The private room was too boring.
As night fell, the dance floor downstairs filled with young men and women partying wildly to the music.
Leaving the second-floor VIP room meant stepping into a chaotic mix of people below.
After the previous riot incident, Li Mingxian had already arranged for bodyguards to stay close at all times.
Lei Shaoxin and Hu Wenwen found seats near the stage. A waiter leaned in as Lei Shaoxin placed their order.
Soon, cocktails and orange juice were set on the table.
Seeing the orange juice again, Hu Wenwen gave Lei Shaoxin a helpless look.
She reached out, about to sneak a sip of the cocktail.
Lei Shaoxin pushed the orange juice toward her. “Kids should stick to juice.”
She couldn’t resist teasing her.
Noticing Hu Wenwen starting to get annoyed, she quickly added, “You’ve got a competition tomorrow.”
Only then did Hu Wenwen snap back to her senses and obediently took the juice.
With the pounding beats and the live band playing on stage, Lei Shaoxin finally felt a long-lost sense of relaxation.
Her cocktail was soon empty. Figuring it was about time, she decided not to stay any longer.
She got up to go to the restroom. The bodyguard waited outside. While washing her hands, she ran into Lei Zhiying walking in.
Of all people.
“Bitch,” Lei Zhiying snapped the moment she saw her in the mirror.
Lei Shaoxin rolled her eyes, ignored her, and tossed the paper towel into the trash.
Not wanting to deal with a drunken outburst, she turned to leave.
But Lei Zhiying grabbed her arm. “Everything that’s happened to me today is because of you.”
“Are you done yet?” Lei Shaoxin glanced down at the hand gripping her arm.
That’s when she noticed the scar on Lei Zhiying’s right forearm—a long, jagged mark at least ten centimeters, like a centipede.
Her brows knit slightly. The last time she saw her, it had still been wrapped in bandages—she hadn’t expected the wound underneath to look this severe.
Even with concealer, it couldn’t be hidden. She’d probably have to wear long sleeves for a long time.
During the struggle, they had already reached the restroom entrance. The bodyguard stepped forward and blocked Lei Zhiying.
“I don’t know her,” Lei Shaoxin said calmly.
Back at their table, she took Hu Wenwen’s hand and led her back upstairs to the private room.
Even as she was held back, Lei Zhiying continued shouting insults from behind.
The bodyguard escorted them all the way to the door, while Lei Zhiying was stopped at the staircase.
“I can’t be a model anymore because of you, you bitch—!” she yelled.
But with the loud music and cheers filling the air, Lei Shaoxin couldn’t make out most of it.
They entered the private room.
Lei Zhiying still lingered by the stairs, waiting for Lei Shaoxin to come out.
Not long after, Fu Haoyan led Lei Shaoxin out of the room, while a bodyguard carried the guitar case behind them.
The moment Lei Zhiying saw Fu Haoyan, she instinctively shrank back, a flicker of fear crossing her face.
She quickly turned and disappeared into the crowd on the dance floor.
Fu Haoyan, looking slightly roguish, leaned close to Lei Shaoxin and whispered something in her ear, not noticing the shadow that had just passed by.
Li Mingxian and Hu Wenwen also came out one after the other.
Outside the club, a bright yellow convertible sports car was parked boldly at the entrance. With his silver hair, Li Mingxian leaned casually against the window, one arm resting on it while the other played with a lighter—drawing plenty of attention from passersby. He looked every bit the flashy, carefree rich kid.
Hu Wenwen dragged her feet toward the entrance. The moment she saw the eye-catching car, she opened the door and got in.
“Short legs—that’s why you walk so slow,” Li Mingxian teased, tossing the lighter aside.
Her hand paused on the seatbelt. She let it retract and instead reached for the door handle.
Seeing this, Li Mingxian quickly stopped her.
She shot him a glare—trying to look fierce.
But to him, she just looked like a tiny kitten pretending to be scary—adorable.
With a flick of the gear shift, the convertible sped off into traffic.
He stopped in front of her residential complex. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow.”
“Why are you so free? Is the Li Group bankrupt or something?” she shot back before getting out and running inside without looking back.
Li Mingxian watched her retreating figure and shook his head with a smile.
The next morning, he showed up again—same car, waiting downstairs early.
