Chapter 2: The Fragrant Pavilion

  At six o'clock in the evening, I arrived at the gate of Ju Xiang Ge.

  Dazhang, Xiaolizi and Aqiang had been waiting there. When Dazhang saw me, he immediately shouted loudly at me: "Over here, we've all been waiting for you."

  I quickened my pace and walked up to Da Zhang: "Isn't it just six o'clock? The agreed time, why are you all waiting for me?"

  Da Zhang pointed at Little Li: "His girlfriend said they'd go to the disco together later, so everyone came a bit earlier. Now that you're here, let's all go in." He paused for a moment: "Where are those friends of yours? Like Minzi and Qiong, didn't they come?"

  I turned around and looked at the road we came from: "Maybe he's not coming, we saw him at noon."

  "Then let's go in. There are quite a few people here today, and it won't make a difference with them either." Ah Qiang said: "Little Li invited some special people to celebrate your birthday."

  "Special person?" I suddenly thought of Chen Jin, could it be him again?

  Dazhang nodded and lowered his voice: "I don't know him either, but judging from the looks of it, he's a big shot who died with bodyguards!"

  "Bodyguard?" I was surprised: "No way? You must be mistaken? I don't know anyone who brings a bodyguard to eat a meal."

  Dazhang patted his head: "I'm not very sure, but it seems like they should be bodyguards. Black clothes, sunglasses, and suits, just like the bodyguards you see on TV."

  I couldn't help but laugh: "Wearing a suit and sunglasses is just a bodyguard? Maybe he's a friend of Little Li, don't think too much about it."

  Da Zhang furrowed his brow: "It looks just like it, but I really don't dare to be certain. Maybe it's just Little Li's friend, that's what he said when I asked him."

  I also furrowed my brow and walked over to grab hold of Little Li who was just about to enter the Fragrant Pavilion: "What kind of person is this friend you've brought?"

  Xiao Li Zi mysteriously said, "You'll know in a bit. Go ahead and go in first, my girlfriend has been waiting for a while now, she still wants to go play at Di Ba later."

  I didn't say anything else and followed Da Zhang, Xiao Lizi, and A Qiang into the Ju Xiang Pavilion. The Ju Xiang Pavilion was indeed the best wine house in this area, with a grand and luxurious decoration, shining brightly with gold and jade, various decorative items were either crystal clear or flashing with golden light, the walls were filled with famous calligraphy and paintings, everything looked extremely luxurious. Two pairs of handsome men and beautiful women served as doormen, standing on both sides of the gate, and there were also special reception staff to lead guests to dine or stay.

  They all came with Da Zhang, so they were relatively familiar. I was the first to enter such a luxurious place and couldn't help but be attracted by the decoration of Ju Xiang Ge, my eyes were almost straight, and for a moment, I accidentally bumped into Da Zhang in front of me, causing many guests in the hall to laugh at us secretly. Even the waiter leading the way in front couldn't help but cover his mouth and smile, but when he saw Xiao Li Zi looking at him, he quickly put down his hand covering his mouth and led us seriously to the elevator entrance.

  Dazhang lowered his voice and chuckled: "How's that? Nothing wrong, is it? This place is quite classy, isn't it?"

  I nodded: "It's okay. This place is luxurious enough, it's really not a place where people like us who don't have money should come!"

  Dazhang also nodded: "The first time I came here, I almost thought I was dreaming, haha..."

  Xiao Li Zi whispered in front: "Calm down. Be calm. Keep a normal heart." Paused for a moment: "We are set at 18th floor, room 1808. Just follow me up."

  I calmed down and hastily followed Little Li into the elevator. After the elevator door closed, I whispered to Big Zhang: "Almost made a fool of myself. The country bumpkin coming to the city is really me, haven't seen the big world before."

  The elevator attendant listened to my words, pursed his lips and smiled lightly, saying in a low voice: "It's nothing, I was like that when I first started working here. The more you come, the more you'll get used to it."

  I smiled and thought to myself: "How easy is it to come here a few more times? I'm just a poor student, how can I afford to come to such a place often?" But my mouth still said: "It should be like this..."

  Xiao Li glared at the waiter and said, "I've come here over a dozen times this month, but it's not enough? It's your floor that's dirty and has water on it, which almost made my friend slip. Luckily he's fine, otherwise you'd be fully responsible, got it? And can't even tell when my friend is joking, what kind of service quality is this? Be careful or I'll complain about you."

  The waiter was startled and immediately bowed his head to apologize: "Sorry, it's my fault, please forgive me!"

  Xiao Li was about to say something, but I couldn't bear it and hastily stopped him: "It's okay, it's okay, it's my own carelessness, it has nothing to do with you. And don't blame my friend, he has a bad temper."

  "Hey, what's wrong with my temper? The waitress shouldn't have interrupted our conversation in the first place. It's against their rules to just chime in like that. She's the one who's wrong, not us..."

