But she couldn’t have the sweet dream that Zang Xipu had wished her tonight.

WeChat notifications kept ringing—the director was publicly praising her breakthrough performance in the production group chat. One after another, crew members chimed in with compliments. Lao Ping became her spokesperson, modestly responding to each one. When he privately messaged her to post something in the group and got no response, he remotely dispatched an assistant to take her phone and “reply on her behalf.”

By then, she had already drunk half the red wine Zang Xipu sent over. Her earlobes were flushed as she told the assistant, “Call me a car.”

The car took her back to Yiming Bay.

But Jin Yiken’s parking spot was empty, and he wasn’t home either. After pacing back and forth in the elevator for fifteen minutes, she finally pressed the button for his floor. After three knocks on his door, there was no response—only hollow emptiness.

She returned to her own floor to find three or four cardboard boxes stacked in the hallway—clothes she had sorted out after her confrontation with Jin Yiken. The property management had actually delivered them. She hadn’t been back for half a month, so these boxes filled with old belongings had sat lonely in this hallway for half a month. She pressed the code to unlock her door. With a click, the motion-sensor lights in the living room lit up one by one. Her hand had just touched the doorknob when she remembered something and looked back at the boxes on the ground.

Three minutes later, the three cardboard boxes were dragged into the living room one by one. She tied up her hair and dumped the miscellaneous items from the boxes onto the carpet, searching through the pile of earrings, necklaces, and bracelets for a ring—the women’s ring Jin Yiken had given her. After searching through one box, then the second, and still not finding it in the third, she went to the wardrobe to pull out some clothes she hadn’t yet sorted through, checking every pocket, but still nothing. After fifteen minutes of non-stop searching, she paused to catch her breath and began recalling the last time she wore that ring. Tapping her knuckles against her forehead, she paced around the wardrobe until she finally remembered that the ring had never been taken out of its velvet box. She immediately turned back to search for the jewelry box she had brought from the old house, but she wasn’t watching where she was going and tripped over one of the boxes. Its contents spilled out with a clatter, and a deep blue velvet square box rolled out, sliding swiftly under the chest of drawers.

She bent down and reached under the cabinet.

She pulled out the square box, but noticed there was still a circular object inside. Thinking it had fallen out, she reached in and pulled out the metal ring as well. Under the light, she discovered it was a platinum ring set with a diamond, with “True Love” engraved on the inside. The band had some dust on it, as if it had been sitting at the bottom of the cabinet for a long time. Thinking it might be something Si Bolin had left behind, she set this ring aside for now and opened the square box. The women’s ring Jin Yiken had given her sat inside, safe and sound.

Her phone dinged in her pocket.

She tried on the women’s ring—it fit perfectly. Still sitting on the carpet, she pulled out her phone and saw a picture from Ban Wei. It was a screenshot of a photo posted on Gao Ningning’s Weibo homepage forty-five minutes ago, with a heart emoji caption. The photo’s content was…

The photo showed a man’s knee and his left hand playing with a phone, sitting next to Gao Ningning with less than five centimeters between their knees. The setting looked like some corner of a nightclub. The man’s left wrist wore that familiar black-and-gold Hublot watch, and at the tiger’s mouth was the coordinate tattoo she had just seen a few days ago…

It was Jin Yiken.

Her scalp tingled.

Her first reaction was wondering when Gao Ningning had infiltrated Jin Yiken’s circle. Ban Wei’s call came through immediately, as if the screenshot had only been a preview. As soon as she answered, Ban Wei asked, “Have you been in contact with Jin Yiken recently?”

His tone was serious and urgent. She countered, “What’s Gao Ningning trying to do?”

“Gao Ningning posted this picture and deleted it ten minutes later. What I know is that she happened to be at Jin Yiken’s venue. Jin Yiken doesn’t know her, but Gao Ningning wants to mess with Zhou Yicong and also ride the wave of attention from you and Wu Jiakui, so she took and uploaded this photo without anyone knowing.”

“And then?” She calmed down a bit. “So why are you looking for me?”

“What I sent you is a static screenshot, but what Gao Ningning posted on Weibo was a live photo. Go back and look at Jin Yiken’s phone again.”

She switched back to the WeChat page and enlarged the picture Ban Wei had sent. In the photo, Jin Yiken’s left thumb was pressing letters on the keyboard, and the phone screen showed an iCloud password input page.

Damn.

She immediately understood what this meant. Switching back to the call, Ban Wei confirmed, “Jin Yiken’s iCloud account was hacked, ten minutes after Gao Ningning posted the photo.”

Her body went somewhat weak.

Ban Wei continued, “Gao Ningning is currently being detained by Jin Yiken at the nightclub. The iCloud situation is being handled. Now Gao Ningning is calling everyone she can to come rescue her. A friend got wind of it and came to me. Long Qi, I’m asking you—is there anything important in that iCloud? I want to gauge how serious this is before deciding whether to help.”

