Chapter 441: Please Enjoy

Xie Youchen froze once more.

The young man’s usually sharp and piercing dark eyes widened, staring fixedly at the girl right before him.

He seemed to have forgotten how to breathe, utterly motionless.

His dazed expression made him look a little goofier than usual, but it was adorable.

Jiang Qingli couldn’t help but stifle a giggle.

’My melancholic act was a success,’ she thought. ’Not only did it fool Ye Linyuan, but now I’ve even gotten Xie Youchen.’

It seemed this tactic of building suspense had frightened the Marshal, a man who was otherwise invincible on the battlefield.

He stared unblinkingly at Jiang Qingli, as if trying to determine if she was just toying with him.

For a long moment, he couldn’t utter a single word.

Jiang Qingli blinked. In the dim light, she took his hand, intending to repeat herself so he would hear her clearly. But just then, a piercing crash echoed through the room.

She turned her head and saw a researcher standing by the wine cabinet, a panicked look on her face.

The researcher’s hands were empty. At her feet lay a shattered bottle and a pool of spilled wine.

It looked like she had been trying to get a bottle of wine but had lost her grip and dropped it.

The researcher was frantic. "I-I’m sorry, I just... I just saw this bottle online before, they said it was incredibly expensive, and I wanted to see it up close, but my hand slipped... I’m sorry, I’m so sorry..."

She stammered.

Jiang Qingli asked, "Are you hurt?"

The researcher shook her head at Jiang Qingli, then turned to the server and asked in a small voice, "Excuse me... c-can I pay for this in installments?"

Jiang Qingli remembered that this researcher was a new intern, promoted from the Lower District. Her family wasn’t well-off.

’This researcher is also very introverted. She doesn’t seem like the type to be so reckless...’

Just as she was about to step in and offer to put the bottle on her own tab, someone nearby began to shout, "You can’t put all the blame on her! Why doesn’t your wine cabinet have any protective glass?"

His voice was rather loud. "You just leave a million-dollar bottle of wine sitting out like that? Don’t you bear any of the responsibility?!"

Someone frowned and whispered, "That’s enough, Zhang Wu. You’re the one who told Xiao Lin to get it in the first place. Now that it’s broken, Xiao Lin hasn’t even complained. Stop making things worse..."

"Now you’re blaming me? What does this have to do with me? I tell her to get it, so she gets it? Are females really that obedient?"

Zhang Wu had had too much to drink and was shouting at the server.

Yuan Liang frowned. "Alright, that’s enough. Just put it on my tab. I’m treating tonight, anyway."

Seeing his superior speak, Zhang Wu deflated a bit. "Uh... Marshal, I wasn’t referring to you..."

Yuan Liang shot him a look, his eyes full of warning.

Only then did Zhang Wu sullenly shut his mouth.

His eyes darted to the bottle on the very top shelf of the wine cabinet.

’Originally, he’d wanted Xiao Lin to grab *that* bottle.’

’That bottle was known as the Golden Liquid. It had been personally brewed by the previous City Lord of the Underground City. Since the brewer was now dead and his reputation immense, this bottle was the only known one of its kind left.’

’It had once fetched a price of tens of millions at a black market auction.’

’He never expected to see it here.’

’Faced with such a temptation, who wouldn’t want to at least touch it?’

’It was all Xiao Lin’s fault for being so stupid. She couldn’t even retrieve it properly, and now she’d made them offend the owner of the Snake Barrel!’

He shot an indignant glare at Xiao Lin. She kept her head bowed meekly, not daring to speak.

The server waited until they were finished before letting a robot in to clean up. He then explained with calm professionalism, "Esteemed guest, this private room is normally for our boss’s exclusive use. That is why the cabinet has no protective covering."

Hearing that this was the Snake Barrel owner’s exclusive territory and the wine was from his private collection, poor Xiao Lin’s face grew even paler.

’She was just an intern. She had gone through countless hardships to test her way out of the Lower District and into the military sector. It was bad enough being bossed around by her male colleagues all the time, but now she had actually offended a local crime boss!’

’She’d heard that the head of the Snake Barrel had connections to the First District’s Underground City and was a ruthless figure.’

’Anyone who had ever caused trouble here in the past had met a violent, gruesome end!’

’If she... if she got on his bad side, could she even survive in the Twelve Cities anymore? She’d worked so hard to find this job...’

Her body trembling, she sank into her seat. Suddenly, a gentle hand closed around her fingers.

Xiao Lin turned her head to see Jiang Qingli smiling at her. "It’s going to be okay."

For some reason, being near her and feeling the warmth from her hand gave Xiao Lin an inexplicable sense of peace.

Just then, the server’s earpiece flashed twice.

His gaze fell on Jiang Qingli’s face. When she looked back at him, he quickly lowered his head to avoid her eyes.

The server gave Jiang Qingli a slight bow before turning to Xiao Lin. "Ma’am, please rest assured. We will not be requesting any compensation."

"Furthermore, our owner will be covering everyone’s bill for the entire evening!"

As his words fell, many people in the room revealed expressions of astonishment.

Most of them were nobles and quite accustomed to the prices here.

What shocked them was that the owner of the Snake Barrel had not only given them his personal private room but was even comping their entire bill!

After all, this owner was not only immensely powerful, but his movements were also shrouded in secrecy.

The people of the Twelve Cities only knew that this owner was a male; his appearance, age, and everything else were a complete mystery.

Someone’s eyes widened as they looked at Xiao Lin. "Whoa, Xiao Lin, do you know the owner? Don’t tell me you two... have something going on?"

Xiao Lin was completely baffled. "That... how is that possible? This is the first time I’ve even left the military district since I arrived in the Twelve Cities..."

The others didn’t believe her. "Then why would he help you? It’s not like he’s bored and has nothing better to do!"

"Do you have any idea who this owner is? He doesn’t even give face to the Prince! If he hadn’t taken a liking to you, why would he help you out so readily?"

"Exactly! Xiao Lin, don’t forget us when you make it big..."

As the group chattered on, gossiping and teasing, Xie Youchen’s eyes darkened.

The young man hooked a strand of the girl’s hair with his fingertip, gently winding it around.

He had finally snapped out of his earlier daze, his gaze now burning as he stared at Jiang Qingli’s profile.

It was as if he had a thousand words to say.

Being stared at so intensely by Xie Youchen, Jiang Qingli could feel her ears burning.

She pretended to be listening to the others gossip, but in reality, her mind was a complete mess. She was totally unaware that the topic of conversation beside her was escalating, or that even Zhang Wu’s expression had shifted from disdain to embarrassment as he began begging Xiao Lin to put in a good word for him with the owner...

"Ah Li."

As her mind wandered, the young man’s low, magnetic voice suddenly sounded beside her ear.

A shiver ran through Jiang Qingli.

She glanced to the side, her eyes meeting his.

Xie Youchen looked down at her. Just as he was about to speak, there was a knock on the door of the private room.

All eyes turned to the door.

The manager bowed to them and stepped inside.

Under the watchful gaze of everyone present, he walked to the wine cabinet and took down the "Golden Liquid" from the top shelf.

The Golden Liquid was still sealed.

With trembling hands, the manager pried open the seal and poured a glass.

Then, amidst the crowd’s stunned gazes, he held the glass with both hands and presented it to Jiang Qingli.

"Miss Jiang, please enjoy."