When it came to eating, drinking, and having fun, Meng Chuan could be considered an absolute expert. The place he chose was upscale and elegant, yet quiet, refined, and free of any unnecessary distractions.
The private room wasn’t very large, but it was beautifully furnished. Three handsome, accomplished older men accompanying a girl who had just finished her exams and was still riding the high of excitement made for a rather unusual combination.
The waiter brought over two dozen bottles of alcohol, a plate of fruit, and freshly made pastries.
Meng Chuan opened a bottle and poured a glass for everyone. When he reached Shu Wan, he glanced at his brother.
“Can she drink?”
Meng Huaijin had taken off his jacket and draped it over the back of the sofa. He was wearing only a black shirt, with the top two buttons undone, revealing his strong, defined collarbones. Under the soft lighting, his sharp features looked even more striking and upright.
“Do you want to drink?”
He turned his head slightly and asked Shu Wan.
Shu Wan asked him in return,
“Will you let me?”
The corners of the man’s lips lifted slightly.
He picked up his own glass and casually tapped it against the glass in front of her.
His low voice dropped several words into the air.
“Happy graduation, Miss Shu.”
That wasn’t merely a toast.
The sound of their glasses clinking seemed to strike directly into Shu Wan’s heart.
And hearing him call her “Miss Shu” again and again left her completely defenseless.
When someone else called her “Miss Shu,” it was simply a form of address.
But when Meng Huaijin called her “Miss Shu,” it meant something entirely different to her.
“Ththank you.”
She wanted to say, “Thank you, Mr. Meng,” but she still didn’t have the courage.
In the end, she lifted her glass and properly raised it toward Meng Huaijin, then toward the other two men.
Then she tipped her head back and gulped the alcohol down.
“Whoa! Little ancestor, slow down!”
The last time Meng Chuan had left the private room, Shu Wan hadn’t started drinking yet. He hadn’t known that this seemingly delicate, wellbehaved girl could drink so aggressively.
It would be strange if she didn’t get drunk.
Meng Huaijin tilted his head slightly, looking down on everyone with his usual imposing air.
Seeing her drink so quickly, he frowned as well.
When Shu Wan had finished about half the glass, he reached over and forcibly took it from her.
“Go sing.”
His scolding carried little anger.
“Hehe, okay.”
Shu Wan wasn’t upset at all.
Instead, she was so happy she felt like she could fly right on the spot.
She sat in front of the songselection screen, scrolling up and down as she thought about what song to choose.
What song could express her feelings for him without making them too obvious?
What song could also convey everything she was feeling at this moment?
While she was still struggling to decide, the three men on the other side slowly clinked their glasses and chatted casually.
At first, their conversation was perfectly normal, mostly about work and social connections.
Then, without warning, Meng Chuan changed the subject.
“Brother, Sister Jiang Jie calls to check up on you every single day. She’s even started calling me.”
“She calls me too.”
Because of his profession, Zhou Zhenglin wasn’t drinking alcohol. He was drinking fruit juice instead.
“She hasn’t even married you yet, and she’s already this strict.”
“If you actually get married, will we even have a chance to get together anymore?”
Meng Chuan joked.
Zhou Zhenglin joined in.
“So, brother, what’s it like knowing you’re about to bring home the woman you love?”
Meng Huaijin remained silent.
Meng Chuan continued,
“Isn’t that something to be happy about?”
“My mom told me today that my uncle and the Jiang family have already settled on the engagement date.”
“It’s next month.”
“Right, Brother?”
【Getting more and more haggard, for whom?
A strange heartbreak, for whom did I miss…
】
Meng Chuan and Zhou Zhenglin were laughing happily when a highly recognizable singing voice suddenly filled the private room.
Those lyrics…
Everyone turned toward the person singing.
All evening, Shu Wan had been excited and giddy, her heart fluttering like a startled deer.
But just moments ago, she had heard them mention Jiang Jie.
And apparently, the two families had already settled on the date.
It was next month.
In an instant, the girl felt as though she’d fallen into an icy abyss.
Coldness spread from the top of her head all the way to her feet.
Her entire body seemed to stop obeying her.
The clear, cloudless world before her eyes suddenly turned dark and chaotic.
Her heart was tangled into a complete mess, and panic overwhelmed her so completely that she didn’t know what to do.
From where Shu Wan stood, she could see Meng Huaijin smoking intermittently.
When his friends teased him, he neither responded nor denied anything.
The smoke obscured most of his face.
Only his deepset eyes remained clear, refusing to become blurred even by the haze.
Holding the microphone, the girl stared straight at his indistinct face beneath the drifting smoke.
She was on the verge of tears as she sang word by word:
【I tore down my defenses, shed so many tears,
Struggled helplessly, and learned who was worth it. 】
【Faced with your betrayal, I couldn’t change a thing.
Saying goodbye to your cruelty, I have no regrets. 】
【Your tenderness made me fall into sin.
How I wish I could hold you and love you all over again. 】
【Your ruthlessness made me suffer.
How I wish I’d never met anyone…
How I wish I’d never met anyone. 】
Every word was filled with genuine emotion.
