Chapter 31

With Jing Yuqi present, the atmosphere was always lively. Adding in the few people from Ding Ya’s company who loved to stir things up, when it was time to actually start playing games, quite a few were vying to kick things off.

Ding Ya hadn’t played Truth or Dare in eight hundred years. Who knows where the event planner had found this wheel. After dinner, the dinner plates were cleared away.

In the center, amongst the snacks and fruit, sat a massive spinner needle, connected to a button. One press, one spin. A digital board on the side displayed card faces, categorized as Truth or Dare.

Ding Ya, who never ate much to begin with, listened with half an ear while editing the photos she’d just taken.

Shen Mu sent a WeChat message asking where she was.

Ding Ya sent a photo. Shen Mu was already soaking in the hot springs and also shared the new novel she was reading.

The conversation eventually turned to whether the Second Boss was at the team building.

Of course she was.

Ding Ya glanced at Shu Chi next to her. The atmosphere was boisterous. Jing Yuqi’s assistant had even put on music.

This private room was huge, perfectly suited for a party. Music always stirs people’s emotions, and even someone like Shu Chi was no exception.

Ding Ya thought: Even Jing Yuqi has an assistant. What about her?

But Ding Ya didn’t ask. She quietly took a blurry, low-quality photo of Shu Chi’s profile and sent it to Shen Mu.

[Shen Mu]: Impressive. You’re already sitting together.

[Ding Ya]: I even held her hand walking over.

[Ding Ya]: Oh, and I also ran into my ex-boyfriend.

Shen Mu was typing for a long time, but finally just sent a panda emoji with a face full of question marks.

[Ding Ya]: I feel like he’s super annoying, even more detestable than before.

The other side was typing for a long time, and finally replied with a sticker.

Shen Mu guessed the guy still had lingering feelings for Ding Ya.

After all, that guy had dated Ding Ya rather miserably back in the day. Shen Mu had also eaten meals he’d paid for, listened to his complaints.

Maybe he’d pursued Ding Ya out of a competitive desire to win at the start, needing the face.

Later, some degree of genuine liking must have mixed in. Just what that liking was tainted with, Shen Mu didn’t know either.

She still didn’t understand that kind of feeling to this day.

Anyway, it seemed like Ding Ya had never cared from start to finish. She’d given off a femme fatale vibe through the whole relationship.

[Shen Mu]: He probably still likes you.

[Ding Ya]: It’s just a bit of unwillingness to let go. I get that.

Shen Mu thought: You get nothing, you just enjoy toying with people.

In that instant, she suddenly felt that for someone like Ding Ya, getting whoever she wanted was actually quite easy.

Dating was slightly easier than marriage. After all, marriage required effort, while dating could still rely on a bit of feeling.

“I’m pressing it. I’m pressing with my eyes closed.”

Jing Yuqi closed her eyes. The assistant beside her reminded: “Sis, you can’t control where the needle points anyway.”

Jing Yuqi swayed her head. “Don’t remind me! I’m just adding to the mood, okay?”

Her tone was full of cheerful laughter, worlds apart from Shu Chi’s temperament.

Ding Ya looked up at the wheel. The needle spun rapidly. Opposite her, Ying Qixin was leaning on her boyfriend’s shoulder, practically wearing the phrase “envy of everyone” on her face.

Shu Chi seemed completely indifferent. She was looking down, picking up a piece of cake with her fork—freshly cut Black Forest, a strawberry perched on top.

Ding Ya thought the way she ate cake was like a little kid. And also as if this cake were a treasure she could only eat once, with no next time.

Completely unlike the big mouthfuls she took during meals.

Her family background must be tough.

Ding Ya thought about how the other woman had worked jobs when she should have been in school. In news reports, the Puxi area was never portrayed very positively.

Favoring sons over daughters—even if a family already had children, if they adopted, they’d adopt a boy.

It was a region that left Ding Ya bewildered when she heard her parents discuss the news at the dinner table.

Completely different worlds.

Shu Chi and I are too.

But I insist on forcing this. A thread of fate pulled by an internet cable years ago, continuing after many years—even if it’s dragging out a sorry sequel, at least it’s the same thread, right?

Ding Ya stared at Shu Chi, lost in thought, right as the needle stopped on her neighboring colleague. An “Ooh” rose from the whole table.

Shu Chi looked up hastily, as if startled. Her thick eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings. Compared to Ding Ya’s lashes, cultivated with cosmetic techniques, they held a stubbornness of wild, untamed growth.

Shu Chi blinked, puzzled. Ding Ya turned to look at the intern from her own group next to her. Jing Yuqi was grinning as she told her to look at the digital board.

