It wasn't the first time that Lu Qingfeng's brothers would meet without him. The five men decided to ditch poker in favor of playing chess tonight. Yan Xiuchen was in the middle of his game with Li Xiran when Song Yiran arrived.
"How come whenever Lu Qingfeng isn't here, you always come late, Yiran?" Zhu Baichuan asked as he shot Song Yiran an amused look. He was seated across from Ning Xuan, who was his opponent for a chess game.
Next to them, another table was set where Yan Xiuchen and Li Xiran were both engulfed with the game they were having. Neither of them stopped to greet Song Yiran and focused on their next move.
Song Yiran grunted and pulled a pack of cigarettes from his coat and lit one. He pulled a vacant seat and sat next to Ning Xuan and Zhu Baichuan's table. He wasn't in the mood to participate in any game tonight anyway.
"Was in a meeting that I couldn't easily leave." He replied with an annoyed tone.
He would have arrived way earlier if he managed to sneak out of the club, but it was too impossible for him to leave when that woman was clinging on him like a python, trapping her prey. If he didn't need to close the deal with the owner of that luxury cruise, Song Yiran wouldn't have to meet that demanding woman.
"You mean on a date with a woman who won't let you off?" Ning Xuan grinned at him.
Everyone in their brotherhood knew that Song Yiran's way to seal the deal with his prospective business partners was through women. Whether they were the daughters of the owner of the company, the CEO herself or a relative to the decision maker, Song Yiran was able to get the deal he needed through socializing with them.
"Hey, it's not my fault that they couldn't get enough of me." Song Yiran smirked, then eyed the game Yan Xiuchen was having with Li Xiran. He was surprised that even though Qiying City was far from Shenjing, the newest member of their brotherhood never missed a single meeting and always arrived on time.
Li Xiran looked up, gave him a nod in greeting, then turned his attention back to the chessboard. It was obvious that Yan Xiuchen wasn't giving him any chance to win, and Song Yiran wondered if this was their first game of the night or not.
It wasn't the first time he'd seen their eldest brother play chess, but it was definitely the first for Li Xiran. Yan Xiuchen was supposed to be very good at chess like Lu Qingfeng, who Song Yiran had never beaten so far, but Li Xiran seemed to be more or less holding up well on his own. Either Yan Xiuchen was going easy on him or Li Xiran was a pretty decent player himself.
"I thought Lu Qingfeng would be here." Song Yiran said, as he accepted the bottle of cold beer, Ning Xuan handed it to him.
"Do you really have to ask?" Ning Xuan replied. "Even though his mother-in-law's life is out of danger now, he can't possibly leave his wife on her own."
Song Yiran scoffed at that and let out an exasperated sigh. He was hoping he could meet Lu Qingfeng tonight to ask the younger man's advice about something, but Song Yiran guessed he could only wait or just give Lu Qingfeng a call later.
"Su Xiaofei isn't a weak-minded person. She can manage on her own and doesn't need Lu Qingfeng's pampering." He muttered.
It must be Lu Qingfeng who wasn't willing to leave her side, not the other way around. How could the rest of their brothers not see that Lu Qingfeng wasn't the one wearing the pants in his marriage with Su Xiaofei?
No matter how frightening Lu Qingfeng was for other people, he would always make an exception towards his wife. Lu Qingfeng wouldn't vocally admit it, but Su Xiaofei was his bottomline and the reason for his existence.
"I bet something must have come up that made him decide to postpone his trip to Shenjing this time."
Ning Xuan shrugged, while Zhu Baichuan only chuckled, before resuming the game they were having before Song Yiran's arrival distracted them. Unlike Yan Xiuchen and Li Xiran's game, theirs wasn't a serious one. From the looks of the chess pieces on the board, it seemed to Song Yiran that Zhu Bacihuan was going to win.
Song Yiran was left with no other choice but to watch the game between his brothers. He was glad that he was able to relax for now and do nothing. This was why he was looking forward to their brotherhood meet up nights. Not only was he able to forget his worries, but he was also able to catch up with his closest friends.
An hour later, Li Xiran flicked his king, finally admitting defeat against Yan Xiuchen. Song Yiran looked over their board and saw that Li Xiran had really lost. Yan Xiuchen was able to corner him, but without losing both of his queen and rooks first.
Song Yiran stood up and gave Li Xiran a pat on his shoulder. It was astounding for him to know that aside from Lu Qingfeng, Li Xiran was able to give Yan Xiuchen a real challenge.
"You did well. The three of us could barely hold a candle against Chen-ge and Lu Qingfeng. To think that you managed to get him this far… you are quite admirable."
Li Xiran blinked twice and only nodded. He wasn't used to being complimented by others, but he supposed Song Yiran was merely being kind to him and didn't want him to feel bad about his loss.
They watched as Yan Xiuchen rose from his seat and made his way to the bar counter to ask the staff for a bottle of bourbon. He didn't take long to get back to his seat, offering a glass to Li Xiran and Song Yiran.
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