Her voice carried so much sorrow that anyone who heard it couldn’t help but feel heartbroken.
“It’s over, it’s over.”
Meng Chuan nudged Meng Huaijin.
“Brother, you had people search all over Beicheng, and you still couldn’t find that bastard.”
“Do you think he isn’t even in Beicheng?”
“Why don’t we expand the search?”
“Damn it, how dare he hurt our Miss Shu like this!”
“How outrageous!”
Zhou Zhenglin frowned.
“That’s strange.”
“Is there really anyone Brother Jin can’t find?”
“Unless he’s dead, there’s no way.”
Half of Meng Huaijin’s face was hidden beneath a layer of shadow.
His expression was dark and unreadable as he stared at the girl singing.
He said nothing.
At that moment, Zhou Zhenglin’s phone rang.
After answering the call, he quickly stood up.
“I’ve got an emergency surgery.”
“I have to go.”
“You two take your time.”
“Drive carefully.”
Meng Chuan patted him on the shoulder.
He had barely finished speaking when Meng Huaijin said from beside him,
“See him out.”
So Meng Chuan stood up and walked out with Zhou Zhenglin, arm around his shoulder.
As they walked, something suddenly felt wrong.
He had been drinking.
Zhou Zhenglin was the one who hadn’t been drinking.
So why was he the one being sent out?
“Can’t you tell?”
Zhou Zhenglin reminded him.
“He’s about to teach someone a lesson.”
“How is he supposed to do that with you still there?”
“Doesn’t the girl have any dignity?”
Meng Chuan suddenly understood.
“Right, right.”
“Damn, who is this guy anyway?”
“Look at what he’s done to our girl.”
The two men left.
Now only Shu Wan and Meng Huaijin remained in the private room.
The music had stopped as well.
The room fell completely silent.
The atmosphere became extremely delicate.
Only after finishing the song did Shu Wan realize that something about Meng Huaijin’s gaze and attitude tonight seemed different.
She didn’t dare look at him for too long.
Pretending to turn back to the songselection screen, she moved her finger across it and asked with her back toward him,
“Are you going to sing?”
“No.”
“Oh…”
Shu Wan’s heart was practically jumping out of her chest.
Her palms were covered in sweat, but she forced herself to sound relaxed.
“I heard Uncle Meng Chuan say that you and Miss Jiang have already set the date for your engagement.”
“It’s next month, right?”
The room fell silent.
There was no answer.
She waited a little longer.
Still nothing.
Only then did she slowly turn around to make sure he was still there.
He was.
Meng Huaijin was leaning lazily against the back of the chair.
He lit his second cigarette.
The hazy, colorful lights above them fell across his silent eyes, making them seem even deeper and darker.
“It’s set.”
“Next month, the twentysixth.”
He looked directly at her and spoke clearly.
Boom—
Something exploded inside Shu Wan’s head.
Everything before her eyes became indistinct.
A thin haze, thick smoke—
Even the man’s features blurred into an indistinguishable shadow.
“What happened?”
Meng Huaijin continued looking at her as he asked calmly.
The moment Shu Wan turned her head away from him, her tears rolled uncontrollably down her cheeks.
She knew that if she opened her mouth, she’d burst into uncontrollable sobs.
So, she only shook her head.
The man behind her said nothing.
He seemed unusually patient as he slowly finished his cigarette.
Then his phone rang.
He answered it and turned on the speaker.
“Huaijin, where are you?”
It was Jiang Jie.
“I’m out.”
“My parents went on a trip.”
“I’m all alone at home and getting bored.”
“Could you come over and see me?”
The girl finally turned back.
She stared straight at the man on the phone.
Meng Huaijin looked at her redrimmed eyes.
His expression remained blank as he was about to respond.
But suddenly, a hand reached over and snatched the phone from him.
The call was immediately disconnected.
The man didn’t move.
He simply stared intensely at the person who had taken his phone.
That gaze was scorching, as though it could burn her to ashes and melt her where she stood.
Shu Wan clutched his phone tightly.
Her entire body trembled.
Tears fell like pearls from a broken string.
They stared at each other for a long time.
Finally, Shu Wan broke down and said through her tears,
“Don’t go.”
The man effortlessly took his phone back from her.
He completely ignored her unusual behavior.
“I’ll take you home first.”
Shu Wan took two steps backward.
She stubbornly repeated,
“I won’t let you go.”
Meng Huaijin acted as though he hadn’t heard her.
He stood up, picked up his jacket, and didn’t look at her.
“Then stay here and play by yourself.”
“When you’ve had enough, take a taxi home.”
The girl blocked his path.
Her small figure stood before the tall, imposing man.
It was the helpless final struggle of someone who had run out of options.
Like an egg thrown against a rock.
Meng Huaijin looked down at her from above.
The calm in his eyes was the stillness before a violent storm.
Pressure and suffocation filled the air between them.
Shu Wan met his gaze.
Her last line of defense collapsed completely.
When she finally admitted the truth, her voice was so hoarse it barely sounded like her own.
“The person I like is you.”
“The person I love is you!”