Chapter 14

The heavy, muffled sound of music pounded through the entire villa as if the building itself was shaking.

Qin Yun originally bought this villa specifically for hosting parties. He hadn’t prepared many rooms, and there wasn’t even a guest room on the first floor, though there were several entertainment rooms.

At the end of the corridor, the billiard room was locked, its curtains carelessly drawn, separating the room from the outside world. It was the only corner of the villa that wasn’t exposed.

Inside the room, soft and lingering kissing sounds filled the air.

A jacket had been taken off to serve as a cushion, and Wen Ci sat on the pool table, slightly lowering her head. Her slender fingers held Zhou Wu’s face as she kissed him.

Zhou Wu stood between her legs, his palms resting on the edge of the pool table, tilting his head back to let her have her way.

Wen Ci kissed slowly and earnestly. She had used some kind of body wash, and the scent mingled with the aroma of alcohol, creating a faint fragrance that spread through Zhou Wu’s mouth. This wasn’t their first kiss, but Zhou Wu usually took the lead. The only time Wen Ci had been proactive was in the stairwell at that wedding, when she had clumsily bumped his teeth through her lips.

In retrospect, that couldn’t even be called a kiss—it was more of an ambush.

—-

After a while, Wen Ci stopped. She was breathing heavily, panting lightly, her lips wet and unable to tell whose moisture it was.

Worried that some corner of the curtain might not be drawn tightly enough, Zhou Wu hadn’t turned on the light. The room was lit only by the faint moonlight and Wen Ci’s bright eyes.

After catching her breath a bit, Wen Ci leaned in again—only to have Zhou Wu pinch her cheeks.

Zhou Wu’s hands were large, cradling her chin with his fingers resting against her cheeks. He didn’t use much force, but her cheeks still puffed out slightly under his grip.

Zhou Wu praised her, “Wen Ci, you’ve improved at kissing.”

“Really?” With her cheeks pinched, Wen Ci’s words were a bit muffled.

“Mm.” Zhou Wu lazily replied, “The first time you kissed me, it felt like you were trying to break my teeth.”

The fingers holding his face suddenly twitched.

“Sorry.” Her slender thumb slipped into his mouth, rubbing lightly twice. Wen Ci asked softly, “Where did I bump you? Did it hurt?”

Wen Ci opened her mouth, just about to say something, when the sound of heavy footsteps came from behind. Her father’s voice was as calm and authoritative as ever, “What’s going on? I could hear you from my room.”

Her mother answered, “She said she wants to attend Qin Yun’s birthday party—the worst student in her high school class. I forbade her, and she threw a tantrum.”

“I see.” Wen Ci’s father issued his verdict, “Wen Ci, go back to your room.”

Wen Ci returned to her room and stood in front of the door, silently in the dark for a long time.

Her eyes stung as she tried to hold back her tears, not wanting to ruin her makeup.

Until she couldn’t hold it anymore, she thought, forget it, I’m not going anyway.

Suddenly, her phone screen lit up, becoming the only light source in the room. Hearing the ringtone, Wen Ci was startled, quickly taking it out to see the name on the screen, she was taken aback again.

It was a voice call from Zhou Wu.

Wen Ci sniffed and hurriedly answered, “Hello?”

Hearing her voice, Zhou Wu paused slightly, “I’ve arrived. The car can’t go in. I’m waiting for you at the entrance. Come out when you’re ready.”

Wen Ci realized that the person Qin Yun had mentioned would pick her up was actually Zhou Wu.

Wen Ci felt even more hopeless.

When he didn’t hear her reply, Zhou Wu asked, “What’s wrong?”

Wen Ci’s nose tingled as she tried to control her voice, “Sorry, I might not be able to go… I’m sorry, I was just about to tell Qin Yun, I’m sorry.”

There was silence on the other end of the line for two seconds, vaguely mixed with the sound of a car door opening and closing amidst the roadside noise, making it hard for Wen Ci to hear clearly.

“I understand. If you can’t go, then don’t go. Don’t cry.” Zhou Wu said calmly, “Can you tell me why? Are you feeling unwell?”

Wen Ci had considered this excuse while standing in front of the door earlier, thinking it would be a perfect way to get away with it.

—-

After all, at 26, it seemed too pitiful to tell friends that her parents wouldn’t let her go out.

But for some reason, hearing Zhou Wu’s voice, Wen Ci suddenly didn’t want to make up an excuse.

“My parents won’t let me go,” Wen Ci said, “I’m sorry for making you come all the way here.”

On the other end of the line, Zhou Wu chuckled, “…I thought it was something serious.”

Wen Ci didn’t know what to say and could only respond dryly, “I’m sorry, I’ll explain to Qin Yun.”

“Do you want to go?” Zhou Wu suddenly asked.

Wen Ci was taken aback by the question.

