Chapter 1: Crow Azure

Dark purple ambient lights flashed endlessly, nearly enough to dazzle anyone’s eyes. Even so, the center of the dance floor was packed with countless men and women, frolicking with each other while bobbing their heads to the deafening music.

The twin-tailed DJ wearing sunglasses skillfully pushed a button on the mixer to the top, eliciting another wave of shrieks.

This was the Playhouse in the Imperial Capital renowned for its top quality—basically, a little beauty every three steps, a great beauty every five.

Provided you could get in.

“Sigh.”

The VIP booth over here was relatively quiet, with five or six people scattered around the table. A few bottles of liquor sat on the table—not many, but eye-catching enough.

Mainly because they were mostly girls in short skirts.

The one who spoke was Zhou Xiaoying. She nudged the person next to her and whispered, “How’s the Eldest Miss sleeping through this?”

“No idea.” It was a bit hot inside, so Li Le’er was busy touching up her makeup, carefully outlining her lips in the small compact mirror and blending the lipstick. “Maybe she’s just tired.”

Zhou Xiaoying pursed her lips and glanced at the woman half-reclining across from her. She thought to herself that this woman sure had great sleep quality—dozing off peacefully amid all this noise.

“Then Qiao Qian and Xiao Zhao, you two take good care of Susu. We’re off to play.”

She shrugged off her jacket, tossed down those words, and eagerly dragged the other girls along to hit the dance floor.

No one knew how much time passed before a figure finally sat up, yawning in a somewhat unsatisfied manner.

“You’re awake?”

Chu Susu nodded lazily. “Mm.”

“Susu-jie.” The only man present, Xiao Zhao, was her subordinate. He was still in his work suit, looking a bit out of place. He asked softly, “Do you need…”

Chu Susu knew what he meant. “You can head back and rest.”

“Should I call you a designated driver?”

“No need. I’m not drinking tonight.”

Xiao Zhao got the message and didn’t linger, leaving soon after.

Just a couple days ago, the company had wrapped up an important project. Chu Susu had been swamped with it for months, running herself ragged and disoriented, so her energy hadn’t quite recovered yet.

Even her friends inviting her to the nightclub couldn’t spark any interest.

Qiao Qian looked at the woman beside her with a smile. “Susu, it’s been ages since we hung out. I thought you’d never play with us again.”

Her tone carried a coquettish complaint.

“My bad.”

Chu Susu called for a bottle of water and brushed her slightly messy center-parted long hair behind her ear. Without even glancing her way, she replied a bit perfunctorily, “I’ve been too busy making money lately and neglected you all. Today’s on me.”

Qiao Qian stared silently at her profile before calling over the server to open some drinks.

She swirled her glass but didn’t take a sip for a long time. She chatted idly about this and that, but seeing Chu Susu wasn’t too engaged, she changed the subject. “I heard you and Xia Zilu broke up?”

The temperature here was high—even half a bottle of water wasn’t enough to cool her down. Chu Susu shrugged off her knit sweater, revealing the camisole tank top underneath.

Her shoulders flowed into distinct collarbones, and the fingers propping her chin were slender and pale.

“So concerned about me?” She finally turned her head, a half-smile on her lips.

Qiao Qian pretended to glare at her in annoyance. “Of course! Can’t I care about you? Come on, spill it—don’t keep me in suspense. Did you break up or not?”

She hadn’t checked her phone for hours, and the screen was already dotted with 99+ notifications—some work-related, some personal messages.

Chu Susu scrolled through them while answering, “Yeah, we broke up.”

Qiao Qian gossiped eagerly, “Oh? She finally saw your true colors?”

“What true colors?” Chu Susu replied to a few messages and tossed her phone aside, smiling as she asked.

Qiao Qian pursed her lips, not daring to say it out loud, but grumbled inwardly.

—Sea King.

In the Imperial Capital’s lesbian scene, Chu Susu was pretty well-known—the “ji” kind, female and into women.

She had a straightforward personality, treated people generously, but if she had a flaw, it was that she was a bit of a Sea King, and a max-level looks-maxxer to boot.

She didn’t turn down pretty little girls—as long as they were hot, they could join the fish pond.

Of course, joining the fish pond was a far cry from being girlfriend material.

Logically, everyone should steer clear of a Sea King like her, but oddly, she had a good reputation, and plenty of people kept lining up to meet her.

No wonder—gorgeous, rich, and knew her boundaries.

If she liked you, she’d ask you out; if not, she’d say so openly. Good times, good splits, saving face for everyone. Sea King or not, she’d never caused any drama.

But lately, Chu Susu had been keeping a low profile, not out clubbing for a while.

Reason one: as she’d said, work; reason two: a few months ago, she’d started dating a girlfriend named Xia Zilu.

Who was now an ex.

Qiao Qian and the others had been betting on when they’d split—felt like it wouldn’t last.

After all, Chu Susu clearly wasn’t the long-term type and had never dated anyone for long.

They were all regulars here, so the Marketing Manager spotted them from afar. He took a towel from a server and personally brought it over with great hospitality.

Qiao Qian took it and tipped him casually before turning back. “Don’t look so listless. Go join them—maybe you’ll spot someone to your taste.”

Chu Susu said indifferently, “Doubt it.”

In that moment of looking up, she’d already scanned the room with her peripheral vision. Countless vibrant, mature beauties filled her view.

Gorgeous, sure, but not her type.