Of course it was important—if he hadn’t deleted them.

But Long Qi didn’t answer directly. Another call came through—Zhou Yicong. She stood up to answer. Zhou Yicong’s voice was particularly aggressive, demanding right away, “Where are you? I’m coming to get you.”

“Get me for what?”

“I need you, Long Qi.” She heard an irritable car horn on his end. Zhou Yicong seemed to be driving, shouting, “I need you to help me get someone out!”

Zhou Yicong drove fast—picking up Long Qi at ten-thirty and arriving at Zhaohua Hall’s nightclub by ten-fifty. He didn’t care at all whether paparazzi were watching. As soon as he got out of the car, he entered the venue. Long Qi closed the passenger door and called Dou Junyun, asking as soon as the line connected:

“When you negotiated compensation with Jin Yiken before, didn’t you keep his phone number?”

But a woman’s voice answered, “Who are you?”

“Who are *you*?”

She shot back. After entering the venue, she realized Zhou Yicong had disappeared. Laser lights swept across her vision, so blinding she could barely keep her eyes open. The voice replied, “I’m the girlfriend of this phone’s owner. Who are you? Long Qi?”

Dou Junyun, that lying hypocrite—never a word of truth out of his mouth.

She brushed past shoulders in the noisy crowd. Before she could speak, the woman continued, “Are you for real, Long Qi? With your looks, figure, and money, why be a mistress? Is Dou Junyun that great?”

“With my looks and figure, I’d have to be insane to be Dou Junyun’s mistress!” She pushed past the people in front of her. “If I didn’t need something, I would have spit on him a hundred times already. If you’re going to frame someone, at least use some logic—look at what kind of person he is.”

The woman paused, then said, “This bastard is begging me to forgive him now.”

“Slap him twice and tell him to get lost!”

“Okay!”

The woman actually hung up with a click. Long Qi was stunned. Just as she was about to call back, she looked up and saw the people at the main booth. It was shrouded in a layer of red light. Several men and women sat on the spacious oval sofa. While chaos and celebration surrounded them, the atmosphere at this table was heavy and oppressive. She forgot about finding Dou Junyun and hung up the phone.

Among the women were a few familiar young entertainers, but no Gao Ningning. She glanced at the men—she knew them all. They were members of a professional rugby team in the city. Jin Yiken’s father loved rugby, so when Jin Yiken was in his first year of high school, his father bought the city’s most famous rugby team. He was the young boss of this team. When he had nothing to do, he’d take her to watch games, and occasionally when organizing gatherings, he liked to have team members come along. They all got along well. After a few times, she had become familiar with them.

Now Jin Yiken sat in the center of the sofa, red light pressing down on him along with a thin layer of anger. His elbow rested on his knee, his phone at his ear as he talked. The people around him waited cautiously, exchanging glances. Soon, Jin Yiken ended the call. His phone clicked as it slid onto the glass coffee table. His anger hadn’t dissipated. At the same time, he saw her standing in the dance floor in front of him, hands in her pockets, breathing.

But his gaze only lingered on her for a few seconds before slowly moving away. Long Qi followed his line of sight and turned to see Zhou Yicong, whose eyes were practically shooting fire.

Zhou Yicong pushed past Long Qi. As soon as he approached the main table, he threw his phone onto the table surface. The phone slid face-up with a bang in Jin Yiken’s direction. The array of foreign liquors and cocktails on the table toppled over in all directions like bowling pins. The team members let out a few interested “Woo~” sounds. Two tall ones shot up from their seats, creating a tense atmosphere. Jin Yiken’s elbow remained motionless against his knee. He only raised an eyebrow, looking at Zhou Yicong—this impulsive person who had appeared from nowhere—as if looking at a bird that had already been targeted.

“Where’s Ningning?”

Zhou Yicong demanded.

His phone screen showed a distress message from Gao Ningning, but Jin Yiken didn’t even glance at it.

He slowly leaned back, his back resting against the sofa.

Jin Yiken’s temper was similar to Long Qi’s—he wouldn’t provoke others unless provoked first.

If you reasoned with him properly, he would listen to anything. But if you came at him with this kind of aggressive attitude, he could return it tenfold with added fuel. He was a rogue in private—and a rogue who was rich, had connections, and enjoyed using underhanded tactics. Zhou Yicong had only his celebrity reputation with no real backing. He couldn’t afford to provoke him. So Long Qi immediately pressed down on Zhou Yicong’s arm and turned her head to ask, “Is Gao Ningning here or not?”

Jin Yiken turned his attention to her but still didn’t give her the courtesy of responding. It was a player beside him who said, “That little celebrity? She slipped away three-quarters of an hour ago.”

