Chapter 25: Return to the Rose Hall

"Love even if it kills, if it's not intense, it's not satisfying! How deep the affection..."

In the Rose Room, which Wei Lin had just left, Fu Jintang was wailing into the microphone, her long hair whipping around in a frenzy.

The private room door suddenly swung open. Wei Lin, acting like a floor manager, led three male escorts in and lined them up in front of the LCD screen.

"Good evening, Ms. Fu!"

Wei Lin bowed along with the three men, his face wreathed in smiles. He was genuinely amused. He hadn't expected this lady's singing voice to be quite so... heroic... and "melodic."

Fu Jintang, who was terrible at singing but loved it anyway, awkwardly stopped her screeching. She sat down, picked up her glass, and narrowed her eyes to inspect the three young men.

Setting aside their looks for a moment, the three men standing beside Wei Lin were all at least 1.8 meters tall. They wore matching white shirts, well-fitted loose trousers, and polished Oxford shoes. Their style was on point. Compared to the previous group, they were clearly a tier or two higher in quality.

Seeing that the newcomers had decent looks, height, and style, Fu Jintang’s mood improved significantly. She smiled and said, "When playing in places like this, you really need a local connection."

Wei Lin encouraged her, "Pick one, Ms. Fu?"

"They all look about the same. You pick one for me." Fu Jintang speared a slice of watermelon with a toothpick and ate it elegantly, a completely different person from the one who had been screaming her lungs out just moments before.

"How about you?"

Wei Lin pointed to a young man with stubble on his chin and said with a smile, "I specifically asked their manager just now. I heard this guy is the best singer here, so I'll leave him to sing a few songs for you, Ms. Fu."

Hu Jing, the man who had been pointed out, looked stunned. The other two were equally blank-faced.

"That's the one! What's your name?" Wei Lin asked, though he already knew.

"Uh, Hu Jing. My name is Hu Jing."

Having been given instructions before entering, Hu Jing looked flattered and professionally set about pouring drinks for Fu Jintang and Wei Lin. The other two bowed and chirped, "Have a great time, Ms. Fu!" before taking their leave.

"Ms. Fu, a toast!"

Hu Jing, having poured his own drink, crouched down in front of Fu Jintang, keeping his glass extremely low as he said respectfully, "Welcome to Yangyanghong, Ms. Fu!"

After the drink, he waited for Fu Jintang to take a sip before turning to Wei Lin.

"Alright, go find a song you're good at," Wei Lin gestured toward the karaoke console.

"Uh, right." Hu Jing went to pick a song with a pained expression.

"Not bad, Wei Lin. You seem pretty familiar with how things work in these places," Fu Jintang teased.

She glanced at the near-empty bottle of imported liquor and was just about to call the manager over when she saw the manager walk in with a fresh bottle of Hennessy VSOP. The manager set the bottle down, gave Fu Jintang a polite, smiling bow, and turned to leave.

"You two know each other, right?" Fu Jintang hummed, her bright eyes showing no sign of intoxication; clearly, she had an excellent tolerance. "The manager who just came in, and the three escorts you brought—they all know you, don't they?"

"I knew I couldn't hide it from you." Wei Lin rubbed his nose, sighed, and said, "When I was in college, I had a falling out with my family and wanted to be self-sufficient, so I worked part-time at a bar for a while."

Fu Jintang was surprised. "What kind of part-time work?"

"Just like them. I started as a male escort. Later, because my body couldn't handle it, I moved up to floor manager, and then general manager." Wei Lin put on a look of regretful shame and continued his serious-faced bragging, "The manager who just brought the drinks was a guy from my old team. He’s finally made something of himself."

Hu Jing, who had just finished picking his song, stiffened. *I never expected our boss to have such a miserable past!*

"Brother Wei..."

Thinking of how Wei Lin had also spent time at Yangyanghong, worked his way up from escort to manager, successfully exited the industry, and even started his own business, Hu Jing felt a sudden surge of respect.

*No wonder other guests look at us like servants or dogs, but Brother Wei looks at us like we're actual human beings!*

*Brother Wei is a role model for all of us!*

Hu Jing was so moved that he changed his song choice to something more fitting and moved it to the front of the queue.

"Walking through the clouds, coming through the wind, covered in dust! My heart is wounded, my feelings are cold, my tears have dried!"

