Chapter 11

For the first time in her life, Wen Ci was doing something so thrilling that it felt like her heart was about to leap out of her throat, and her mind went blank for a moment.

“Is there?” Wen Ci replied, “But I’ve been eating on time at school recently.”

“It seems the cafeteria at Jiang Zhong is still as bad as ever,” Zhou Wu said.

Suddenly, there was some noise from the window behind them. The two exchanged a glance, and Wen Ci quickly jumped down to grab her bag, while Zhou Wu picked up her high heels and pulled her toward the side of the window to hide.

The window opened, revealing Wen Ci’s parents’ room.

Wen’s mother glanced outside, and Wen’s father asked, “What’s wrong?”

Wen’s mother said, “I think I heard something just now.”

“Probably a stray cat.”

Wen’s mother closed the window, and her voice could still be faintly heard, “Ai, Wen Ci, this child, she’s becoming more and more strange. She insists on going to Qin Yun’s birthday party. You know how her male classmates from high school are—wealthy but uncultured. I even told you to help her transfer classes, but you said it wouldn’t affect her grades. Do you remember that day? She went to Dou Yiqing’s house without telling me beforehand. I only found out because I saw the living room surveillance footage and realized she wasn’t home…”

Wen Ci lowered her head, feeling ashamed as her ears turned red.

She suddenly remembered when she was very young, her mother once took her away from her kindergarten friends, muttering that they were dirty and lacked manners, telling her not to join such games anymore.

Wen’s mother thought that children didn’t understand anything and said these things openly. After that, Wen Ci never had playmates in kindergarten again.

Would Zhou Wu be angry? Would he think it’s strange?

As the noise inside gradually faded, Wen Ci bit her lip, about to apologize, but her hand was gently pulled forward.

“Let’s go.” Zhou Wu turned to her with a smile in his eyes.

Wen Ci walked cautiously the whole way.

The alley was narrow, and many of the neighbors were familiar people, so there was a risk of being discovered by her parents no matter who they encountered.

Fortunately, it was getting dark, and there weren’t many people around, so they made it through without issue. Just as they were about to turn the corner to the alley entrance, a middle-aged woman in a qipao holding a fan came toward them.

Wen Ci quickly shrank back, hiding behind Zhou Wu.

“What’s wrong?” Zhou Wu asked.

“That woman up ahead,” Wen Ci turned her face, speaking nervously in a low voice, “She’s one of my mom’s Mahjong friends.”

Bad luck, they just happened to be walking down a narrow path and were bound to run into her. Wen Ci was dressed in white, and Zhou Wu himself was eye-catching. In the dimly lit alley, they stood out, and the woman had already started noticing them.

To avoid being caught, Wen Ci steeled herself and was about to cover her face—though it would be a little strange, at least she wouldn’t get caught.

But Zhou Wu was quicker. He pulled her into an embrace.

Before Wen Ci could react, she found herself pressed into his chest, and she instinctively wrapped her arms around him, hiding her face in his chest.

The woman walked past, and Wen Ci heard her click her tongue and mumble, “The younger generation these days…”

As they got closer to the alley entrance, more people appeared, but Zhou Wu didn’t let go of her. Wen Ci couldn’t see the road ahead and just followed him, safely reaching his car.

Zhou Wu was driving a very flashy sports car, completely out of place with the old-fashioned alley.

People were watching them, and Wen Ci didn’t have time to be stunned by the Bugatti car door she was seeing for the first time. In the gaze of the onlookers, she hurriedly got into the car, and Zhou Wu tossed her a jacket, which she immediately used to cover her face.

Zhou Wu pulled out a parking ticket, opened the door, and got in, stepping on the gas to disappear from everyone’s sight.

The black Bugatti sped down the road. Zhou Wu held the steering wheel with one hand, unable to resist laughing: “Wen Ci.”

The jacket shifted a little, and Wen Ci’s face peeked out. “Hm?”

“The windows are tinted. If you don’t stand in front of the car, people outside can’t see in.”

Wen Ci sighed in relief and finally put the jacket down, exposing her face.

She couldn’t stop thinking about what her mother had said just now. Taking any chance, she apologized, “Zhou Wu, sorry about earlier…”

“What?”

“My mom’s words,” Wen Ci initially wanted to explain but found herself at a loss for words, so she could only repeat, “Sorry.”

“It’s fine, I didn’t mind. Old Yu used to scold me so harshly, and I didn’t listen to a word he said,” Zhou Wu said. “Don’t worry about it.”

Her phone rang. Zhou Wu glanced at the front camera, then tossed his phone to Wen Ci. “It’s Qin Yun calling. Answer it, or he’ll keep calling. It’s so annoying.”

Wen Ci answered, and there was a lot of noise on the other end, with music and talking blending together. Qin Yun’s loud voice boomed, “Bro, what’s going on? It’s so late, haven’t touched your Bugatti in a while, can’t step on the gas anymore?”

Wen Ci glanced at the navigation, “We’ll be there in about twenty minutes. Sorry, I delayed things a little.”

Qin Yun paused, “Oh, okay, okay, ah, alright. Zhou Wu’s phone is with you? Good, good.”

Qin Yun rambled on a bit before hanging up. Wen Ci held Zhou Wu’s phone, wondering where to put it when her eyes caught the parking ticket.

The alley only allowed temporary stops for ten minutes, and if you exceeded that, you’d get fined.

Zhou Wu drove fast but more steadily than Qin Yun. Although the navigation said they had twenty minutes to go, they arrived in just over ten.

Although she was mentally prepared, when Wen Ci saw what lay ahead, she was still taken aback.