“Three-quarters of an hour?” Zhou Yicong bent down and pointed at his phone screen, saying in a low voice, “She was still sending me messages ten minutes ago telling me to come quickly. Should I believe you or her?”

“She said she’d take full responsibility,” Jin Yiken’s words finally exploded from his mouth in a low rumble. “I’m being extorted for seven million yuan because of this damn incident. You’re telling me I should believe her bullshit? Should I demand this seven million from you, or from her?”

Long Qi looked at him.

Zhou Yicong frowned.

Jin Yiken watched his momentarily hesitant expression and continued, “If neither of you can take responsibility, then what’s the point of me detaining her?”

What Jin Yiken said made sense.

He really wasn’t the type to let fruitless matters disrupt his pace. So Zhou Yicong was also left speechless. The phone of a player next to Jin Yiken rang—someone looking for him. As he answered the call, a female sitting on the sofa spoke thoughtfully, “Gao Ningning probably left with Wu Jiakui.”

Zhou Yicong looked at the woman. She pointed upstairs: “Jiakui and her friends opened a private room upstairs.”

“Wu Jiakui’s friends…”

Zhou Yicong muttered under his breath and immediately headed upstairs. Jin Yiken had finished his call by then. Long Qi stayed, and after he hung up, she asked directly, “Are those videos of me in the iCloud or not?”

He shot her a glance.

Put his phone back on the table and poured himself a drink, but deliberately didn’t give a direct answer: “It’s been handled.”

“You paid?”

“Didn’t spend a penny.”

So he had used underhanded means to resolve it.

Long Qi said nothing more and immediately followed to the second floor, trailing behind the rampaging Zhou Yicong. When he finally found the room and was about to push the door open, she pressed down on his arm: “Wait five minutes before coming in. I’ll go in first.”

“Why?!”

He asked irritably. She replied without hesitation, “Zhou Yicong, helping you get someone out doesn’t mean your woman did nothing wrong. Do you know what my relationship is with the guy downstairs? First, Gao Ningning had malicious intentions, and second, she acts without thinking—she’s stupid! Jin Yiken was capable enough to handle it, otherwise how would she make up for that hole if he really had to pay? Just because Jin Yiken has money means he deserves to suffer?!”

She took a breath and continued, “I’m giving you face by not saying these things in front of you, so are you going to take this olive branch or not? Waiting outside for five minutes—how does that hurt you?!”

Zhou Yicong ultimately understood reason. He suppressed his anger: “Fang Xuan, one of Wu Jiakui’s friends, used to date me. She and Ningning don’t get along.”

No wonder Gao Ningning had been detained here for so long.

No wonder he and Wu Jiakui had zero interaction on set. Wu Jiakui, that clever little schemer, got along with everyone on the crew but deliberately ignored Zhou Yicong.

Long Qi paid him no mind and jerked her chin, signaling him to step back.

Then she pushed the door open.

Inside the private room, only one rotating light was on. The room’s kaleidoscope of colors fell on her the instant the door opened. She closed the door behind her with a bang. Gao Ningning, trembling on the sofa, looked over. The woman in the motorcycle jacket sitting in front of Gao Ningning also turned her head.

The woman sat backward on a stool, with the looks of a single-eyelid model. An eyebrow piercing adorned her brow bone, and undisguised defiance shot straight from her eyes—an impatient look at having her interrogation rhythm disrupted. Wu Jiakui sat on the other side of the private room.

Regardless of Gao Ningning’s forced composure and disheveled state, this little schemer sat on a high stool sucking on a drink and scrolling through her phone, her elbow resting backward on the edge of the high table. Her gaze also slowly shifted over with the sound. Behind her on the sofa sat two more chatting young women—both familiar faces from the industry. One was a child star who had grown up in the business alongside Wu Jiakui, and the other was the female lead of a recently popular TV drama. The one sitting in front of Gao Ningning was Fang Xuan—not an entertainer but a second-generation star, working in fashion. Long Qi had seen her backstage at a fashion week before.

Also someone with a temper.

She held her phone in her hand, recording Gao Ningning’s resentful glare at this very moment. Gao Ningning’s spine was straight, her chest rising and falling. Her forehead was sweating from the prolonged detention, and her makeup was smudged considerably. Seeing that it wasn’t Zhou Yicong at the door made her even more unable to hold it together. Her voice trembling, she said through gritted teeth, “I’ve admitted to all the mistakes I should admit to. What more do you want? We’re all people with dignity.”

“Don’t change the subject. You were only halfway through your story about how you seduced Zhou Yicong right under my nose. Continue. If you could do it, why can’t you say it?”

Fang Xuan said, unceremoniously kicking the sofa and startling Gao Ningning. Gao Ningning retorted, “You and Zhou Yicong’s relationship wasn’t public—who knew you were a couple?!”

“So now you want to use the same trick on Jiakui?”

