By the time they finished eating and drinking, it was almost ten o’clock. Qian Fei and Yao Jingjing had been eating, drinking, and chatting, but instead of getting tired, they became more excited. After their feast, Yao Jingjing said she had slept too much in the afternoon, and now the alcohol was making her blood boil uncomfortably. She insisted on dragging Qian Fei out to sing karaoke.
Qian Fei couldn’t refuse her and had to go along.
Qian Fei asked Yao Jingjing where she wanted to go sing, and Yao Jingjing replied, “Let’s go to Candy near Yonghegong! It’s New Year’s Eve, let’s sing a couple of songs for Buddha to hear!”
Qian Fei’s mouth twitched. “Aren’t you afraid of scaring Buddha? He might make you have bad luck all next year!”
They took a taxi straight to Candy.
Because it was New Year’s Eve, Candy was incredibly busy. When Qian Fei and Yao Jingjing arrived, there were no private rooms available. They sat in the main hall to wait.
A group of young people, whose style was somewhere between Gothic and trendy, walked in through the door. One of them went to the bar, while the rest looked over at Qian Fei and Yao Jingjing. Two of them were whispering to each other.
After a while, those two came over. One of them tried to look cool by turning around and sitting next to Qian Fei, his face full of flirtation as he said, “Beautiful ladies, are you just the two of you? Want to join us for more fun?”
Qian Fei moved closer to Yao Jingjing and said coldly but politely, “No, thank you!”
The guy persisted and moved even closer. Qian Fei could smell the alcohol on his breath, even stronger than her own.
Just as she was thinking about how to smoothly escape the drunk’s pestering, a waiter came to their rescue.
The waiter told them that a small private room had become available and gave them the room number. She quickly pulled Yao Jingjing up and followed the waiter.
Once in the room, Qian Fei asked Yao Jingjing what she wanted to eat. Yao Jingjing tossed her head and said, “Eat what? We’re here to either sing or drink!”
So she asked the waiter for four bottles of Budweiser.
Yao Jingjing pushed her aside and said to the waiter, “No beer, give me Chivas instead!” After a moment’s thought, she stopped the waiter and changed her mind again, “We’ll have both Chivas and beer!”
Qian Fei couldn’t help but hold her head in her hands. “Sister, can you tell me how you plan to drink all this?”
Yao Jingjing picked up the microphone and randomly selected the song “Love for Sale.” As the intro played, she shouted, “I’m going to mix them! Feifei, tonight we’re not leaving until we’re drunk!”
Then she started belting out, “Selling my love, forcing me to leave, when I finally knew the truth, my tears fell…”
Qian Fei’s knees went weak, and she almost fell to the ground.
This wasn’t just about not leaving until they were drunk – they had already been drunk once before leaving home…
After the drinks arrived, Qian Fei witnessed the impressive drinking capacity of the CBD’s top white-collar professional.
Yao Jingjing drank just as she said she would, mixing the drinks.
A sip of beer, a sip of Chivas, then singing a few lines of a song. In this bold yet somewhat disturbing rhythm, Qian Fei lamented that her behavior during her breakup had been too normal and not dramatic enough.
When she and Yao Jingjing were each holding a microphone, with Qian Fei singing the male part and Yao Jingjing the female part as they performed “The Drunken Beauty” together, she felt her phone vibrating in her shirt pocket.
She was extremely annoyed and took it out, intending to hang up.
But looking at the 11-digit number on the screen, she vaguely felt it was familiar, seeming quite similar to the number Yao Jingjing had blocked.
She put down the microphone and walked out of the room to answer the phone.
On the phone, a deep, magnetic voice asked, “Hello, is this Qian Fei? This is Lu Ze.”
Qian Fei answered irritably, “I’m Qian Fei. Who’s Lu Ze? I’ve never heard of you!”
There was a pause on the other end, then he said, “You’ve never heard of me? Alright, I’m Jingjing’s friend. She often mentions you to me.”
Qian Fei mentally scoffed at him.
“Oh, it’s you? What do you want?” Thinking that the person on the phone was the culprit responsible for making Yao Jingjing act as if she were having a manic episode in the room, Qian Fei became even more irritated.
However, the other party was not affected by her bad attitude. After a moment of silence, he asked, “Are you two together? It’s very noisy on your end. It’s so late, where are you?”
Qian Fei noticed his tone becoming a bit harsher as he asked the last question, which made her feel somewhat pleased. “Us? We’re singing karaoke at Candy!”
She heard what sounded like a heavy sigh from the other end. “Just stay there, don’t go anywhere. I’m coming straight from the airport by taxi!”
Then he hung up.
Qian Fei was stunned for a moment.
Had the rich guy followed them to Beijing?
