Top-tier Unruly Master

[Yesterday, I was interviewed by the official Yuewen Book Review Group. I would like to thank the Book Review Group for their support of my work, as well as Sister Feng Xuan, Brother Mango, and the other brothers and sisters from the group. The content of the interview is being organized and will be posted in relation to the work. Additionally, I appreciate the support from the rewards given by 'Liang' and Feng Xuan.]

Passing through a rather long corridor, Zhou Ruoran and Wu Min arrived at the front hall.

Wu Min had already made inquiries beforehand, and knew that Lin Qingqing was in private room number 0002. They wasted little time and quickly made their way to the door of the private room where Lin Qingqing was.

"Sister Ruoran, I'm a bit scared," Wu Min confessed, stopping at the door.

Zhou Ruoran could understand Wu Min. The female star who was usually surrounded by a crowd and only seen on television was now standing in front of her. How could Wu Min, a naive girl who hadn't even left school, face her calmly?

"Wu Min, there are some opportunities that, once missed, are really missed. Your idol, the big star, won't be waiting for you in the private room tomorrow," Zhou Ruoran said with an encouraging look.

Wu Min bit her lip, and a hint of determination flashed across her eyes. "I understand, Sister. I know what to do now."

Wu Min took a deep breath, then gently knocked on the door of the private room. After hearing a "Please come in" from inside, Wu Min and Zhou Ruoran entered the room together.

"Hello, Sister Qingqing, I'm your fan. I really love you. Can I ask you for an autograph?" Wu Min said, suppressing her excitement as she faced her idol upon entering.

"Qingqing, I told you, coming here without even sunglasses, and you've been discovered by your fans," Lin Zhanting said teasingly, seeming accustomed to such situations.

"It's all because of you," Lin Qingqing gave Lin Zhanting a white look before graciously standing up, taking the pen from Wu Min, and signing her name on the T-shirt that Wu Min had prepared in advance.

Ding Fan, with his back to the door, wasn't interested in such matters. The Longjing tea he had after the meal was good; he was just quietly enjoying it. However, he did appreciate Lin Qingqing for her approachability.

"Sister Qingqing, may I take a photo with you?"

"Of course, you can." Qingqing went to Wu Min's side and posed for a suitable photo.

Wu Min, with the autograph in hand, had the joy of a child receiving candy on her face. However, Zhou Ruoran, who was supposed to take the photo, was not paying attention to Qingqing and the others at all.

At that moment, Zhou Ruoran's gaze fell upon the person with his back to the door.

Although she only saw the man's back, she recognized at first glance that it was Ding Fan. Zhou Ruoran had been in the Ding Family for ten years; how could she not recognize Ding Fan's back?

Still, she didn't understand why Ding Fan would be here. With the Ding Family's downfall, they could barely afford their meals, and at the Phoenix Building, a simple cold dish cost over eight hundred yuan. What did Ding Fan have to spend?

But then again, the same question, how could Ding Fan be here!?

However, after thinking about the big star Lin Qingqing being there, Zhou Ruoran let go of her confusion. It seemed that everything didn't need an explanation and all became clear.

Who was Ding Fan? A playboy, a profligate young master.

Ding Fan's skill at charming women was indeed sophisticated. Zhou Ruoran had heard that some men relied on sweet-talking women into spending money on them.

Zhou Ruoran's expression turned slightly sour. At that moment, Ding Fan, in her eyes, was obviously one of those gigolos who lived off bamboozling women into giving them a free ride.

Remembering Ding Fan putting on clean clothes and looking sunny and handsome the previous night, Zhou Ruoran became even more convinced of her thoughts. All of that was surely for pleasing the female star.

Moreover, if Ding Fan wasn't playing the gigolo, with his useless self, why would a big star invite him for a meal?!

"Sister Ruoran, please help us take the photo," Wu Min urged, noticing Zhou Ruoran's distraction.

Zhou Ruoran gathered herself. She then slowly picked up the camera, focused, and pressed the shutter.

Zhou Ruoran put away the camera and left without lingering any further. She didn't say a word to Ding Fan, as if she had never known him at all.

...

Zhou Ruoran left, and Wu Min followed her out.

After the two had left the private room, Ding Fan slowly turned around, his gaze following Zhou Ruoran's retreating back.

Ding Fan had been aware of Zhou Ruoran's arrival. He pretended to not notice because he knew Zhou Ruoran was a proud person, and seeing him there would cause misunderstandings. Even if he tried to talk to her, she wouldn't pay him any attention.

Besides, Ding Fan felt there was no need to explain things to Zhou Ruoran; after all, their paths were different, his was Cultivation. He was bound to leave sooner or later. Letting her continue to think of him as that deplorable, irredeemable young master wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

Ding Fan slowly lifted the teacup, sniffed it, and then took a light sip...

...

When Zhou Ruoran left the private room, she felt inexplicably stifled. This feeling made it difficult for her to breathe.

