Chapter 31

Gu An’an had worked at Nightfall Bar before, so she knew the place quite well.
The VIP rooms on the third floor were impossible to reserve without a four-digit minimum fee. But for Miss Shen, who casually spent millions, it was just pocket change for food and drinks.
Gu An’an hadn’t planned to come, but she couldn’t resist, the male models’ looks had completely dazzled her.
At exactly eight o’clock, Nightfall opened its doors.
The resident singer in the first-floor lobby had already started performing, a very quaint, slightly bourgeois blues.
Tall, leggy waitresses and handsome male staff with decent looks carried drinks and weaved between the booths. They were dressed youthfully, yet elegantly; tall, poised, and very eye-catching.
Honestly, when Gu An’an arrived, she felt a little self-conscious.
Although the entire school was buzzing that Su Ruan had left Jing City, the rumor, partly accurate, left people feeling uneasy. What if Su Ruan suddenly appeared like a ghost, blinking from Northern Myanmar one second to crying in Nightfall’s VIP safety corridor the next, and went in for a face-to-face confrontation? Then her own death would be completely unjust.
Her thoughts ran wild, and even walking up the stairs made her nervous.
Fortunately, her worst-case scenario didn’t happen. Shen Shan’s event, dubbed the “Send the Plague God Away” party, didn’t feature the likes of Yang Yue or Zhou Jiayu at all.
Inside the VIP room, the bass throbbed, lasers flashed, and long-legged male models in sleeveless basketball jerseys, white shirts, or high-slit casual suits, all impeccably styled, smiled perfectly to warm the hearts of the seated ladies.
Gu An’an swallowed her nervousness. Okay, this worry was inconsequential.
Yes, Shen Shan knew how to throw a party.
After confirming this, she realized Shen Shan was someone who could really organize things.
“An’an, come over.” Shen Shan had been enjoying her recent victories, ever since Su Ruan left, the sky felt bluer above her head. If her parents hadn’t restricted her mischief, she’d have been firing off fireworks across the entire city in celebration.
Tonight, the young lady dressed very festively, a red strap dress so vivid the laser light couldn’t penetrate, paired with red heels. To those who knew, it symbolized her successful exorcism of the plague god and the celebration of a bright future; to others, she looked like she’d cosplayed a sultry ghost.
If she died wearing that outfit, she’d be the most formidable ghost of the night.
Being the host, she sat in the prime spot.
On each side was a cold, handsome guy as her bodyguard. Her taste, predictably, leaned toward the brooding type like Lu Xingyu, handsome, aloof, slightly disdainful yet rebellious.
Shen Shan clapped the sofa impatiently. “Sit! Sit!”
Gu An’an quickly sat down.
The circular sofa booth was filled with her supportive plastic sister circle, along with plenty of beautiful girls who happened to be there for fun. Everyone came to celebrate Shen Shan.
The male models raised their glasses for toast, held the ladies’ hands against their abs, asking if they liked it, or whispered temptations into their ears, offering to do anything they wanted~
It was decadent! Outrageous! Blissful!
Who taught these wayward young men to act so unrestrained? Fate? Destiny brought us together, and here I am to save your fallen souls!!
Gu An’an, surrounded by handsome men, happily played “queen choosing her consort.”
But maybe because she’d seen enough handsome guys, at a closer look, these models, especially compared to Xie Jinxing, seemed…well, trashy.
Wait. Gu An’an suddenly realized something, stiffening as if struck by lightning.
What had she just been thinking?
Her mind blanked for a moment. Had she just compared a nightclub model to some domineering male lead? Was Uncle unable to hold a knife, or was she just too dizzy?
Snapping back to reality, a cold sweat broke out.
She straightened her posture as best as she could. “All good, all good, nice butts!”
“Feel free to touch~”
“Go ahead~”
“Don’t dare, don’t dare.” Gu An’an obediently shrank to the side, doing nothing.
…
It was obvious that getting rid of Su Ruan, her arch-nemesis, had made Shen Shan ecstatic. She waved her hand and said if the men weren’t to her liking, she could keep choosing, and signaled the waitress to push in the champagne tower for celebration.
The sisters each grabbed a glass, raised it, and toasted.
Gu An’an took a glass too, slightly sweeter than juice. The alcohol content was low, a sparkling white grape wine, tasting like fruit juice.
After the celebrations, the conversation naturally turned to what Shen Shan cared about most:
Did Lu Xingyu like her?
When would Su Ruan get her karma?
Su Ruan’s punishment hadn’t yet arrived, so it had to be scheduled at the end.
