Chapter 51
“Brother Cheng!”
“Brother Cheng!”
“Long time no see.” A group of male classmates behind him greeted in unison. Tan Yucheng walked over, raised his eyes to respond to the others, his voice lazy and tinged with a bit of laughter. One of them asked him, “Just got off work? Fu Yan didn’t come tonight.”
Tan Yucheng walked up to Ji Ting, just two steps away. His voice was low and lazy as he replied, “He’s at home with his wife.”
“Oh, is it that Wen Nanxi from No. 2 High School?”
“I heard about the love-hate stories between Fu Yan and his wife.”
Tan Yucheng laughed and responded casually, “Where did you hear those stories?”
“Haha, it’s all over the forums of the two schools, all kinds of versions.” The men gossiped, crowding forward. As before, wherever Tan Yucheng was, he was the center. Tan Yucheng untied his tie and casually draped it over the back of the chair next to Ji Ting. This made Ji Ting stand very close to him, and their eyes met in the dim light.
Ji Ting smiled politely.
Tan Yucheng’s eyes lowered slightly, landing on her collarbone where the strap was caught.
He asked in a low, lazy voice, “What time did you get here?”
He was asking Ji Ting.
Ji Ting casually replied, “Just got here not long ago.”
“Did you bring a bag?” he asked.
Ji Ting nodded.
Tan Yucheng tapped his tie with his fingertip, “Leave it with you.”
Ji Ting tilted her head to look at his tie and responded with an “Oh.” Then she glanced at his year-round, daily updated WeChat group. He had unbuttoned his shirt and raised his eyes, talking to others. Ji Ting reached out to take his tie and rolled it around her fingers.
Meng Jia’s driver had taken the wrong route despite using the navigation system and was calling Yu Xi for directions. Yu Xi stood beside Ji Ting, guiding Meng Jia’s driver. Shu Xiao had been watching Tan Yucheng since he entered, noticing him chatting with others and proactively talking to Ji Ting. Finally, Ji Ting took his tie and started rolling it up to put it away.
Shu Xiao also wanted to approach, but Ji Ting was leaning against the chair back, and Tan Yucheng was standing less than a step in front of her, leaving no room for anyone else.
Ji Ting finished rolling up the tie, turned around, bent down to take her small bag, and put the tie inside. Just then, someone called out to Ji Ting. A female classmate on the opposite side started talking to her, and Ji Ting smiled and chatted with her, turning her back to Tan Yucheng. Tan Yucheng chatted leisurely with others, occasionally glancing at Ji Ting’s fair back.
At this moment, someone called Shu Xiao, giving her a chance to step forward.
Tan Yucheng was taking a cigarette from Long Kong, lighting it. Smoke curled around him, touching his eyebrows. Another male classmate handed him a lighter, saying it was quite special and asking him to find where it opened. Tan Yucheng smiled, took a step forward with the cigarette between his fingers, and stretched his arm to the side, as if he was holding Ji Ting’s waist, placing it on the back of the chair beside her.
At that moment, he took the lighter from the classmate.
Ji Ting continued chatting, feeling his presence briefly before he moved away. She didn’t pay much attention. The lighter was indeed special. Tan Yucheng took it, biting the cigarette, and examined it while leaning against the chair back, looking relaxed.
Shu Xiao stood right in front of him, so he could see her with just a glance, but he didn’t look up. Casually biting the cigarette, he managed to open the lighter.
The firelight flickered across his eyebrows.
The bar door was pushed open again, and Meng Jia walked in wearing a tight black dress, holding a small silver bag. As soon as she entered, she saw Shu Xiao standing there, chatting with someone while glancing longingly at Tan Yucheng from time to time. Meng Jia scanned the room and noticed Ji Ting, who was strikingly beautiful beside Tan Yucheng. Ji Ting was holding hands with Yu Xi and chatting happily with others.
Meng Jia then looked back at Shu Xiao.
Shu Xiao’s longing gaze was too obvious. Meng Jia, who hadn’t seen Shu Xiao in a long time, walked over to her with her arms crossed. She looked down at Shu Xiao and said, “Long time no see.”