Fang Xuan immediately pressed on, her voice more forceful than Gao Ningning’s. She then stood up and shoved the chair aside, pointing at Gao Ningning and turning to face Long Qi: “Tell me, isn’t she despicable?”

Long Qi didn’t comment on whether she was despicable. Long Qi only looked at Fang Xuan and said slowly and deliberately, “Zhou Yicong has arrived.”

But Gao Ningning, not reading the room, actually shouted toward the door, “Yicong!” Long Qi turned back and pressed the door that was almost being pushed open, blocking it. Zhou Yicong was blocked outside, calling her name and pounding on the door once! She ignored him, locked the door, and pounded back: “Why are you so eager to get involved in girls’ business?!”

“Fang Xuan, I’m warning you! If Gao Ningning loses a single hair, I’ll hold you accountable! Long Qi, open the damn door!”

This statement set Fang Xuan off. She stood up and headed for the door. The two women on the sofa tried in vain to restrain her with kind words. She shouted, “If you’ve got the guts, come in then, you coward! Let him in!”

Wu Jiakui propped her cheek on her hand at the high table, watching.

The two women couldn’t hold Fang Xuan back. She charged toward the door. Long Qi really didn’t block her, hands in her pockets, stepping aside. Fang Xuan challenged her to open the door for Zhou Yicong if she had the nerve. She replied, “If you’ve got the nerve, open it yourself.”

Her words were quick and light, not letting Zhou Yicong outside hear. Fang Xuan’s chest heaved as she looked at her, making no move—until she actually clicked the lock open. Fang Xuan quickly twisted it shut again, her reaction so fast that Long Qi laughed mockingly, understanding perfectly.

Wu Jiakui got down from her chair then.

She seemed to have finally finished editing a long message on her phone. She approached Gao Ningning’s sofa, her knee pressed against the back of the reversed chair, her elbow resting on the chair back, holding her phone screen toward her: “Sister Ningning, I won’t make things difficult for you, but you posted a photo of my crush before I did, which made me look bad. I’ve written an apology statement for you. You just need to post it and we’re done. Want to review it?”

Wu Jiakui’s words were truly velvet-wrapped daggers.

“Do you want me to review it?”

Long Qi said.

“What’s it got to do with you?” Fang Xuan turned her head.

“What does anyone besides Zhou Yicong have to do with you?” Long Qi shot back instantly.

She then walked past Fang Xuan, past the two women, and stopped next to Wu Jiakui. In front of Gao Ningning, she bent down and brushed her thumb across Gao Ningning’s right eye corner, wiping away her smudged eye makeup: “Let me help you sort out the logic here.”

……

“The first person you need to apologize to today is Jin Yiken. You uploaded a photo that anyone could tell was him, causing the public to misunderstand his relationship status. Although his relationship status is already messy, but it was inappropriate. You also caused his iCloud to be hacked and nearly made him lose money. He didn’t hold you accountable—that’s because he has good upbringing. But if you accept this without guilt, that’s you having no upbringing.”

“And the second person you need to apologize to is me,” Long Qi continued. “Jin Yiken, this man, is mine. If the iCloud was hacked, the one affected is also me. The seven million he was extorted for has nothing to do with Wu Jiakui—not half a cent. If you need to issue an apology statement, it should be directed at me. Anyone else demanding you apologize is just a clown. Of course, Wu Jiakui also has the right to be angry. She waited for Jin Yiken to be single for two full years, and now you’ve quietly cut in line and made him public before her. How embarrassing. She barely qualifies as the third person you need to apologize to.”

“But a verbal apology to her will do.” Long Qi looked at Gao Ningning, telling her this.

What immediately followed was the sound of Wu Jiakui shoving the chair aside. The chair back hit the edge of the nearby table with a crack. Long Qi also stood up. The two faced each other directly. Wu Jiakui’s expression was completely different from how she appeared on set—a storm brewing: “Should I make myself clearer, or you’ll really think I’m a pushover?”

“Show your true colors—much better. Saves me from feeling frustrated punching cotton every time.”

“Stay in your lane as an ex. Don’t cling to the past. After all, we’re still in the same industry—don’t make things too awkward.”

“Your position is actually more awkward than mine. It’s almost time for your mom’s video call—is this environment appropriate?”

Wu Jiakui’s every sentence carried a chilling smile. Long Qi’s tone remained lazy throughout. Wu Jiakui looked into her eyes and continued, “You’re too late for everything, Long Qi.”

Long Qi didn’t respond to that statement.

Wu Jiakui looked certain: “You know what’s most pathetic? The most pathetic thing is that you know it too.”

