Chapter 42

Wen Ci was a quick learner; after watching them play a few rounds, she picked up a bit. She had originally been leaning back on the sofa, but now she was propping herself up on her arms, peeking over Zhou Wu’s shoulder, watching silently.

Qin Yun had just finished calling the points, and it was Zhou Wu’s turn.

Feeling the movement on his shoulder, Zhou Wu turned around and saw Wen Ci holding a glass of wine in both hands. He asked with amusement, “Are you going to ‘open’ him?”

“Are you asking me?” Wen Ci was a bit taken aback. “I don’t know.”

“It’s fine, just say it.”

Wen Ci looked up and stared at Qin Yun for a moment, then leaned over to Zhou Wu’s ear and whispered, “Open him!”

Zhou Wu almost laughed out loud, tilting his chin toward Qin Yun and lazily said, “I told you to open it, didn’t you hear me?”

Qin Yun cursed under his breath, not even opening the dice cup before accepting his fate and drinking. He grumbled, “What’s this? Can we call in reinforcements? Dou Yiqing, come on, let’s team up!”

Dou Yiqing politely refused, “No, if you’re this dumb, with the dice number written on your face, anyone teaming up with you will be cursed.”

Wen Ci couldn’t help but laugh, and the drink in her cup swayed with her laughter.

Someone patted her shoulder, and Wen Ci looked up to meet Duan Wei’s smiling eyes.

“Hey, wait for me! I want to play too!”

Duan Wei placed a hand on Wen Ci’s shoulder and urged, “Wen Ci, if you’re not going to play, can you move over a little? I want to sit closer so it’s easier to play.”

Wen Ci opened her mouth but couldn’t find a reason to refuse.

Squeezing the glass in her hand, Wen Ci smiled faintly, “Alright.”

Duan Wei walked over between her and Zhou Wu, about to sit down when Zhou Wu suddenly stood up.

“You sit inside,” he pointed toward the space, “I’m not playing anymore.”

Duan Wei grabbed his shirt, “Why? I just got here.”

Zhou Wu pulled his shirt from her grip and sat back down beside Wen Ci, briefly explaining, “I’m tired. You all continue.”

Duan Wei clearly wasn’t here for the game; she was just playing around. After two rounds, Dou Yiqing lost interest and said she was tired and didn’t want to play anymore.

Duan Wei leaned back, her leg brushing against Zhou Wu’s black pants, shaking slightly. Looking up, she asked, “Zhou Wu, do I look tan from my trip to Binhai?”

Zhou Wu shifted his leg, not looking at her, “Can’t tell.”

“You’re so dismissive,” Duan Wei lightly nudged his arm, her voice carrying a hint of flirtation, making people feel tingly. “It’s so cold here. Do you have an extra jacket in your car? I’ll go with you to get it.”

He did. Zhou Wu always kept an extra jacket in his car.

Wen Ci lowered her head, pretending to look at her phone, though her fingers were aimlessly scrolling on the screen, already prepared to move aside for them to leave.

Sure enough, Zhou Wu turned to her and lightly tapped her hair. “Make way, I’m going out.”

Wen Ci nodded and stood up, suddenly feeling like she wanted to leave.

After standing, she shifted her body to make way for Zhou Wu, but unexpectedly, Zhou Wu stayed beside her, not leaving. Instead, he looked toward the table diagonally across and lazily spoke.

“Xiang Wenwen. Your wife is calling you.”

His voice wasn’t too loud, but just enough for everyone at that table to hear.

Several people nearby, who knew about their past relationship, looked over in surprise.

Wen Ci also turned her head, staring at him blankly.

Xiang Wenwen, who had been unexpectedly called out, raised an eyebrow, quickly returning to a neutral expression. He stood up and walked over, “What’s going on?”

Duan Wei exclaimed, “What do you mean, Zhou Wu—”

“I don’t know,” Zhou Wu ignored her words and casually replied, “Ask her.”

“……”

The couple’s relationship was already on the verge of falling apart, but they were still legally married. Xiang Wenwen hesitated for a moment before sitting down properly.

Wen Ci’s hair was patted again, and Zhou Wu said, “Go sit down.”

When Wen Ci came to her senses, she found that she and Zhou Wu had somehow ended up sitting next to Dou Yiqing, directly across from the couple.

“What do you think they’re arguing about?” Dou Yiqing leaned on Wen Ci’s shoulder, looking at the couple across. “Why aren’t they raising their voices? I want to hear it.”

Wen Ci, embarrassed, replied, “Yiqing, your voice is too loud.”

Dou Yiqing had drunk quite a bit and was feeling tipsy, shouting, “Really? No, I’m speaking softly.”

Wen Ci sighed internally.

The couple across them, hearing Dou Yiqing’s comment, stopped their argument, their expressions darkening.

“Stop gossiping, Dou Yiqing,” Qin Yun shook the dice cup. “Continue.”

“No, I’m bored with this, let’s play something else,” Dou Yiqing hooked her arm around Wen Ci’s, “Let’s play something Wen Ci can join, or she’ll be too bored.”

