“What was the reason, then?” someone pressed.
Xie Chengyan lowered his eyelids slightly, hiding the emotions in his eyes. “I want to come back to China and develop my career.”
Seeing that he had no desire to say more, the man didn’t press him.
He merely chimed in, “Coming back to China is a good move. We’ll be counting on you to look after us from now on, Chengyan.”
Just then, a server knocked and came in to bring them drinks.
As the door opened, thunderous music poured into the room.
The sultry, fiery dance music was mixed with the sounds of people shouting, and everyone in the room frowned.
“This place Shizhou picked is way too noisy. I haven’t been anywhere like this in years.”
“You used to be quite the wild one when you were young. And now you’re complaining about a little noise?”
“The room’s pretty well soundproofed, though. It was quiet just now.”
Amid the cacophony, Xie Chengyan heard a woman outside shout at the top of her lungs, “Yitang, cheer up and have some fun! I’ll order eighteen male models for you to choose from in a minute!”
The music outside was so loud that her voice barely stood out.
But Xie Chengyan’s expression in the private room changed almost imperceptibly.
He lifted his half-lowered eyelids and glanced past the server toward the hallway, as if by chance.
The door was quickly shut, cutting off the noise outside.
He hadn’t seen anything.
The room and the world outside were like two separate places. The quiet returned at once.
Even after the server left, Xie Chengyan’s gaze remained fixed on the door.
Gu Shizhou nudged him. “What are you thinking about? Have a drink. I ordered the most expensive liquor.”
Xie Chengyan glanced at his glass, then abruptly got to his feet.
Gu Shizhou jumped. “Where are you going?”
“To the restroom.”
With that, Xie Chengyan strode toward the door.
Gu Shizhou called after him, “There’s a restroom in the room. That little door on the right!”
Xie Chengyan’s only reply was his resolute figure disappearing through the doorway.
A moment later, he was gone, leaving the others looking at one another.
“What’s gotten into him? Why insist on going outside?”
“Everyone influential in Jing City knows the Xie family heir is back in the country. If someone sees him, they’ll rush over to curry favor.”
“This place is crowded, and there are too many prying eyes. Someone’s bound to recognize him.”
“Still, Chengyan has never shown his face in public. No one should know what he looks like.”
“Forget it. Let’s drink. He’ll probably be back soon.”
…
Xie Chengyan searched around outside but didn’t find the person he was looking for.
He even wondered if he’d imagined hearing that name just now.
Or perhaps it was simply someone else with the same name.
He made a circuit around the booths outside, growing more and more irritable.
The deafening music made his ears ache, and quite a few people nearby deliberately bumped into him.
A heavily made-up woman grabbed his sleeve and tried to pull him toward the dance floor.
“Hey, handsome! Dance with me!”
Xie Chengyan shook her hand off. One glance from him was enough to make her shrink back.
He was starting to sweat, so he took off his leather jacket and carried it in his hand, revealing the black shirt beneath. Irritably, he undid the top two buttons.
Coming up empty only made him inexplicably more agitated.
Since he’d told the others he was going to the restroom, he headed in that direction.
Just as he reached the restroom entrance, a young woman came out.
She nearly ran straight into his arms.
Xie Chengyan reached out to steady her by the waist, then immediately let go and stepped aside to give her room.
Then he saw her face, and his eyes brightened slightly.
“Miss Qiao,” he said, his voice low and restrained.
Qiao Yitang looked up at him. She stared for two seconds before speaking. “Yannis?”
Her clear voice eased some of his agitation. Xie Chengyan gave a slight nod.
Qiao Yitang’s skin was very fair, but her cheeks were a little flushed, as if she’d had something to drink.
Perhaps she’d just washed her face, too. A droplet of water rested beneath her right eye, directly over her beauty mark.
It gave her a bright, crystalline loveliness.
Today, Qiao Yitang was wearing a white, fitted-waist dress, simple and graceful.
The hem covered her calves, leaving one slender, delicate ankle bare.
Xie Chengyan’s gaze lingered on her calves. They were so white they almost dazzled him.
He calmly shifted his gaze away from her ankle.
“Miss Qiao, what a coincidence.”
“It is,” Qiao Yitang said with a smile. “I didn’t expect to run into you here. You came back to China? Are you going back to the United Kingdom?”
“I don’t expect to go back anytime soon.”
“I see.”
Xie Chengyan was about to say something else when a young woman suddenly hurried over. “What took you so long? I thought you’d gotten lost in the restroom!”
Song Zhi came to stand beside Qiao Yitang. She looked Xie Chengyan up and down, then pursed her lips. “Who’s this?”
“A friend,” Qiao Yitang said.
Then she turned to Xie Chengyan. “We should get going.”
Her manner was polite but distant. She gave him a slight smile, then left with Song Zhi.
Xie Chengyan stood there for a while. The hand holding his jacket suddenly felt strangely empty.
Back at the booth, Song Zhi leaned close to Qiao Yitang’s ear and asked, “Who was that guy just now?”
“When did you make a friend I don’t know about? And you didn’t introduce me to a friend that handsome?”
“We’re not close,” Qiao Yitang said with a shrug. “He was a Chinese man I met when I went to the United Kingdom to see He Jingchuan.”
During the six years He Jingchuan studied in the United Kingdom, Qiao Yitang had visited him a few times.
She’d run into Yannis at the hotel.
He’d been flushed and disheveled, and had stumbled right into her arms. It looked as if he’d been drugged.
So Qiao Yitang had taken him to the hospital.
“After he woke up, I left. Later, when I went back to the United Kingdom, He Jingchuan still arranged for me to stay at that hotel, so I saw him a few more times.”
“I heard he’s from Jing City, too. Being in a foreign country, that made him feel a little familiar.”
“I see.” Song Zhi glanced back toward the restroom. “Still, you’ve met several times. You’re telling me you’re not close?”
“We really aren’t,” Qiao Yitang said with a wry smile.
“I don’t even know his real name. I only know his English name is Yannis. If I hadn’t run into him today, I’d have thought he was still in the United Kingdom.”
Song Zhi clicked her tongue and shook her head. “I haven’t seen a man this handsome in Jing City. What does he do?”
“I’m not sure. But his clothes look kind of familiar. I can’t remember where I’ve seen them…”
Song Zhi thought for a moment, then suddenly realized.
She slapped her thigh. “Of course! Black shirt, black pants, black shoes—he was dressed exactly like those male models just now!”
“Huh?” Qiao Yitang froze.
Song Zhi went on, “You only stayed at a hotel when you went to the United Kingdom to see He Jingchuan. But he lives there, and he still stays in hotels all the time. What does that tell you?”
Qiao Yitang was puzzled. “What?”
Song Zhi smiled as she spoke. “He’s even been drugged before. I bet he works in that kind of service. Maybe business is bad overseas now, so he came back to China to make a living.”
“With looks like his, he could be a top star if he became an actor. I knew Blue Dream’s male models were all top-notch!”