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

Barbecue stall.

Lin Ye found a corner spot and sat down.

The plastic chair scraped against the cement floor with a short, sharp creak.

Seven girls filed in and sat obediently around the barbecue stall. Their colorful hair, lined up in a row under the dim light of the stall's bulbs, looked like a rainbow fresh out of the oven.

Huang Mao sat directly opposite Lin Ye, his honey-brown hair still a little damp, with a few strands sticking to his forehead.

Her eyes were still red, and her lips were red—not just red, but also a little swollen.

The tattooed man sat next to her, a cigarette dangling from his lips, his tongue flashing between his teeth.

She glanced at Huang Mao, then at Lin Ye, took the cigarette out of her mouth, twirled it around, and said nothing, but the curve of her lips said it all.

Hua Tui lay sprawled on the table, his chin resting on his elbow, his eyes darting between Huang Mao and Lin Ye.

The green-haired and pink-haired people huddled together, their earrings standing out prominently under the light.

Qi Liuhai sat on the far side, holding Wangcai in her arms. The cat peeked its head out from under her elbow, its ears standing straight up.

Shen Qing sat to Lin Ye's right and quietly unwrapped the disposable chopsticks for him, placing them on the plate in front of him.

"Boss, give me 50 skewers of kidneys, 200 skewers in total, and a case of beer."

Huang Mao raised his hand and shouted at the boss, his voice so loud that several middle-aged men at the next table who were playing a drinking game stopped.

After she finished shouting, she turned to look at Lin Ye, her deep brown eyes filled with a triumphant light.

Lin Ye leaned back in the plastic chair, crossed his legs, and held a freshly lit cigarette between his fingers.

His eyes held an indescribable weariness—not the kind of weariness that comes from being tired and wanting to sleep, but the kind of relaxation that seeps from the very bones after completing a major project.

Smoke billowed from his nostrils, dispersing into two pale blue streams under the dim light.

He looked at the blond-haired man, and the blond-haired man looked at him too.

The two men stared at each other for about two seconds across a table full of bamboo skewers and beer glasses.

Then Lin Ye took the cigarette out of his mouth, flicked off the ash, and spoke.

"Guess whether I have enough money left?"

His voice wasn't loud, and his tone was casual, as if he were asking how the weather was today.

The cigarette he was holding with his tattooed arm fell to the ground.

The flowery leg slid down from the elbow, and the chin almost hit the edge of the table.

Green Hair and Pink Hair both gasped at the same time, then covered their mouths with their hands, but laughter still escaped through their fingers.

Her bangs completely buried her face in Wangcai's cat fur.

Shen Qing paused for a moment while unpacking the chopsticks, then continued unpacking them as if nothing had happened.

Only the blond guy didn't hide.

She rested her chin on her hand, propped her elbow on the table, tilted her head and looked at Lin Ye, her lips curving into an extremely arrogant smile.

"I don't know if there's money or not, but I don't know about your wallet, bro."

I was almost scared to death in the bathroom just now.

The tattooed man picked up the cigarette from the ground, didn't bother to brush off the ash, and put it back in his mouth. His hand holding the lighter was trembling.

The man with the flowery legs picked up a bamboo skewer and pointed it at the blond-haired man. He opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, finally managing to squeeze out only three words.

"What did you say?"

The blond-haired man turned to look at her, his expression innocent as if he were asking what he had for lunch.

"I'm talking about your wallet, bro."

You haven't seen it, so you don't know, but I have.

The green straw slipped out of his mouth and fell into the Coke cup.

Pink Hair covered his face, but his fingers were spread wider than his eyes.

Qi Liuhai lifted Wangcai up to shield herself, the cat's tail drooping down and sweeping across the edge of the table. She hid behind the cat, only her two bright red ears showing.

Shen Qing picked up the water glass and took a sip, her movements steady and her expression calm.

The tattooed arm finally lit the lighter, brought it to the cigarette butt, lit the cigarette, took a deep drag, and exhaled a standard smoke ring.

Then she leaned back in her chair and spoke in a tone that said, "I give up."

"You son of a bitch—I thought you were helping me put a hand on him in the bathroom—no, I was overthinking it—"

"It's the mouth now."

The blond-haired man blinked, his tone nonchalant.

The cigarette on the tattooed arm fell again.

This time she didn't pick it up, but turned to look at the flowered leg.

