The next day.
After spending the entire morning helping out at home, it was soon time for Xu Ming to head to the gathering.
Looking at the 1,500 Points displayed on his interface, Xu Ming felt completely confident as he rode his little electric scooter out of the house.
Jiangcheng, a luxurious private room in a KTV.
[Girl, I don’t want to see you suffer the same pain.]
[So I learned how to spoil you.]
[Again and again, time after time, I misunderstood you.]
Passionate music echoed throughout the room while Zhou Cheng laughed and chatted with his friends over a game of cards.
When Xu Ming pushed open the door, he realized that he was the last one to arrive.
Fortunately, he was not late, and no one seemed to care.
“Pretty punctual, Xu Ming…”
“Come on, sit over here.”
Seeing that Xu Ming had arrived right on time, Zhou Cheng looked quite pleased and enthusiastically called him over to the sofa.
“There are drinks and snacks on the table. Just grab whatever you want…”
“But if you want to play cards, you’ll have to wait a bit. There are quite a few people here, and we’re still in the middle of a game.”
Zhou Cheng took good care of Xu Ming.
Afraid that his deskmate might feel awkward and have trouble fitting in, he deliberately explained everything in detail.
“All right, but I don’t play this…”
“Want to play billiards, Brother Zhou Cheng?”
Xu Ming glanced around the room and realized that he barely knew anyone there.
There were very few students from his own school. Most of the people here were from the vocational high school.
While Xu Ming was thinking, Zhou Cheng responded from beside him.
“Oh? I didn’t expect that, Xu Ming. You actually know how to play billiards…”
“What a coincidence. Someone else over there was just looking for someone to play with. You can play with him first…”
“I’ll join you later. I haven’t finished this game yet…”
Zhou Cheng explained with a smile, then turned his head toward Zhou Kai, who was playing with his phone nearby.
“Hey, Akai, didn’t you want to play billiards?”
“Xu Ming wants to play too. Go play with him.”
“Sure,” Zhou Kai replied with a nod.
After getting up and greeting Xu Ming, he headed toward the billiard table first.
Xu Ming followed close behind.
As the two prepared to break, Lin An, who was sitting on the sofa, suddenly glanced over with curiosity.
Hmm?
He knows how to play billiards?!
No way…
How is that possible…?
A trace of surprise abruptly flashed through the girl’s eyes as she absentmindedly fiddled with the cards in her hand.
Her preconceived impression of Xu Ming made Lin An deeply skeptical. She simply could not believe that a quiet, withdrawn guy like him would know how to play billiards.
As if curious, or perhaps even expectant, Lin An kept a close watch on him.
It’s fake. He’s definitely pretending!
A quiet, boring guy like him knows how to play billiards?
Not even a dog would believe that!
Once again, Lin An confidently reached her own conclusion about Xu Ming.
Under the warm lighting, she concealed the disdain in her eyes and patiently waited for Xu Ming to expose himself.
However, things did not go as she expected.
Lin An kept glancing over until her eyes nearly went crooked, yet the scene she had been waiting for never happened.
Xu Ming and Zhou Kai played smoothly and naturally. There was not the slightest hint of awkwardness or inexperience in Xu Ming’s movements.
“Hey, Lin An, it’s your turn.”
“Oh… Okay…”
Her companion’s voice abruptly snapped Lin An back to reality.
Unidentifiable emotions churned wildly in the depths of her eyes as she absentmindedly played the appropriate card.
This…
This shouldn’t be possible!
…
“Mm, An’an, want to go to the restroom?”
“Sure.”
After everyone had played cards for a while, one of Lin An’s friends suddenly said she wanted to use the restroom.
Without hesitation, Lin An went with her and left the private room.
“Hehe… An’an, where’s that classmate of yours, Zhou Cheng, from?”
“He seems pretty nice. He’s generous, and he’s pretty good-looking too…”
In the hallway, Lin An and her friend from the vocational high school had just come out of the restroom and were chatting as they walked.
“Oh… What? You’ve only met him once, and you’ve already fallen for him?”
“Unfortunately, I don’t know where he’s from…”
“But you should tone down that lovestruck look of yours. Otherwise, if you later discover he’s actually a terrible guy, you’ll be the one suffering.”
The two chatted back and forth, laughing as they walked.
Just as they were about to return to the private room, Lin An happened to run into another familiar face.
“What a coincidence, Lin An. Looks like we meet again…”
“You really made me work hard to find you!”
Fuck!
The moment Lin An saw who it was, her expression darkened, and she could not help cursing inwardly.
She frowned in disgust and gritted her teeth as she glared at him.
“Zhang Long, are you a freaking piece of sticky plaster? You follow me wherever I go and just won’t let go. Aren’t you disgusting enough already?!”
“Fuck, you filthy bitch! Now you’re trying to turn this around on me?!”
“Fuck you! Cut the bullshit and pay me back!!!”
“Give me back every cent I’ve spent on you over the past two years, right now. Otherwise, you’re going to regret it today.”
Zhang Long, already consumed by rage, wasted no more words. He stepped forward and grabbed one of Lin An’s hands.
“Get lost!!!”
Fortunately, Lin An had learned from their previous encounter and was clearly prepared this time.
Just as Zhang Long tried to seize her other hand, Lin An raised her foot and, without the slightest hesitation, kicked straight at the vulnerable spot between his legs. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
“Fuuuck!”
The indescribable agony made Zhang Long instantly release her.
“I… Hiss…”
Thud!
Zhang Long collapsed to the floor, clutching his crotch with both hands and curling up like a shrimp.
His face turned deathly pale, and his features twisted so violently from the pain that they seemed tied into a knot.
“Zhang En, let’s go!”
Seizing the opportunity, Lin An hurriedly called to her friend and fled the scene.
“Oh… An’an, let’s go…”
After the two quickly disappeared, Zhang Long remained on the floor for quite some time before finally struggling back to his feet.
He pulled out his phone and slowly walked into the men’s restroom while making a call.
“Hello, Pang Wen. Come over here. Help me corner someone.”
…
After escaping Zhang Long’s harassment, Lin An did not choose to go home immediately. Instead, carefree as ever, she returned to the private room.
“What happened? Why did it take you two so long to use the restroom?”
“Heh… I thought you’d left without saying goodbye.”
Seeing Lin An and Zhang En finally return, Zhou Cheng asked them a few questions in confusion.
Zhang En was about to tell him the truth, but Lin An immediately stopped her with a look.
Lin An smiled and replied to Zhou Cheng with a slightly apologetic expression, “Mm, sorry for keeping you waiting. We ran into someone we knew and chatted for a while. Sorry about that.”
“Oh, so that’s what happened…”
“All right, come on. Pick some songs…”
“Let’s keep playing.”
On the other side of the room, Xu Ming, who had been playing billiards the entire time, suddenly looked toward Lin An in confusion.
What’s going on…?
Zhang Long didn’t follow her back here???
Looking at the current situation, which had clearly deviated from the original novel’s plotline, Xu Ming was suddenly stunned.
The butterfly effect…?
Or is it something else…?
Why is the plotline starting to deviate again?!
Xu Ming clearly remembered that in the original novel, Lin An was supposed to return from the restroom at this point, with Zhang Long following her all the way back to the private room.
Afterward, the protagonist would step forward to defend her against the injustice…
But looking at things now…
Why does it seem like nothing happened at all?
Mm… That’s fine too…
If nothing happens, it’ll make things much easier…
Heh, looks like I can earn these 600 Points without doing anything…
Good thing I didn’t exchange my Points for a skill!
…