1 – Reunion in the Bar
[Kissing the Wild Rose, The Obsessive Master Clings to Me] – Chapter 1: Reunion at the Bar
The night was pitch black, with the sound of rain pattering softly outside the window.
Inside the dimly lit bedroom, the light was faint.
On the soft, plush bed, a girl curled up on one edge, half of her coldly beautiful face buried in the pillow, a thin layer of sweat covering her forehead.
“Ling Ling, be good.”
The sheer black skirt swayed endlessly, the ends of her hair lightly brushing behind her head in a faint arc. The sweat seeping from her body soaked her clothes, and the faint scent of cedar from the man lingered at her nostrils.
The intoxicating, intimate atmosphere in the air was overwhelming.
“Ling Ling—”
The man’s low, husky, and tender voice echoed repeatedly in her ear, his affectionate eyes filled with heart-stirring adoration.
…
“Buzz—”
Her phone suddenly vibrated, startling Qiao Ling awake from her dream. Rubbing her temples, she sat up and leaned against the headboard, her cool voice tinged with the hoarseness of just waking up. “Hello, Wanli.”
“Darling, why are you sleeping again, hic… Anyway, come save me at Insomnia, quick!” The music in the bar was deafening, and Yu Wanli’s voice was slurred.
Qiao Ling frowned. “Got it.”
The two had grown up together as childhood friends and confidantes, always there for each other at a moment’s notice. After a quick wash, she hurried out the door.
It had been raining in Shengjing for several days. Despite it being early summer, the temperature felt as low as late spring.
Before ten o’clock, the streets were already deserted.
Qiao Ling lounged lazily in the driver’s seat, one hand propping up her head, the other resting on the steering wheel. Unconsciously, her mind drifted back to that deeply etched, intimate dream. Her eyes darkened, and she slammed her foot on the accelerator.
Fifteen minutes later.
A black G-Class parked at the entrance of Insomnia. Unlike the desolate streets outside, the opulent bar was bustling with activity, with luxury cars parked everywhere.
Qiao Ling got out of the car and walked slowly toward the entrance.
The security guard at the door, recognizing her familiar, coldly beautiful face, quickly approached her. “Young Miss, you’re here.”
Qiao Ling gave a faint “Mm” and walked straight into the bar.
She wore a dark green halter maxi dress, standing tall and slender, her skin dazzlingly fair. Her cold brown, slightly wavy long hair cascaded loosely behind her. Beneath her willow-like brows were captivating almond-shaped eyes, slightly elongated and upturned at the corners, with an indescribable air of noble elegance in her expression.
The hem of her dress swayed gently with her movements, making the lifelike green bamboo pattern wrapped around her slender, delicate ankles stand out.
Qiao Ling’s presence inexplicably added a touch of sophistication to this decadent place. Everyone turned their gaze toward her, their eyes filled with unconcealed admiration.
The Qiao Family’s young miss was famously known in Shengjing as a cold beauty. However, those in the city’s second-generation circles knew that the term “cold” only applied to her innate elegance and stunningly beautiful appearance.
Qiao Ling had a wild spirit, with a wolf-like ferocity in her bones. She knew how to have fun but never crossed the line.
No one could tame her, not even the Zhou Family’s ruthless and obsessive Young Master, who was among the many admirers at her feet.
Yet, despite being the Qiao Family’s adopted daughter, this very Qiao Ling was cherished and pampered by the young masters and misses of Shengjing’s top-tier wealthy families, treated like an enviable little princess.
The bar was filled with energy, dimly lit with pulsating music, as people danced wildly.Qiao Ling was accustomed to the gazes directed at her. She walked straight toward the familiar corner, her eyes sweeping over the boisterous crowd in the booth before finally settling on Yu Wanli, whose eyes were hazy as she puffed on a cigarette, lost in a cloud of smoke.
“Hey, Lingling’s here!” someone at the table called out.
Yu Wanli’s eyes lit up. She abruptly stood up, tossed the cigarette butt into the ashtray, and staggered over to Qiao Ling, wrapping her in a tight embrace. “Darling, you finally decided to come out.”
Ever since Old Master Qiao passed away, Qiao Ling had shut herself in her room except for the usual mourning rituals. Worried about her, Yu Wanli had resorted to a little white lie to lure her out.
“You lied to me again,” Qiao Ling said with a helpless smile.
The two of them sat together on the sofa, and the people at the table immediately started teasing them. “Lingling, Wanli’s been losing all night. Are you going to help her win back some face? If not, all the drinks on this table are hers to finish.”
Qiao Ling glanced at the table, which was crowded with bottles of imported liquor.
At the same time, Yu Wanli’s playful scolding rang in her ears. “Chi Nian, is your mouth coated with furnace ash? Why do you have to expose me right off the bat?”
“Hey, no matter what, you’re not getting out of drinking today,” Chi Nian retorted, raising a broken eyebrow and curling his lips into a roguish grin as he leaned over and pushed the bottles of liquor toward them.
