizhong also felt emboldened. However, he also discovered that among them, a shorter tattooed man seemed to have some underworld background, evident in the way he spoke and drank.

When the mood was high, the short man even boasted that in the Rongjiang District of the Provincial City, if there was any trouble on the street, to look him up, and he would ensure everything would be fine.

Of course, Liu Zhizhong merely said that he and his wife had a small building materials business in Yangzhou, and just played along.

After they had their fill of food and drink, Liu Zhizhong feigned drunkenness, claiming he couldn't drink anymore, had eaten enough, and was ready to settle the bill and take his wife back to rest.

But the fat-tattooed group, being quite intoxicated themselves, said there was no rush. They suggested heading to the nearby KTV to sing and have fun since they were out to enjoy themselves anyway!

The other three men also joined in urging them. But at this point, their gazes at Zhang Yuxing were getting more questionable.

Liu Zhizhong, feeling a bit woozy, shook his head, "Never mind, we won't go sing. I'm afraid I might lose my wife tonight! The way you brothers look at her, it's not kind at all!"

Hearing this, Zhang Yuxing's face flushed, and she felt quite uncomfortable. This damn rascal was intentionally causing trouble by making such remarks!

And sure enough...