Now, it was handsome guy time. Naturally, the topic centered on the first question.
Many eyes were on Lu Xingyu. Though Gu An’an felt his IQ and EQ weren’t high, he was undeniably popular among second-generation social circles, countless socialites had their eyes on him.
The Lu family was wealthy. Though not as old-money rich as the Xie family, their assets were substantial. Without capability, how could Xie Madam, not inferior to men, have married in?
In other words, any socialite who could get close to Lu Xingyu would gain huge prestige, even if they couldn’t claim the position of Mrs. Lu. Just talking about him brought a sense of connection.
Gu An’an suddenly realized Lu Xingyu hadn’t appeared for a long time. Even Shen Shan hadn’t seen him recently.
Since the start of the new semester, he hadn’t been to school, reportedly staying home in isolation.
When someone mentioned it, Lu Xingyu’s cousin immediately denied it.
She glanced at Shen Shan, saying her brother wasn’t isolated by choice, his aunt had locked him up. She thought she hadn’t disciplined him enough before, so now she took the time to personally manage him.
But her brother wasn’t easy, stubborn and difficult, driving his aunt crazy. His father didn’t want his wife upset, so he planned to send this unruly son abroad for two years of experience.
After hearing this, Shen Shan couldn’t laugh. “Why is Lu Xingyu suddenly going abroad?”
Such a big event, and the Lu family hadn’t even told her?!
The lively atmosphere went quiet.
Shen Shan was shocked and upset, her face pale.
Though the Lu and Shen families hadn’t formally discussed marriage, both sets of parents subtly wanted to match them. Shen Shan had pursued Lu Xingyu for years. She’d eaten countless meals at the Lu family home. Grandpa Xie had even joked about considering her as a granddaughter-in-law. Yet she had to hear about his going abroad from someone else???
This was absurd!
Not only was she shocked, but Gu An’an felt horrified too.
In the original story, Lu Xingyu never went abroad.
He was the second male lead, the book’s second most featured male after Xie Jinxing. In fact, he had more appearances than the main male. Xie Jinxing, being eight years older than Su Ruan, was already part of society.
One was a CEO handling billion-dollar projects; the other a naive freshman. Their worlds were tiny. Without Lu Xingyu as a bridge, Su Ruan wouldn’t even have met Xie Jinxing.
Even leaving aside the romance plot, Lu Xingyu carried essential story weight.
Without him, who would comfort Su Ruan, fight her battles, or protect her?
He was the handsome, wealthy, all-around capable senior adored by many readers, love at first sight from chapter one, eventually handing Su Ruan to Xie Jinxing, heartbroken yet loyal through the whole story.
So why was this pivotal character suddenly removed?
Does this make sense?
Is the story broken? No way!
Gu An’an shot Lu Xingyu’s cousin a strange look.
The cousin ignored her, Shen Shan was the one worthy of her cousin’s attention. Gu An’an was just a minor character, unworthy of notice.
“What exactly happened?” Shen Shan panicked, really panicked.
She couldn’t understand why Lu Xingyu, doing well in school, had to leave.
Her cousin couldn’t explain, she didn’t know much about Lu Xingyu’s private life. He had been taken by Grandpa Xie in elementary school, spending little time at the Lu home.
Shen Shan downed a mouthful of wine, pushed away her bodyguards, and ran outside to call Lu Xingyu.
Gu An’an quietly drank a few more glasses, her head spinning.
Having seen some male models, she realized that although they were handsome, the makeup was heavy. Their figures were thin, not even one-tenth as good as Xie Jinxing, and not comparable to Lu Xingyu or Zhou Jiayu.
The “knight squad” each had their quirks, but individually, their looks were impressive.
After satisfying her curiosity, Gu An’an lost interest.
She sniffed, grabbed her bag, and went to the bathroom. “Excuse me.”
The champagne was weak; even a little too much could make her dizzy. Sitting, she felt fine, but standing made her lightheaded. She wove through the crowd, with a few male models helping steady her, or she’d have fallen.
Outside, Shen Shan was taking a phone call.
Whatever was said made her cry.
She cursed Lu Xingyu like a tiny clawed kitten. Though capricious, she was still generous with money. Gu An’an hesitated, should she go comfort her?
She didn’t know Shen Shan well, but Shen Shan seemed to like her…
After about thirty seconds of indecision, Gu An’an dutifully patted Shen Shan’s shoulder.
Shen Shan, about to curse “clueless idiot” for interrupting her call, turned and saw Gu An’an, swallowing her curse in frustration.