The woman with the floral leg also turned to look at the woman with the floral arm.

The two stared at each other for a full three seconds, then simultaneously turned to look at Lin Ye.

Lin Ye put the cigarette in his mouth, picked up his beer glass and took a sip, his expression still that of someone who had burned out completely.

His hand rested on the edge of the table, his fingers tapping the surface twice unconsciously. Then he looked up at the tattooed arms and legs, and the corners of his mouth curved slightly.

"Don't look at me, I need to replenish myself now."

After he finished speaking, he picked up a skewer of freshly grilled kidneys and took a bite.

Hua Tui buried his face in his elbows and shouted in a muffled voice.

The green-haired and pink-haired girls were laughing so hard they were hugging each other, their earrings rubbing together so much that it was impossible to tell which strand was pink and which was green.

A woman with bangs peeked out from behind the cat, her voice soft but every word incredibly clear.

"Sister Yellow Hair, you're really—too bold—"

Huang Mao put the bamboo skewers on the table, rested his chin on his hands, and tilted his head to watch Lin Ye eat kidneys.

Her lips were still swollen, and there was a little bit of cumin powder left around her mouth.

"Take your time, bro. If 50 skewers aren't enough, I'll order you more."

The tattooed man finally picked up the cigarette from the ground. This time, he didn't light it; he just put it in his mouth and touched the mouthpiece with his tongue stud.

She leaned back in the plastic chair, crossed her legs, and the koi fish on her tattooed arm gleamed with a bluish-black light under the lamp.

She looked at Huang Mao, then at Lin Ye, and said three words.

"If there's an opportunity later, that means it's possible—"

She paused halfway through her sentence.

Green Hair chimed in, his tone as serious as if he were taking notes during a scientific experiment.

"You can use your wallet."

There was a full second of silence on the table.

Then everyone exploded.

The tattooed arm exhaled smoke from his mouth, the tattooed leg laughed so hard he slid off the chair and squatted on the ground clutching his stomach, the green-haired and pink-haired men screamed like boiling water, the bangs completely covered Wangcai's face, the cat let out a muffled meow from its fur, and Shen Qing raised his water glass to his lips, trying to hide his twitching mouth by drinking water but failed.

The blond-haired man stood up, hands on his hips, chin held high, his honey-brown hair fluttering in the night breeze.

She looked around at her sisters who were laughing together, then pointed at Lin Ye.

"The wallet is mine now."

No, it's for me and Sister Shen Qing—you all have to take turns playing, no cutting in line, no sneaking off, and no taking my spot while I'm drunk.

Lin Ye leaned back in his plastic chair, put the bamboo skewers he had finished eating on the table, and reached out to pull Huang Mao back into his chair.

When Huang Mao was pulled back, he stumbled a bit, plopped down in the chair, and leaned on his shoulder, looking up at him with his deep brown eyes full of light.

Tears still clung to her face from laughing, and chili oil from the skewers clung to the corners of her mouth. Her honey-brown hair tickled his neck.

The tattooed man squatted on the ground and used a bamboo stick to draw an unidentifiable pattern on the cement floor.

She looked up at Lin Ye, the koi fish on her tattooed arm tensing its scales as she raised her hand, her tongue flashing between her lips as she asked the most crucial question of the evening.

"Brother, seriously, do you have enough money? There are seven of us."

Lin Ye looked down at her, then turned to look at the group of colorful girls around him.

The blond cat leaned on his shoulder, Shen Qing sat quietly to his right, the cat with the flowery legs crawled back to the chair from the ground, still wiping away tears of laughter, the green-haired and pink-haired cats huddled together, looking at him expectantly, and a pair of bright eyes peeked out from the cat's fur through the bangs.

He took the cigarette out of his mouth, flicked off the ash, and spoke.

"Whether it's enough or not—we'll talk about it after we eat."

The tattooed man threw the bamboo skewer on the ground, stood up, sat back in his chair, picked up his beer glass, and downed half of it in one gulp.

The woman with the flowery legs muttered something softly beside her.

"We'll talk about it later—I said those four words the night Shen Qing arrived—you see what happened to Shen Qing later—"

Shen Qing picked up her water glass and held it in front of her.

Huang Mao lifted his head from Lin Ye's shoulder.

"Sister Shen Qing and I won first place. The rest of you, line up, line up."