Wen Ci opened her mouth to say something, “Actually, I’m not—”

“Truth or Dare? I have a deck of cards right here,” a high school classmate of Xiang Wenwen suddenly suggested as he sat down, “It’ll be more fun with familiar faces. Spin the bottle, whoever it lands on has to pick. How about it?”

The game was childish but exciting. Qin Yun had never played it before: “Are the questions going to be too extreme? There are girls at the table.”

“It’s fine, don’t worry, you’ll know once you play a round,” the person picked up an empty bottle, placed it on the table, and looked up at Wen Ci. “Everyone’s in? If everyone’s playing, I’ll spin it. Wen Ci, are you in?”

Though it wasn’t Wen Ci’s idea, the activity seemed to revolve around her. She couldn’t refuse. “I can.”

Zhou Wu, not one to spoil the fun, lazily nodded.

The bottle began to spin, and the first unlucky one was Qin Yun. He drew a card and read aloud, “Do you have anyone you like… Damn, what kind of childish question is this? I’m done, I’m done.”

Dou Yiqing, tipsy, cupped her hands like a horn and whispered in his ear, “Although I don’t really want to know, you really can’t handle this.”

Laughter filled the room. Qin Yun also laughed, his face slightly flushed in the dim light, unsure whether it was from the alcohol or something else.

“Well, damn… I do,” he quickly replied, throwing the card back. “Alright, alright, continue.”

Dou Yiqing teased, “Didn’t you say you weren’t playing?”

Qin Yun laughed, “Only me? In your dreams! Come on, I’ll spin.”

The bottle stopped at Duan Wei, and she drew a card. Looking down, she read aloud, “When was the first time you liked someone… Do you still like them now?”

“I liked someone in first grade,” Duan Wei set the card down, staring at Zhou Wu, and answered, “I still like him.”

The hint was too obvious, and Xiang Wenwen’s expression turned sour. A moment of awkward silence fell over the table.

Dou Yiqing seemed to enjoy this kind of tense atmosphere, and Wen Ci felt like her arm might be crushed from how tightly she was holding it.

What kind of expression did Zhou Wu have right now? Happy? Surprised? Or was it shock?

Wen Ci couldn’t help it and sneaked a glance. She saw Zhou Wu’s cold jawline.

The man crossed his arms and lazily leaned against the sofa, shoulder to shoulder with her, looking uninterested. It was unclear whether he hadn’t been paying attention or if he had heard but simply didn’t care.

“Alright, alright, continue,” Qin Yun broke the awkwardness. “Duan Wei, your turn.”

—-

After a few rounds, the bottle hadn’t pointed at them once.

Wen Ci thought herself lucky, but the next moment, the bottle slowly stopped, aiming directly at her.

Like everyone else, Wen Ci chose “Truth.” The card was passed to her, and she casually drew one: “When was the first time you liked someone?”

She read it out loud, then paused, flipping it over to double-check. It was the only card that didn’t have a mistake.

This meant that the second question Duan Wei read out loud had been added by herself.

The question seemed somewhat acceptable; even if she answered it, no one would guess who it was about.

Wen Ci placed the card back on the table: “It was… in the first year of high school.”

Really? Well, she was still a student back then.

Zhou Wu turned his face away, staring outside, his expression even colder than before.

Wen Ci quickly finished her turn and spun the bottle, eager to move on to the next round. She twisted it hard, and the bottle wobbled and spun two circles before stopping on her again.

Wen Ci: “…”

She accepted her fate and drew a card. Zhou Wu glanced over, seeing what she drew, and the card read: “Is there someone you like here?”

Wen Ci clearly hesitated but didn’t read it aloud. She threw the card back into the pile: “…I choose dare.”

No one expected that the dare card would come into play. Someone paused, then hurriedly pulled out a card from their pocket. Their seats were a bit far apart, so Wen Ci said, “Any card is fine. You read it for me.”

“Give a hug to the second person of the opposite sex to your left for a minute.”

To her left, there was only Zhou Wu; to the far left was Xiang Wenwen.

Xiang Wenwen smiled and cooperated, standing up: “Come on, old classmate, give me a hug.”

Wen Ci hesitated, thinking a quick touch should be acceptable. Everyone wasn’t that strict.

Not wanting to be the spoilsport, Wen Ci turned around to leave.

But the person beside her didn’t budge, their long legs blocking the whole aisle, showing no intention of letting her pass.

Wen Ci froze, and Dou Yiqing, looking a bit tipsy, raised her head: “That’s not appropriate, he’s a married man.”

“Exactly.” Qin Yun immediately chimed in, waving his hand for Xiang Wenwen to sit back down, “No need for the dare, it’s the store’s anniversary today, everyone around here knows each other. Imagine if you had to go to the next table for some awkward stuff—how embarrassing.”

“…” Dou Yiqing pinched her nose. “Qin Yun, you’re really disgusting.”

Qin Yun nailed it: “How about this, if you don’t pick truth, you drink a full glass straight. Of course, since Wen Ci can’t hold her liquor, let’s go easy. She’ll just have a sip, then—hey!”

Before Qin Yun could finish his sentence, Wen Ci had already returned to her seat, grabbing the drink and gulping it down.

