Chapter 29: Does a Shove Count as a Hit?

Chapter 29 Does a Shove Count as Assault?

Borrowing money to buy a birthday gift for his sugar daddy sounds ridiculous, but the moment Zhao Yu saw those cufflinks, he knew they were perfect for Gu Hansheng. Perhaps it was out of guilt for deceiving him, or maybe because Gu Hansheng had bailed him out at the police station and taken him to the hospital and saved his life—either way, Zhao Yu wanted to give him something to repay that kindness.

After borrowing twenty thousand yuan from Zhou Lan, he had the cufflinks custom-made.

When he got home, he checked his account balance and asked the housekeeper, "Auntie, do you know any place hiring part-time? I've been looking for something to do lately."

The housekeeper was surprised. "Are you short on money? Part-time work is exhausting—why don't you ask Mr. Gu to help you find a job?"

Zhao Yu wouldn't dare ask Gu Hansheng for help. He walked on eggshells every day, terrified of doing something wrong and upsetting that moody guy again. Besides, he had a clear understanding of himself—a high school dropout with no degree, how could he possibly make such a request to Gu Hansheng?

Fortunately, the housekeeper's husband worked in staffing and actually found Zhao Yu a well-paying job—a night shift at a bar, from 1 AM to 6 AM, at seventy yuan an hour.

The villa's lights were already out at midnight. Zhao Yu slipped out quietly and caught the night bus to the bar.

It was the busiest time of night. The moment Zhao Yu walked in, the music blasted his eardrums. He found the supervisor and said, "Hi, I'm here for my shift."

The supervisor was checking the liquor stock. He looked up, and his eyes immediately lit up as he looked Zhao Yu up and down. "You're Zhao Yu?"

"Yes."

"Applied for the server position?" He raised an eyebrow. "Ever consider being a drink host? Better pay, plus commission on drinks."

"No thanks, I don't drink."

"You're good-looking. Plenty of rich women are into your type. You sure you won't reconsider? A few drinks won't hurt." The supervisor squinted with a smile. "Don't worry, we don't do anything sketchy—just drink sales. If a customer likes you, how you make tips is your business. Once you walk out that door, we're not involved."

The supervisor had seen it all. While he was satisfied with Zhao Yu's looks, what mattered more was that he could tell from Zhao Yu's eyes that this guy was willing to go all out—the type who'd do anything for money.

If he'd been truly desperate, Zhao Yu might have agreed. But now, with Gu Hansheng's alcohol ban hanging over his head, he didn't have the guts even if he had the desire.

Seeing the supervisor wouldn't drop it, Zhao Yu said flatly, "I really can't drink. I'm allergic to alcohol."

The supervisor sighed, disappointed. "Fine, come with me to get your uniform. You'll also need to do some training."

The uniform was a black shirt and white vest. The supervisor picked through the closet and deliberately gave Zhao Yu a vest one size too small—once buttoned, it hugged his waist perfectly. Zhao Yu was already 180 cm tall, and in the uniform he looked broad-shouldered and narrow-waisted—an excellent figure.

"You're in Section 10. It's farther from the dance floor, so fewer people. Since you got in through connections, I'm giving you plenty of perks—work hard." The supervisor shot a sly glance at the empty booths. It was quiet now, but that wouldn't last long.

In the spacious Section 10, Zhao Yu stood out like a sore thumb. Before long, the booths filled up, and Zhao Yu suddenly got busy, constantly fending off customers trying to hit on him.

By closing time, Zhao Yu unbuttoned the vest that had been squeezing his chest, cursing the sly supervisor under his breath as he wiped down tables, yawning from exhaustion.

A few quiet days passed. Every night, Zhao Yu snuck out to work at the bar and returned before dawn, his schedule flipped to night owl mode. Although he was annoyed by the supervisor's constant scheming look, the pay was genuinely good, so he put up with it.

A few days later, Zhao Yu went to pick up the cufflinks from the shop. Two exquisite cufflinks sat in a black velvet box, and the clerk included a birthday card as well. Zhao Yu brought the gift box home and asked the housekeeper, "Auntie, this is a birthday gift for Mr. Gu. Where should I put it?"

The housekeeper had stored all the delivered birthday gifts in a room. Zhao Yu was about to put it there too, but the housekeeper said, "No need to put it away! You can give your gift to Mr. Gu in person—tomorrow is his birthday."

Zhao Yu scratched his head. "Never mind, just put it with the rest. I'm nobody special."

"How can you say that? You live with Mr. Gu, inseparable. None of Mr. Gu's friends are that close to him."

Zhao Yu had no idea what the housekeeper was imagining, and he didn't bother explaining. He simply set the box on the table. "Just put it away with the rest."

The housekeeper said, "Too shy to give it in person? Then I'll pass it along for you."

"Sure, whatever."

The main reason Zhao Yu didn't want to give it in person was that he was afraid of watching Gu Hansheng toss the gift away like trash. He had no confidence he'd get a kind glance from Gu Hansheng.

...

Song Wenhao was annoyed. He knew Gu Hansheng hadn't liked celebrating his birthday since his mom died, but as his best friend, he'd still prepared a birthday party on his yacht and invited a bunch of female celebs to join.

But then Gu Hansheng had gone to a Tuotu shareholders' meeting, argued with everyone, and sent his third uncle to the hospital with a hypertension attack. His third aunt was causing a scene at home, demanding he apologize, and now everyone was at the old man's place—so the yacht party was off.

In recent years, Gu Hansheng's grip on power had only grown, and the old man valued him more and more, which had the uncles and aunts frantic, constantly stirring up trouble.

Song Wenhao sighed and slung an arm around Lin Su's shoulder. "Bro, didn't expect the birthday to fall through, but looks like we're having a private date instead."

