He is Lovestruck in the Revenge

At the DJ booth, he hadn't even taken off his formal attire; he had only loosened his tie.

He might have been "grabbed" to perform on the spot, but he was certainly not there just to fill the numbers. He was professional, his actions were swift and clean, full of tension, yet not merely of a sexual nature. He exuded an almost sacred inviolability.

But the more he seemed this way, the more it seemed to ignite others' desire.

It turned out Mr. Xie not only could play the zither, but also spin the decks. Wen Changling thought distractedly, "How can there be someone like him, so passionate and wild, yet as calm as a cup of tea."

The atmosphere reached a boiling point, with cheers and screams so loud that they rang in one's ears. Wen Changling didn't like noise, but strangely, she didn't feel uncomfortable; instead, she felt exhilarated, the kind of exhilaration that comes after indulgence and deep breaths.

As the music approached its crescendo, Wen Changling saw Jhiang Youyou covering her mouth and rushing out.

"Wait here for me, I'm going to check on Dr. Jhiang."

Wen Changling hurried after her.

Yan Cong couldn't hold his liquor, and feeling very dizzy, simply lied down. He heard that sleazy men in bars like to slip various things into the drinks of pretty girls.

He encircled his arms and held Wen Changling's cup tightly within them, then stared unwaveringly in the direction of the door, waiting for Wen Changling to return.

Some girls came over to chat and asked if they could have a drink together.

Yan Cong ignored them, not possessing a shred of patience for social niceties.

The girl laughed and took a seat anyway—

He immediately pulled the chair away with the reflexes of a professional athlete, "Scram, this seat is taken," his expression fiercely stern.

"..."

She was so speechless.

The girl walked away, fuming.

Wen Changling found Jhiang Youyou near the bar entrance, squatting beside a curb, throwing up.

Wen Changling bought a bottle of water and approached.

"Are you okay?"

Jhiang Youyou was still vomiting, probably having drunk quite a bit.

Wen Changling unscrewed the cap and handed her the water.

She took it and gulped down a mouthful.

Wen Changling took out a package from her bag, it contained tissues. She folded them neatly and handed them to Jhiang Youyou, "Where's your boyfriend?"

"We broke up."

That guy she was just dancing with...

Jhiang Youyou didn't seem to care, "Just a temporary dance partner, not someone I know well."

"Oh."

Wen Changling felt that she lacked understanding in this area.

Jhiang Youyou took another gulp of water, and they both sat in silence, Wen Changling keeping her company. Wen Changling had a strange intuition, feeling that Jhiang Youyou was lonely, unhappy, even though she led a rich social life, even though she seemed to replace boyfriends one after another.

The two sat for about ten minutes until laughter came from an alley opposite them.

"Fourth Brother just went up for a bit, and my phone is blowing up, everyone is asking about him."

Wen Changling recognized the voice, it belonged to the youngest grandson of the Gu Family, Gu Yihuan.

Gu Yihuan was the rumored wealthy and influential bar owner, who opened his own bar for a simple reason: he harbored a dream of being a singer, yet no club in the entire capital was willing to let him perform, criticizing his singing as terrible. Out of spite, he opened his own bar to prove himself. In the end, it was proven that he shouldn't perform too often, or else the business would flee.

The DJ for today had an emergency and couldn't perform, so Xie Shang was pushed up as a last-minute replacement. He hadn't systematically learned DJing, just casually practiced a few times as a hobby.

There were five people in the alley, including Xie Shang and Gu Yihuan, as well as two men and a woman. They were the bar's band, the woman was the lead singer, and the other two were the guitarist and bassist.

The lead singer held a Fairy Stick in her hand, a prop left over from the performance, and she borrowed Gu Yihuan's lighter to play with it. Suddenly, she proposed, "Are we going surfing this weekend?"

Gu Yihuan was the first to respond, "Count me in."

The guitarist and bassist also raised their hands.

The lead singer finally looked towards Xie Shang.

"I won't go."

Xie Shang kept his head down, looking at his phone.

Wen Changling's phone rang; it was a message from Xie Shang.

Xie Shang: [Are you at the bar?]

Wen Changling: [Yes]

They had exchanged contact information that very morning, while having a three-fresh noodle breakfast together. Wen Changling had paid for it, covering both their costs. Xie Shang then asked for her number and sent a friend request at noon, which Wen Changling accepted right before getting off work. After she accepted, Xie Shang sent a transfer to her.

Xie Shang's social media username was simply his full name, and his profile picture was a Golden Retriever. Wen Changling's username was also her full name, and her profile picture was of casually taken flowers and plants. Both of them had a style that was very old-fashioned.

"Come on, it's more fun with more people," the lead singer stood against the wall, with Xie Shang to her left.

He shook his head, indicating he was not going, still looking at his phone.

Xie Shang: [I see you.]

Wen Changling: [I see you too.]

"Fourth Brother, who are you chatting with?" Gu Yihuan peered over curiously.

Xie Shang closed the chat window: "No one."

Gu Yihuan handed him a cigarette for men.

Xie Shang took it.

He was the type to try anything, but nothing became an addiction. As soon as he turned eighteen, he bought a pack of cigarettes, had a taste, learned how to smoke and then lost interest, not finding anything special in nicotine.

He didn't carry a lighter.

"Lend me a light."

Gu Yihuan fiddled with the one in his hand, quite unfortunately, "It's broken, won't light up."

The girl then held the Fairy Stick up to Xie Shang's face, "Use this to light it."

The Fairy Stick was quite long, enough distance.

Xie Shang bit the cigarette, leaned in towards the glowing end, smoke billowing, and with his eyes half-closed, the blue light from the sparkler exploded into the shape of a flower, casting shadows on his face.

The girl was stunned.

Once the cigarette was lit, Xie Shang looked up, and through the haze of smoke, his gaze collided squarely with Wen Changling outside the alley.