章節 2: 18 Years Later

-LiLong Country, Long Capital City, the year 2048-

Qing Yue stood before her queen-sized mirror, the wind blowing through the open window plucking at strands of her sleek, knee-length black hair as she put on her pair of black studs. Her grey blouse and floor-length heavy grey skirt covered all her curves, but they did nothing to reduce her radiant beauty.

Having just turned 18, Qing Yue exuded the fresh aura of youth and enchanting glory of a blossoming, dignified flower that could not be looked upon with profanity.

Running a hand through her thick black mane, she straightened the wayward strands, grabbed her diamond purse, and went out the door.

She took the spiral stairs two at a time and shouted into the kitchen as she passed by the ballroom-sized dining hall.

"Aunt Li, I am going out with Yei Yi and a few friends. Tell Dad not to wait for me for dinner!"

"Okay, honey! Take care and have fun!"

"I will!"

She sprinted towards the automatic golden door, her eyes attracted to the refreshing green landscape outside the glass walls as she passed.

The bulletproof, one-way glass walls of their Mansion revealed the cascading fields of mowed green hills, the fortress of grey skyscrapers in the distant city, and the numerous hovercars rushing back and forth to the grey city towers like bees dancing around a honeycomb.

Qing Yue ran out the golden door and stood in front of the hundred-foot glass water fountain, the melodious splashing of the water calming her nerves as she looked around for her ride.

Her new hovercar, one she got as a birthday gift from her Dad, was nowhere to be seen. But she wasn't worried. She pressed on a purple button on her blouse sleeve and a purple hologram screen popped up. Clicking on the talk icon, she spoke into the hologram.

"Su Su, I am outside."

"Su Su on the way..." With a swift reply, the screen brightened and disappeared.

Vroom!

The next moment a purple hovercar, the same color as her eyes, zoomed in front of her and slowly lowered to the ground. A faint hum sounded and the entire top and front sides of the car slid back and retracted into itself, exposing its white interior.

"Su Su here!"

"Thanks, Su Su!"

Qing Yue hopped into the driver seat of the hovercar and automatic belts sprung up from over her right and left shoulders, and on her knees and waist securing her to the seat.

"Su Su, take me to the Ivy Club."

"Su Su on auto-drive, destination Ivy Club. Master, we are taking off in 3, 2, 1!"

The hovercar's top and sides slid back in place and raised into the air. Turning towards the direction of the clustered skyscrapers, the hovercar's wheels folded sideways and transformed into silver steel that rotated furiously.

With invisible energy humming underneath, it flew over the vast fields of green and raced out of the Li territory. It skillfully merged with the traffic flow and mingled with the numerous hovers speeding towards the chaotic Downtown Long City.

The year 2048 of the New World Formation was one of chaotic lifestyle as advanced technology and new political systems were introduced to the world. Hovercrafts loomed on every corner of the city skylines, displaying 3D holographic advertisements of new inventions and products on sale.

On the east of Long City Downtown was a gray skyscraper with neon lights flashing on its front door. The sign read Pleasure Town in black writing.

This was the Pleasure Town Nightclub, a building widely known for the decadent acts that took place within its grey walls. In this time period, such nightclubs or clubs of such activities were publicly frequented by the new generation without guilt or shame.

In fact, the business of flesh sale became so prevalent in the year 2048, that those running the business and their employees publicly advertised their services and professionalism.

In order to afford the sky-high living expenses of the century, any profession, no matter how lowly and disgraceful, was embraced with delight as long as it paid well.

At this moment, inside Pleasure Town Nightclub, on the top-most 55th floor was a crowd of drunken males surrounded by serving females in white uniforms.

The males were intoxicated beyond doubt, their hands unrestrainedly groping and fondling the females' breasts or thighs.

In a private room of this floor were three males, all well dressed with above-average appearances.

"Sweeties, come and sit on brother's lap. I will make you feel comfortable...hmm?" A brown-haired guy with thick glasses suggestively said as he leered lewdly at two blonde servants filling drinks in the center of the room.

"Isn't your Pleasure Town's purpose to please the customers? Why are you acting like decent human beings? If you do your job right, I might just tip you generously." Another with bleach blonde hair and gray eyes added.

The girls glanced at each other before approaching the beckoning males with flushed faces and shy smiles.

"That's right. Come to brother. Sit on brother's thigh right here. Perfect!" The moment the girls sat on the two men's laps, they immediately winced in pain as the mounds on their chests were painfully squeezed. Another hand fell on their waist and behind, pinching and squeezing without any consideration.

At a corner of this room sat a cold-faced young man with black hair and dark-blue eyes. An oppressive and suffocating aura radiated from the young man's body, keeping the hovering servants with bright eyes at bay as he observed the unfolding scene with indifference.

The man was incredibly handsome with natural sculpted features that were hardly found in the present skin crafting society. As they repeatedly glanced in his direction, the hearts of the many servants fiercely pounded in their chests and they fervently wished he would call upon them for service.

With an impassive expression on his face, the black-hair man raised his hand to unbutton two of his steel-blue suit coat buttons, exposing a defined collarbone and smooth skin that gleamed under the dim glow of the nightlight.

"How much longer are we going to stay here?" As if blind to the burning stares aimed at him, he emotionlessly addressed the two men.

"Long Tian, just let us have a little bit of fun for once, okay? Would it kill you to just allow us to enjoy ourselves?" The brown hair guy cried in annoyance as he reflexively pinched the perky softness in his hand.

