16 Chapter 16: Scheme

"Who was the one in my dreams, where is he tonight..."

"The one in my dreams, I remember your face..."

In front of the bar, Lin Yun was slowly sipping his Tears of Angel. Suddenly, a beautiful melody washed over him.

Upon hearing this song, Lin Yun froze, then quickly stood up and looked towards the source of the song.

On the stage, there was a gorgeous girl in a white dress, gently dancing as if she were a lovely sprite, her lips parting to release the lovely tune.

"Qingqing..."

Lin Yun took in a deep breath.

The sprite-like girl on the stage was none other than Xia Qingqing.

For the past week, he had been busy researching the Cosmic Trading System, and communicating with customers, thus only having called Xia Qingqing twice. He wanted to surprise her, so he had not revealed his work progress to her yet.

For the past few days, Xia Qingqing hadn't reached out to him either.

To think of all places, he ran into her here.

The Nightingale Bar was packed, so Lin Yun standing up didn't draw any particular attention.

"Good—"

"Beautiful—"

"Haha, beautiful, is it me you're dreaming of?"

Xia Qingqing's singing was delightful and she was stunning, quickly drawing the attention of many patrons. Many even began hooting and trying to flirt with her.

Lin Yun frowned at those who were rudely jeering at Xia Qingqing.

He didn't fancy the way they were catcalling her.

"Brother Yu, it took great effort to get Xia Qingqing here, make sure to seize your chance..."

At that moment, a woman's voice was caught by Lin Yun's ears.

Someone was talking about Qingqing?

Lin Yun looked up and saw toward the voice, and saw a group of people about his age laughing and chatting not too far away.

"Don't worry, everything is well orchestrated." A good-looking young man replied with a confident smile.

"If Xia Qingqing wasn't in urgent need of money, I doubt we could've lured her here, she never came to places like this before." One girl giggled. Based on her voice, she must be the one who had spoken before.

"Hehe, why else did you think Xia Qingqing needed money so urgently?" The man referred to as Brother Yu smiled enigmatically.

"Huh?" The girl who had spoken previously was taken aback.

"Hahaha!" Seeing this, the rest of the group started to laugh.

"A few days ago, Brother Yu got wind that Xia Qingqing's boyfriend was in trouble. Xia Qingqing needed to borrow money, so he arranged for Little Li to lend her five thousand yuan, and then... in the next couple of days, he had Little Li tell her that she was facing an emergency at home, and needed the money back, hehe..." A skinny boy laughed.

"No wonder Brother Yu is clever. A few ploys have Xia Qingqing following our script..." Another boy laughed along.

Apparently, they were all in on it.

"Don't spread this around before I get Xia Qingqing..." Brother Yu waved off, dismissing the topic

"Don't worry, Brother Yu."

"We're just chatting here."

The young men and women quickly reassured him.

"Why should Brother Yu worry? Today is the day of the net tightening. Unless there's a surprise, Brother Yu will have Xia Qingqing today. Afterwards, just apply a bit of coercion... Hard for Xia Qingqing not to comply."

"May Brother Yu succeed instantly."

Two young men smirked at each other.

Listening to their conversation, Lin Yun's eyes became cold.

Someone was targeting Qingqing.

At the same time, his heart ached slightly. Needless to say, the boyfriend Xia Qingqing had mentioned must be him.

Part of the money Xia Qingqing had lent him had actually been borrowed from someone else. Now, her creditor was pressing for repayment, and she hadn't even mentioned it to him, resulting in her being set up to sing at places like the bar.

If he hadn't gotten the Cosmic Trading System, if he hadn't thought to visit a bar, and if he hadn't conjured up the whole situation, he didn't dare to imagine what would have happened.

The other party's plot was comprehensive and elaborate, not to be underestimated.

Thinking this, Lin Yun's anger continued to escalate.

"Brother Tiger is here..."

Just as Lin Yun was about to confront them, one boy suddenly looked up and saw someone. He blurted out in delight.

"Huh?"

The group turned around and saw a muscular man slowly approaching, with a few followers behind him.

"Brother Tiger."

"Brother Tiger."

Brother Yu included, the group quickly greeted. Their tones were full of respect.

"Hmm." The muscular man nodded.

"The girl on the stage, is she..." He glanced at the stage, but didn't finish his sentence.

"Yes, it's her. Today, Brother Tiger will have to lend a hand quite a bit more." Brother Yu pleaded with a smile.

"You've got good taste, kiddo. But remember, don't let this get out of hand." Brother Tiger laughed.

"Brother Tiger can rest assured on that." Brother Yu nodded fervently.

"Hm." Brother Tiger simply nodded.

"Xia Qingqing is coming down..."

Just then, one boy looked up to see Xia Qingqing descend from the stage. He hurriedly turned back to Brother Yu and Brother Tiger, informing them.

Lin Yun noticed that Brother Tiger glanced over at a few people not too far off and gave them a covert signal.

...

On the side of the stage, just as Xia Qingqing stepped down, she was stopped by a few unsavoury-looking young men.

"Oh wow, little lady, your singing is amazing. Care to join us for a drink?"

The leader flashed her a lascivious smile.

"Little lady, our Brother Snake admires you a lot. If you have a drink with him, he could introduce you to some of his director friends, let you become a big star."

"Sorry, I've already finished work and I'm about to head home." Xia Qingqing frowned, then she skirted around them and intended to leave.

"Not off work yet! It's just money! I've got money, you entertain me! Every song you sing I'll pay one thousand, afraid Brother Snake can't afford you?"" Brother Snake jeered lightly.

As he was about to reach out to grab Xia Qingqing's slender arm, a grin bloomed on his face as anticipation filled him.

No doubt, this girl was beautiful. Even though he was putting on a show, he was thrilled at even the prospect of touching her, let alone taking advantage.

Just to touch such a beautiful girl was more than worth it.

He intended to take full advantage of this situation...

"Crack—"

However, before Brother Snake had time for more lecherous thoughts, a hand like an iron claw clamped onto his wrist and abruptly twisted, snapping his arm. The sound of bones breaking resonated chillingly, making one's hair stand on end.

"Ah—" Brother Snake screamed in pain.