  I was afraid he would say something unpleasant again, so I hastily pulled him and said, "Don't say any more."

  Xiao Li looked at me and seemed about to say something, but in the end he didn't say anything else.

  When we arrived at Room 1808, the two waiters standing outside the door immediately opened the door for us and bowed to say: "Please enter, sir!"

  Xiao Lizi didn't even look at them and walked straight into the 18th: "Welcome our birthday star, Jin Cang. Where is everyone's applause?"

  Dazhang pulled me forward with a big gesture, clapping his palms loudly while shouting: "Jin Cang has arrived, everyone applaud!"

  A buzzing noise was coming from my ears, and I hastily pushed open the window: "Turn it down a bit, or you'll become disabled soon."

  The room erupted in sparse applause, and when I looked around, I realized that there were actually quite a few people here today. Apart from Da Zhang, Xiao Lizi, and A Qiang, who came in with me, there was also Chen Jin, the middle-aged man I had met this afternoon. Sitting next to Chen Jin was an elderly man who appeared somewhat stout. The old man had a cigar clenched between his teeth, and on the thumb of his left hand, he wore a massive signet ring. The lighting in the room wasn't very good, so I couldn't make out what material it was made of, but it looked like it must be worth a fortune. The old man's right hand also grasped a black wooden cane, topped with a large cat's eye stone - this was something I could recognize at a glance. I had never seen this old man before and didn't know who he was to Xiao Lizi.

  Behind the old man stood four tall and sturdy men in black suits, each wearing sunglasses and standing with their hands behind their backs. Although it was impossible to see their faces clearly, they looked just like those bodyguards often seen on TV dramas.

  The old man sat next to Xiao Li's girlfriend, whom I knew, surnamed Liu, named Liu Xiaohui. Liu Xiaohui was a bit taller than Xiao Li, with a pair of small dimples on her face when she smiled, and had fair skin, making her a rare beauty. People said that Liu Xiaohui was an open-minded and practical girl, and the reason she became Xiao Li's girlfriend wasn't because he had any special talents, but simply because his family was wealthy and Xiao Li was very generous with his spending. Of course, Xiao Li treated Liu Xiaohui well, not just playing around.

  Liu Xiaohui was accompanied by seven or eight people, all of whom were our classmates in the same class. Perhaps they came because of Xiao Li's face, and I didn't know them at all. Although we were classmates in the same class, except for when everyone was in a large classroom during lessons, it was rare for us to communicate with each other normally, as everyone had their own social circle.

  I looked at the people in front of me who came to celebrate my birthday, and I really didn't know whether to be happy or what. In the end, I could only smile and thank everyone: "Thank you, I'm very happy that you all celebrated my birthday with me, thank you."

  Xiao Li took a step forward, pulled me to sit down in front of the old man, stretched out his hand and pointed at the old man: "This is my grandfather. He came over today to see me, so I brought him along to sit with us. It's also a good opportunity for you to celebrate your birthday."

  I finally understood Lao Bo's identity and hastily stood up saying: "Grandfather hello, I'm Jin Cang, a classmate of Little Li Zi."

  "We live in the same dormitory." After a pause, he added hastily: "Don't call me by my nickname, Grandpa doesn't know. Just call me by my name tonight."

  Little Li's grandfather chuckled and said: "How would I not know? When you were in high school, your classmates all called you that."

  Xiao Li scratched his head and smiled: "That's right, my classmates at that time also called me that."

  Little Li's grandfather stood up at this time: "Jin Cang, right? Guohua has mentioned you many times in front of me, saying that you helped him and are good friends. Well, Guohua's good friend, that also makes you a friend of this old man. I'll thank you on behalf of Guohua, thank you for helping him."

  "I hastily said: 'It's what I should do, my classmate is in trouble and I should help. Besides, it's not a big deal, don't mention the word thank you, I dare not accept it.'"

  Little Li's grandfather nodded at me, took a closer look at me, and then nodded again: "En, it's a good kid. Right, today is the birthday party for you young people, so this old man won't disturb you anymore. Guohua, go downstairs in a bit to get the birthday gift I prepared for Jinchang. As for me, I'll leave first, and you young people have fun." With that, the old man walked towards the door of room 1808, and just as he was about to leave, he turned his head and nodded at me before finally leaving.

  Those four men in black silently followed the old man, from start to finish they didn't say a word, nor did they make any extra movements. Little Li also followed them out to see off his grandfather, so we remaining classmates sat down together. Not long after, Little Li came back, he winked at Liu Xiaohui, then sat down as if nothing had happened.

  Liu Xiaohui came over and handed me a gift box: "Happy birthday."

  I took the gift box and put it on a nearby table, smiling at her: "Thank you."

  Liu Xiaohui smiled: "You are Guohua's friend, that is, my friend, don't be polite."

  Several other classmates also came over to give me birthday gifts. I thanked them one by one, and then spent my 21st birthday amidst a chorus of blessings.