“What’s wrong?” Her voice was thick with nasality, sounding pitiful.
“Why cry?” Gu An’an felt floaty, her words slurred, mind wandering. She offered a bad idea: “If he goes abroad, you go abroad too. What’s the big deal? Your family can afford tuition…”
Shen Shan’s crying paused. Lu Xingyu’s irritated voice came through the phone.
He asked, “Is that Gu An’an?”
“Was that Gu An’an speaking just now?”
“Shen Shan, let Gu An’an take the call!”
“Okay.” Shen Shan muttered vaguely, probably just to handle the phone or to appease Gu An’an. She sounded so sad, her nasal tone thick: “But…I don’t want to go abroad”
For a moment, silence filled the air.
Then Gu An’an asked: “Didn’t you say that if you couldn’t marry Lu Xingyu in this lifetime, your looks, figure, etiquette, good character, and even your soul would be ruined?”
“That’s… true” Shen Shan avoided eye contact, mumbling: “But the food in France is awful.”
Gu An’an: “Your beautiful love isn’t even worth sacrificing yourself for a bad meal in France?”
Woman, your love is fake!
They stared at each other, and the room went silent again.
Sniffing, Gu An’an, possibly inspired by the beautiful night or the touchable abs of the male models, continued giving advice since Shen Shan was paying: “Then roll on the Lu family dining table carousel. Perform a floor routine. Tell them you won’t let Lu Xingyu go abroad. If he leaves, you’ll die! Force your parents and Lu family elders to keep him here!”
Shen Shan: “…”
Lu Xingyu on the phone: “…”
“Gu! An! An!”
His panicked roar came through: “If you say another word, I’ll fly over and smash your teeth!”
Gu An’an didn’t care, he was locked up at home, wasn’t he? Let him try jumping through the phone to smash her teeth, powerless rage.
Still, she decided not to provoke Lu Xingyu further. She had finally managed to get the male lead to force the female lead out of Jing City; now wasn’t the time to challenge the second male lead and suffer unnecessary backlash.
She said, “I need to pee,” and promptly vanished.
Shen Shan held her phone, carefully considering the feasibility of rolling on the dining table. She realized that if she did, her parents would immediately think Su Ruan had driven her insane.
Then they’d cry and send her to a mental hospital.
Shen Shan: “…”
Forget it, maybe wait until Lu Xingyu returns from studying abroad? Two years isn’t long, she was only twenty, she could wait.
Two years. Suddenly, she stopped crying.
Shen Shan hung up, pondered for a minute, then strutted back inside, swaying seductively to embrace the male models and have fun.
…
Gu An’an washed her face in the restroom and stepped out, her steps still unsteady. She felt she had been perfectly clear-headed all along, her mind and spirit sharp, but her nerves were uncontrollably keyed up.
For example, after washing her face, she should have gone back to the VIP room. But right now, she felt like heading downstairs to the staff changing room instead.
Several of the waitresses working there had even been recruited alongside Gu An’an last time.
After working at Nightfall for a while, they’d realized the manager was actually quite decent. Aside from having somewhat strange aesthetic tastes and insisting they wear JK skirts, he protected his employees very well, instances of customers harassing waitresses were basically nonexistent.
Most importantly, the pay was genuinely good. For half a month of work in a month, including tips, earning 20,000 RMB was no problem at all.
When Gu An’an arrived at the changing room, the other girls weren’t there.
She peeked inside a few times, then turned and left.
She wandered backstage alone.
Feeling dizzy from walking, she sat down by the stairs next to the changing room.
Her mind felt empty, yet strangely comfortable. This was probably why so many people liked drinking, afterward, all worries seemed to vanish, leaving a light, lazy high. She took out her phone and played a single-player game in the corner.
She didn’t know how long she’d been at it when suddenly a shadow fell over her head.
The dim hallway light barely illuminated anything. The shadow wore the standard male waiter uniform of Nightfall, white gloves covering his hands. His features were striking, if the male characters of this story were ranked by attractiveness, he would be between Lu Xingyu and Xie Jinxing, probably second on the list.
The stranger was staring at her with an odd, intense gaze.
Gu An’an blinked slowly, unsure what he wanted: “Who are you? Why are you staring at me?”
Maybe it was the alcohol dulling her nerves, but she felt no fear at encountering a stranger; instead, she questioned him.
The man didn’t move, just stood quietly.
It had been over two months since the Xie family’s birthday banquet. Gu An’an’s arm had almost completely healed, and the sling was long gone. Although certain movements still hurt a little, her arm was basically back to normal.
