Chapter 6: Pockets Emptier Than Face

“Manager Lin, I need to take this person away for a while.”

“Don’t worry, we won’t do anything improper. She’ll be returned completely unharmed after questioning.”

Upon hearing this, Lin Wenxiong glanced at the man. “Is this related to that matter?”

“Yes,” the man responded.

“Someone saw her enter the private room before Brother Guang’s incident.”

With that simple answer, Lin Wenxiong understood the implication and immediately nodded with a knowing expression.

“You can take her, but she must be returned completely unharmed.”

“If anything happens, you’ll be the first ones we come after.”

The man nodded, then turned to Yin Qingqing with a gesture of invitation. “Miss Yin, please come with me.”

“Witnesses say you were the last person to see Brother Guang before the incident.”

“I need to understand everything that happened before and after Brother Guang’s incident.”

Meeting the man’s completely emotionless gaze, Yin Qingqing couldn’t help but feel intimidated.

Her purpose for entering the private room had been to deliver Shen Yi’an inside.

Now, not only had she failed in her task, but she had become the suspect instead.

Though she felt wronged, she knew she had no choice but to go today.

If she dared refuse, the consequences would be self-evident.

With this realization, Yin Qingqing nodded to the man. “I’ll go with you, but…”

She then turned to look at Li Beichen, whose gaze remained fixed on Shen Yi’an. Suppressing the jealousy in her eyes, she pleaded plaintively, “Brother Li, will you wait for me to return?”

“I’ll be back soon. There’s something important I need to tell you when I return.”

Without turning his head, Li Beichen replied, “Understood.”

Hearing that he would wait for her in his tone, Yin Qingqing felt reassured and followed the man out.

Only after the footsteps completely faded away did Li Beichen turn to explain to Shen Yi’an, “I answered that way just now only to warn the man who left.”

“Though he doesn’t appear to have blood on his hands, he clearly possesses martial skills.”

“As a soldier, I have a duty to ensure Yin Qingqing’s safety.”

Shen Yi’an nodded in agreement. “I understand. There’s no need to explain.”

“Though I’ve had disputes with Yin Qingqing, I don’t wish for anything to happen to her either.”

This was pure deception.

If anyone wished for something to happen to Yin Qingqing, it would be her above all others.

However, she had to maintain appearances properly.

If the man before her noticed anything unusual, she couldn’t be sure he would protect her.

After all, theirs was merely a one-night relationship, which likely couldn’t compare to the sense of mission and responsibility bestowed by his profession.

Unaware of her thoughts, Li Beichen was somewhat surprised by her unchanged expression as she responded.

Anyone would find it difficult to easily forgive those who had harmed them, yet this person’s reaction was somewhat perplexing.

Thinking they would have time to clear things up eventually, he nodded to acknowledge her statement.

As their conversation ended, Lin Wenxiong, who had been standing nearby, approached with complete certainty in his tone.

“That female comrade who left won’t face any problems.”

“The man may be rough around the edges, but he knows his limits.”

“Moreover, he was clearly intimidated by your gaze.”

Li Beichen nodded in approval. “I trust Uncle Lin’s judgment completely.”

This high level of trust stemmed from Lin Wenxiong’s close personal friendship with Li Beichen’s second brother, Li Beixi.

Apart from being business rivals, the two were also privately close friends who cherished each other despite their age difference.

The reason for this was that Li Beixi had suffered many setbacks during his early days in business.

If it weren’t for Lin Wenxiong lending a hand, he might have lost everything down to his underwear.

Because of this, after his career grew and prospered, Li Beixi often brought Lin Wenxiong home for meals.

Over time, the Li family became increasingly familiar with Lin Wenxiong, and they would often visit his dance hall in their spare time.

Li Beichen’s presence at the dance hall was not only due to friends’ invitations but also because the gathering place was within Lin Wenxiong’s territory.

Hearing him speak so directly now, Lin Wenxiong waved his hand with a chuckle, “As long as it didn’t spoil your mood.”

He then glanced at Shen Yi’an and the crowd standing behind her, “It seems you have other matters to attend to later.”

“In that case, I won’t disrupt your schedule.”

“Feel free to come to my office anytime if you need anything.”

Seeing Li Beichen nod, he quickly withdrew from the scene with his men in black.

Before leaving, he didn’t forget to leave two people guarding the entrance to the private room.

On one hand, the private room had been paid for annually by He Haiguang, and on the other, it served as a reminder to others not to linger nearby.

A claimed territory wasn’t somewhere just anyone could enter as they pleased.

After the men in black withdrew, the class leader, who had been holding his breath in relief, stepped forward to speak.

“Shulin, take two people and come with me to retrieve our things.”

“The dance hall environment is too complicated for people like us to stay for long.”

After saying this, he turned to address the others, “You all head toward the dance hall entrance. We’ll come out after collecting our things inside.”

“Anyone who brought valuable items can come with us too.”

Hearing this, everyone present shook their heads.

“Class leader, you go ahead. We’ll wait at the dance hall entrance.”

“Exactly, our pockets are emptier than our faces – what valuable things could we have?”

Getting their response, the class leader headed back with several male students while the others moved toward the dance hall entrance.

About ten minutes later, the group gathered at the dance hall entrance.

They were all university students.

Although the school provided monetary subsidies plus their personal living expenses, making their funds theoretically sufficient,

the dance hall’s pricing standards weren’t cheap either.

Just entering the dance hall cost 20 yuan per person, not including expenses for drinks inside.

In 1981, when pork cost only 0.78 yuan per jin and rice only 0.142 yuan per jin, such expenditure could be considered astronomical.

If not for the school subsidies, students from ordinary families wouldn’t have dared to enter.

Now they had experienced the dance hall environment, enjoyed the music and dancing, and witnessed more intense scenes.

Although leaving early seemed uneconomical, they couldn’t avoid that everything in the dance hall except using the restroom required payment, so they decided to take this opportunity to leave directly.

Otherwise, they might not even have enough money left for train tickets home.

The leading group had only taken a few steps when a classmate turned back to ask,

“Shen Yi’an, are you returning to school with us?”

“Or will your boyfriend take you back?”

Hearing this, just as Shen Yi’an was about to say she would go back together, Li Beichen’s voice sounded from nearby, “I’ll take An’an back to school later, no later than 11 pm.”

Hearing this, a relatively well-off classmate checked their watch.

“It’s already 9:30 now – only an hour and a half until 11.”

“It takes over half an hour to walk from here to our school.”

The unspoken continuation was understood by everyone present.

Subtracting the travel time, the two would have less than an hour alone together.

If they failed to return on time, measures would likely be taken—such as reporting to the public security bureau.

Clearly, Li Beichen grasped the implication and nodded in agreement. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure they return to school safely and punctually.”

His prompt assurance finally dispersed the crowd gathered at the dance hall entrance, who gradually drifted away in small groups.

With no familiar companions nearby, Shen Yi’an—who had appeared composed moments before—suddenly felt uneasy. “You kept me behind… is there something else you wanted to discuss?”