Did she want to go?

Initially, she didn’t really want to.

She wasn’t familiar with Qin Yun and his friends, and she was worried she’d feel out of place; she didn’t know what to do when she saw Zhou Wu and Duan Wei.

But at this moment, hearing Zhou Wu’s voice, Wen Ci suddenly realized she did want to.

She very much wanted to see Zhou Wu.

Wen Ci said, “…Yes.”

The background noise on the other end turned from noisy to quiet as Zhou Wu looked at the rows of red brick two-story houses in front of him, “What’s your house number again?”

“Number 31,” Wen Ci asked, “Why?”

“What floor are you on?”

“The second floor.”

“…Is the light off?” Zhou Wu said, “Wen Ci, open the window.”

Wen Ci was stunned, sensing something, she quickly got up from the floor and ran to the window with the smallest movements possible, pushing it open—

Zhou Wu stood below, looking up at her with a smile.

Seeing her, Zhou Wu raised his eyebrows slightly.

Wen Ci was wearing all white today, and she was fair-skinned, standing in the dark like a beautiful white magnolia.

“I haven’t seen this dress before,” Zhou Wu remarked.

“Yi Qing told me not to wear jeans.”

Then she realized something was off—Zhou Wu was wearing loose dark gray jeans and a black T-shirt with embroidered patterns.

But he was tall and had long legs, like a clothes hanger, looking effortlessly stylish no matter what he wore.

Wen Ci felt embarrassed, “Does it look strange? Should I change?”

Then she realized again—she wasn’t going to the party anyway, why change?

“It’s not strange.” Zhou Wu’s phone showed a new incoming call. He glanced at it and hung up, “They’re rushing us. Let’s go.”

Wen Ci was stunned. They stared at each other for a moment, and she said dumbly, “…How do we go?”

“Do you trust me?”

“Yes.”

Zhou Wu hadn’t expected her to answer so quickly. His smile deepened, “Jump down, I’ll catch you.”

“…”

Wen Ci turned back inside.

Zhou Wu: “…”

Zhou Wu laughed, “Didn’t you say you trust me?”

Wen Ci felt embarrassed, “No… I’m going to get my shoes, and the gift, I haven’t taken it yet. Just a moment, I’ll be quick, wait for me.”

Zhou Wu had observed the surroundings. Wen Ci’s house was at the end, not very high, not even as high as the wall in the river. Outside Wen Ci’s window was a small alley, secluded and quiet, with no one around.

With such conditions, it would be a waste not to jump out of the window at least once.

She threw her high heels and bag down first, then stepped out onto the windowsill with one leg, the wind gently lifting her skirt.

—-

In the dim silence, with no one around, Wen Ci felt the evening breeze and heard her heartbeat, faster than ever before in her life.

Zhou Wu stood below, holding out his hands to her.

Seeing her nervous, he glanced at her skirt and joked softly, “Should I close my eyes?”

“I’m wearing shorts underneath. Besides… it doesn’t matter, you can look.”

Zhou Wu wanted to ask her why she always said things that were so intriguing. The next second, Wen Ci jumped down.

Zhou Wu caught her steadily, like catching a white magnolia.

Wen Ci clung tightly to Zhou Wu, still a bit shaken, and Zhou Wu held her, lifting her slightly.

“You seem lighter.” He commented.

“Of course.” Wen Ci immediately said, “I’m not disturbing you.”

Xiang Wenwen took a seat, “I didn’t expect you to come.”

He remembered they weren’t close to Qin Yun, and Dou Yiqing and Qin Yun had a terrible relationship.

“Honestly, I didn’t expect it either.” Dou Yiqing thought of something, “By the way, monitor, I was studying out of province during your wedding, so I couldn’t make it. Congratulations on your marriage—though it’s a bit late.”

“It is a bit late.” Xiang Wenwen laughed, “But thank you. Weiwei told me you two are teaching at Jiangcheng now?”

Wen Ci answered, “No, I teach third grade at the elementary branch. Yiqing is at Jiangcheng.”

“Close enough, it’s still the same school.”

“Don’t mention school anymore, my head’s going to explode.” Dou Yiqing blinked, “Monitor, why didn’t you come to the school anniversary?”

Xiang Wenwen’s expression turned slightly subtle.

But he quickly returned to normal, “Like you, I was out of province at the time, couldn’t make it.”

Dou Yiqing nodded, “Right, you’re a company boss now, a busy person.”

Gossip was Dou Yiqing’s way to relax after work, and with Duan Wei and Xiang Wenwen having many friends, news always reached her ears.

It was said that after Xiang Wenwen started dating Duan Wei, even his university internship was done at Duan Wei’s family company. After graduation, he smoothly joined the company. Everyone thought he would be promoted to a high position by his future father-in-law soon, but unexpectedly, shortly after their marriage, Xiang Wenwen left his father-in-law’s company and started his own small business.

