Chapter 124: Is It Her?

The bar was bustling with noise, the private room door left open. Their spot along the corridor offered a perfect panoramic view of the entire first floor.

Xu Zezhan and Gu Bai followed Shen Guannan’s voice and glanced over. Not far away, a flash of white weaved through the crowd, bending down to serve drinks to one of the tables.

Long hair draped over slender shoulders, the figure’s back looked indistinguishable from Song Qingyou’s.

The only difference was that Song Qingyou would never appear here, nor would she serve drinks to customers.

Both of them felt a sudden chill in their hearts and instinctively watched Fu Wenzhou’s reaction.

The man leaned back in his chair, slightly tilting his chin upward. His right index finger tapped the ash of his cigarette. Thin, white smoke drifted slowly from between his two thin lips. His gaze carried a faintly flirtatious laziness and impatience.

“What?”

He casually glanced at the spot Shen Guannan indicated, then lowered his head to check his phone, fingers tapping away on WeChat.

Fu Wenzhou: Drinking with Gu Bai and the others, don’t want to go home tonight, you go ahead and sleep.

Fu Wenzhou: The nightlife is pretty noisy, don’t call me anymore.

Fu Wenzhou: ?

Fu Wenzhou: Reply!

Fu Wenzhou: ...

Fu Wenzhou: Gu Bai just took my phone, wasn’t ignoring you on purpose...

His brow furrowed deeper and deeper, clearly irritated by why Song Qingyou still hadn’t replied. Suddenly, someone grabbed his arm, and he impatiently lifted his head. “Spit it out if you’ve got something to say.”

This time Xu Zezhan pointed directly, “There, can’t you see?”

Shen Guannan, wanting to tease him, curled the corner of his mouth into a mischievous smile. “Table eight. That person looks just like your Song Qingyou. See if it’s really her.”

Hearing Song Qingyou’s name, Fu Wenzhou’s spine stiffened instantly. Following Xu Zezhan’s finger, he scanned the area carefully twice but found nothing. His expression darkened. “Where is Song Qingyou? Are you done? Stop bothering me.”

He inhaled a drag of his cigarette and lowered his head again to look at his phone. The WeChat screen still showed the string of messages he had sent, with no reply from the other side.

Fu Wenzhou’s annoyance grew.

Xu Zezhan and Shen Guannan exchanged glances and decided to clarify: “The girl in the white dress at table eight.”

Fu Wenzhou lifted his eyelids lazily, his gaze pausing for a second on the girl in white at table eight in the northwest direction, then sneered. “You guys need to get your eyes checked.”

Shen Guannan: “...”

Xu Zezhan: “...”

Gu Bai: “...”

***

Shen Guannan refused to give up. “No, look carefully at that back. Doesn’t she look just like the Song family girl?”

He had seen countless people and couldn’t be mistaken. If he, Xu Zezhan, and Gu Bai all thought so, that meant the resemblance was at least seventy or eighty percent.

Last night at the New Year’s Eve party here, he had even thought it was the real Song Qingyou. But everyone knew Song Qingyou would never show up here.

That’s why he had sent a photo to Xu Zezhan for confirmation. Xu Zezhan said Song Qingyou was with them, so he realized he had been mistaken.

Now seeing her again tonight, he wanted Fu Wenzhou to witness that there could be two people in the world so alike, only to be told to get his eyes checked.

Shen Guannan was sure his eyes were fine.

Seeing Fu Wenzhou unwilling to engage, he signaled Xu Zezhan, who nodded and made a call: “Bring the girl from table eight here.”

Fu Wenzhou fiddled with his phone but raised his eyelids upon hearing this and scoffed, “Really boring.”

Gu Bai chuckled, “I also think she looks a lot like her. That back is exactly the same as Song Qingyou’s. Wonder if her face is similar too.”

They were all quite curious.

A quick glance had not revealed the face; probably only the back looked alike.

But when the manager brought the girl in, Gu Bai was stunned.

How could there be two people in the world who looked so alike?

Was she perhaps a sister of Song Qingyou lost somewhere?

Xu Zezhan and Shen Guannan were equally shocked.

The girl timidly stood at the doorway. Her complexion was fair and delicate. She kept her head lowered, nervously fidgeting with her fingers, clearly uneasy.

She wore a white dress, clean and pure, somewhat resembling Song Qingyou at eighteen.

Because of her health, Song Qingyou rarely exposed herself to sunlight, her skin pale as snow, frail yet captivating, with an innate pride and a cold, ethereal grace like a bright, clear moon.

This girl before them was gentle and weak, like a true dodder flower, stirring a strong protective instinct in men. No wonder so many people downstairs had been staring at her.

Snapping back to reality, Gu Bai asked, “What’s your name?”

The girl lowered her head and shyly answered, “Xu Qingran.”

“How old are you?”

“...Eighteen.”

Gu Bai: “Still in school?”

Xu Qingran blinked, nodding slightly.

***

Unlike other bars, Nightfall’s waitstaff wore uniform attire—girls in white dresses, boys in black suits.

Because the clientele here were all nobles, the waitstaff needed to meet high standards of appearance and education. Correspondingly, the pay was high, and the management strict, with no shady dealings.

Hence, many university students worked here part-time.

Gu Bai glanced at Fu Wenzhou’s reaction. He was smoking and still looking at his phone.

Gu Bai rolled his eyes and nudged him with his foot. “That face is at least sixty or seventy percent similar.”

Xu Zezhan was momentarily stunned. “It really is similar.”

Shen Guannan agreed. “The features are indeed alike.”

Finally, Fu Wenzhou raised his eyes, coldly sweeping over Xu Qingran’s face, then snorted, “Like my ass.”

Shen Guannan: “?”

Xu Zezhan: “?”

Gu Bai: “?”

‘That’s not similar?’

Fu Wenzhou held a half-smoked cigarette between his fingers. The tiny ember glowed faintly in the darkness, quietly burning. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, his tone flat: “My Qingyou is one of a kind. Please don’t drag every random person into her name.”

Fu Wenzhou frowned impatiently. He said this because he genuinely didn’t think they looked alike.

Xu Zezhan was speechless.

Typical love-struck idiot.

He was nearest the door, his eyes scanning Xu Qingran from head to toe. Indeed, at a glance she looked similar, but on closer inspection, the features were both similar and different. Most importantly, their aura and temperament were entirely opposite.

Song Qingyou’s face was like an ink painting—cold, transcendent, unsullied by the mundane, beautiful yet distant.

Xu Qingran looked like a rabbit—her face rounder, with soft, gentle eyebrows and eyes, endearing and cute.

Xu Zezhan studied her for a long time before nodding. “Similar, but not really.”

How to put it? Like two sisters born of the same mother but with completely different personalities.

However, Song Qingyou’s mother had long since passed away and couldn’t have such a grown child.

The world was vast and full of wonders; it wasn’t strange to find people who looked alike.