This WeChat group wasn’t an existing one; Zeng Guai had just created it.
This wasn’t their first time organizing an event like this; it had become a habit. They’d create a new group for easy communication for each activity, disband it once everything was settled, and then likely meet again in a new group for the next event before long.
Xia Zhou summed it up: “I think it’s like a one-night stand. Once it’s over, there’s no connection, but you might still run into the same person next time.”
Thinking about it, that seemed about right. It also proved that the fun-loving crowd from both companies was always the same group of people.
He Lindi got along well with everyone, but she didn’t join every outing. So, it was understandable that Chi Shuo was surprised to see her in the group today.
It felt like a long time since He Lindi had last joined an event like this—at least two months ago, maybe more.
But that wasn’t the main point. The real issue was He Lindi challenging her to a Sprite drinking contest.
Chi Shuo felt her scalp tingle just imagining the coffee table piled high with Sprite. But the time was almost upon them, and she wasn’t one to back down from her word. Plus, given her constant rivalry with He Lindi, not showing up would be admitting defeat.
Chi Shuo looked at the chat history on her phone again, then let out a deep breath, stood up from the sofa, and went to the bedroom.
For Chi Shuo, this wasn’t just a casual KTV outing; it was like heading into battle.
Zeng Guai’s notification said to arrive before 3:30 PM. The KTV location was the one they usually went to, only a ten-minute drive from Chi Shuo’s place.
At 3:25 PM, Chi Shuo got out of the taxi. Being the weekend, she had more freedom than at the office, so she wore a T-shirt and very short shorts—attire not permitted at work.
The temperature today was two degrees higher than yesterday. When Chi Shuo stepped outside, it felt like more than just two degrees; she felt like a lamb skewer roasting over a fire, even under her umbrella.
People sensitive to heat feel it more acutely than others and tend to suffer more.
Luckily, the car stopped right outside the KTV entrance. Chi Shuo paid the fare and quickly got out.
Chi Shuo and her friends frequented this KTV. It wasn’t just the good sound system and atmosphere; crucially, it wasn’t overly expensive.
It was five minutes to 3:30 PM. Chi Shuo was sure she wouldn’t be the last to arrive. But before she even entered the main door, she saw Xia Zhou waving at her a few meters away.
Chi Shuo closed her umbrella, walked up to her, and said with a smile, “It’s not like I don’t know the room number. You didn’t have to come out and wait for me.”
Xia Zhou gave her a look of mock disdain: “Who said I was waiting for you? I’m here to meet He Lindi.”
“Huh?”
“Cousin.”
Chi Shuo pieced it together and asked doubtfully, “He Lindi’s cousin?”
Xia Zhou nodded, her smile practically reaching her ears. “She said her cousin wanted to tag along.”
Chi Shuo just said, “Oh. Then I’ll head inside first.”
Xia Zhou didn’t hesitate at all: “Go ahead.”
Xia Zhou’s eager anticipation puzzled Chi Shuo slightly. After thinking for a couple of seconds, Chi Shuo asked before heading into the building, “Is her cousin handsome?”
“Very handsome.”
“So, just leave the important job of greeting him to me.”
“…”
Chi Shuo didn’t bother with what Xia Zhou wanted to do anymore and turned to enter the main door herself. She had originally wanted to say hi to Han Yu, but after looking around and not finding her, she gave up, figuring Han Yu might be busy.
There was a reason the fee wasn’t high for Chi Shuo and her friends here—this KTV was owned by Han Yu’s family, and Han Yu had insisted on giving her an SVIP membership card.
Han Yu was her high school friend, but after Han Yu went to university out of town, they contacted each other much less. Eventually, it was only on each other’s birthdays that they’d remember to send greetings. The turning point was after Chi Shuo finished university in Lu Cheng and returned to Yun Cheng.
The afternoon wasn’t the peak time for the KTV. On her way to the private room, Chi Shuo passed several empty rooms. But in the evening, there definitely wouldn’t be any empty rooms left.
After perhaps twenty steps, Chi Shuo finally stopped in front of the private room door.
The lights from inside shone through the glass panel on the door. Chi Shuo couldn’t clearly see who was inside, but hearing the singing and the sound of dice shaking told her it was already lively.
Before she could push the door open, the people inside had already noticed her presence.
Zeng Guai, singing and bouncing, pulled the door open and dragged Chi Shuo inside. She stopped singing and spoke into the microphone, “Shuo Shuo, go pick some songs.”
Getting straight to the point. Chi Shuo smiled, glanced around the room, and greeted everyone.
Everyone there was someone she knew, although she hadn’t sung karaoke with some of them before.
Chi Shuo had just put down her umbrella and hadn’t yet scanned the QR code on the TV when a male voice started heckling, “Hold on, Chi Shuo, you’re the last one here, you have to face a penalty!”
This guy was named Hu Bo, from Xiyu. After speaking, he immediately added with a laugh, “The punishment is listening to me sing.”
The moment he finished, Zeng Guai hit pause, looking incredulous. “Damn it, Hu Luobo [Carrot], that’s punishing all of us, isn’t it?”
