Chapter 19
Chi Suinian’s body froze completely, and with narrowed eyes, he clearly saw Lu Zhiyue’s magnified features up close.
The two had their foreheads pressed together, their noses touching, and their eyes locked.
Chi Suinian, who had never been this close to anyone in his life, felt his brain explode with a loud boom, leaving him utterly dazed.
Lu Zhiyue was equally stunned for two seconds, but he regained his composure faster. Feeling the soft sensation on his lips, he couldn’t help but chuckle a little.
“…!”
A few seconds later, Chi Suinian jerked back, covered his mouth, and his eyebrows shot up in fury like a porcupine bristling with quills. “What the hell… Why were you moving?!”
“Sorry, I couldn’t help it.” Lu Zhiyue snapped back to reality, realizing he had lost control and even started laughing.
His gaze swept across Chi Suinian’s lips with straightforward intent before lowering slightly.
What a pity.
“…”
Look again and see what happens!
Chi Suinian furiously wiped his lips on his sleeve, scrubbing so hard that they turned red and numb.
But the discomfort was nothing compared to the adrenaline rush from accidentally kissing Lu Zhiyue.
Damn it.
It was bad enough that they had ended up kissing.
That bastard Lu even moved.
Moved for what?!
Chi Suinian, his face darkened, wiped his lips twice more with force.
This development was a bit too much.
Chi Suinian’s expression screamed murder, but since he was the one who lunged in the first place, he couldn’t exactly curse anyone else out.
“Lu Zhiyue,” Chi Suinian said coldly, his gaze carrying a threatening edge. “If you dare tell anyone, you’re dead!”
Lu Zhiyue gave a soft “hmm” in acknowledgment before casually adding, “But I think Tang Jin might’ve seen us kiss.”
Chi Suinian’s head whipped around. “Who the hell kissed you?!”
It was just a collision!
A total freak accident!
Lu Zhiyue, this idiot, does he even have eyes?
Lu Zhiyue paused, then corrected himself. “Ah, not a kiss. You kissed me.”
“…”
Lu Zhiyue, go die.
Just then, muffled voices came from outside the door.
“…Hey, Old Tang, why’d you close the door? Are they really fighting in there?”
“You think Lu Zhiyue might’ve been beaten half to death?”
“What nonsense! How could someone hurt their husband that badly?”
“That’s not guaranteed. Didn’t you see how murderous Chi Suinian looked just now?”
“Enough arguing. Let’s hear from the witness.” Lu Heng’s voice sounded deep and gravelly.
Witness, my ass.
Chi Suinian’s face turned black. “…”
“Uh… it’s nothing, really.” Tang Jin’s tone was stiff. “They’re, um, fine in there.”
“Then why are you holding the door shut? Let’s go in and see.”
Tang Jin clutched the door handle for dear life. “No way.”
If this group barged in, his death would follow immediately.
“Wait, why are you holding the door so tight?” Lu Heng frowned, pulling on his arm. “Move aside. If Suinian can’t handle Lu Zhiyue, I’ll help.”
Tang Jin felt his head throb.
He screamed internally: Suinian doesn’t need your help! Go away, you idiot!
Click.
While the chaos outside continued, the lounge door opened with a soft click.
Chi Suinian stepped out with a frosty expression, smirking coldly. “Since you’re all so curious, why not come in and take a look?”
The words had barely left his mouth when the crowd dispersed like smoke.
Tang Jin stiffened, turning his neck slowly to meet his friend’s familiar, pitch-black expression.
The earlier scene was so impactful that his gaze uncontrollably dropped below Chi Suinian’s nose.
“…” He gasped.
Red.
But not swollen.
Thank goodness.
Still presentable.
Tang Jin was inwardly relieved when he suddenly felt a bone-chilling gaze settle on his head.
“…”
Knowing too much never ends well.
The banquet resumed. Lu Zhiyue, the man of the hour, held a wine glass and seamlessly mingled with the elite circle.
Chi Suinian, temporarily unable to deal with Lu Zhiyue, hid in a corner with a group of second-generation rich kids, playing mobile games.
This group, not fond of socializing, had mostly been forced to attend by their families. Now, they couldn’t wait to get as far away from the crowd as possible, aligning perfectly with Chi Suinian’s plan.
The four boys lounged on a sofa in the corner, engrossed in PUBG.
Chi Suinian landed first, found a handy gun, and immediately fired a flurry of bullets into the air.
Tang Jin exclaimed, “What the hell, Suinian! Your aim is so off, you emptied my health bar!”
“Oh,” Chi Suinian replied calmly, putting his gun away. “Misfired.”
“…”
Don’t think I don’t know you’re taking revenge!
Lu Heng, who had also been hit and left with half health, frowned in confusion. “That’s weird. You’re usually better than this. Bad reflexes today?”
