I was criticized on a dating reality show, but I retaliated and became an internet sensation.

Fang Ran was elegantly pouring tea, without even lifting her eyelids:

"Who knows, but... Qiaoqiao's phone vibrated all night; I could feel it even when I was sitting next to her."

Shu Zi clicked her tongue: "He really is..."

Fang Ran raised her eyes and glanced at her with a half-smile:

"You have time to worry about others? Have you even sorted out your own mess?"

Shu Zi choked for a moment, picked up her teacup, took a sip, and didn't reply.

After a while, Qiao Yue returned, her expression somewhat subtle, something that could only be understood but not explained.

She sat down, picked up her teacup, took a sip, and said out of the blue, "It's so stuffy outside, it feels like it's going to rain."

Shu Zi and Fang Ran exchanged a glance, their understanding unwavering.

Fang Ran answered naturally, "Really? Did you bring an umbrella?"

Shu Zi couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Even if it really rained heavily, all three of them were always driven around, so why would they need umbrellas? But she still suppressed a laugh and played along:

"I brought one, a super big one."

Qiao Yue could hear the two teasing each other, and, enraged, punched them both.

The three chatted and joked for a while longer. Fang Ran glanced at her watch and said it was getting late, so they should call it a night.

Shu Zi stood up, stretched, and grabbed the chain bag from the sofa.

As she reached the door of the private room and her hand touched the doorknob, Qiao Yueke suddenly tugged at her sleeve from behind.

"Zizi, could you please tell Huo Fei that I'm not going tomorrow?"

Shu Zi was taken aback, then turned around: "You should tell him yourself, it's just a WeChat message."

Qiao Yue turned her face away, saying irritably, "I don't want to talk to him!"

Shu Zi laughed: "Then where am I supposed to find him to tell him?"

Qiao Yueke: "...They're upstairs."

Shu Zi: "Them...?"

Qiao Yue nodded, speaking rapidly: "Yes, my brother and Yu Zhuo should both be here."

Shu Zi: "..."

"Okay, I'll go talk to him."

She looked at Qiao Yueke's "please save me" expression and sighed.

"Alright, I've delivered the message. But don't let it happen again. I'm not going to be your mouthpiece."

Upon hearing her agree, Qiao Yue felt as if she had been granted a pardon. She turned around and left, her steps quick as if a ghost was chasing her.

"..."

Shu Zi stood in the corridor, watching Qiao Yueke's figure disappear around the corner, and shook her head.

"Runs faster than a rabbit."

She resigned herself to her fate, turned around, and walked towards the stairs.

The top floor of Wuyu consists of several exclusive private rooms that are not open to the public and are reserved exclusively for He Yuzhuo and his innermost circle.

Shuzi had been here a few times and knew the way.

A large oil painting hangs at the corner of the stairs. Warm yellow light shines on the painting, making it difficult to discern what it depicts, but the color scheme feels very comfortable.

Shu Zi stepped onto the wooden stairs, which made a slight creaking sound.

The door to the private room at the end of the upstairs corridor was ajar, and warm yellow light leaked out from the crack, making it easy to hear people talking inside.

Shu Zi walked over, raised her hand, and knocked twice on the dark wooden door, neither too hard nor too soft.

"Come in." He Yuzhuo's voice, tinged with a lazy smile, came from inside.

Shu Zi pushed open the door and went in.

There were three people sitting in the private room.

He Yuzhuo leaned back in the main sofa, an unlit cigar between his fingers. Seeing her enter, his eyebrows shot up, and a nonchalant smile curved his lips.

"Zizi, it's been a long time!"

Huo Fei sat on the single sofa opposite him, idly twirling a silver Zippo lighter in his hand. He was clearly taken aback when he saw Shu Zi, and then his gaze unconsciously drifted to Gu Yan, who was sitting in the innermost shadow.

Gu Yan sat on the sofa by the window, having changed into a black short-sleeved shirt that revealed his well-defined forearms.

He was holding a glass of clear liquid, which looked like water.

When he saw Shu Zi come in, his gaze lingered on her for a moment, then looked away, took a sip of water, and his expression remained unchanged.

Shu Zi ignored He Yuzhuo's glib tongue, her gaze sweeping around the room before finally settling on Huo Fei, who was clearly the "person involved," and she got straight to the point:

"Qiaoqiao asked me to tell you that she's not going tomorrow."

Huo Fei paused for a moment, the lighter hovering between his fingers for a split second.

"Did she send you to say that?" His voice was low, and his tone carried an indescribable quality.

Shu Zi leaned against the door frame, arms crossed, speaking in a businesslike tone:

"What else? She said she didn't want to talk to you, and was too lazy to talk to you, so she sent me, the unlucky messenger, to do it."

He Yuzhu chuckled softly beside him, picked up the whiskey glass on the table, took a sip, and adopted a leisurely attitude of watching a good show.

He didn't care about Shu Zi's attitude; after all, this young lady's temper was something someone had spoiled her with.

Huo Fei ignored He Yuzhuo's teasing, fixing his gaze on Shu Zi's face, and pressed, "Did she say anything else?"

Shu Zi recalled Qiao Yueke's expression, as if she wanted to disappear immediately, and shook her head:

"That's it, just this one sentence, 'I'm not going tomorrow,' and then he ran away like he was being chased by a ghost."

Huo Fei lightly clicked the lighter onto the smooth mahogany table.

He leaned back into the sofa, remained silent for two seconds, then suddenly tugged at the corners of his mouth, revealing a very faint smile.

That smile contained three parts helplessness, three parts understanding, and a few more unspeakable... determination to win?

"Okay, got it," he said.

Shu Zi looked at him and always felt that while he said "I know," he was probably plotting some kind of "forced acquisition" in his heart. But she couldn't be bothered with this pair of "she escapes and he chases" lovers. She delivered the message and completed her mission.

"Then I'm leaving." She turned around decisively, ready to retreat.

"etc."

It was Gu Yan's voice.

Shu Zi paused and turned to look at him.

Gu Yan was still sitting there, holding a water glass, his tone indifferent: "How did you get here?"

"Drive?" Shu Zi asked, puzzled.

"one person?"

Shu Zi raised an eyebrow, her tone slightly provocative: "Otherwise what? Do you think I'd bring a fairy godmother along?"

Gu Yan ignored her comment, put down his water glass, got up, picked up his car keys from the sofa armrest, and walked straight toward her.

"I send you."

Shu Zi was taken aback: "I drove myself."

Gu Yan had already walked up to her, looked down at her, and said succinctly, "Have Wu Qiwei drive it back tomorrow."

Shu Zi opened her mouth, wanting to say "Why should I?", but when she met Gu Yan's gaze, she swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue.

"Have you been drinking?"

"no."

Shu Zi turned to look at He Yuzhuo.

He Yuzhuo immediately raised his wine glass, testifying with a bright smile:

"I vouch for him, Brother Yan didn't drink a drop of alcohol today. He only drank cold water the whole time. He didn't even glance at the wine I have here."

Shu Zi glanced at the glass of water on the table, paused for two seconds, then turned and walked out: "Whatever."

Gu Yan followed behind her calmly and left the private room.

The moment the door closed, He Yuzhuo smiled knowingly and looked at Huo Fei: "Look at them, you're both pursuing someone, but yours won't even bother to talk to you."

Huo Fei lifted his eyelids, gave him a cold glance, and his voice was clearly impatient:

"Shut up."