Seeing Shen Jianxi, who hadn't smiled since she noticed him, Song Duanli felt an indescribable emotion, a sense of pity that such a cheerful laugh shouldn't disappear because of him.
Neither of them spoke. Shen Jianxi watched the television, while Song Duanli watched her. The atmosphere was tense for a moment.
"Ding—" A phone ring interrupted their stalemate.
"Brother!" The cheerful voice made Song Duanli realize who was on the other end of the line.
"What are you doing, cub?" Song Qi propped his phone on the table, shaking his wrist.
The heavy use of his hands in training and competitions these past few days had caused a dull ache in his wrist and finger joints.
"Brother, are you not feeling well?" Shen Jianxi didn't answer his question immediately, her face filled with concern. She noticed Song Qi's somewhat pale complexion and the dark circles under his eyes. Sudan Novel Network.
"Brother is fine, just a little tired these days." He didn't want his cub to worry, so he changed the subject, "You ungrateful thing, you haven't even called your brother these past few days."
Speaking of which, Shen Jianxi felt a pang of guilt.
Indeed, she had been spending too much energy on the other three lately, and even her replies to Song Qi's messages had been perfunctory.
Seeing her guilty expression, Song Qi feigned sadness, "My cub has friends now and doesn't need her brother anymore."
"It's okay, as long as my cub is happy, it doesn't matter how I am."
Shen Jianxi choked slightly at his passive-aggressive remark, then playfully pouted, "No, brother~ You're the most important person to me. I was just busy with my studies lately, it wasn't intentional. Please don't be angry with me, okay?"
"I swear!" she said, raising four fingers of her left hand to her ear.
77: ... Disgusted.
Yet, Song Qi was clearly pleased. His Adam's apple bobbed, and his voice became husky, "Then when I get back..."
Someone called him from a distance; Shen Jianxi recognized it as Xia Shu's voice.
"Brother, if you're busy, go ahead. I'll wait for you to come home!"
He was stunned for a moment by a word she said, then his eyes softened, and he gently replied, "Okay."
After hanging up, Song Qi picked up his cigarette pack and took one out, about to light it. He paused, then put it back.
Might as well quit.
...
From the moment they started talking on the phone, Song Duanli's mood had inexplicably soured.
Their atmosphere seemed to exclude any third person, and for a moment, he even felt jealous of Song Qi.
Especially when she went straight to the dining room after hanging up the phone, not even sparing him a glance, Song Duanli couldn't hold back anymore.
He strode forward, grabbed the girl's wrist, and pulled her into the study before she could react, closing the door.
Shen Jianxi swallowed, looking at the man approaching her. His masculine aura enveloped her from all sides.
"I'm sorry."
"Huh!?" Shen Jianxi looked at him in surprise.
He apologized with a stern and cold expression, looking as if he was about to hit her.
She returned a polite smile, "I've already forgotten. Mr. Song doesn't need to worry about it."
This distant demeanor was a stark contrast to her personality when she was on the phone. Song Duanli felt a pang in his heart, a slight ache.
He clenched his fist behind his back and took out a card from his wallet, handing it to her. "Here."
Song Duanli looked confident, as if he could already see her accepting the card and sweetly calling him "Brother."
However, the reality was far from what he imagined. The girl in front of him smiled, but her smile was filled with deep mockery and ice.
"Slap—" She reached out and knocked the card to the ground without hesitation. Song Duanli's hand quickly turned red.
"Get out!"
With that, she slammed the door and left.
Song Duanli remained in the position of extending his hand, staring blankly at his hand that had been slapped. He had followed Wen Ze's advice, even skipping unnecessary steps to get straight to the point. Why was the result so different?
After leaving, Shen Jianxi could no longer maintain her expression. Tears welled up in her eyes as she clutched her hand, which hurt so much!
Was this what they called "hurting a thousand enemies while losing eight hundred of your own"? Her palm burned like fire. She carefully cradled her hand, moving slowly and deliberately back into the house, blowing on it with each step.
When Song Duanli came out again, the living room was silent except for the food on the table. The vast house was so quiet that he could clearly hear his own heartbeat. He ate alone, something he was accustomed to, but tonight, he felt an inexplicable loneliness. Even the delicious food lost its appeal.
He ate a few bites and put down his chopsticks, getting up to return to his room. He paused by the sofa, a hint of regret in his eyes.
He always felt like someone should be on the sofa...
***
The lights intermingled, and men and women danced intimately on the dance floor. The decadent life had drawn many into its embrace.
Shen Jianxi sat in a booth, dressed in a black strapless mini-dress. Although she had a rather girlish face, this "baby-faced temptation" was even more irresistible.
77: "Host, normally, shouldn't some conceited rich second-generation come to hit on you? And then you firmly refuse, and he angrily attacks?"
" ...I told you to watch fewer TV shows, but you wouldn't listen." She was helpless with 77's ideas. The police patrolling outside the bar weren't blind.
Today was her original birthday. By this date, she was officially eighteen in this world. Shen Jianxi told no one and came to the bar alone. She had heard there would be male models performing, and she had regretted not seeing it in the last world. This was her birthday gift to herself.
Handsome male models with broad shoulders and narrow hips began to take the stage. She drank the last sip of wine in her glass and placed the cup on the table, then stepped onto the dance floor.
Screams from the surrounding girls filled the air. Looking up, the performers on stage had taken off their shirts and were dancing sensually.
At midnight, she officially turned eighteen in this world.
Dancing and shouting along with the crowd, she forgot all her troubles for a moment.
As she moved her body, she kept an eye on the entrance and the second-floor staircase. A commotion arose, and she knew the person she was waiting for had arrived.
A smile played on her lips. She retreated from the crowd to a spot easily visible.
No longer paying attention to the commotion, she focused intently on the male models on stage, shouting at the top of her lungs, "Ah!!! So handsome!!!"
People behind her were pushed aside one by one, but they didn't mind, continuing their intimate dances with their partners.
One step,
two steps,
until her wrist was grabbed.
A male voice filled with anger came from behind her: "Shen Jianxi, you've really got some nerve, haven't you?!"
Even amidst the noisy dance floor, every word could be heard clearly. Without turning around, Shen Jianxi knew how furious the owner of this voice was.