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Wen Jiu recalled, and the image of the young man’s face, which had been full of smiles just moments ago, flashed in her mind. His expression stiffened when he saw her arm and back, both wrapped in bandages.
As she saw the faint reddish tissue fluid seeping through the bandages, the once invincible school bully’s eyes turned red without warning.
His emotions were in turmoil, his lips trembling. He raised his hand several times as if wanting to touch Wen Jiu but withdrew it each time, afraid of hurting her.
“A-Jiu, why did you come in?”
Such a huge fire, and yet, Wen Jiu rushed in without hesitation.
His words were filled with sorrow and self-blame. As soon as he spoke, tears fell from his eyes.
In contrast, Wen Jiu smiled optimistically and comforted him, “Come on, we’ve been childhood friends. I couldn’t just stand by and watch you die, could I?”
At that time, Wen Jiu didn’t know where she found the courage and strength to rush into Jian Yue’s house and carry him out.
Even when the falling curtains drifted toward them, her instinct was to shift Jian Yue to the side.
But the curtains’ flames set Wen Jiu’s sleeve on fire.
Normally, Wen Jiu should’ve immediately taken off her clothes to protect herself, but the fire was growing stronger. She was afraid that if she put Jian Yue down, she would lose the courage to carry him again.
Without thinking much, Wen Jiu chose to endure the burning pain in her arm and carried Jian Yue out of the fire.
The moment she exited the fire, she quickly handed Jian Yue to the arriving adults and stripped off her clothes.
But the area on her entire arm and shoulder was still severely injured.
On the other hand, Jian Yue, since he was wearing a sleeveless sports T-shirt at home, only had a small burn on the arm that had been resting on Wen Jiu’s shoulder.
It was just a small area, but it caused the pampered Jian Yue to suffer sleepless nights in pain.
This is why, when he saw Wen Jiu’s severe injuries, he felt so guilty and heartbroken.
Time had passed, and the once flamboyant and self-absorbed young man was now completely different.
Her thoughts shifted back, and Wen Jiu sighed dramatically, “So, what do you want to say to me?”
“Are you going to tell me how you flirted with Lin Anlan behind my back? How exciting your forbidden love was? Or are you going to say that even if you cheated, I’m still the one you love the most?”
As she said these words, her stomach churned, and she felt disgusted beyond belief.
“Jian Yue, your apology means absolutely nothing to me.”
“It’s not like that.” Jian Yue quickly tried to explain. “A-Jiu, nothing substantial happened between me and Lin Anlan. The most that happened was that one hug, nothing more.”
He choked on his words, desperately trying to redeem himself. “Please don’t give me the death sentence. Can you give me one more chance?”
Since yesterday, after losing contact with Wen Jiu, Jian Yue had felt like his world had collapsed.
His mind was consumed by a single thought: the person he couldn’t leave was her.
Only by finding Wen Jiu did everything around him seem to have meaning.
So, he desperately tried to contact Wen Jiu, but all he got was her cold reply: “It means nothing.”
Jian Yue’s hand, gripping the phone, trembled, his knuckles white with strain. He hadn’t had the chance to speak any further before the only sound left in the phone was the repeated ‘beep, beep, beep’ of the busy signal, mocking him.
Instinctively, he redialed, only to realize that Wen Jiu had already blocked this number.
Reluctantly, he switched to a different phone and tried again.
Wen Jiu furrowed her brow as she looked at the incoming call. She had decided to resist the urge to turn off her phone to avoid responding to Wen Sheng and the others’ requests.
She turned on airplane mode, then bought some clothes and shoes on a shopping platform in Gangcheng. After filling in the hotel address, she headed to the bathroom for a quick shower.
An hour later, Wen Jiu chose a Klein blue halter tank top with irregular triangular hems and a back tie-up design, paired with retro blue skinny flare jeans. She completed the look with black high heels with red soles and sunglasses before leaving the hotel.
The first thing she did after stepping out was to head to a business hall and get a new phone card.
She then sent the new number to Wen Sheng and the others, deactivating her previous card.
Only then did she feel at ease, heading out to find a place to eat.
As night fell, after a leisurely afternoon nap at the hotel, Wen Jiu stepped outside, walking into the fading sunlight.
The salty sea breeze added an extra layer of tranquility to the already romantic atmosphere of the city.
Wen Jiu took a cab to Shiban Street, recommended by Shen Chun, casually strolling toward the end of the street.
By the time she arrived, the sky had fully darkened, and the neon lights on both sides of the street shimmered, casting a different kind of radiance from that of Beijing’s bustling streets.
Wen Jiu stood at the entrance of the bar at the end of the street, looking up at the vintage stone door, her gaze sweeping over the sign.
She had wondered why Shen Chun hadn’t told her the name of the bar. It turned out this bar didn’t even have a sign.
If Shen Chun hadn’t mentioned it, Wen Jiu might have passed by without a second glance.
A slight smile appeared on her lips as she lifted her foot and entered the bar.
Upon stepping inside, the expansive lobby was almost impossible to see in its entirety.
In stark contrast to the simplistic, vintage exterior, the bar’s interior was meticulously decorated with luxurious details. The floors were made of high-end white cloud marble.
In the center of the bar, a towering, floor-length, extravagant waterfall crystal chandelier bathed the entire lobby in soft light, creating a comfortable ambiance reminiscent of a forest at dawn.
The surrounding dark leather booths, with their subtle ink patterns, appeared randomly arranged but were actually meticulously placed, creating a sense of scattered order—an ultimate contrast of relaxed restraint.
As Wen Jiu stood at the entrance, observing the environment, several people had already noticed her presence.
“Pretty girl!” someone at the bar quietly called out, noticing her.
It was the peak hour at the bar, with a steady flow of customers coming and going. Yet, when her strikingly elegant face appeared at the entrance, even the busy bartenders paused and looked toward her.
The man in front of her had lazy, carefree waves of hair cascading over his pale shoulders, and his sharp, delicate features still held a powerful intensity under the overhead light at the entrance.
The girl’s curled eyelashes fluttered slightly as her gaze moved across the lobby, seemingly searching for something.
In the few seconds it took, someone was already walking toward her.
“Hi, is there anything I can help you with?”
Wen Jiu looked at the man standing in front of her and smiled faintly. “Hello, I’m looking for the person in charge of this bar.”
“The bar owner?” The man thought for a moment, muttering under his breath, “Damn! Could she be here for Yanci?”
He spoke in Cantonese, but Wen Jiu didn’t catch the words clearly, so she simply responded, “Hmm?”
The man quickly smiled and switched to Mandarin, “There are a few people in charge of the bar, which one are you looking for?”
“Anyone who can make decisions will do,” Wen Jiu replied.
“I see…” The man took a closer look at Wen Jiu. Seeing her calm demeanor and relaxed posture, he noted how different she was from the nervous people who usually came looking for Jiang Yanci.
It seemed like she wasn’t here for Yanci after all.
Relieved, he perked up, leading her forward as he asked, “Are you here in Gangcheng for a vacation?”
Wen Jiu nodded, her gentle and sweet smile carrying just the right amount of detachment. “Yes.”
“How long are you planning to stay?” The man thought that if it was for a while, maybe he could have a passionate romance with this girl.
Wen Jiu wasn’t planning to seriously answer the question, so she simply replied, “We’ll see.”
“In that case…” The man stretched his words, pulling out his phone. “Can we exchange contact information? If you need anything, don’t hesitate to reach out.”
Wen Jiu looked at the QR code he pulled up and calmly switched to her secondary account to scan and add him.
Then, she smoothly switched back to her main account.