Before leaving, Zhou Wu pulled on a simple black hoodie.
He frequently stayed at this hotel, and the staff had already become familiar with some of his habits. By the time he reached the ground floor, the valet had driven another of the cars he kept in the hotel garage around to the entrance.
The black Mercedes G-Class sat relatively high off the ground, but Zhou Wu had long legs and stepped inside with ease.
After tipping the valet, Zhou Wu turned the steering wheel and drove towards the exit. On his way out, his gaze swept across the electric bicycle parking area at the far edge of the hotel grounds.
The small space was almost entirely occupied by electric bicycles belonging to food delivery riders.
There was only one exception.
It was an ivory-coloured bicycle, standing quietly among the delivery bikes with its front wheel tilted slightly to one side.
Strangely enough, Zhou Wu knew at a glance that it belonged to Wen Ci.
A horn sounded behind him.
Zhou Wu withdrew his gaze and drove into the stream of traffic.
…
Blue Note Bar.
By the time Zhou Wu arrived, the atmosphere was already in full swing. An employee spotted him and immediately stepped forward to lead the way.
Loud music and frenzied dancing filled the ground floor. Men and women pressed closely against one another, the scent of perfume mingling with the bar’s artificial fragrance until Zhou Wu found it difficult to breathe.
For no apparent reason, he recalled the scent on Wen Ci’s body.
It had been the faint fragrance of some unknown flower.
Zhou Wu frowned slightly and pulled the hood of his sweatshirt over his head.
The employee led him upstairs.
The second floor consisted of a raised platform overlooking the entire ground floor. It was slightly quieter and served as a completely open private booth.
The bar belonged to Zhou Wu’s close friend, Qin Yun.
Qin Yun had not opened it to make money. He had simply wanted an entertaining base whenever he was back in China. Since he was generous with his spending and frequently invited popular singers and celebrities to perform, what had originally been nothing more than a place for him to have fun had unexpectedly become the most fashionable bar in Jiangcheng.
Ordinary customers now needed connections simply to secure a reservation.
The moment Zhou Wu appeared, someone sitting on the second-floor sofa raised his voice.
“Look who finally decided to show up.”
Qin Yun patted the woman beside him and smiled.
“Baby, move over there and make some room for him.”
The woman obediently stood and gave up her seat.
Zhou Wu glanced at the indentation left in the sofa. He could already imagine how strongly that side must smell of perfume.
Ignoring Qin Yun, he accepted a glass of alcohol from the waiter and leaned against the railing, lazily surveying the floor below without any particular interest.
“Damn.”
Qin Yun laughed, picked up his drink and walked over to stand beside him.
“Seriously, you’re a terrible friend. You came back to China without even telling your brother?”
“You found out even though I didn’t tell you,” Zhou Wu said.
“That’s because I wanted to invite you to Europe to watch a match. I only found out from Qiaoqiao that you were both flying back to Jiangcheng today.”
Zhou Wu clinked his glass against Qin Yun’s and said coolly, “Can you stay away from my secretary?”
“Listen to yourself. I knew Qiaoqiao before she ever became your secretary.”
Qin Yun offered him a cigarette.
“Have you finished signing the contract with the Americans?”
Zhou Wu gave a faint hum of acknowledgement but did not take the cigarette.
He was not heavily addicted to smoking. Even one cigarette every few days was more than usual for him.
Once again, Qin Yun could not help feeling deeply impressed by Zhou Wu.
The Qin and Zhou families were among the most prominent families in Jiangcheng. The two families had been close for generations, so Qin Yun and Zhou Wu had grown up together from the time they were still in diapers.
Qin Yun had loved causing trouble since childhood. He had skipped classes, fought, smoked and drank without missing a single vice.
Zhou Wu had never been an obedient child either. The two of them had caused plenty of trouble together, and during their school years, Zhou Wu had accumulated even more disciplinary warnings than Qin Yun.
The only difference was that although Zhou Wu enjoyed fooling around, he had an exceptionally strong ability to learn.
As a student, he would go up on stage, finish reading out a self-criticism and immediately receive an award certificate for an academic competition.
He was frighteningly capable.
