Late at night, at Nightscape Club in District S.
Inside a private room on the second floor, the air was thick enough to wring out by hand, saturated with expensive fragrance, faint traces of cigar smoke, and the evaporating scent of alcohol.
Heavy velvet curtains sealed the windows completely, shutting out the sleepless city lights beyond.
Only a few dim spotlights embedded in the walls remained, barely outlining the room’s luxurious interior.
The club operated on a membership-only basis.
Privacy was excellent.
The soundproofing was flawless.
Not a trace of noise from outside could penetrate the room.
Only the low, lazy notes of jazz drifted from the speakers.
Xi Liye sat alone in the innermost velvet armchair.
His long legs were casually crossed.
He hadn’t touched the whiskey poured on the coffee table before him.
Instead, he held a small pixel-bead kitten charm between his fingers, absentmindedly turning it beneath a beam of white light.
The kitten’s lazy pose reflected a faint glimmer under the spotlight.
His phone screen was still lit.
The chat window with Qin Yu remained open.
The latest message had arrived half an hour ago.
【Qin Yu: Where are you?】
【Qin Yu: Everyone’s waiting. You promised you’d come relax. Don’t tell me you’re hiding in the lab again.】
【Qin Yu: Sending the location. Nightscape Club. Same place as always.】
At the time, Xi Liye had just left the laboratory.
The faint scent of disinfectant and chemical reagents still lingered on him.
Looking at the location Qin Yu sent, he had originally intended to decline.
But his finger hovered above the screen for several seconds.
Without warning, Wen Chu’s image flashed through his mind.
The way she’d stood beside the basketball court that afternoon.
Hugging his jacket.
The tip of her nose red from the cold.
And later—
The sight of her fleeing into the dormitory building after his suggestion that they hug goodbye.
The day’s data had already been organized.
Preparations for the next experiment would take time.
So…
During the waiting period…
He had locked his phone, picked up his car keys, and changed directions instead of returning to his apartment.
Now he sat in this place.
A world completely different from the laboratory.
A place overflowing with relaxation and desire.
Yet strangely enough, he felt neither discomfort nor contradiction.
“Brother Xi, what are you playing with all by yourself?”
A young man in a floral shirt, two buttons undone, wandered over with a glass of liquor.
It was Zhao Cheng.
One of Qin Yu’s friends.
The youngest son of a mining family.
Following Xi Liye’s gaze, he spotted the tiny bead charm.
“Oh?”
“What’s this?”
“A gift from some girl?”
Xi Liye didn’t look up.
His fingers moved slightly as he closed his hand around the kitten charm.
The smooth plastic surface rested against his skin.
“Mm.”
His reply was calm.
Emotionless.
“You seriously got a girlfriend?”
Zhao Cheng immediately became interested and sat down beside him.
“Qin Yu’s been talking about it like it’s some huge secret. I thought he was messing with us.”
“What kind of goddess managed to capture Young Master Xi?”
“When are you bringing her out for us to meet?”
Finally, Xi Liye lifted his eyes.
He looked at Zhao Cheng.
The gaze wasn’t sharp.
It wasn’t threatening.
Yet Zhao Cheng’s playful smile unconsciously faded.
“She’s shy around strangers.”
His answer was concise.
The refusal couldn’t have been clearer.
“Alright, alright.”
“Hiding your beauty at home, huh?”
Zhao Cheng wisely raised his hands in surrender and changed the topic to stock markets and a newly opened racetrack.
Xi Liye listened absentmindedly.
The kitten charm had become slightly warm from his body temperature.
His thoughts drifted elsewhere.
Shy around strangers…
That was true.
Whenever someone got too close, she reacted like a startled kitten.
Her eyes would widen.
Her fur would stand on end.
She’d bare her claws and act fierce.
Awkwardly adorable.
“Old Xi.”
Qin Yu finally got rid of two girls who’d been trying to strike up a conversation and sat down beside him with a glass of ice water.
“You really came here to contemplate life?”
His gaze dropped toward Xi Liye’s clenched hand.
“Still holding your little token of love?”
Xi Liye loosened his grip and slipped the kitten charm into the inside pocket of his coat.
Right next to where he kept his phone.
“By the way,” Qin Yu continued, “what miracle happened today? How come you suddenly decided to show up?”
“Weren’t you the one who invited me?”
Xi Liye replied.
“Oh, come on.”
“I’ve invited you at least eighty times.”
“Why did you suddenly come out tonight?”
Qin Yu took a drink before hesitating.
Then he asked anyway.
“You and Wen Chu… doing okay?”
“She hasn’t been scared by you yet, right?”
He was genuinely worried.
Nobody understood Xi Liye better than he did.
Brilliant.
Exceptionally brilliant.
But also frighteningly detached.
When Xi Liye became interested in something, his focus and curiosity could be unsettling.
Wen Chu seemed like an ordinary girl.
A little timid.
A little delicate.
Qin Yu really didn’t want her to become collateral damage.
Xi Liye looked at the amber liquor before him.
Tiny droplets of condensation clung to the glass.
Scared?
He remembered Wen Chu’s flushed cheeks.
Her panicked eyes.
“No.”
His answer was certain.
Qin Yu felt even less reassured.
He laughed awkwardly.
“That’s good.”
“That’s good…”
“Just remember to control yourself a little.”
“It’s her first relationship.”
“Be nice to her.”
Then, deciding to switch to a safer topic, he continued:
“Oh, right.”
“What about that neural regeneration project Professor Wang keeps pushing?”
“He’s practically begging you to join at this point.”
The moment the conversation shifted toward serious matters, the lazy atmosphere around Xi Liye changed.
His posture straightened slightly.
The rare trace of relaxation disappeared from his eyes.
Only cold logic remained.
“The data model still has flaws.”
“The activity level of the initial samples is too low.”
His response was concise.
“Unless he can obtain a control group closer to actual human injury conditions, the success rate remains below thirty percent.”
“The cost-benefit ratio isn’t worth it.”
Qin Yu clicked his tongue inwardly.
Professor Wang was a giant in academia.
That project was considered highly prestigious.
Countless doctoral students dreamed of joining.
Yet Xi Liye dismantled its weaknesses in a few sentences.
And casually declared it unworthy.
The two lowered their voices and continued discussing the project.
Xi Liye spoke little.
But every sentence cut directly to the core.
His logic was terrifyingly precise.
Soon, he had completely taken control of the conversation.
The music inside the private room changed.
The rhythm became slightly faster.
Other people were playing dice games.
Laughter filled the room.
Xi Liye leaned back against the sofa.
Listening to Qin Yu’s analysis.
Yet his eyes unconsciously drifted toward his coat pocket once more.
“Oh, right…”
“The articles you sent me the other day were pretty interesting.”
Qin Yu:
“???”