Chapter 7

Yu Shan waited trembling with fear for a good while.

The corners of Jiang Sisi’s lips curved into a perfectly measured arc—not overly friendly, yet not cold either, maintaining just the right distance. Though her full face was hidden, the eyes and lips visible beneath the silver mask were comforting to behold.

Jiang Sisi smiled and patted Yu Shan’s shoulder. Yu Shan forced a smile that looked worse than crying.

The slap marks on her face hadn’t faded yet, making her appear especially ridiculous.

Jiang Sisi said to Leng Xiang, “Kids don’t know any better. Please don’t take it to heart.”

This woman’s attitude struck Leng Xiang as odd.

If she and Yu Shan were close, then why had she slapped Yu Shan twice and now come to her defense? That didn’t add up.

If they weren’t close, why had the pat on the shoulder seemed somewhat intimate?

So, whose side was she really on?

Leng Xiang certainly didn’t think this woman was on her side. They were strangers who didn’t even know each other—there was no question of taking sides.

“I guarantee that nothing about tonight will get out. All your tab tonight is on the house.”

“Here’s an idea: I saw you’re using someone else’s gold card. Let me give you one of your own. You can come play here anytime. You’re always welcome.”

As Jiang Sisi spoke, she pushed a gold card toward Leng Xiang with her finger. Leng Xiang took it and glanced at it—it was identical to the one Shen Cheng had used to bring her in.

She did like this place a lot. This woman seemed to read her mind perfectly, soothing Yu Shan with a few words and calming her down too.

In truth, the woman wasn’t taking either side. She had mediated between them in the gentlest way possible, allowing her to step away cleanly.

In the Red Pool outside the booth, the crowd was still dancing wildly. As long as Leng Xiang nodded and accepted the gold card, tonight could end as if nothing had happened.

The woman was simply doing what a bar owner should.

Jiang Sisi’s expression was indifferent. Though smiling, she seemed to look down on everyone.

Her demeanor was impeccably polite, gentle, and generous, making no one uncomfortable. She showed no bias toward either side, yet she wore a mask that hid her true intentions.

Leng Xiang placed the gold card on the table. “What if I don’t accept?”

Jiang Sisi was momentarily stunned, clearly not expecting this response.

A Black Pool gold card was something countless people begged for. Yu Shan was already green with envy beside her, digging her nails into the table and glaring viciously at Leng Xiang.

Leng Xiang ignored Yu Shan’s gaze. She simply stared at the woman before her and repeated, “I’m not accepting your settlement. What now?”

Jiang Sisi laughed again.

This time, her smile wasn’t the standard polite one. It carried a playful glint as she appraised Leng Xiang, like she’d discovered something intriguing.

Jiang Sisi asked, “So what do you want?”

Leng Xiang gazed at the sideburns peeking from beneath the silver mask, those deep black eyes, and the curved lips. Under the blue lighting, they looked rather alluring.

Leng Xiang said, “I want to see your face.”

Jiang Sisi paused, then burst out laughing.

She wasn’t the serious type to begin with. As the boss handling this situation, she had to remain impartial. Offering the gold card served two purposes: first, she genuinely found Leng Xiang interesting, and her frequent visits would be entertaining; second, Yu Shan had gone too far, so some compensation was due.

She had assumed the matter would end once Leng Xiang accepted the card, but this unexpected demand came instead.

And from Leng Xiang’s reaction, she clearly hadn’t recognized her.

“Black Pool’s rule: no real identities. You know that.”

Jiang Sisi seemed delighted. She stood up, and Yu Shan followed suit, trailing behind her. Jiang Sisi pushed the gold card back toward Leng Xiang across the table.

Jiang Sisi smiled. “I can’t make exceptions, of course. But you can come play more often. Who knows? You might figure out who I am.”

Leng Xiang studied her for a moment, then finally nodded and accepted the gold card.

