Just like Tiffany, Yeri also found Marco mentally abnormal.
How many times had she already made it clear she disliked him? Yet he acted as if his memory had the consistency of a goldfish or perhaps he was just naturally thick-skinned. Or worse, he and Tiffany were a perfect pair because both were sick in the head.
"Alright, that's enough." The attendant stepped in, cutting through the chaos. Turning to Yeri, he asked, "You said the person who invited you is a member? May I know his name and your relation to him?"
Yeri hesitated. She didn't want to drag Shin Keir into this ridiculous mess especially since she wasn't even certain he was a member. She'd only heard Rig mention something to the receptionist about "treating her well." That wasn't exactly solid proof.
"You can come with me to the room they're in," Yeri said finally, gesturing for the attendant to follow.
"What, you can't say it?" Tiffany sneered. "Afraid some of us might recognize your sugar daddy?"
The attendant nodded and was about to follow Yeri when Marco suddenly blocked their path again.
"I'm sorry," he said quickly. "There's been a misunderstanding. She's actually with us. It's just that there were… minor issues between these two girls."
He winked at Young Master Lin, a silent plea for help.
"Two girls?" Tiffany exploded. "Are you lumping me together with this bitch?"
"Right, right! they just don't get along, you know how girls are," Young Master Lin said with an amused grin.
Meanwhile, Marco reached out to grab Yeri's arm, but she sidestepped swiftly.
Still, he looked at her with the self-righteous air of someone convinced he was saving her from public disgrace, probably imagining the "person waiting for her" was some rich old man with a potbelly.
Yeri's scalp tingled in sheer disbelief. This man wasn't just thick-faced; he was completely delusional.
"I wouldn't make trouble here if I were you. In this establishment, the police have no jurisdiction," the man called Young Master Lin warned, winking at Yeri.
Yeri narrowed her eyes. Was he threatening her?
The attendant watching the exchange instantly made his own assumption.
He'd seen plenty of women like her or so he thought. Women who came here seeking financial backers, hoping to climb a few rungs up the social ladder through luck or someone's wallet.
Before Yeri could speak, Young Master Lin grabbed her wrist, tugging her toward their private room.
"Miss, you got lucky," the attendant said with a smirk. "Young Master Lin isn't just anyone. Do a good job and he'll reward you."
"Let go." Yeri yanked her hand back, turning to the attendant with a sharp, sarcastic smile. "Is that so? Then, if I end up offending the person I'm actually with, can I tell him you forced me into this? I'm sure he'd love to hear all about it. Though…" she tilted her head, "I wonder if you can afford to offend him or anyone of you? Because I surely can't."
The hallway went dead silent. Even the attendant hesitated.
If she was telling the truth and the person behind her really was someone powerful, this could end badly for all of them.
Young Master Lin scoffed. "You sure know how to talk. But this attendant is from Hexion. You clearly know nothing about Hexion, they don't tolerate anyone looking down on their people."
At that, the attendant straightened, as if bolstered by the young master's words. "A word of advice," he sneered, "don't get too arrogant here. You wouldn't even know how you disappeared."
Tiffany, of course, was delighted. She couldn't resist tossing in petty side comments from the sidelines.
Then, the attendant nodded to Young Master Lin. "I didn't see anything," he said smugly, turning away.
The two escort girls looked displeased at Yeri's presence but stayed silent as Young Master Lin grabbed her wrist again.
Yeri struggled, but with four men including Marco, she couldn't break free.
Just as she braced herself to be dragged toward that dark room, another person appeared.
"What the hell is going on here?"
The first attendant immediately bowed his head. "Nothing, sir. Just an escort making a fuss."
The newcomer, however, wasn't just another attendant. He was Meril, the man in charge of the entire establishment and the same one Yeri had briefly seen at the entrance earlier.
"Stop blocking the hallway and disturbing the other guests," Meril ordered coldly.
Marco recognized him immediately. Even among frequent patrons, Meril was someone everyone tread carefully around.
Young Master Lin tried to smooth things over. "Sir, I heard the Head is coming tonight?"
Meril's expression didn't change until his eyes landed on Yeri. His face froze.
"It's you." Yeri blinked in recognition. "You're the one from earlier, right? I'm not with these people they were trying to force me to follow them."
Annoyed, Young Master Lin barked, "Enough! I only spared you because Marco here fancied you. Don't push your luck. Who do you think you are?"
"My boyfriend doesn't fancy this bitch!" Tiffany shrieked.
Before anyone could react, Meril's hand moved in a blur. He slapped Tiffany hard across the face, then grabbed the person's wrist holding Yeri and twisted it sharply. The crack of bones and the man's pained grunt echoed through the hallway.