"Yes, Tian Tian. We understand that these goodies don't interest you. And why would they when you have a mouth-watering babe? But they interest us. So can you please empathize with us spinsters and allow us to enjoy ourselves for a bit? After all, we are also men and have our own needs and desires." The blondie threw him a dirty glance while rubbing the female's plump thigh.

Long Tian frowned when he heard his friends' words.

"Don't compare Lu Jin with these women. They have nothing of worth to be placed in the same sentence with her." He coldly declared.

"Yes, yes. Your girl is the best in the entire LiLong Country. A drop-dead gorgeous model with a modest and gentle demeanor. Happy?" Brown hair rolled his eyes as he chugged a glass of wine, the drink leaking from the corner of his mouth and down his chin as he carelessly smirked.

"But women these days are not as simple as they look. Who knows, maybe Lu Jin is after your money. Be careful Bro, or you wouldn't know what hits you!"

"Fu Ji Ren, you just watch your words. I don't need your advice." Long Tian's self-control was on the brink of snapping. At times, he couldn't understand how he was friends with such intolerable ba****ds!

The dim room and grey walls masked the dark expression on his face, but his labored breaths, evidence of his suppressed anger, rang loud and clear causing the two men to drop their antics and straighten their postures.

"Alright, alright. We will not talk about the angel of your heart anymore. Let's get focused on what we really came here for. From the sources we planted, there is evidence of the NightOwls being behind the suppression of our new venture." Fu Ji Ren pushed the woman on his lap aside and opened one of the folders sitting beside him on the velvet couch.

"From the look of things, they intend to confront us." The blonde pushed aside his female and picked up a drink before continuing with an amused smirk.

"But do they have what it takes to face us head-on?"

"If I were you, I wouldn't underestimate the NightOwls, Ouyang Fei. If they were as mediocre as you make them out to be, then they wouldn't have gotten this far within 3 years. They wouldn't have had the guts or ability to get in the way of our YueTian project." Fu Ji Ren warned.

"They are a rising force we need to seriously reevaluate."

"Forget about the NightOwls. I will handle them. You two focus on the new product launch preparation. This time, we must not only garner the entire upper society's attention but also attract the interest of the foreign countries." Long Tian loosened another button, sweat dripping down his forehead under the glow of the nightlights.

The NightOwls were becoming a headache, something he didn't like.

'I guess it's time to move them out of the way.'

Bang!

"Long Tian, sorry I'm late!"

At this time, the steel door of room 555 was forcefully slammed open, and a breathless, coquettish voice drifted in. Under the cover of the dim nightlights, the slender figure of a short, brown hair woman appeared within the men's view.

Tall, beautiful, and fashionably dressed in the latest design, the woman had all the right curves at the right places, which were further amplified by her tight, stripe-less, knee-length black dress.

"Lu Jin, I didn't know you were gonna be here." Fu Ji Ren's smile disappeared, as a cold sneer took its place.

"When Long Tian is here, why wouldn't I be?" Lu Jin ignored Fu Ji Ren's unwelcoming glare and headed straight to Long Tian and threw herself in his arms.

"Chee! How desperate!" Fu Ji Ren threw a disgusted glance at Lu Jin before turning his head away.

"Man, control yourself. You know how protective Long Tian is of her." Ouyang Fei pinched his friend's arm and warned in a whisper. It's been more than 2 years since they met Lu Jin, and yet, even though the woman was their friend's girl, Fu Ji Ren had a strong dislike for her.

No matter how he persuaded the man and tried to change his opinion of the woman, nothing seemed to work. Even after 2 years of seeing Long Tian and Lu Jin together, Fu Ji Ren's dislike towards her had not lessened. Instead, it only seemed to grow.

This was a problematic issue for the Ouyang Fei that wished to see their friendship last forever. Because if Long Tian came to know how much Fu Ji Ren hated Lu Jin, nothing could stop their relationship from cracking and falling apart.

"Tian Tian, I missed you so much! How about you? Did you miss me?" Lu Jin's sweet voice disrupted his thought, causing him to glance in the couple's direction only to witness her rubbing her face on Long Tian's chest like a cat.

He unwittingly smirked at the scene, earning the cold man's glare.

"Ahem! Since Lu Jin is here, how about we shift to the Ivy Club? It isn't appropriate for her to stay in this place."

"I don't mind here." Fu Ji Ren replied before Long Tian could speak.

Disappointed at his friend's unteachable personality, Ouyang Fei increased his strength in his second pinch, grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet before his hiss resounded.

"Ouyang Fei, what is your problem!" Getting pinched twice in a row, Fu Ji Ren turned red with anger.

"Haha...Long Tian, let's go. Let's get Lu Jin out of this place." Ignoring the raging man, Ouyang Fei waved at Long Tian and dragged Fu Ji Ren out of the room.

Half an hour later, the three friends exited their luxurious black hovercar at the open-air park gate of Ivy Club.

"Tian Tian, can you book a private hall for us? The gazes of the men in the public hall are too invasive." Lu Jin came out last, running her hand through her short, brown hair as she grabbed Long Tian's arm.

On the other side, Qing Yue's purple hovercar entered the open-air parking lot and slowly drifted to the ground. With a gentle hum, it swerved into an open lot that just happened to face Long Tian's black hover.