Wen Ci frowned after finishing a glass and said: “It’s fine, I can drink, no need for special treatment. Shall I continue spinning?”

The bottle began to spin again. Wen Ci prayed in her heart: not me, not me…

The bottle wobbled past her and pointed at Zhou Wu.

Zhou Wu looked uninterested, nonchalantly drawing a card and flipping it over:

“When was your first time?”

No one expected such a bold question in this set of cards.

Before anyone could react, Zhou Wu answered calmly: “April 7th last year.”

Others: “?”

He’s not drinking? He just casually said that out loud?

Everyone felt the date was familiar but couldn’t immediately remember why. Only Xiang Wenwen and Duan Wei’s expressions changed slightly.

Qin Yun snapped back, cursing loudly and laughing, followed by others joining in.

Only Wen Ci stared, looking at him in surprise.

April 7th last year?

…Wasn’t that the date of their first time together?

Wen Ci’s heart raced, and she suddenly remembered a blogger that Dou Yiqing had scolded not long ago. The blogger had posted on social media, complaining that his girlfriend wasn’t a virgin, and Dou Yiqing had angrily commented three hundred times, with Wen Ci adding a few remarks.

If Dou Yiqing knew what Wen Ci was thinking now, would she scold her too?

Wen Ci didn’t particularly care whether Zhou Wu was a virgin or not, but knowing it might be now…

An indescribable, uncontrollable sense of excitement and happiness surged within her.

Feeling her gaze, Zhou Wu didn’t acknowledge it. He reached out to spin the bottle.

The game continued, and it landed on Wen Ci several more times. When she could answer, she did; when she couldn’t, she drank.

The night went on, and by midnight, the party atmosphere shifted as the DJ pumped up the volume. Everyone was drinking and getting excited, abandoning the truth or dare game to hit the dance floor.

Dou Yiqing invited Wen Ci to dance, but Wen Ci waved her off, saying she needed to go to the bathroom.

Wen Ci’s unsteady figure disappeared around the corner.

Zhou Wu coldly retracted his gaze. After a while, he raised his hand to call a female employee over to follow her.

After giving the instructions, his phone buzzed.

【Wen Ci: Zhou Wu, can you come over here for a moment?】

Wen Ci: I want to kiss you.

Did she set up some kind of program? Is she programmed to send him this message every time she gets drunk?

Just now, she wanted to hug someone else, but when she couldn’t, she came to him for a kiss. What does that mean? Is he just a backup?

Zhou Wu sneered coldly, finding it meaningless. He threw his phone onto the table.

Xiang Wenwen glanced at the time, stood up, and said to his friends, “I’m leaving first. Qin Yun will be back soon, so please let him know for me.”

His friends stared blankly: “Aren’t you waiting for Duan Wei?”

Xiang Wenwen glanced coldly at Duan Wei, who was dancing closely with another man on the dance floor, then shook his head and smiled politely. “She drove here herself, she’ll call a ride back later.”

After walking a couple of steps, Xiang Wenwen remembered something and turned back to ask, “Have you seen Wen Ci?”

“She said she was going to the bathroom,” someone replied, “Hmm, hasn’t come back yet? Been a while?”

Xiang Wenwen waited outside the bathroom for ten minutes but didn’t see her. He called a waiter to check, and the waiter said there was no one named Wen Ci inside.

Xiang Wenwen searched around again, but still no sign of her.

The corridor was empty and dim. He picked up his phone and sent Wen Ci a voice message: “Wen Ci, I’m about to leave now. Should I drop you off on the way?”

As soon as he sent the message, a noise came from the nearby dark VIP room. It wasn’t very noticeable among the DJ music playing outside.

Xiang Wenwen froze, holding his phone, and instinctively tried to open the door to check, but the waiter stopped him in time. “Sir, our VIP rooms are not open today.”

The noise outside the room gradually faded, as if the person had been taken away by the waiter.

Zhou Wu withdrew his gaze, pressed his fingertip heavily, and said in a cold tone, “Such a big reaction? Because you heard his voice?”

Wen Ci sat on a high stool, her legs spread open, her body pressed against the wall by Zhou Wu. She was still wearing her jeans, but her top was a mess. A part of her blue bra was pushed out of the neckline, and her sweater was left in disarray by his hand.

After drinking and taking several breathless kisses, Wen Ci’s breathing was heavy, moist, and quick, spraying on Zhou Wu’s chin.

She shivered, her shoulders trembling, her eyes half-lidded and wet as she looked at Zhou Wu, as if she hadn’t even heard what he was saying. She was already drunk. She cupped his face with her hands and lifted her head to kiss him.

Zhou Wu turned his face away, looking at her coldly. “Wen Ci, let me ask you, what are you so excited about?”

At this point, if she really dared to mention another person…

But what would it matter if she did? They were just casual partners. Zhou Wu was annoyed, his eyebrows lowered, and a rare hint of defeat appeared on his face—something that had never been seen before.

Wen Ci swallowed, not kissing him anymore. Her wet lips moved close to his ear as she whispered softly:

“Zhou Wu, when we first slept together last year, were you a virgin?”