C21 Show off or Demonstrate?
C21 Show off or Demonstrate?
"Yun, are you feeling better? I was afraid you might be asleep, so I didn't call you." It was Wu Wenjing.
She replied with a smile before scanning over her all her other school group chats. In the past few years, she had no idea why so many group chats had popped out from people in her pre-school to those in her university. They were all over the place–catching up with various events as they capture and share their own gossip along the way.
Aside from the people back in her high school, Jian Yun didn't remember many of her classmates. In fact, she didn't even know how these people could chat so amicably as if not a day had passed since they had last seen each other.
Tonight, her high school group had been blowing up. Jian Yun saw someone tagging her, so she had to click into the group and see what they were talking about. The chat was practically bursting with compliments that she had to scroll up to see the picture.
In the frame was a very stylish couple. Although the woman's bright face was covered with a pair of large sunglasses, that still didn't hide the beauty of her glistening skin and sweet smile. There, she was leaning against a handsome man who also had a large grin on his face. The couple looked incredibly intimate from the way their arms wrapped around each other.
As her thumb grazed across the screen, she froze. Suddenly, all the humiliation and resentment that had been hidden deep inside her heart gushed out. Her fingers clenched around her phone as she struggled to calm herself.
Of course, she knew them. How could she not? Lin Lanlan and Xu Haiyang were her best friends, yet it seemed that in time, they had grown to be her worst enemies.
Her eyes had turned bloodshot, and a ball rose up to her throat. Suddenly, the cold breeze wasn't enough to cool her down as she kicked the covers from her body, shaking wildly. It's been a while since Jian Yun had seen that woman, but even after six years, the hatred she had for Lin Lanlan still hadn't faded.
So, was Lin Lanlan trying to show off her beau? Or perhaps, she was only demonstrating how their love still remained strong throughout the years while hers remained broken and unhinged.
Not only did that bitch stole him away from her, but she had also spilled a secret that would forever follow Jian Yun in the shadows. It was that day when Jian Yun had lost everything–her home, her family, and even the love of her life.
When she glanced back at her phone again, she stared at the man behind Lin Lanlan. His arms were encircled her waist as his eyes glistened with so much love that it was enough to make her want to vomit. Xu Haiyang–the man who had promised to never leave her–had betrayed her, and now he was showing off his love as if he had thought nothing of their past.
Jian Yun closed the photo and looked away. Her nose crinkled in disgust.
Just then, another notification popped up from her WeChat. At first, Jian Yun thought that it was another picture from her group chat until she caught a glimpse of the screen from the corner of her eye. It was Huo Liancheng.
Her heart started doing backflips, and she scrambled up. It was almost 11 o'clock. Why was he messaging her this late at night?
She opened the message and saw a total of three words. "Are you asleep?"
"Not yet," she replied a minute later.
Jian Yun waited for a short while, but when he didn't reply, she set her phone back onto her bedside table and breathed a sigh of relief.
Even as she rested her head onto the cushions, she still couldn't get the man out of her mind. Her thoughts drifted back to all the times they had interacted with each other. At this point, there was no predicting what Liancheng would do next.
That night in the coffee shop, although he had helped her, he wiped his hands with a tissue right after as if he had touched a piece of dirt. However, after what seemed to be their last meeting, he had helped her into his car and took her to the hospital. The man's gestures may have been nice and sweet, but the words he had said to her back at the car were enough to fuel her anger towards him.
To him, they were simply acquaintances. And judging from his attitude towards Xia Bingbing, the woman who was said to be carrying his child, he didn't seem to be the man who's kind enough to send a stranger to the hospital. And the way he had kissed her back at the elevator...
She just couldn't understand him!
Just as her thoughts drifted even further, her phone vibrated once again, snapping her out of her reverie.
"Are you feeling better?" It had been 15 minutes since his last message.
Jian Yun initially wanted to ignore him, but curiosity got the better of her. "Better."
Liancheng's reply was quicker this time. "Sleep early."
"You should too." Jian Yun had already typed out the words before deleting it all of a sudden. She chewed on her bottom lip as she gazed at his last message. It had been a few minutes of her typing and deleting, and she still didn't know how to respond. No matter how she had panned out the words, they still sounded like a couple greeting each other good night. This was already awkward enough.
Not knowing what else to say or how to respond, she decided to shut off her phone and slept. At this point, she might as well let it go.
At the same time, in the most bustling area of Qinghu City, the luxurious club Myth Hall was practically pulsing with music. As millions of people crowded around the club, their hips swayed to the raging beat as their arms waved up in the air. However, far across the corridor, there were private rooms set up, restricted for their VIP guests. There, the loud music had grown more mellow as a peaceful silence radiated across the hallway.
"Mr. Huo, you've been staring at your phone the whole night that I'm starting to wonder if you already have a woman in your life." A man in his thirties squinted at Liancheng, who had been glancing at his phone for the last thirty minutes. He held a glass of wine in his hand and nudged him. "Although the girls in my club don't have much to offer, they're all certainly beautiful! With your charm, you could pick any girl from the club, and I'm sure she would be begging you to take her right then and there."
"Pu Zhigang, stop with your bullshit! We all know these women couldn't compare to the talents this club had back in the day." Another man patted his large belly before shaking his head. "A few years ago, their faces and bodies are as bright as fine jade with a smell as sweet as flowers. Your dancers can't come close to that!"
"Well, the business isn't as good as it had been as well," he exclaimed. "The higher-ups had tightened our budget, so I can't go around and hire the pretty ones either."
"Remember the woman who dances for you every weekend? She's pretty, isn't she?" The fat man leaned back as his eyes glistened with nostalgia and lust. It was a disgusting sight.
"She's hot and she's flexible!" Pu Zhigang agreed before glancing at Liancheng. "You should've seen her, Mr. Huo. She's a raw talent, that one, and you would've liked her very much. There were tons of men who come out here every weekend just to see her dance. During those times, I don't even have a proper view at the front myself! And I'm the boss!"
"Is that so?" Huo Liancheng waited for a long time. Seeing as Jian Yun still hadn't replied, he placed his phone back on the table and took a sip of his red wine. He didn't seem interested in listening to their conversation.
Huo Liancheng and Pu Zhigang had been dormmates back when they were studying at Harvard University. Given his money and his connections, he graduated and opened his own club. Although he had been doing well in the first few years, his revenues had fallen after the integration of newer and stricter policies.
Although they weren't close, Pu Zhigang had invited him over many times for a drink. It was only tonight when he had reluctantly agreed.
After drinking and catching up, Huo Liancheng got up and was about to leave.
Pu Zhigang originally wanted to be good friends with Liancheng, given the man's esteemed connections. He was overjoyed that the man actually showed his face tonight, and now that it was getting late, he knew for a fact that his time was already up. Although they had chatted, it seemed that their friendship had progressed nowhere. He had tried and invited a few dancers from the club to serve him, but Liancheng didn't even bother glancing at them.
And Pu Zhigang understood why. Given Liancheng's prestigious family background, he must've seen many other beauties from different places in the world who were far better than the ones he had in the club. It seemed that only a special one-of-a-kind woman could warm the man's icy exterior. Shaking his head, he leaned back on his seat.