Shu Xiao’s hand was being held by Feng Yingying as they talked. Caught off guard by someone speaking to her with such a familiar tone, Shu Xiao looked up and met Meng Jia’s eyes, enhanced with contact lenses.
Shu Xiao was startled but recognized Meng Jia immediately. She pressed her lips together and said, “Long time no see. Did you just arrive?”
“Yes, the family driver is an idiot and took the wrong route. You haven’t changed much,” Meng Jia said, looking Shu Xiao up and down. Yu Xi’s gaze was light and non-threatening, but Meng Jia’s was different—always aggressive. In such a situation, Shu Xiao instinctively glanced at Tan Yucheng.
Tan Yucheng, with a cigarette in his mouth, was listening to someone talk, his eyebrows showing traces of a carefree and slightly roguish smile.
He wasn’t paying attention to them at all or, rather, he no longer cared about her in the slightest.
Meng Jia followed Shu Xiao’s gaze and also saw Tan Yucheng’s striking features amidst the swirling smoke. She looked back at Shu Xiao and, with a hint of malice, said, “What? Do you think that after nine years, he would still protect you?”
“If it weren’t for him back then, I would have dealt with you long ago.”
Shu Xiao looked at Meng Jia.
Her gaze was deep, but there was a faint hint of disgust.
Almost ten years had passed.
The two still despised each other.
Feng Yingying, holding Shu Xiao’s hand, said to Meng Jia, “Why are you always picking on Shu Xiao?”
Meng Jia looked at Feng Yingying’s face and sneered, “None of your business.”
Feng Yingying pursed her lips, too annoyed to respond to her.
Meng Jia spun on her high heels and walked away, casually placing her bag next to Ji Ting’s. She saw Ji Ting chatting happily with Yu Xi and another female classmate and joined them. “What are you all chatting about that’s so fun?”
After she left, Feng Yingying let out a sigh of relief. She glanced at Shu Xiao, whose eyes were still looking through the smoke at Tan Yucheng, a hint of sadness in her gaze. Feng Yingying followed her line of sight and pursed her lips, saying to Shu Xiao, “Time flies.”
“Shu Xiao, do you think that if you hadn’t gone abroad and had attended the same university as him, you two would be doing great now?” Feng Yingying asked softly. Shu Xiao tightened her grip on Feng Yingying’s hand and remained silent.
The scene was like a déjà vu.
Many familiar faces had gathered once again.
However, the once radiant person had lost their glow, and the faint remnants of that light seemed to have scattered onto another person. Ji Ting was laughing with her eyes crinkling, her silver-gray dress particularly eye-catching.
Long Kong had arranged for all the booth seats to be combined. A singer was performing on the stage behind, and the lights in the dance floor had been turned on, with many people dancing wildly.
Ji Ting and Yu Xi sat on a U-shaped sofa, with Meng Jia, Shu Xiao, and Feng Yingying beside them. Opposite them were Tan Yucheng, Asang, Jiang Li, and Long Kong among others sitting in the center.
Ji Ting was directly facing Tan Yucheng.
Long Kong suggested playing dice.
The girls agreed. Tan Yucheng had a glass of wine in front of him. He rolled up his sleeves, smiled, and picked up the dice cup, indicating for Long Kong to start. Ji Ting also reached for the dice cup in front of her.
Everyone had a glass of wine in front of them.
The game began from Long Kong’s side, passing down from Ji Ting. Ji Ting conservatively called eight fours, and since many people were participating, the number had risen significantly by the time it reached Tan Yucheng.
Ji Ting looked at Tan Yucheng.
Tan Yucheng gripped the dice cup with his fingers and smiled as he called out a very high number.
Everyone was astonished.
Ji Ting glanced at the numbers in her dice cup. She didn’t have any of the numbers Tan Yucheng called out. She wasn’t sure about the others, but she knew that Tan Yucheng loved to bluff.
Long Kong hesitated, unsure whether to call or not.
Ji Ting spoke up, “I’ll call him. He definitely doesn’t have it.”
Tan Yucheng lifted his eyes and looked at the woman across from him in the dim light. Ji Ting held the dice cup in one hand and propped herself on the table with the other, looking very pretty. Tan Yucheng gave a faint smile.
They locked eyes.
“Call?”
Ji Ting nodded.
Tan Yucheng smiled again, “Don’t regret it.”
