After Chi Yang and Xie Youci separated again.
Life went on as usual.
Chi Yang was as happy as a fairy every day, often sharing updates on her social media—painting, watering flowers, teasing birds, and preparing for her upcoming job at the National Museum starting next Monday.
Xie Youci rarely had a chance to see her.
Well, not exactly—
He often saw her in his dreams, but they were all scenes of Chi Yang deceiving him, playing with his heart and body, only to turn cold and deny everything afterward.
Fortunately, Xue Rang loved organizing gatherings.
Basically, every weekend, he would gather everyone to have some fun—sometimes barbecuing at the beach, sometimes meeting at a bar, and other times playing pool or board games.
Last time, Xue Rang’s reason for organizing the gathering was to welcome Chi Yang back. This time, he said it was to celebrate her new job.
Coincidentally, Ji Fengting’s bar had just opened.
Everyone was still excited about it.
So, Xue Rang gathered everyone at “Tonight She’ll Be Here” again, meeting at 8 p.m. on Friday.
Chi Yang, having just returned to the country, wasn’t yet familiar with his style.
But during video calls with them in Italy, she had heard about such things.
Besides, since this gathering was organized in her honor, Chi Yang had no reason not to attend, even if she didn’t want to see Xie Youci.
But attending was one thing.
Once she arrived, Chi Yang dragged Jiang Li to the dance floor, saying she wanted to watch the bar’s male models perform a striptease.
Xie Youci’s hand, holding a wine glass, paused slightly.
He slowly glanced at Ji Fengting, his expression dark and brooding, “Your bar has something like this?”
“Yeah,” Ji Fengting didn’t notice his friend’s discomfort at all. “Want to go check it out together?”
Xie Youci: “…”
He scoffed and looked away. “What’s so interesting about male models doing a striptease? Are they better-looking than me?”
Didn’t she touch his abdominal muscles when she was drunk last time?
She even touched them while sleeping that night.
Now, after finally seeing her again,
Had she grown tired of his abdominal muscles and switched to watching male models’ striptease instead?
Xie Youci tilted his head back and downed a glass of wine in one gulp.
Ji Fengting, never one to miss a chance to stir up trouble, said, “Brother Ci, if you’re willing to dance, I’ll immediately send you a hundred big rockets!”
Xie Youci: “Get lost.”
But as soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly stood up.
Xue Rang, munching on sunflower seeds, looked up at him. “Where are you going, Brother Ci? To the bathroom? Take me with you!”
As he spoke, he spat out the sunflower seed shells and stood up.
But Xie Youci shot him a sharp, cold glare. “Not going to the bathroom. I’m going to watch the male models’ striptease!”
Word by word.
Almost through gritted teeth.
Ji Fengting and Xue Rang stared at him in shock, never expecting their Brother Ci to have such tastes.
…
Chi Yang wasn’t actually interested in male models.
To be precise, she felt she had no interest in any man at all. If not for her mother’s arrangements, she might have avoided and escaped marriage her entire life.
She simply didn’t want to stay in the private room.
Watching the striptease was just an excuse.
In reality, Chi Yang had little interest in such things. She bit her straw, sipping her juice, while Jiang Li screamed wildly beside her, shaking her arm:
“Ahhh, help!”
“The lead dancer’s sweat just splashed on my face!”
“Yangyang, look, look! His core strength is insane, oh my god! Can we touch the male models here?”
The lead dancer happened to glance at Jiang Li.
He smirked and smiled at her, then walked over, knelt on one knee in front of her, and presented his abdominal muscles.
Jiang Li reached out and gave them a stroke.
Then she nearly fainted from excitement, collapsing into Chi Yang’s arms.
Chi Yang: “He’s so greasy.”Jiang Li: “He’s so handsome.”
Chi Yang: “That smirk and kneeling move he just did were so greasy you could practically fry a dish with it.”
Jiang Li: “Wahhh, I don’t care, I’m totally into it!”
Chi Yang couldn’t be bothered to argue with the little fangirl. She just wanted these muscular guys to stay away. She didn’t want to smell men’s stinky sweat—that so-called pheromone scent wasn’t even as good as—
She abruptly stopped the thought.
Then she glanced back and, sure enough, saw Xie Youci sitting on a barstool, his long legs stretched out to the floor, his sharp jawline disappearing into the shadows.
He happened to look over just as he held his glass.
Their eyes met.
Chi Yang remembered that night they shared a bed, waking up to the lingering scent of his shower gel on her pajamas.
Ew…
Why would she think of him at a time like this!
Chi Yang disdainfully averted her gaze. Xie Youci raised an eyebrow indifferently, watching her as he tilted his head back to drink.
Ji Fengting and Xue Rang whispered nearby.
“Why do I feel like Brother Ci is a bit melancholy tonight?”
“Don’t even start, how could he be associated with that word?”
“The thing is, I’ve never seen him drink so much before. Did Brother Ci have a fight with his girlfriend?”
“So who exactly is his girlfriend?”
“How should I know!”
Two heads couldn’t come up with a single sensible answer, so Xue Rang boldly asked, “Brother Ci, what are you thinking about? Tell us so we can help you figure it out?”
Xie Youci glanced at him lazily, letting out a vague, light scoff.
Then he poured another glass of wine and drank it slowly, narrowing his eyes as he looked at Chi Yang in front of the dance floor. “I’m thinking, a woman’s heart is as deep as the ocean. How deep are her feelings of love or lack thereof?”
Xue Rang: ?
Ji Fengting: ???
Damn, what a weirdo!