The flying tray crashed against the wooden handrail of the stairs, shattering and filling the air with the scent of liquor.

The waiter, sent staggering backward by a punch, fumbled frantically. Guided by the conviction of "if I'm going down, I'm taking you with me," he grabbed ahold of President Zhang's waistband.

Everyone watched, wide-eyed, as the brutish features on President Zhang's face froze in a moment of "astonishment." A short cry of alarm escaped his throat as his hands flailed wildly in the air like a doggy paddle, and then he toppled stiffly out of the private room. Even as he fell, he relentlessly grappled with the waiter. The two of them stumbled and fell onto the gleaming lobby floor and, due to inertia, rolled for several turns in an embrace before finally slamming into the steps.

The man descending the stairs had his path blocked by the "man-made roadblock" and was forced to a halt.

The lobby fell deathly silent, so quiet one could hear a pin drop.

The dead silence lasted for three seconds before the people from the private room were the first to react. They rushed forward, a flurry of hands and feet, to help up the dazed President Zhang. Some dusted him off, while others asked with concern, "President Zhang, are you alright? Did you hurt yourself? Should we go to the hospital?"

Standing on the stairs, Huo Mingjun glanced down imperiously at the farce. His gaze shifted slightly, landing on the young man who was the last to emerge from the private room.

Most of his face was hidden in the dim shadows, its features obscured, but his posture was as straight as a tree, with narrow shoulders and a slender waist. His gait was light yet steady. As he walked out, he unhurriedly rolled up his shirt sleeves and came to a stop about three steps from the crowd. He lowered his head respectfully and asked with concern, "Are you alright?"

Seeing this display, the disheveled President Zhang nearly had an aneurysm from sheer rage. With a roar, he shook off the people supporting him and lunged forward to beat him.

Xie Guan flexed his wrist, as if nonchalantly. "Still want to go?"

President Zhang's advance came to a hesitant halt.

Just then, Wang Zhe, who had been standing silently to the side, suddenly rushed forward and grabbed Xie Guan. Without a word, he swung his arm wide and aimed a heavy slap at his face.

Xie Guan's entire focus was on President Zhang, leaving him unprepared for a sneak attack. Caught off guard by Wang Zhe grabbing his arm, he jerked his head back, but only managed to evade half the slap. The fingertips scraped across his face, instantly leaving a red welt that looked like a lash mark. Seeing his opportunity, President Zhang immediately puffed up his chest and landed a punch on Xie Guan's stomach.

Intense pain suddenly erupted from the spot unprotected by bone. Just like that, Xie Guan doubled over. Still not satisfied, President Zhang moved to land another kick. Xie Guan, clutching his stomach, barely managed to dodge, instinctively moving toward the exit. He stepped out from the dim doorway of the private room into the bright lobby.

That face entered Huo Mingjun's sight, every detail laid bare.

In an instant, an immense, indescribable shock seized his heart. Huo Mingjun stared intently at Xie Guan, the very air seemingly sucked from his lungs. In a suffocating silence that quieted the world, he hallucinated the sound of a torrential downpour.

As if in response, his old injuries ached. He froze for a moment, then suddenly clutched his mouth and began to cough violently.

His younger cousin, Huo Zhikuan, who was accompanying him, jumped in fright and hurried to support him. "Brother, what's wrong? Did you choke? Is it serious?"

Among all the cousins, Huo Zhikuan was considered one of the closer ones to him, yet even he only dared to support his arm lightly, not venturing any closer. Two bodyguards appeared from behind, seemingly out of nowhere. They expertly eased Huo Zhikuan aside and offered warm water and a handkerchief. It took a long moment of coughing for Huo Mingjun to catch his breath. As he did, his senses returned, and he noticed that due to the commotion he'd caused, the brawl downstairs had stopped, and everyone was now staring in his direction.

Leaning on Huo Zhikuan's hand, Huo Mingjun stood up straight and walked directly toward Xie Guan.

Xie Guan had broken out in a cold sweat from the pain in his stomach, which made it difficult to even remain standing. His senses, however, were still sharp. Huo Mingjun was still several steps away, but his frigid, imposing aura washed over him first. Without even needing to look up, Xie Guan felt his calves begin to cramp. Instinct outpaced reason, and he immediately retreated two steps toward the stairwell.

Seeing that he was actually about to flee, Huo Mingjun snapped in a low voice, "Stay where you are!"

He had just managed to stop coughing, and his voice was hoarse, making the low command sound all the more forbidding. Xie Guan, as expected, obediently froze in place.

