At ten in the evening, in the largest private room on the fifth floor of Naisi Huisuo, several young girls danced freely to the pounding music under the dim, flickering lights.
The young man sitting on the sofa clapped and cheered excitedly, letting out the occasional whistle.
The door was suddenly pushed open, and a girl with a sizzling figure walked in.
She wore a bean-paste-colored slip dress, with slender, well-proportioned arms, a beautiful and delicate collarbone, and two faintly visible mounds like bright moons—a scene of sheer allure.
Her soft, raven-black hair fell casually over her shoulders, the ends curling playfully, complementing her snow-white skin.
The dress barely covered her perky hips, and with eight-centimeter heels, her two long, shapely legs were fully exposed.
The girl wore a white hollowed-out mask sprinkled with gold dust, covering the upper half of her face. Her vivid, full lips and a pair of shimmering, rippling eyes were extremely seductive.
The young people in the room were stunned.
They wondered to themselves who this sexy siren was. Who had she come to see?
The dancing girls stopped, and jealousy appeared on one of their faces.
"Hey, big sister, did you walk into the wrong room?"
"Shut up. I don't have an ugly sister like you."
Luo Yan shot her a sharp glare. The girl was intimidated by her aura, felt the air conditioning in the room was very cold, and couldn't help hugging her arms.
In the corner of the room, a young man sat leaning sideways on the sofa, playing a game on his phone.
He sensed something and looked up. When he saw Luo Yan, especially her eyes, he couldn't help but freeze for a moment.
By the time he came back to his senses, he found that his character in the game had already been shot in the head.
After scanning the scene in the room, Luo Yan walked straight to the sofa.
She sat down beside a handsome boy with linen-colored hair and casually set her handbag aside.
Luo Yi looked at her in astonishment.
He was not used to being so close to a strange woman, and his body instinctively shifted away.
The more he dodged, the more she leaned in. Luo Yan pressed close to him, lifted an arm, and draped it over his shoulder.
"Hi, handsome. Let's add each other on WeChat."
Her voice sounded somewhat familiar. Luo Yi looked suspicious and stared into her eyes, testing her:
"Miss, have we met somewhere before?"
"You tell me."
"Probably, maybe, we have." Luo Yi hesitated.
Luo Yan extended her index finger and poked his young, tender cheek.
"Your eyesight is so bad you can't even recognize your own sister."
"My sister?"
Luo Yi looked like he was being toyed with. "Luo Yan."
"Don't be so disrespectful. Call me sister."
Luo Yan removed the mask from her face and gave him a coquettish glare, her eyes like silk.
"Holy crap!"
Luo Yi was startled by her and looked her up and down in disbelief.
"Why are you dressed like this? Did you take the wrong medicine? Where's your ladylike outfit?"
"Who are you saying took the wrong medicine? You've gotten bold!"
Luo Yan reached out, messed up his hair, tugged his ear, and pinched the flesh at his waist.
The siblings had often roughhoused like this when they were little. Only after growing up did they each become awkward in their own way.
But their bond was still good, especially when facing their step-siblings Luo Mingxin and Luo Mingna—they always stayed on the same side.
Being handled up and down by Luo Yan, Luo Yi didn't dare resist. He could only dodge and duck, repeatedly calling her sister.
"Sis, I said it wrong. You didn't take the wrong medicine—you didn't take any medicine at all!"
Luo Yi's buddies stared at Luo Yan in shock. They often hung out together, so of course they'd all seen her before.
She was a completely different person from the glamorous, sexy woman standing before them now.
"Sis Luo, you look really beautiful tonight!"
"Yeah, Sis Luo, you look so young dressed like that! We'd totally believe you're Yi-ge's little sister!"
"Scram, don't try to take advantage of my sister." Luo Yi cut them off with displeasure. "Call her Sis properly."
Suddenly thinking of something, Luo Yi furrowed his brows.
"Did you lose a game of Truth or Dare with your friends?"
"Were you forced into this? If you don't like wearing something so revealing, then don't. Where's your backbone? It's just a game—if they tell you to do something, you don't have to do it! Can't you cheat your way out of it?"
Luo Yan looked at this younger brother who had always protected "Luo Yan" with tender eyes.
To help his sister get what she wanted—to pursue love and find happiness—he'd helped her do plenty of foolish things over the years.
Now that she was here, he didn't need to keep being foolish along with her. She hoped he would have his own goals and live a more unrestrained life.
