Shen Ruoxi returned to the dressing room. A handful of women sat scattered about, chatting and laughing. The moment they saw her walk in, they turned away all at once and went back to minding their own business.

Shen Ruoxi had expected to be ostracized, so she paid it no mind.

She found an empty vanity seat in the corner and sat down to remove her makeup.

“That’s Sister Man’s spot.” One of the singers shrieked. “Sister Man specifically said so before she went on stage — you absolutely cannot sit there.”

Shen Ruoxi seemed not to hear. She sat down anyway.

“Are you deaf?”

“You dare take Sister Man’s spot? Who do you think you are, newcomer?”

Shen Ruoxi paid no attention, and without any change in her expression, she began to remove her earrings in front of the mirror.

The women, seeing she was entirely unruffled, started throwing insults — yet in the end, none of them had quite the brazenness of Chen Xiaoman. They were all bluster and noise, with no one bold enough to actually do anything.

“Hmph. Just wait until Xiaoman comes back and deals with her. Let’s see how smug she is then.”

On stage, Chen Xiaoman was performing her set — striking poses, casting flirtatious looks at the audience below. She had been at this ballroom for two years and had accumulated a few familiar regulars; some of them were seated in the audience right now, winking at her.

Chen Xiaoman exchanged suggestive glances with them while swaying her hips.

But she had barely gotten through two lines when her stomach let out a loud, gurgling protest, followed immediately by twisting, cramping pain.

“Ah—” Chen Xiaoman let out an involuntary yelp of pain.

The music was still playing. Members of the audience who had caught the sound looked over in curiosity.

Under the gaze of everyone present, Chen Xiaoman flung all propriety aside and bolted for backstage. In her haste, her shawl slipped from her shoulders to the floor, and one of her high heels went flying off her foot.

When she came charging toward the restrooms at full urgency, she found the women’s room locked from the inside — no amount of pounding and pushing would budge it.

Desperate, she spotted the men’s room beside it — and steeled herself and rushed in.

Several customers were inside, and the sight of a woman bursting in sent them stumbling back in alarm.

Chen Xiaoman had no time to care about any of that. She shoved open a stall door and dove inside. By the time those male customers had collected themselves enough to react, it was already too late — the deed had been done.

The men stood looking at one another in complete disbelief.

Before long, word of Chen Xiaoman’s incident in the men’s restroom had spread through the entire ballroom.

When Chen Xiaoman returned to the dressing room, the looks the other women gave her were rather complicated.

She knew perfectly well she had made a spectacle of herself. Beneath the weight of everyone’s stares, she returned to her seat red-faced.

“Chen Xiaoman,” the floor captain said, following close behind her into the dressing room. “What on earth was that? You only sang two lines and then bolted — and into the men’s room, no less. Customers have already been complaining.”

“I’m sorry, Sister Hu,” Chen Xiaoman said, bowing her head to explain. “I had a sudden upset stomach — I couldn’t help it.”

“What do I always tell you? No food, no water before you go on stage — precisely to prevent something like this. Do you have any idea how badly this reflects on all of us? If word gets around, you’ll have dragged the reputation of the Red Gate Ballroom through the mud.”

“Sister Hu, I really didn’t eat or drink anything — I have no idea why this happened.”

Chen Xiaoman had barely finished speaking when another cramp seized her. She doubled over. “Sister Hu — I can’t — I’ve got to go again—”

Before the floor captain could respond, Chen Xiaoman was already sprinting for the restroom.

The floor captain stamped her foot furiously and shouted after her retreating back: “Chen — Xiao — Man!”

Shen Ruoxi had by now finished removing her makeup, and paid no attention whatsoever to what was unfolding beside her.

“Shen Ruoxi.” The floor captain came striding up to her with a frown. “This business with Chen Xiaoman — was that your doing?”

Shen Ruoxi looked at the floor captain’s face through the mirror and gave a faint lift of her brow. “Does the floor captain have proof?”

“Who else could it be?” one of the singers quickly chimed in. “Sister Man just had a quarrel with you today, and the very next moment she has this accident on stage — and you say it’s not you?”

Shen Ruoxi answered coolly, “She said herself she hadn’t eaten or drunk anything before going on stage. So how could I have poisoned the food or water? Or are you suggesting I have some method of drugging someone without any food or drink at all?”

The singer retorted, “Sister Hu, if she really did poison something, she’d have the poison on her right now. Search her and it’ll turn up.”

Shen Ruoxi glanced at the singer. “Do you really think anyone would be foolish enough to carry the poison on them after using it? But if you have that suspicion, I don’t mind humoring you.”

She stood up, spread her arms wide toward the floor captain, and said, “If the floor captain believes I poisoned someone, then search me.”

The floor captain studied Shen Ruoxi’s calm, unbothered expression — she did not look in the least like someone who had done anything wrong.

Moreover, Chen Xiaoman had said herself she hadn’t consumed anything. There was simply no plausible way Shen Ruoxi could have poisoned food or water.

“Forget it,” the floor captain said, waving a hand. “Go check on Chen Xiaoman. She shouldn’t go on stage for the next two days.”

A singer’s wages were calculated by how many times she performed — the more she sang, the more she earned. Going two days without performing meant two days without income.

