After the breakup, I was taken in by a group of trendy young women.

Zhang Qian's lips trembled several times as she pointed a finger at Bai Xiaojing, her fingertips shaking: "You ill-mannered little delinquent! Who are you to interfere in my business with Lin Ye? He followed me to the KTV, and he still thinks he's right?"

"Following you?"

Bai Xiaojing seemed to have heard the funniest joke in the world, turned around and shouted into the corridor.

"Ladies, did you hear that? She said her brother was following her! Hahahaha!"

The first person with a tattooed arm jumped out of the private room.

She had kicked off her shoe while singing so enthusiastically that she was now barefoot on the hallway carpet. Her newly cut short hair was a mess, and the koi fish on her tattooed arm gleamed bluish under the spotlight, making her look like a freshly sharpened knife.

She walked over to Bai Xiaojing and stood down, crossed her arms, looked down at Zhang Qian, and flicked her tongue between her lips.

"Sister, are you mistaken? We're here to sing karaoke today. Our private room is the one furthest inside, and we arrived at least an hour before you. Who's following whom? You've got it backwards!"

Zhang Jingjing also came out, wearing her canvas shoes with the heels tucked under her feet like slippers, and clutching a half-empty bottle of beer in her hand.

She leaned against the wall by the bathroom door, tilting her head to scrutinize Zhang Qian: "Did you plant a tracking device on our brother? Who's tracking whom?"

Zhang Qian's face turned from ashen to purplish-red.

The athletic man behind her had also come out at some point; his tight white T-shirt was stretched taut under the corridor spotlights, and the silver chain around his neck reflected a cold light.

He took a step forward, intending to support Zhang Qian, but upon seeing the koi-patterned arm and the rose tattoo on Zhang Jingjing's leg, he retreated and merely cleared his throat behind Zhang Qian in a show of bravado.

Just then, the elegantly dressed woman walked out from around the corner of the corridor.

She looked to be in her early thirties, wearing a well-tailored black dress and stiletto heels. She was carrying a bag from a brand Lin Ye recognized. Zhang Qian had sent him a link to that bag before, saying, "Buy it for me when you get your salary this month." The price was equivalent to two months' salary for him at the time.

The woman's makeup was just right, and her features bore a resemblance to Zhang Qian's.

She walked over to Zhang Qian and stood down, placing one hand on Zhang Qian's shoulder. Her gaze passed over Bai Xiaojing and the tattooed arm, landing directly on Lin Ye, who had just come out of the private room.

"You're Lin Ye?"

Her voice was not loud, carrying a carefully maintained elegance and an unyielding contempt beneath.

Lin Ye leaned against the door frame of the private room, a cigarette dangling from his fingers, his legs crossed, still in the same position.

Behind him stood Shen Qing, Green Hair, Pink Hair, and Qi Liu Hai holding a cat. The four girls peeked out from the door of the private room, their colorful hair looking like a row of exploding fireworks under the dim corridor lights.

"I am Zhang Qian's older sister, and my name is Zhang Xue."

The woman switched the designer bag to her other hand, slightly raised her chin, and scanned Lin Ye from head to toe before glancing at the colorful heads behind him.

Just as I thought, it's neither fish nor fowl.

"Stop bothering my sister. She's in a bad mood today, and I came to cheer her up. I didn't expect you to follow her to the karaoke bar."

The corridor was quiet for about two seconds.

Then Lin Ye laughed.

He looked up at Zhang Xue, his eyes full of mockery.

Are you sick?

The carefully maintained smile on Zhang Xue's lips froze.

She clearly hadn't expected that answer.

"What did you say?"

I said, you're sick.

Lin Ye put the cigarette back in his mouth and took two steps forward.

He was a full head taller than Zhang Xue. When he looked down at her, the spotlights in the corridor cast a pale golden halo around his newly cut short hair, highlighting his sharply defined jawline.

"Who told you I followed her? You weren't here when we arrived. The private room is the one at the very back; the front desk has security cameras. Do you want to check it?"

Zhang Xue's lips moved, but before she could figure out how to respond, Lin Ye had already turned around and walked towards Shen Qing.

Shen Qing stood at the door of the private room, her black hair cascading over her shoulders, her expression slightly tense.

Her fingers unconsciously gripped the straps of her backpack, her knuckles turning slightly white.

Lin Ye walked up to her, reached out his right hand, and wrapped his arm around her waist.

Just like the last time he hugged her under the old locust tree, his palm was placed on the inward curve of her waist, his fingers tightened slightly, and he pulled her into his arms.

Shen Qing reflexively looked up at him, her black hair sliding down his arm to reveal a face so exquisite it could make makeup products look terrible.

"My woman."

Lin Ye said.

His voice wasn't loud, but everyone in the corridor could hear him clearly.

He glanced down at Shen Qing, then looked up, his gaze sweeping from Zhang Xue to Zhang Qian, a smug smile curving his lips.

Compared to her, what is your sister? She's much younger, just turned eighteen.

Shen Qing buried her face in his shoulder in his arms, her ears turning bright red, but she didn't pull away.

Her fingers moved off the backpack straps and gripped the hem of his T-shirt, the same action as last time.

The difference this time was that after burying her face in his shoulder, she secretly smiled.

Zhang Xue's elegance finally crumbled.

Her lips began to droop, a vein throbbed on her forehead, and she gripped the strap of the designer bag in her hand so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

She had probably never been told "Are you sick?" to her face in her entire life, let alone encountered such a scene: a young man she looked down upon from the bottom of her heart, embracing a girl who was more than ten times prettier than her sister, and crushing her carefully prepared lines into dust with the most nonchalant tone.