The Marketing Manager hovered nearby and seized the chance. “Susu-jie, what kind of type do you like?”

The staff here knew how to tailor their talk—despite looking older than Chu Susu, he called her “jie” without batting an eye.

Qiao Qian thought, not even embarrassed.

None of their group remembered his name. Seeing his dyed yellow hair, they just called him Huang Mao.

“What?” Chu Susu glanced at him. “You gonna introduce someone?”

He grinned. “Maybe. Little bro knows a lot of guests—might just hook you up.”

“Nah.” She shook her head.

Work had just wrapped; she was bone-tired and needed a few days’ proper rest. Chu Susu had no drive or energy for active hunting right now.

Plus, this wasn’t a same-sex venue—the straight girl ratio was predictable. No interest in trial and error.

Huang Mao wouldn’t miss the opportunity. If he could please her, she might order drinks through him or get a card. “At least tell me— what if? If I can find one for you, it’d be doing a good deed, right?”

Qiao Qian burst out laughing. “Pfft, fine, I’ll tell you.”

She leisurely took a bite of a small cake from the table. “What I said earlier was just a joke. Susu likes that pure, harmless, gentle little girl type. This place… doesn’t really have any.”

Huang Mao pondered with his head down for a bit before suddenly saying, “Qian-jie, don’t say—little bro really can find one like that for you.”

“Don’t brag.”

“Why would I lie to you?”

“Fine.” Qiao Qian didn’t take it seriously and laid down a challenge. “If you really find one for Susu, I’ll pop a bottle of Ace tonight to celebrate.”

Huang Mao was thrilled inside.

One bottle of Ace meant at least four figures in commission. If Qiao Qian followed through, tonight’s sales were set.

“For real?”

“For real.”

He grinned ear to ear. “I wasn’t bluffing. There’s one right over there—perfect match for what you described.”

Huang Mao leaned in closer to the two and pointed into the distance, beyond the VIP booth area.

“Which one?” Chu Susu narrowed her eyes.

“That one.” Huang Mao said. “Black long hair, sitting alone.”

The casual tables were smaller, quite a distance from their side. Chu Susu looked over and indeed spotted a silhouette.

A head of black long hair nearly blending into her black dress, sitting there all alone.

The girl Huang Mao mentioned held something in her right hand, swiping back and forth like she was writing on paper.

An odd thought popped into Chu Susu’s mind. “…She wouldn’t be a high schooler here doing homework at a nightclub, right?”

“No way, definitely an adult. We check IDs here.” Seeing her interest piqued, Huang Mao pressed. “Wanna go check her out?”

Just as he said that, the girl over there seemed to sense something. She turned her head, precisely toward their direction, casting a distant glance.

Only then did Chu Susu get a clear look at her face, and her gaze flickered subtly.

The girl was slender and slim. Her eyes didn’t linger, as if searching for something.

The dress she wore was like a streak of black detached from the kaleidoscope of lights behind her.

And that face was softly pale—no makeup except for her vivid red lips.

Her eyes sparkled like black obsidian that couldn’t be dimmed even sunk in a lake. As she lifted her head, she gently tugged up the collar of her dress, seeming a bit shy.

The seat across from her was empty. The girl pressed her lips together, saying nothing, showing no intention of chatting with anyone nearby.

From head to toe, she was completely out of place with the atmosphere here.

When she met the probing gazes of the group, she seemed a little startled, quickly flashing a polite smile before turning away, not looking back again.

Clearly, she was shy.

Qiao Qian naturally saw the whole scene and opened her mouth wide. “Wow.”

Compared to the others, this girl was almost painfully pure.

Not only did she look pitiful and fragile, like a little lamb that had wandered into a pack of wolves, but her temperament was… well, with Qiao Qian’s limited vocabulary, she couldn’t quite describe it, but she was just different from the rest.

Qiao Qian knew Chu Susu’s tastes well, and this girl had zero flaws to pick at.

Huang Mao chimed in at the right moment. “Qian-jie, should I bring Susu-jie over now? Wanna pop a bottle later?”

A bet was a bet. Qiao Qian pursed her lips. “Fine, pop it.”

Chu Susu’s expression didn’t change at all. She leisurely rummaged in her bag for her lipstick, carefully reapplied it, then slowly raised her hand to smooth her already perfectly silky hair.

Qiao Qian couldn’t help rolling her eyes. “What, interested now?”

From that eager, preparatory look, it was obvious—her earlier claim of no interest had been a total lie!

Chu Susu didn’t reply. Just as she was about to stand, Qiao Qian called out to remind her. “You really going? She might be straight.”

She replied with a gentle smile. “She might be, or she might not.”

With that, she stood up, phone in hand, and strode confidently toward that direction.

Chu Susu was tall and statuesque, her skirt hem falling mid-thigh, black Martin boots accentuating the slender lines of her calves. Her eyes had a slight upward tilt, giving off a bold, outward flair that drew plenty of unabashed stares from others.

By the time she wove through the crowded group, she lifted her head again—and suddenly paused in her steps.

Because just five meters away, a man had plopped down uninvited in the empty seat across from the girl.

The girl looked startled, instinctively shrinking back a little as she glanced around at the people nearby.

Her bewildered gaze swept the area before finally landing on the most eye-catching figure—Chu Susu.

Her eyes were limpid and watery, yet timid.

Like a star, fleeing the cover of dark clouds, lost and bewildered as it tumbled from the heavens to the mortal world.

And it just happened to fall right into her gaze.