Chapter 003: Dancing with Wolves

Dancing with Wolves was arguably the most influential club in the city—a bar-style venue, or nightclub, though catering to a somewhat different clientele. The business conducted inside was discreet, but even the name gave away certain hints. The entertainment provided here was tailored to wealthy women seeking special services. To put it bluntly, it was a place where young men entertained affluent ladies, and within the city, it stood at the very top, unrivaled among entertainment establishments.

Li Huan had been working here for over a year, mostly part-time, selling drinks and the like. Naturally, this involved keeping the middle-aged and older women company, drinking with them, listening to their grievances. He never crossed the line, though; that was his bottom line, even in a place where boundaries were easily blurred.

Strictly speaking, Li Huan wasn't one of the male escorts. He earned only commission from drink sales. Of course, in a place like this, you couldn't make much money without singing and drinking with the guests. Fortunately, every industry had its own rules. If your name wasn’t on the club’s public “male host” list, you didn’t have to sell your body. At most, you’d flirt with the wealthier women and try to persuade them to buy more expensive drinks. A good night could still bring in a decent income—around five thousand a month, perhaps—though it was rare to make as much in a single night as someone like Xiao Yu, who was an exception.

No one in this world gives you money for nothing. If you weren’t in the business of selling yourself, all you could do was treat the wealthy ladies well, hoping they'd toss you a bank card with a five-figure sum. After all, most of Dancing with Wolves’ clientele were women from the city’s elite, for whom dropping tens of thousands in one night was hardly unusual.

In a large private room, Li Huan stood with Xiao Yu and Li Gang. Xiao Yu leaned conspicuously against Li Huan, while Li Gang stood on the other side. There was nowhere to hide, and Li Huan couldn’t be bothered to try. He fished the USB drive—the one that had gotten him shocked—from his pocket and handed it to Li Gang. “Damn it, this is all your fault. If I hadn’t been downloading those videos for you, my computer wouldn’t have caught fire!”

Li Gang’s face changed instantly. He snatched the USB drive, inspected it anxiously, then relaxed. “Good thing it didn’t burn up. There are some classic uncensored films on here—those are hard to find these days!”

Li Huan rolled his eyes and ignored the brute, listening idly to a deputy general manager holding forth at the front. The speech was the usual: sell more drinks, and if turnover surpassed a certain target, there’d be a modest bonus at month’s end.

“Is Sister Sun Fei not here tonight?” Sun Fei was Li Huan’s senior from university, and also Li Gang’s schoolmate. She was now the general manager of Dancing with Wolves, while Li Gang, who’d joined later, oversaw the drink sales team as client manager. He led Li Huan and Xiao Yu’s group, and was particularly adept at handling the older, wealthier ladies. In other circles, he’d be considered a lady-killer of all calibers.

One had to admit, aside from the security staff, nearly all the male hosts at Dancing with Wolves were strikingly handsome young men. There were also a few who weren’t so good-looking, but had other talents that made them popular. Even the waiters had to be presentable—if not as flamboyant as Xiao Yu, at least inoffensive to the eye.

“No, she’s meeting the boss today. There’s some business to attend to—she took a few days off,” Li Gang replied, shaking his head. He’d been pursuing Sun Fei for some time, and so kept track of her whereabouts.

After the speech, the deputy manager gave the order to get to work. Li Gang’s team had twenty members. Li Huan and Xiao Yu were among the top performers, maintaining good relations with the rest. There’s truth to the saying that a team reflects its leader. While not always strictly accurate, Li Gang’s cohesive leadership had earned him respect.

Of course, this wasn’t the only sales group in the club, but none were as harmonious as theirs, which Li Huan found gratifying. In a place as chaotic as this, most people looked out for themselves, and fights over clients weren’t uncommon. In a world driven by desire, a measure of selfishness was inevitable.

Li Gang glanced at Li Huan and laid out the evening’s assignment: a regular client was coming in with a group, and the workload would be heavy. There was nothing else to add—everyone here was experienced enough to seize opportunities as they came.

At eight o’clock, the club officially opened. Outside, the signage was up, advertising the night’s special events. Photos of the male hosts were posted, with the top escorts featured on large posters—four or five strikingly handsome men, as if stepped from the pages of a comic, seated in the most prominent position in the main hall. The silver sofas and dazzling lights made them stand out all the more, drawing every eye in the room.

