Wen Ci was a quick learner. After watching them play several rounds, she had begun to understand the game.
She had originally been leaning against the sofa, but now she propped herself up with one arm and quietly poked her head out from behind Zhou Wu’s shoulder to watch.
Qin Yun had just called the number, and it was Zhou Wu’s turn.
Feeling movement near his shoulder, Zhou Wu looked back and saw her holding her glass in both hands.
Amused, he asked, “Should I challenge him?”
“Are you asking me?” Wen Ci stared blankly. “I don’t know how to play.”
“It’s fine. Just tell me.”
Wen Ci raised her eyes and studied Qin Yun for a while.
Then she leaned close to Zhou Wu’s ear and whispered, “Challenge him!”
Zhou Wu nearly laughed.
He lifted his chin towards Qin Yun and lazily said, “She told you to open it. Didn’t you hear?”
Qin Yun cursed.
Without even lifting his dice cup, he resigned himself to drinking.
“What the hell? You’re allowed to bring in outside help now?”
“Dou Yiqing, come on. Let’s form a team too!”
Dou Yiqing politely declined.
“No. You’re so stupid that the numbers on your dice are practically written across your face. Anyone who teams up with you is doomed.”
Wen Ci burst out laughing, making the wine in her glass sway with her.
Someone patted her shoulder.
Wen Ci looked up and met Duan Wei’s equally smiling eyes.
“Wait for me. I want to play too!”
Duan Wei rested a hand on Wen Ci and urged her with another pat.
“Wen Ci, since you aren’t playing, could you move and give me your seat? It’ll be easier if I sit closer.”
Wen Ci opened her mouth but could not find a reason to refuse.
Her fingers tightened around the glass, and her smile faded slightly.
“All right.”
Duan Wei stepped between her and Zhou Wu and was about to sit when Zhou Wu suddenly stood.
“Sit further inside.”
He gestured with his chin.
“I’m done playing.”
Duan Wei caught his shirt.
“Why? I only just came over.”
Zhou Wu pulled his clothes free from her hand and sat back down beside Wen Ci.
He answered concisely, “I’m tired. You can play.”
Duan Wei clearly had no real interest in the game.
She played half-heartedly, and after two rounds, Dou Yiqing also became bored and announced that she was tired.
Duan Wei leaned backwards.
Her leg pressed against Zhou Wu’s black trousers and swayed twice.
Looking up, she asked, “Zhou Wu, do I look tanned after going to Bincheng recently?”
Zhou Wu moved his leg aside and did not look at her.
“I can’t tell.”
“You’re so perfunctory.”
Duan Wei lightly bumped his arm, her voice carrying a coquettish softness that made it pleasantly numbing to hear.
“The air conditioning is freezing in here. Do you have an extra jacket in your car? Come with me to get it.”
He did.
Zhou Wu always kept a jacket in his car.
Wen Ci lowered her head and pretended to look at her phone.
In reality, her finger merely wandered aimlessly across the screen.
She was already prepared to move aside and let them leave.
As expected, Zhou Wu turned towards her and touched her hair.
“Move. I need to get out.”
Wen Ci nodded and stood.
Suddenly, she wanted to leave.
She shifted sideways to clear a path for Zhou Wu.
Unexpectedly, he remained standing beside her instead of leaving.
He looked towards the table diagonally opposite and spoke lazily.
“Xiang Wenwen. Your wife wants you.”
His voice was neither loud nor quiet, but it was just enough for everyone at that table to hear.
Several people nearby knew about Zhou Wu and Duan Wei’s former relationship and had been watching the drama.
They all froze.
So did Wen Ci.
She turned and stared at Zhou Wu blankly.
Xiang Wenwen, who had suddenly been called out, raised an eyebrow in surprise.
He quickly restored his expression and walked over.
“What is it?”
“What do you mean, Zhou Wu—” Duan Wei demanded.
“I don’t know.”
Zhou Wu ignored her.
“Ask her yourself.”
“…”
Their marriage was already close to the edge of a cliff, but they were still husband and wife in name.
Xiang Wenwen hesitated in place for a while before sitting down with outward composure.
