Chapter 025: What Exactly Are You Pretending to Be?

It was already late at night, but the SK lobby was still loud and energetic, with music blaring so deafeningly that countless men and women were shaking their bodies wildly.

I have never been fond of such places, and if it weren't for work, I would rarely set foot in one. Having borrowed a uniform from Lu Xiaona and wearing tinted night-vision goggles, I stood beside the stage acting as temporary security.

Chen Yinan, on the other hand, was like a fish in water here, handling himself with ease as he went over to a table to play finger-guessing games with a few beautiful women.

At the table next to me sat three women, all in their forties. They looked quite wealthy, dripping with gold and silver, making them very eye-catching. The woman sitting facing the stage had fair skin and a bloated figure; almost every finger on her hands was adorned with a diamond ring, sparkling enough to make one dizzy. The one sitting to her left had the best figure—well-maintained, though her appearance was rather mediocre, which didn't quite match her physique. The one on the right had a wild style; despite her age, she was wearing a camisole, and her gaze was the most brazen of the three.

The plump woman raised her glass to me and shouted, "Handsome, want to come over and have a drink with us?"

These three women seemed quite desperate; they had been winking at Chen Yinan and me since we arrived. Chen Yinan couldn't stand their enthusiasm and simply ran off, but I was stuck here, having to endure their harassment, at most pretending not to hear them.

Seeing me turn my head away to ignore her, the plump woman didn't get angry. She snorted and said, "Handsome, how much can you make in a night guarding this place? If you make me happy, a little tip from me would be worth several months of your salary!"

The other two also laughed and said, "If you work here, you have to loosen up. Acting all high and mighty like that, you won't last long!"

"You look unfamiliar; you must be new, right? I, for one, love fresh meat like you! Come on, one hundred bucks a drink—are you going to drink it or not?"

I wanted to walk away, as I had no desire to deal with them, but every guard is responsible for a specific area. Where could I go? I was security, not a VIP. Even though I was only posing as one, I had to play the part; I couldn't just get into a confrontation with customers on the spot.

I forced a smile, gave them a slight bow, and said, "Thank you, ladies, but I'm on duty and cannot drink."

That one sentence infuriated all three of them.

The plump woman slammed the table, pointed at me, and scolded, "Who are you calling 'aunties'? Why are you so ungrateful? Giving you a chance and you don't know how to take it, huh?"

The plain-looking one sneered, "Since you're a newbie, I'll kindly teach you a lesson. Working here, you can only get ahead and make money if you maintain good relationships with the guests! Don't think that acting all aloof makes you superior. In this place, acting high and mighty just makes you a complete fool! Do you understand?"

Hearing the commotion, a man in a suit standing not far away walked over. He glared at me and barked, "What are you doing!"

He was the one whom Lu Xiaona had instructed to give me the uniform and assign me to this spot. He was the shift lead for the night, named Yang Zhi. My first impression of him was that he was rigid and humorless; coupled with his burly frame, he carried an air of authority just by standing there.

He glanced at the table behind me and scolded me in a low voice, "These ladies are our regulars and good friends of Manager Lu! If you offend them, you're fired immediately!"

I hadn't finished my task for the night, so I couldn't leave. I quickly explained, "Lead Yang, I didn't offend them; they were forcing me to..."

Before I could finish, Yang Zhi impatiently interrupted, "Don't give me that nonsense. The customer is God; you do whatever they tell you to do! Who do you think you are, showing that sour face to everyone? And what's with the act? Take off those glasses!"

He reached out to grab my glasses, but I tilted my head to dodge him and said, "Lead Yang, Manager Lu specifically said I don't need to take my glasses off!"

Yang Zhi was about to reprimand me further when someone behind him called out, "Little Yang!"

"Coming!" Yang Zhi turned around immediately. The face that had been stern just a moment ago instantly blossomed into a smile.

I was stunned. Was this guy a successor to the Sichuan opera tradition? How could he change his face so fast?

The wild-looking woman, sitting with her legs crossed, crooked a finger at Yang Zhi: "Come here!"

Yang Zhi trotted over, bowed his waist, and wore a sycophantic smile as he greeted them one by one: "Sister Jin, Sister Zhang, Sister Huang! I haven't seen you all for a couple of days; I've missed you to death! Sister Huang, what are your orders?"

The wild woman pointed to the glass of wine in front of her and said, "Drink it!"

"Thank you for the drink, Sister Huang!" Yang Zhi was overjoyed. He picked up the glass, tilted his head back, and downed it in one gulp.

The wild woman reached into her handbag, pulled out a hundred-dollar bill, tossed it onto the table, and said, "Take it!"

"Thank you for the tip, Sister Huang!" Yang Zhi's eyes were almost hidden by his grin as he grabbed the bill and stuffed it into his pocket.

The wild woman glanced at me, gave a cold snort, and said to Yang Zhi, "Come on, bark a couple of times for us!"

The other two women burst into laughter. Yang Zhi's face was filled with embarrassment, and he seemed hesitant. The wild woman curled her lip, pulled a few more bills from her purse, and threw them onto the table: "Bark!"

Yang Zhi looked at the money, his eyes lighting up. He lifted his hands to his chest, let them hang limp, and let out a few "woof-woof-woof" dog barks at the three women!

The three women all laughed hysterically, and even guests at nearby tables began to snicker. Yang Zhi, however, didn't care; he just stuck out his tongue and looked at the three women with a fawning expression.

Sister Huang picked up the cash, patted Yang Zhi’s face gently, and said, "Good boy! Take it!"

Yang Zhi quickly stuffed the money into his pocket, shouting, "Thank you, Sister Huang!"

The plump woman waved her hand, signaling him to go away. Yang Zhi hurried off, not even sparing me a glance, and returned to his original post. Watching him stand there with his chest puffed out, I sneered—what authority!

The wild woman looked at me provocatively and laughed, "Did you learn something? That’s what a smart person does! You have to be shameless to earn more and get further than others! Given your current status and position, what right do you have to act all high and mighty with us?"

She filled the empty glass with wine again, placed a hundred-dollar bill next to it, and pointed at the glass, saying, "Drink it!"

I remained unmoved.

The wild woman sneered, slapped several more bills onto the table, and continued, "Drink it!"

I didn't even want to acknowledge her and turned my head away.

The wild woman's expression darkened, and she said coldly, "I'll give you one last chance!"

She pulled out a thick stack of cash and slammed it down next to the glass. Judging by the thickness, it was at least four or five thousand!

"Drink it!"

I turned back around.

The faces of the three women showed contemptuous and triumphant smiles. The wild woman said with utter disdain, "So much for being 'aloof'—you're just greedier than the rest! As long as the price is right, aren't you just going to turn into a little lapdog like everyone else?"

I walked over to the table. Instead of picking up the glass, I pressed my hands onto the tabletop and, holding the frames of my glasses, asked, "What exactly are you all trying to pull with me?"

"What did you say?!" The three women's expressions shifted, and they glared at me in fury.

Just as I was about to take off my glasses, a waiter walked over and said to them, "Sister Jin, Sister Zhang, Sister Huang, what are you doing? It's just a drink, I'll handle it!"

He picked up the glass and downed it in one go. Just as he was about to grab the cash on the table, Sister Huang pressed her hand down on his.

"Ah Xuan, you're not worth this much!" She smiled slightly, picked up the stack of bills, pulled out two, and stuffed them into the waiter's uniform pocket.