Ji Ting shook her head.
Tan Yucheng raised his hand, picked up the dice cup, and placed it aside.
Ji Ting saw that all the dice showed sixes.
The others were momentarily stunned, then everyone picked up their cups. Ji Ting looked around and saw that the total matched the number Tan Yucheng had called. Yu Xi exclaimed and grabbed Ji Ting’s arm, “Why did you call him?”
Ji Ting replied softly, “He always bluffs.”
Yu Xi said, “But his bluffs are always planned.”
Ji Ting, resigned, picked up her drink and took a sip. Tan Yucheng, across from her, watched her drink with a slight raise of his eyebrows.
The dress she wore today made her neck look even longer when she tilted her head back.
After one glass, the tips of her ears felt warm.
After putting down her glass, Tan Yucheng gestured for her to continue. Ji Ting had to pick up the dice cup again. Tan Yucheng rolled up his sleeves, spread his long legs, and lazily watched her shake the dice.
Ji Ting finished shaking the dice.
She placed the cup down and it was her turn to call.
She still played conservatively.
After one round, Tan Yucheng also called conservatively this time. Following Long Kong, Ji Ting made her call.
Tan Yucheng then laughed, “I’ll call you.”
Ji Ting was stunned. She lifted her dice cup, disbelieving, and looked around. Everyone was quiet, then she leaned forward to check and realized she had been called out. She instinctively glared at the man across from her.
Some of the men laughed.
Yu Xi coughed, poured more wine for Ji Ting, and said, “He’s very sneaky, retaliating against you. He called a conservative number on purpose, knowing you’d follow.”
Ji Ting, resigned, picked up her drink and finished it.
After putting down her glass, she decided to target him.
When you walk by the river, your shoes are bound to get wet eventually, it is only a matter of time.
So, after a few more rounds, Ji Ting finally succeeded in calling out Tan Yucheng. She stood up, took the wine bottle, and poured it into his glass, intending to fill it. Tan Yucheng squinted at her as she poured the wine from such a close distance but said nothing.
Ji Ting finished pouring and looked at him, “Drink up.”
Tan Yucheng smirked, picked up his glass, and tilted his head back to drink it all.
As the liquid went down his throat, his Adam’s apple moved.
The girls on this side of the table, three of them, were watching him, especially Shu Xiao. She watched Ji Ting and Tan Yucheng play so closely and seemed to enjoy it. She pursed her lips.
She was quite envious.
Meng Jia, on the other hand, still had a sixth sense that there was something between those two. However, since Shu Xiao had returned, there had been no signs of anything. Thinking of this, she subconsciously glanced at Shu Xiao, who looked delicate and innocent, and felt she was more of an eyesore.
After about thirty rounds, the place was lively, with even those dancing coming over to join in the fun.
Everyone had lost about the same amount, but after a few drinks, Ji Ting felt quite warm. Just then, a bar staff member came over, and Ji Ting decided to switch to a fruit cocktail. She stepped forward and took one to enjoy a change of taste.
Long Kong’s birthday cake was brought out.
It was a five-tiered cake.
The candles were inserted, and he stood in front of it to make a wish.
The singer behind him switched to a birthday song, and everyone clapped along, wishing him well and singing together. Long Kong looked very handsome today, wearing a white shirt and trousers, very formal. He worked out regularly and was quite fit. On his twenty-ninth birthday, he took his time making his wish, very serious about it. When he finished, the applause grew even louder.
Long Kong opened his eyes, smiled, blew out the candles, then reached for a microphone nearby. He said, “This year is a very important year in my life.”
“I hope to get married this year.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa—”
Many people started to jeer. Someone said, “Wanting to get married requires having a partner first! You don’t even have a girlfriend!”
“Exactly, still a single dog and already talking about getting married this year. Even those of us with girlfriends wouldn’t be so bold.”
Long Kong smiled slightly.
His gaze shifted to the left, and he said, “There’s a line from an ancient poem that goes, ‘I searched for her thousands of times. Suddenly, I turned around, and there she was, in the dim light…’”
Everyone instinctively turned their gaze to Ji Ting, who was drinking what she thought was a fruit cocktail. Upon tasting it, she realized it wasn’t, and looked up, slightly puzzled, meeting Long Kong’s eyes.