President Zhang and his entourage exchanged confused glances. President Nie, who had been watching from the sidelines, was taken aback. She quietly tugged the sleeve of the producer who had arranged the meeting and asked, "Is that... Mr. Huo?"

The producer asked, completely baffled, "What Mr. Huo?" The moment he asked, realization dawned, and he sucked in a sharp breath. "How... It really is him! How could he possibly know that kid?!"

Everyone watched, dumbfounded, as Huo Mingjun strode forward, unceremoniously gripped Xie Guan's chin, and forced his face to turn toward him. He demanded in a low voice, "What are you running for? Do you know me?"

His grip was immense. Xie Guan felt as if his jaw would shatter into pieces in the man's hand at any second. He recognized him as the man he had encountered by chance at the foot of Cuiping Mountain last month, but out of pure survival instinct, he shook his head and mumbled, "N-no... I don't."

The distance between them was extremely close, only a dozen centimeters separating their faces, close enough for Huo Mingjun to notice subtle differences beyond the striking resemblance.

He loosened his grip. "What's your name?"

Xie Guan's mind raced, completely unable to fathom how this man had spotted him or what he wanted. He caught sight of the onlookers in his periphery and realized he couldn't possibly lie his way out of this. With so many people here who knew the truth, one could find it out just by asking anyone.

A painful pressure returned to his jaw. The man seemed to see through his hesitation. "The truth."

"Xie Guan."

"Real name?"

"Yes."

"Date of birth."

Xie Guan paused. His ID card and his real age didn't match. When he signed with his company, his agent saw his youthful face and had him list his age as two years younger. He normally used his actual birth date for things like passwords, but under these circumstances, Xie Guan chose the date on his ID. "1992."

Huo Mingjun's heart sank abruptly.

The age doesn't match... No, he knew perfectly well it was impossible for this person to be him.

The grip on his chin suddenly loosened. A finger with delicate whorls landed just below his eye, caressing the spot with an almost gentle touch.

The skin on his face was incredibly sensitive. The touch felt like an electric shock, sending a tingle from the nerves in his face all the way down to his tailbone. The touch made every hair on Xie Guan's body stand on end. His unusually fast reflexes kicked in without warning, and without a second thought, he slapped Huo Mingjun's hand away.

A crisp smack echoed.

President Nie and the producer, who knew the situation, felt their scalps tingle and nearly suffered heart attacks. Huo Zhikuan, completely aghast, pinched the thigh of the nearby waiter. "Did I see that right? Did that little brat... just hit my brother?"

The waiter clutched his thigh, nodding with tears in his eyes.

Xie Guan never knew slapping a hand away could sound so much like a slap to the face. He was already quite afraid of Huo Mingjun, and now he'd just slapped the man in public. He could already predict what was in store for him.

Huo Mingjun asked, "Have you had plastic surgery?"

"Huh?"

Xie Guan suspected the shock was making him hallucinate.

He hadn't dared to look directly at Huo Mingjun, but now he lifted his head in astonishment and met the man's gaze. His eyes were deep and limpid, the line from his forehead to the bridge of his nose was full and smooth, and a faint vertical crease from frowning was etched between his brows. With such resolute, handsome features, he possessed an imposing air without needing to be angry. But based on facial features alone, the man was so good-looking he made even Xie Guan feel plain in comparison. If a young girl were being stared at with such focus, she would likely have fainted from his sheer handsomeness.

Unfortunately, Xie Guan was a thick-skinned, broad-minded man.

"No surgery," Xie Guan said, looking at him suspiciously. He got straight to the point. "Have you mistaken me for someone else?"

Huo Mingjun's expression stiffened imperceptibly. Perhaps because they were so close, Xie Guan could sense his disappointment, despite the lack of any overt change in his expression. Since he had met the man once before, the sense of psychological distance wasn't as strong. He created some space between them and offered a smile. "You're probably mistaken."

For Xie Guan to have been signed by Xinghui Entertainment, his face had to be memorable. The moment his eyes crinkled into a smile, Huo Mingjun was instantly reminded of the man he'd seen on the streets of Cuiping City in May, the one who caught a drone with his bare hands. The strange feeling that had flashed through his mind then finally made sense—he was simply far too familiar with this face.

"So, it was you." Huo Mingjun allowed him to step back, saying just that.

He didn't need to act serious; his blank expression was intimidating enough. Paired with those words, it sounded as if he'd finally found a long-lost mortal enemy with whom he shared a blood feud.