"Are you alright, Miss?" Meril turned to Yeri.
Yeri nodded, rubbing her wrist. "Thank you."
The first attendant paled.
Could it be this woman was actually backed by a big shot?
"You slapped me?!" Tiffany sputtered, clutching her cheek, but Marco held her back, staring at Yeri as though seeing her for the first time.
"Sir, there must be some misunderstanding," the attendant stammered. "This woman is just an escort—"
"Shut up," Meril snapped. "You'd better tell me what the hell happened before I cut your tongue out!"
"There's no need," Yeri said evenly, straightening her clothes. "He mistook me for an escort. I came out of the restroom and was just passing through when they stopped me and tried to drag me away."
That was enough. Meril didn't need details; he'd seen this kind of thing far too often.
"Miss Zhi, I sincerely apologize for what happened. This was a serious oversight on my part. Rest assured, this person's incompetence will be dealt with appropriately."
Everyone froze.
Meril was apologizing to her? How did he know Yeri Zhi?
The Young Master Lin, Marco, Tiffany, everyone went pale. If Meril was apologizing, that meant Yeri wasn't just some random girl. She was a VIP.
Young Master Lin's face drained of color, his gaze darting between Marco and Tiffany with a questioning expression as if asking, didn't you say she was just some student trying to find a sugar daddy?
Even the escort girls cowered, hiding behind the others.
"Sir, there must be some mistake!" Marco stammered. "She's Yeri Zhi, a student from SC University and just from a third-tier family. How could she possibly-"
Meril's icy glare made his words die in his throat.
Yeri sighed. She didn't want to drag this any longer, she'd been gone too long already, and she didn't want to worry her parents or Master Keir.
"I'm fine," she said. "Thank you for helping me. But it's not your fault for having incompetent staff." Her tone turned sharper. "Still, if things like this happen often, what's the difference between this place and an underground den? Forget the image of your establishment, maybe you should first worry about your customers' safety."
Her words struck like a whip. Even Meril's expression tightened slightly.
And as Yeri turned to leave, she was silently cursing Shin Keir in her heart.
What was he thinking, bringing her and her parents to a place crawling with all kinds of people doing those activities?
Meril didn't refute Yeri's words. He had been so busy with other matters that he failed to follow through on the most important event of that night.
In fact, he'd been informed about their Boss's engagement meeting taking place there.
For the past week, he had been monitoring, coordinating follow-ups, tightening security, even temporarily shutting down the underground auction and casino to focus entirely on the club and restaurant. Yet, despite all these precautions, this had happened.
Although Yeri didn't seem to want to make a big deal of it, she was never the issue.
What truly made Meril's blood run cold was the man behind her —Shin Keir.
"So, are you saying she clung to some big shot you're too afraid to offend?" Tiffany sneered. "But isn't our friend here a VIP too?" She pointed to Young Master Lin, though deep inside she couldn't stomach the idea that Yeri might have climbed higher than her.
Yeri rolled her eyes. If she let this group off easily, then Tiffany and Marco, that pair of cockroaches would keep crawling back to bother her.
Before leaving, she turned with a sweet, condescending smile and slapped Tiffany across one cheek. Then the other.
Without pause, she slapped Marco as well.
"I can't attend your future wedding," she said pleasantly, "so consider those my advance wedding gift. I sincerely wish you both to stay together for eternity...through hardship, through more hardship, and even more hardship."
Marco: "..."
Tiffany: "..."
Just as everyone thought that was the end of it, Yeri proceeded to slap the two other men who had helped drag her earlier. And finally, Young Master Lin.
He froze, stunned, it looked like he had never been slapped before, so his reaction was delayed.
It wasn't until Yeri turned a corner that Tiffany erupted, screaming and cursing her name.
Meril shot the group a cold warning glance before gesturing to the trembling attendant to follow him.
Once they were gone, chaos resumed.
"You said she was just some weak girl from a third-tier family!" Young Master Lin barked, pointing at Marco and Tiffany. "Did you two lie to me? She slapped me! Me! And she did it like she wasn't afraid of anything, that's no damn escort!"
The group began arguing as they made their way back to their room.
Marco was still in a daze. It wasn't about the slap, it was the curiosity gnawing at him.
Who was the man behind Yeri?
Was that why she'd never once looked his way?
Meanwhile, Tiffany was crying again, hiding behind Marco, angry but also humiliated.
"Marco, are you listening?" Young Master Lin roared. "If that bitch causes me trouble, I don't care if she's your girlfriend, I'll make her regret it!"
Tiffany whimpered, trembling in Marco's arms.