At Imperial College London, the curtain of Friday night fell slowly.
Jiang Ming sauntered leisurely toward the school gate with his three close buddies—Mike, Jack, and Louis.
Mike, a burly man, wore a tight frown, his face etched with bitterness, and his steps felt heavy. He couldn't hold back his complaints:
"Oh, Ming, this damn exam is driving me crazy. Do you think I can find a way to salvage my grades this time?"
Louis, in gold-rimmed glasses, carried himself with the air of a European aristocrat in every gesture. He tilted his head slightly, cast a disdainful glance at Mike, and spoke with a note of resignation:
"Come on, Mike. With the credits you've got, even graduating is a toss-up. If you mess around any more, I guarantee that tough professor of mine will zero out all your credits."
Jiang Ming joined in with a laugh, teasing:
"Yeah, Mike, I'm with Louis. A bad exam score isn't a big deal. C'mon, my treat tonight—let's hit a bar and relax. Screw the exam."
At this, Jack, who'd been looking lazy just a moment before, perked up instantly. His eyes sparkled with anticipation, and he burst out:
"Whoa, Ming, are you serious? Then let's go to Mad Dog Bar! I heard there are tons of pretty girls there. I have a feeling I'll get super lucky tonight—land a super romantic encounter."
As he spoke, a dreamy look spread across his face.
Jiang Ming shot him a scornful glare and scoffed:
"Jack, stop daydreaming. Encounters like that are for noble descendants like Louis. You? Don't even bother thinking about it."
Right after, the four of them, laughing and joking, dashed toward the school gate. Mad Dog Bar was three blocks from the campus; after a quick discussion, they decided to run over.
Soon, they arrived at Mad Dog Bar. Inside, colorful lights flickered nonstop, dynamic music blared deafeningly, and the air was filled with a mix of the aroma of wine and the buzz of the crowd. They walked straight in, picked a booth, and huddled around it.
Jiang Ming glanced around, then raised his hand to wave at a bartender, shouting loudly:
"Hey, one beer for each of us, please."
The bartender heard him, smiled, and nodded in response.
By now, Jack's eyes were scanning the bar like radar—clearly, he was here for that "encounter." Jiang Ming shook his head in helpless amusement, reached out to pat Jack's shoulder gently, and teased:
"Jack, I'd advise you to give up early. If you really want an encounter, you should go to a bigger bar. Here? I don't see any hope."
Jack didn't turn his head, his eyes fixed on a certain direction, and said:
"No, Jiang Ming, you don't get it. Encounters don't depend on the place—you just need eyes that can spot beauty. Oh, look, there—didn't I just find one!"
With that, he slapped the table excitedly, his finger pointing eagerly behind Jiang Ming.
The others were drawn by Jack's movement and all turned to look. Not far from Jiang Ming's table sat a blonde beauty with blue eyes. Her beauty instantly grabbed everyone's attention—even Jiang Ming couldn't help but exclaim:
"Damn, she's stunning. Totally my type."
Jack's face fell at this, and he complained loudly:
"Oh, Jiang Ming, you can't compete with me for her. I saw her first."
Jiang Ming's brows furrowed, a flicker of displeasure in his eyes. He glared at Jack, his voice full of annoyance:
"Jack, you're being way too selfish. Are we still even good brothers?"
Jack didn't back down, firing back at once:
"No, Jiang Ming. Brothers are brothers, but a beauty is a beauty. I've made up my mind—she's my goddess, and I'll never let her go to you."
Louis watched the two of them arguing until their faces turned red, a smile playing in his eyes. He shook his head gently, then suggested:
"Jiang Ming, Jack, I think you two should compete fairly. How about this—I'll put up 100 dollars as a bet. Whoever gets that beautiful lady's contact info tonight, I'll give them 100 dollars as a date fund."
At Louis's words, Jiang Ming and Jack's eyes lit up instantly, like hungry wolves spotting their prey.
Jack even slapped his chest, promising:
"Louis, you can rest easy. That 100 dollars will definitely be mine."
Just then, Mike, who'd been sitting quietly all this time, chimed in slowly:
"Hey, I think I can join this game too."
The moment Mike finished speaking, the other three turned to look at him in unison, eyeing him up and down.
Staring at Mike's over two-meter-tall, extremely burly figure, the image of a gorilla popped into all their heads at the same time. Immediately after, the three couldn't hold back and burst into laughter.
Mike was baffled by their laughter, not understanding why they were laughing. Could it be that he wasn't qualified to join the competition?
He looked confused, scratched his head, and asked in a puzzled tone:
"Why? I'm pretty confident in myself."
Louis couldn't help but explain:
"Oh, Mike, we know you're confident in yourself, but I really worry that beautiful lady might lose confidence when she sees you."
As soon as Louis said this, they laughed even harder.
Mike finally realized—these three guys were making fun of his build. He clenched his fists in anger, his face flushing red, and was just about to hit back when the bartender brought over four beers, interrupting his movement.
Mike had to take the beer sullenly, then snapped at the three:
"Just because you're making fun of me, you're paying for tonight's tab."
Seeing this, Jiang Ming quickly stood up, smiling as he handed money to the bartender, and said to Mike:
"Mike, don't dwell on it. I already said it's my treat tonight—all the expenses are on me."
Hearing Jiang Ming say this, Mike felt a little better.
But while Mike and Jiang Ming were talking, Jack picked up a beer first, a reckless smile on his face, and said:
"C'mon, let's toast to this damn exam."
After that, the other three didn't hesitate—they all lifted their glasses and shouted loudly:
"Alright, toast to this damn exam!"
With a "clink," they bumped their glasses together, and the four of them each chugged half a large glass of beer in one go.
After putting down his glass, Jack could barely contain his eagerness. He couldn't wait to stand up and go ask that beauty for her contact info.
Jiang Ming was naturally unwilling to let Jack take the lead—after all, in his eyes, this chance wasn't something to be given up easily. Right away, the two were shoving each other like two bulls locking horns, each using all their strength to fight to be the first to head toward where the beauty was sitting.
In the middle of this fierce shoving, Jiang Ming glanced up casually—and caught sight of three men in black sitting quietly in a booth not far from the beauty.
A sudden chill shot through his chest. From his angle, there was an indescribable eeriness hanging over these three men. Just looking at them a little longer, it felt like an invisible force was making people subconsciously feel a surge of fear from the bottom of their hearts—as if some unknown danger was lurking in the dark.
Jiang Ming tensed up instantly, stopping his horseplay with Jack at once. His eyes fixed on the three men, staring hard to get a better look.
What he saw hit him like a thunderclap in his mind, making him break out in a cold sweat on the spot.
For these three men's eyes—there was no white at all. Their entire eye sockets were pitch-black, like two deep black holes, as if they would suck a person's soul right in.
At that moment, the three men exchanged glances, then stood up in unison, walking toward that stunning beauty with steady yet eerie steps.
One of the men wore a malicious smile and said to the beauty:
"Hey, beautiful, are you here alone? You look pretty bored—how about we keep you company?"
The other two, upon hearing this, also broke into malicious grins. In the dim light of the bar, those smiles looked particularly ferocious.