The dull ache in Xie Guan's calves returned.

"This past May. At Cuiping Mountain. Remember?"

"Ohh—" In his head, Xie Guan was screaming, 'Why haven't you left? For the love of God, just go!' but on his face, he forced a look of dawning realization. "...Hi?"

Only then did the difficult man seem satisfied. He turned and beckoned to Huo Zhikuan. The owner of Lanyue Club immediately hurried over with practiced ease, playing the part of a sycophant to perfection. "Brother, your orders?"

Huo Mingjun packed away the sliver of emotion he had just shown in front of Xie Guan, his expression instantly reverting to a cold indifference that kept everyone at a distance. Having witnessed the entire brawl from the stairs, he added as a precaution, "Handle this. And don't give him a hard time."

Huo Zhikuan nodded in assent.

Huo Mingjun spoke in a normal voice, clearly audible to those standing nearby. It was obvious who the "him" referred to. While these people may have lacked character, they weren't unobservant. The quicker ones had already deduced Huo Mingjun's identity from Huo Zhikuan's "Brother," and even the slower ones knew that Lanyue Club had three floors, with the exclusivity of the private rooms increasing with each level. Anyone coming down from upstairs was not to be trifled with. Everyone's gazes inevitably shifted to Xie Guan, all of them secretly speculating about the young man's background.

After giving his instructions, Huo Mingjun left with his bodyguards via the elevator. From beginning to end, he didn't spare Xie Guan another glance.

Once he was gone, Huo Zhikuan sauntered over to President Zhang with a nonchalant look. "Guests fighting in a private room is a private matter and none of our business. However, damaged property must be compensated at its full value. You also injured one of our waiters. Who will be covering the medical expenses and compensation for lost work?"

No one answered.

"Whoever threw the punch pays. If no one wants to admit it, we'll have to pull the security footage," Huo Zhikuan's warm, smiling expression vanished in a flash. "You are all prominent figures. I'm sure none of you would want to see your names in tomorrow's headlines, am I right? President Zhang of Youhe Media, Director Li of Zhongpin Pictures..."

"Boss Huo... Boss Huo!" the producer quickly interjected. "Please, calm down. This was our fault, we were rash. I'll handle the compensation. Let's not harm our good relations over something so minor."

Only then did Huo Zhikuan's expression soften slightly. He had a waiter take inventory of the room's contents and led the producer away to settle the bill.

After such a commotion, no one was in the mood for drinking. Everyone had lost face and began to make their excuses and leave. Xie Guan had thoroughly offended President Zhang today, which would be difficult to explain to his company. Wang Zhe's expression was so grim he looked ready to kill. Xie Guan knew Wang Zhe would surely unleash his fury on him, but before that, there were two young women he couldn't just abandon.

Xie Guan helped Sun Xiao get Yin Lisha into a car to go to the hospital for a check-up. The girl clutched Xie Guan's hand, crying and thanking him incoherently. It took Xie Guan a good while to calm her down. After finally sending them on their way, he stood by the roadside. Before he could even let out a full sigh of relief, someone called his name from behind: "Little Xie."

A white BMW was parked at the curb. The window rolled down slowly, revealing President Nie in the back seat. She stared at Xie Guan with a complicated expression for a moment before saying softly, "You have a lot of courage."

It was the first time that night Xie Guan had been praised, and he looked up in surprise.

"As a woman, I greatly admire that you stepped in to right a wrong in a situation like that... But as an investor, I don't believe you did the smart thing. No company would dare to use an artist who attacks an investor at a business dinner. This will destroy your career."

Xie Guan's expression turned serious. He nodded. "I know."

"But President Nie, before I'm an artist, I'm a man. I can't see injustice and do nothing." He gave President Nie a slight nod. "Regardless, thank you for your kind words."

President Nie pressed her lips together, remaining silent for a long moment before speaking again. "President Zhang holds a grudge. He will definitely make things difficult for you after this. I can't help you with this, but it's not a dead end. If you can get a word in with that person, you might still have a slim chance."

Xie Guan: "Who?"

President Nie's gaze drifted past the car window, landing on the brightly lit Lanyue Club behind him. "Have you heard of Hengrui Group? The man who asked for your name earlier is the current head of the Huo family, Mr. Huo Mingjun. The owner of Lanyue Club, Huo Zhikuan, is his younger brother. If you still want to make it in this business, you'll need to find a backer more powerful than President Zhang."