Chapter 22: Circle
Chapter 22: Chapter 22: Circle
As a polite and civilized recent college graduate of the new era, Zhang Yan’s knowledge of certain urban legends remained strictly at the hearsay stage.
Things like the second floors of certain establishments, the underground levels of others, or certain "at-home services"...
Although he was far from being a virgin—having unlocked more than a handful of positions with his ex-girlfriend, Cheng Lu—he had genuinely never visited any red-light districts.
Even if he wanted to go right now, he wouldn’t even know where to find the door.
After thinking about it, he figured that out of everyone he knew, if anyone was an expert in this field, it had to be Brother Gan.
He sent a text: "Brother Gan, do you have any recommendations for that kind of place?"
Si Mingcheng replied, "How did you know I had connections?"
"You really do have connections!"
Si Mingcheng: "...I can’t believe I fell for your trick. I must be getting rusty."
"I bow to you, Godfather!"
Si Mingcheng: "Fine, but don’t you dare say I was the one who corrupted you later. Do you want full-service or a clean session?"
Zhang Yan paused. There were clean sessions for this kind of thing? What did the full-service entail, then?
"I just want someone with great technique, but on the cleaner side. Don’t misunderstand, I’m talking about massage technique!"
Si Mingcheng: "Alright, alright, spare me the hypocritical act. You’re pretty demanding, brat, but you’re in luck. I actually do know a place. Come find me."
Closing the chat with Brother Gan, Zhang Yan opened his browser and typed a query: How to pretend you are experienced when going to a massage parlor for the first time.
Brother Gan came from a very wealthy family, but Zhang Yan didn’t have an accurate impression of exactly how wealthy.
All he knew was that Brother Gan owned an off-campus house where he would sometimes bring female students back. However, he usually stayed in the dorms, looking no different from an ordinary college student.
Zhang Yan took a taxi to the Provincial University to pick him up. When he got out of the car, Brother Gan was chatting with a passing junior girl, and both of them looked to be in high spirits.
This was a common sight.
"Brother Cheng."
This was an unspoken rule within their friend group—they never used nicknames when someone was with a female companion.
"You’re here, Zhang Yan. Let’s chat later, junior. Add my WeChat."
"Wow, Senior Brother Si, are all the senior guys from your art college this handsome? Is it convenient to add this senior’s WeChat as well? If I have any art-related questions in the future, I can consult both of you."
Although this junior didn’t have stunning looks, her youth and cuteness made up for it.
Facing her request, Zhang Yan didn’t bother explaining that he wasn’t actually an art college senior. After scanning her WeChat, he thoughtfully added a tag to her contact: Wildflower by the Roadside.
Brother Gan waved goodbye to the junior before turning to look at Zhang Yan. "Oho, bought some new clothes, huh? Look at you, all dressed up."
Zhang Yan had specifically dressed up to show off in front of Brother Gan today, putting on his white LV print shirt outfit. He didn’t bring the matching bag, but he had swapped out his bracelet for the Van Cleef & Arpels one.
Si Mingcheng just glanced at him and mentally estimated the rough value of Zhang Yan’s new getup.
"Brother Gan, didn’t you also use to wear necklaces and rings worth tens of thousands just to flex on us? I’m just learning from you."
"Get lost. I just forgot to take them off that one time. If I really wanted to flex on you guys—present company excluded—the rest of them would be banging their heads against the wall every day out of jealousy."
After exchanging a few more jokes, Zhang Yan noticed Brother Gan still hadn’t brought up their agreed-upon plans. He spoke up, "Brother Gan, it’s about time for dinner. Why don’t we go grab some barbecue first?"
"Heh, you brat. You promised me two barbecue meals. I thought you had forgotten."
"How could I? I was just busy on a date yesterday. Are we still going to the Joyful Union Sect from last time?"
"Yes, exactly! Let’s go there. Last time I ate at their place, my combat prowess in bed increased by twenty percent that night."
Zhang Yan was speechless. That day had been their final farewell meal before going their separate ways, and everyone had felt a bit sentimental. Who would have thought that the moment they parted ways, Brother Gan had immediately gone off to enjoy himself?
In the taxi on their way over, Brother Gan suddenly asked, "Zhang Yan, did you go on a date with that new girl, Chi Xinyue, yesterday?"
"Yeah. I’m actively pursuing her, so please spare this one. I saw her best friend, Xiaoyan, was pretty good-looking too, and most importantly, she’s really well-endowed. You didn’t try to flirt with her?"
Brother Gan curled his lip, waving off the suggestion with utter disdain.
"I lost interest in that woman the second I laid eyes on her. She puts on airs in front of others, but she was secretly evaluating our outfits the whole time.
"She couldn’t hide her petty calculations at all. A classic case of being superficial while pretending to be high-class. Girls like her are just overly complicated. Not only are they annoying to chase, but they’re also no fun in bed. A total waste of time."
Zhang Yan didn’t have Brother Gan’s seasoned eye for reading people; he truly hadn’t noticed any of the things he had just pointed out.
At the time, his eyes had been completely glued to her E-cups. He hadn’t had the spare attention to observe her micro-expressions.
When they arrived, they found the restaurant was more popular than ever. The main dining hall was completely full, so Zhang Yan booked a private room again.
"Kidneys, lamb whips, bull whips—bring two servings of each. Also, get us a glass of Spiritual Liquid each, and two servings of honey-roasted ginseng. Make sure to brush on extra honey..."
After ordering a massive pile of "nourishing supplements," Brother Gan poured himself a glass of plain water.
In private, both he and Zhang Yan were the type who never drank alcohol unless absolutely necessary. The two of them were cut from the same cloth in many ways, which was how they had managed to become such close friends despite being in different colleges.
Otherwise, under normal circumstances, a friendship built on playing basketball together usually never left the court.
"Zhang Yan, it turns out you really weren’t joking last time. What’s the deal with your family? Is it convenient to talk to me about it?"
"Hey, it’s pretty much exactly what I said last time. After graduation, I suddenly found out I was rich."
"Can you give me the bottom line? Exactly what tier is your family in?"
"What’s the matter, Brother Gan? Trying to do a background check on me?"
"Zhang Yan, there are certain social circles I never introduced you to in the past because our lifestyles were in different spheres. Forcing you into them would have only resulted in mutual annoyance.
"But if you really have the level of wealth you claim to, then there are some circles I can introduce you to. It’ll be a huge benefit to your future development."
Zhang Yan actually knew this all along. Outside of his ordinary campus life, Brother Gan ran in a completely different social circle.
He had caught glimpses of it in the past and knew it wasn’t a world he belonged in.
But now, he could say with complete confidence:
"Brother Gan, I can’t really explain what tier I’m at, but I’m confident that no matter what kind of circle it is, I have the qualifications to enter."
Si Mingcheng stared directly at him—this guy who had always been one of his better friends among his ordinary college acquaintances.
He had always thought he understood Zhang Yan well.
But today, he realized that Zhang Yan seemed to have unconsciously undergone some kind of transformation.
That level of unrestrained confidence wasn’t something that could easily be faked.
"Alright, I have a good idea now. The guy I’m taking you to meet tonight is a major young master. His family controls half the nightlife and entertainment in all of Meng City."
"Then I’m definitely making friends with this guy!"
The red-light entertainment part wasn’t important; he just really liked making new friends.