Qiao Ling’s brow twitched. She picked up the dice cup on the table and parted her red lips. “Let’s go.”
In the days since her grandfather’s passing, she had been feeling suffocated. Since she was here now, she might as well let loose.
“Oho, Lingling’s getting serious,” Chi Nian said, his eyes gleaming with amusement as he leaned forward and casually picked up his own dice cup. “Let’s play a simple game of Seven-Eight-Nine. I’ll take on Lingling, and the rest of you, watch closely.”
The crowd erupted in laughter. “Young Master Chi, you’d better pray for luck. Lingling is a master at shaking dice!”
“I’m on a hot streak today. Who wins and who loses is still up in the air.”
“Then, Third Brother, go easy on me today.”
Chi Nian had grown up with the two girls. In their circle, Qiao Ling was the youngest, so she sometimes called him “Third Brother.”
The two exchanged a glance and began shaking their dice cups simultaneously. Some of the onlookers at the table started pouring drinks into glasses, while others excitedly chanted, “Nine, nine, nine!”
The drinking game Seven-Eight-Nine was all about thrill. With two dice in the cup, rolling a seven meant the other player could add liquor to your glass. Rolling an eight meant drinking half the liquor on the table, and rolling a nine meant drinking all of it.
Dim lights occasionally flickered in the corner, and amidst the clinking of glasses, an ambiguous atmosphere seeped into people’s hearts.
Qiao Ling’s indifferent gaze swept over the diverse crowd of men and women in the bar as she absentmindedly set down her dice cup. As Chi Nian had predicted, his luck was indeed good today—Qiao Ling rolled a nine on her very first try.
Even more unexpectedly, in the following rounds, Qiao Ling rolled nothing but nines!
The people at the table were utterly stunned. Given Qiao Ling’s usual skill, they had every reason to suspect she was doing this on purpose!
Chi Nian and Yu Wanli exchanged a look. They had conspired to lure Qiao Ling out to unwind, but this was an unforeseen twist!
“A bet is a bet. Everyone, I’ll take Wanli’s share,” Qiao Ling said with an air of nonchalance as she picked up a glass. The fiery liquor burned her throat, but she seemed to have lost her sense of taste, her expression unreadable as she reached for the next glass.Chi Nian frowned and was about to step in to stop her when Yu Wanli kicked him. He looked over and saw Yu Wanli shaking her head at him.
Ever since Grandpa Qiao passed away, the Qiao Family had been thrown into chaos. The Qiao family members were all busy dividing the assets, leaving Lingling as the only one handling the funeral arrangements. Grandpa Qiao was Lingling’s only remaining family in this world, and during this time, she had been living under more than just pressure.
One glass of strong liquor after another went down, and gradually, Qiao Ling’s cold, emotionless eyes grew hazy. At some point, the others at the table joined in on this punishment that didn’t belong to them.
They held their glasses, swayed their hips, and the lively, boisterous atmosphere numbed someone’s heart—who could say whose?
Qiao Ling shook her dizzy head, said goodbye to Yu Wanli, and stumbled unsteadily toward the restroom.
…
The hallway leading to the restroom was relatively quieter. Qiao Ling splashed some water on her face and leaned against the corridor entrance, borrowing a cigarette from a passing girl.
With the cigarette between her lips, she only then realized she was missing a light.
Just then, someone happened to walk by. Qiao Ling lifted the corner of her eye, her cool voice carrying a mesmerizing laziness, “Hey handsome, got a light?”
“Huh?” The young man was taken aback, glanced at her, then hurriedly pulled out a lighter, his face flushing as he handed it to her.
Qiao Ling lowered her head slightly. The flickering blue flame illuminated her stunningly beautiful face.
Suddenly, Qiao Ling felt a scorching gaze fixed on her.
She looked up, through the wisps of smoke curling from her red lips, past the young man in front of her, and met the eyes of the person watching her. Her brown pupils trembled sharply.
A tall man came into view—a simple black shirt, gray trousers, the open collar revealing sharply defined collarbones, skin pale to the point of sickness, and a face so bewitching it seemed almost demonic, wearing a faint smile that carried a hint of elusive wickedness. An aura of chilling, oppressive darkness surrounded him, sending shivers down the spine.
Tsk, too much to drink, and now the person from my dreams shows up.
Without any change in expression, Qiao Ling withdrew her gaze, raised a hand to pinch the bridge of her nose, thanked the young man, and turned to walk back to the booth.
Suddenly, a cool touch fell on her shoulder, and a familiar, crisp, faint fragrance filled the air.
A low, husky, gentle voice came from behind her, “Lingling.”
Qiao Ling paused, turned to look, and met the man’s deep, profound eyes. She stared at him silently, her brown pupils dark and unreadable, as if lost in thought.
After a long moment.
She slowly turned around, dropped the cigarette from her fingers, rose on her tiptoes, wrapped her arms around the man’s neck, and lightly kissed his crimson lips. Smiling, she said, “Master Jin, you really are a persistent ghost, aren’t you?”