Lin Su was in his off-season and had flown back specifically for Gu Hansheng's birthday. He'd originally planned to fly right back out after not seeing Gu Hansheng, but Song Wenhao insisted he stay, saying he'd buy him drinks.

"Too many people in the bar?" Lin Su dug at his ear as soon as he walked in. "Is there somewhere quieter?"

Song Wenhao said, "There's a spot in the back with barely anyone—much quieter. Don't worry, my bar covers everything!"

He led Lin Su straight to Section 10, and the moment they got there, he was stunned. The "pristine" area he'd reserved was completely packed.

The supervisor spotted the boss arriving and rushed over to receive them. Song Wenhao asked, "Isn't this area usually empty? Is there some event today?"

The supervisor gave a fawning smile. "More people just means the business is doing well, right? Would you like a private room or a booth? There's a spot that just opened up—I'll have someone clean it right away."

"Nice, the place is doing well. I'll give you a raise and promotion next month!" Song Wenhao said. "We'll sit outside. Bring us two signature cocktails."

"Thank you, boss! Right away!"

The two sat down, and a server came over to clear the table. Song Wenhao's gaze swept across the server's face, felt something was off, looked again, and nearly jumped out of his seat. "Little White Flower?!"

Zhao Yu's face darkened at the nickname. He looked up at Song Wenhao and immediately recognized him—he was part of the group with the earring guy who'd gotten handsy that day.

Song Wenhao said, "Why do you keep haunting me? What's your angle coming to my place? Don't tell me—Gu Hansheng dumped you, so now you're gunning for me?!" He hugged his own arms protectively.

Zhao Yu was speechless at his delusions. He never imagined he'd be so unlucky as to end up working at this guy's bar.

"I'm just a worker here. I don't have any angle. Please move your arm—I need to clear the plates."

"Oh, so you've fallen on hard times." Song Wenhao leaned back into the sofa, gloating. "Wipe the table clean now—not a speck of dust allowed."

Zhao Yu ignored him, wiped the table clean, and carried the trash bin out to dump it.

The booth lighting was dim, so he hadn't noticed Lin Su, and Lin Su hadn't found a chance to say hello either. After he left, Lin Su asked, "I thought Old Gu liked him. Did they break up?"

Song Wenhao said, "He's just a con artist, pretending to be some innocent little flower who can't drink. Pah!"

Zhao Yu dumped the trash, then took off his white vest and went to the supervisor. "Pay me out. I quit."

"Why quit?" the supervisor said with a smile. "Is there a problem?"

"I just don't want to do it anymore."

Zhao Yu hadn't signed a long-term contract—wages were paid every three days. He'd just been paid yesterday, so quitting today was no problem at all. The supervisor knew he could leave whenever he wanted, but he'd been doing a great job these past few days—patiently handling the girls who flirted with him, keeping customers coming without offending anyone. Several female customers came specifically for him. Section 10 being so packed was entirely thanks to him.

The supervisor didn't want to let his cash cow go. He quickly said, "I can give you a raise. You're at seventy an hour now, right? I'll bump you to a hundred."

"Not interested."

“I’ll add another hundred for meal allowance.”

He figured it was a win-win—Zhao Yu stays to draw in customers, and he gets a raise. But Zhao Yu only saw it as a trap set by Song Wenhao; the more the raise went up, the more suspicious it felt.

Seeing Zhao Yu insist on leaving, the Supervisor grew anxious. He had planned to slowly brainwash Zhao Yu over time, moving him from the public area to the private booths, and eventually to drinking with clients. He had even planned out a persona to build for him, so he was naturally unwilling to let him go easily.

So the Supervisor lunged in front of Zhao Yu and said, “Everything’s negotiable, right? If you just walk out like this, I’ll be short-staffed, and that puts me in a tough spot. You gotta have some sense of responsibility on the job, right?”

Ever since Area 10 got busy, the neighboring Area 9 had become much quieter, so there was no real shortage of staff. Zhao Yu couldn’t be bothered with his guilt-tripping and shoved him aside.

But the Supervisor stepped in front of him again. Zhao Yu snapped, “You done?” and shoved him again hard.

With that shove, the Supervisor tripped over a chair leg, flailed, and hit the ground. He flew into a rage and cursed, “I’ve been too good to you?! You dare lay a hand on me?! Think you’re still walking out of here?! Security?! Call security!”

The Supervisor hadn’t even scraped his skin in the fall, but he acted like he was totally in the right and wouldn’t let it go, insisting people block Zhao Yu from leaving.

The commotion in the staff area caught the attention of some nearby customers, and before long, word reached Song Wenhao. He got up to check what was happening, and when he saw that the center of the argument was Zhao Yu, he bristled: “You again? What, what, what are you trying to do? Security, hold him back, don’t let him swing again! Call the cops right now!”

Zhao Yu was amused by their nonsense: “What do I want? I should be asking you what you want! Blocking me from leaving—what, you think you’re the mob, throwing your weight around?”

Song Wenhao shot back, “Don’t you dare pin that on me! I run a legal business! You’re the one who threw a punch in my place and then tried to flip it on me!”

“Does a shove count as a punch?” Zhao Yu suddenly reached out and pushed Song Wenhao, sneering, “A good dog doesn’t block the path—does that count as a punch?”

Song Wenhao immediately backed off three steps: “I’m warning you, don’t touch me! I’m calling the police! I’ll have you thrown in jail!”

“Go ahead and call—you’ve been yelling about it, so why haven’t you done it?”

Lin Su heard the noise and came over. Seeing that the situation seemed to be spiraling out of control, he first sent a message to Gu Hansheng, then stepped forward to mediate.