Splashed with juice in front of dozens of people, Chen Er Gou is not a god, although he has been practicing Tai Chi for some time, but after all, he hasn't cultivated the calmness to dominate the situation, a surge of anger churned in his belly, only he didn't have the courage to slap Wei Dong Chong's face and then break off relations with Wei Duan Gong.

  Take a step back if you can't be carefree, then take a few more steps; bear with it for a moment if you can't have calm waves, then bear with it a little longer. This is one of the empty grand principles that the crazy old man used to spout when Chen Erdong was young and which he looked down on, but now, as he thinks about it, it seems like a profound saying that gets more and more to the point.

  Wei Dongchong belonged to the kind of person who was unreasonable and liked to bully others. When she saw Chen Ergou enduring in silence, she felt embarrassed to continue her tantrum. She pointed at him with her hands and feet, making him run around like a servant, which gave her a sense of pleasure similar to pointing at the mountains and rivers. She had long been dissatisfied with ordering people of the same age around, feeling that it was not challenging enough for her. Making them surrender under her stone lotus skirt didn't give her any sense of accomplishment either. Chen Ergou was different; being 24 or 25 years old made him a full-fledged adult in her eyes. Therefore, she enjoyed bullying and teasing this inferior person who only had an advantage in age but was at a disadvantage in all other aspects. Her cherry lips smacked as she drank from a bottle of red wine that she had secretly taken from the wine cellar. She looked at Chen Ergou, who was sweating profusely as he served tea and water, while she sipped on the fine vintage wine that Wei Duan Gong had specially brought back from the Magao Manor. Her small eyes curved into crescent moons as she leaned against the railing of the second-floor balcony, holding her wine glass and calling Chen Ergou over with a seemingly kind intention: "Are you thirsty?"

  A 14-year-old kid can develop into a seductive figure like Wei Dongchu, if it weren't for the fact that under her beautiful appearance lies a heart full of malice. Chen Ergou would have had some unseemly thoughts about her, carefully approaching her and keeping a safe distance, shaking his head. Chen Ergou has too big of a generation gap with her and her gang, they almost don't share any common language, so Chen Ergou quickly gave up on the idea of getting close to them, his principle when dealing with these young masters and princesses is to not speak, just do his job.

  Wei Dongchu didn't intend to let Chen Ergou off the hook, striking a pose that could provoke men, holding a glass of bright red wine, paired with her mature and delicate peach blossom face, which had a few points of lazy sensuality. A 14-year-old girl wouldn't have the capital to cultivate this skill, lightly biting her lip, full of emotions, murdering the eyes of a large group of young boys around her. Looking at Chen Ergou, she smiled seemingly harmless: "Do you think I'm prettier than Wei Xiacao that witch?"

  Chen Ergou nodded cautiously.

  Wei Dongchong scrutinized Chen Ergou's expression, didn't find any flaws or loopholes, immediately retracted his flattering attitude, revealing his arrogant nature, and said: "Consider yourself lucky to be able to leave, if I see you dare to take another glance at the loose woman downstairs, I'll dig out your eyes and feed them to dogs." Chen Ergou sighed inwardly, turned around and left. Women, indeed a species that sparks war with men, it's the same in Zhangjiacun, whether it's the village flower or the widow, even Cuifeng who can catch Zhang Danyang's eye will fight fiercely over a man's gaze, turning a small village into a chaotic mess.

  Perhaps she felt that the masquerade ball on the first floor would make Wei Dongchong uncomfortable, so she took her entourage and loyal friends out of the villa in a grand manner. Then Chen Ergou was sitting on the stairs, openly admiring the beauties. People gather with their own kind, except for a few occasional sprouts of pure green grass, all the women brought by Wei Xiacao or her male friends were pretty and charming. If he hadn't experienced Cao Jingjian's demeanor up close, if he hadn't argued with Zhang Xixi, if he hadn't drunk and smoked with Xiao Mei, that Beijing young master, if he hadn't gambled with Zhao Kunpeng, that Shanghai dandy, Chen Ergou would definitely have looked up to those well-born young men on the first floor with reverence. Not to mention feeling inferior, which was a given, he wouldn't even dare to sneak peeks like he did now, so confident and unashamed. Comparing oneself to others can be suffocating.

  Chen Ergou quietly drank a bottle of mineral water by himself, with a white towel draped over his shoulder to wipe away sweat, and wearing a security uniform. He gazed from afar at the vibrant nightlife of the circle, but since he didn't participate in it, Chen Ergou's incongruity wasn't too jarring, nor did he stick out like a sore thumb. This was because he was a character that would make Wei Xiacao and others involuntarily forget him on sight. He had no illustrious family background, no dazzling talent, and no overbearing personality - what could he use to squeeze into their world? Chen Ergou's face was tense, without the hypocritical smile he wore when facing Wei Dongchong. It looked slightly relaxed, but not a bit tired. That face, stubbornly like a reed in the wind, swayed back and forth but refused to fall. Liu Qingfu, the fatty, sensed two or three points of flavor from that face, while the simple-minded Xiao Yan felt six or seven points of intuition. Cao Jingjian saw right through him, giving him a score of ten out of ten. But when they arrived in Nanjing, at Shanhuaiguan, Chen Ergou seemed to become nothing more than a lackey in Wei Dongchong's eyes, unable to adapt to the local environment.

