At the “Drink to Your Heart’s Content” club.
Inside the private room, the lights were a blur of red and green, with rotating, flashing beams falling upon a row of tall, muscular foreign male models with deep-set eyes and thick brows.
Looking around, every single one was a handsome man, standing tall with smiles on their faces, wearing only suit jackets that hinted at their abs and chest muscles.
Zhou Ran sat on the sofa with her legs crossed, turning to look at Pei Er beside her. “Which one catches your eye?”
Pei Er had been shaken awake the moment she got out of the car and had stumbled into the private room in a daze, without any chance to refuse.
Pei Er glanced at the row of exotic-looking male models, her gaze settling on one who appeared younger and more boyish.
Seeing this, the young model’s face lit up with surprise, and he tactfully walked over to sit beside Pei Er.
Zhou Ran didn’t dismiss the rest; she waved her hand generously, signaling for them all to stay.
“Hi, sister. I’m Shelley.” The model sat down next to Pei Er and poured her a glass of wine.
Despite being a foreigner, his Chinese was remarkably fluent.
The scent of his cologne drifted over—a citrusy fragrance, fresh and not overpowering. Pei Er hummed in acknowledgment, picked up her glass, and subtly shifted away.
She wasn’t used to being too close to strangers.
“You’ve never been to a place like this before, have you, sister?” Shelley asked with a smile, his delicate features giving off a distinctly younger-brother vibe that was quite relaxing.
“Yeah,” Pei Er said, glancing at him before asking aimlessly, “Are you even an adult?”
Shelley paused for a moment, looking at her gentle profile, and gave a slightly shy smile. “Don’t worry, sister. I’m already nineteen. I’m an adult.”
Pei Er made small talk: “Your Chinese is really good. Have you always lived in China?”
“Yeah, I’m actually mixed-race. My father is Russian, and my mother is Chinese.”
Pei Er: “How long have you been working here?”
Shelley smiled obediently. “Not long. I just came a couple of days ago. Today is actually my first time being called out.”
“Oh…”
Pei Er ran out of things to say.
She wasn’t much of a talker to begin with.
Just then, the model sitting beside Zhou Ran suggested playing dice—betting on high or low. The loser had to drink as a penalty or choose to play a game instead.
They brought out a few dice cups.
The first round started with Pei Er. She pressed one hand on the dice cup, shook it a few times, thought for a moment, and said, “I bet low.”
“Open it, open it, open it!”
Pei Er lifted the dice cup. Zhou Ran took a look and clapped her hands, laughing. “Four, four, five—high. You lost.”
“Game or drink? Pick one.”
Someone placed the game cards face down on the table for her to choose from.
Most of the games involved interactions between men and women—things like passing wine with a glass held between your teeth, transferring a card by mouth, kissing, hugging, and other provocative acts.
Pei Er chose to drink.
Amid the crowd’s cheering, she raised her glass and downed it in one go, then flipped the glass over and said with gusto, “Bottoms up.”
“Great drinking skills, sister!” Shelley clapped, cheering her on. “Again, again!”
When it was Zhou Ran’s turn to lose, she boldly bit the rim of a glass and fed wine to the model beside her, even copping a feel of his abs along the way, which made the model blush deeply with embarrassment.
Pei Er was having terrible luck today. She kept placing bets but lost every single time.
After chugging five glasses in a row, a flush crept up her fair cheeks, and even her ears were burning hot.
Seeing how she kept avoiding the games, Zhou Ran squinted at her and raised an eyebrow. “I say, Comrade Er Er, how about I call you a car to the children’s playground? We’re already here—how about playing something a proper adult would play?”
Pei Er gave a helpless smile. “Give me a break, will you? I really can’t handle it.”
Zhou Ran looked her up and down, then suddenly asked, “Are you still with that mysterious boyfriend of yours?”
“What boyfriend…” Pei Er paused, looking at her in surprise.
The colored lights spun around, landing on Zhou Ran’s teasing expression.
“Keep pretending. Do you really think I’m an idiot? Back in school, I already knew. You were secretly seeing some mysterious man the whole time.”
