A Zhong felt he was about to overthink things again.
Fortunately, a group of people arrived, interrupting them.
Luxury cars were luxury cars; their roaring engines could be heard for miles.
Under everyone's collective gaze, several sports cars lined up, revving their engines as they parked by the roadside.
Then, a group of men and women, dressed flamboyantly, walked over.
The boss seemed familiar with them and greeted them. Everyone found seats.
Zhou Jinbei kept her head buried low, wishing she could burrow into A Zhong's arms.
Even so, her outstanding appearance was immediately noticed.
"Who is this? So familiar. Isn't that Sister Bei? Long time no see. We thought you'd gone abroad, but here you are!"
"Sister Bei, you don't even greet us. Have you forgotten all your brothers?"
Recognized, Zhou Jinbei pretended to be drunk and turned her head hazily.
"Gao Shenghu? Er Kai? Hi, it's you guys. I was drunk and didn't recognize you. What have you been up to lately?"
It turned out to be a group of old acquaintances.
They grabbed plastic stools and surrounded the table with a "whoosh," then started recounting their recent experiences to Zhou Jinbei.
The feeling of being tipsy vanished instantly.
A Zhong no longer wanted to peel shrimp. He sat quietly on the side, watching Zhou Jinbei brag to them.
"I haven't been busy with much. Just helping my cousin with his company and investing in a beauty salon."
"Oh dear, business is tough these days. Our families aren't like yours; we can't afford to play around."
Others: "Tsk, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse. Don't be modest with us. If we don't ask you for money, you cry poverty as soon as we meet. What's that supposed to mean?"
"Exactly. I heard from my mom that she went to your beauty salon. I thought your mom opened it, but it turns out it was you."
"Boss, bring us ten more dozen beers!"
They chattered away, a reunion after a long time, spitting and talking with great enthusiasm.
A Zhong grew bored as he listened. Seizing the moment when everyone was engrossed in their bragging, he quietly slipped out, settled the bill with the boss, and returned to the hospital.
By the time Zhou Jinbei finished dealing with the vain crowd and came to her senses,
She found A Zhong gone.
She asked the boss, who told her he had left long ago, which infuriated her.
How many shrimp had he peeled for her? He just left without even saying goodbye!
What a scumbag!
While others were full and had designated drivers or rides, Zhou Jinbei was in a predicament.
When someone asked how she got there, she said she came with a friend.
"Your friend seems to have left. Do you need a ride?"
"No. He'll be back to pick me up soon. You guys go ahead."
However, who would come to pick her up?
Given her current social circle, no one would.
Most people on the street had dispersed, and the boss was packing up to close.
She felt like someone abandoned by the world, suddenly feeling so desolate.
She couldn't help but take out her phone and call Chen Jiaojiao.
As soon as she heard Chen Jiaojiao's drunken voice, Chen Jiaojiao became alert.
"Where are you? Weren't you going to the hospital? Did you run off to drink without me?"
"Don't even mention it. Zhong Jiaming, that bastard, is back. I drank myself half to death, and he ran off ahead of time. Come pick me up."
Chen Jiaojiao, still half-drunk, drove to find her.
When they met, standing on the curb, Zhou Jinbei raised her voice as loud as she could.
"What is he? Isn't it his good fortune from several lifetimes that I, Miss Zhou, am willing to condescend to fancy him and be with him?"
"He's ignoring me? Running away? He's such a coward! A scumbag!"
Chen Jiaojiao pulled her towards the car.
"Alright, you were the one who married someone else and abandoned him first. Now you're blaming him."
"But I got divorced later! I gave him a chance! Why didn't he come after me?"
"You're asking me? I don't live in his heart, how would I know? When I wanted to explain things to him, who was it that stammered and stopped me?"
Zhou Jinbei buried her head on Chen Jiaojiao's shoulder and started crying.
"I was just trying to save face! He never said he liked me, and the child was conceived through my scheme. Do you know how scared I was to say anything!"
"I slept with him secretly, Jiaojiao. Do you know what it feels like to get a man drunk and sleep with him secretly?"
Chen Jiaojiao was speechless: "Big sister, this is on the street. Watch your image a little!"
"He's about to go on blind dates with someone else, and his father is so eager to have a grandson. What image do I need to maintain? I'm a discarded woman now!"
Zhou Jinbei swayed her head.
"A discarded woman with no one to love her, no one to dote on her. Do you understand?"
Chen Jiaojiao had initially told herself not to think negatively.
"I'm young, beautiful, and rich. Plenty of men like me. Why should I be so distraught over one crooked tree?"
But now, hearing Zhou Jinbei, she suddenly felt melancholic too.
"Men are all useless. To hell with them! Don't overthink it. They can spend, why can't we?"
"With our figures and looks, it's just that we don't want to. If we wanted to, we could charm every man on this street!"
"Stop thinking about him. Tonight, we won't go home until we're drunk. I'll treat you to a bar and order two male escorts for you! No, ten!"
"One to dance for you, one to sing for you, one to give you a massage, one to kneel and serve you! Whatever we tell them to do, they have to do it. We'll put men under our feet!"
"Yes! We'll put men under our feet!"
The two of them went to a bar in a frenzy.
Chen Jiaojiao threw out a stack of cash and told the bar manager to clear out the central booth for her.
Then, she had all the male escorts brought out and lined up for her sister to choose from.
The music was deafening, the lights were dazzling.
The men's seductive dance moves and alluring gazes were clearly captured in videos that flowed into Zhou Jinbei's social media feed.
"Friends, let's get hyped! Let's all put those scumbag men under our feet and get wild!"
A Zhong had spent over two thousand yuan but hadn't had a single bite to eat or drink.
He returned to the ward on an empty stomach. His father was fast asleep.
He couldn't sleep.
Zhou Jinbei sitting with a bunch of rich second-generation heirs, acting like she belonged, her effortless bragging, lingered in his mind.
He didn't understand Zhou Jinbei, not at all.
Sometimes he felt like she liked him; the way she looked at him was sincere and full of feeling.
But other times...
A Zhong had to admit he had no talent for romance.
Being led around by a girl nine years younger.
He couldn't sleep.
While berating himself in his heart for being spineless, he couldn't help but pull up her WeChat to look.
He looked at her profile picture, her moments.
And then, the more he looked, the more he saw.
Ha, Miss Zhou was out having fun at the bar.
She had even ordered male escorts.
He was here, feeling dejected and overthinking, worrying about her, while she was indulging in a life of luxury.
Zhong Jiaming, Zhong Jiaming, could you be any more pathetic?