·

Jiang Sisi had other matters to attend to and left first. Yu Shan didn’t dare linger and followed her out, shooting Leng Xiang one last venomous glare before departing.

Leng Xiang couldn’t be bothered with her. The crowd in the Red Pool was still moving, but the earlier incident had dampened her mood. She simply returned to the bar and sat down.

The bartender saw her return and quickly mixed another drink, placing it before Leng Xiang. “You’re Leng Xiang, right? Here, have a drink to cool off. Don’t hold a grudge against her. What did our boss say?”

Leng Xiang replied, “She made Yu Shan apologize to me and gave me a gold card.”

The bartender exclaimed in surprise, “Our boss is that generous?”

Joking aside, that was a Black Pool Bar gold card. Though registered to a name, possession alone granted entry, and they fetched sky-high prices outside.

The bartender asked again, “You know Yu Shan?”

Leng Xiang thought, how could she not?

Though her relationship with Qin Wen wasn’t great and destined to end someday, having an outsider stick their nose in still grated on her.

Leng Xiang said nothing, taking the tall glass. The familiar deep blue liquid shimmered inside, beautiful to behold, but one whiff revealed the sharp scent of high-proof vodka.

It was the same drink she’d only sipped once before heading to dance.

Leng Xiang took a sip. She wasn’t much of a drinker and had rarely touched anything this harsh.

She frowned, then downed the entire glass in one go. As she set it down, she felt the liquid burn from her throat to her stomach.

The bartender whistled in admiration. “You’re the second person I’ve seen drain a full glass like that. A real champ.”

Before the bartender could finish, Leng Xiang choked on a mouthful that hadn’t gone down properly and started coughing violently.

The liquor burned fiercely. The bartender had thought her bold swig meant she was a pro, but seeing her cough like this, the bartender laughed openly. Glared at by Leng Xiang, the bartender laughed even harder, handing over a few tissues while saying, “You’re really something.”

The bartender added, “Can’t hold your liquor but chug it anyway? In a bad mood?”

Leng Xiang thought, no kidding—was she supposed to be happy?

She’d come here to unwind, only for her ex-boyfriend’s current girlfriend to ruin it. Her good mood was gone, and in a fit of pique, she’d slammed back a glass of high-proof vodka, coughing so hard she could barely recover.

Now her head throbbed, her stomach a mix of various liquors. As the aftereffects hit, she grew dazed, slumping over the bar and staring blankly at the glass.

The bartender saw her state and figured she was pretty much drunk. Serving her straight vodka wasn’t the kindest move, so the bartender headed to the back to fetch some sobering tea to help her clear her head.

The bartender had just left, turning to the storage room’s freezer to grab the sobering tea, prepare it, and bring it out—only to find Leng Xiang, who should have been slumped at the bar, gone.

Puzzled, the bartender looked around. Jiang Sisi, having finished her business, came down from the bar’s second floor and saw the bartender standing there with a cup of sobering tea. She asked, “What’s up?”

The bartender said, “Leng Xiang got drunk here earlier. I went to brew her some sobering tea, and when I came back, she was gone. Drunk as she was, where could she have gone?”

Jiang Sisi scanned the surroundings, running a finger along the bar. A nerve in her mind tightened as a possibility struck her.

She said coldly, “Close the doors. No one in or out. Has anyone gone upstairs recently?”

Black Pool Bar had a second floor with an elevator leading straight to the upstairs five-star business hotel—all part of Black Pool’s operations.

Seeing Jiang Sisi’s grim expression, the bartender had a bad feeling. “No one should have gone up. I’ll check the surveillance.”

These days, few dared cause trouble at Black Pool Bar.

Jiang Sisi said, “No need for surveillance. Take some people upstairs and ask the front desk if anyone brought a drunk woman up to book a room. I’ll go with A Ze to check the booths.”

She had run this bar for years, seen it all, dealt with every type. If Leng Xiang got into trouble on her watch, she’d never forgive herself.