Chapter 38: Lost Contact for Two Weeks

Having finished her explanation, Mother Shi looked at Shi Yanzhou, her gaze carrying an assured certainty that said: “See, I haven’t mistreated her.”

Shi Yanzhou opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but swallowed it back down.

He turned and walked out of the room.

He suddenly felt as though he had never truly seen this home clearly.

After his conversation with Mother Shi that afternoon, Shi Yanzhou suddenly didn’t know how to face Shi Kezhen.

His values told him that his mother was wrong.

But his feet simply could not take the step to apologize to Shi Kezhen.

He felt that the kind of girl he liked was someone like Li Yunshu—sunny, bright, and wildly free-spirited.

He felt certain that he didn’t like Shi Kezhen; she was too dull, too obedient, too devoid of sharp edges, and completely lacking in personality.

However, the moment he thought of Shi Kezhen’s words to him, “I want to leave the Shi family,” and associated it with the image of her standing beside Gao Cheng on the basketball court two weeks ago…

He couldn’t describe what was churning in his heart.

It wasn’t because that person was Gao Cheng.

It was purely because that person was a man other than himself.

He suddenly realized there was one thing he could not accept.

Someone who originally belonged to him might one day belong to someone else.

Even if he looked down on her and didn’t want her, she should still belong to him.

The moment this thought surfaced, even he himself found it disgusting.

But he couldn’t suppress it.

Since he didn’t want to face it, he simply chose not to.

After dinner, a friend happened to invite him out for drinks, so he gave Mother Shi a brief heads-up and left the house.

***

Xingyu Bar.

The light and shadow of the neon lamps rippled across the walls, and the vibrations of the subwoofers traveled up from the floor, thumping against the soles of his feet beat after beat.

The main hall was bustling with people, the air thick with the scent of alcohol and perfume.

Shi Yanzhou hung out with his friends in a booth in the main hall; at first, they rolled dice and drank, going round after round as their laughter and shouting grew louder.

After an unknown number of rounds, someone suggested playing the most cliché of games: Truth or Dare.

After a few rounds, Shi Yanzhou lost, and he chose Dare.

His friends offered bad ideas one after another, and finally, one of them patted his shoulder with a mischievous grin.

“Go knock on the door of Private Booth 777.”

“After entering, tell the people inside, ‘Sorry, wrong room,’ and drink a cup as a self-penalty to apologize.”

“Just that?”

Shi Yanzhou raised his brows.

“Just that.”

To be honest, this dare wasn’t very challenging.

Shi Yanzhou stood up readily; holding his glass, he walked down the corridor with slightly floaty steps from the alcohol and found Private Booth 777.

He raised his hand and knocked three times, then pushed the door open and walked in without waiting for an answer.

Completely different from the atmosphere of the main hall, the private room was exceptionally quiet, and even the ambient music system hadn’t been turned on.

Shi Yanzhou was just preparing to deliver his lines, but the moment he clearly saw the people inside the room, he froze.

The lighting inside was dim, and only three people sat on the sofa; as it happened, he knew all three of them.

Gao Cheng, Jiang Zhexi, and Jiang Chengshuo.

Gao Cheng sat right in the middle of the sofa, spinning an unlit lighter in his hand, his face expressionless.

Jiang Zhexi and Jiang Chengshuo sat on his left and right respectively, their postures relaxed, but the air was thick with an indescribable tension, like the stifling heat before a thunderstorm.

All three of them looked up at him, and no one spoke.

Shi Yanzhou’s lines caught in his throat, and he hastily replaced them with a dry laugh.

“Uh… sorry, wrong room…”

None of the three made a sound, their bad moods incredibly obvious.

The silence in the private room stretched on for so long that Shi Yanzhou felt most of his buzz vanish.

Seeing they were acquaintances, he didn’t retreat immediately, trying to break the awkwardness with a chuckle.

“Hahaha, to be honest, I actually lost a game of Dare and was told to knock on your door on purpose…”

Gao Cheng snapped his lighter down onto the coffee table with a sharp click that rang out with exceptional clarity in the quiet room.

He didn’t speak, and neither did Jiang Chengshuo.

Jiang Zhexi forced a slight twitch of his lips, giving Shi Yanzhou a less-than-enthusiastic smile.

“Mm, then carry on playing, and have a good time.”

The dismissal was phrased very politely, but the meaning was clear.

Shi Yanzhou wasn’t stupid and naturally saw through it.

He nodded with a smile, took a step back, and pulled the door open.

“Then I won’t disturb your catch-up; I’ll head off first.”

The door closed behind him, and the noise from the corridor’s sound system instantly rushed in, locking the silence of the private room away behind the door.

Shi Yanzhou stood in place, staring at the closed door as his eyes narrowed slightly.

Then he suppressed his negative emotions, turned around, and strode back to his booth in the main hall.

***

The instant the door closed, Gao Cheng picked up the lighter from the coffee table again, idly twirling it between his fingers.

“What is wrong with Uncle?”

“What kind of business partners is he looking for?”

“They don’t have a shred of tact, always trying to cling to us—isn’t it annoying?”

His voice wasn’t loud, but every word carried an uncontrollable irritation, clearly using the situation as an excuse to vent.

Jiang Zhexi and Jiang Chengshuo exchanged a glance, neither of them making a sound.

For the past two weeks, Gao Cheng had been like a fireball ready to explode at any second; whoever touched him would set him off, and no one dared to provoke him.

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