Hu Wenwen hurried down.
When she reached the entrance and saw that bright yellow car again, she pressed her lips together, then opened the door and got in.
Li Mingxian leaned against the car window, resting his head on his hand and yawning.
When Hu Wenwen suddenly yanked the door open, he was startled fully awake.
She looked at his pale expression. “What’s wrong with you this early in the morning?”
“N-Nothing.”
He glanced at his watch. Seeing it was still early, he drove her to a traditional Hong Kong tea house and ordered a full table of dim sum.
Li Mingxian didn’t usually eat breakfast.
He just sat there quietly, sipping tea, his thoughts drifting back to the first time they met at V Club.
After dropping her home that night, he had started pestering her every day. Eventually, she got so annoyed that she hacked the Li Group’s official website, throwing the company into chaos and keeping him overwhelmed for days—finally giving herself some peace.
In the end, she had deliberately left an IP trace, allowing the IT department to track it back to her. That’s how Li Mingxian found out it was her doing.
Thinking of that, he asked, “When are you coming to work at Li Group?”
“No.”
After rejecting him countless times, Hu Wenwen was clearly fed up. “Do you want to get hacked again?”
Li Mingxian immediately fell silent and lowered his head to drink his tea.
…
The two of them arrived at the competition venue and met up with Lei Shaoxin in the waiting room.
The moment he saw her, Li Mingxian asked, “Where’s Haoyan? Didn’t he say he’d come too?”
“He has something to take care of. He’ll come later,” Lei Shaoxin replied.
Nearby, Hu Wenwen was having a pre-match strategy meeting with her team.
Elsewhere, with A Le not around, Fu Haoyan used the time to finish several days’ worth of work in one go.
He grabbed his coat, ready to head to the venue.
But just as he took a few steps, his phone rang. It was A Le.
At this hour, it had to be something urgent.
He answered immediately. “Hello.”
A Le got straight to the point. “Brother Yan, Miss Lei has been seeing a psychologist while in Weigelan. She was diagnosed with mild depression. I’ll need more time to dig into the rest.”
Fu Haoyan’s brows tightened. “Got it.”
After hanging up, he immediately called A-Feng.
A-Feng answered within three seconds, as always.
“A-Feng, during this time you’ve been with Shaoxin, has she seen a psychologist here in Hong Kong?”
Hearing the urgency in his tone, A-Feng replied, “No, Brother Yan. Did something happen?”
“Nothing. Cancel your leave and check her medical records in Hong Kong immediately.”
Even while on leave, A-Feng responded with professional precision. “Understood.”
By the time the call ended, Fu Haoyan had already reached the parking lot.
After hearing the news, he only wanted to see her as soon as possible.
He floored the accelerator, pushing the sports car to its limits—cutting a forty-minute drive down to twenty.
When he arrived at the venue and opened the door to the waiting room, he saw Lei Shaoxin chatting casually with the substitute players.
All the unease he had felt along the way disappeared the moment he saw her.
Noticing him standing at the door, she raised her hand and beckoned him over.
“The match hasn’t started yet,” she said.
He walked over and took her hand.
Now that he was there, she didn’t feel like staying in the waiting room anymore. She pulled him toward the audience seats to soak in the atmosphere.
Li Mingxian was already seated in the front row, watching Hu Wenwen on stage.
Wearing oversized headphones, her face looked even smaller.
Who would have thought that this harmless-looking girl with straight bangs would soon unleash such aggressive gameplay?
The match began.
Li Mingxian shouted loudly from the sidelines, cheering her on, earning several warnings from the staff.
Lei Shaoxin didn’t usually play games and couldn’t really follow what was happening, relying instead on the live commentary.
Fu Haoyan wasn’t particularly interested in the match either—he was only there because she had asked him to come.
When the match ended, Hu Wenwen’s team advanced successfully, securing a spot in an international competition.
Back in the waiting room, the team excitedly planned a celebration dinner, and Li Mingxian eagerly tagged along.
Feeling a bit tired, Lei Shaoxin chose not to go.
After dinner, Fu Haoyan drove her home.
As the car approached, Lei Shaoxin looked through the windshield—and froze.
Bright red paint had been splashed across the front of her house.
“Stop the car!” she shouted.