As he spoke, Ruan Qingshan brandished the red card in his hand. He chuckled, "You've never seen this, have you? This isn't something money can buy; it's a symbol of identity and status!"

Who cares about going there? Let the sea breeze freeze them all to death! Ruan Lan grumbled to herself.

Hu Yanjie returned from the restroom and his eyes, spitting fire, landed on Ruan Jin.

"Liar! Didn't you tell me you sold me an all-access pass? I just asked around—a regular ticket is only ten thousand yuan! You charged me triple!"

"I had to call in some favors to get it for you," Ruan Jin said coolly. "If you can buy one yourself, go right ahead."

"You—"

Hu Yanjie was seething. Ruan Jin was a friend of a friend and a member of the Ruan Family, so Hu Yanjie had assumed the purchase was safe. He never expected to be scammed!

Huh?

Ruan Lan froze, and then it all clicked. No wonder Hu Yanjie had glanced at her when Yu Xiaoxiao asked where he got the tickets. He'd bought them from Ruan Jin! If she had known, she would have rather died than come here to join the fun!

"Idiot!" Yu Xiaoxiao couldn't help but glare at Hu Yanjie, who could only hang his head and accept the blame.

"A fool hanging out with other fools. How fitting," Ruan Jin's smirk was still full of scorn. "Oh, that's right, I'm the Head of the Ruan Family now. Aren't you going to come over and offer me a toast? Speaking of which, I really should thank you and Ruan Tang. One of you had a child out of wedlock, and the other is Eighth Master's mistress. If you two hadn't infuriated Grandpa so much, the old man could have held onto power for a few more years."

"A toast?" Ruan Lan's smile was radiant. "Sure."

A waiter happened to be passing by, and Ruan Lan picked up a glass of wine.

Ruan Jin nodded in satisfaction. "Good, very perceptive. I might consider writing your name back onto the family registry…"

Before he could finish, Ruan Lan splashed the red wine squarely in his face. "So," she asked, "how does this vintage taste?"

"You—" Ruan Jin gritted his teeth. "You bitch! How dare you disrespect the Family Head…"

Ruan Lan postured as if to throw another glass, which scared Ruan Jin into a hasty retreat. He had a meeting with several scions from wealthy families later and had to maintain his appearance.

"Darling, let's hurry to the restroom and get you cleaned up," his companion urged. Having been holding his arm, she had also been splashed, and her white dress was now covered in wine stains.

Ruan Jin shot them a cold snort before turning on his heel and leaving.

The more Ruan Lan thought about it, the angrier she became. "The Ruan Family is utterly hopeless! As if a VIP card is such a big deal."

Yu Xiaoxiao and Li Li quickly tried to console her. "The first tier is perfectly fine. Don't be angry."

"I'll be a VIP one day! I'll go to the fourth tier… No, wait a minute." Ruan Lan suddenly remembered something and quickly pulled five black cards out of her purse. She suddenly recalled Xu Lai saying they were "VIP Supreme Cards."

She flagged down a passing waiter.

The man's previously cold, impersonal gaze instantly became incredibly warm upon seeing the black cards. "Hello, how may I help you?"

"This card, which tiers can I access?"

"Tiers one through four," the waiter replied respectfully. "Where would you like to go? Shall I show you the way?"

Ruan Lan suddenly turned to her two best friends and asked, "I suddenly have the urge to go to the fourth tier and feel the sea breeze. You two?"

"…"

Don't ask. If you ask, the answer is always yes.

The three women, along with Hu Yanjie, left the first tier, which was packed with people, and made their way up to the second. It was noticeably less crowded. Moreover, the attire of both the guests and the staff was clearly a step up in quality.

In a word—classy.

Without lingering on the second tier, the group headed straight for the third and then the fourth.

When they arrived on the fourth tier, the deck was almost deserted. Just as a waiter was about to lead them to a private room, they suddenly spotted a man leaning against the railing, gazing into the distance.