She continued, slowly approaching, their gazes locked, her voice dropping: “When I first liked Jin Yiken, it was based on his looks, family background, and personal ability. I invested my entire social network to help him expand his connections because I could get massive capital returns. The connections and resources I gained from him were many times higher than what I invested. Doing business with someone as savvy as Jin Yiken—I don’t lose out. From a profit perspective, marrying Jin Yiken is the optimal choice. Even if I hadn’t gotten together with him, I still would have gotten what I wanted—like my personal career freedom. But now, I’ve changed my mind.”

……

“Marrying him will be my only choice in life,” Wu Jiakui said. “Someone like Jin Yiken—capable, ambitious, devoted, and reliable. The longer you spend time with him, the more he captivates your soul, better than any drug. When he looks at me once, I can never be with another man for the rest of my life. The speed at which he makes someone completely convinced is faster than I can blink. You were blind to treat him like scrap metal. Fortunately, I discovered him. In terms of family background, I’m a perfect match for him. In terms of effort, I far exceed you. In terms of feelings, you’re already at the finish line while I’m at the starting line, waiting for the gun to fire. You know all this. You understand it even better than I do.”

They stared at each other, sparks practically flying in the air between them.

Bang—!

Right at the most tense moment, the private room door was pushed open. A server stood in front with keys, and Zhou Yicong’s palm slapped hard against the door. Long Qi and Wu Jiakui’s gazes both shifted over. Zhou Yicong nearly roared, “Are you done yet? Can I take my person and leave now?”

“Yicong!”

Gao Ningning’s tears fell as if on command. Zhou Yicong tried to approach, but Fang Xuan blocked him. Before he could threaten her, she spoke first: “What kind of tough guy act are you putting on in front of me? Where’s that pathetic look you had when you broke up with me?”

“Fang Xuan, don’t go too far!”

“I’m going too far today!” Fang Xuan was fierce too, pointing at Gao Ningning while looking at him. “You want to take someone? Fine! Old rules—drink! Drink me under the table and you can take whoever you want. But if you can’t, you won’t take even a strand of hair out of this place!”

“Add another bet,” Wu Jiakui leisurely added the finishing blow. “If you drink me under the table, take her and leave. We’ll never mention today’s events. But if you can’t, Gao Ningning has to post an apology statement on Weibo—the one I wrote for her.”

After speaking, she looked at Long Qi.

Wu Jiakui was forcibly dragging her into this.

But what did any of this have to do with her?

After leaving the private room, Zhou Yicong grabbed her arm, pulling her back into the main group heading toward the floor below. She told Zhou Yicong to let go, but he wouldn’t: “Running away doesn’t seem like something you’d do. Ban Wei told me you can hold your liquor.”

“Throwing an egg at a rock doesn’t seem like something I’d do either. My alcohol tolerance was developed by someone else.”

But Zhou Yicong held on tight. In a few steps they entered the center of the venue below. The venue was filled with blinding laser lights. Long Qi saw Wu Jiakui lightly entering the main table area. Jin Yiken stood facing the DJ, sending messages, one hand in his pocket, his posture magnificent amid the dazzling lights. Wu Jiakui went to his side, pulling his arm and speaking into his ear with a smile, then pointing in Zhou Yicong’s direction. He listened while casually glancing over.

Long Qi pulled her arm free from Zhou Yicong’s grip.

Jin Yiken continued listening to Wu Jiakui, and after a while, with no change in expression, he leaned toward another player’s ear to speak. His eyes entered shadow—only his profile visible. The player nodded with a grin, then beckoned a nightclub host and gestured a few times. The host nodded and placed an order through his walkie-talkie. Within half a minute, a dazzling array of foreign liquors was laid out on the table, along with two giant mixing carafes and several rows of “depth charges.”

But although Jin Yiken started making arrangements, he seemed uninterested in this matter. He lazily participated, only asking two questions: “How many against how many? How do you want to drink?”

The players were excited. Several people automatically joined Gao Ningning’s team out of respect for Long Qi. The rest were on Fang Xuan’s team, forming a six-on-six situation. Long Qi sat in the central area of the sofa, propping her forehead, too lazy to acknowledge the players greeting her. On her left were Gao Ningning, Zhou Yicong, and three players in sequence. On her right were Wu Jiakui, Fang Xuan, two other women, and two players. Jin Yiken stood before the table mixing drinks, preparing mojitos for the girls and straight shots for the boys.

Fang Xuan said, “Keep it simple—spin the bottle. Whoever it lands on drinks.”

“That’s too fast.”

Fang Xuan turned to look at the player who spoke: “That’s how I like it.”

The player smiled and suggested, “How about this—we guys can all drink more than the girls, and we all want to drink anyway. Girls can have one chance to substitute drinking with a game, making the game loser drink three rounds. Sound good?”

“What if the game loser is still a girl?”

“Then she’s unlucky—no backing out, and she still has to drink three rounds for someone else.”

“Ugh, so annoying. Just start already.” Fang Xuan waved her hand.

