Chapter 22

The bar was lined with high stools, and Yun Li had to exert some effort to climb onto one. Looking down, she wondered why she had to perch on the footrest while Fu Shizhe could easily rest his shoes on the floor.

Yun Li couldn’t hide her curiosity: “Why did you have me sit here?”

Fu Shizhe didn’t look up: “You’re the first one.”

Yun Li racked her brain over their recent conversation, dawning upon a terrifying possibility: “Are you saying that I’m the first person to hit on you?”

Fu Shizhe’s tone was as if the matter was irrelevant to him, he retorted: “Aren’t you?”

“…”

His response was neither confirmation nor denial. Yun Li had only recently cast herself in the role of ‘suitor,’ and every word from Fu Shizhe seemed loaded with hidden meaning.

She’d seen too many people with Deng Chuqi, who, by not hiding their affection and going to great lengths to convey their feelings, ended up being flatly rejected.

Yun Li feared she was one of them.

She took out her phone, pretending to be engrossed in it: “I’m not.”

While scrolling through the E-site, she clarified her motive: “I just came over to order another drink. I’ll go back once I get it.”

“And,” Yun Li struggled further, “if you hadn’t asked me to sit here, I wouldn’t have. You wanted me to sit here.”

Right when her drink arrived, Fu Shizhe downed his in one gulp, casually saying: “Then just block for me.”

Yun Li: “Are a lot of people going to hit on you later?”

Fu Shizhe pondered for a moment: “Quite a few.”

Hearing this, Yun Li glanced at the empty seat to his right: “You could have Fu Zhengchu sit on your right. After all, not everyone who comes over to hit on you is female.”

“…”

Yun Li had heard that some people go to bars looking for thrills. Observing closely, she noticed Fu Shizhe’s skin on his face and neck was very thin. Under the bar’s purple-pink lighting, his skin appeared almost ascetically pale, his thin lips strikingly vivid.

He was likely a target for many flirtatious advances.

And judging by his demeanor, he seemed to be a regular at bars.

“I heard from Chuqi that some people come to bars to pick up dates,” Yun Li used a more subtle term, but judging by her hesitant tone, Fu Shizhe could probably guess what she meant, waiting for her to finish.

Yun Li asked: “Is that what you guys are here for?”

She hoped it wasn’t too direct. Yun Li carefully watched Fu Shizhe’s expression. He lowered his eyes, fiddling with dice, and asked her: “Did you come over after listening to Deng Chuqi?”

Yun Li was slow to respond.

Fu Shizhe continued to probe: “Are you looking for a date?”

“…”

“I’m not.” Frustrated at being led by Fu Shizhe’s questions, Yun Li retorted, “You can’t answer a question with another question.”

Fu Shizhe calmly asked: “Why not?”

Yun Li earnestly explained: “Because as soon as you ask me something, I have to focus on how to respond, and the conversation can’t progress.”

Fu Shizhe hummed in acknowledgment, though it was unclear if he took it in.

“But you haven’t answered my question yet,” Yun Li said with a hint of accusation.

Fu Shizhe: “…”

“I’m not.”

Relieved by his response, Yun Li felt much more at ease.

Only when they leaned closer did Yun Li catch the strong scent of alcohol on him. Since entering, Fu Shizhe had only had a small glass of whiskey, likely having drunk quite a bit before arriving.

Seeing him still playing with the dice, Yun Li asked: “What is this game you’re playing?”

Fu Shizhe: “Starting with two dice, you roll them and then multiply the numbers.”

“…”

Yun Li didn’t quite grasp the scholar’s idea of fun, simply sitting beside him and watching him play.

After a while, the bartender handed the drink menu to Yun Li. Not wanting to repeat the choking incident from earlier, she scanned the unfamiliar names back and forth.

Before she could decide, Fu Shizhe took the menu from her and handed it back to the bartender, saying, “Make her a soft drink.”

Yun Li, seemingly surprised that Fu Shizhe noticed she didn’t want to drink alcohol, took a while before thanking him.

The soft drink was quickly prepared—a mix of fruit juices. According to what Yun Li had said earlier, it was time for her to head back.

Yun Li picked up her drink and turned around, only to see two strangers had taken a seat at their booth at some point, with a bucket of beer on the table and everyone enjoying a lively game of dice, where the loser had to drink half a glass of beer.

“…”

She sat back down.

Drinks kept coming, seemingly without end. Fu Shizhe would take a drink every few rolls of the dice, paying no attention to Yun Li beside him.

Yun Li felt this was not a good sign, especially noticing that initially, Fu Shizhe could roll up to a dozen dice, but now he was down to six or seven.

“Do you want to, maybe, drink less?”

“It’s fine.” Perhaps it was the alcohol talking, but Fu Shizhe was more talkative than usual, admitting, “I’m in a bad mood.”

Yun Li hesitated, then clinked her glass against his.

“I’ll drink with you.”

Fu Shizhe glanced at her and also raised his glass for a light toast.

“If you’re in a bad mood, maybe we should find something to do?” Not wanting her intentions to be too obvious, Yun Li added, “I’ll get the others, just wait.”

Unexpectedly, Fu Shizhe hummed in agreement.

