Please, mature women, have some self-respect. I just want a raise and a promotion.

The events in the private room lasted for more than half an hour. During that time, Liu Xueyi's phone rang three times, but she hung up without even looking at it.

Only after Lin Zheng got up and dressed did she slowly sit up from the sofa, pick up the cheongsam from the floor, and put it on.

"Not bad, it lives up to its reputation." Liu Xueyi's voice was filled with a lazy satisfaction as she leaned back on the sofa armrest, her gaze sweeping over Lin Zheng.

"When Lin Xiaoyu said you were amazing, I thought she was exaggerating, but now it seems she was holding back a bit."

"I'm glad Mr. Liu is satisfied."

Lin Zheng lit a cigarette and stood by the window, pulling back a corner of the curtain.

The neon lights of the Arc de Triomphe Hotel flickered in the night, and the streets below were sparsely populated with traffic, showing no signs of anything unusual.

"Satisfied, very satisfied."

Liu Xueyi stood up, walked behind him, wrapped her arms around his waist, and rested her chin on his shoulder.

"I'll try to coordinate the materials for you. As for Zhou Haimin, I'll talk to him; he'll give me some face."

"Thank you, Mr. Liu."

"Don't call me General Manager Liu, just call me Xueyi."

Lin Zheng turned around and glanced at Liu Xueyi: "Okay, Sister Xueyi. But I'd like to ask another question: besides Zhou Haimin, is anyone else pushing for the price increase?"

Liu Xueyi was silent for two seconds, then released her hand from Lin Zheng's waist and walked to the coffee table to pour herself a glass of red wine.

She didn't rush to drink; she held the glass, swirled it, and looked thoughtful.

"There's someone involved, but I have no proof. It's Liu Kaishan from Tenghua Group. He has dealings with my husband and we've also done business together."

"Zhou Haimin is his brother-in-law. I don't believe you that the price increase has nothing to do with him."

Damn it, it really was that old scoundrel Liu Kaishan.

Lin Zheng cursed inwardly, then said, "Sister Xueyi, if you help me with this, will Liu Kaishan cause you trouble?"

"he?"

Liu Xueyi laughed and said, "He's my husband's business partner, not my boss. Giving him face is a favor, not an obligation. Besides..."

She picked up her wine glass, took a sip, and her gaze lingered on Lin Zheng.

"You've made me so comfortable, how could I bear to make things difficult for you?"

Just as Lin Zheng was about to say something, his phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket.

He took it out and saw that it was an unfamiliar number.

After hesitating for a moment, he answered the call.

"Lin Zheng? Are you at the Arc de Triomphe Hotel right now?"

Li Zhengang's hurried voice came from the other end of the phone.

How did you know?

"Never mind how I know, you need to leave now. Zhang Tianhu has taken his men there, a dozen or so cars, they just left from the north of the city, they'll be at the Arc de Triomphe in fifteen minutes at the latest."

Lin Zheng's mind went blank for a moment, and he instantly became fully awake.

He hung up the phone and turned to look at Liu Xueyi.

"Your husband is here, with quite a few people."

Liu Xueyi paused for a moment in her wine glass, but her expression didn't change much.

She put down her wine glass, picked up her phone and checked it. Sure enough, there were several missed calls, all from her husband Zhang Tianhu's number.

"He rarely checks up on me, why is he suddenly doing this today...?"

Before she finished speaking, both of them already knew the answer.

Someone delivered the message, and it was delivered very promptly.

"Go out the back door."

Liu Xueyi made a quick decision and pushed open another door in the private room, which led to a fire escape.

"Go down to the first floor, exit through the kitchen, don't go through the main hall."

Without hesitation, Lin Zheng strode into the fire escape.

Before the door closed behind her, Liu Xueyi's voice drifted through the crack in the door.

"I'll get back to you about the materials tomorrow. Let's keep in touch."

Lin Zheng didn't look back and rushed downstairs in two strides.

The fire escape was only dimly lit by emergency lights, and footsteps echoed in the narrow space.

He had just rushed to the kitchen door on the first floor when he heard a commotion of footsteps and curses coming from the direction of the hotel's main entrance.

Someone called out "Brother Zhang, this way!" followed by a flurry of footsteps rushing toward the elevator and stairs.

Lin Zheng felt a chill run down his spine. He pushed open the kitchen door, walked through the corridor piled high with vegetable baskets, and exited through the back door.

The back door leads to a narrow alley with piles of garbage on both sides and the air filled with the smell of cooking oil.

He quickened his pace, turned two corners, and came to a road on the side of the hotel.

A taxi with its vacancy light on happened to pass by, and he reached out to flag it down.

"Master, to Dianhai Town."

The car started and merged into the traffic.

Lin Zheng leaned back in his chair and realized that his back was soaked with cold sweat.

He lit a cigarette, took a few deep drags, and his heartbeat slowly calmed down.

He took out his phone, glanced at the time, and then looked at the call log.

Li Zhengang's phone call came at just the right time. If he hadn't warned him in advance, he might have run into Zhang Tianhu's men tonight.

He dialed Li Zhengang's number.

"Thanks, Mr. Li. How did you know the news?"

"Chen Qiang, that's the kid you mentioned sending to Chen Ligang's side last time. He has a buddy who's Zhang Tianhu's subordinate."

"Tonight his buddy was bragging to him that he was going to take care of someone, saying that this person had been being watched for several days."

"When Zhang Qiang heard that you were the one they were dealing with, he immediately notified me."

Lin Zheng frowned, and then the shouts of several coincident encounters rang out.

The last few times I went to the hotel, I always felt like someone was watching me, and it seems this is the person in question.

This is too dangerous. If Li Zhengang hadn't notified us in time, we probably would have been killed by Zhang Tianhu tonight.

That old dog Liu Kaishan is truly vicious; he tried to kill him right away.

"Manager Lin, please don't go back to your place tonight. It would be dangerous if they found your address."

"Come to my battlefield, to where I live; they won't dare cause trouble."

"Okay, I'm coming over now."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Zheng had the driver change the address and head towards Li Zhengang's sand quarry.

At the same time, outside the VIP room on the third floor of the Arc de Triomphe Hotel, Zhang Tianhu, along with more than a dozen burly men, blocked the corridor.

He was in his early forties, with a scar on his face running from his left eyebrow to his right cheek, and a gold chain around his neck as thick as his little finger.

He raised his hand and knocked on the door with great force, making the door panel shake.

"Xueyi, open the door."

There was silence inside for a few seconds, then the door opened.

Liu Xueyi leaned against the door frame, her cheongsam already put back on, the top button neatly fastened, her face showing no sign of panic.

"Tianhu? What are you doing bringing so many people here? Checking on me?"

Zhang Tianhu's gaze swept over her, then he glanced into the private room.

The room was empty except for a messy card table, a few wine glasses, and two decks of cards scattered around.

"Someone just called me and said you were in a hotel room with a man."

Zhang Tianhu's face was cold, and his tone was extremely angry.

Who hit him?

Liu Xueyi tilted her head, her expression showing impatience.

"Bring that man over here; I want to question him face to face."

"I've been playing cards here all night, and my card-playing friends just left when you barged in with your men."

"If word gets out tomorrow, where will I, Liu Xueyi, put my face?"

Zhang Tianhu stared into Liu Xueyi's eyes for a few seconds, as if trying to determine whether her words were true or false.

Just then, one of his men leaned over and whispered, "Brother Tiger, someone saw a man leave through the back door."