Chapter 73

Xu Yueliang couldn’t go for another round, because Lin Qimian’s phone started vibrating in her pocket.

The vibrations sent a tingling numbness through Xu Yueliang’s thigh, the sensation creeping upward until she couldn’t help but shudder.

It felt so strange, as if every inch of her skin had turned hypersensitive—especially the spots pressed tight against Lin Qimian’s body, itching like ants crawling across them.

She desperately wanted Lin Qimian to shift, to rub against her itchy skin. But she could never voice something like that; the mere thought filled her with shame.

The loss of control made her heart pound wildly, laced with panic. Xu Yueliang practically leaped away from Lin Qimian’s body.

She jumped to one side, not daring to meet Lin Qimian’s eyes. Instead, she raised a hand to smooth the hair along her cheek, pretending nonchalance.

Lin Qimian’s phone kept buzzing. Even after Xu Yueliang pulled away, she didn’t answer right away.

Xu Yueliang’s gaze drifted to the flickering lights and shadows in the room. After a few seconds of that scorching silence, she couldn’t take it anymore. “Doctor Lin, your phone…”

The sound of her own voice startled her—so soft it might as well have dripped water.

Heat flooded her face again, hot enough that she wanted to crawl into a freezer and cool off.

“Mm.” Lin Qimian acknowledged her.

Xu Yueliang was sure something was wrong with her. Even that simple “Mm” from Lin Qimian sounded extraordinarily pleasing.

The phone rang two more times before Lin Qimian finally picked up.

“Mm? I’m here. What’s that got to do with you? Fine.” A few curt responses, and the call ended.

Lin Qimian rose to her feet. “Moon…”

Xu Yueliang jolted again and whipped around. “Huh?”

Lin Qimian said, “Someone came looking for Weiwei. Security at the shop entrance stopped him, and they got into a fight.”

Xu Yueliang’s head went boom. “Ah…”

Lin Qimian headed for the door. “Let’s go check it out.”

“Okay.” Xu Yueliang straightened her clothes and hurried after her.

The bar was open for regular business and nowhere near packed. For someone to get stopped at the entrance, there was only one possibility—a man had shown up.

“Miss” didn’t allow men inside; even the security guards were all women.

A regular male friend looking for Weiwei would have called ahead. If he couldn’t get in, she could just step out.

But he’d shown up unannounced, gotten stopped, and started a fight. Xu Yueliang didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but all signs pointed that way.

The elevator doors slid open, and she pinched her fingers nervously.

It was just the two of them inside. She didn’t dare look up at Lin Qimian, fixing her gaze on her own toes instead.

Lin Qimian’s toes were right there beside her.

A pair of sleek black high heels, elegant and refined even in the grimy elevator car.

Only one floor down—they arrived in moments.

Huang Xiaoyi spotted them and rushed over, grabbing Xu Yueliang’s arm. “I have no idea what their deal is. Things just blew up out of nowhere. That guy’s got issues—told him no entry, but he forced his way. Wouldn’t even wait outside…”

Xu Yueliang’s heart thumped hard. “Where’s Weiwei?”

“Weiwei went over there, and Boss Luo’s with her. She’s tight with the staff here.” Huang Xiaoyi pointed ahead. “They’re probably in the office now.”

“Mm.” Xu Yueliang finally glanced sideways at Lin Qimian.

Lin Qimian met her eyes, her gaze lowered.

Xu Yueliang pursed her lips, hesitating, then said, “Doctor Lin~ Could you grab my bag for me? My phone and ID are inside. It should be at the booth…”

Lin Qimian’s lashes fluttered, and she paused mid-step.

Xu Yueliang’s heart fluttered wildly; she looked away.

Huang Xiaoyi piped up. “Hey, I’ll get it…”

Lin Qimian caught her arm. “No need. You go with Moon.”

With that, Lin Qimian turned and strode toward the booth.

Xu Yueliang clenched her fists, not looking back as she hurried forward.

Huang Xiaoyi jogged to keep up. “Did you two head upstairs for some fun? What’s up there anyway?”

Xu Yueliang’s voice was tiny. “Nothing.”

Huang Xiaoyi drawled, “Oh~”

They reached the office door, the sounds of arguing spilling out from inside.

Xu Yueliang pushed it open. A man in a polo shirt, leather bag slung over his shoulder, lounged in the middle of the room with his legs splayed wide. A cigarette dangled from his fingers; he waved his hands emphatically as he spoke, sending ash scattering everywhere.

“You run a shop and don’t let people in? Can’t I afford your booze? How much per bottle? Tell me—I’ll smash cash right on your damn heads, you freaks, neither man nor woman!”

You Weiwei was standing right beside them. Upon hearing this, she snatched the desk calendar from the table and hurled it at the man’s face: “What the hell are you?!”

The desk calendar missed its target, blocked by the store clerk.

The store clerk pleaded in a desperate, begging tone: “Please, please, I’m begging you all. If there’s a problem, take it outside to sort out—don’t make a scene here. Sir, we’ve explained it countless times already. Our store only serves female customers. If you keep causing trouble, we’ll have no choice but to call the police.”

The man slammed his palm on the tabletop and abruptly shot to his feet: “Call them! Go ahead and call! With a shady dump like yours, let the cops come and investigate properly! We’ll see who actually has the problem!!”

Luo Fushui stood casually outside the circle of onlookers. At that moment, she pulled out her phone: “Fine then, I’ll dial. 11…”

“Fushui~” Xu Yueliang called out to stop her.