“Not really a boss, just a small entrepreneur.” Xiang Wenwen said modestly.

After finishing the barbecue, Dou Yiqing saw some fresh fruits being served, “I’m going to get some watermelon to refresh our palates. Wen Ci, save my seat.”

After Dou Yiqing left, it finally became a bit quieter.

“She’s still the same as before. Remember our biology class experiment group? The three of us were always together, and she was always the one talking. In the end, we were all punished by the teacher.” Xiang Wenwen laughed, “We stood there together.”

Wen Ci smiled, “I remember.”

“Time flies, we’ve been out of high school for so long.” Xiang Wenwen sighed, looking at her face in the dim light, “I was so busy at the wedding, didn’t get to talk much. How have you been these years? How’s work? … Got a boyfriend?”

As Zhou Wu went upstairs, someone immediately came over to offer him a cigarette.

Zhou Wu waved it away, and seeing him, Qin Yun patted the empty seat next to him, signaling him to come over.

They sat on the sofa by the semi-open balcony. Below was the first-floor pool, with a specially extended platform for diving straight into the pool.

The person froze for a moment, then stepped aside, revealing the scene downstairs.

Qin Yun was chatting with his friends when he suddenly felt the silence beside him. He turned around to see Zhou Wu propping his chin, staring at a particular spot downstairs.

Curious, Qin Yun leaned in: “Who are you staring at, motionless? Duan Wei? I’m telling you; Wen Wen actually came today, you should probably tone it down a bit—”

As he spoke, he followed Zhou Wu’s gaze and saw Wen Ci and Xiang Wenwen by the pool.

The two were sitting on lounge chairs, very close to each other, talking happily. Wen Ci turned her face away and laughed, her eyes forming a pretty crescent.

Qin Yun paused for a moment, his gaze shifting between Zhou Wu and downstairs. He finally confirmed, “You don’t want to hit Xiang Wenwen, do you?”

Zhou Wu responded coldly, “You have such a strong imagination, go act in a movie, stop talking nonsense in my ear every day.”

“You know I’m in film? How about joining in?”

“No.” Zhou Wu said, “What’s the point of investing in something that loses money?”

“Why curse me?” Qin Yun stared downstairs. “By the way, Wen Ci really gave me face today, dressed so beautifully… Hey, Zhou Wu, have you noticed Wen Ci is quite easy on the eyes? She’s the type you find more pleasant the more you look at her.”

“That white dress one? Who is she? I’ve been meaning to ask,” the man who had been blocking the glass earlier couldn’t help but speak.

Qin Yun immediately replied, “That’s my old classmate, you get lost, don’t mess with other people.”

“Damn, that’s not fair,” the man laughed, “Someone is clearly flirting with her, right?”

Qin Yun replied, “That’s my old classmate, that’s Duan Wei’s husband, you idiot.”

Just as the words left his mouth, the two downstairs suddenly moved closer together. Xiang Wenwen stood up, leaned over to Wen Ci, and touched her hair.

Qin Yun: “…”

There was a brief silence on the balcony, then the man asked, “Now, am I the idiot, or are you the idiot, or is Duan Wei the idiot?”

“Shut up, people with a dirty heart see everything as dirty.” Qin Yun looked away and continued scanning the crowd, muttering, “By the way, where’s Dou Yiqing? I haven’t seen her, did she go look for food again—damn, really.”

In the crowd, Dou Yiqing’s long legs were very eye-catching. Annoyed that her hair was blocking her view, she casually swept it back, revealing her clean and pretty forehead.

Qin Yun watched for a while. “Alright, she looks decent today… but wait, is she seriously taking all the meat the chef just grilled?!”

Just as he was enjoying himself, someone suddenly stood up next to him. Qin Yun looked up. “Where are you going?”

Zhou Wu downed his drink in one go, casually placing the glass on the table. “Going downstairs.”

“Look.” Xiang Wenwen opened his palm, showing half a leaf inside.

Wen Ci touched her hair. “Thanks, it might have been from the road.”

Xiang Wenwen smiled and continued the previous topic. “Haven’t you met someone you like? Or is work just too busy?”

“Both, I guess.” Wen Ci vaguely responded. She pursed her lips, and the words she wanted to ask kept swirling at the tip of her tongue.

Her rationality kept pushing her back, but usually calm and composed, Wen Ci suddenly found her self-control faltering at this moment.

Her hand on her knee clenched and loosened several times. After a few moments, Wen Ci heard herself casually ask, “What about you, class monitor? How are things with Duan Wei?”

“What are you two talking about?”

A casual voice suddenly interrupted. Wen Ci looked up in response, only to be taken aback as her gaze collided with Zhou Wu’s eyes.