Dragon Raja 3; Chapter 221: Men’s Flower Arrangement (4)

Dragon Raja 3

“That’s right, women pay us to drink with them,” Caesar steadied Lu Mingfei with a hand on his shoulder. “Are you okay?”

“My-my-my… my legs are numb…” Lu Mingfei barely stood straight. “Boss, you see… I’m still young and innocent… Suddenly talking to me about host clubs makes me feel like I’ve grown up too soon. I’m a bit nervous inside.”

“We had nowhere else to go. The safe haven is done for, and communication has been cut off. We’re wanted on TV, we have no money, no credit cards, no passports, and we don’t even speak the language. Chu Zihang and I could only find this place to crash. We told some lies, said we were smuggled into Japan and now have no jobs, so we wanted to apply as hosts. That’s how they agreed to let us stay for a while.” Caesar shrugged. “Host clubs don’t seem to mind hiring illegal workers, nor do they care that we can’t speak Japanese. After all, this place is all about looks, and in that department, we Gattusos have confidence.”

“This isn’t the time to be flaunting family pride, Boss!” Lu Mingfei was frantic. “Host! We’re just working as hosts! My first job in life, and it’s as a host in Japan?”

“Do you think, with our family backgrounds, Chu Zihang and I have ever worked part-time before? This is our first job too, you’re not alone.” Caesar looked completely unfazed. “As you Chinese would say, everyone has to learn how to enter society.”

“How is this entering society? This is like taking one step and drowning in society’s cesspool!”

“Don’t think of it like that, you can emerge from the mud unsullied.”

“Whoa! Your Chinese is so fluent, Boss! But even if you write an essay called ‘Ode to the Hosts,’ I still won’t go along with you!” Lu Mingfei put on a pleading face. “Boss, you know us Chinese are very conservative, not as… as… as romantic! Yes, romantic! As you Italians! In China, being a host would… would… would get you drowned in a pig cage! That’s right, stuffed into a pig cage and sunk in a pond! And after you die, you can’t be buried in the family tomb, you’ll be a wandering ghost, Boss!” Lu Mingfei figured Caesar didn’t know much about Chinese customs, so he might as well exaggerate.

“Oh! So if I marry Nono, I’d count as half a Chinese, right? My god, by your logic, I’d be drowned in a pond too?” Caesar suddenly became serious.

“Uh… uh…” Lu Mingfei blinked, unable to come up with a response for a moment.

“So, you see,” Caesar draped his arm around Lu Mingfei’s shoulder, “you’re Chinese, Chu Zihang is Chinese, and I’m half Chinese. By your family’s rules, if we engage in this shameful line of work, we’d be stuffed into a pig cage and sunk in a pond. So, we must keep this experience a secret. We have to agree that none of this ever happened, and we are innocent. Right?”

“Right! Right! Boss, you were never a host, I, as your brother, would never betray you! Betray you and my whole family dies!” Lu Mingfei quickly swore.

“Do you remember the rule for guys joining the Student Union?” Caesar smiled.

“Wasn’t it running naked on the mountain road at midnight? I’ve done it! And a bunch of guys were taking pictures from the roadside!”

“Yeah, I ran too, and had my photo taken. So, do you know why no one has ever dared to post those naked photos on the Night Watcher’s forum?” Caesar guided him.

“Because we’ve all done it. If everyone has done it, then it’s like no one has done it. If anyone dares to post someone else’s naked photo, they’ll be silenced by all the brothers.”

Lu Mingfei suddenly understood.

“So, it’s safer to do these kinds of things together,” Caesar said, patting Lu Mingfei on the shoulder with a smile, his tone full of meaning.

Lu Mingfei clutched his chest. “At this moment, only Andy Lau’s old song ‘Ice Rain’ can express my feelings: ‘My heart feels like it’s been sliced by a dagger.’ Boss, you must be born under the sign of the dagger…”

The lights in the dance floor suddenly went out, and a platform rose from the stage above the dance floor once again. A beam of light descended from the ceiling, illuminating the muscular figure standing on the high platform. He held a microphone stand with both hands, like Lü Bu wielding his halberd.

“Angels! Are you happy tonight?” the man roared in a pose like a rock star.

The guests waved their hands and whistled in response.

“Has our runway made you feel the warmth of Eden?”

The hosts stood up one after another, applauding the man on the high platform. Clearly, his appearance signaled the climax of the evening.

“Tonight, a new beautiful flower has bloomed in our runway! Shout his name out loud!”

“Ukyo! Ukyo! Ukyo!” The chants surged like waves.

“Yes! It’s Ukyo! The brother of the Basara King, the sorrowful and beautiful boy, Ukyo, has come to be with you tonight! With hands accustomed to wielding deadly blades, he embraces you! Will you accept his embrace? Will you use your passion to keep this lost youth?” The man shouted from on high, his voice wild, “Tonight! Right now! Use your love and tenderness to keep him here!”

Drums started softly backstage, and waiters brought out a golden box. After bowing deeply, Chu Zihang stood at one corner of the stage. Another group of waiters moved between the booths, carrying trays filled with cherry-red envelopes. Guests began pulling out 1,000-yen bills, placing them on the trays, and then picking up an envelope. As the drumming quickened, the guests initially bought one or two envelopes, but soon they were buying them by the handful. The generosity spread between tables, with one guest pulling out a bundle of 10,000-yen bills and throwing them onto the tray. The waiters immediately counted out hundreds of cherry-red envelopes for her.

“A little more! More love! Let your love raise Ukyo up!” The man on the platform knelt on one knee and raised the microphone into the air.

“Who is this idiot? What are these women buying?” Lu Mingfei whispered.

“The idiot is the manager here. The women are paying to buy tickets for Chu Zihang. One ticket costs 1,000 yen, and the more tickets he gets, the more popular he is,” Caesar explained.

“So, what do the tickets do? Do they get to sleep with Senior Brother if they have one?”

“They don’t do anything. Buying tickets just shows how much they love Chu Zihang and want him to stay.”

The drumming became as fast as a torrential downpour, and the bills fell like a snowstorm. The waiters bowed at each table as the guests threw handfuls of envelopes into the golden box. Each time someone made a purchase, Chu Zihang bowed remotely from the stage. In the end, the box was stuffed so full that it overflowed.