Chapter 9: The Top-Tier Elite Family
2092 Words
"I don't care; we've already booked a private room at Guose Tianxiang and ordered the drinks. We're just waiting for you to pay the bill."
Without giving Jiang Liu a chance to refuse, the caller hung up.
Jiang Liu glanced at Hua Sheng, who remained expressionless, showing no sign of guilt.
After a moment, Jiang Liu explained, "Guose Tianxiang is a place where businessmen entertain clients, and it's also a spot for the guys to hang out. I'll drop by, but if you don't want to go, I can have the driver take you home first."
"Okay," she replied promptly, making Jiang Liu feel the need to explain further.
"It's not a seedy place, don't get the wrong idea."
"You're overthinking it. In fact, I don't care what you do; it has nothing to do with me."
Hua Sheng's response was clear. Their relationship was merely a transaction; she was not foolish enough to get involved in his affairs.
Trying to be kind, Jiang Liu was instead rebuffed, leaving him feeling sour.
Nevertheless, he said nothing more, and soon the car arrived at Shili Chunfeng.
Everything here was arranged according to Hua Sheng's preferences. In fact, she used to stay here when she was bored in the mountains.
She had grown accustomed to living here, as it was as serene as her secluded dwelling on Zhong Cui Mountain.
Hua Sheng stepped out of the car with her two maids, Chun Tao and Yin Xing, and the driver continued on to take Jiang Liu to Guose Tianxiang.
On the way, the driver couldn't help but share his thoughts, "Young master, I have something to say. Don't take it the wrong way, I don't mean anything bad about the young mistress."
"Go ahead," said Jiang Liu, sitting in the back, smiling at the driver, Old Zhai.
"It feels like the young mistress is from a different era, kind of like the Republic of China period, like those Shanghai ladies, ever seen them? She's like Feng Chengcheng, wearing those vintage qipaos and speaking in an elegant manner. The funniest thing is, no matter where she goes, she always has her two maids with her."
After the driver finished, Jiang Liu couldn't help but laugh.
The driver was right; his new bride was indeed quite retro.
So, he jokingly added, "You're right, my wife must have time-traveled from the Republic of China era."
Thirty minutes later, the car stopped in front of Guose Tianxiang.
This place was in the most bustling area of the city center, with Guose Tianxiang spanning nine floors, symbolizing ultimate perfection.
From the inside out, the décor was lavish European style, with gold glittering everywhere visible in yellow, supposedly all gilded.
None of the cars parked at the entrance were worth less than five million. Even a Porsche worth just over a million was too embarrassed to park out front.
The world of the truly wealthy is beyond our imagination, both luxurious and intimidating.
After parking, the driver cautiously asked Jiang Liu, "Young master, shall I wait for you in the car? Call me when you're done."
"No need, it's getting late. You go home; I'll have someone drive me back later."
Jiang Liu didn't want to trouble anyone; the driver had been with him for many years.
After making arrangements, Jiang Liu headed inside.
"Mr. Jiang."
"Good evening, Mr. Jiang."
"Hello, Mr. Jiang." Almost everyone recognized Jiang Liu as he made his way to the top floor's supreme private room.
As he opened the door, he was greeted with a spray of champagne... Gao He held a bottle of the famous Ace of Spades champagne and sprayed it all over Jiang Liu.
"Here's to the eternal bachelor, congratulations on your marriage," Gao He said with a laugh, holding the champagne bottle.
Jiang Liu wasn't angry; he took a napkin from a waiter and wiped the champagne off his arm.
"Hey, did you come alone? Where's your wife?" This guy was quite the gossip.
Jiang Liu looked around and noticed that the place was crowded, with more than a dozen people sitting on the sofas.
Close friends like Qin Wan Yu and Wang Jun Xian were there, along with several well-known socialites and young elites from their circles.
"Anyway, I don't care, we've already booked a private room at Guose Tianxiang and ordered the drinks, just waiting for you to foot the bill."
Without giving Jiang Liu a chance to refuse, the other party hung up the phone.
Jiang Liu glanced at Hua Sheng, who remained expressionless, showing no signs of guilt whatsoever.
Thinking it over, Jiang Liu decided to explain, "Guose Tianxiang is a place for businesspeople to entertain clients, and it's also a hangout for the guys. I'm going to sit there for a while. If you don't want to go, I can have the driver take you home first."
"Okay," she replied promptly, which surprised Jiang Liu enough to feel the need to explain further.
"It's not a brothel, don't get the wrong idea."
"You're overthinking it. In fact, I don't care what you do; it has nothing to do with me."
Hua Sheng made it clear that their relationship was nothing more than a transaction; she wasn't about to foolishly get involved in his business.
Trying to be nice, Jiang Liu only ended up being rebuffed, leaving him feeling quite unpleasant.
However, he ultimately said nothing, and soon they arrived at Shili Chunfeng.
Everything there was arranged according to Hua Sheng's preferences; she used to stay here when she was bored in the mountains.
She was used to living here; it was as peaceful as the separate courtyard in Zhongcui Mountain.
Hua Sheng, accompanied by her maids Chun Tao and Yin Xing, got out of the car, while the driver continued to take Jiang Liu to Guose Tianxiang.
On the way, the driver couldn't help but share his thoughts, "Young master, I have something to say, but please don't take it the wrong way. I'm not saying anything bad about the young madam."
"Go ahead," Jiang Liu said, looking at the driver, Lao Zhai, with a slight smile.