"Sister Ruoran, what's wrong with you? Are you sick?" Wu Min, catching up, asked on seeing Zhou Ruoran's pale face.

Zhou Ruoran shook her head and then quickly headed towards the kitchen, completely ignoring Wu Min's calls from behind.

For some reason, she felt extremely uncomfortable, and at this moment, her disgust for Ding Fan had reached its peak.

In the past, Ding Fan was a man who spent his days in pleasure and acted recklessly. After the Ding family's fall from grace, Zhou Ruoran had thought that amidst the financial hardship, Ding Fan would surely change, given that he no longer had the means to indulge in his old ways.

However, Zhou Ruoran felt she had been mistaken. Yesterday, Ding Fan had gone so far as to get into a fight with thugs at an alleyway over a flower girl. And today, he went even further, shamelessly becoming a gigolo just to keep up a life of pleasure and indulgence...

A man who sells his dignity is no better than a woman who sells her body. Such a person was beneath Zhou Ruoran's contempt.

'I think he's just a lost cause that you can't help up; you should stop bothering about him. You've done your best already, and surely Ding Fan's father would not blame you from heaven.'

At that moment, Huang Xing's words echoed in Zhou Ruoran's ears again.

Zhou Ruoran had originally planned to help Ding Fan establish a relatively comfortable living environment no matter what, at least so he wouldn't end up on the streets so soon.

But now, for someone who had given up their soul, was all that she was doing superfluous?

Bang... the sound of a glass wine bottle shattering on the ground brought Zhou Ruoran's thoughts sharply back to reality.

"Ugly freak, watch where you're going, did your eyes sink to your heels?"

As Zhou Ruoran came back to her senses, a waiter was scolding her angrily, his face livid as he pointed at his own nose, while between the two of them lay a bottle of red wine smashed to smithereens, its contents splattered all over the floor.

"I'm... I'm so sorry..." Zhou Ruoran said, somewhat flustered. She had been so lost in thought that she had bumped into someone.

"Sorry? If apologies worked, what need would there be for the police? You've smashed this bottle of wine, what do you propose we do about that? This is Louis XVI..." The waiter saw Zhou Ruoran's stammering and became even more relentless.

"I'll pay for it," said Zhou Ruoran.

Since she was the one who wasn't paying attention and caused the accident, Zhou Ruoran thought that compensating the loss would settle the matter.

"At least you know what's good for you," the waiter sneered at Zhou Ruoran. "This bottle of wine costs thirty-six thousand yuan. You also smashed two wine glasses, each costing five hundred, so that's a thousand in total. Altogether, that's thirty-seven thousand yuan."

Thirty-seven thousand!

Zhou Ruoran was stunned. Although she knew that things at the Phoenix Building were expensive, she had not expected them to be this exorbitant. To her understanding, even a pricey bottle of wine wouldn't exceed a thousand yuan; she could have covered that with her salary. She could have never imagined that just two wine glasses would cost a thousand yuan.

"Ugly freak, what are you thinking about? Pay up," the waiter demanded impatiently, extending his hand in front of Zhou Ruoran.

"I... I don't have that much money."

Having already spent all her savings on Ding Fan's medical expenses, which were meant for her graduate studies, Zhou Ruoran didn't even have three thousand seven hundred yuan, let alone thirty-seven thousand.

"Big brother, my sister didn't do it on purpose, please let her off," Wu Min said as she caught up from behind, quickly assessing the situation and understanding what had happened.

"If she didn't do it on purpose, is it up to me to pay for the wine?" the waiter snorted coldly.

"What's going on here?" At that moment, a middle-aged woman in a manager's uniform walked over with a serious face.

Seeing the middle-aged woman approach, Wu Min's heart sank. This was the manager they referred to as 'the witch' behind her back.

"Sister Zhang, you're here. Here's what happened—these two women..."

The waiter immediately recounted the incident of Zhou Ruoran knocking over the red wine he was carrying to a customer, exaggerating the story as he spoke.

Slap... a crisp slap resounded.

After hearing the waiter's words, the witch slapped Zhou Ruoran across the face without a moment's hesitation.

"Not sticking to your post during work, and now spilling the customers' red wine, I think you're just asking for a slap in the face!"

Zhou Ruoran's right cheek instantly swelled up, and whether it was the pain from the slap or the injustice she felt inside, tears began streaming down her face.

"Sister Zhang, what should we do about this? The customers are still waiting for their red wine," the waiter asked from the side.

The witch glanced at Zhou Ruoran. "You call your family now to bring the money to pay off the wine bill, and then you can leave. Otherwise, don't blame me for being unpleasant..."

Family?! Zhou Ruoran looked at the witch.

At thirteen, her parents had mysteriously disappeared, and although Ding Chengyi had later adopted her and treated her as his own, he too had passed away.

Family?!

Where did Zhou Ruoran still have any family now.