Before getting off work, Sheng Yanqing only said one sentence—that he had an “outing” tonight—before taking her to Yanse.
Chi Ruanli thought it was for a business discussion. But after they entered the private room and exchanged some polite greetings, the men started drinking.
Drinking alone was boring. Xu Wenzhi, the so-called “nightclub little prince,” was the best at livening things up.
He had someone bring over a deck of cards and waved everyone over.
Then, with a roguish grin, he scanned the group. “You all know King’s Game, right?”
The men thought he had something new, but when they realized it was the same old game, they all sneered in disdain.
Xu Wenzhi didn’t care. “The game doesn’t need to be new—as long as it’s fun!”
He then looked at the three women present. Qin Chunyi had grown up with them, so she naturally knew the game well. Yang Yang had played it with her brothers before. Only Chi Ruanli looked completely clueless.
Xu Wenzhi raised an eyebrow. “Little sister, you’ve never played?”
Chi Ruanli nodded a little embarrassedly.
“So well-behaved. Never played? That’s normal,” Xu Wenzhi clicked his tongue.
He then explained the rules: among the deck, only one card was the “King,” while the rest were numbered cards.
Eight people would draw one card each. Whoever got the “King” could assign any two numbers to do something.
Chi Ruanli nodded in understanding, and the first round began.
Starting from Sheng Yanqing, each person drew a card clockwise.
After drawing, Chi Ruanli carefully looked around to make sure no one peeked before she revealed her number.
It was “7”—her lucky number.
Xu Wenzhi got the “King” card in the first round, and the others were somewhat unconvinced.
“What, cheating?” Song Monian said calmly.
He took off the red bracelet from his wrist and rolled the beads between his fingers with his left hand, looking like he was reciting scriptures.
“Of course not. You all have sharp eyes. If I cheated, I’d be asking for death,” Xu Wenzhi replied with a grin.
The men stared at him expressionlessly. They all knew he had cheated.
But since it was just a game among friends, no one bothered to expose him.
Xu Wenzhi knew they were giving him face and cleared his throat before continuing.
“Alright, let’s not start too intense. Then—2 should eat a cherry from 6’s mouth, but… without touching the lips.”
He grinned mischievously.
It sounded simple, but the cherry was small, and not touching lips made it pure torture.
Luckily, Chi Ruanli didn’t draw either number and let out a small sigh of relief, ready to watch the fun.
But Xu Wenzhi, as if he had clairvoyance, announced that 2 was Yan Yiqian, and 6 was Qin Chunyi.
For Yan Yiqian, it was pure torture—far less satisfying than a kiss.
Qin Chunyi was used to being wild and didn’t hesitate. She casually held a cherry between her lips.
Her already kiss-swollen red lips looked even more alluring, her white teeth lightly biting the red fruit. She shot Yan Yiqian a flirtatious glance, eyes full of spring-like charm, making his blood run hot.
Receiving her gaze, Yan Yiqian sat up straight, wrapped his arms around her slender waist, and leaned in.
The moment his lips touched the cherry, her fragrance rushed into his nose. He couldn’t hold back anymore—he caught the cherry and kissed her directly.
The others turned away in unison, unable to watch.
“Hey… Old Yan, you’re cheating,” Xu Wenzhi said disgustedly. “Penalty drink.”
He poured a full glass of whiskey. Just the smell was enough to make one cough.
That amount would knock anyone down even if it didn’t make them drunk.
After a moment, Yan Yiqian stood up looking fully satisfied, wiped the cherry juice from his lips, and downed the glass without hesitation.
“Good alcohol tolerance!” Jing Xun and Xu Wenzhi clapped sarcastically.
Then they saw Yan Yiqian pull Qin Chunyi into his arms, burying his face in her neck.
“Wife, they’re forcing me to drink.”
The alcohol-scented breath was heavy. Qin Chunyi pushed him away in disgust and corrected him, “Ex-wife!”
Yan Yiqian pouted but didn’t argue. He only tightened his hold and kept calling her “wife.”
Qin Chunyi rolled her eyes repeatedly but didn’t push him away again.
Chi Ruanli watched with great interest, like she was reading a melodramatic novel—broken romance, reconciliation, obsessive chasing… her eyes sparkled with curiosity. She really wanted to know their story.
Those two were already “dead” to everyone present.
Xu Wenzhi, annoyed, kicked them out of the game, and the remaining six began a new round.
This time, Song Monian got the “King” card. His dark, beautiful eyes glinted as he scanned the group and slowly said, “3 and 4—kiss.”
Chi Ruanli, who had drawn number 4, scrunched her face. Wasn’t this getting too intense!
She was already preparing to drink when she suddenly heard Sheng Yanqing beside her cough lightly.
“I’m number 3.”
They turned to look at each other, then both looked away awkwardly.
Neither of them moved, and the others began urging them on.
“Come on, there’s a time limit—two minutes or you drink!”
Sheng Yanqing looked at Chi Ruanli. The little woman had her head lowered, fingers almost digging into the sofa.
He sighed lightly. “Secretary Chi?”
Their eyes met. Seeing her panic, he chuckled softly and was about to take the penalty drink.
But suddenly, something warm pressed against his cheek—a quick kiss before pulling away.
She simply didn’t want him to drink.
Sheng Yanqing froze briefly, then let out a soft laugh. When he turned, he only saw her flushed side profile, red as if it could drip blood.
“Hey, listen to the rules—this is kiss, not cheek kiss!” Xu Wenzhi shouted like a megaphone.
Chi Ruanli kept her head down in embarrassment.
Sheng Yanqing reached out and ruffled her hair, laughter still in his voice. “Then I’ll drink.”
He quickly finished a full glass of whiskey.
Even with decent tolerance, that amount made him sink back into the sofa.
Perhaps emboldened by alcohol, Sheng Yanqing narrowed his slightly reddened phoenix eyes and reached out to hold Chi Ruanli’s hand. Soft, smooth, warm.
Startled, Chi Ruanli looked up—only to see him smiling at her with deep affection.
She panicked and tried to leave, but his grip didn’t loosen. Sweat broke out on her forehead as she struggled, only hearing his indulgent laughter in his chest.
In frustration, she turned her head away.
His palm was already damp with her sweat, but he didn’t mind. He even gently rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb, smiling more and more indulgently.
“Tch, someone’s being a pervert,” Song Monian commented playfully from the side.
Sheng Yanqing didn’t care. In a good mood, he raised an eyebrow at him, his gaze full of provocation: I have someone to flirt with. Do you?
That provoked Song Monian, whose red bracelet spun faster and faster.