Someone patted Wen Ci’s hair again.
Zhou Wu said, “Go and sit over there.”
By the time Wen Ci recovered, she and Zhou Wu had somehow moved beside Dou Yiqing, directly opposite the married couple.
…
“What do you think they’re arguing about?”
Dou Yiqing leaned against Wen Ci’s shoulder and watched the couple opposite them.
“Why can’t they argue more loudly? I want to hear too.”
Wen Ci felt embarrassed.
“Yiqing, you’re speaking too loudly.”
Dou Yiqing had already drunk quite a lot and was becoming tipsy.
She shouted, “Am I? No, I’m whispering.”
Wen Ci:
“…”
Hearing Dou Yiqing, the couple stopped their argument with ugly expressions.
“Stop gossiping, Dou Yiqing.”
Qin Yun shook his dice cup.
“Let’s continue.”
“No. I’m bored of this. Let’s play something else.”
Dou Yiqing looped her arm through Wen Ci’s.
“Something Wen Ci can play too. Otherwise, she’ll be too bored.”
“Actually, I’m not—”
“Does anyone want to play Truth or Dare? I happen to have a deck of cards.”
One of the old high-school classmates who had moved over with Xiang Wenwen suddenly suggested it.
“Everyone at this table knows each other, so it should be more fun. We can spin a bottle, and whoever it points at draws a card. How about it?”
The game was childish but exciting.
Qin Yun had genuinely never played it.
“Are the questions inappropriate? There are women at the table.”
“They aren’t. Don’t worry. You’ll understand after one round.”
The man placed an empty wine bottle on the table and looked around to confirm.
“Everyone’s playing, right? I’ll spin it if everyone agrees.”
“Are you playing, Wen Ci?”
Although it had not been Wen Ci’s intention, the new activity seemed to have been suggested because of her.
She could not refuse.
“I can play.”
Zhou Wu disliked ruining other people’s fun, so he lazily nodded along with her.
The bottle began spinning.
The first unfortunate victim was Qin Yun.
He drew a card and read aloud, “Do you currently have someone you like?”
“F*ck, what kind of childish question is this? I’m not playing anymore.”
Drunk, Dou Yiqing cupped both hands around her mouth and spoke beside his ear.
“Although I’m not particularly interested, you really are a sore loser.”
Everyone burst into laughter.
Qin Yun laughed along with them.
Under the dim lighting, his face appeared slightly red, though it was unclear whether the alcohol or something else had caused it.
“Then… I suppose I do.”
He answered hastily and threw the card back.
“Continue. Continue.”
“Didn’t you just say you were quitting?” Dou Yiqing asked.
“You think I’m going to be the only unlucky one? Dream on.”
Qin Yun reached for the bottle.
“Come on. I’ll spin it.”
The bottle stopped in front of Duan Wei.
She drew a card and read it aloud.
“When did you first fall for someone? …Do you still like them now?”
“The first time I liked someone was in the first year of primary school.”
Duan Wei put down the card and looked directly at Zhou Wu.
“I still like him now.”
The implication was far too obvious.
Xiang Wenwen’s expression darkened, and the table sank into an awkward silence.
Dou Yiqing clearly loved this kind of dramatic confrontation.
Wen Ci felt as though her arm was about to be bruised by Dou Yiqing’s grip.
What expression was Zhou Wu wearing now?
Was he happy? Surprised? Excited?
Wen Ci tried to restrain herself but failed.
She secretly raised her eyes and saw Zhou Wu’s cold jawline.
He sat with his arms folded, lazily leaning against the sofa with his shoulder pressed to hers.
He looked absent-minded.
Perhaps he had not been listening, or perhaps he had heard and simply did not care.
“All right, all right. Continue.”
Qin Yun broke the awkward silence.
“Duan Wei, spin it.”
…
After several rounds, the bottle had still never pointed towards their side.
Wen Ci had just begun feeling fortunate when the neck slowly came to a stop in front of her.
Like everyone else, Wen Ci chose truth.
Someone handed her the deck.
She randomly selected a card.
“When did you first fall for someone?”
After reading it, she froze.
She turned the card over to check again.