Time heals all wounds, and Gu An’an had long since forgotten she’d ever broken her arm.
Speaking of which, the Xie Hotel had investigated all surveillance footage that day, quickly checking everyone who entered and exited during the patriarch’s birthday banquet. The screening was meticulous, and in the end, only a man named Liang Heng turned out to have false information.
They traced the leads and discovered only a small workshop in the old city making fake IDs; they couldn’t find the person who had tampered with the swing that day.
Xie Jinxing’s team investigated everyone around Gu An’an, mainly because the old man cared deeply about this incident. He required Xie Jinxing to check thoroughly, leaving no chance for anyone to harm Gu An’an. After reviewing everyone she had conflicts with, aside from previous altercations with Lu Xingyu and his fan club, Gu An’an’s relationships were clean and unproblematic.
The only person she had a true clash with, one that left her at a disadvantage was Su Ruan.
After eliminating all other possibilities, Xie Jinxing concluded it was likely one of Su Ruan’s suitors, acting out of vengeance, who caused the minor mishap at the Xie banquet to embarrass Gu An’an.
Tracking down this person would be time-consuming; Su Ruan had countless men around her, making the investigation difficult.
Ultimately, Gu An’an, seeing no immediate danger, let the matter go for the time being.
By October, the nights in Jing City were already cold.
The rapid shifts in day and night temperature often made one mistake one season for another. But there were always fearless souls, cold be damned, I’ll wear my skirt anyway. Gu An’an was one of them, wearing a low-cut black dress that day.
Still, she restrained herself, draping a slightly thick khaki faux fur coat over it.
Her posture was so relaxed that the coat hung open, exposing a long, fair neck and delicate shoulders that seemed breakable at a touch. The alcohol left her large eyes glassy, her expression slightly dazed.
Jiang Sen hadn’t expected to see her here, Gu An’an.
He found it strange. His brain wasn’t good at remembering faces; most people he met or fought, he forgot immediately. Yet Gu An’an’s face remained vividly imprinted in his mind.
Normally indifferent to beauty or ugliness, he could nonetheless clearly recognize that this girl was beautiful.
Jiang Sen didn’t speak, merely observing her quietly. His dry voice carried a strange, cold warning in the empty hallway: “This isn’t a place for you. Don’t sit here.”
Goosebumps rose all over Gu An’an; the dull fog in her mind cleared somewhat.
She obediently stood, timidly putting away her phone: “O-Okay, I’ll leave right now.”
This man looked like he could kill her with a single punch. Though slender, he had the dangerous aura of a hidden leopard in the dark.
In dangerous situations, she didn’t engage in reckless arguments.
In matters of survival, Gu An’an had always been flexible. She never risked unnecessary death.
She left immediately, decisively. Jiang Sen, who had expected to spend some effort convincing this slightly tipsy young lady, was momentarily taken aback. His beautifully sculpted brows furrowed in puzzlement.
Are all rich, overbearing young ladies this obedient?
Gu An’an quickly disappeared down the hallway. Jiang Sen watched her go, feeling slightly bored. It wasn’t his business what a wealthy young lady did, but he still glanced at her as she hurried off. A strange thought flickered through his mind, but he quickly suppressed it.
He picked up a red string on the ground, on which two large characters read “Sudden Wealth.”
He pocketed it, picked up the tray, and returned to the bar front via the staff passage.
That night, Jiang Sen finished his shift and went to the male changing room to change. As soon as he opened the locker, his phone, tucked in his pocket, started vibrating wildly.
Since that day, after helping Su Ruan teach Gu An’an a lesson, he had left Su Ruan’s house.
Su Ruan had cried and begged him to stay, saying she was scared living alone in the empty house and hoped he could accompany her.
Jiang Sen hadn’t agreed.
He didn’t make friends, didn’t need friends. Anyone he formed connections with was either a creditor or an employer. Su Ruan fell into the creditor category. Since she had once saved him, he helped her handle one problem in return. In his mind, having dealt with Gu An’an, he had already repaid Su Ruan. If she wanted more, he could do another equivalent favor.
Su Ruan couldn’t persuade him to stay, but she requested to keep his personal contact information, just in case she needed him in the future.
Jiang Sen handed over his number without hesitation.
Now, the girl named Su Ruan appeared on his phone at an inappropriate time again.
The phone, lying flat in the locker, was vibrating violently.
Jiang Sen frowned and answered.