Hu Bo sang with great skill—because he could perfectly avoid every single correct note.
It had been said before: listening to Chi Shuo sing was a pleasure, listening to Hu Bo sing was torture.
“Wait!” Chi Shuo looked around at everyone in the room, silently counted, felt there was still hope for her, and said seriously, “How am I the last one? He Lindi isn’t here yet.”
“She went to the restroom.”
Chi Shuo went “Huh?”, and before she could say anything else, the door behind her opened, and someone walked in.
It was precisely the He Lindi they had just been talking about.
The room wasn’t very big, and they were standing close together. The lighting was a bit dim, but it didn’t matter much; they could still clearly see each other’s expressions.
He Lindi looked into Chi Shuo’s eyes, her lips curved upwards: “How about this, why don’t the rest of us go out for dessert? Chi Shuo can stay here and appreciate Hu Luobo’s wonderful singing.”
“Sounds good to me.”
“Let’s go, let’s go.”
Chi Shuo lit up her phone screen and glanced at the time: “When did the rules change? It’s only 3:28, I’m not late.”
Zeng Guai coughed lightly and silently raised her hand from the side: “They changed today, right when we confirmed you were the last one to arrive.”
“…”
Chi Shuo was rendered speechless. She realized it was a conspiracy. This wasn’t heading into battle; this was being thrown directly into the line of fire. She was being unilaterally slaughtered.
He Lindi took a few steps forward and casually sat down on the sofa. She tilted her head up slightly, looked at the still-standing Chi Shuo, and said, “Of course, you have another option.”
Chi Shuo raised an eyebrow skeptically. This group could be unpredictable—not always serious, but sometimes surprisingly insistent.
If they really wanted Chi Shuo to listen to Hu Bo sing alone, Chi Shuo believed they were perfectly capable of leisurely eating dessert outside. They might even spread the story around so they could tease her about it back at the company.
But He Lindi had mentioned another option, so Chi Shuo waited patiently for her to continue.
He Lindi gestured towards the drinks on the coffee table, her tone light. “Which is, you just have to drink one bottle of Sprite first. In our challenge, for every bottle you drink, I’ll drink half.”
Hearing this, Chi Shuo turned around and placed the microphone in Hu Bo’s hand: “Hu Luobo, go ahead and sing. I’ll listen.”
“Hahaha!”
The room instantly erupted with bursts of laughter. Chi Shuo stood to the side, lips pressed together, expressionless.
Seeing this, Zeng Guai slowly sat down beside her and poked Chi Shuo’s arm with her fingertip. “Shuo Shuo, we were just kidding. You don’t have to drink all that Sprite or be locked in here alone listening to Hu Bo sing.”
Chi Shuo lowered her head slightly, only her profile visible. She didn’t respond.
Chi Shuo rarely looked like this. Zeng Guai felt a bit helpless, scratching her head and looking towards He Lindi.
The music in the room had started again, but Chi Shuo remained in the same position.
He Lindi sighed softly. Responding to Zeng Guai’s glance, she stood up, moved, and sat down next to Chi Shuo.
Chi Shuo subtly glanced in her direction, continuing her act, even pulling out her phone to express her “unhappiness.”
“Did you see Xia Zhou when you came in?”
“Why hasn’t she come in yet?”
He Lindi didn’t immediately bring up what just happened, instead asking about something else.
Chi Shuo hummed softly, but her attention was no longer on the people around her. She had just texted Han Yu, who had replied quickly, saying she’d come find her later.
But after replying, Chi Shuo remembered a crucial piece of information: Han Yu used to have a crush on He Lindi.
She abruptly turned her head, but facing He Lindi, her tone was calm: “Maybe I should go outside and see why Xia Zhou hasn’t come in yet.”
This was only He Lindi’s second time joining a KTV outing; previously, it had mostly been dinners. And the last time they came to this KTV, nobody had mentioned Han Yu. Besides Zeng Guai and the others, most people just knew Chi Shuo had an SVIP card.
But… if Chi Shuo remembered correctly, Han Yu had made a very public confession to He Lindi back in high school. Because of that incident, Chi Shuo had never mentioned He Lindi’s name in front of Han Yu again.
And the most crucial point was, the reason Chi Shuo and Han Yu had become good friends back then was because both of them… liked He Lindi.
Later, one failed in her confession, and the other shifted her crush.
Chi Shuo was naturally the latter. And she remembered very clearly that the girl she later developed a crush on ended up dating He Lindi, though she still didn’t know why they broke up.
“He Lindi, I just remembered something.” Chi Shuo hadn’t moved yet; she wanted an answer before going to find Han Yu.
He Lindi picked up a piece of popcorn from the table and popped it into her mouth before responding, “What is it?”
Chi Shuo originally wanted to ask some relationship gossip, but after considering her position, she gave up and brought up something completely unimportant instead: “Oh, nothing. I just feel like I might be a bit calcium-deficient lately.”
“Need some calcium?” He Lindi pulled out her phone. “I think I still have a few ‘mild’ films stored on my cloud drive that haven’t been censored yet.”
“…”
