The other two girls were still a bit dazed when they were brought into the private booth.
Even Guan Zhiyu hadn’t expected things to be this coincidental.
The profile that Meng Shuyin had caught a fleeting glimpse of in the crowded mass of people actually belonged to Jiang Zong.
Hearing that Lin Shuxue was there too, Pei Tianyang completely skipped the routine argument he always had whenever he met Guan Zhiyu. He quickly put on a hospitable, eager smile and couldn’t wait to invite his goddess to join them.
It was only after Lin Shuxue stepped into the booth that she realized they weren’t the only two inside. There was also another guy around their age, as well as…
Her gaze paused for a moment as she clearly made out the woman sitting right next to Jiang Zong.
She wore a bright red, hip-hugging mermaid dress, with light brown, large waves cascading past her shoulders. The makeup on her face was so exquisite that not a single flaw could be picked out.
When Lin Shuxue walked past her, she even caught a whiff of a rich, sweet perfume.
It was the standard appearance of Jiang Zong’s rumored ex-girlfriends.
Pei Tianyang enthusiastically arranged seats for Lin Shuxue and her friends, introducing everyone one by one.
“This is Zhong Rong, my roommate.”
He pointed at the guy, who pushed up his black-rimmed glasses and gave a gentle smile.
“This is Lucy, from the film academy next door, a friend I invited to hang out with us.”
He then pointed at the wavy-haired woman next to Jiang Zong. The woman lifted her hand, waving her fair fingers slightly.
“And this one…” When it came to Jiang Zong, Pei Tianyang smiled even more brilliantly. “I don’t need to introduce him, right?”
The crowd burst into a knowing round of laughter.
Jiang Zong wore his seemingly eternal black button-down shirt. His eyes were half-lidded, his slender neck tilted back slightly, and the emotions in his eyes were hidden away in the dim light and shadows, making them impossible to read.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” The corners of his lips curved up as his fingers casually brushed through a strand of the woman’s hair beside him. “Am I too embarrassing to be seen in public?”
“How would I dare! You’re a celebrity, everyone definitely knows you!” Pei Tianyang quickly chimed in.
Guan Zhiyu said testily, “Then what about me? Why aren’t you introducing me?”
“You?” Pei Tianyang turned to her, his tone full of disdain. “The Head of the Publicity Department, who suffered a crushing defeat in the battle to claim ownership over the beautiful Lin.”
Everyone present couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
Being suddenly called out made Lin Shuxue’s ears turn a bit warm.
She prided herself on not being someone with low self-esteem, but sitting next to a great beauty like Lucy, the title of “beauty” felt truly undeserved.
It would have been fine if Pei Tianyang hadn’t brought it up, but mentioning it only made Guan Zhiyu more furious. She pointed at him and scolded him fiercely.
“You still have the nerve to mention it? Who was the one that played dirty first?”
Pei Tianyang swiftly retaliated, “You were the one who slandered us first!”
Sitting on the sofa, Zhong Rong watched the scene unfold and helplessly pinched the bridge of his nose.
“These two are at it again…”
The sharp-eared Meng Shuyin accurately caught his quiet sigh and leaned her head closer out of curiosity.
“Senior Zhong Rong, do Senior Sister Guan and Senior Pei argue often?”
Zhong Rong replied, “I’ve known the two of them for over a decade. They’ve been exactly this childish, day after day, for over ten years.”
The two of them argued so intently that no one else could get a word in.
Lin Shuxue quietly tilted her head to look at Jiang Zong.
He didn’t seem to be in high spirits tonight. Even though Lin Shuxue had been sitting there for quite a while, he still maintained his initial posture without shifting a single inch.
However, he accepted every piece of fruit that Lucy handed to him.
The wine-red spotlight in the private room rotated directly above his head, illuminating the sharp contour of his Adam’s apple. He took a small sip of the cocktail in front of him, and the woman beside him considerately picked up a tissue, seemingly intending to wipe away any trace of alcohol from the corner of his mouth.
The posture between the two of them had already exceeded the boundaries of normal friends.
Thanks to Lucy, Lin Shuxue could now see Jiang Zong’s eyes clearly. Consequently, she didn’t miss the faint smile at the corners of his eyes and the shifting light within them when he turned his head toward the woman.
It was exactly the same look he had given her this morning.
What was their… current relationship? Were they in an ambiguous phase?
Lin Shuxue couldn’t help but space out, forgetting to pull her gaze away.
Thus, the moment her eyes locked with Jiang Zong’s, her mind went entirely blank. Feeling the guilt of a thief caught red-handed, she hurriedly turned her head away.
The two who were arguing had reached an unknown point in their dispute when Pei Tianyang declared at the top of his lungs:
“I said it long ago! There isn’t a single girl my Master Jiang can’t pull!”
The lounge music happened to transition into an interlude just then, causing his outrageous declaration to echo resoundingly through the quiet booth.