“Pick one.”

The setup was quite natural. The event planner’s question bank was rich, and the animations even resembled those on TV shows.

The intern, watched by so many people, was visibly embarrassed and looked to her supervisor, Ding Ya, for help.

Ding Ya patted her back. “Just pick any. If you can’t do it, you can pick Dare instead.”

Her comfort was completely useless. Ying Qixin from across the way shouted: “You’re too mean!”

Ding Ya tilted her head.

The intern chose card number 13. The question was: Who is the person of your dreams?

It was pretty easy to answer. She said the name of a celebrity.

The next round started.

For Ding Ya, team building was something she’d skip if possible. Her own company’s team building planners were always trash—might as well just go to a buffet with colleagues.

Too many games just became offensive, to say nothing of some of the male-female themed ones.

The needle on the table spun several rounds. Ding Ya noted the questions were okay, none offensive. Even if someone couldn’t answer, there was a second choice.

If the second attempt also failed, then it was Dare time.

Punishments like mixing milk tea with cola, not really prank-level stuff.

That Ying Qixin was now thoroughly enjoying herself, her relationship with her boyfriend so good she was using the chance to hear plenty of sweet nothings.

Watching her, Ding Ya wanted to laugh.

Most of the time, she felt that rather than being in a relationship herself, she’d rather watch others be in one.

In university, the relationship stories her dating roommates shared always sounded novel to her. The cost of breakups and makeups was too high, wasting time and energy.

Ding Ya never considered herself self-serving, but in this area, she was exceptionally stingy.

Family is eternal. Lovers are not.

If life only offered one opportunity to throw oneself in recklessly, she’d already used hers up.

And it hadn’t ended well.

This time, the needle pointed at Jing Yuqi herself. The person in question looked like it was finally her turn, eagerly reaching to select a card.

The room had underfloor heating, while the wind howled fiercely outside. The group gathered together, though, was filled with lively warmth.

Jing Yuqi had taken off her coat. Though not her usual hot-and-spirited glamorous look, it still showcased her superior shoulder and neckline.

Ding Ya looked at her and whispered to Shu Chi: “Sister Qi’s outfit is really sexy.”

It was Jing Yuqi’s aura that was inherently sexy. Ding Ya found it hard to describe—it was a quality she herself probably would never possess. A few years ago, it had troubled her. Later, she decided her own style was perfectly fine too.

Shu Chi, who hadn’t been pointed at the entire time, had eaten half her cake. She pursed her lips, glanced at Jing Yuqi’s sweater—the sleeves were very wide, exposing a small section of her side. She said flatly: “Looks very convenient for getting a vaccine shot.”

Ding Ya happened to be drinking corn juice and choked on it.

Thankfully, she didn’t spray it out. She frantically reached for a tissue but ended up touching Shu Chi’s hand instead.

Shu Chi patted her back and handed her the tissue.

Ding Ya glared at her: “I didn’t expect you to be such a jokester.”

Shu Chi’s face was innocent. “I wasn’t joking.”

She was so serious. Now it was Ding Ya’s turn to be helpless.

“‘Ah… Have you ever hated anyone?'”

Jing Yuqi read the question aloud and said, with a mix of laughter and tears: “Oh, too many to count.”

The people below pointed out: “No lying allowed.”

Another added: “Let Boss Shu supervise!”

Jing Yuqi looked at Shu Chi. Shu Chi wasn’t looking at her, staring thoughtfully at the question.

In this instant, Ding Ya felt a pang of sourness. Ten years.

How many decades does a person have? Even if Jing Yuqi and Shu Chi weren’t lovers, they had the bond of two who’d depended on each other for survival.

“I’ve hated my parents.”

Jing Yuqi cleared her throat. “Is this answer okay?”

Everyone looked at Shu Chi. Wellpond’s Second Boss wasn’t very active in this setting and was easily overlooked.

Quite a few people only now realized Shu Chi hadn’t said much the entire game.

The woman sat casually, one hand having just speared a cherry. She shook her head.

Someone said: “Then that’s one more chance! Sister Qi, pick another one!”

Another complained: “Why is there a second chance? Can we change the rules next round? One wrong answer and straight to Dare.”

Jing Yuqi feigned anger: “Forbidden! Are you little brats targeting me?!”

Unfortunately, the second question also seemed a bit hard for her to answer.

“What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done so far?”

Jing Yuqi covered her head. “So annoying! What kind of luck do I have?”

Her lipstick was that striking rose-pink, a color Ding Ya could never pull off.