“Yeah,” Chi Suinian said coolly. “My hands are itching today.”
Lu Heng: “?”
Tang Jin: “…”
Tang Jin, sensing danger, sneaked further away, afraid Chi Suinian would suddenly remember another grudge and shoot him in the back.
“Damn it, Old Tang, why are you running so far? There are enemies here! Cover me for a while,” Lu Heng said.
Tang Jin glanced at the map. “Isn’t Xiao Chu with you? Let him cover you. I’m too far away.”
Xiao Chu, the youngest in the squad, looked up hesitantly. “I can’t. There’s a sniper on the hill aiming at me. If I move, I’m dead.”
Before the conversation ended, Lu Heng was gunned down, barely surviving on a sliver of health. “Stop talking and just save me!”
Tang Jin hesitated briefly before deciding to help.
As soon as he arrived, he spotted an enemy in the grass and swiftly took him out.
“All clear. Come loot the crate.”
“Nice one, bro.” Lu Heng praised.
Tang Jin crouched to loot when he suddenly heard a faint click. He froze. “Why are you pulling the pin on a grenade?”
Lu Heng, who was busy looting another crate, looked up in confusion. “Pulling the pin? What grenade?”
“Then why do I hear—”
BOOM!
The explosion shook the entire screen, followed by darkness.
[You DaYe misfired with a fragmentation grenade, knocking you out.]
Tang Jin: “…”
“Damn, Suinian, why’d you blow him up?”
Chi Suinian replied expressionlessly, “Slipped.”
Tang Jin: “…”
If I hadn’t seen it myself, I might’ve believed you.
In the game, players with depleted health aren’t completely dead as long as teammates are alive to revive them.
Tang Jin lay on the ground for a while, listening to footsteps getting closer.
When he turned, he saw “You DaYe” standing tall and imposing, gun in hand, radiating a terrifying aura.
His face was colder than the gleam of the gun barrel.
“…”
“Uh…” Tang Jin swallowed nervously. “Suinian, could you give me a hand?”
Chi Suinian didn’t move. Instead, he lowered the gun barrel until it pointed straight at Tang Jin’s face.
Tang Jin: “…”
The health bar on his screen continued to drop, nearing its end.
Desperate, Tang Jin began frantically typing on his phone.
[Tang Jin: Bro! Boss! Grandpa! I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have barged into the lounge back then. It was my fault for opening the door and ruining everything!]
[Tang Jin: I swear this stays buried forever. I’ll never tell anyone. If I do, may I never win another chicken dinner in my life!]
[Tang Jin: No, no, scratch that. I saw nothing, I know nothing, and you never kissed Lu Zhiyan! Please save me!]
“…”
Chi Suinian squinted, and under Tang Jin’s expectant gaze, he pulled the pin on another grenade.
With a loud BOOM, Tang Jin’s screen displayed: You have been eliminated.
After blowing up his teammates for two rounds in the game, Chi Suinian finally felt relieved.
Tang Jin was on the verge of tears.
When Chi Suinian glanced over at him, Tang Jin quickly made a zipping gesture on his lips, signaling that he would absolutely keep quiet.
Only then did Chi Suinian look away.
“Still playing?” Lu Heng, clueless about the situation, was still in high spirits.
Tang Jin glanced at Chi Suinian, trembling with fear.
“You guys continue.” Chi Suinian shut off his phone and got up. “I’m going to the bathroom.”
Golden Emperor Hotel was one of the best in Jincheng. Even the restroom next to the banquet hall was bright and lavishly decorated.
Chi Suinian finished his business, grabbed a piece of paper to dry his hands, and casually strolled out.
As he exited, a few middle-aged men walked out of the lounge straight ahead, chatting and laughing.
Chi Suinian’s eyes swept over them casually—and he froze in place.
Not far ahead, among the group, stood a slightly chubby middle-aged man. With a fawning expression, he shook hands with everyone in the circle, bowing slightly. When he smiled, the long, thin scar at the corner of his eye stretched taut, resembling a mangled toad.
Chi Suinian’s heart tightened abruptly, and a cold sensation spread from his feet. His hands clenched tightly, and his face turned frighteningly pale.
Even after more than ten long years, he recognized the scar at first glance.
Not out of fear or terror, but because he was the one who had given that man the scar.
Chi Suinian had nearly blinded Chi Kaidong’s eye with his own hands.
The lively banquet hall suddenly felt like an ice cave. Chi Suinian shivered in the cold, his brain starved of oxygen as he gasped for air.
Chi Kaidong was back?
When did he come back?
How could he easily walk into this place? Who brought him here? Did Lu Zhiyue know about this? Chi Suinian’s mind was in chaos, a flood of unanswered questions rushing in, endless and relentless.