She looked back into the room where Yao Jingjing was hysterically singing the last line, “Drunk in the emperor’s arms, dreaming of love in the great Tang Dynasty.”
She couldn’t help but laugh at her ghostly voice.
Maybe tonight, this little demon might end up “drunk in the emperor’s arms, dreaming of love in the great Tang Dynasty”!
Qian Fei accompanied Yao Jingjing in drinking, singing, and going wild, while waiting for the legendary rich guy to arrive, flying through wind and dust on a carpet of money.
She had thought the alcohol from their earlier drinking at home was starting to wear off, but after coming to Candy and being dragged into drinking chaotically by Yao Jingjing, she was now feeling dizzy again.
They were about to sing Phoenix Legend’s “Free Flying” when suddenly someone pushed open the door.
Qian Fei was startled. She thought it was the waiter, but when she looked closely, she was surprised again.
It was the two sharp-looking young men with the Gothic-meets-trendy style who had tried to chat her up in the main hall earlier.
Yao Jingjing was already drunk, jumping and singing on her own. Qian Fei tried her best to steady herself, striving to not let them see that her vision was blurry.
The sharp-looking young man came over and asked, “Hey beautiful, we meet again! We’re just across the hall. Want to hang out together?”
Qian Fei refused, “I’m sorry, we’re almost done singing and about to leave!” Fearing things might get out of hand, she grabbed Yao Jingjing’s microphone while loudly calling for the waiter.
When the waiter came into the room, the sharp-looking young man looked at Qian Fei sheepishly, “What do you mean?”
Qian Fei said, “We have to go home, sorry!” She quickly gathered their things and led Yao Jingjing out.
Outside Candy, she supported Yao Jingjing as they walked a bit, then stood at the roadside to hail a taxi. Yao Jingjing swayed and asked, “What’s wrong? Why did we suddenly stop singing? We haven’t finished the drinks! That’s all money, you know, Feifei!”
Qian Fei had to avoid being hit by Yao Jingjing’s flailing arms while also making sure she didn’t fall face-first onto the ground. But she was also dizzy, so after all this struggle, she was exhausted.
No empty taxis passed by, and Qian Fei felt like she was about to collapse on the roadside. Dizzy and headachy, she wanted to drag Yao Jingjing to lie down on the curb and sleep for a while.
Footsteps sounded from behind. Qian Fei turned around and found that the two sharp-looking young men had followed them out.
Qian Fei turned back, supporting Yao Jingjing as she tried to walk forward quickly, but her legs were weak, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t move fast.
The two men caught up and blocked their way.
“Beautiful, what’s the matter, not giving us face? We just wanted to drink and sing together and have some fun. We didn’t ask you to do anything else. Why are you being so rude?”
Qian Fei was a bit scared and tried to go around them. “I’m sorry, we need to go home!”
One of them reached out and grabbed her arm. “What home? The good times are just beginning! Come on, let’s go back, make friends, hang out for a while, and then you can leave. We’ll send you home then, okay?”
Qian Fei felt angry and anxious, with Yao Jingjing hanging onto her and swaying. She thought, this is bad, are we running into some hooligans who want to cause trouble? In their current state, like mud, she and Yao Jingjing couldn’t run away. She wondered if she screamed for help, would there be a chance to protect their chastity for the great motherland?
She struggled hard, trying to break free from the hooligan’s hand. “Let go of me! Are you drunk? I don’t know you, how can you just grab me like this?”
Hearing her words, the man laughed. “Then let’s get to know each other!” He pulled Qian Fei towards himself, while the other one went to grab Yao Jingjing.
“Don’t be foolish. We’re only interested because you look pretty decent. Don’t refuse our kindness!” The one holding her said, grumbling.
Qian Fei was terrified and shouted. Some passersby came over, seemingly wanting to ask what was going on.
The two men, looking like thugs, cursed at the passersby: “What are you looking at? Haven’t you seen a couple arguing before?”
As the passersby were about to leave, Qian Fei screamed, “I’m not his girlfriend! Please, help me call the police!”
The two men threatened the passersby: “Don’t meddle in other people’s business, get lost!” Then they grabbed Qian Fei and Yao Jingjing, trying to drag them away.
Qian Fei’s whole body felt weak and powerless. Her heart sank, and she was on the verge of tears.
Suddenly, the man holding her was violently pushed forward and fell. She almost fell too but was caught from behind by someone holding her waist.
After steadying herself, her first instinct wasn’t to turn around and see who had saved her but to try and lunge at the other man to rescue Yao Jingjing from the wolf’s claws.
But her waist was firmly held, and she couldn’t move at all.
She turned back anxiously, struggling, “Let go of me first!” But when she saw the angry face behind her clearly, she was stunned. “Li Yifei?”
From the side, a taxi screeched to a halt, and someone rushed out of the car.