The same was true now.
While the rest of them were still learning how to manage their family companies, Zhou Wu, who had only recently turned twenty-six, was already moving effortlessly through the world of wealth and influence. He had successfully negotiated several major projects involving astonishing sums of money.
“Incredible. How about this? The day after tomorrow, I’ll arrange a party for you. We can celebrate.”
Zhou Wu refused. “You’re the one who wants to throw a party. Don’t use me as an excuse.”
He glanced behind him.
“Clear some of these people out. It’s too noisy.”
Qin Yun clicked his tongue and called over a waiter, instructing him to take the other guests downstairs.
“Fine, another time. Tell me when you’re free, and I’ll arrange something. By the way, are you still staying in a hotel this time?”
“Mm.”
Ever since Zhou Huacheng had brought his second illegitimate son home the previous year, Zhou Wu had barely returned to the family residence.
He had not spent much time in Jiangcheng during the past year either, so he had yet to arrange a new home for himself.
“You’re still staying at the Jinjiang?”
“Mm.”
Qin Yun looked at him meaningfully, then could not resist clinking his glass against Zhou Wu’s again.
“Brother, you really are a hopeless romantic.”
Zhou Wu paused and raised an eyebrow.
“What?”
“Come on. There’s no need to pretend in front of me.”
Qin Yun lowered his voice.
“Wasn’t that the hotel where Duan Wei held her wedding? She’s been married for more than a year. You still haven’t let her go?”
Duan Wei had been their classmate. The three of them had attended the same classes from primary school through high school, so they could be considered childhood friends.
Zhou Wu and Duan Wei had once dated for two months.
After graduating from high school, Zhou Wu had confessed his feelings to her. Only a few days after they began dating, however, they left to attend different universities and entered a long-distance relationship.
Two months later, Duan Wei said the distance was too difficult. Zhou Wu was studying abroad, which created a time difference, and she had also met someone else she wanted to date more.
She consequently broke up with him.
It was not until Zhou Wu received her wedding invitation that he discovered the person Duan Wei had wanted to date was their high school class monitor.
As a result, Duan Wei’s wedding that year had practically become a small high school reunion.
Zhou Wu looked away.
“I’m simply accustomed to staying there.”
“I wonder who it was who suddenly disappeared halfway through the wedding banquet back then.”
Qin Yun patted his shoulder.
“It’s all right. You can continue being stubborn in front of your brother. I won’t expose you.”
Zhou Wu brushed his hand away and curled his lips without the slightest hint of amusement.
“F*ck off.”
Qin Yun did not leave. Instead, he remembered something else.
“By the way, did you receive the invitation to the school anniversary? Are you going?”
The anniversary celebration for Jiangcheng Middle School—their former school—was taking place at the end of the month. Several announcements had already been posted in their old class group chat.
Graduates like them would also receive private invitations directly from the school.
“I received it,” Zhou Wu said. “I’m not going.”
“I knew it. Forget it, then. I’ll go by myself. Actually, I visited the school a few days ago. My niece attends the primary school branch beside the middle and high school campuses. I picked her up for my sister a few times.”
As Qin Yun spoke, he suddenly remembered something.
“Hey, guess who I saw there?”
Zhou Wu was uninterested but responded perfunctorily.
“Who?”
“Wen Ci.”
Zhou Wu turned to look at him.
Mistaking his gaze for a question, Qin Yun smiled.
“Oh, you probably don’t remember her. She was a girl in our high school class. She was… she was…”
Qin Yun could not think of anything else to say.
When he saw Wen Ci’s face, he had just barely managed to recognise her. However, if someone asked him what memorable things she had done in school, he genuinely could not recall a single one.
He had only confirmed her name afterwards by asking his niece.
“I remember her,” Zhou Wu said. “She was the English class representative. The one who always sat in the front row.”
“Huh?”
Qin Yun froze.
“Yes, yes, that was her. You actually remember!”
“She teaches at Jiangcheng Primary School now. She’s my niece’s English teacher.”
Qin Yun thought back to Wen Ci’s appearance.
“You know, even in high school, I always thought she would grow up to become a teacher.”