  Son of a dog.

  Some of the young men who heard this humiliating title would have been furious, but Chen Ergou just smiled and wiped his sweat with a towel. He was bored, so he hummed a song he had just learned, "Your Face", which was written by an old man named Luo Dayou. Chen Ergou liked it very much. After drinking and showing off, they had all gotten close to each other, and the masquerade ball was coming to an end. Since it was still early, they were going to go to a bar together later that night. Some people went back to their rooms to change into normal clothes, and Chen Ergou also left the villa. As he passed by the tennis court, he saw Wei Dongchong and his friends playing basketball. The boys were tall and sturdy, with one of them being over 1.8 meters tall, and two others nearly reaching that height. They must have been on the school team, as their movements were agile and they could dunk but not shoot three-pointers. The girls around them looked mesmerized. Chen Ergou sat in a distance, smoking and watching them perform. When he finished his second cigarette, he was about to leave when Wei Xiacao and her friends arrived. Wei Dongchong, who had been playing tennis seriously all along, suddenly grinned mischievously and ran to his sister's side, smiling innocently: "Wei Xiacao, how about a three-on-three game? If you lose, you'll have to leave the villa from now on. But if I lose, I promise not to enter that door again. What do you say, are you in?"

  "Bored."

  Wei Xia Cao sneered and glanced at the big boys on the court who were still in middle school, full of disdain.

  "Then I'll take it that you're conceding defeat." Wei Dongchong turned around and left, very neat and tidy. He didn't forget to add insult to injury, "You bring a bunch of trash and still want to compete with me for territory? Don't even have the decency to look in the mirror at your own reflection."

  "Just for fun."

  Seeing Wei Xia Cao's angry face, the handsome young man who had been good-looking since kindergarten and was still receiving love letters every year came out to mediate. He indeed was the core figure among these people and didn't give Wei Xia Cao a chance to refuse, directly calling out three names to let them go on stage. Wei Xia Cao couldn't help but smile and say: "You're letting three university students play basketball with three junior high school students, it's not like you're afraid of damaging your image."

  "It's just for fun." The young man said with a wink.

  It just so happens that the situation on the field is a bit beyond the expectations of the young man and Wei Xiacao. The three people who came up on this side were unexpectedly suppressed all the way, making Wei Xiacao even more embarrassed. She didn't need to look at Wei Dongchong to know that the arrogant kid must have been looking down his nose with a smug expression. In fact, there wasn't much triumph on Wei Dongchong's face, and all of this was just what she had expected. The three boys who were secretly given the nickname "Three Musketeers" by her were the backbone of the school team, and two of them were even promising young players who had been noticed by the provincial team. Winning against university students wasn't anything special.

  Chen Ergou lit his third cigarette and secretly delighted in it. This time Wei Xiaocao had lost a lot of face.

  At the critical moment, someone had to stand up, and it was only at this time that they could show their style. The handsome man who made women fall in love with him and men angry took off his jacket and smiled at a burly companion beside him: "Bin Yan, let's go and have some fun too. We can't be scolded as cowards and also make Xia Cao lose face. If we're going to bully kids, then let's just bully them."

  A master makes a move, and the momentum is suddenly reversed. The scene has completely changed. Chen Er Gou didn't expect that this young man not only suited to be a vase or a high-end pretty boy, but also played basketball fiercely. His shooting style was elegant, his three-pointers were incredibly accurate, and his shooting posture was almost perfect. This kind of person is born to drive women crazy on the court. Chen Er Gou could even imagine the scene of women collectively going wild during the game. He took a hard drag on his cigarette and saw him make another beautiful three-pointer, Chen Er Gou muttered: "Damn it, this guy's existence is just constantly creating disasters. Like a sun shining brightly without getting tired, isn't he afraid that the sunflowers will break their necks?"

  The nail in the coffin for Wei Dongchong was that one of his players, due to over-exertion while fighting for the ball, collided with a giant gorilla-like player from the opposing team and ended up with non-stop nosebleeds, limping and unable to continue playing. But where could Wei Dongchong find another player like that? The remaining players were all book-smart glasses-wearing types, either with no skills or too weak, just like thin bamboo sticks that couldn't withstand a slight collision with the giant gorilla and would fly far away. Up and down the court, Wei Dongchong made adjustments three or four times, but the score only got more and more lopsided, and the number of injured players increased. As soon as he saw Wei Xiacao's sinister expression in the distance, Wei Dongchong was furious. Suddenly catching sight of Chen Ergou squatting in a corner smoking, his anger intensified - how dare he watch the game with such a leisurely attitude? Wei Dongchong pointed at Chen Ergou and shouted: "You dog slave, switch players! Get him to go up!"

  What's wrong with you?

  It's so ambiguous and has double meanings. As soon as she said this, not only was Chen Ergou stunned, but also Wei Dongchong wanted to dig a hole in the ground to hide. But since the words were already out, explaining would be equivalent to making excuses, which wasn't her style. Her slender fingers hooked towards Chen Ergou, and with a tone that seemed like she had nothing to lose, she hummed: "If you help me win, I'll give my first kiss to you!"