At the mention of this, Fan Yixing’s face immediately darkened. “Play what? Never played.”
Ku Nan looked at Fan Yixing’s face and, seemingly reminded of something, chuckled softly, teasingly saying, “We can’t play. We’re the same type.”
“Oh…”
Qin Qiqi and Mu Ci responded meaningfully, their eyes exchanging frantic glances. In the silence, they had already pieced together most of the story.
Fan Yixing couldn’t stand the awkward atmosphere and snapped, “Are we just going to stand here talking? If we’re not playing, I’m leaving!”
Ku Nan stepped aside to make way, gesturing with a “please” motion. “We saved a good spot for you over there.”
Not far away, Shi Na, Jin Xiaxuan, and their group were drinking, watching them coldly.
Jin Xiaxuan, still resentful about what happened that day, asked, “Na Na, can you really swallow this anger?”
Shi Na gritted her teeth. “Every time I see her now, I want to shove her head into a toilet!”
But for now, she had no choice but to endure it.
Mu Ci and Ku Nan’s relationship was clearly not ordinary. Since Shi Na was studying design under Ku Nan, she naturally couldn’t afford to offend Mu Ci, at least not openly.
Thinking of this, she glanced at a frail figure in the corner and grabbed a tissue box, throwing it over. “You, come here.”
The frail figure shrank back, then timidly shuffled over. “Na Na… what is it…”
In shallow, insincere cliques like Shi Na’s, there was little genuine affection—mostly superficial pretense and forced interactions. Naturally, there were always marginalized figures.
An Youyi, timid and submissive, was the marginalized figure in their group.
Shi Na arrogantly gestured toward Mu Ci with her chin. “See that girl in the red dress? Go over there now and spill a drink on her.”
“Huh?”
An Youyi glanced timidly in that direction. “I… I don’t dare.”
She had joined Shi Na’s circle because of Ku Nan. If Shi Na didn’t dare to do something, she certainly didn’t dare either.
Hearing this, Shi Na glared at her fiercely. “Do you still want to join our studio? I’m not asking you to do it openly. Just walk over and pretend to accidentally spill your drink!”
An Youyi was timid and cowardly, but under the group’s veiled threats and mockery, she finally picked up a glass of red wine and walked over.
Mu Ci was sitting in a curved booth.
Ku Nan was on her left, and Fan Yixing was on her right.
For some reason, the atmosphere felt strange, with undercurrents swirling beneath the surface.
What exactly was swirling, she wasn’t sure.
Qin Qiqi, oblivious to the tension, downed a glass of wine and waved her hand grandly.
“Ku Nan, since it’s your birthday today, I prepared a big gift for you. I guarantee you’ll like it… Judging by the time, it should be arriving soon.”
Fan Yixing smirked sarcastically. “A big gift indeed. Be careful not to exhaust yourself and die young.”
Ku Nan’s gaze drifted past Mu Ci and landed on Fan Yixing’s handsome profile. He smiled faintly.
“Exhausting myself is impossible. I’m quite picky—not just anyone will do.”
Fan Yixing rolled his eyes.
Not picky about people, just picky about positions—absolutely refusing to be the bottom.
Before Qin Qiqi’s carefully chosen “big gift” arrived, someone else appeared instead.
Mu Ci lifted her gaze to see a thin, frail girl approaching with stiff, awkward steps, then pretending to trip, stumbling directly toward her.
As she stumbled, the red wine glass in her hand tilted to the side.
Mu Ci’s cool gaze met hers, and their eyes locked.
Instantly, An Youyi’s half-spilled glass of red wine froze awkwardly in mid-air.
An Youyi was stunned: ??
This… this girl is so beautiful!
Mu Ci’s red lips curved into a beautiful arc: “Your acting still needs practice—your expression is stiff, your movements awkward. Remember, next time you throw wine on someone, be fast, fierce, and precise.”
Her little trick was exposed, but the girl didn’t get angry. Instead, she kindly offered advice.
An Youyi’s face instantly turned as red as a cherry tomato: “S-sorry!”
She bowed at a ninety-degree angle, apologized, and fled.
Ku Nan frowned: “Where did this person come from? Causing trouble here.”
Qin Qiqi: “We haven’t seen her before either. Why would she throw red wine on Xiao Ci?”
Mu Ci glanced meaningfully in Shi Na’s direction: “If the dog doesn’t dare to come out and bite, it sends someone else.”
