Lu Qingze had been dragged to “Moonlight” for a social engagement today. After several rounds of drinks, the private room had already turned foggy with smoke. He excused himself to get some fresh air, but little did he expect to see such a scene in the narrow hallway.

A girl was squatting by the corridor, looking as if she was about to throw up her entire stomach. As she leaned and swayed, she was on the verge of collapsing onto the floor.

Her hand was propped against the wall, her wrist delicate and white. A slightly darker crescent-shaped scar stood out in the dim light. Though it was a scar, its shape was strangely beautiful.

There seemed to be something fleeting in her cool gaze. He stepped forward, took out a handkerchief, and handed it to her.

Su Mo looked up. The dizziness made her realize the person in front of her was a man. Hesitating for a moment, she took the handkerchief. “Thank you.”

She wiped her mouth, propped herself up against the wall, and tried to stand. At that moment, she realized just how tall the man was.

Even when standing, she only reached his chest.

He was so tall. She looked down briefly; even though everything seemed blurry, she could still tell his legs were long.

“Thank you,” Su Mo said again, groggily waving the handkerchief. “I’ll return it to you once I wash it clean…”

“No need.” His voice was deep and pleasant, and with just two simple words, Su Mo was certain he must be quite handsome.

“Well…”

“You must be quite handsome, right?”

Su Mo spoke, but Lu Qingze didn’t answer. Instead, he furrowed his brows, staring at the girl in front of him. She looked completely different drunk compared to when she was sober—her dazed eyes held some unknown emotion.

Su Mo laughed softly, leaning against the wall and sighing. “Are all handsome men so aloof now?”

She turned her head back toward Lu Qingze. “Are you interested in coming with me to crash a party? There’s a huge wedding happening. With your looks, I’m sure you could make Lu Ziye fall flat on his face. You know Lu Ziye, right? Haha, he’s a jerk. Honestly, I don’t care if he gets married, but I can’t stand seeing him flaunting it. Come with me, will you? Please?”

As she spoke, her voice unexpectedly took on a hint of playful charm. After finishing, she grabbed Lu Qingze’s arm and shook it a few times, hoping for a response.

However, before she could get one, her eyes fluttered closed, and she collapsed, leaning against the wall.

Lu Qingze quickly reached out and caught her. At that moment, she was completely unconscious, her eyes tightly shut.

On her small face, a tear was still hanging, not sure if it was from sadness or from the violent vomiting earlier.

His long fingers gently flicked, and the tear disappeared.

Then, he bent down and carefully picked her up.

The driver stared at the woman sitting in the back seat, shocked by the sight before him. He didn’t know what to say.

Why had the sir suddenly brought a woman out? And why was she lying across the back seat like that, still clutching his clothes?

Lu Qingze glanced at the hand clutching his clothes, his brow furrowing slightly. Eventually, without saying anything, he quietly took off his suit jacket and draped it over her.

“Sir, where are we going?”

“Take her to a room at the Imperial Huang Hotel. Just send her there.”

“And you, sir?”

“I have something else to do. Lu Hua will pick me up later.”

“Yes, sir.”

The driver didn’t dare delay, quickly driving away. Lu Qingze stood in place, watching the car disappear before he turned and entered the bar.

Su Mo felt as if she were half-dreaming, half-awake. She seemed to catch a faint, refreshing scent of mint.

The clean, crisp smell helped to ease the nausea that had been churning in her stomach.

However, the minty scent eventually faded, and the comfort it provided was gone. Instead, it couldn’t suppress the chaotic nightmares she had later that night.

The bizarre dream shifted between various scenes, each more disturbing than the last.

“She’s the one, she seduced me and got pregnant with my child!” A grotesque, filthy man shouted at a camera, pointing at her.

Then, Jian Ruyun’s vicious face appeared: “Our Liu family doesn’t have anyone as shameless as you. Get out! From now on, our Liu family has nothing to do with you!”

“That man has AIDS, so she must have it too! She has AIDS!”

“Lock her up in that AIDS care facility!”

“Sorry, the child has congenital defects… the child is dead, the child is dead…”

Su Mo suddenly jolted awake, sitting up in bed, a thin layer of sweat on her forehead.

She took two deep breaths, counting five seconds, before she realized it was just a dream—an unbearably real dream.

These five years, she had thought she could face the past calmly, but… Looking at her trembling hands, she sighed.

After a while, when her emotions had calmed down, she felt a burning pain in her throat. She was about to get out of bed to get a drink of water when suddenly, her phone on the bedside table started buzzing.

“Who’s calling at this hour?”

She picked up the phone, surprised. It was a call from Li Shun, her grandmother’s caregiver. Why would she be calling so late?

Su Mo’s heart sank. Could something have happened?

She quickly answered the phone.

“Mo Mo, it’s Aunt Li. Hurry back, your grandmother’s in trouble!”

Su Mo’s mind exploded in panic.

“What happened? Aunt Li, don’t worry. I’ll come back right away.”

“Your grandmother slipped and fell. It’s pretty serious. Hurry back, we’ll talk when you get here.”

“Okay, I’m coming right now. Please take care of her for me.”

After hanging up, Su Mo scrambled to get out of bed. As her feet touched the soft carpet, she froze in shock.

This wasn’t her house.

When the lights came on in the room, her mind exploded again!

A hotel!

She had slept in a hotel!

A wave of goosebumps spread all over her body as she realized this.

Damn it, can someone explain to her what happened?

She quickly checked her clothes, relieved to find they were still intact. Aside from the headache, she felt no discomfort, which made her finally breathe a sigh of relief.

It was fine. She was fine. She must have stayed in a room booked by Ma Wenlong.

But… looking at the suit jacket thrown beside the bed, it was a high-end custom suit!

Could Ma Wenlong afford such a high-quality suit? And it was obviously two sizes too big for him.

Su Mo…

Did she do something crazy with a man last night? She thought, spending so much time with Ye Lanshan, maybe she could have done something like that.

However, the events of last night, apart from Yu Chuxin causing trouble and forcing alcohol on her, were blurry. What had happened after she left the private room and went to the restroom? She had no memory of it.

She glanced at the suit on the bed again, and it felt like a hot potato.

Still, Su Mo resigned herself to taking the suit, heading out of the hotel.

It didn’t matter. As long as she was okay, going back to check on her grandmother was the priority.

Side Note:

Su Mo: “Handsome guy, want to crash a party?”

Lu Qingze: “…”

Su Mo: “Just say yes! It’s just crashing a party, what’s there to be afraid of?”

Lu Qingze: “I’m not afraid of crashing a party. I’m just worried that someone won’t own up to it later.”

Su Mo: “Who won’t own up? Who are you?”

Lu Qingze: “…”