For women like Chen Xiaoman and Meimei, who took the stage countless times a day, this was a significant loss. For a newcomer like Shen Ruoxi, it was at most a stand-in appearance here and there.

The floor captain finished and then turned back to Shen Ruoxi. “For the next two days, you’ll fill in for Chen Xiaoman.”

Shen Ruoxi responded evenly, “All right.”

“On what basis should she be the one to fill in?”

“That’s right — there are so many of us here. Why should it be her?”

The women immediately raised a chorus of objections.

The floor captain swept a cold glance over them and said flatly, “It’s settled. The rest of you — shut your mouths.”

She looked once more at Shen Ruoxi before leaving. “Remember Chen Xiaoman’s lesson. I have no patience for a ballroom full of women who are only good for running to the toilet.”

After the floor captain had gone, Shen Ruoxi prepared to head to the rehearsal room — she still needed to work with the dancers to synchronize her new set.

“Miss Shen.”

Shen Ruoxi had barely stepped out the door when a voice called after her.

“Yun Jing?” Shen Ruoxi frowned. “Didn’t I say — from now on, don’t speak to me. Don’t associate with me.”

Yun Jing’s face flushed red. “I can’t help it — I feel drawn to you by instinct.”

“Yun Jing,” Shen Ruoxi said with some exasperation. “You cannot judge people only by appearances. You think I am a good person — but that is only a feeling. You don’t actually know me. Is that not true?”

Yun Jing turned even redder, her fingers rubbing lightly at her own cheek. “I trust that my judgment isn’t wrong. You’re different from the rest of them.”

Shen Ruoxi felt at a loss. “Why did you follow me out here?”

“I — I was just curious. Was it you who did that to Sister Man?”

“Yes, it was me,” Shen Ruoxi answered without hesitation. “So — do you still think I’m a good person?”

Yun Jing was taken aback — but then immediately shook her head. “Sister Man went too far. She was the one who tried to frame you first.”

“Yun Jing, you are far too naive.”

“No, no — I genuinely believe Miss Shen did nothing wrong.”

Shen Ruoxi gave a small smile. She found the girl in front of her genuinely, endearingly guileless.

“All right. I’ll say it again — keep your distance from me. I am not your friend, and I will not become your friend. In a place like this, it is better for everyone to maintain their distance.”

With that, Shen Ruoxi turned and walked away, paying no attention to Yun Jing calling after her.

The Red Gate Ballroom stayed open until two or three in the morning. When it finally closed, outside was pitch black in every direction.

Shen Ruoxi stepped out of the ballroom and felt a rush of cold air hit her head-on. She pulled her coat tighter and walked briskly toward the street corner.

She had gathered some scraps from the tables of guests, intending to bring them back to her friends in the alley. Since she had been recuperating at Xie Yan’s estate, it had been well over a week since she last visited the alley.

The distance from here to the alley was not short — walking would take more than an hour.

A few rickshaws were still waiting along the roadside. When the drivers spotted a potential customer, they immediately called out offers.

Shen Ruoxi had no money for a rickshaw. For her, walking had long since become second nature.

She passed by the rickshaw drivers and made her way toward the street corner.

She had just crossed the road when a beam of headlights came blazing toward her from the distance. She instinctively raised a hand to shield her eyes from the glare and stepped quickly to the side of the road.

She intended to wait for the car to drive past — but to her surprise, it pulled to a stop right beside her.

Shen Ruoxi stepped back a few paces on instinct, and looked toward the car window with wary eyes.

A moment later, the window rolled down. In the dim night, she saw a familiar face — one that somehow seemed to give off its own light even in the dark.

“Mr. Xie?” Shen Ruoxi said, startled out of composure. “What brings you here?”

“Passing by,” Xie Yan said, his voice languid and unhurried. “Just finished work?”

“Yes. I was on my way back.”

“Back where?”

“The alley.”

Xie Yan’s handsome brow furrowed. “You still intend to live there?”

“I have nowhere else to go,” Shen Ruoxi said, pressing her lips together. “Besides, those cats are waiting for me to look after them.”

“They got along perfectly well before you came.”

“You — how do you know that?” Shen Ruoxi was genuinely startled.

The moment the words left her mouth, she remembered — she had first encountered Xie Yan in that very alley. And yet, what would bring a man like Xie Yan to a broken-down place like that?

“Get in the car first,” Xie Yan said, and the window slid back up. His tone left no room for argument.

At the same time, the driver stepped out and came around to open the rear car door for Shen Ruoxi.

Once she had settled inside, she realized Xie Yan had moved to the far side, nearer the opposite window. It was cracked open slightly, and he was smoking.

Out of habit, she shifted toward the door on her side, putting some distance between them.

“Mr. Xie.”

Xie Yan turned to look at her, his eyes asking: what is it?

Shen Ruoxi pointed at the still-burning cigarette in his hand and said quietly, “At night — especially this late at night — smoking is not good for your health.”

Xie Yan seemed briefly caught off guard, and for a moment his gaze landed on her face with a peculiar quality.

Shen Ruoxi suddenly felt embarrassed at herself and quickly looked away. “I was overstepping. Pay no attention to me, Mr. Xie.”

—