With a voice even more terrifying than Fu Jintang's, Hu Jing belted out *Hero's Tears* with all his might, his eyes even welling up at the emotional peak.

"Brother Wei! I'm draining this, you drink as you please!" Hu Jing tossed his head back and downed the entire glass.

Fu Jintang’s toothpick froze in mid-air. She asked very seriously, "Him? That was the best singer?"

She didn't believe a single punctuation mark of Wei Lin's earlier tall tale, but she found him interesting, and the two had already moved on to other topics. Who would have thought that Hu Jing, throwing himself into the song with such raw emotion, would start howling so dramatically that it startled Fu Jintang?

"Small places are like that. His voice is already the 'King of Karaoke' at Yangyanghong," Wei Lin whispered, raising his glass toward Hu Jing and taking a large, smiling gulp.

Feeling validated, Hu Jing sang with even more fervor, his voice shaking the walls of Yangyanghong.

*One day, I’ll be like Brother Wei and get out of this hellhole!* Hu Jing vowed to himself.

"The one you picked for me is really something." Listening to Hu Jing’s beast-like singing, Fu Jintang smiled and said, "Come on, Wei Lin, let's keep playing finger-guessing games!"

She really had an incredible tolerance for alcohol. Before long, Wei Lin was swaying even when he went to the restroom, while she remained as steady as a mountain.

An hour and a half later, a tipsy Wei Lin, pulling Hu Jing along, started playing Truth or Dare with her. After a round of tentative "Truths," half a bottle of liquor remained. Not knowing how much he had consumed, Wei Lin suggested "Dare," and Fu Jintang happily agreed.

After rock-paper-scissors, Wei Lin won, and Fu Jintang lost against Hu Jing. With the alcohol going to his head, and wanting to make Fu Jintang happy, Wei Lin dared her to either kiss someone or drink half a glass of liquor.

The only men in the room were him and Hu Jing. He figured that since Fu Jintang enjoyed frequenting places like this, she would be open-minded enough—otherwise, drinking the liquor would be fine too.

"I knew you wanted to take advantage of me." Fu Jintang chuckled and scolded him softly, then boldly wrapped her arms around Wei Lin’s neck and planted a kiss on him.

A dazed Wei Lin froze for a second. "That's not how this script was supposed to go..."

The next moment, he chose to respond passionately, turning the fleeting peck into a deep, heated kiss. Eventually, it was Fu Jintang who couldn't take it anymore and forcibly pushed him away.

Hu Jing rubbed his nose and, being sensible, went back to the console to pick a few more songs to liven things up. Seeing him get ready to sing again, Wei Lin got a headache and quickly said, "Xiao Hu, that's enough, don't sing. Come over here and pour our drinks!"

...

1:30 AM.

Fu Jintang supported Wei Lin all the way from the Rose Room to his car, hailed a designated driver, and gave the address of the hotel where she was staying.

"Is this really your limit?" Looking at Wei Lin, who was slumped against her, Fu Jintang sighed, feeling like she hadn't had her fill of fun yet.

Fifteen minutes later, as the car neared the hotel, Fu Jintang pushed Wei Lin in frustration. "Wei Lin, are you alright? Where do you live? I'll have the driver take you home."

"Home... home... home." Wei Lin couldn't provide a specific address.

"Ugh, in the end, I have to take care of you, you troublesome guy."

Fu Jintang had no choice but to let the driver leave with the car, then dragged and pulled Wei Lin out of the vehicle. Before leaving the car, Wei Lin grabbed and tugged at things, not forgetting to bring his small bag containing his contracts and company seal.

By the time they stumbled into the hotel lobby, Fu Jintang was exhausted. She quickly called the duty manager over to help support Wei Lin and ordered, "Open another room for me."

The duty manager glanced at Wei Lin and looked troubled. "I'm sorry, we're fully booked today."

"Fully booked?" Fu Jintang looked suspicious.

The duty manager nodded with a bitter smile. "I apologize. We had a tour group check in this afternoon; we really are at capacity."

"Fine then. Just help me get him to the 12th floor," Fu Jintang said helplessly.

"Right away!"

According to hotel rules, if a guest brings a stranger in the middle of the night, a duty manager like him would normally require identification for registration. But since the person being brought in was Wei Lin, that was naturally unnecessary.