That person ran towards Yao Jingjing, taking two steps at a time, and when he reached her, he flew into a kick, landing it squarely on the thug who was holding Yao Jingjing.
The thug flew out in the same posture as the one who had been holding Qian Fei, landing face-first on the ground like a dog eating dirt.
Qian Fei suddenly felt a warmth near her ear. She heard Li Yifei snort: “My flying kick just now was way cooler than his!”
Qian Fei thought this guy was hopeless, comparing even at a time like this.
The man who had gotten out of the taxi came over, holding Yao Jingjing, and walked up to Qian Fei.
He asked coldly, “Didn’t I tell you to stay inside and not go anywhere?”
Qian Fei shrank her shoulders a bit. She recognized him as Lu Ze, the rich guy from Yao Jingjing’s phone. In person, he looked even more handsome and aloof than in the photo.
Li Yifei, standing next to her, also spoke coldly, “And who might you be? Do you know any manners? Is this how you talk to people when you first meet them?”
The other man raised his eyes to look at Li Yifei, and as he studied him, he furrowed his brow, seemingly deep in thought.
The two sharp-looking young men got up from the ground, cursing, “Who are you guys? Damn, if you’ve got the guts, don’t leave!” They were calling for backup on their phones.
Qian Fei became a bit scared and tugged at Li Yifei, saying, “Let’s hurry and leave, they’re calling for people!”
Li Yifei looked down at her angrily, “Now you’re scared? Where was this earlier? Who told you to go out singing with a girl in the middle of the night!”
Qian Fei shrank her neck at the scolding.
In the distance, a group of people walked out of Candy, all sporting the same Gothic-meets-trendy style.
Li Yifei cursed, “Where did all these monsters come from? Did they all escape from ‘Journey to the West’?”
Qian Fei couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
Li Yifei glared at her, “Laugh, laugh, you’re always laughing. Can’t you be serious for once!”
The man holding Yao Jingjing asked Li Yifei, “How many can you handle?” He seemed to be considering battle tactics for what was to come.
Li Yifei snorted and jerked his chin toward the area behind Lu Ze, “We won’t need to handle any of them!”
Qian Fei followed his gaze and looked behind Lu Ze.
Another group of people was walking out of Candy, seemingly heading to the neighboring Jin Ding Xuan for a late-night meal.
Compared to the previous group, this new group was much more pleasing to the eye!
Li Yifei called out to the good-looking group, and they all started walking towards them.
Qian Fei watched as the two groups approached her from front and back, feeling incredibly excited and thrilled—never before had so many people converged on her as the focal point like this.
Suddenly, she had a feeling that she had reached the pinnacle of her life.
In the end, the Gothic and trendy sharp-looking young men fled in disarray, faced with the long-legged, good-looking young men whose average height was no less than 180 cm.
The battle ended perfectly.
Qian Fei noticed that among the group of tall guys, there was one who looked very much like Jing Boran, and he was staring at her intently.
Next to him was a very pretty girl, who was also looking at her.
She felt a bit dazed being stared at like that, and couldn’t help but look down at herself.
Someone lightly patted the back of her head, and she heard Li Yifei say irritably, “Realized you did something wrong and bowing your head in repentance, huh?”
When she looked up, she saw the tall guy who looked like Jing Boran asking Li Yifei, “What’s going on? Didn’t you say you were going downstairs to make a phone call and then meet us at Jin Ding Xuan? How did it suddenly turn into all of us helping you in a group fight?”
Li Yifei said to him, “To put it simply, you just participated in a large-scale act of bravery and justice. Alright, let’s not talk about it now. You guys go to Jin Ding Xuan first, I’ll be there soon!”
“Jing Boran” led the group of good-looking young men, including the pretty girl, towards Jin Ding Xuan. Before leaving, he turned back to look at Qian Fei a few times and flashed her a charming smile.
Qian Fei shuddered at his words, then turned her gaze past Li Yifei to where Yao Jingjing and Lu Ze were standing.
Lu Ze was supporting Yao Jingjing and asked in a deep voice, “Did you block me from your contacts?”
The situation struck her as particularly funny—here was a seemingly aloof and serious man asking this of a drunken girl who could barely stand without support.
Suddenly, Yao Jingjing, who had been dazed, widened her eyes. Upon recognizing Lu Ze, she began to thrash about wildly. “Lu Ze, you persistent ghost! Can’t I even escape you when I’m drunk?” She broke free from his grip and staggered over to Qian Fei, sobbing, “Baboon, what should I do? I keep seeing Lu Ze’s shadow! Do you think I can’t forget him?”
Qian Fei looked up at the sky, silently sweating.
How could she honestly tell her, “Child, you’re mistaken! That’s not a shadow; that’s the real deal…”