"It feels like the young madam isn't from our era, more like from the Republic of China period, like those Shanghai Bund figures, ever seen it? She reminds me of Feng Chengcheng, likes to wear vintage qipao, speaks in a refined manner, and the funniest thing is, wherever she goes, she always brings along two maids."
After the driver finished, Jiang Liu couldn't help but laugh.
The driver was right; his new bride was indeed quite retro.
So, he jokingly added, "You're right, my wife must have traveled through time from the Republic of China era."
Thirty minutes later, the car stopped at the entrance of Guose Tianxiang.
This place was in the most bustling area of the city center, with Guose Tianxiang spanning nine floors, symbolizing perfect completion.
From inside to outside, the decoration was luxurious European style, glittering with gold; it was said that any yellow spot visible was gold-plated.
There were no cars parked at the entrance worth less than five million. Even a Porsche worth over a million seemed too embarrassed to park at the front.
The world of the truly wealthy was beyond our wildest dreams of luxury and intimidation.
After parking, the driver cautiously asked Jiang Liu, "Young master, shall I wait for you in the car? Call me when you're done."
"No need, it's late; you go home first. I'll have someone give me a ride back later."
Jiang Liu did not want to trouble others; this driver had been with him for many years.
After making arrangements, Jiang Liu headed inside.
"Mr. Jiang."
"Good evening, Mr. Jiang."
"Hello, Mr. Jiang." Almost everyone recognized Jiang Liu along the way.
He made his way to the top floor's supreme private room and upon opening the door,
He was drenched in champagne... Gao He held a famous bottle of Ace of Spades champagne and sprayed it all over Jiang Liu.
"Forever bachelor, congratulations on the marriage," Gao He said, holding the champagne bottle and laughing.
Jiang Liu was not upset and took a napkin offered by a waiter to wipe the champagne off his arm.
"Ah, you came by yourself, where's your sister-in-law?" This guy was indeed nosy.
Jiang Liu looked around and noticed, today's gathering was indeed large, with more than a dozen seated on the sofa.
His closer friends, Qin Wan Yu and Wang Jun Xian were there, along with several well-known ladies and gentlemen of their circle.
Jiang Liu remained composed and simply said, "She didn't come."
"How disrespectful! That shouldn't be...," Gao He said, surprising everyone since it was expected that a bride marrying into the Jiang family would be grateful and respectful.
Which woman wouldn't give Jiang Liu face? Which woman could be so unwise?
Qin Wan Yu joined in the laughter, "I don't think it's her not coming; it's you not allowing, right? You, always so stingy, didn't want to show off your wife, keeping her hidden is it?"
Jiang Liu walked over, sat down next to Qin Wan Yu, and leaned back on the sofa.
"You know me too well," he said, and the men all chuckled.
"Ah, since our Mr. Jiang got married in a flash, he surely can't have beauties around anymore, right?" Gao He continued to tease.
"Don't make it sound like that was a regular thing for me; you're ruining my reputation," Wang Jun Xian took out a cigar and offered it to Jiang Liu.
Holding the unlit cigar, Jiang Liu pointed at the mischievous Gao He.
Among these young masters, Gao He was the youngest, the beloved grandson of Minister Gao, and was much doted on by his family.
Why were they hanging out together?
Because they all enjoyed playing golf and snooker. Gao He, though young, was incredibly talented.
He played well, albeit a bit mischievous, but his character was sound, which made him well-liked among the older brothers.
Gao He had just returned from a vacation in Northern Europe and was shocked to find out upon landing that Jiang Liu had gotten married, and to Xie Dongyang's fiancée, no less.
This was big news, so as soon as Jiang Liu was free, they all urged him to come out for drinks.
Actually, they were also curious about the whole situation. Aside from Gao He, the other brothers were not particularly interested in women.
Qin Wan Yu had a girlfriend, but tragically, she died of breast cancer two years ago.
The incident had a significant impact on him, and he hadn't dated since.
Wang Jun Xian was busy with his business and also remained a lifelong bachelor.
But being from the prominent Wang family, one of the four great families, he was certainly not lacking in marriage prospects.
Gao He brought along a few young, rich second-generation friends, both males and females.
They were there to liven up the atmosphere and had invited many beautiful models to warm up the event.
The young ladies were quite bold, starting with dice drinking games and getting wilder as they drank.
With the loud music playing, they began to dance wildly.
Taking advantage of the noisy environment, Qin Wan Yu leaned over to ask Jiang Liu.
"Old Jiang, what's going on with you? Why the sudden marriage, and why with Old Xie's girl... That's not your style."
Jiang Liu, with a slight smile, simply said, "Playing the hero to save the beauty."
"Stop joking, come on, tell us the truth. We've all been curious all day."
Indeed, not only was Qin Wan Yu curious, but even the usually reserved Wang Jun Xian wanted to ask how Jiang Liu had so hastily made such a significant life decision.
Especially since he did it at someone else's wedding, taking their bride.
Wouldn't this surely start a feud with the Xie family?
They all roughly knew the situation, as there were many guests at the scene.
It was nothing more than Xie Dongyang being caught in bed with his lover on his wedding day.
Leaving the bride to face over a thousand guests alone, but the bride, a tough woman herself, didn't break down in tears. Instead, she pointed out a new groom for herself.
And that new groom was none other than Jiang Liu.
The story circulating was just that, but they wanted to hear the details from Jiang Liu himself.
Jiang Liu leaned back on the luxurious European red sofa, his smile full of hidden meaning.
- Writer
