The Eighteenth Blood Orange

Wang Shuanglin worked at the club, and clubs were bound to see their fair share of trouble—usually just some girl making a fuss—but he couldn't shake the feeling that his left eyelid had been twitching. He couldn't tell if it was an omen of good or bad. Pressing his temple, he noted he had only an hour left before his shift ended.

Wang Shuanglin yawned, and then a female voice crackled through the walkie-talkie, delivering a thunderbolt.

"Manager, I think the guest is dead."

Wang Shuanglin's eyelid stopped twitching, and so did his heart.

Grabbing the club's security guard, Wang Shuanglin rushed into the room.

Su Zeye, in his floral shirt, lay face down on the floor, a gaping hole in the back of his head gushing blood like a fountain. Shen Qiancheng, in a dark green dress, still clutched a fistful of his hair, her face and hands smeared with blood. She smiled with a hint of menace in his direction, her gaze like a poisonous snake in a tropical rainforest eyeing its inevitable prey.

The nerves in Wang Shuanglin's mind snapped, and fireworks seemed to go off in his head.

Meanwhile, Liao Xue, his newly hired waitress, was curled up in Shen Qiancheng's arms, her eyes downcast, her emotions unreadable.

Shen Qiancheng's reputation rivaled Su Zeye's. Their engagement had once been a relief to everyone, but after Shen Qiancheng fled the wedding three years ago, everyone assumed the matter was dropped. Then the young miss herself returned to revive the engagement, only to leave for Switzerland to finish her studies for three years.

During those three years, all the clubs and entertainment venues in Tang City had been visibly quieter and duller.

Wang Shuanglin had been living the easy life.

Now, three years later, the young miss had returned in force, and every club was trembling. Who would have thought his club would be the first to face her blade?

Wang Shuanglin plastered on a smile. This private room held Su Zeye, the young master of the Su family, her fiancé. The fiancée had come to the club for a casual visit and run into her fiancé, which was already odd—but given Su Zeye's temperament, Liao Xue fit his type perfectly. That was exactly why Wang Shuanglin had sent Liao Xue to deliver the drinks.

Who knew she'd run into Shen Qiancheng?

There were only three people in the room, and he couldn't afford to offend either Shen Qiancheng or Su Zeye.

Wang Shuanglin took a deep breath and lashed out at Liao Xue. "You heartless thing! On your very first day, you dare crack Su Zeye's head open? Tomorrow you'll be killing someone! You're fired, and you won't see a single cent of pay!"

The word "killing" seemed to jolt Shen Qiancheng. Her head still throbbed, and her vision was blurry. She slowly released Su Zeye's hair and glanced down at Liao Xue in her arms.

Liao Xue was looking back at her. The moment their eyes met, Liao Xue quickly looked away and braced her hands on the floor to push herself up.

Shen Qiancheng frowned and tugged at her. Liao Xue lost her balance and tumbled back into her embrace.

The ambulance arrived quickly, its sirens wailing outside. Paramedics loaded the unconscious Su Zeye onto a stretcher and rushed him to the hospital.

Wang Shuanglin was already bowing and scraping to welcome someone inside, and in that moment, Liao Xue cleverly slipped out of Shen Qiancheng's arms, straightened her uniform, and lowered her head, refusing to look.

"Miss Su," Wang Shuanglin said, his short stature barely reaching Su Tongqin's ear so he had to straighten his back to speak to her, "Miss Shen is inside. This way, please."

The first to enter was a left foot in a custom leather boot. The long leather coat reaching her calves was carried by Su Tongqin's tall frame and broad shoulders, making her look exceptionally commanding.

Shen Qiancheng's head felt stuffed with glue. She heard Su Tongqin's voice through a haze.

"Su Zeye was taken away by ambulance. I'll do what I can to explain to the Su family, but it's not convenient for me to take Shen Qiancheng back to the Shen residence. Find her a hotel to settle in. Liao Xue."

Shen Qiancheng pouted. That gentle voice couldn't possibly be Su Tongqin's, or at least it wasn't directed at her—Su Tongqin always spoke to her with barbs.

Liao Xue only realized the last words were meant for her when she heard her name. She jerked her head up, but all she caught was a glimpse of a beautiful leather coat hem and boots receding into the distance.

"Wait—"

Liao Xue's words caught in her throat. Su Tongqin must know that Liao Xue had been kicked out of the Shen family by Shen Qiancheng, right?

Ever since that argument at the hospital, Liao Xue had avoided Shen Qiancheng. That face she often thought of in her midnight dreams—she couldn't tell whether her feelings had been hatred or resentment at the time.

But now she knew. It was hatred. Why wouldn't she hate Shen Qiancheng?

She could have simply left Shen Qiancheng at the club, and by morning, after the alcohol wore off, Shen Qiancheng wouldn't remember anything.

But the image of Shen Qiancheng, right hand gripping a bottle and left hand clutching her arm, kept circling in her mind.

The streetlight at the club entrance was bright and warm. Liao Xue stood in the wind, a sleeping head resting on her shoulder. Shen Qiancheng's breath even spilled onto Liao Xue's neck, where the skin was thin and pale, the purple-red veins clearly visible beneath.

