"Who..." Three thugs showed a fierce look on their faces, but as they turned around, all three were instantaneously frightened into a ghastly pallor.
"Young Master Gu, what are you doing here? Are these your friends? We'll leave right now!" The leader of the thugs clearly recognized the man, the one who was nodding and bowing down, immediately waved his hand and, with his two thugs, scurried out of the bar. The man in the gray suit had a smile on his face as he took a seat across from Lin Mo. Gu Youwei looked with some curiosity at the young man in front of him, he had been watching Lin Mo sit here drinking alone since the beginning, consuming the amount of alcohol that would floor at least ten people, yet he wasn't drunk, and that had piqued his interest.
However, Gu Youwei found it strange, he had obviously helped him just now, but Lin Mo hadn't uttered a single word of thanks. Nonetheless, he wasn't angry but instead spoke with a smile, "Friend, drinking alone, got dumped, huh?"
"Dumped? Somewhat," Lin Mo responded with a bitter smile.
"It's about the same for me, I'm being forced into marriage by my family." Gu Youwei's face showed a bitter smile, "By the way, I haven't introduced myself yet, my name is Gu Youwei."
"Lin Mo."
Lin Mo replied indifferently.
Gu Youwei frowned slightly, in the entire Qinghai City, there were few who didn't know his name, yet when Lin Mo heard it, there was no expression on his face at all, which made Gu Youwei suspicious. Could it be that he was not from Qinghai?
The two sat together drinking, Lin Mo remained silent while Gu Youwei, after consuming a few times more alcohol, had a flushed face and was somewhat drunk.
"Brother Lin, I really don't like her. If it weren't for a major problem in the family, I wouldn't think of clinging to the Tong Family, sigh."
Gu Youwei was murmuring to himself, and after an indeterminate period, when he opened his eyes in a drowsy state, he found that Lin Mo had already disappeared.
"He left without even saying goodbye?" Gu Youwei shook his head, massaged his temples to ease the tension.
...
The next evening, Duanmu Xiang personally came to the door, inviting Lin Mo and Yingzi to attend the cocktail party hosted by the Duanmu Family. After all, with Lin Mo's identity, attending this cocktail party could only be an opportunity to enhance the Duanmu Family's prestige, no matter how one looked at it.
Originally, Lin Mo had planned to leave Qinghai to continue his search for Xia Mengdie, but he suddenly thought of something and accepted the invitation to the cocktail party.
At eight o'clock in the evening, the Moonrose Hotel was alight with flickering lights, and luxury cars were lined up like clouds, with a row of stern-faced bodyguards flanking the red carpet at the entrance, along with numerous reporters and media.
Not many might be aware of the Duanmu Family's reputation, but the fame of the Jia Auction was renowned throughout Huaxia, and even spread across Europe, America, and Southeast Asia.
For the cocktail party hosted by the Family Head Duanmu, nearly all the famous figures of Qinghai had gathered here.
"Young Master Gu, congratulations, I heard you're getting engaged to Miss Tong of the Tong Family. That's some good fortune!"
Several young men in suits and leather shoes, exuding elegance, had just stepped out of their cars, one of them, dressed in dark blue and wearing a Vacheron Constantin watch, spoke nonchalantly.
The other young man in the black suit was Gu Youwei himself.
"Mr. Du, it seems you envy me?," Gu Youwei spoke unabashedly.
"Envious? Hardly. Who doesn't know about the current situation of the Gu Family? Marrying Miss Tong is nothing more than using you as a bargaining chip," Du Tao sneered coldly.
The other youths looked at Gu Youwei with a trace of scorn in their eyes.
"Moreover, it's still an open question whether Miss Tong will agree!" Du Tao said, leading his group towards the entrance of the hotel.
Gu Youwei stood still, his fists clenched so hard that even when his sharp fingernails dug into his palm, he felt no pain.
"Damn it," Gu Youwei cursed through clenched teeth.