“That guy’s makeup is awful—neither man nor ghost, trying to look seductive for what? He’s not even a woman,” Xiao Yu muttered as he walked out with Li Huan. Tonight’s main clients were in their hands. Xiao Yu shot a disdainful glance at one particularly heavily made-up man, clearly displeased.

Li Huan regarded him, feeling a chill. The tone was pure jealousy, almost as if two women were competing. Especially with Xiao Yu’s plaintive eyes and similarly exaggerated makeup, Li Huan couldn’t help but think viciously that, if Xiao Yu were seated up there, the rest would pale in comparison.

“What’s the situation tonight?” Li Huan glanced around. The club had just opened, but was already filling up—a third of the booths were occupied, almost exclusively by women of varying ages, most over forty, with a handful of wealthy young women in their twenties. Female clients around thirty were rarer.

Xiao Yu’s smile blossomed like a peach in March; he gestured excitedly, “It’s the wealthy lady from yesterday. She said she’d be coming back tonight. That’s all thanks to me! Oh, you know her too—she was looking for you yesterday, but you were out.”

Li Huan frowned, guessing which patron it was, but showed no excitement. If anything, he felt conflicted. He knew the woman preferred younger men, but business was business—he had to make his living, and she had the money to spend.

As they spoke, three young women entered, all in their early twenties. One, with shoulder-length hair, was strikingly beautiful, her features enhanced by light makeup and a cool elegance unusual for her age. The slight curve of her lips—whether by habit or design—gave her a distant, unapproachable air. Her companions were also lovely, if somewhat overshadowed by her. Yet both exuded a unique presence, perhaps the result of their fashionable attire and the innate confidence of the wealthy, attracting immediate attention.

Clients were typically greeted by a manager, who would ascertain their needs and help them select a seat or a private room. There was plenty of competition among managers, but at a top club like Dancing with Wolves, most booths would be full by nine, minimizing any scramble. Of course, the richest patrons were always in high demand, and the male hosts relied on these big spenders for their commission—and, if things went further, a hefty fee.

Li Huan didn’t need to fight for clients. Four supervisors managed drink sales, each covering a section. Whichever area the client chose, the respective supervisor would handle recommendations and introduce popular male hosts. The sales and host departments maintained a cooperative, sometimes ambiguous, relationship; conflicts of interest were rare.

Something the host manager said clearly displeased the shoulder-length-haired woman, who shot him a glare. The manager, embarrassed, withdrew and went to greet other guests. Such scenes were unusual; most women came to have fun and rarely refused service or showed displeasure—unless, of course, a staff member or newcomer had inadvertently offended them. This was the city’s top club, after all, and the clientele were generally well-mannered.

Li Huan frowned as he watched the trio settle into a booth in Section One—his group’s responsibility. The woman looked up, as if searching for a staff member.

Section One was Li Huan’s territory. As the three girls sat down, Xiao Yu nudged him, “Huan Huan, you go. I’m not into these young things.”

Li Huan smirked, seeing through him. Xiao Yu’s type was a hit with the older women, but young women tended to dislike such flamboyant men; they preferred someone more masculine, like Li Huan.

No one can predict what changes life will bring from one moment to the next. As Li Huan walked over, all he was thinking about was how much he might coax out of the girls tonight. What happened next, however, was beyond his expectations—an event that would become a turning point in his life.

“Cheer up, will you? We’re out to have fun, no need to keep a straight face,” said a girl with wine-red highlights, holding the hand of the shoulder-length-haired beauty as if comforting her.

“Hmm… have a drink with me,” the central girl replied, her brow furrowed as if troubled by something.

“Sure, sure!” the long-haired girl chirped, oblivious to her friend’s mood.

“Are you sure about this? We’re three girls drinking in a place like this—it’s not exactly safe,” the round-faced girl said sensibly. Even though the club’s security was good, it was still a place full of all sorts—an easy place to get into trouble once you’d had a few drinks.

Li Huan arrived just in time to hear their conversation. He wore his professional smile. “Welcome. Looks like it’s your first time here—can I help you with anything?”

The three girls glanced at him. The long-haired one’s eyes lit up—clearly excited to see such a handsome server. “We want to drink!” she exclaimed.

“Cao…” the round-faced girl hesitated, clearly fascinated by the surroundings but uneasy at the prospect of drinking.

“It’s fine, let’s just have a drink. What do you have?” the shoulder-length-haired girl said, dismissing her friend’s concern. She glanced at Li Huan, hesitated, then added, “Sit with us.”