Liao Xue pushed Shen Qiancheng away slightly, irritated by the tickle, but the latter, following the force, began to slide straight down.

Liao Xue let out a surprised sound and reached out to catch her arm. Their arms intertwined, and Liao Xue saw Shen Qiancheng's upturned eyes, murky and unfathomable.

Liao Xue took off her scarf and wrapped it around Shen Qiancheng's clean white neck, tying a knot at her chest. The fringes swayed in the wind, a pretty sight.

Just four days ago, they had argued fiercely, and Liao Xue had sworn she would never talk to Shen Qiancheng again.

Liao Xue, you're such a pushover.

The taxi arrived quickly. Liao Xue tried to steer Shen Qiancheng into the front passenger seat, but the door wouldn't open.

The window rolled down, and the driver said, "Not the front seat. Get in the back."

The wind picked up. Liao Xue and Shen Qiancheng sat in the back, and the clingy head was still on her shoulder, Shen Qiancheng's strands of hair slipping into Liao Xue's clothes.

Even with a seatback to lean on, she still insisted on leaning on her shoulder.

Shen Qiancheng's breathing was long and rhythmic. Liao Xue reached out and poked her armpit, but there was no reaction.

Liao Xue then touched her nose, her lips, and finally her cheek.

The verdict was that Shen Qiancheng had lost weight.

The new cook at the Shen residence had managed to make Shen Qiancheng waste away in just four days.

"Where to, miss?" the driver asked as he backed out of the street.

Liao Xue was about to give the Shen family's address when the extra head on her shoulder suddenly stirred, its nose searching for something.

When Shen Qiancheng's lips brushed Liao Xue's ear, Liao Xue instantly stiffened, her mind going blank.

"My head's so dizzy," Shen Qiancheng mumbled. "You smell so good."

Liao Xue took a deep breath, and a sour sting rose in her nose. Did she say that to everyone?

The driver had just opened his navigation and had to ask, "Miss, the address you gave me only lets me drop you at the main road. Getting in requires a pass, so you'll have to walk in."

Liao Xue only then remembered Su Tongqin's instruction to put Shen Qiancheng up in a hotel. She'd forgotten that taxis weren't allowed in the wealthy district.

That road was at least six kilometers...

Liao Xue looked down at Shen Qiancheng in her arms and sighed, giving her own rental address instead.

The driver was puzzled as to how one person could give two such different addresses.

When they arrived, the taxi's headlights faded into the distance.

Liao Xue draped Shen Qiancheng's arm over her shoulder. Having lost weight, Shen Qiancheng wasn't heavy. Liao Xue only had to support half her waist, stepping carefully around puddles on the uneven ground to reach the door.

Liao Xue pulled out her keys from her pocket. Shen Qiancheng slumped against the wall, the white paint rubbing off onto her dark green dress, leaving streaks of white, while her hands gripped the rusty, barred window.

Liao Xue thought: doesn't Shen Qiancheng have a serious thing about cleanliness?

As usual, Liao Xue pushed the door open and hung the key on a hook behind it. She turned to look, but Shen Qiancheng hadn't moved.

"Aren't you coming in?" After realizing Shen Qiancheng's eyes were open, thinking she had woken up, Liao Xue's heart rose. "But you can stay outside if you want."

Liao Xue didn't know where she had learned such sharp words.

Shen Qiancheng's head was heavy, but she recognized the person before her—plain white clothes, lips almost colorless—as Liao Xue.

Shen Qiancheng bit her lower lip. Her mind could only reach that point. Why she had followed Liao Xue here, what Liao Xue was doing with paper here—none of that mattered to her now.

She... was a bit put off by this place.

Shen Qiancheng sat on what might loosely be called a sofa, tilted her head back, and closed those upturned phoenix eyes, shedding her usual arrogance and menace, looking almost like an innocent child.

Liao Xue was startled by her own thought.

"Want some water?" Liao Xue held a clear glass, mixing hot water from the thermos with cold boiled water. She touched the glass wall to check the temperature, then brought it to Shen Qiancheng. "It's just right."

Shen Qiancheng opened her eyes, looked dazed, and took the cup with both hands like a child with a fever waiting for her mother to feed her medicine in a commercial. She took a sip, and her face instantly fell like a child's.

Shen Qiancheng pouted and blurted out, "Why isn't it mineral water?"

Throughout the urban village, daily drinking water came from a tap, boiled. It did have a faint oily taste, but... mineral water was only available at the single convenience store downstairs.

Liao Xue was about to protest when Shen Qiancheng blinked and, right in front of her, spat the mouthful of water into the decorative potted plant on the table.

There really was no dealing with this high-maintenance princess...

Liao Xue put her clothes, which she had taken off layer by layer, back on layer by layer, and walked down the quiet, deserted street toward that convenience store, which wasn't even open and whose lights were off.

Amid the store owner's curses, the rolling shutter door was lifted. Liao Xue handed over two hundred-yuan bills, silencing the endless grumbling.

The owner, annoyed at being woken just to buy two bottles of mineral water and worried Liao Xue might ask for her money back, hurriedly sent her on her way.

Liao Xue's brow twitched. She pulled out another two hundred and instructed, "Keep the door open. Wait half an hour. If I don't come back in half an hour, you can close up."