Jin Yiken had a cigarette between two fingers. His eyes narrowed slightly through the curling smoke as he brought up an empty bottle and placed it in the table’s center, the bottle mouth pointing between Zhou Yicong and Gao Ningning, the bottle end toward the DJ area. Just as he was about to spin it, Long Qi said, “Wait.”

Jin Yiken looked up.

Their gazes met through the hazy smoke. She propped her chin: “I know all your bottle-spinning tricks. You can’t do this, or it counts as cheating.”

The players let out a low chorus of “oohs” in anticipation of drama. Jin Yiken’s hand left the bottle as he slowly stood up, the cigarette in his fingers glowing intermittently. Then his index finger moved, flicking off a cluster of ash.

“Then switch—I’ll drink.”

Upon hearing this, Fang Xuan lifted her chin toward the woman beside her. The woman stood and went to the table to take the bottle. Jin Yiken passed by her and entered the sofa area, passing the observers, passing the participating players, passing Fang Xuan and Wu Jiakui. He stopped in front of Long Qi with clear intent. Long Qi still propped her chin. Wu Jiakui shifted aside to make room. He sat down. The sofa bounced slightly with his weight. Long Qi’s long hair slipped from her shoulder, touching his shoulder. Wu Jiakui’s earring swayed. He lit a second cigarette in the space between the two women, his elbow resting on his knee, shooting a glance at the woman across from him. The woman began spinning the bottle.

The first round was brutal—Zhou Yicong had to drink.

For women, one glass counted as six sips; for men, one glass counted as three sips. Each hit meant three sips, so Zhou Yicong had to drink an entire glass right off the bat. When it was his turn to spin, he landed on a player on Fang Xuan’s team.

That player’s spin landed on Long Qi.

She didn’t drink Jin Yiken’s mixed cocktails—just straight vodka. After half a glass went down, her throat burned. She swept back her hair, spun the bottle, and it landed on Fang Xuan.

Fang Xuan was truly a drinking champion.

She also drank straight, and drank faster than Long Qi. She immediately spun again, as if she couldn’t wait to destroy the couple Zhou Yicong and Gao Ningning—but it landed back on Long Qi. The crowd let out a “WOO~.” Long Qi hadn’t recovered from the last round, but without hesitation, she finished that half glass and placed the empty glass upside down on the table with a bang—not a drop left.

Then she slammed the empty glass down with a somewhat loud “bang.” Jin Yiken looked over, his gaze lingering for a few seconds on her fingers.

Long Qi followed his gaze and saw the ring on her middle finger.

Her heart skipped a beat.

Her earlobes grew hot, but she removed the ring nonchalantly, acting as if she had “just been trying it on casually.” Her right hand clutching the ring retreated into her pocket, while her left hand swept back her hair again, meeting his gaze without evasion.

Their gazes met at a distance of less than ten centimeters in a brief stare. He looked away indifferently. Long Qi turned toward the bottle and spun it.

It landed on a player on her own team.

The player’s spin landed on Wu Jiakui.

Wu Jiakui’s spin landed on Long Qi.

The crowd let out another meaningful “WOO~.” Long Qi, propping her forehead, looked at Wu Jiakui. Wu Jiakui shook her cocktail: “Want to switch drinks?”

As Wu Jiakui’s words fell, Long Qi filled her glass with vodka. The alcohol entered her mouth and before it went down, she spun again—landing on another woman on Fang Xuan’s team.

That woman’s spin landed on Jin Yiken.

……

So finally, it was Jin Yiken’s turn to spin.

He had just been blocked by Long Qi and slowly sat up. The entire crowd entered spectator mode. Players whistled. He stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, his fingers touching the bottle as he shot a glance at Zhou Yicong.

Then he released his hand. The bottle spun.

After five or six quick rotations, the bottle mouth gradually stopped, pointing toward Zhou Yicong.

“Tsk tsk tsk…” The players laughed.

As Zhou Yicong took his penalty drink, Jin Yiken also poured himself a glass and drank one outside the game. Long Qi chuckled.

He was clearly about to start playing with Zhou Yicong now.

For the next half hour or so, the bottle was spun numerous times. Whenever Jin Yiken spun, it invariably landed on Zhou Yicong. Zhou Yicong was tough too—if he had to drink, he drank, and he didn’t change seats. But Long Qi also suffered. As if cursed by fate, the person who drank most after Zhou Yicong was her. Fang Xuan was the one who most often landed on her (probably trying to imitate Jin Yiken’s technique of targeting specific people, but her skill wasn’t deep enough and she kept hitting the wrong target). Overall, she drank the most, Zhou Yicong second, and Jin Yiken third.

Because Jin Yiken kept drinking extra, outside the game. He seemed less like he was playing a game and more like he was using the game as an excuse to drink.

