Chapter 155: Attacked?

Wayne's guess wasn't wrong.

Avril had indeed been brought to the bar by her manager, Sandy Robert, to promote her music. The reason they chose this time and bar? With the annual Oscars approaching, the likelihood of major stars, directors, and producers showing up here was much higher than usual.

Though the music and film industries seem somewhat unrelated, being noticed by big-name stars and directors was a great way to gain exposure. After all, the film industry sits at the top of the entertainment world's pyramid.

Take Leo DiCaprio's supermodel girlfriends, for example. Didn't they all skyrocket in fame by riding on Leo's popularity?

"Do you know that girl?" Jessica's voice snapped Wayne out of his thoughts.

"No, I just thought she sang pretty well."

Hannah, sitting nearby, snorted, "Is it her singing that's good, or is it her looks?"

Wayne shrugged with a smile. "Both, I guess."

With that, he called over a waiter and sent Avril the most expensive bouquet of flowers.

High-end bars like this one didn't throw money on stage like regular bars; that was too tacky. And how much could they throw anyway? For the stars who frequent this place, a few hundred bucks is nothing. Instead, this bar switched to gifting flowers, with each type representing a different tip. After their performance, the artists could collect the equivalent amount from the bar owner.

It was a way to make money while still keeping it classy.

The bouquet Wayne sent? It was worth $200,000! A hefty sum in this era—enough to rent out a couple of B-list celebrities for a few days at sea.

Even in this star-studded bar, such a grand gesture was rare—maybe once a month.

As the DJ loudly expressed his thanks, everyone in the bar who didn't know Wayne was there, or didn't recognize him, was now aware of his presence.

The number of girls trying to chat him up, which had dwindled a bit, surged once again.

Avril, who had been performing at the bar for two days and knew the significance of the 99 scarlet roses, was stunned. She'd never received more than a $500 tip. The shock nearly made her forget the lyrics.

"Uh, thank you, Mr. Wayne, for the flowers. I'm glad you like my song."

It took Avril a while, under her manager Sandy Robert's frantic urging from the side of the stage, to regain her composure and thank him. Her dumbfounded look was such a stark contrast to her powerful performance and punk-rock style that Wayne couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Noticing his reaction, Avril's cheeks flushed, and a wave of embarrassment and irritation surged in her heart.

But the performance wasn't over yet, so she had no choice but to push through and keep singing.

However, not everyone in the bar was happy to see Wayne.

For instance, Vincent Cassel, sitting in a booth on the other side of the stage and already quite drunk, stiffened when he heard Wayne's name. He slammed the bottle in his hand onto the table, shattering it, startling the two girls beside him.

"What the hell's wrong with you?!"

"You nearly cut my face, you idiot!"

"Trash!"

The two girls cursed at him and quickly walked away.

But Vincent didn't even glance at them. His mind was consumed with Wayne's name. After all, Wayne had stolen Monica Bellucci from him.

To make matters worse, the film *Brotherhood of the Wolf*, which he starred in and had invested in, had bombed at the box office. Though it didn't lead to total ruin, he lost a lot of money.

The fury that had been simmering inside him was about to explode.

Glancing at the broken beer bottle in his hand, Vincent suddenly stood up and headed toward Wayne's table.

But with so many people around Wayne's booth, it took him more than ten minutes to squeeze through the crowd.

And because of the chaos, the bar staff didn't notice the jagged beer bottle in Vincent's hand. They just assumed he was another guy trying to strike up a conversation with Wayne.

However, Wayne had noticed Vincent's hostile gaze much earlier. He spotted the poorly concealed beer bottle in Vincent's hand and a playful glint flashed in his eyes.

"Die, you bastard!" Vincent suddenly shouted as he reached the front, took two quick steps, and swung the bottle at Wayne.

A wave of gasps erupted from the crowd.

Hannah immediately stood up, but with Jessica between her and Wayne, she couldn't push him out of the way. Instinctively, she tried to shield him with her arm.

Wayne's heart warmed at this. He didn't want Hannah to get hurt, so he gently held back her arm with one hand, while his other hand shot forward, grabbing Vincent's wrist with perfect precision.

A split second later, Wayne exerted force, and Vincent let out a scream as the sound of bones cracking echoed from his wrist. His fingers loosened, and the beer bottle clattered to the ground.

But Wayne didn't stop there. With a forceful shove, he sent Vincent stumbling back two steps. Wayne stood up, his right leg flashing out like lightning in a high kick straight out of a Jean-Claude Van Damme movie, hitting Vincent square in the chest.

A loud *bang* followed.

Vincent, still clutching his wrist and barely on his feet, was sent flying over 20 centimeters into the air and sailed at least seven or eight meters through the air before crashing to the ground amidst more gasps from the crowd.

The entire bar fell silent. Even Avril and her band on stage stopped playing, staring in shock at the scene.

"Oh my God!"

"He kicked him seven or eight meters away? Is this real life, or are we in a movie?!"

"This guy is insane! Is he Bruce Lee's student?"

The crowd couldn't stop themselves from swearing in disbelief.

It wasn't until Jessica and Mia, worried about Wayne, rushed to his side, checking him over, that the spectators snapped out of their daze.

(End of Chapter)