Like a hypocritical mask being torn away, she had hidden in darkness for too long. When light suddenly shone in her eyes, her only reflexive response was to continue avoiding it.
Under such direct conversation, Zhou Xue was no match for Yan Cheng. She had thought she had this man wrapped around her finger, but it was completely the opposite – this was just a self-deceptive illusion.
The reality was that in Yan Cheng’s eyes, she was nothing but a joke.
Zhou Xue dared not look directly into Yan Cheng’s eyes. She lowered her gaze and bit her lip, her fingers digging into her thigh. While she wasn’t exactly furious with embarrassment, she was definitely mortified. But after careful thought, she had to admit that what Yan Cheng said made sense.
The lights flickered back and forth continuously.
Yan Cheng pondered for a moment, rubbing his brow. Suddenly dropping his sharp tone, he curved his lips slightly and said, “By the way, here’s another suggestion – stay away from those troublesome relatives like Zhou Chao. That way, your position as Mrs. Huo might be a bit more secure.”
Several minutes of silence followed.
Then, Yan Cheng narrowed his eyes expressionlessly and dismissed her.
Zhou Xue had arrived like a peacock, carrying an air of superiority over others. But now, that pride was completely crushed, leaving only embarrassment surrounding her.
Her face had been slapped, and she had even voluntarily presented it to be slapped.
She was ultimately too embarrassed. She jumped up suddenly, grabbing her handbag from the sofa and rushing toward the exit without care. Her knee hit the hard coffee table, and pain immediately struck. She frowned with a hiss of pain.
She immediately bent her knee and stopped in her tracks.
The private room’s door trembled almost imperceptibly.
After A-Tai came back to his senses, his eyes revealed shock. Then, with an expression of disbelief, he hurriedly ended this “eavesdropping” operation and prepared to go downstairs to find Chen Jinyao.
At that time, Chen Jinyao was clapping her hands, joining the scattered applause from others around her for the singer performing on stage.
The empty seats to her left and right were just filled by Shao Chongsi and Chai Yue.
At this hour, the two were fashionably late. Usually, they would head straight to the second floor, but Chai Yue had sharp eyes and happened to spot Chen Jinyao at the bar, politely declining men’s attempts to chat while sipping her drink.
…Which led to the current scene.
The already noisy environment became even louder when the music changed to rock, complete with drums and electric guitar.
“Sister-in-law,” Chai Yue, who was good at livening up the atmosphere, pulled his gaze from the stage and narrowed his eyes, raising his voice to call out: “Does Yan Cheng know you’re here?”
Chen Jinyao turned her face and nodded without hesitation.
“Then why is he still hiding in his rest room?” Chai Yue exclaimed with an exaggerated expression, clearly trying to stir up trouble. “That doesn’t make sense. He should be down here with you.”
After getting to know each other over a meal, Chai Yue, the social butterfly, had lost all sense of unfamiliarity with Chen Jinyao. Plus, having seen Yan Cheng’s attitude toward Chen Jinyao, he could gauge which jokes were acceptable and which weren’t.
Shao Chongsi frowned, feeling Chai Yue had crossed a line. He glared at him as a warning, but Chai Yue ignored it. Shao Chongsi pressed his lips together but ultimately said nothing, and soon lit a cigarette.
“Mm, Zhou Xue came to see him,” she said, half-jokingly teasing back. At least this would make him shut up immediately.
Sure enough, Chai Yue fell silent, awkwardly scratching his head.
Unlike the simple-minded Chai Yue, Shao Chongsi had vaguely guessed something. However, what interested him more was the attitude of this person who had history with Huo Qidong. Exhaling smoke, he sighed.
Perhaps Shao Chongsi’s probing gaze was too intense to ignore.
Chen Jinyao turned to look at him, and after a few seconds, simply shifted her gaze elsewhere. In the center of the dance floor, young men and women were swaying their bodies close together.
Catching sight of the hesitant Chai Yue from the corner of her eye, she couldn’t help but smile, curved her eyes to hold back her laughter, and said meaningfully: “There are quite a lot of handsome guys at Er Guan, huh?”
“…” Chai Yue’s keen sense detected a crisis for Yan Cheng.
Soon after, A-Tai returned with his intelligence report, switching sides.
His expression was subtle, but it was obvious he was in disbelief.
Zhou Xue had truly hurt her knee.
She was wearing stockings, and the area beneath where she’d hit it had turned red. The pain quickly spread to her nerves, instantly stimulating her tear ducts. Tears welled up in her eyes, but before they could fall, they were forced back by the cold voice behind her.
Yan Cheng: “Keep your mouth in check, and it’s best if I don’t hear any more rumors about me and my wife.”
She reflexively turned to look at him.
The man didn’t even lift his eyelids, suddenly smiled and said: “Otherwise, your cousin ending up in the hospital will be the least of your worries.”
Zhou Xue’s heart trembled, and she froze suddenly, lowering her eyelashes and muttering: “Didn’t you just say you didn’t send someone to beat up Zhou Chao?”
Yan Cheng: “Indeed I didn’t, but that might not be the case in the future.”
“…”
He narrowed his eyes and warned: “You’d better understand the principle of minding your own business. If you don’t, even your status as Mrs. Huo won’t save you.”
“Alright, put away that pitiful act.” Get lost.
When Yan Cheng wanted to be rough, he didn’t care about gentlemanly manners.