“…”
The others didn’t understand the meaning behind her words and were about to ask when a waiter approached with juice.
Mu Ci thanked him, picked up the glass of juice, and sniffed it.
Qin Qiqi also confirmed, asking the waiter: “This isn’t mango juice, is it?”
Waiter: “It’s freshly squeezed orange juice.”
Hearing this, Mu Ci finally took a sip with relief.
She was allergic to mangoes, severely so, so she always had to confirm with juices of similar colors.
Someone nearby overheard their conversation, quietly stood up, and walked away.
Not long after, the dozen or so exceptionally handsome guys Qin Qiqi had found all arrived.
Fan Yixing had come with the mindset of picking up someone, but somehow, ever since he saw Ku Nan, his thoughts kept drifting unconsciously to that night…
He didn’t even feel like checking out the handsome guys anymore.
Ku Nan’s gaze kept unintentionally drifting toward Fan Yixing’s face, wanting to see his reaction.
But his expression remained cold and indifferent, as if he didn’t care much about the situation.
He took a light sip of wine and didn’t refuse Qin Qiqi’s enthusiastic gesture.
The dozen or so handsome guys instantly crowded around, pushing Fan Yixing aside.
“Damn!”
Fan Yixing was so frustrated that he drank his wine, threw the glass aside, and accidentally knocked over Mu Ci’s juice.
“Where did all this temper come from?”
Mu Ci turned to look at him, then glanced at Ku Nan surrounded by the handsome guys: “Feeling uncomfortable? Jealous?”
Fan Yixing suddenly laughed: “I eat sugar, salt, rice, and oil, but I don’t eat jealousy, okay? I’m just annoyed—”
He glanced disdainfully to the side: “What kind of taste does Qin Qiqi have? All these ugly guys, wasting my time!”
With that, he stood up unhappily: “I’m leaving. This is boring!”
Out of sight, out of mind.
As soon as Fan Yixing left, Ku Nan suddenly straightened up, pushed away the person leaning against him, and said coldly: “Alright, all of you step back.”
Qin Qiqi widened her eyes: “Ku, the great designer, out of so many… you didn’t like a single one?”
Ku Nan looked in the direction Fan Yixing had left and said calmly: “Thanks, it’s a bit stuffy. I’m going out for some fresh air.”
With two people gone from the booth, Qin Qiqi was a bit confused.
A young male model leaned over: “Boss Qi, what now? Can we leave?”
Qin Qiqi couldn’t figure out Ku Nan’s thoughts, but since they were already here, she said: “Forget it, you guys keep me company and drink with me.”
Not forgetting her best friend even in good times, she pointed at a few of the younger guys: “You guys, go keep my best friend company.”
Mu Ci picked up the freshly served orange juice, took several sips, and quickly waved her hand: “You have fun. I can’t enjoy this.”
After marriage, she strictly adhered to marital virtues.
“Marriage is so boring! Sooner or later, I’ll separate you from that little duck!”
Qin Qiqi muttered something, then turned back to drinking flower wine with the handsome guys.
_
Meanwhile, An Youyi was dragged into the restroom, her slender back slamming hard against the wall, the pain bringing tears to her eyes.
Two people held her down on either side, leaving her completely immobilized.
“Trying to go tattle?”
Shi Na sneered, pinching her chin and forcing it upward. “Do you even know that woman, and you’re already trying to curry favor with her?”
An Youyi was timid by nature, but she could tell right from wrong. She felt the woman in the red dress was definitely a good person.
So when she overheard someone saying the woman was allergic to mangoes and planning to cause trouble, her first instinct was to warn her.
But she wasn’t clever—the moment she turned around, Shi Na and her gang caught her.
Tears welling in her eyes, she stubbornly retorted, “I’m not currying favor! I’m helping a friend!”
“Friend?” Shi Na scoffed. “You’re a nobody designer with no background or connections. You think she’d even look at you as a friend?”
An Youyi was completely crushed by those words.
It was true—she wasn’t part of the upper-class circle at all. Why would the woman ever see her as a friend?
Her eyes reddened, and she fell silent.
Shi Na shot a glance at the others. “You two keep an eye on her. Don’t let her leave until the party’s over.”
With that, she gave a sinister smile.
Mu Ci, oh Mu Ci, act all high and mighty now. Let’s see how smug you’ll be after tonight.