"That girl who stopped you in the hallway just now."
Why was he looking at Lin-xuemei?
His teammate was a bit confused.
Surely he didn't think they were talking about Lin-xuemei.
Come on, she looked so innocent—how could she possibly confess to him?
Ji Ciye withdrew his gaze, tilted his head back for a sip of alcohol, and said in a light, indifferent tone, "No."
The words clearly lacked persuasiveness.
But seeing his casual, unconcerned demeanor made it obvious that even if she had confessed, it hadn't worked out.
Still, they were genuinely curious—wondering what kind of fairy would eventually tame this guy.
And take him down a peg or two from that proud, cocky attitude of his.
Just thinking about it was exciting.
Beside them, Du Weiwei suddenly thought of something and asked the girl next to her curiously, "Tongtong, how did you end up coming in with Ji Ciye?"
Lin Wutong was still lost in the previous question, and when suddenly asked, she blanked out for a moment.
But she quickly recovered, "I just happened to run into him in the hallway."
"I see." Du Weiwei grabbed a glass of fruit wine and handed it to her. "This has alcohol in it—can you drink?"
Lin Wutong loved sweet things.
Looking at the pretty-colored liquid in the glass, she really wanted to try it.
But she held back. "I'll just have water."
She knew she had a low tolerance for alcohol, so she'd better not make a fool of herself.
Though it was called singing, most of the guys had gone off to drink, only occasionally howling a few lines when the mood struck.
Someone handed the song list to Lin Wutong. "Lin-xuemei, feel free to pick whatever songs you like—don't be shy."
"Okay." Lin Wutong smiled and took it without refusing.
She was already pretty, but she looked very well-behaved and didn't talk much, giving off a bit of a distant vibe.
Now with that sweet smile, the guys grew bolder.
"Xuemei, can we exchange contact info?"
The moment the words left his mouth, he suddenly let out a yelp.
A microphone had been thrown into his arms.
He looked at the culprit in confusion. "Boss, why did you throw a microphone at me?"
Ji Ciye sat lazily with his legs crossed, one arm draped over the sofa's armrest in a relaxed, carefree manner.
His long, bony fingers held a beer can, swaying it idly back and forth, as he said with a half-smile, "Your song."
"Oh."
Right.
His attempt to get her contact info had been interrupted, so he had no choice but to drop it for now. He picked up the microphone from his arms and walked off to the side.
When the singing began, Lin Wutong used the dim lighting to glance toward the corner where the single sofa was.
Ji Ciye was tilting his head back, drinking.
As if sensing her gaze, he turned his eyes toward her while still in the middle of his drink.
Their eyes met unexpectedly.
Lin Wutong hastily looked away.
She didn't dare look around anymore, keeping her eyes fixed on the big screen.
The next song—a familiar melody began to play.
A microphone was raised. "Whose song is this?"
Lin Wutong had just requested this one. She hadn't expected her turn to come so soon.
Lin Wutong: "Mine."
Another teammate: "Boss's."
He had helped request it earlier.
A male and a female voice spoke at the same time.
The person holding the microphone reacted quickly, snatching up the other idle microphone from the table.
He handed them respectively to Lin Wutong, who had just spoken, and Ji Ciye, who was called "Boss."
Lin Wutong: "…"
She held the microphone in her hand, momentarily dazed.
So what was the situation now?
She was going to sing a duet with Ji Ciye?
Before she could think any further, the lyrics countdown had already begun.
She looked somewhat at a loss toward Ji Ciye. Ji Ciye raised an eyebrow, signaling her to start first.
It was like giving her a reassuring pill.
Lin Wutong turned her gaze to the big screen and slowly began humming along with the lyrics.
Her singing voice was just like her as a person—when love songs came from her lips, they carried a lingering tenderness.
Under the dim lighting, Ji Ciye's gaze fell on the girl without any attempt to conceal it.
The girl's profile had soft lines, and beneath her tall, delicate nose were glossy, full pink lips.
But what was most captivating were her clean, crystal-clear eyes.
She couldn't hide what was on her mind.
She looked very well-behaved.
When talking to people, she always smiled with a good temper.
Both obedient and soft.
Somewhat endearing.
Before the melody shifted, Lin Wutong looked over.
This song wasn't a male-female duet, so the lyrics weren't divided. She didn't know how many lines she should sing.
Ji Ciye understood the meaning in her eyes.
The corner of his lips curved slightly as he picked up the microphone and seamlessly picked up the next line from her trailing note.
His voice was low, magnetic, and pleasant, giving the song an entirely different feel when he sang it.
Deep yet still full of affection.
The singing continued. Lin Wutong let out a soft breath, and the back that had been tensed just moments ago relaxed slightly.
Singing with Ji Ciye—it wasn't as hard as she'd imagined.
After that, the two of them sang through the entire song together.
The moment the singing stopped, applause and cheers rang out one after another.
"Beautiful, sing another one!" Someone teased with a laugh. "Boss, this is the first time I've heard you patiently finish a whole song."
Usually he'd sing at most a short segment before stopping.
And even that short segment was sung with extreme perfunctoriness.
It even made them wonder if he'd only learned the first half just to show off.
Someone else joked, "Junior Lin sang so well—Boss definitely couldn't afford to drag her down."
"Exactly, exactly."
Just like that, Lin Wutong was pulled into the center of the conversation. She smiled but said nothing.
It was just that her heart was beating a little fast.
Du Weiwei, face full of excitement, told her to look at her phone. "Tongtong, look."
Lin Wutong lowered her eyes to look.
It was a photo Du Weiwei had taken.
The lighting was somewhat dim, and the photo wasn't very clear.
Even so, the two people looking at each other in the photo had still been captured.
It was when she and Ji Ciye were singing together, and their gazes had accidentally met.
She hadn't expected this moment to be caught by Du Weiwei.
Lin Wutong felt a bit embarrassed and wanted to say they should just delete it.
Before she could speak, Zhou Xuyan had already looked over. "Nice shot."
"Right?" Du Weiwei said, full of pride. "I think so too."
Zhou Xuyan: "Remember to send me a copy."
"Send it to you?" Du Weiwei was puzzled.
"Yeah." Zhou Xuyan smiled. "I'll forward it to A-Ye."
Lin Wutong: "…"
In the end, not only was the photo not deleted, it was also transferred from Du Weiwei's phone to both hers and Ji Ciye's phones.
After the gathering ended, Zhou Xuyan hadn't drunk, so he drove Du Weiwei and Lin Wutong back to school.
Just as they got in the car, the window was knocked on from outside.
Zhou Xuyan rolled down the window.
"A-Ye, what's up?"
Ji Ciye's voice was somewhat hoarse in the night. "I'm heading back to school too. Together."
It just so happened that he'd been drinking and wasn't in a convenient position to drive.
Zhou Xuyan: "Okay."
Du Weiwei had originally been sitting in the passenger seat. Hearing this, she made as if to unbuckle her seatbelt. "Senior, you sit in the front."
"No need." Ji Ciye declined casually.
He pulled open the rear door.
As soon as his long legs stepped up, Lin Wutong sensibly scooted over to the side.
Leaving him a large space.
Ji Ciye glanced at it.
"…"
Did he look like he would eat someone?