“Hey~~” Luo Fushui’s head hadn’t even lifted yet when her voice chimed in first: “Which sweet little sister is calling for me~~?”

Xu Yueliang hurried over and grabbed her wrist, whispering softly: “Don’t call the police.”

The man spotted Xu Yueliang at that moment and burst into a grin: “Yo, Little Moon’s here too. You girls are playing it lively—I never would’ve guessed…”

“Big Bro~” Xu Yueliang put on a pitiful, aggrieved expression and spoke in an ultra-soft voice: “How about we all step outside to talk? That way, we can clear everything up properly~ Weiwei’s just got that fiery temper—you’ve seen how she gets when she plays games; she explodes~ But that’s not really what she means deep down…”

You Weiwei turned her head to look at her, brows knitting tightly together.

Xu Yueliang stepped forward, grabbed You Weiwei’s wrist, and pulled her whole body into her embrace: “Weiwei, calm down too. It’s nothing big. Big Bro just let his words run away with him…”

The room had been thick with tension like a battlefield, but by now, it finally started to dissipate a little.

Xu Yueliang had a naturally soft look about her, and her words were even softer. She soothed one side, coaxed the other, apologized to Big Bro, apologized to the store clerks, and eventually talked everyone down.

The man followed You Weiwei as they headed out, with Xu Yueliang bringing up the rear. Huang Xiaoyi grabbed her arm: “Moon, why don’t you wait for Qimian to get here? She…”

Xu Yueliang quickly cut her off: “It’s fine, it’s fine. No need for Doctor Lin—we can handle this ourselves. You all just hang tight for a bit. Don’t worry~”

Huang Xiaoyi was left a bit dazed. Luo Fushui pulled her over to her own side: “Trust Moon and Weiwei. Let them sort it out on their own.”

Huang Xiaoyi didn’t know what else to say and could only watch Xu Yueliang go.

They had barely left when Lin Qimian arrived right on their heels, Xu Yueliang’s backpack in hand.

Huang Xiaoyi’s face twisted in worry as she rushed up to Lin Qimian: “Moon went out with Weiwei…”

“Mm.” Lin Qimian wasn’t surprised at all. She switched the backpack from her left hand to her right and glanced at the store clerks in the office: “Everything okay? Any damage?”

Luo Fushui waved it off: “Nah, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it—I’ll handle the manager. These girls deal with assholes like this 360 days out of 365 in a year…”

Lin Qimian gave a small smile: “Got it. Appreciate it.”

She turned to Huang Xiaoyi: “Looks like we weren’t needed anywhere today.”

Huang Xiaoyi: “…”

Lin Qimian led her out of the office and back into the main hall, where they picked a random spot to sit down.

Xu Yueliang’s bag was initially set on the sofa beside her, but mere seconds later, Lin Qimian pulled it back onto her lap.

Huang Xiaoyi: “Isn’t Moon’s phone still in the bag? Then she can’t contact us while she’s out…”

“Xiao Yi,” Lin Qimian fiddled with the wine bottle on the table, “Moon doesn’t want us getting involved in this—especially not me.”

Huang Xiaoyi: “…”

Lin Qimian looked up with a smile: “So let’s not force our way in. We’re all adults here.”

Huang Xiaoyi drooped her face: “Oh.”

They sat in silence for a bit, but Huang Xiaoyi couldn’t hold it in. She scooted closer to Lin Qimian and asked: “So, what were you two up to earlier? That was a private room upstairs, right? What’s in those private rooms?”

Lin Qimian suddenly laughed, her expression somewhere between amused and exasperated: “Everything you can think of.”

Once they were out of the bar, Xu Yueliang stopped following. She stood under the flower stand outside the store, watching from a distance.

The man’s car was parked nearby. The two of them walked over to it, but You Weiwei didn’t get in.

They leaned against the car and probably argued a little more before gradually cooling off. In the end, the man even gave You Weiwei a quick hug, bringing the whole drama to a close.

The man climbed into the car, which drove off and vanished around the street corner.

You Weiwei remained standing there, head bowed, seemingly lost in a daze.

Xu Yueliang rubbed her legs, numb from the chilly wind, then jogged over to You Weiwei’s side.

“Weiwei,” she called to her, “you heading back in?”

“I’m not going.” You Weiwei’s eyes reddened, and her smile looked extremely forced, “Why should I even go in? I’d just ruin everyone’s fun.”

“No, it won’t be like that. Everyone likes you a lot. We can…”

You Weiwei interrupted her. “Everyone likes you. Lin Qimian wanted to invite you out, so she told Huang Xiaoyi to take this huge detour. Hahahaha, that’s so funny…”

Xu Yueliang was stunned for a moment and said, “No, that’s not it. It’s Boss Luo who likes coming here to play…”

You Weiwei: “Do you know what kind of place this is?”

Xu Yueliang: “……”

You Weiwei: “Do you know why men aren’t allowed in?”

Xu Yueliang pursed her lips: “I know…”

“Then you should know why you’re here today.” You Weiwei tilted her head up, gazing at the pitch-black sky. “At first, I thought Lin Qimian was just an old classmate who wanted to show off in front of you. Later, I thought she was some highly educated, high-class philanthropist. Only today did I finally understand—Lin Qimian is just like those men. She wants the same thing…”

You Weiwei looked at Xu Yueliang, raised one finger, and poked her shoulder. “She wants you. She wants to sleep with you. Do you understand? She’s not trying to be friends with you…”

Xu Yueliang widened her eyes. You Weiwei stared at her for a long while: “Moon, you’ve never gotten entangled with those men who throw money at you. Is it because… you like women?”