The man who walked in had a gold chain around his neck, swaggered as he moved, sported a bleached buzz cut, an earring, and wore a black tank top that showed off a fierce tiger-head tattoo on his exposed arm.
"Yo, Big Tank, you're in early today—rare sight." As soon as Sunny stepped forward, the hostesses burst out laughing and crowded around him.
"Sunny, you’re early yourself today." A flashy hostess nestled into his arms, giggling sweetly.
Sunny didn’t hold back—his hands roamed up and down, grabbing hard as he teased, "Missed you, didn’t I? Tonight you’d better play nice with your Sunny."
From start to finish, Sunny never once glanced at Big Tank standing next to him.
Big Tank stood off to the side, his expression shifting between gloom and frustration.
"Big Tank, I left some trash in my office yesterday—forgot to toss it. Help me clean up later, and make sure you wipe down my chair real good."
Sunny laughed loudly and slapped Big Tank on the shoulder.
"You don’t need to ask me for that, isn’t that the cleaning lady’s job?" Big Tank forced a grin.
"Huh? If I tell you to do it, you do it. What, was I not clear enough?" Sunny’s face darkened, his eyes turning cold as he stared at Big Tank.
Being called out in front of everyone, Big Tank couldn’t keep his pride. He clenched his teeth and fists, the tension in the air rising.
But Sunny suddenly grinned again. "Look how worked up you are, Big Tank. With a body that big, taking up so much space, if you don’t put in the effort, there might not be room for you here much longer. You know how it is—land prices are shooting up these days."
"Sister Hong said it herself—this bar’s too small a temple to worship too many gods, right? Cutting costs, saving money, it’s all for the sake of better development."
After saying all this, Sunny patted Big Tank’s shoulder again.
Big Tank just stood there, awkward as a fat pig on display.
A few of the hostesses nearby glanced at Big Tank and snickered, "Big Tank, you really should lose some weight or you’ll get all sorts of health problems—high blood pressure, high blood sugar, you name it."
"Yeah, take care of yourself, Big Tank," another hostess giggled.
"Thanks so much for your concern," Big Tank muttered, voice low and gloomy.
"Ha, by the way, Big Tank, is this your new recruit? Doesn’t look like much."
"Still just a scruffy kid, huh? Dressed in rags, showing up here—don’t go ruining the customers’ mood." Sunny glanced at Evan Lin, who’d been coldly watching from the sidelines, gave him a quick once-over, figured he didn’t come from much, and instantly lost interest. With a few women in tow, he headed upstairs to enjoy himself.
"Oh, right—I've got some friends coming over later. Big Tank, make sure you help entertain them."
Big Tank saw Evan Lin had no intention of stepping in and felt even more dejected. Sunny was planted here by Sister Hong, and while SK Bar’s business was good, troublemakers were common. Sister Hong used that as an excuse to insert Sunny, and Big Tank hadn’t been happy about it from the start.
But as everyone says, fists make the rules. Big Tank might look huge, but even with all his men, they couldn’t take Sunny in a fight.
Just thinking about the last time Sunny beat him up—he’d hurt all over for a week—Big Tank still had a bit of trauma.
Big Tank had actually reported this to Imperial Grand’s Charlie Liang, hoping he’d help, but lately everyone was busy dividing turf, so nobody cared about a small fry’s problems.
"Solid turf, callused knuckles, knows a little martial arts." As Sunny checked him out, Evan Lin was sizing him up, too.
But Evan had no intention of making a move—Sunny was targeting Big Tank, after all.
"Who is he, anyway?" Evan asked.
"Sister Hong brought him in to watch the place. He skims a cut from us every month." Big Tank answered honestly, but there was a hint of resentment in his tone toward Evan.
You’re supposed to be tough—so why didn’t you step in just now?
Big Tank snorted, "I’ll go clean his office. Do whatever you want."
He left with his injured underlings, all grumbling. Big Tank really didn’t dare defy Sunny—SK Bar was his main source of cash, after all.
"Big Tank, do we really have to clean his office?" one of his lackeys whispered.
"Clean it? Of course we clean it—damn it, thought I was getting a backer, but turns out he’s just a coward!" Big Tank fumed, glancing back at Evan Lin standing in the middle of the bar.
Looking at Evan’s thin figure and out-of-place clothes, Big Tank got even angrier. "Charlie Liang must be out of his mind—just look at this guy, does he look like he can fight?"
"I didn’t do anything at the school gate and still lost face because of him. Now here at SK Bar, I’m getting humiliated again—how am I supposed to live like this?" Big Tank grumbled, full of frustration.
None of his lackeys dared say a word.
Evan Lin found a sofa in the corner and sat down, not in any rush—rare to have a bit of peace and quiet.
"Hello, would you like to order something?" A waitress came over with a drinks menu and asked Evan.
"I’m good, thanks." Evan looked at her and noticed the obvious impatience on her face.
"Sorry, little brother, this is a bar—you have to order something if you want to sit here. If no one buys anything, we won’t make money, and if we don’t make money, the bar shuts down."
"Besides, you just sitting here like that really affects our business." The waitress clearly didn’t like Evan.
She thought his clothes were an eyesore, and Evan obviously didn’t have much money. If he couldn’t buy anything, she wouldn’t get any commission.
Evan frowned at her words, just about to reply when someone nearby called out, "Get this friend a cocktail—the 'Bloody Rose.' Put it on my tab!"
The waitress turned around and saw a group of guys and girls standing behind her. The one who’d spoken was a guy in a limited-edition Versace sports jacket, chin up, looking all cocky and carefree.
Next to him was a girl holding her head high, proud as a peacock.
The rest looked like rich kids, each one carrying themselves like they owned the place.
The waitress’s face lit up. She quickly put on a smile and took their order: "Would you like anything else?"
"Bring me plenty of drinks, and a few fruit platters too."
After ordering, the lead guy glanced at Evan and smiled. "Don’t be so timid when you’re out, man."
"Thanks," Evan nodded slightly, meeting his gaze.
With that, the guy and the group of students headed upstairs to a private room.
"Summer Mu, what’s up with you? Buying a drink for some broke student?" a girl in the group asked, covering her mouth.
"Don’t you get it? Boss Xia is just showing off in front of our Goddess Rui." Another girl laughed, glancing at the proud girl beside them.
The girl’s face was icy. Hearing that, she shot Summer Mu a look of disgust and said coldly, "Boss Xia’s money has nothing to do with me, so don’t start rumors."
After speaking, Renee Qiu glanced softly at another boy beside her. Summer Mu caught it, and his expression turned awkward and a little sad.