Chapter 5
Yi Xianzhou sent her a question mark.
Draw Your Sword: “It’s nothing. I just thought of someone I met recently. You’re both human, but the way you talk and the way she talks are completely different.”
Yi Xianzhou: “What did she do to you?”
Draw Your Sword: “Forget it. She’s just a terrible person. Talking about her any more will only ruin this lady’s mood.”
In any case, Jiang Shiyi was in a good mood today.
She suddenly realized that not everyone in the world was against her. Life was still full of hope, and she suddenly felt like rolling up her sleeves and getting back to work. She needed to finish that manuscript as soon as possible, get some proper rest, and wake up early tomorrow to film a video. That way, she could go out and relax afterward without anything weighing on her mind.
Draw Your Sword: “Your instincts definitely aren’t wrong. I’ve got something else to do, so I’ll stop chatting now. I’m logging off.”
Yi Xianzhou smiled. “All right. Then I’ll go eat my instant noodles.”
Good grief, she really was getting into character.
Jiang Shiyi couldn’t stop laughing.
At eleven o’clock that night, just as Yi Xianzhou was preparing to go to bed, she received a new email from Jiang Shiyi.
This time, Jiang Shiyi’s manuscript was absolutely perfect. It was as though her brain had suddenly become more agile. Not only had she resolved every plot hole Yi Xianzhou had pointed out, but all the transitions were as silky smooth as Dove chocolate. The entire piece was practically flawless.
After finishing it, Yi Xianzhou sent Jiang Shiyi a WeChat message. “This is good now. You’ve done a great job with this one.”
Jiang Shiyi replied with a smiling emoji, its meaning unclear.
Yi Xianzhou didn’t say anything more to her. She lay down on her bed, turned off the lights, and drifted into a series of bizarre, fantastical dreams amid the silence of the night.
In her dream, she and Miss Fruit got married beneath a bridge, with frogs, rats, stray cats, and foolish roe deer as their wedding guests. Together, they shared a bowl of instant noodles with screws in it, cooked on a makeshift stove built from bricks. With dark circles under their eyes, they gazed at each other, their fingers tightly intertwined beneath a tattered blanket. Their lips were blue and purple from the cold as they declared, “If either of us ever becomes rich, we mustn’t forget the other.”
When Yi Xianzhou woke up, she was drenched in sweat and breathing heavily.
What a nightmare.
She was just about to get out of bed when she received a message from Sui Ziyue. “By the way, the bar my former colleague Xu Ying just opened is officially in business. Want to come with me tonight to show some support?”
Yi Xianzhou didn’t hesitate. “Sure.”
Sui Ziyue: “Then it’s settled. Shall we meet there directly at nine tonight?”
Yi Xianzhou: “Sounds good.”
Getting up, Yi Xianzhou prepared a simple breakfast and ate it, then went out to have her hair washed. After blow-drying it, she gathered it in her hands and carefully combed it until it was smooth.
Tossing her hair behind her shoulders, she got up and entered her walk-in closet to choose something to wear.
When going somewhere like a bar, people usually dressed a little more extravagantly, sometimes even putting on makeup specifically suited for a nightclub.
Yi Xianzhou didn’t have any such eccentric outfits in her wardrobe. After searching for quite a while, she could only find a black shirt. At least it was black, so it should be reasonably appropriate for the occasion, right?
After styling her hair into a half-up ponytail, Yi Xianzhou checked the time and set off for the cinema complex to meet Sui Ziyue.
The city center on a weekend evening was much livelier than on ordinary days. Crowds gathered in great numbers, packing the streets so tightly that it almost felt as though there wasn’t enough oxygen left in the air.
By the time Yi Xianzhou arrived at the entrance of the bar, Sui Ziyue had just gotten there as well. Unlike her, Sui Ziyue was dressed rather flamboyantly. At first glance, she looked as though she’d just returned from a vacation in Hawaii.
Sui Ziyue already had a rather carefree, roguish air about her. Even when she dressed properly on ordinary days, she still gave off a somewhat uninhibited impression, let alone when she was dressed like this.
Upon seeing Yi Xianzhou, Sui Ziyue walked over and draped an arm across her shoulders. “Shall we go in?”
Yi Xianzhou nodded. “Let’s go.”
It was exactly nine in the evening, the hour when night owls began emerging. The moment the two women entered, a deafening wave of music crashed over them, filling their heads with sound. Under the alluring blue and purple lights, the dance floor was packed with people, creating an incredibly lively atmosphere.
Sui Ziyue led Yi Xianzhou to a booth and sat down. Just as she was about to order some drinks, the owner, Xu Ying, approached them. Wearing a white camisole and sporting tightly curled hair, she patted Sui Ziyue on the shoulder. “You’re here?”
Sui Ziyue looked up and smiled. “You’ve only just opened, and the place is already this crowded. Looks like you’re going to make a fortune.”
Xu Ying waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, not at all. It’s only crowded because we’re running promotions. Who knows how things will turn out later?”
Sui Ziyue encouraged her. “Don’t worry. Business will definitely get better and better.”
Xu Ying burst out laughing. “Well, I certainly hope your words come true.”
Her gaze shifted to Yi Xianzhou, who was sitting beside them, and she hesitated. “Oh, and who might this be?”
Sui Ziyue replied, “She’s my friend, Yi Xianzhou.”
“Oh~” Xu Ying smiled slightly and extended her hand toward Yi Xianzhou. “I’m Xu Ying. Nice to meet you.”
“Hello.” Yi Xianzhou politely shook her hand.
Xu Ying took the opportunity to sit down beside her. Looking at Yi Xianzhou and then at Sui Ziyue, she asked, “What would you two like to drink? It’s my treat tonight.”