“I just never called you out on it since you clearly didn’t want to talk about it.” Zhou Ran let out a lazy chuckle, speaking with conviction. “Did you really think you could pull the wool over my eyes?”
Pei Er hadn’t expected that something she thought was so well-hidden had already been seen through. All those times she’d racked her brain for excuses to go see Shang Zhixing—just thinking about it now made her cringe.
She scratched her forehead. “How did you know?”
“You don’t get it, do you? A woman who’s been loved is very different. You have no idea how radiant you looked back then. Did you really think I was blind?”
Pei Er opened her mouth, wanting to defend herself but not knowing where to start.
“I…”
Seeing her at a loss for words, Zhou Ran patted her on the shoulder. “Don’t be so tense. I understand. You have your reasons for not saying anything.”
Pei Er nodded, only for Zhou Ran’s next words to hit her right in the heart.
“That’s how secret relationships are.”
Pei Er couldn’t argue with that at all. She and Shang Zhixing really were in a secret relationship.
Zhou Ran leaned back on the sofa, took a sip of her drink, and said in a casual tone, “I’ve seen this kind of thing plenty growing up. Almost everyone in the Zhou family has a few little secrets. So don’t put so much pressure on yourself. I get it. Just live your life happily, that’s all that matters.”
Zhou Ran guessed that Pei Er’s reluctance to talk about it was probably because their relationship wasn’t something that could be made public, or because the man’s identity couldn’t be revealed.
Either way, it came down to that.
She never pried into secrets others didn’t want to share, nor did she dig for answers to the bottom of things.
Maybe asking would do no one any good.
Zhou Ran was carefree and took everything lightly. After Pei Er heard her out, her originally gloomy mood lifted a bit.
“Thanks for cheering me up, but I really don’t play games.”
Zhou Ran glanced at her, smiled, and leaned against her shoulder. “Hey, tell me—is that guy handsome?”
Pei Er nodded slowly. “Not bad.”
“What about his build? Have you had a taste?”
The question was blunt, and Pei Er froze, lowering her gaze before picking up her glass and taking a sip to steady herself.
“Mhm.”
Zhou Ran smirked. “Big? Does he know what he’s doing?”
Pei Er choked and coughed, completely unable to withstand her relentless interrogation. She said to her, “Um, let Shelley play a couple rounds for me. I’m going to the restroom.”
Zhou Ran gave her a speechless look, clicked her tongue, and waved her hand. “Go on, go on.”
Pei Er stood up, pushed open the door, and left the rowdy private booth, heading toward the restroom on the side.
As she was passing the men’s restroom, a tall man with a buzz cut walked out.
“Hey.”
The man suddenly called out to Pei Er. She furrowed her brows and looked over, taking in his face.
He was wearing a casual athletic tracksuit, tall and sturdy, with wheat-colored skin and sharp, handsome features—rugged and upright, with a hint of roguish charm.
He asked, “You look really familiar. Have I seen you before?”
Pei Er assumed he was some drunk trying to hit on her and replied irritably, “I don’t know you.”
“Hey, what’s your name?” the man asked again.
Pei Er ignored him and quickly walked into the women’s restroom.
Xu Boyuan scratched his head in the hallway, a little dazed, muttering to himself, “Never seen her?”
In a luxurious private booth, there was no harsh, pounding music. A few men were playing cards and chatting with laughter.
Xu Boyuan pushed the door open and plopped down crookedly next to Shang Zhixing, leaning his head back against the sofa with a hiss, his face full of frustration.
“I just saw a girl who looks really familiar, but I can’t for the life of me remember where I’ve seen her before.”
Qi Jiahui, the young master of the Qi family, chuckled and teased, “Then why didn’t you ask? What if she’s one of your long-lost lovers?”
“Impossible.” Xu Boyuan immediately retorted. “That kind of girl looks well-behaved. I never mess with that type—too much trouble.”
“There’s a woman even you, Second Young Master Xu, wouldn’t dare touch?”
Xu Boyuan rubbed his face and stared at the ceiling in thought. The next second, he slapped his thigh.
“Brother Shang, I remember you had a little girlfriend before, didn’t you?”