A girl sat straight at the bar, her short hair giving her a bold and sharp look. Even in this noisy and chaotic environment, one could easily imagine her walking with a confident, breezy stride.

Wei Ke’er, Su Mo’s best friend, currently a graduate student at the National Defense University.

Contrary to her gentle and sweet name, she was a tough, tough girl who loved to eat, fight, and often referred to herself as “the boss.” When it came to throwing punches, she was a force to be reckoned with—three men couldn’t even take her on.

At this moment, she was giving Su Mo a disgusted look.

Su Mo held a cocktail in one hand, resting her chin in the other, her eyes distant and unfocused as if lost in thought.

After a long pause, she finally lifted the glass to her lips, but didn’t seem interested in drinking it.

From behind the bar, Ye Lanshan, dressed in a fiery red dress, was being all flirtatious with a handsome guy she had just picked up tonight. With one hand, she skillfully mixed a bright blue margarita and pushed it toward Su Mo.

She winked at Su Mo. “How’s the guy I just got tonight? Want me to hand him over to you?”

Su Mo finally snapped back to reality and took a big gulp of her cocktail, then glanced at the man. Without a second thought, she shook her head.

Ye Lanshan reached out and gave her a light smack on the head. “Don’t question my taste!” But as she turned back to look at the guy she had just picked up, she immediately agreed with Su Mo’s judgment.

This man, though his face was decent-looking, lacked something special. Especially his eyes—they practically oozed lust, making it uncomfortable to look at. Su Mo had been right. She immediately lost interest and sent him away.

Turning back to Su Mo, she asked, “Hey, what’s wrong with you today?”

“What else could be wrong? Probably that time of the month,” Wei Ke’er responded, then added, “Every woman gets moody and irritable those few days each month. Not even drinking blood can fix it.”

Su Mo, Ye Lanshan…

The funny thing was that as she said this, she was holding a Bloody Mary in her hand and elegantly sipping from it. The scene was almost too much to bear.

“Ugh, can you shut up!” Ye Lanshan shot her a side-eye, then turned back to Su Mo, “What’s going on? Why so down in the dumps?”

Su Mo sighed. “I saw Lu Ziye and Liu Yiyi at Lu Group’s anniversary celebration today.”

“What?”

“Huh?”

Both of them said in unison.

Ye Lanshan stared at Su Mo, her face full of sympathy. “Oh, I get it now. You got tortured by your ex and your sister, huh?”

Wei Ke’er’s expression grew serious. “Did they recognize you? They didn’t tell anyone about your past, did they?”

Su Mo didn’t nod or shake her head. She simply picked up her drink and took another sip.

Seeing this, Ye Lanshan quickly made another drink for her. “Alright, alright, enough about that. Who cares about a pair of cheating lovers? You’re letting them get to you? Come on, drink up.”

“Drink up? With her alcohol tolerance, three drinks and she’ll be out cold. She’s already had two, it’s almost enough. Otherwise, I’ll have to carry her back later,” Wei Ke’er quipped.

Before Ye Lanshan could push the drink to Su Mo, it was intercepted by Wei Ke’er, who couldn’t help but throw in a sarcastic comment. “I’m not saying anything, but you know what those two are like. To be bothered by them? I feel like I should slap some sense into you.”

Su Mo shot Wei Ke’er a disdainful look. “Who says I’m bothered by those two? I left them behind when I walked away five years ago, threw them straight into the Pacific Ocean.”

“So then what’s with the mood today? You look like you’ve lost your soul!”

Su Mo shrugged. “Today… seeing them just made me think about some other things, that’s all. Anyway, it’s getting late. I’m going to the bathroom, and when I come back, let’s go.”

She stood up, stumbling a little.

A feeling of heaviness suddenly overwhelmed her, but she shook her head and tried to stay steady as she walked to the bathroom.

Wei Ke’er sighed as she watched Su Mo’s back. “Stubborn.”

Ye Lanshan sighed too. “It’s normal. Anyone would struggle with something like this.”

Wei Ke’er nodded. “Yeah, if it were me, I probably wouldn’t handle it as well as Mo Mo does.”

Back in high school, Su Mo was noticed by a famous director, and she starred as the female lead in a movie about a student’s life.

The movie was a surprise hit, and Su Mo became an instant sensation with her fresh and pretty looks. It seemed like she was rising to stardom, but then that incident happened. Not only was her reputation destroyed, but she was also kicked out of the Liu family.

As the daughter of the Liu family, Su Mo grew up in the countryside, raised by a distant relative until she was fifteen, when she was brought back to the Liu family. At eighteen, she was kicked out again. The treatment she received was worlds apart from that of Liu Yiyi, who was also a biological daughter.

Add to that her boyfriend’s lack of trust, media criticism, and public condemnation, and it was a miracle that Su Mo managed to keep going.

Over the years, the events of that time became a taboo subject for Su Mo. After leaving, she even changed her name, seemingly cutting ties with the past. But deep down, the scars were not so easy to overcome.

And today, to run into Liu Yiyi and Lu Ziye, those two lovers… it was no wonder she felt miserable.

“Ke’er, what do you think happened back then with Mo Mo? We all know her character. If she says she didn’t do it, she definitely didn’t. But where did that child come from? And what happened to the child later on?”

Wei Ke’er glared at her. “How should I know?” After all these years, who dared ask about those things?

“I still think Mo Mo might not even know how she got pregnant back then.”

Ye Lanshan stared at Wei Ke’er in disbelief. She and Su Mo were both friends of Wei Ke’er, so she didn’t know the full details of what happened back then.

If even Mo Mo didn’t know, then what happened back then?

“By the way… since Mo Mo came back, she seems to have been asking about a certain doctor. I feel like it’s related to what happened back then.”

“…A doctor? You mean, the child might have been…”

“Shh!” Ye Lanshan didn’t finish the sentence, but Wei Ke’er quickly stopped her.

Not far away, Su Mo was coming back.

“Let’s go.” Wei Ke’er quickly stood up and gave Ye Lanshan a look.

This kind of topic could never be brought up in front of Su Mo.

“Well, we’ll head out now, Lanshan. Be safe on your way home.”

“Mm-hmm, you two be careful too. Mo Mo, do you want some hangover tea?”

“No, I’m fine. I’m a little dizzy, but I’m not drunk, don’t worry!” Su Mo said, grabbing her bags, and followed Wei Ke’er out of the bar.

Back home, she quickly freshened up and threw herself onto the bed.

Her mind was a jumbled mess, all filled with thoughts of what happened five years ago.

She thought it would be a sleepless night, but to her surprise, she fell asleep not long after lying down and slept until morning.

The next day, when she woke up, she had more than ten missed calls.

There were calls from Ma Wenlong, from Ye Lanshan, but most of them were from Jian Ruyun.

Su Mo immediately blocked Jian Ruyun’s number, then called back Ye Lanshan and Ma Wenlong.

Ye Lanshan didn’t have much to say, just asking how Su Mo was doing. She had just finished a night shift and was catching up on sleep, so Su Mo hung up after a few words.

But Ma Wenlong’s news was frustrating.

The company they were performing for that day had an opening ceremony. Because they had an important guest, there were more people attending than expected, and the hotel ballroom was too small, so the event was moved outdoors.

Su Mo couldn’t help but complain. What kind of nonsense was this?

In the middle of winter, asking people to wear short sleeves and skirts and perform outside? Ridiculous.

Although she grumbled about the unreliable company, Su Mo quickly gathered her things and rushed over.