Everyone looked at each other in silence.
Lin Shuxue was still caught up in her previous awkwardness and hadn’t snapped out of it yet.
Pei Tianyang was quick-witted and immediately realized the inappropriateness of his words from the dead silence.
Enduring Jiang Zong’s half-smiling gaze, he quickly gave himself a light slap across the face and stepped forward to apologize to Lin Shuxue.
“I’m sorry, Junior Sister Lin. I’m just used to having a loose tongue, I didn’t mean it that way.”
“Huh?”
Lin Shuxue’s almond eyes looked dazed. Her sluggish brain finally processed what had just occurred, only realizing after the fact that she was the other subject of that sentence.
“It’s fine.” She waved her hand, genuinely not holding a grudge.
“Alright, drop it.” The person in the center of the sofa chimed in lazily. “A student union recruitment drive makes it sound like some kind of shady transaction coming from your mouth.”
Sensing the lifeline Jiang Zong had thrown his way, Pei Tianyang quickly bantered and shifted the topic.
“Ah! You know how it is, I’ve failed Chinese since I was a kid. There’s a problem with my language system. Please be the bigger person and forgive this lowly one.”
Pei Tianyang glanced at the snacks and fruits on the table, which were mostly cleared out, and changed the subject.
“The food is running out. I’ll go get the waiter to bring some more. It’s my treat today, take a look at the menu and see if there’s anything else you want to eat?”
The three girls from Lin Shuxue’s dorm were a bit reserved since they had just arrived. They blinked at one another, none of them daring to speak up first.
Guan Zhiyu, on the other hand, was entirely unceremonious. “Sure thing. Bring out three glasses each of the most expensive drinks on the menu first, then get an order of boneless lemon chicken feet, mustard shredded squid…”
She crossed off a long list of items in one breath. When she was done, she shoved it into the hands of the three girls, pretending to whisper while actually using a volume that everyone could hear.
“Order as much as you want, give his wallet a heavy beating, otherwise it won’t satisfy the grudge in my heart!”
Only after hearing this did the three girls feel at ease.
Pei Tianyang went to urge the waiter to serve the food, and along the way, he requested quite a few playing cards, Ludo, and other tabletop party games.
By the time the drinks and dishes were fully served, Zhong Rong had already had several strips of paper stuck to his face because three of his planes had been sent back to base, and he repeatedly failed to roll a six.
Hearing the waiter announce that all the dishes had arrived, he finally found a moment to catch his breath, waving his hands and shouting:
“Sub! Sub! I feel like there’s a problem with the feng shui of my seat, it must be cursed!”
Meng Shuyin laughed at him, “How can you play dirty just because you can’t win!”
Lin Shuxue had been called to the restroom earlier by a phone call from her counselor. Following the counselor’s requests, she had to re-edit the details in the father’s column on the information sheet she had submitted. She had just pushed open the door and returned.
As if seeing a savior, Zhong Rong called out toward the entrance, “Junior Sister Lin is back! Junior Sister, come quickly and save your senior!!!”
The words had barely left his mouth when his forehead took a sharp flick from Pei Tianyang.
Pei Tianyang stood up and suggested:
“Since everyone is here, why don’t we play something that everyone can participate in?”
Taking into account the addition of Lin Shuxue and her roommates, Pei Tianyang chose not to play the usual dice games common at drinking tables, opting instead for a relatively tamer one.
The King’s Game.
In reality, it was just a variation of Truth or Dare.
Lin Shuxue was quite familiar with the rules of this game and her luck was fairly good. After several rounds, although she never became the King, she wasn’t chosen as the unlucky soul to receive a punishment either.
Where there was someone lucky, there was bound to be someone unfortunate.
One moment, Zhong Rong and Pei Tianyang were drawn to complete a twisted command where they had to interlock their fingers and lock eyes for a full minute; the next moment, Meng Shuyin was selected with a miserable expression to go to the center of the dance floor and perform the song “Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf.”
And the culprit who had come up with these two supreme punishments was none other than Jiang Zong.
His luck tonight was absurdly good; the marker had pointed to him multiple times.
Seeing his casual, indifferent demeanor, Meng Shuyin had originally assumed he was the type to give easy punishments just for fun. She hadn’t expected the tactics he came up with to be so ruthless.
For a moment, even the handsomest face couldn’t soothe the resentment in her heart. Heaven only knew how many bizarre and pitying stares followed her the entire way back from the center of the dance floor.
But the tables always turn, and cosmic justice works in cycles.
This time, heaven favored Meng Shuyin. The tip of the pointer representing fate ground to a halt right in front of her.
Zhong Rong, who had just been messed with earlier, repeatedly reminded her, “Heroine Meng, you must avenge your brothers!”
Lin Shuxue had never been picked and had remained an outsider to the game for too long. Suddenly hearing Zhong Rong’s nickname for Meng Shuyin, she let out a quiet laugh in her heart.