By the second half, Long Qi was already feeling the effects.

This round, the bottle landed on a woman on Wu Jiakui’s team. That woman had also drunk quite a bit and, holding her face, said, “I… I’ll play a game.”

“What game? Play whatever you want.” The players, tired of just drinking, sat up excitedly.

“I only know Three Gardens.”

A player said okay, then explained the rules: “Everyone knows Three Gardens, right? Should I explain? Ah, I’ll explain anyway. For example, if I start with ‘zoo,’ then everyone takes turns saying what’s in the zoo—bears, wolves, tigers, lions—whatever’s in a zoo. Each person’s answer can’t repeat. If you repeat or hesitate, you’re eliminated. Got it? Besides zoo, you can start with other gardens as long as you can think of them.”

“Enough, everyone knows how to play.” Fang Xuan was impatient again.

The woman posing the question smiled: “I’ve been filming a sci-fi movie recently, playing a physicist, so my question is: What’s in the physics garden?”

“Theory of relativity.” Fang Xuan answered.

“Electromagnetic field.” A player answered.

“Faraday.” Another player raised his phone. “I looked it up—physicists count too.”

“Bravais lattice.” Wu Jiakui answered smoothly.

Long Qi’s mind was foggy at that moment.

She hadn’t clearly heard what anyone before her had said. Having nearly failed high school physics every time, she couldn’t recall any physics-related vocabulary. Her body could only prop up her forehead as the chain moved quickly to the person before her. Jin Yiken became her predecessor. At that moment, he leaned back leisurely against the sofa, legs crossed.

Wu Jiakui finished and looked at him.

But he didn’t answer. He paused for a second and said, “Forget it.”

At the same time, he stood up, his shoulder lightly brushing Long Qi’s: “I’ll drink.”

He penalized himself with one glass and claimed the three penalty rounds. The people in the venue exchanged glances. Wu Jiakui’s expression showed no change as she still propped her chin. That “forget it” was loaded with intent, blatantly protecting his successor—perhaps out of gentlemanly courtesy, perhaps from an ex-boyfriend’s sense of obligation, or perhaps he just wanted to drink. Anyway, Long Qi didn’t look at him as she filled her glass with alcohol.

After three rounds, the bottle landed on Gao Ningning.

Gao Ningning was already drunk. Zhou Yicong whispered in her ear, pointing and instructing her on something. Under Zhou Yicong’s prompting gaze, Gao Ningning said, “I… I want to play a game.”

“What game?”

“I want to ask someone here a question. If that person can’t answer, they drink for me. If they answer… I’ll penalize myself three rounds.”

After Gao Ningning finished, under Zhou Yicong’s gaze, she cautiously directed her eyes toward Long Qi: “Long Qi, I want to ask you a question.”

She turned her head.

Gao Ningning took a breath and asked, “Among all the people you’ve kissed, whose kissing technique do you think is the best?”

After these words fell, the venue instantly erupted. Several players, delighting in the drama, whistled with their fingers. Jin Yiken also lazily looked over. Long Qi stared at Gao Ningning, at Zhou Yicong behind her: “Say that again.”

A thin layer of mocked anger pressed down.

Zhou Yicong knew full well that she had just finished filming a passionate scene with Zang Xipu today. This question’s target aimed straight at Jin Yiken, who had been giving him a hard time all night. To do this, Zhou didn’t hesitate to drag her into it. Under Zhou Yicong’s reminder, Gao Ningning said again, “If you don’t want to answer, that’s fine. You can kiss the person on the spot… the one you think has poor kissing technique.”

Long Qi laughed coldly.

Then she slammed her glass on the table. A row of “depth charges” toppled over. The women by the table shrieked in surprise. Jin Yiken sat unmoved by any storm. Long Qi stood up and shouted at Gao Ningning, “Get up.”

Gao Ningning shrank back. Zhou Yicong stood up. Long Qi said, “Move aside!”

“Long Qi, calm down. It’s just a game.”

“A game?” Without another word, she smashed the bottle in the center of the table to pieces. “What does this entire situation have to do with me?! If I weren’t helping you get someone out, would you be screwing with me now?!”

Scattered glass shards cut Gao Ningning’s arm. Gao Ningning cried out in pain. Zhou Yicong reflexively grabbed Long Qi’s wrist. Jin Yiken stood up at this moment and pulled her arm backward, preventing Zhou Yicong from grabbing it. Her position instantly shifted as Jin Yiken moved her back a step. The two switched positions front to back. Zhou Yicong now faced Jin Yiken directly. The players on the side all stood up. The entire tense situation was on the verge of erupting. The women sat silently, watching.

Zhou Yicong, seeing this formation, backed down somewhat. But Long Qi, due to the sudden standing, experienced an alcohol reaction. She had no mind to care about this situation anymore, pushed past the players behind her, and headed toward the restroom.

