「Those days.」
Shen Jing waited for the final payment from the plastic surgery hospital, then went to find Luo Yuanping.
In the nightclub, the lights above the dance floor were a riot of color.
The surrounding music was deafening. Shen Jing tried to speak as loudly as she could, "Give me your card number, and I'll transfer the money to you."
"What are you saying? The music's too loud; I can't hear you."
Luo Yuanping was doing it on purpose. That crazy bastard, not wanting a cent. Messing with her.
Luo Yuanping was flanked by beauties, surrounded by his usual drinking buddies.
They were all probably drunk, one after another calling Shen Jing "sister-in-law."
People like Luo Yuanping just loved to party hard in places like bars and nightclubs.
In the noisy environment, Luo Yuanping pointed to a row of bottles on the table. "Drink these, and I'll take the money. I'll also give you back the family registry book."
Shen Jing stood ramrod straight. "I can't drink."
The first time she drank was to muster the courage to hook up with Zhou Luchen that night.
"Where did your money come from? If you borrowed it from someone else, pay it back. I don't need money," Luo Yuanping said, clearly annoyed and not looking at her.
He had assumed Shen Jing wouldn't be able to produce the money. He figured she'd beg him a little, and he would let the matter drop as if nothing had happened. He never expected that she would manage to gather the full 500,000 in exactly one week.
Shen Jing clenched the strap of her shoulder bag tightly. "I want Feng Jian's family registry book."
Luo Yuanping looked at her pursed lips. This woman is so damn stubborn, he thought.
Luo Yuanping tapped the table. "Drink first, then we'll talk."
Shen Jing looked down at the golden liquid. "One glass."
Luo Yuanping pushed the beauties away from him. Smiling, he took the family registry book from his coat pocket and slammed it on the table. "Two bottles. Do you dare?"
A chorus of hoots and hollers erupted from the onlookers.
"Sister-in-law, try a couple of drinks! It's okay if you get drunk; Brother Ping will take you home."
"Brother Ping has been so good to you all these years. What's the big deal about having a couple of sips?"
Shen Jing turned a deaf ear. She bent down, picked up a glass, closed her eyes, and downed it in one go.
Bitter and spicy. Tears sprang from her eyes.
Luo Yuanping couldn't bear to see her on the verge of tears; it felt like a stab to his heart. He reached out to snatch the glass away.
Shen Jing dodged him and continued to drink the second glass.
Luo Yuanping gritted his teeth, his eyes bloodshot. "Are you trying to defy me?"
She lifted the back of her hand to lightly wipe the alcohol from the corner of her mouth. "I just want the family registry book."
Luo Yuanping had no intention of giving it to her. Ever since he learned Feng Jian had such a stunning daughter, the few times he'd seen her had made him itch with an irrepressible desire.
He was determined to possess her. Love didn't matter; he just coveted Shen Jing's type.
Watching her, Luo Yuanping maintained a semblance of patience. "Can't you just forget about it? I want to marry you and cherish you, nothing else."
Her stepfather, Feng Jian, had secretly arranged her marriage to Luo Yuanping, declaring that the debt he owed would serve as the bride price. Thus, Shen Jing was betrothed to Luo Yuanping, and Feng Jian had even handed over her family registry book to him.
Shen Jing hadn't taken Luo Yuanping seriously, but she really couldn't drink two whole bottles. After one and a half, she was already staggering and leaning against the wall for support.
She couldn't take it anymore; she needed to find the restroom.
Stumbling along, she almost bumped into attractive men and women who were deep in their revelry.
She was even cursed at, but she didn't hear what was said, her head BUZZING.
Luo Yuanping followed behind her. He was worried she might get into trouble alone.
He was drunk, and so was she.
They couldn't find a taxi nearby, and he couldn't drive either.
「Shanghai, 2 a.m.」
At this hour, the only vehicles passing on this road were sports cars.
Shanghai was often associated with "decadence," a term that seemed even more fitting late at night.
Shen Jing leaned against a road sign.
She saw a couple holding hands, crossing the road.
The man immediately squatted down to carry his girlfriend on his back.
A sweetness overload.
With alcohol clouding her senses, seeing this scene made Shen Jing's eyes sting with unshed tears.
In her entire life, she'd never really dated anyone.
Her legs were weak from the alcohol. So, this is what it's like, she realized; crossing the road could mean having a boyfriend carry you.
She muttered to herself as she looked around, "Why am I walking alone? I don't even know which direction home is."
This road... I'm not crossing it, she decided.
Squatting down, she rummaged through her bag for her phone, her lips pursed as she mumbled, "What's this about three million? What do you mean, Zhou Luchen?"
The more she mumbled, the more aggrieved she felt. "Is it for buying a bag? Hermès? Or so I can buy myself a Bentley to drive?"
She tapped the screen.
Shen Jing tried to call Xing Fei.
By accident, she tapped into the most recent chat.
Chen Yao was on the other end of the WeChat video call.
Naturally, Chen Yao wouldn't be partying in a place like a nightclub.
He was currently at a private villa party, keeping an eye on the stock market.
She couldn't see Chen Yao's face clearly and, for a moment, mistook him for Xing Fei. "Why aren't you answering my calls?" she slurred.
The more she thought about it, the more upset she became. Her eyes welled up, and tears dripped onto her phone screen.
Chen Yao froze.
Then he glanced aside.
The man himself, Zhou Luchen, was at a square table playing cards. He didn't seem to care much about winning or losing, leisurely sipping ice water and chatting animatedly with his beautiful female card partners.
His expensive shirt had, at some point, picked up the scent of a woman's perfume.
The aura he exuded was rather haughty, his entire demeanor that of a consummately debauched playboy.
Instantly, Chen Yao straightened up. He immediately held out his phone to Zhou Luchen with both hands. "It's a video call from Shen Jing. I don't know what's going on; she looks drunk and seems to have called the wrong person."
Zhou Luchen barely lifted an eyelid, a silent signal for the glamorous actress beside him, who was about to light his cigarette, to sit properly.
Only then did he take the phone.
In the video.
Shen Jing had her face buried in her knees, her slender shoulders trembling slightly.
Her words were slurred, soft, and sweet-sounding, laced with unending grievance.
"I was bullied... I drank two bottles of alcohol..."
Zhou Luchen's expression didn't even flicker. He handed the phone back to Chen Yao. "Which road? Find out."
"Okay."
Chen Yao felt a twinge of regret for scanning Shen Jing's WeChat QR code. He'd added her simply because he thought she was stunningly beautiful at the time. That was just how Chen Yao was.