That was indeed the only question printed on it.
That meant the second question Duan Wei had read earlier had been added by Duan Wei herself.
This question seemed just barely acceptable.
Even if Wen Ci answered honestly, no one could possibly connect it to the person involved.
She returned the card to the table.
“It was… during my first year of high school.”
Impressive.
She had still been a schoolgirl.
Zhou Wu turned his face away and looked outside, his expression even colder than before.
Wen Ci answered quickly and spun the bottle, wanting to move on to the next round as soon as possible.
She twisted it firmly.
The bottle trembled through two rotations before quietly pointing at her again.
Wen Ci:
“…”
Resigned, Wen Ci reached for another card.
Zhou Wu glanced sideways and saw the words printed on it:
**Is there someone you like here tonight?**
Wen Ci visibly paused.
Without reading it aloud, she tossed it back into the pile.
“…I choose dare.”
No one had expected the dare cards to be needed.
The man froze before hurriedly pulling them from his pocket.
Their seats were some distance apart, so Wen Ci said, “You can draw any card. Just read it for me.”
“Hug the second person of the opposite s*x on your left for one minute.”
There was only Zhou Wu immediately to Wen Ci’s left.
The next man further left, at the opposite end, was Xiang Wenwen.
Xiang Wenwen smiled and cooperatively stood.
“Come on, old classmate. Give me a hug.”
Wen Ci hesitated.
She thought that briefly touching him should probably count.
Surely everyone would not be too strict about it.
Not wanting to seem like a poor sport, Wen Ci turned and prepared to leave her seat.
The person beside her remained motionless.
His long legs blocked the entire passageway, with no intention of allowing her through.
While Wen Ci stood there confused, Dou Yiqing lifted her head through her drunkenness.
“That’s inappropriate, isn’t it? He’s someone else’s husband.”
“Exactly.”
Qin Yun immediately supported her and waved Xiang Wenwen back into his seat.
“No more dares. It’s the anniversary tonight, and everyone nearby knows one another.”
“What if someone draws a card telling them to shit or piss at the next table? That would be terrible.”
“…”
Dou Yiqing pinched her nose.
“Qin Yun, you’re genuinely disgusting.”
Qin Yun made the final decision.
“How about this? Anyone who refuses truth has to drink an entire glass.”
“Of course, Wen Ci has a low tolerance, so we’ll make an exception. She only needs to take one sip—hey!”
Before Qin Yun could finish speaking, Wen Ci had already sat down and raised the glass to her lips.
She frowned as she finished the entire drink.
“It’s all right. I can drink. You don’t need to treat me differently.”
“Shall I continue spinning?”
The bottle began turning.
Wen Ci silently prayed:
Don’t let it be me. Don’t let it be me…
The bottle slowly passed her and stopped in front of Zhou Wu.
Zhou Wu looked uninterested.
He decisively drew a card and turned it over.
**When was your first time?**
No one had expected this deck to contain such a scandalous question.
Before everyone could react, Zhou Wu answered openly.
“April seventh last year.”
Everyone else:
“?”
He was not going to drink?
He was simply going to say it that smoothly?
The date sounded familiar to everyone, but they could not immediately remember its significance.
Only Xiang Wenwen’s and Duan Wei’s expressions changed slightly.
Qin Yun recovered first.
He swore loudly, then began laughing and teasing him.
Everyone else quickly joined in.
Only Wen Ci continued staring at him with her head raised, surprise covering her face.
April seventh last year?
Was that not the date she and Zhou Wu had first slept together?
Wen Ci’s heart began beating rapidly.
Without warning, she remembered a blogger Dou Yiqing had cursed recently.
The blogger had posted online complaining that his girlfriend had not been a virgin.
Dou Yiqing had left three hundred insulting replies beneath the post.
After hearing about it, Wen Ci had also agreed with several of Dou Yiqing’s criticisms.
If Dou Yiqing knew what Wen Ci was currently thinking, would she curse her too?
She did not truly care whether it had been Zhou Wu’s first time.
But after learning it possibly had been…
An indescribable and uncontrollable rush of excitement and happiness suddenly surged inside her.