Long Kong looked at her.
Just as he was about to say more,
Tan Yucheng, arms crossed, called out in a low, cold voice, “Ji Ting.”
Ji Ting paused and looked over.
The lighting was dim, making it hard to read Tan Yucheng’s expression, but his eyes were unfathomably deep. He asked, “Are you drunk?”
Ji Ting shook her head.
But she was indeed dizzy.
She didn’t plan to show it and tried to endure.
Long Kong noticed that Ji Ting’s cheeks were flushed, and she looked a bit dazed, hinting that she might indeed be drunk. Holding the microphone a bit tighter, he was unsure how to continue after being interrupted and realizing Ji Ting was drunk. A bar staff member approached with a bouquet of roses, but Long Kong had to wave him off.
Long Kong cleared his throat and said, “That person is in the dim light; it’s okay, we’ll continue next time.”
Everyone laughed.
But some also sighed.
Many people instinctively glanced at Ji Ting.
Ji Ting leaned on Yu Xi.
Yu Xi held her and sniffed the drink, “This isn’t a fruit cocktail, my dear Ting.”
Ji Ting nodded, “I know, it’s not.”
She felt very dizzy, only realizing it wasn’t a fruit cocktail after drinking it.
Long Kong cut the cake and distributed the pieces, bringing one to Ji Ting and asking Yu Xi, “Can she eat?”
Yu Xi shook her head, “I don’t know. It’s fine, let her rest for a while.”
Before long, Ji Ting felt like vomiting. She turned around, and Tan Yucheng stood up, grabbing her arm and pulling her to her feet. She steadied herself in her high heels and looked up, only to see his stern jawline. Tan Yucheng led her to the sink. Ji Ting leaned over it, trying to vomit but unable to, so she washed her face instead.
She stood up and looked at him.
Long Kong and Yu Xi came over, handing her tissues. Tan Yucheng wiped the water off her face with a wet tissue, his hand on her waist, his expression unreadable.
Shu Xiao and Meng Jia couldn’t help but follow and watch from the doorway.
After they finished, they returned to the booth.
Ji Ting felt a bit better.
Everyone was still having fun. Ji Ting grabbed some fruit to eat, and Shu Xiao brought her a bowl of hot porridge. Ji Ting thanked her, still feeling dizzy but enduring it.
She drank the porridge.
As the night deepens, the party is coming to an end.
Long Kong called cars for everyone and went outside to see them off. Yu Xi and Shu Xiao helped him send off the classmates, while Meng Jia went outside to smoke. The night sky was clear, with stars visible.
Tan Yucheng carried Ji Ting outside.
The people standing there were momentarily stunned. Tan Yucheng was holding Ji Ting’s high heels with his fingertips. He glanced at Yu Xi, “Get her coat and bag.”
Yu Xi snapped out of it and hurried back inside.
Long Kong stepped forward to ask, “Is she completely drunk?”
Tan Yucheng looked down at the woman in his arms and said, “I’d say so.”
Long Kong sighed.
The drink had been a special mix, originally intended for the singer.
Ji Ting drank it.
Yu Xi came out with Ji Ting’s coat and small bag, as well as her own, and followed Tan Yucheng’s steps. Tan Yucheng carried Ji Ting down the long flight of stairs.
Shu Xiao and Meng Jia stood on the steps, watching Tan Yucheng carrying Ji Ting.
Meng Jia had seen Tan Yucheng carry Ji Ting before, so it didn’t have a particular impact on her.
But for Shu Xiao, it was the first time.
Unknowingly, after nine years,
It seemed that only Ji Ting had become closer to him.
Two chauffeurs were standing by the cars.
One was by Tan Yucheng’s car, and the other by Ji Ting’s car. Tan Yucheng placed Ji Ting into his own car. He took the coat and small bag from Yu Xi and said, “You take her car and bring it back for her tomorrow.”
Yu Xi nodded, “Alright.”
She was tired too, so she headed to Ji Ting’s car and got in.
After settling the bill with the bar owner, Long Kong came out and saw that Shu Xiao and Meng Jia hadn’t left yet. He called out, “Let’s go.”
So, the three of them descended the stairs as well.