“Why?” Zhou Wu asked.
“I don’t know. It was just the impression she gave people. She looked obedient and spoke gently. At a glance, you could tell she was the kind of good girl who always listened to her family. People like that usually enter the public sector when they grow up. They either become teachers or civil servants.”
Qin Yun turned the question back on him.
“Don’t you think so? Wait, didn’t you say you didn’t want a cigarette? Why have you lit one now?”
Zhou Wu stood lazily against the railing and turned his head to exhale a mouthful of smoke.
He selectively answered the question.
“I do.”
Gentle, clean and obedient.
That was probably everyone’s first impression of Wen Ci.
It had once been Zhou Wu’s impression as well.
Before Duan Wei’s wedding, Zhou Wu had thought of Wen Ci in exactly the same way Qin Yun did.
He remembered her face. She seemed like a good girl.
That was all.
So on the day of Duan Wei’s wedding, Zhou Wu had left the banquet to smoke in the corridor. When he saw Wen Ci walking into the dimly lit space, he had been unusually startled.
Zhou Wu had drunk a little too much that evening and was leaning languidly against the wall.
When Wen Ci approached, he could not even distinguish whether the smell of alcohol lingering beneath his nose came from him or from her.
Wen Ci stopped in front of him.
“Do you like Duan Wei?”
Her voice was just as he remembered it—low and soft, like a whisper beside his ear.
Zhou Wu frowned and was about to leave, but Wen Ci stepped closer.
“What a coincidence,” she whispered. “I like her groom.”
Then Wen Ci stood on tiptoe and kissed him.
Wen Ci’s kiss was entirely different from the heavy scent of alcohol surrounding her, but it was very much like Wen Ci herself.
Soft.
Her lips, her tongue and the skin around her mouth were all so soft that touching them felt exceptionally pleasant.
There was no taste of alcohol in her mouth. Instead, there was a sweet, fruity fragrance.
Zhou Wu lazily lowered his head and kissed her back, wondering which wine served at the wedding possessed such a strong fruit flavour.
Zhou Wu was not a man driven by lust.
On the contrary, he had grown up in an excessively wealthy family and had witnessed far too much emotional and s*xual filth. As a result, he was unusually cautious about such matters.
Even while dating Duan Wei, they had done nothing more than briefly touch lips.
Perhaps he had simply been too drunk that night.
Wen Ci gave him one inexperienced, reckless kiss, and he took her upstairs.
When he woke again, Wen Ci had already dressed.
A section of her ankle was visible beneath her long skirt, and the marks left by Zhou Wu’s kisses still remained there.
She stood beside the sofa, seemingly waiting for him to wake.
The moment their eyes met, she spoke gently.
“I’m sorry. I was drunk last night.”
Zhou Wu expected her next words to be something along the lines of, *Last night was an accident. Please forget it.*
He was already preparing to nod when she continued.
“Can we maintain this kind of relationship until Duan Wei changes her mind?”
It took Zhou Wu a long time to understand what she meant.
During the wedding banquet, Duan Wei had come over to toast him. While no one around them was paying attention, she had leaned towards his ear and playfully asked:
“Zhou Wu, what if I regret this one day? Would you still want me?”
Zhou Wu had answered, “Ask me again when you regret it.”
Wen Ci had overheard their conversation.
At the time, Zhou Wu had found the entire situation absurd.
What was that supposed to mean?
His former girlfriend had married the man Wen Ci loved, so the two of them would huddle together for comfort, consoling one another while waiting for the married couple to divorce?
Even now, whenever Zhou Wu remembered it, he still felt so irritated that he wanted to laugh.
He should have refused Wen Ci.
But he had not.
He could not explain why.
Perhaps it was simply too strange and contradictory to see Wen Ci standing there in a spotless white dress, asking whether they could maintain a friends-with-benefits arrangement.
Perhaps Wen Ci’s eyes were simply too beautiful. When she looked directly at someone, it was difficult to refuse whatever she asked.
Or perhaps it was merely because they had felt too good together that night.
Whatever the reason, by the time Zhou Wu came back to his senses, this had already become the nature of their relationship.
Leave a Reply