Sensing her gaze, Zhou Wu ignored her and reached out to spin the bottle.
…
The bottle pointed to Wen Ci several more times afterwards.
If she could answer, she answered.
If she could not, she drank.
They continued playing until midnight.
When the late-night session began, the deafening DJ music exploded through the venue again.
Everyone had been drinking and was extremely excited.
They immediately abandoned the ridiculous Truth or Dare game and rushed towards the dance floor.
Dou Yiqing invited Wen Ci to dance with her.
Wen Ci waved her off and said she needed to visit the bathroom.
Her swaying figure disappeared around the corner.
Zhou Wu coldly withdrew his gaze.
After a while, he still raised a hand and summoned a female employee, asking her to follow Wen Ci and check on her.
He had just finished giving instructions when his phone vibrated.
**Wen Ci: Zhou Wu, can you come over for a moment?**
**Wen Ci: I want to kiss you.**
Did she have some kind of programme installed?
Every time she became drunk, did it automatically send him this sentence at a scheduled time?
A moment ago, she had wanted to hug someone else.
After failing to hug him, she had come looking for Zhou Wu to kiss.
What was that supposed to mean?
Did she treat him as a backup?
Zhou Wu scoffed coldly.
He found the entire situation pointless and tossed his phone onto the table.
…
Xiang Wenwen checked the time and stood.
“I’m leaving. When Qin Yun comes back, tell him for me.”
His friend stared blankly.
“Aren’t you waiting for Duan Wei?”
Xiang Wenwen glanced coldly towards Duan Wei, who was dancing closely with another man on the dance floor.
He shook his head and smiled with outward dignity.
“She drove here. She’ll call a designated driver later.”
After walking several steps, Xiang Wenwen remembered something and turned around.
“Have you seen Wen Ci?”
“She said she was going to the bathroom.”
The man looked puzzled.
“Wait, she still hasn’t returned? She’s been gone for quite a while.”
…
Xiang Wenwen waited outside the bathroom for ten minutes, but she never appeared.
He asked a server to enter and call for her.
The server returned and said there was no guest named Wen Ci inside.
Xiang Wenwen searched the area again but still could not find her.
The corridor was empty and dim.
He picked up his phone and sent Wen Ci a voice message.
“Wen Ci, I’m preparing to leave. Would you like me to drive you home on the way?”
The message had only just been sent when a sound came from the dark private room beside him.
It was difficult to notice beneath the DJ music outside.
Xiang Wenwen froze.
Holding his phone, he instinctively moved to push open the door, but a server stopped him in time.
“Sir, none of our private rooms are open tonight.”
…
The movement outside gradually disappeared.
It seemed the server had led the person away.
Zhou Wu withdrew his gaze.
His fingertip rubbed against her heavily as he asked coldly, “Why did you react so strongly? Because you heard his voice?”
Wen Ci sat on a high stool with her legs apart, pinned against the wall by Zhou Wu.
Her jeans remained neatly in place, but her top was already in complete disarray.
Part of her blue bra had been pushed outside the neckline.
The hand Zhou Wu had slipped beneath her knitted top had stretched and twisted the fabric beyond recognition.
She had been drinking and had endured several kisses that left her almost unable to breathe.
Her breathing was heavy, warm and damp against Zhou Wu’s chin.
She trembled at his touch, even her shoulders shaking.
Her eyes were misty and wet as she looked at Zhou Wu.
She seemed not to have heard what he was asking.
She was already drunk.
Holding his face in both hands, she lifted her head and tried to kiss him.
Zhou Wu turned his face away and looked at her coldly.
“Wen Ci, I’m asking you. What are you so excited about?”
If she genuinely dared mention another man right now…
But what would it matter even if she did?
They were only friends with benefits.
Zhou Wu felt irritated.
His brows and eyes lowered indifferently, and a rare trace of frustration appeared on his face—an expression that had never previously belonged to Zhou Wu.
Wen Ci swallowed.
She stopped attempting to kiss him.
Her damp lips moved close to his ear, and she quietly asked:
“Zhou Wu, when we slept together for the first time last year… were you a virgin?”
“…”
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