No wonder people always said drinking games brought everyone closer; individuals who had barely met could instantly become close brothers over shared tragic experiences.
Meng Shuyin confidently flashed him a “leave it to me” look. A brilliant spark ignited in her brain, and she came up with an excellent idea.
“Number 2 sits on Number 4’s lap and takes off one piece of Number 4’s top!”
Everyone gasped upon hearing this.
“In this kind of weather, everyone is only wearing a single layer, right?”
“Stupid, guys aren’t afraid of showing skin. If a girl gets picked, she can just drape a coat over herself!”
After checking his own number card, Pei Tianyang clasped his hands in relief.
“As expected of my Sister Meng, ruthless enough!”
Guan Zhiyu loved watching drama unfold: “Who are the two lucky individuals?”
Over there, a certain calm and collected individual put down his half-emptied drink, his tongue lightly pressing against his inner cheek. Holding a card with the number “4” between his fingers, he let out a laugh.
“Did you turn on X-ray vision?”
“Wow~” Pei Tianyang jeered in an exaggerated tone. “We’re blessed tonight, getting to witness the true form of Master Jiang’s abs.”
He flashed two fingers, acting mysterious: “The real deal, a full set of eight!”
Hearing him say this, everyone’s gaze fell upon Jiang Zong one after another.
Before Jiang Zong could even speak, Lucy, who was sitting by his side, spoke up first.
“This isn’t very appropriate, isn’t the game going a bit too far?”
Her tone was gentle and pleading, making it seem as though she was genuinely and wholeheartedly looking out for Jiang Zong.
Pei Tianyang’s heart dropped. Catching the sudden frostiness that flashed across his brother’s brow out of the corner of his eye, he knew things were going south. This girl hadn’t listened to his warnings seriously and had crossed a line.
Pei Tianyang could tell that Lucy was quite interested in Jiang Zong; the subtle hints she had been throwing his way all night were practically overflowing. As for what Jiang Zong actually thought of her, he couldn’t read it.
But with this stunt, there was likely no chance of any further progression between the two.
After all, Jiang Zong detested others interfering in his business the most.
Since he was the one who brought her along to keep Jiang Zong entertained, he was just about to say something to salvage the situation when a female voice rang out.
“Can’t even handle taking off a piece of clothing? When you sit at this table, you should expect that you won’t always win, right?”
Clearly, Meng Shuyin was not someone easy to deal with either. The two things she hated most in life were pretense and double standards, and unfortunately, Lucy checked both boxes.
When someone was penalized to bite down on the same Pocky stick earlier, why didn’t she see her speak up? Even though it ended up being Guan Zhiyu and He Xicun, strictly speaking about the punishment itself, wasn’t that one way more extreme?!
Lucy hadn’t expected Meng Shuyin to speak so mercilessly. The charming smile she had been wearing the entire time froze flat on her face.
The atmosphere between the two instantly became laced with tension.
Amidst the awkwardness, Jiang Zong twitched the corner of his mouth helplessly. Without sparing a single glance toward Lucy, he casually raised his hand in protest.
“I don’t think I ever said I couldn’t handle it, did I?”
That meant he was going to accept the punishment.
Everyone present understood the meaning Jiang Zong intended to convey. Beside him, Lucy’s figure stiffened, and she couldn’t even maintain a basic smile as it froze at the corners of her mouth.
Zhong Rong chimed in at the right moment: “Yeah, yeah! So who is Number 2? Why hasn’t there been any sound?”
He Xicun waved her hand: “It’s not me.”
“Not me either.” “Not me.”
…
After a round of denials, only one person remained.
“Oh. It’s me.”
Lin Shuxue looked down at her card, pulled her drifting thoughts back, and lifted her eyes to look at everyone, appearing as if she were still entirely out of the loop.
Meng Shuyin hadn’t expected to shoot herself in the foot by hitting her own person. She instantly felt awkward, pondering how she could properly take back the bold words she had just used to fire back at Lucy. Yet, Lin Shuxue had already walked naturally over to stand before Jiang Zong.
“Do I sit here?”
Her tone was perfectly calm, as if this matter was no different from drinking water or eating a meal.
“Huh? Are you sure you’re accepting this punishment?” Pei Tianyang confirmed with her.
“Isn’t it just taking off a piece of clothing?” Lin Shuxue was puzzled. What was the big deal?
Pei Tianyang wanted to explain further, but the moment he locked eyes with her clear, entirely pure gaze, the words clogged up in his throat and he couldn’t voice them.
He could only turn his head to look to Jiang Zong for help.
“Ma-Master Jiang, what about you?”
Jiang Zong shrugged his shoulders, leaning his body back. His smiling eyes looked hazy, adopting a posture of “entirely at your disposal.”
“Accepting the loss as part of the bet.”