Before her stood a three-story building hidden in the mountains. The building wasn’t tall, but its size was astonishing. The entire structure seemed to be made of floor-to-ceiling windows, transparent and high-end, with loud drum beats faintly coming from inside. People were standing on every floor and balcony—some were dancing, some were singing, others were playing video games or billiards. There was even a gambling table. This wasn’t the kind of birthday party she had attended before, with people gathered around a table for a meal; this was truly an extravagant party, one that only appeared in the dramas she watched.

And apart from this villa, she couldn’t see any other buildings—maybe there were others, but they were hidden by the lush trees. There were no worries about disturbing the neighbors. The villa was surrounded by sports cars, parked carelessly around the place.

Wen Ci had just escaped from the alleyway and was standing by the car, feeling immensely relieved that she hadn’t changed back into her jeans earlier.

“Take your jacket,” Zhou Wu’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts. “It’s cold inside.”

Wen Ci thought for a moment and bent down to grab Zhou Wu’s jacket. “I’ll take good care of it.”

Her phone rang again, and Zhou Wu directly pressed the reject button, casually placing a hand on Wen Ci’s waist. “They’re already rushing us.”

—-

The inside of the villa was far more impressive than the outside

The pool, lit up by the lights, had a chef grilling meat nearby. People in the pool were lounging on floaties, occasionally splashing water onto the people by the shore. Waitstaff were scattered among the crowd.

Zhou Wu led her through the place. As they passed by nearly everyone, each person greeted Zhou Wu, their gaze briefly shifting to Wen Ci. Zhou Wu responded either coldly or casually, but he didn’t stop walking and continued leading her forward.

“Wen Ci!”

Whether it was her teacher’s innate talent or Dou Yiqing’s loud voice, Wen Ci immediately heard her amidst the noise.

Wen Ci instinctively shifted to the side, distancing herself from Zhou Wu.

By the pool, Dou Yiqing was waving at her. “Here! Come over!”

Dou Yiqing was wearing a denim spaghetti strap dress, her hair curled, and she had a simple, clean makeup look, a stark contrast to the way she looked during the school anniversary. She was lounging by the pool on a chair, her long legs casually crossed.

When they got closer, Dou Yiqing’s eyes lit up when she saw Wen Ci’s outfit. “I’m so touched! I thought I’d never see you wear that again.”

Wen Ci smiled. “I’ll wear it more often from now on.”

Dou Yiqing understood and didn’t press further. Her gaze shifted to the jacket Wen Ci was holding.

It was a black windbreaker. Dou Yiqing asked, “Whose is this?”

Just as Zhou Wu was about to speak, Wen Ci jumped in. “It’s Zhou Wu’s jacket. I borrowed it from him. I felt cold after getting out of the car.”

“It is cold. The temperature’s lower in the mountains. Some people don’t even consider the electricity bills and just leave the air conditioning on, freezing everyone.” Dou Yiqing handed them some grilled meat. “Are you hungry? Have some.”

Wen Ci took the plate and split it with Zhou Wu, who took it willingly.

Her phone rang again—she had lost count of how many times it had gone off tonight. Zhou Wu answered it, lazily holding the phone to his ear.

Qin Yun was standing on the second-floor balcony, looking down. He saw Wen Ci standing by the pool with Zhou Wu, motionless. He curiously asked, “Big Brother, what are you standing there for? Why don’t you come upstairs? We’ve been waiting for you for ages.”

Zhou Wu hung up and told the two, “I’m going upstairs to find Qin Yun.”

“Okay,” Wen Ci replied.

After Zhou Wu left, Wen Ci realized, “Should I go greet Qin Yun too? I still haven’t given him my gift…”

“Don’t go. It’s all smoke upstairs. And I just peeked; it’s all rich young guys up there. Each one’s got a girl. It’s a mess,” Dou Yiqing stopped her. “No rush. You can give it to him when he comes down later.”

Wen Ci thought for a moment and nodded. She sent Qin Yun a WeChat message, telling him. Qin Yun quickly replied, telling her to have fun, and that he would come down to find them later.

Wen Ci didn’t find anything particularly interesting at the villa.

She and Dou Yiqing each had a lounge chair. Wen Ci sat, while Dou Yiqing lay back. It was peaceful, and they felt out of place amidst the loud, excited crowd around them.

Dou Yiqing was extremely satisfied. She bit into a piece of grilled meat and sighed, “I can’t even imagine how expensive this meat is.”

Wen Ci had tried it earlier and laughed. “It’s really good.”

“Sigh.” Dou Yiqing looked at the scene in front of her and sighed deeply. “It’s too extravagant. Wen Ci, do you think these people are really in the same world as us?”

Wen Ci remained silent.

She had thought about this long ago, back in the top-floor suite Zhou Wu had booked, which cost tens of thousands per night.

“By the way, have you seen any of our acquaintances?” Dou Yiqing suddenly lowered her voice and asked.

“Who? Qin Yun?”

“No, who’s close to him? Look over there—”

Wen Ci followed her gaze and saw Duan Wei by the pool.

Duan Wei was lying on a float, wearing a bikini with a lace cover-up, which didn’t hide much but rather made her look even more alluring. Her fit, beautiful figure was clearly the result of working out.

“Her figure is also amazing,” Dou Yiqing remarked.

Wen Ci agreed, “Yes.”

Dou Yiqing then said, “There’s another familiar face here today…”

“Who?”

“Wen Ci.”

Just as Wen Ci was about to speak, someone suddenly called her name from behind, the voice sounding familiar.

Wen Ci turned around and saw Xiang Wenwen standing behind her, smiling gently. “It really is you. Long time no sees.”