At that moment, Gu Youwei's peripheral vision caught sight of a taxi stopping by the road. A young man and woman got out, and he turned his head instinctively, pausing for a second before exclaiming with widened eyes, "Hey, what are you doing here?" The pair, approximately in their teens, disembarked the cab—the boy was dressed in casual hooded attire and was exceedingly handsome, though his expression was somewhat stoic, while the girl in a T-shirt, shorts, and sneakers boasted well-rounded, slender legs which would attract any man's gaze. Most eye-catching were her twin long ponytails, giving her an immensely 'Lolita' vibe.
These two were none other than Lin Mo and Yingzi, who had come from the hotel.
Upon seeing Gu Youwei, Lin Mo was momentarily stunned since he did have a recollection of encountering him once in the bar last night.
"Brother Lin, I didn't expect such a coincidence, you're here as well," Gu Youwei expressed with a feeling of cordiality.
"Hmm, a friend invited me to join a gathering," Lin Mo said placidly. After all, since they had met before, exchanging greetings was no issue.
"Happens I'm alone too—how about we go in together?" Gu Youwei offered with a smile.
"Is this your girlfriend? She's quite pretty," Gu Youwei said while briefly nodding in acknowledgment as he observed Yingzi.
A faint blush emerged on Yingzi's cute face as she nibbled her lip. She initially wanted to clarify, but hesitated for a moment and ended up keeping silent for some reason. Lin Mo glanced at her nonchalantly from the corner of his eye—since he was not well-acquainted with Gu Youwei, there was no need to explain anything to him.
However, when Lin Mo heard Gu Youwei's words, he paused, a slight curve forming at the corner of his mouth. The youth before him resembled himself three years ago. He had uttered a similar statement to Chen Qing'ai's parents.
This was a young man's defiance of reality, rebellion against fate, and the will for survival and struggle.
Lin Mo found himself somewhat admiring Gu Youwei.
"You have spirit. The future for young people is full of limitless possibilities; you cannot define the life of youth by your triumphs and failures," Lin Mo suddenly spoke out.
"I don't need your lecturing. Young people are indeed too young, with little experience, and are prone to empty boasting," Tong Fusheng shook his head, his eyes filled with disdain.
Gu Youwei clenched his teeth, his expression resolute as he said, "But the future belongs to our younger generation; we can change the world."
Tong Fusheng shook his head and sighed again and again. He'd seen too many young 'calves unafraid of tigers' and naturally was unimpressed by the words of Gu Youwei and Lin Mo.
"We are discussing business here; please shut your mouth," Du Cheng suddenly glared at Lin Mo, speaking coldly.
Gu Youwei, no matter how pathetic, was still a member of the Gu Family. As for Lin Mo, sorry to say, Du Cheng had never heard of him, yet Lin Mo still dared to interject here.
Moreover, seeing a beautiful woman accompanying Lin Mo stirred Du Cheng's twisted and changing thoughts. Naturally, he wanted to embarrass Lin Mo in front of the lady.
"Bang!"
All of a sudden, before Tong Fusheng, his wife, Tong Zhen, Gu Youwei, and others could react, Du Cheng was sent flying, skidding along the ground for over ten meters before his back slammed into a Roman column, causing him to spit out a mouthful of fresh blood from the pain.
The noise drew the attention of those in the gathering, and they turned to look in the direction of the commotion.
"Brother Lin..." Gu Youwei opened his mouth in disbelief, unable to fathom that Lin Mo had dared to strike Du Cheng, considering he was the heir of the Du Family.
Having hit him, the people of the Du Family were definitely not going to let it go easily.
Tong Fusheng frowned and spoke sternly, "Gu Youwei, your friend is truly barbaric. Society does not operate by the power of fists."
"In this society, only the fist is the ultimate truth. If you think fists aren't the truth, then that just shows you lack the strength to make it so," Lin Mo said indifferently.