The aura Jing Yuqi gave off was like an ever-blooming rose. She was forever passionate, enthusiastically sharing the hardships of entrepreneurship and her past on social media platforms.

Emotional female boss and influencer were her labels.

Ding Ya’s seat was one away from Jing Yuqi’s, with only Shu Chi between them. She could see Jing Yuqi’s expression as she held her head.

It looked like she was about to cry.

But when Jing Yuqi looked up again, she was all smiles.

“The craziest thing is definitely leaving school after junior college to start a business.”

Shu Chi sighed: “Dare then!”

Jing Yuqi raged: “Shu Chi, you just wait! I refuse to believe it won’t land on you!”

Amid roaring laughter, Jing Yuqi drew the task—give the person the needle points to a kiss.

It pointed to a female colleague in Ying Qixin’s department who had just become a permanent employee. Jing Yuqi even asked if it was on the lips or somewhere else, sending Ying Qixin into hysterics.

In the end, Jing Yuqi left a blatant lipstick mark on the girl’s cheek.

She then struck a coquettish pose, claiming that when she kissed people at the bar, she only ever kissed handsome young men.

And now she was acting like the one who’d been wronged.

Ding Ya tugged on Shu Chi’s clothes. “Can I ask a question?”

Shu Chi was still slowly, carefully eating her cake, a bit of cream on her lips. She nodded.

Ding Ya asked: “Do you know what Sister Qi’s answers were?”

Shu Chi made an “mm” sound.

But Ding Ya didn’t ask further.

Shu Chi: “You’re not going to ask?”

Ding Ya seemed a little displeased. “They’re private matters between you two. How could I, an outsider, pry?”

Shu Chi seemed to grasp the implication, but she didn’t clarify the “outsider” remark. Instead, she told her the answer Jing Yuqi hadn’t given.

“Going crazy for someone she liked. The one she hated most was also the person she liked. It’s not really private.”

Ding Ya looked at her in surprise. Amid the room’s cheers, the two of them were leaning close, whispering together, and Ying Qixin from across the way caught the whole scene.

She found it strange. Having been colleagues for years, she’d never seen Ding Ya so coy.

The woman might have a lolita face, but she never acted coquettish. Her work style was swift and resolute—if something could be finished, she never worked overtime.

It was just her outward appearance was a bit cutesy.

Since when did she look at people like that?

Ding Ya leaned in a tiny bit closer, her tone decidedly gossipy. “So, am I one of your ‘own people’ now?”

Perhaps she’d eaten too much cream earlier. In that instant, Shu Chi felt like when she was a child, wolfing down a scavenged piece of cake.

Eating too fast, her throat felt sickly sweet.

So sickly sweet it made her head unclear.

She hadn’t even had time to organize her words before the needle stopped.

Jing Yuqi let out a disappointed “ai.” It hadn’t landed on Shu Chi. It pointed at Ding Ya.

Ding Ya had a bit of decision paralysis. Since childhood, she’d never had any luck with draws—even now, she’d never won a single Weibo lottery.

She felt she absolutely couldn’t draw something like “Pick someone to learn your dialect” or “Most embarrassing thing from your school days.”

She glanced at Shu Chi. But Shu Chi was still spacing out.

Ding Ya randomly picked one.

The screen revealed the question she had to answer—

The reason for breaking up with your ex-boyfriend.

Ying Qixin clapped furiously. Ding Ya glanced at her and said, helplessly, “Swap it.”

As expected, her luck with picks was terrible. The next question was related to the first one—

The likelihood of getting back together with your ex-boyfriend.

Shu Chi also lifted her head.

Ding Ya held her glass. Everyone was watching her. She seemed to blush a little.

Ding Ya said: “Impossible to get back together.”

Ying Qixin shouted: “That question’s not thrilling enough!”

Ding Ya called out: “Well, what else do you want?!”

She was a supervisor, after all. The other colleagues, relishing a rare chance to tease her, all started egging her on.

Jing Yuqi: “This isn’t good, is it?”

Ding Ya had just nodded when she heard Jing Yuqi say: “Let’s vote on it! Majority rules. If the majority agrees, let Supervisor Ding draw a Dare directly to liven things up.”

Ding Ya was helpless. She looked at Shu Chi, only to find that this person… had also raised her hand.

Shu Chi turned her face away, not looking at her.

Ding Ya gritted her teeth inwardly. Just let it not be some bizarre Dare.

However, the result was unexpected. Jing Yuqi nearly died of laughter, looking like she’d finally avenged a grudge. She read it aloud—

“Please have five people in the room, plus the two seated next to the adventurer, step forward. The adventurer will be blindfolded, and by touching hands alone, guess which one is the person beside her.”