Sui Ziyue laughed heartily. “All right, then I won’t stand on ceremony!”
A little while later, the waiter brought their drinks. Xu Ying quickly opened a bottle and immediately filled three glasses. “You know what? Women really should focus on building their own careers. What’s the point of wasting time on love and romance? You end up losing both your money and your partner. It’s just not worth it.”
Without drawing attention to herself, Yi Xianzhou moved her glass of alcohol aside and poured herself a glass of water. “You’re right.”
Sui Ziyue looked at Xu Ying thoughtfully. “So, do you still hate your ex?”
“Of course!” Xu Ying downed an entire glass of alcohol in one go, her voice filled with resentment. “I hope he gets married this year and divorced the next!”
Yi Xianzhou’s eyes shifted toward her. “Were you cheated on too?”
Sui Ziyue explained from the side, “No, her situation is more complicated. She was unknowingly made into the other woman.”
Yi Xianzhou understood.
Xu Ying sighed and waved her hand. “Forget it. Let’s not talk about that anymore. Drink, drink!”
Sui Ziyue smiled and raised her glass. “All right! Cheers!”
After several rounds of drinks, Xu Ying was already getting drunk and talking nonsense. One moment, she declared that she didn’t care about that man at all. The next, she was quietly sobbing.
When her sadness reached its peak, Xu Ying tilted sideways and collapsed directly against Yi Xianzhou’s shoulder.
“Tell me, why is my life so miserable? Why does it have to be so miserable?!” Xu Ying was clearly heartbroken. She was crying so hard that even her false eyelashes were threatening to fall off.
Yi Xianzhou knew that no words of comfort would do much good when dealing with someone who was drunk, so she didn’t say anything. Instead, she simply pulled out a tissue and handed it to her.
After blowing her nose, Xu Ying finally felt a little better. Still clinging to Yi Xianzhou’s neck, she hiccuped drunkenly, her eyes hollow with utter despair, and muttered, “I hope he gets hit by a car on his way home from work tonight!”
Yi Xianzhou remained silent and let her vent her frustrations.
Meanwhile, in a corner on the other side of the bar.
After drinking half a bottle of alcohol by herself, Jiang Shiyi suddenly felt bored. She stood up, intending to touch up her makeup before heading home.
Running a hand through her hair, she made her way through the crowd toward the restroom. But when she happened to glance to the side, she noticed a familiar figure sitting not far away.
Originally, Jiang Shiyi hadn’t intended to look too closely. However, the moment she recognized Yi Xianzhou’s face, she stopped in her tracks.
Yi Xianzhou was dressed entirely in black, with a woman who seemed as soft and boneless as a willow sitting beside her. At that very moment, the woman was clinging to her and tugging at her, their interaction looking extremely intimate. No matter how Jiang Shiyi looked at it, it didn’t seem like an ordinary interaction between a couple.
Remembering that Yi Xianzhou was a woman who liked women, Jiang Shiyi’s vivid imagination immediately went into overdrive, and her thoughts began drifting in a rather questionable direction.
Could Yi Xianzhou be hitting on a girl?
Or had she hired some kind of special companion to entertain her?
The way they were behaving was so unusual. That had to be it, right?
Previously, when Yi Xianzhou had taken her to the hospital, she’d not only appeared to be a decent, upright person of good character but had also behaved with considerable thoughtfulness and understanding. Jiang Shiyi had almost begun to wonder whether she’d genuinely misunderstood her back then.
Who would have thought that, in the blink of an eye, she would discover how wildly this woman behaved in private? The world really was a dangerous place. Some people were rotten both inside and out, while others looked perfectly respectable on the surface but were anything but decent underneath.
Jiang Shiyi shook her head and continued toward the restroom.
At the same time, Yi Xianzhou realized that the completely intoxicated Xu Ying had entered her kissing-maniac phase. Without another word, she pushed the woman aside.
After finally freeing herself from Xu Ying’s clutches, Yi Xianzhou breathed a sigh of relief and looked toward Sui Ziyue. “Keep an eye on her. I’m going to wash my hands.”
Sui Ziyue waved at her with the back of her hand facing outward. “Go ahead.”
Yi Xianzhou glanced at Xu Ying once more, then rose from her seat, straightened her collar, and walked toward the restroom.
Upon reaching the sinks, Yi Xianzhou washed her hands under the faucet, pulled out a paper towel to dry them, and threw it into the trash. She was just about to leave when she suddenly noticed that the woman beside her, who was looking down while adjusting her handbag, seemed vaguely familiar.
Tilting her head, Yi Xianzhou studied her for a moment. “Miss Jiang?”
Jiang Shiyi slung her handbag over her shoulder. Hearing the voice, she turned around and discovered that it was Yi Xianzhou. She immediately smiled. “Oh, it’s you? What a coincidence.”
“It is.” Yi Xianzhou looked at her. “Did you come alone?”
Jiang Shiyi shrugged. “Yes.”
Life had simply been too miserable lately, so she’d come here to drown her sorrows.
Yi Xianzhou nodded. Remembering that Jiang Shiyi had been having a difficult time recently, she took the initiative to ask, “Would you like to join us at our table?”
Recalling the scene she’d witnessed earlier, Jiang Shiyi clutched her handbag and smiled. “No, thanks. I wouldn’t want to interrupt you while you’re getting intimate with someone else.”
With that, Jiang Shiyi turned around and prepared to leave.
Getting intimate?
Interesting. Yi Xianzhou was rather curious about what exactly Jiang Shiyi had been imagining.
She raised her arm and caught Jiang Shiyi’s wrist from behind.
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