Staring blankly at the floor, he took two deep breaths, trying to calm himself, but still, he masochistically looked up again.
Yet the figure was already gone.
Chi Suinian’s heart skipped a beat, and he strode quickly out of the banquet hall.
The plaza outside was bustling with people, a chaotic mess of shadows. Still, that slightly plump figure dominated Chi Suinian’s vision.
He clenched his fists and quickened his pace, his mind utterly blank.
“Why are you following me?” The man abruptly turned around, revealing an unfamiliar face. The scar at the corner of his eye was red, seemingly a fresh wound.
The man looked at Chi Suinian warily. “Who are you?”
Chi Suinian froze in place, stunned for a long moment before finally finding his voice. “Sorry, wrong person…”
The man clicked his tongue impatiently and waved him off as he walked away.
Chi Suinian hesitated where he stood. Did he really mistake him for someone else? The crowded surroundings were full of strangers. It was as if that terrifying glimpse earlier had been nothing more than a drunken hallucination.
The fountain in the square gurgled softly. Chi Suinian sat down by the edge and splashed cold water on his face.
The rippling water in the fountain reflected a pale, fragmented face. Chi Suinian wiped the water from his face and let out a deep, bitter laugh.
It had been over ten years.
There was no need to keep it in his heart.
It was all in the past.
Faint voices drifted in from somewhere. Chi Suinian blinked his stinging eyes and looked up.
“Mr. Chi, are you alright? Do you need help?”
It was one of the hotel’s attendants, likely worried that he might collapse at the hotel entrance and cause a scene, coming over to offer assistance.
Chi Suinian stood up. A long gust of wind swept through the buildings, evaporating the last traces of moisture on his face. He rubbed his neck, stretched a little, and smiled. “I’m fine, thanks.”
Chi Suinian returned to the banquet hall close to 10 p.m. By then, most of the guests had left, leaving only a few scattered groups discussing business deals.
In the corner, the rich second-generation kids were getting wilder, clearly planning to party all night.
“Damn it! How come every time I roll, I get 1, 2, or 3, but you guys always get 6s? These dice must be rigged!”
Lu Heng, sitting on the soft couch, ruffled his hair in frustration, instantly ruining the sleek hairstyle he had just gotten done. “…You two must be cheating, right?”
“Bullshit.” Tang Jin slammed the dice cup onto the table. “You’ve already switched dice cups with us three times to check. Get on with it.”
“Seriously, my luck can’t be this bad.” Lu Heng muttered, lifting the lid slightly.
In the next moment, his face lit up with joy as he uncovered it fully. “Hahaha! Luck’s on my side this time. Three sixes! You two drink!”
Tang Jin had rolled badly this round and was destined to drink. He turned to Lu Zhiyue next to him. “What’s your score?”
Chi Suinian walked over and noticed Lu Zhiyue sitting in the center, shaking dice. He raised an eyebrow.
This paragon of virtue dared to play dice games?
Wouldn’t he end up losing everything, even his dignity?
Lu Zhiyue suddenly looked up, and Chi Suinian quickly averted his gaze.
If he lost, so be it. None of his business.
Wasn’t his money on the line, after all.
Just then, Chi Suinian saw him casually shake the dice twice and set the cup down lazily. “Not much.”
Chi Suinian: “?”
Don’t jinx it before revealing the dice!
Lu Zhiyue lifted the lid, revealing the outcome: 1, 1, 2. Almost a total disaster.
Lu Heng clapped his hands gleefully. “Hahaha, drink up! Tang Jin, let me pour you a full glass.”
Tang Jin: “Get lost, I’ll do it myself.”
Tang Jin had already drunk a lot that night, and his stomach felt like it was burning. While pouring his drink, he sneakily added more to Lu Zhiyue’s cup.
After all, Lu Zhiyue had a high alcohol tolerance. A little extra wouldn’t hurt.
“Bad luck this time, huh, Mr. Lu?” Tang Jin slung an arm around Lu Zhiyue’s shoulder. “Here, this one’s for you.”
Lu Zhiyue looked toward the lounge area on the other side. “I can’t drink anymore.”
“What a joke…” Tang Jin followed his gaze and spotted their friend standing in the corner with his hands in his pockets, silently observing for a long time.
“Suinian?” Tang Jin put down his drink. “When did you get here?”
“Just now.” Chi Suinian said, “Why pretend you can drink if you can’t?”
“You think I can’t drink? Suinian, have you forgotten the days when the three of us ruled all the bars in Jincheng? I can still handle another ten bottles, no problem—who are you looking down on—”
Tang Jin paused mid-sentence, watching in shock as Chi Suinian walked past him without a word.
“?”
What’s going on?
Chi Suinian approached the couch and nudged Lu Zhiyue’s shoe with his toe, speaking coldly. “Get up.”
