M Bar, 8th Floor.
The corridor was eerily quiet, a stark contrast to the hustle and bustle of the other floors.
In room 800, Mu Yichuan, legs crossed, held a wine glass in his hand, leaning lazily against the sofa, his cold eyes fixed straight ahead.
Beside him, Qiu Zhi's peach blossom eyes narrowed, revealing undisguised shock.
"Ninth Brother, was what you just said true?"
"I don't know either." After a long while, Mu Yichuan turned to Qiu Zhi and answered.
"..." Qiu Zhi paused, rubbing his nose. This answer was giving him a headache.
"Recently, I have indeed recalled some scenes that feel strangely familiar." Mu Yichuan continued, swirling the wine in his glass, looking at the scarlet liquid inside, not in a hurry to drink.
"Could you elaborate?"
"The first time was in the suburban park of Taipei, after the shooting." Mu Yichuan's deep voice was incredibly penetrating. He was thinking of the criminal again, but so much time had passed, and even with his abilities, he still hadn't found him!
"Anything else?"
"Yes… the most recent time was with Xin Yu at school." Mu Yichuan omitted several times, all moments of intimacy between him and Xin Yu in bed. She called his name with a strange familiarity, but he couldn't say such things even to his best friend.
Even though Qiu Zhi was a doctor, Xin Yu cared…
"Ninth Brother, why don't you get another check-up tomorrow? I've got a batch of new equipment from the channels Lao Wei gave me." Qiu Zhi suggested, unsure of Mu Yichuan's words.
"Do you also think my memory is confused?" Mu Yichuan raised a thick eyebrow. He felt he missed Xin Yu too much, so every scene reminded him of her.
But actually, that night in Nanshi was the first time he met Xin Yu; before that, he only knew her from research materials.
Before Qiu Zhi could speak, the door was pushed open. Cheng Yao strode in, walked over to the sofa, and sat down angrily.
"President Cheng, need some wine?" Qiu Zhi spoke first, unable to resist the mockery.
Serves him right for coming in without a word, pouring himself a drink, and downing it in one gulp…
"Ninth Brother! Ah Zhi, I toast you both!" Cheng Yao didn't mind, poured himself another glass, and downed it again.
"What's wrong with you?" Mu Yichuan asked coldly, his voice unreadable.
*Smash!*
Cheng Yao slammed his glass on the table, shattering it in two.
"That brat Cheng Che is getting engaged to the Liu family's daughter early next month." Cheng Yao grabbed a handful of hair in anger. "I know he's doing this to get revenge on me. He plans to use the Liu family's power to bring me down! No way!"
"Since you know it's no use, why be so upset?" Mu Yichuan said calmly, taking a sip of his red wine.
The wine wasn't good today; it was a bit bitter. "He can't bring me down, yet he's trying to humiliate me!" Cheng Yao said angrily, like a child complaining. "Although I don't like Liu Hen, Shui Han was introduced to me. Before I could even express my feelings, Cheng Che already took her for himself, just like before."
Shui Han, Liu Shui Han.
Mu Yichuan's brow furrowed noticeably when he heard this name.
"Just a small Liu family. If you don't like them, there's no need to bother with such things." Mu Yichuan's voice turned several degrees colder.
Qiu Zhi crossed his arms, watching his brother with amusement, and said coolly, "That's right, I'm telling you, President Cheng, you're just being stubborn, not showing affection!"
Cheng Yao, who couldn't find an opening, grabbed a lighter from the table and threw it at Qiu Zhi, who was clearly mocking him.
"I'm also very curious, does our top doctor, the famous eligible bachelor in the capital, understand love? How could he tell I was just being stubborn?!"
Qiu Zhi paused, not rushing to retort.
Does he understand love? He didn't know either, but this question had indeed been troubling him lately.
She would cheer him up when she smiled, become irritable when she was sick and hospitalized, and her unconscious little gestures would stir his heart…
Her every smile and frown seemed to permeate every corner of his mind like air.
"Damn!" Cheng Yao plopped down next to Qiu Zhi, patting his shoulder. "Brother, you haven't actually figured it out, have you? Tell me, which rich girl is she? I guarantee I'll help you get her!"
"Get lost!" Qiu Zhi stood up impatiently, casually touching his nose.
The person in his heart was absolutely, positively impossible to reveal.
Absolutely not!
His brotherhood with Ninth Brother was more important than anything else…
"Forget it." Xin Yu looked around, finding no trace of the masked man, and turned to comfort Mu Yi'ai, "Maybe we'll have a chance to see him again in the future."
Mu Yi'ai slapped the steering wheel again.
Xin Yu chuckled. "Alright, Miss Mu, if you keep taking pictures, this steering wheel will be totaled tonight."
"Let's see if you can still laugh then!" Mu Yi'ai glanced at Xin Yu with her eerie cat-like eyes, then turned away. "Then let's go for a drink."
"..." Xin Yu rubbed her forehead; it seemed she couldn't escape this plan after all.
"The bar I'm taking you to today will absolutely, positively not have Mu Yichuan there," Mu Yi'ai said boldly.
Xin Yu was unconvinced. Even if they went to a bar owned by Mu Yichuan, it wouldn't necessarily be that unlucky. "This one?"