As soon as she entered the restroom, she vomited into the sink.

The pounding electronic music was blocked by walls, reaching her distantly. Her head was dizzy. She heard vague low murmurs around her, then they were drowned out by the sound of running water in the sink. She propped herself up and saw in the mirror a man behind her zipping up his pants by the wall. She also saw the obvious men’s room symbol on the door. But her limbs were numb—she couldn’t move. Until the restroom door was knocked on again, Jin Yiken entered unobtrusively. He stood there watching her. A few men passed in front of him and left the place.

Only the two of them remained in the restroom.

Water rushed through the sink. She supported herself with her arms, watching the silent Jin Yiken. Her hair fell from her shoulders, the ends splashed by water droplets, half-wet, half-dry.

“I called a car for you. When you’re done throwing up, go straight home. You don’t need to go back to the floor.”

He said.

“The person with poor kissing technique is you.”

Long Qi replied.

One stood at the door, one at the sink, maintaining this distance where neither approached. She breathed, looking into his eyes. His eyes showed no emotional fluctuation.

“Oh.”

The only response was this single syllable—calm, clear, an attitude of “whatever, I don’t want to play with you anymore.”

Long Qi said, “Don’t renege.”

“Renege on what?”

Outside, the lights were garish, faintly illuminating his face. She then walked toward him, pulled his collar toward herself, her eyes carrying a silent reminder of “don’t renege on Gao Ningning’s bet.” With a thunderous drumbeat from the electronic music outside, Long Qi’s arm wrapped around his neck. Her lips instantly pressed tightly against his. His hand instinctively caught her waist.

But she didn’t let go, pushing him to collide with the wall. Their chins overlapped. After one turn, she hooked her arm tightly around his neck again—just like what Jin Yiken had done to her on that snowy New Year’s Eve a year ago. Only then did he finally get riled up. The restroom door suddenly burst with Fang Xuan’s voice: “What the hell are you two doing?!”

But Jin Yiken turned a deaf ear. His entire masculine energy surged up. He pressed Long Qi’s neck, forcing her to retreat. At the same time, his right hand caught the restroom door. As Long Qi’s back hit the door, the door slammed shut with a bang in front of Fang Xuan! Deafening. Fang Xuan pounded on the door outside. Jin Yiken looked at Long Qi against the door panel. She was panting. His hand pressed hard on the door beside her head. Red and blue lights interwove, swaying between them. The entire space was turbulent. The passionate scene with Zang Xipu during the day also rushed into her mind—those physical movements, those eye contacts and clashing breaths all became some reason for Jin Yiken’s furious glare at her now. He reached out and gripped her neck.

As this action made her close her eyes, her lips suddenly felt pressure. Jin Yiken tilted his head to kiss her. The situation instantly reversed—she went from forcefully kissing to being forcefully kissed, and the offensive was fierce, immediately entering a deep kiss. Then came the click of a lock. She was suddenly lifted up, her back scraping against the door panel. Her hands instinctively supported his neck. Then suddenly she turned, her back hitting the cubicle door again. Jin Yiken pushed her into an even more confined space in the stall.

Fang Xuan continued pounding on the door relentlessly, cursing both Jin Yiken and her. Long Qi’s outer jacket was ripped open by him with a swish. They kissed intensely again. He lifted her against the partition. Her arms, which had been marked red by Zang Xipu, now bore his strength again. Her breathing became difficult, yet their lips wouldn’t separate. The only time they separated was when he removed her innermost T-shirt. Long Qi’s body was burning, her heart pounding like thunder. She had even mentally prepared for “being taken right here.” Jin Yiken’s hand skillfully reached behind her to unclasp her bra, but it happened to be the handmade costume bra from filming. After fumbling for a while without success, he got irritated again and simply turned her around, yanking hard. She let out a low moan. Still unable to tear it off, Jin Yiken finally slowed down.

Outside, the electronic music and Fang Xuan’s cursing still echoed distantly. He breathed against her neck, probably starting to think “WTF, why is this different from before?” His entire body’s heat also subsided. Long Qi’s back pressed against his chest, her forehead against the partition.

After five seconds of mutual silence and catching their breath, he suddenly tightened his hold on her again.

At the same time covering her mouth, he bit down hard on her left shoulder near her neck—like some kind of release, utterly merciless. The harder he bit, the tighter he held. She closed her eyes in pain, sounds squeezing out from between his five fingers. When Jin Yiken suddenly released her, she collapsed downward. He stepped back, eyes red, retreating outside the stall. Long Qi covered her stinging shoulder, eyes equally red, looking at him.

Looking at a Jin Yiken who seemed to have just had a layer of protective armor stripped away by her, as if he had regained some kind of rationality and principle, suppressing his emotions, he said one sentence: “It won’t be that easy.”