A-Tai, like a gossipy old man, didn’t miss a single detail as he described the scene he’d witnessed. Finally, he remarked: “For a moment, I thought I saw the Second Young Master Yan.”
Yan Cheng was fourth in his family, with four siblings, and only the second son was the most inscrutable and had the most of the Yan family’s leadership style.
“He’s quite good at playing dumb to catch prey,” Shao Chongsi raised his eyebrows with an ambiguous smile.
Chen Jinyao hadn’t realized she was such a lightweight.
She had deliberately chosen the drink with the lowest alcohol content, and it tasted extremely good – sweet and delicious. After her first taste, she couldn’t stop herself. Without paying attention, she indulged herself, drinking more and more, getting increasingly merry, and before she knew it, the alcohol had gone to her head. She shook her head, her vision becoming blurry.
Feeling dizzy, she just lay down on the bar counter.
The glass surface of the bar was particularly cool, and when it touched her burning cheeks, the sensation made Chen Jinyao squint with comfort. She muttered something softly, though it wasn’t clear what she was saying. After she quietly settled down like this, her presence immediately diminished. The three men beside her had their own topics to discuss and naturally didn’t pay much attention to her. Even when they did notice, they just thought she was taking a rest because she was tired.
When Yan Cheng left the private room, he was bumped into by a part-time female employee.
Red wine spilled on half of his outer coat.
The female employee bowed repeatedly, apologizing profusely. Yan Cheng’s brows were tightly knitted, his expression not particularly pleasant. Even part-time workers at Er Guan would receive training from the manager before starting work – in the service industry, the most taboo thing was being as reckless as a headless fly.
He usually didn’t bother with such small matters, and he was in a hurry to go downstairs. He just maintained his cold expression without accepting the female employee’s apology and left, avoiding her.
When he got downstairs and found Chen Jinyao, he could see from afar that she was completely drunk, her cheeks flushed red, her eyes sparkling with moisture. Most notably, she was smacking her lips, and then suddenly broke into a silly grin.
“…” Yan Cheng, who had never seen Chen Jinyao in such a state, was momentarily stunned. When he came to his senses, he strode over quickly.
“What did she drink?” Pushing Shao Chongsi aside, Yan Cheng bent down slightly and patted Chen Jinyao’s face twice. “Yao Yao, is your mind still clear?”
Two seconds later, he suddenly realized this was equivalent to asking a stupid question, and might even make Chen Jinyao think he was insulting her and cause her to jump up and punch him in embarrassed anger. However, that didn’t happen. Chen Jinyao did jump up – she slid off the high stool, and then like an angry bird, she shot forward, launching herself directly into Yan Cheng’s arms at close range. Her fluffy head nuzzled against his coat, then she felt the wet part, frowned, and with basic logical thinking still intact, looked up to ask him: “Is everything resolved?”
Her big eyes blinked brightly, and Yan Cheng’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he gave a low “Mm.”
Chai Yue clicked his tongue: “Such hugging and cuddling, where are your manners?”
Yan Cheng gave him a cold look, not bothering to respond.
“Come on, Chai Yue, let’s go to the private room first.”
Chen Jinyao’s mind was buzzing and could only focus on one thing: “Did Zhou Xue lose her temper after learning the truth and irrationally splash red wine on you?”
“No,” Yan Cheng looked down, “I was bumped by a server when leaving the private room.”
“Oh.” Chen Jinyao nodded, but after a few seconds, she shook her head like a rattle drum. Vaguely, some scene flashed in her mind.
It passed in an instant, impossible to grasp, and trying hard to think about it only made her head spin more.
She frowned, and when she really couldn’t figure it out, she finally just let it go.
She stayed quiet for two minutes.
The deafening music drove the alcohol to circulate in her blood.
Under the colorful lights, the crowd was boisterous.
Chen Jinyao tilted her head up, seemingly observing Yan Cheng in the flickering lights.
Seeing his expression was still gentle, looking approachable and reasonable, with his jaw line appearing particularly attractive from her viewpoint, she unconsciously licked her lips. Of course, it wasn’t really “Dutch courage,” but after several seconds of eye contact, she suddenly pointed to the dance floor and said with a smile: “Let’s go dancing.”
Yan Cheng glanced at the three empty glasses on the bar counter and sighed.
In the dance floor, single people would freely find partners for close dancing, like many other bars – it seemed to be an unwritten rule.
After Yan Cheng agreed to Chen Jinyao’s request, she eagerly pulled him toward the dance floor, but after just a few steps, she started stumbling.
Her drinking behavior seemed fine so far, just her alcohol tolerance was truly nothing to praise.
“A-Tai told me everything,” Chen Jinyao put her arm around Yan Cheng’s waist.
Unlike others’ intense movements, Chen Jinyao’s slow and deliberate actions were even more maddening.
It was completely different from her usually cold and quiet demeanor.
“You handled it very well, so I want to reward you.”
Yan Cheng gritted his teeth and coaxed in a low voice: “What’s the reward?”
Chen Jinyao looked serious: “How about a close slow dance?”
“Alright,” the man’s voice deepened.
After dancing slowly like this for four or five minutes.
Under Yan Cheng’s dark pupils that were gleaming with expectation, Chen Jinyao suddenly stopped moving and said with an even more serious expression: “Okay, reward complete.”
Yan Cheng: “……………………”
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