The others quickly came downstairs, and the three with the largest phone screens downloaded a two-player game. Deng Chuqi immediately declared she’d team up with Xia Congsheng, leaving the grouping of the other four a challenge.

Yun Li thought it over. She wasn’t familiar with Xu QingSong, so she’d likely end up with Fu Zhengchu.

While the others were busy downloading the game, she sat next to Fu Shizhe and whispered, “Chuqi said she’s teaming up with Xiaxia. Can I not be paired with Fu Zhengchu?”

She couldn’t let him see she wanted to be on his team.

Yun Li could only apologize to Fu Zhengchu in her heart and lied, “Fu Zhengchu seems to like me…”

Fu Shizhe: “…”

This reason was carefully considered by Yun Li. It explained why she wouldn’t drink what Fu Zhengchu offered, why she avoided sitting with him at the booth and now didn’t want to be on his team.

But to Fu Shizhe, this sounded strange and far-fetched.

He knew Fu Zhengchu well and had never considered this possibility. Since they were young, Fu Zhengchu had liked a girl named Sang Chi and struggled to move on from several relationships.

Recalling times Fu Zhengchu complimented Yun Li’s beauty and how he drunkenly stumbled toward her before leaving, these actions could indeed be misunderstood.

Fu Shizhe had no interest in discussing this gossip about Fu Zhengchu and thought to remind him to be mindful of his actions later.

The app was ready, and everyone moved to a long table. The app featured several two-player mini-games requiring both players to operate the same screen face-to-face. The games were mostly simple, like who could solve math problems faster.

As everyone took their seats, Fu Zhengchu was about to sit opposite Yun Li but was nudged aside by Fu Shizhe, who had walked to the long table.

Fu Shizhe said, “Move over.”

Confused but too tipsy from the dice game to argue, Fu Zhengchu shifted aside.

Fu Shizhe sat opposite Yun Li, his eyes lacking their usual sharp coldness, appearing misty. He tapped the phone screen, his voice hoarse, “Start.”

“…”

Yun Li obediently opened the game app, which split the screen in two for each player to control one side. The first game was math.

From the start, Yun Li was utterly outplayed by Fu Shizhe, while Fu Zhengchu and Xu QingSong had a back-and-forth game, with Yun Li hearing Fu Zhengchu’s exasperated exclamations several times.

Yun Li began to regret teaming up with Fu Shizhe.

What if she came off as a fool right from the start?

Her grades weren’t exceptional, but they weren’t bad either. And it was just math. Could there be such a big gap?

After a short while, Fu Shizhe rested his face on one hand on the table, tapping the screen with the other.

752+288=?

Yun Li had just entered her answer when the other side of the screen declared victory. After dozens of rounds, she hadn’t won a single one.

Her frustration mounted: “Can’t you let me win just once?”

Fu Shizhe was taken aback for a moment. Initially appearing nonchalant, he now focused intently, only proceeding after each time Yun Li won a game.

After several consecutive wins, Yun Li felt humiliated and said slowly to the person across from her, “Fu Shizhe, leave me some dignity.”

“…”

After almost an hour had passed playing various games, Fu Zhengchu asked Yun Li if a woman had tried to hit on Fu Shizhe earlier.

She told the truth.

Fu Zhengchu, already tipsy, sneered, “She’s out of her league. Uncle’s money is only for the younger generation to spend.” Realizing this didn’t include the other two, he added, “It’s okay to spend it on Li Li, too.”

Deng Chuqi found it amusing and asked, “Why not say you can spend it on me too? Are you discriminating against me?”

Fu Zhengchu glanced at Deng Chuqi, then at Yun Li, and said earnestly, “Li Li is so pretty, especially if she grows her hair long…” He didn’t finish his sentence before a peanut hit him on the head.

Before he could figure out where it came from, he saw Fu Shizhe’s hand pressing on Fu Zhengchu’s head, scratching it as he said indifferently, “Rein it in.”

After that, he told the others to keep playing and left the room.

At the table, Fu Zhengchu was drunk and slumped over in his chair, asleep, while Xia Congsheng and Deng Chuqi, who could hold their liquor, were discussing work.

After waiting a long time without Fu Shizhe returning, Yun Li stood up, excused herself to the restroom, and slipped out the back door.

It was early autumn, and the cool breeze carried the faint scent of osmanthus through the streets.

People were shadows along the roadside. Yun Li tightened her jacket and looked around but didn’t see Fu Shizhe. She crossed her arms and walked forward, passing bars that were brightly lit at this hour.

She walked up to the bridge and circled around without finding anyone; not even the streetlights were on on the other side of the bridge.

After hesitating, Yun Li turned to head back.

“Yun Li.”

She had only taken a few steps when she suddenly heard Fu Shizhe’s voice. Without reacting, she turned around and finally saw a red glow under a tree.

Fu Shizhe emerged from the shadows.

Yun Li looked at the ground. Although it wasn’t clear, there were clusters of cigarette butts.

Wondering when he had noticed her, Yun Li asked in disbelief, “Have you been here the whole time?”

“Yeah.”

Yun Li couldn’t believe it. “How did I not see you?”

Fu Shizhe wasn’t wearing a coat, only a thin shirt, but he seemed unfazed by the cold.

He stamped out the cigarette butt and asked, “Were you looking for me?”