Chapter 18: She's Still a Minor

Compared to the fervor and gaiety on Lu Qingyue’s side, the atmosphere in the neighboring private room was tinged with strangeness and unease.

The moment Ye Zixuan pushed open the door, she noticed the man standing by the entrance, his head lowered as he checked his phone. As she entered, the scent of roses she wore drifted ahead of her, and just then, the man looked up. Their gazes met for two seconds before both turned away as if nothing had happened.

Ye Zixuan, in her high heels, walked straight over to the empty seat beside Cheng Xingye, not sparing a glance to either side. She leaned forward, picked up a bottle of red wine from the table, poured a glass, and with slender fingers, offered it to Cheng Xingye.

Cheng Xingye shot her a wordless look and did not take the glass. Ye Zixuan met his eyes without flinching, her delicate features carrying a faint, determined smile, as if she would not relent until he accepted it.

After a brief, silent standoff, he finally straightened up and took the glass, tossing back the wine in one go, then setting the empty glass back on the table.

The lighting in the room was dim. The two of them sat side by side. Although there was no physical contact, to any outsider, their closeness and the air between them seemed intimate and ambiguous. After all, no one had ever seen Cheng Xingye allow a woman to pour him a drink in public.

Someone gave a low whistle, sidled up to Ye Zixuan, and asked with a curious grin, “When did you start getting cozy with Cheng Xingye? That’s some skill you’ve got!”

Ye Zixuan merely smiled, her gaze drifting—seemingly by accident—over the ashen face of the man by the door.

As the drinks and laughter flowed, that man rose to his feet, muttered a brief farewell, and left the room. The door clicked shut behind him, and the smile on Ye Zixuan’s face vanished instantly.

With Zhou Yue’s departure, Ye Zixuan felt unsettled. She no longer had the heart for idle chatter and, making up an excuse, left for the restroom.

In the corridor, the man’s figure was already gone.

She had thought that if Zhou Yue still cared for her, seeing her pour another man a drink would have been enough to push him to come over and talk things through. Yet, to her surprise, he was as cold and unyielding as ever, showing not the slightest reaction to her and Cheng Xingye’s supposed closeness—he simply left, just like that.

...

Lu Qingyue had only meant to slip out to the restroom, but as she stepped out of the private room, she unexpectedly collided headlong into Lu Yi.

Lu Yi had been about to apologize for bumping into someone, but when he looked up, his eyes widened in disbelief. “Lu Diandian? What are you doing here?”

He had just spent two hundred yuan to lose his little tag-along, only to run into her here at a party—he was speechless.

Lu Qingyue was equally surprised to see him, but she couldn’t help retorting, “This is a karaoke bar. What else would I be doing here, getting a haircut?”

Lu Yi fell silent. He glanced over her shoulder into the room, saw it was crowded with boys, and couldn’t resist lecturing her. “Stay away from those rascals. Don’t let yourself be cheated out of your money, or worse, your heart. Don’t come crying to me afterward.”

Lu Qingyue only frowned, unconcerned. “What row do you stand in among the Terracotta Warriors? Why are your ideas so old-fashioned? It’s just normal interaction between boys and girls. Is it really that serious?”

Lu Yi, exasperated, crossed his arms and lazily tried to set her straight. “You’re not a guy, so you don’t get it. Who would want to hang out with girls if they didn’t have an ulterior motive? Isn’t gaming or basketball more fun?”

Lu Qingyue, quick on the uptake, immediately deduced, “So since you’re not gaming or playing basketball, you must be here to pick up girls?”

Lu Yi was left speechless. This little brat always had a comeback.

He was just about to tell her to get lost when the private room door behind him suddenly opened. Chen Shujie poked his head out, surprised. “Your sister’s here too? We ordered a seafood feast—come sit with us for a while!”

Lu Qingyue, who had been about to slip away, brightened instantly. “Really? Sure!”

Lu Yi was dumbfounded. “???”

...

Ye Zixuan lingered in the restroom for a while, reorganizing her makeup before returning. As soon as she opened the door, she noticed that Zhou Yue’s former seat was now occupied by Lu Yi and a young girl who looked not much older than a high schooler.

She only knew Lu Yi through Cheng Xingye, and their acquaintance was shallow—just enough for a greeting. She had no idea he had a sister.

Now, seeing him sitting next to a young girl, his face full of exasperation yet still pushing plates piled high with seafood toward her, it was clear they were siblings.

Ye Zixuan didn’t dwell on it, greeted Lu Yi, and then clicked across the room in her high heels toward the seat beside Cheng Xingye. But before she could sit down, he spoke up lazily beside her.

“All right, you’ve already driven him away. There’s really no need to keep up the act.”

As he said this, he made to stand and switch seats with someone else.

Ye Zixuan pressed him back down, perplexed. “Where are you going?”

Cheng Xingye glanced nonchalantly at the sofa across from them and gave a soft cough. “Just avoiding suspicion.”

Ye Zixuan, at a loss, held him in place. “You need to avoid suspicion with me? Don’t tell me you’ve started dating?”

She’d known Cheng Xingye for over a decade—longer than anyone else in the room. They could have been called childhood sweethearts, yet that kind of feeling had never developed between them. Not from him, not from her.

Cheng Xingye was the sort who seemed destined for greatness from birth—handsome, from an illustrious family, admired wherever he went. Yet, when it came to romance, he was curiously indifferent. Legions of pretty girls had tried to get close to him, but he remained oblivious, even going out of his way to avoid admirers.

Despite all the wild rumors about him having dated a dozen girls, Ye Zixuan knew the truth: he’d never been in a relationship. That’s why she’d asked him to help her put on that little performance, to rile up her ex-boyfriend who stubbornly refused to ask for a reconciliation.

But why was he suddenly so eager to avoid suspicion? Hadn’t everything been fine just moments ago?

Ye Zixuan glanced around. The only new faces since she’d left were the siblings sitting by the door.

Suddenly, realization struck her. She arched a brow. “Are you dating Lu Yi?”

Cheng Xingye, taking a sip of water, choked and shot her a look. “Can you be any more ridiculous?”

More ridiculous? She could, in fact.

Ye Zixuan’s imagination ran wild as she switched tacks. “Or are you seeing Lu Yi’s sister, then?”

Cheng Xingye was speechless. He hadn’t expected Ye Zixuan to leap to such wild conclusions, and choked again, his ears flushing red.

With a woman’s sharp intuition, Ye Zixuan caught this subtle reaction at once, her eyes widening. “No way! You’re serious?”

Finally regaining his composure, Cheng Xingye lazily reached for a pack of cigarettes on the coffee table, took one out and bit it, reconsidered, and then fiddled with it in his hand before answering, feigning calm, “What are you thinking? She’s a minor.”

That girl was only sixteen. Even if he were a complete scoundrel, he wouldn’t set his sights on a sixteen-year-old.

But Ye Zixuan merely chuckled. “She’s a minor now, but in a couple years she won’t be.”

With that, she couldn’t help but give Lu Qingyue another look. The more she looked, the more she had to admit the girl was striking and clever—no wonder someone like Cheng Xingye would fall for her.

She slapped Cheng Xingye excitedly on the shoulder, leaned in close, and whispered, “Not bad, Cheng Xingye! She really is adorable. But does Lu Yi know you have designs on his sister?”