As expected, Su Ruan was crying on the line again. A thought about caring for others briefly surfaced in his mind but was quickly dismissed. He asked her plainly what was wrong.
Su Ruan cried for about five minutes. Jiang Sen remained patient, not hanging up.
Finally, when she had exhausted her tears and hadn’t received comfort, she sobbed out her situation, vaguely mentioning a kidney donation surgery but focusing on being expelled from Jingchuan Media University.
She asked, “Jiang Sen, can you help me?”
He paused, then calmly replied, “Sorry, my abilities are limited. I probably can’t help.”
“No, no!” Su Ruan immediately protested. “I was expelled, definitely because of those rich second-generation kids at school! Especially that Gu An’an! She must have gotten her family involved behind my back. I know she dislikes me and has been sabotaging me. But I finally got into this university, and now it’s gone…”
Jiang Sen recalled the girl sitting quietly in the safe hallway earlier and asked, “So what do you want me to do?”
“Can you… can you…”
Su Ruan hesitated. “Make her pay a little price?”
Jiang Sen immediately understood her unspoken meaning but thought it wasn’t worth it: “You want her life, but the price isn’t enough.”
Her face twisted briefly from his blunt words.
After a long moment, she timidly said, “Then, aside from that… I don’t want her dead. Can you act? Make her pay just a tiny bit for what she did? Just a tiny bit?”
Jiang Sen thought for a long while before coldly replying, “Fine. But this is the last time. After this, I owe you nothing.”
Silence on Su Ruan’s end.
Finally, she said, “Aren’t we friends?”
“No,” Jiang Sen said coldly and plainly. “You’re a creditor.”
…
Gu An’an, with her neck hunched, left Nightfall. It was already past midnight. The school dorms were probably locked, so she had no choice but to return to her rented apartment. She had paid a year’s rent; she wasn’t about to waste it.
Winter was approaching, and she shivered on the roadside, trying to hail a cab only to be blocked by a black Maybach.
The car, dark as obsidian, was almost invisible. Streetlights glinted off the window, revealing a fair, delicate face inside. The sharp jawline and superior bone structure shone like white jade in the dark.
Gu An’an wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but the person inside looked somewhat displeased.
Xie Jinxing furrowed his brows, looking stern. “Drank?”
Gu An’an blinked, surprised to see him here. The shock fully woke her up. She shrank her neck timidly. “Uncle? How come you’re here?”
Xie Jinxing said nothing, his gaze sweeping over her frozen, pale legs before quickly shifting away.
Late October in Jing City was no joke; it could snow this late. The little girl was dressed too lightly.
He unlocked the screen with one hand.
Gu An’an stood there, frozen, and tentatively asked, “Uncle, are you in a bad mood?”
“Huh?”
“You…weren’t like this before!” she added, mimicking his usual frown.
Xie Jinxing was indeed a little displeased.
He had come to discuss some matters, coincidentally at Nightfall’s top VIP floor. Nightfall belonged to the Zhao family; to some extent, Xie Jinxing had a stake. half the venue, in a way. Mid-discussion, someone told him that the young lady from the Shen family was downstairs hosting a farewell party with a bunch of male models.
Normally indifferent to such frivolities, Xie Jinxing noticed the girl sitting among the men, calmly directing the scene.
He chuckled, she knew how to have fun.
Originally intending to correct a few of the girls so they didn’t go too far, he lost interest inexplicably. Standing outside, he extinguished his cigarette, then turned back upstairs.
Although he hadn’t planned to intervene, seeing the girl shivering alone in the wind, her slender white legs trembling, made him hesitate.
After a few seconds, he instructed the driver to park in front of her.
Gu An’an still stood dumbly. “It's cold, uncle, you are still having fun here at this time, did anyone offend you?"
“Having fun”
Xie Jinxing almost laughed with anger. She even called it having fun?
“I have something to discuss. Come over.”
“Oh.”
Their eyes met. Silence enveloped inside and outside the car.
"What?" After a long time, Xie Jinxing imitated Gu An’an's usual expression of tilting her head, and that face that didn't like to smile suddenly smiled. He asked Gu An’an in a calm yet slightly strange tone: "Will your uncle bite you or what? Why do you always feel like you've seen a ghost when you see your uncle?
The boss in a suit and tie sat quietly in the car, half of his face hidden in the darkness, his eyes deep. Thinking of the contrast with his own audacity when he was upstairs, looking at his uncle, he was even more stunning.
Gu An’an looked away guiltily, not because she was afraid...
"Get in the car?"
"Oh, okay." Gu An’an exhaled and climbed into the car smoothly.