At that moment, Zhou Qin Yao was on the first floor, playing billiards with Wei Kai and a few others.

He held a long cue stick and was leaning over to judge the distance, aiming for a shot when a familiar figure suddenly appeared in his line of sight.

His gaze shifted slightly, and he paused, watching silently.

Outside the glass window, the young girl’s chest was rising and falling as she panted, tiny raindrops clinging to her thick eyelashes, sparkling as they trembled with each blink.

She stood there, like a cute little beacon of light.

Zhou Qin Yao thought of her following him before, remembered that evening with her riding in the breeze behind him on the bike, recalled her figure beneath the window, that enchanting sound, and so many other moments.

Finally, he remembered Cheng Xuan’s words: “Boyfriend from the entertainment industry,” and a subtle emotion surged through him.

The girl picked up her phone and made a call to someone. A few minutes later, Cheng Xuan came down from the second floor.

After picking her up, the two happily went upstairs together.

The men on the first floor didn’t notice what was happening over there.

Wei Kai circled from one side of the table to the other, observing Zhou Qin Yao, who had been frozen in position for three minutes. He then drew a conclusion for the group of brothers:

“Just wait and see, Yao-ge is definitely going to make a spectacular shot.”

He was a colleague of Zhou Qin Yao at AS and also lived in Huai Tree Alley. They got along well, and his compliment was quickly echoed by the others:

“Yeah, we’re watching. I still remember how Yao-ge cleared the table in one shot and taught me a lesson.”

But just as everyone was waiting for Zhou Qin Yao to make a brilliant move, he suddenly stood up straight and lazily tossed aside his cue stick:

“I’m done. Let’s eat.”

Everyone: “???”

The grilled fish was on the second floor, where Cheng Xuan had invited ten friends today, and the owner had pushed two tables together for them.

When Zhou Qin Yao and a few of the other men came upstairs, most of the guests had already arrived.

“I was just about to go down and get you guys. Come here, let me introduce you.” Cheng Xuan energetically pulled Tang You along. “This is my new friend, Tang You. You can call her Youyou.”

Wei Kai took one look and was blown away by her beauty: “Whoa.”

Immediately, he fawned, extending his hand, “Hello, Youyou-meimei!”

Although Tang You found this guy a bit overly enthusiastic, she didn’t want to be rude, so she reached out to shake his hand in return.

But then, Zhou Qin Yao suddenly and casually walked right between them, physically separating their handshake.

“…”

“…”

Wei Kai had been on vacation the last time Tang You came to the shop to repair her bike, so he didn’t know they knew each other.

He was aware that Zhou Qin Yao had never shown much interest in women, so he awkwardly laughed it off with Tang You before following him to their seats. As the waiter came to flip the grilled fish, Wei Kai quietly asked Zhou Qin Yao:

“Yao-ge, what do you think of her? Pale skin, beautiful face, sweet voice—she’s perfect.”

Just as Zhou Qin Yao was about to respond, Cheng Xuan efficiently opened twenty bottles of beer and called out to everyone, “Listen up! Drink up tonight, no need to save for me!”

These friends were all familiar faces from Huai Tree Alley, so they partied like they were at home, playing wildly.

Tang You stiffly smiled along.

She had wanted to tell Cheng Xuan that she didn’t actually drink, but looking around the room, everyone had a beer in front of them. If she spoke up, she would inevitably stand out as the delicate, out-of-place rich girl.

Tang You desperately wanted to fit in, so she pushed the thought aside and stayed silent.

The grilled fish restaurant was buzzing with activity and noise. It was her first time in such a place, and just as she was about to quietly take in her surroundings, she looked up and saw Zhou Qin Yao sitting across from her.

Black jacket, silver chain, sharp brows, and an expression that revealed no emotions.

He was turned to the side, talking to someone next to him. When he finished, his gaze casually swept over and landed on her.

Their eyes met briefly, just for a moment, before Zhou Qin Yao turned away, breaking the contact first.

Tang You quickly looked elsewhere as well, her eyes flickering, feeling a sudden, inexplicable anxiety.

Zhou Qin Yao’s attitude toward her was a bit strange today.

Earlier, when Cheng Xuan introduced them, he had been indifferent, not even greeting her.

Tang You couldn’t help but feel that Zhou Qin Yao was deliberately keeping his distance from her.

While she was lost in thought, Zhou Qin Yao, having just stubbed out his cigarette, responded casually to Wei Kai’s earlier question:

“She’s not that great.”

“Too young.”

“Come on, your standards are way too high.” Wei Kai sighed, slipping into his own daydream. “I don’t mind young. I like it. I’d love to pinch her little cheeks and hear her call me Kai-ge.”

Zhou Qin Yao paused and turned to look at him.

Wei Kai: “?”

Wei Kai: “…”

Zhou Qin Yao had this ability—he didn’t need to say a word; just his stare could scare someone out of their skin. And the worst part was, no matter how hard you thought about it, you couldn’t figure out what you’d done to offend him.

Wei Kai, feeling creeped out under the gaze, fidgeted uncomfortably.

Guessing that he might have been too sleazy and made someone uncomfortable, he instinctively grabbed a beer bottle from the table and offered it to Zhou Qin Yao as an apology: “Drink, drink.”

Zhou Qin Yao: “Take it away.”

Wei Kai was stunned: “Huh?”

“I don’t want to drink tonight.” The man’s gaze briefly flicked to the figure in a school uniform across from him as he calmly pushed the beer bottle away:

“Tell the owner to bring freshly squeezed juice instead.”