She pointed to the huge, brightly lit neon sign—M Bar.
"Correct! Tonight, I'll treat you to a super delicious cocktail."
"I said I don't drink," Xin Yu loudly declared her decision. She didn't actually like places like this at all.
High-energy music, men and women dancing in the dance floor...
"You can only drink three glasses," Xin Yu gestured with her fingers to Mu Yi'ai. She didn't want to take care of a drunkard! "No, no, no!" The female demon tilted her head back and downed another glass, as if it were celestial nectar. "Tonight, we're not leaving until we're drunk!"
"I can't drive!"
"There's... there's a suite upstairs... hiccup."
Xin Yu quickly turned her head away, unable to bear the pungent smell of alcohol.
She sat up straight, looking at the glass beside her. Inside was a "Warm Beauty" cocktail the bartender had specially prepared for her. She sniffed it; it smelled very sweet.
"Not drinking?"
Xin Yu shook her head, pointed towards the restroom, and got up to leave.
"Hey, who's this?"
A sharp voice rang out. Xin Yu recognized it without turning around—it was her stepsister, Xin Ran.
"What a jerk," she muttered, reluctantly turning back to look at Xin Ran's smoky makeup.
"Sister, I never expected you to come to a place like this!" Xin Ran clicked her tongue, her eyes scanning Xin Yu up and down. "Sister, you didn't get dumped, did you come here to snag a rich husband?"
"..." There was no point in talking to someone like this. Xin Yu simply walked into the restroom.
Xin Ran followed like a shadow, continuing her tirade, "Sister, you know Liu Shuihan is so infatuated with you, but I never thought you'd really only care about money."
"Yes, I guess I've been influenced by my surroundings. Ever since you and your mother came to the Xin family, I've caught your bad habits."
Xin Ran scoffed dismissively, "We only care about money? Then who's taking care of Dad in the hospital?"
"Who's taking care of him? Isn't it you, the second young lady of the Xin family, standing in that bustling M bar right now?" Xin Yu leaned closer. "Are you kidding me?"
With that, she straightened up and calmly washed her hands.
"Xin Yu!" Xin Ran shouted, her face contorted with rage. "I order you to marry Liu Shuihan right now! That way, the Liu family can legitimately help the Xin family, otherwise—"
"Otherwise, the Xin family is finished, and I won't be the eldest daughter of the Xin family anymore, right?" Xin Yu chuckled, her dark eyes gleaming. "I...don't...care."
With that, she turned and walked out of the bathroom without looking back.
Leaving Xin Ran stomping her feet in anger.
As she walked, Xin Yu smoothed her bangs with her wet hands. It was obvious to her that this was Xin Ran's favorite place; she should have never come here with Mu Yi'ai.
"Ah!" She gasped, stumbling and falling to the ground from a sudden impact.
A clatter sounded.
Xin Yu looked up; the woman was already far away, her back view familiar.
Supporting herself with both hands, she tried to get up, only to find a ring on the ground.
...!
Xin Yu's eyes widened as she stared at the ring in her hand. It was a phoenix holding an iris!
How could this be?
The one Mu Yichuan had given her had been shot and shattered by the criminal!
This one... what is it? Did it fall from that woman's clothes?
Xin Yu wasn't sure.
"Miss, do you need help?"
"No, no!" Saying this, Xin Yu quickly got up, clutching the ring tightly in her hand, and went to find Mu Yi'ai where she had been.
"Waiter!" She looked around but couldn't see Mu Yi'ai anywhere. She asked anxiously, "Where's the lady who was drinking here?"
"She went to the 10th floor, I think it's 1001. They told you to go find her after you came here."
Xin Yu thanked the waiter and went straight to the room the waiter had mentioned. Mu Yi'ai was indeed there; the door was ajar.
And the whole room reeked of alcohol…
"Mu Yi'ai, are you alright—" Xin Yu had just pushed open the bedroom door when she was completely taken aback. "Ah!"
Instinctively, she turned and rushed towards the door.
Oh my god!
What did she just see?!
Won't she get a sty?!
Wait a minute, those two people… two men…
It was Qiu Zhi and Cheng Yao!
They…they were actually in that kind of relationship?!
"Stop!" Qiu Zhi's voice came from behind. He was truly annoyed; how could the little girl have stumbled upon such a terrible scene?!
It was all Cheng Yao's fault for getting drunk!
He even vomited all over him.
If it weren't for brotherly loyalty, why would he have helped Cheng Yao? He would have just thrown him into the North Sea to feed the fish!
"I…I didn't see anything! I won't say anything!" Xin Yu didn't turn around, her face turned towards the half-open door as she loudly swore.
"What are you doing here?" Qiu Zhi stared at the thin Xin Yu, whose body seemed to be trembling.
"I...I..." Xin Yu stammered for a long time without getting the words out, because she knew that no matter what she said, Mu Yichuan would find out.
"Who told you to come to a place like this!" Qiu Zhi lectured her like a parent. He really wanted to ask her if she came to drown her sorrows because of Ninth Brother.
(Scattered on the floor.)
Xin Yu turned around and looked at Qiu Zhi, who was still shirtless...