"I got a bit of a shock. I don't want to be the virtuous, demure woman anymore. It's boring, and it only ends up hurting me."
Luo Yan raised her hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear—a simple gesture she made look incredibly alluring.
"What kind of shock?" Luo Yi looked at her, puzzled. "Who made you sad?"
With that, he turned his head and shooed the girls who were watching the commotion from the room.
"You all can leave now. We don't need any service here."
The girls looked a little disappointed, their gazes lingering reluctantly over the young men in the room before they filed out.
"Go on, tell me what happened. Who upset my sister?"
Several pairs of eyes nearby all turned to Luo Yan with curiosity.
"I don't want to talk about it. You'll find out in a few days."
Luo Yan pointed at an unopened cake box on the coffee table, changing the subject. "What's this? Whose birthday is it?"
Since she didn't want to say, Luo Yi didn't press further. He'd find out sooner or later anyway.
"Today is Fan Zhou's twentieth birthday. We're celebrating for him—this is just the second round."
"Then why are you sitting in the middle?"
Luo Yan glanced toward the corner. "Why is the guest of honor sitting so far away?"
Luo Yi let out a snort of laughter.
"Our Young Master Fan has a thing about cleanliness. When the girls were singing earlier and one tried to sit next to him, he got annoyed and moved away."
At this, Fan Zhou looked over with an indifferent expression.
His features were handsome, his temperament cool and aloof.
Even in a simple white shirt and black trousers, he gave off an air of distinguished birth—the bearing of a young master raised in privilege couldn't be faked.
The two had met a few times in public before but had never exchanged more than a few words.
Luo Yan gave him a faint smile. "Fan Zhou, you're twenty now. Happy birthday."
"Thanks." Fan Zhou nodded at her, sparing no more words than necessary.
"Am I interrupting your party by being here?"
Luo Yan turned back to look at Luo Yi. "I came to find you about something. Isn't that apartment you have in the city center empty? Lend it to me for a while."
"You want to move out? Is Luo Mingna bothering you again?"
Luo Mingxin had joined the company after graduating and was a workaholic who left early and came home late, always trying to prove himself. He rarely crossed paths with Luo Yan.
He put on the airs of the eldest brother, maintaining a superficially peaceful relationship with Luo Yan and Luo Yi.
The one who could make her feel annoyed was definitely Luo Mingna, who had never gotten along with her since childhood.
"I'm tired of living at home. I want a change of scenery and a change of mood."
Luo Yi nodded in understanding. "Alright, tomorrow afternoon I don't have classes. Come to the school and I'll take you there."
Luo Yi was a senior at Rongcheng Daxue, majoring in Electronic Information and Software Engineering.
Except for weekends, he usually stayed in the school dormitory.
"Then it's settled. I'll pack up my things and come find you, then move in directly."
Just as she finished talking to Luo Yi, the phone in her handbag vibrated.
"You guys keep playing, I need to take a call."
Luo Yan walked out of the room with her phone in hand.
Watching her figure disappear beyond the door, a few young men nearby scooted over with grins.
"Brother Yi, does our sister need help with the move?"
"Moving in and starting fresh deserves a celebration—let's throw a party."
Luo Yi smacked the nearest young man's head back.
"You guys are too idle. Don't cause trouble. Come on, keep drinking, let's get hyped."
"Let's roll dice—whoever loses drinks! Today is Fan Shao's birthday, we're not leaving until we're drunk!"
Everyone happily started looking for dice to play.
The thick soundproof door blocked out the music and laughter from inside the private room.
Luo Yan answered the call. Yan Jun was silent on the other end for a few seconds before speaking in his usual tone:
"Where are you? Do you have time to meet and talk?"
"I'm out drowning my sorrows and having fun. I don't have time for you right now."
With that, Luo Yan hung up.
She would talk to Yan Jun once she finished her preparations; otherwise, she didn't want to see him at all.
The sound of a metal lighter clicking reached her ears. Luo Yan looked up and saw Fan Zhou, tonight's main character, standing in the hallway.
He leaned lazily against the wall, lighting a cigarette.
The fingers holding the cigarette were well-defined, fair and slender—clean and beautiful.
Those hands flying across a keyboard would surely be a sight to behold.
Luo Yan walked toward him slowly with graceful, elegant steps.
He turned his head to look at her, his gaze clear and direct, the corners of his eyes tilted upward with a hint of rebellious, untamed charm.