"That silhouette looks a bit like Xu Lai," Ruan Lan muttered.

"Yeah, it does look a bit like my brother-in-law," Yu Xiaoxiao agreed uncertainly.

"It really does!" Li Li added, equally puzzled.

Hu Yanjie looked over, his expression darkening. "That *is* him!" he declared, his eyes then filling with admiration. This was the man who had been so overwhelmingly powerful at the club gathering, a god-like figure in his mind!

"How could my brother-in-law possibly be here?"

The words had barely left Ruan Lan's mouth when the man turned around. It was, indeed, Xu Lai.

"???"

Three large question marks seemed to appear over Ruan Lan's head.

With a whoosh, Yu Xiaoxiao and Li Li ran over to him. "Brother-in-law, what are you doing here?" they asked happily.

"Enjoying the view," Xu Lai said with a smile. He then looked at his sister-in-law. "I thought you weren't going to use them. The sea breeze is pretty strong up here, isn't it?"

"…" said Ruan Lan.

I have a strong suspicion my good-for-nothing brother-in-law heard me complaining back on the first tier!

She let out a dismissive huff. "The fourth tier is boring, full of old people. We're going down to have some fun."

The third tier at least had parties and dances. The fourth… there wasn't a soul in sight. It was so dull! Oh, there were actually a few people, but they were all old men and women, completely lacking any youthful energy!

Ruan Lan didn't know that those people included Niu Taishan from Hua City, Niu Guihua's younger brother; Feng Lang, who was invited by Wencheng's Family Head, Ling Chaoyang; and Xu Huang, brought by the Wan Family's patriarch. There were also other Martial Artists hired by prominent families for a hefty price.

After all, they were all Martial Arts Grandmasters, generally over sixty years of age. A young man in his twenties like Xu Lai was truly a crane standing among chickens.

Well… My sister-in-law insists she's forever eighteen. It's not too much of a stretch for me, Xu Lai, to be in my twenties then, is it?

"I'll join you," Xu Lai said with a smile.

The group arrived on the third tier.

On deck, a famous local DJ was spinning records while scores of beautiful women danced energetically on the dance floor.

Ruan Lan said admiringly, "See, this is the kind of place young people should be! Look at all the pretty girls."

She critiqued them with relish. "Xiaoxiao, look at that woman over there. Her legs are even longer than yours…"

"Not as long as Xiaoxiao's," Hu Yanjie blurted out subconsciously.

"…"

Ruan Lan and Li Li shot him a strange look. "Is that so?"

"Yeah, hers are much…"

Hu Yanjie was about to continue when a red-faced Yu Xiaoxiao kicked him. "Will you just shut up!"

Only then did Hu Yanjie realize his gaffe, his expression becoming one of utter embarrassment.

Xu Lai patted his shoulder. "Youth is a wonderful thing, but you have to know when to hold back, understand?"

Hu Yanjie's face and neck flushed crimson as he nodded vigorously.

"Is this a place for lowly people like you to enter?"

With that harsh rebuke, the third-tier deck fell silent. Even the DJ quickly stopped the music.

It was Ruan Jin again!

Seeing who had spoken, Ruan Lan snapped, "What is wrong with you?"

"Heh," Ruan Jin sneered. "You four clearly have standard tickets, so you're only allowed on the first tier. Do you even know what a VIP ticket is? Now get lost."

"And what if I say no?" Ruan Lan's defiant tone didn't waver.

"Security!" Ruan Jin yelled. "Get these lowly people out of here immediately!"

A security guard who was called over had personally seen the group coming down from the fourth tier. He quickly tried to explain, "Sir, you must be mistaken. They're… VIP Supreme…"

"Them? VIP Supreme?" Ruan Jin laughed out loud. His female companion added with a sneer, "If they're VIPs, I'll jump off this ship right now!"

"Count me in," Ruan Jin said with a look of disgust. "Ruan Lan, don't tell me you were so jealous of my VIP ticket that you slept with a security guard to get up here through a special passage?"

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