Chapter 46

Outside the private room corridor.

“Mom, I can’t talk Dad into it. I really don’t like him. Can you tell Dad for me? I’m still so young… It’s not even about whether he’s handsome or not. I’m not that obsessed with looks… How is this any different from selling off a daughter…?”

After hanging up, Yan Can let out a long breath.

The hallway was colder than the private room. She was only wearing a turtleneck sweater, and after standing outside for too long, she was starting to feel chilled. She breathed out a puff of white mist and rubbed her hands together, then turned around and froze slightly when she saw who it was.

Zhou Jin had a coat draped over the crook of his arm; he looked as if he was just about to leave.

She didn’t know how long he’d been standing there, or how much he’d heard.

A little embarrassed, Yan Can asked the obvious question anyway. “You’re leaving?”

Zhou Jin nodded. “Sorry. I put you in a difficult position.”

His features were sharp and handsome. If she hadn’t met Su Ci, then based on looks alone, she might not have been so resistant to this arranged marriage.

“It has nothing to do with you,” Yan Can said. “It’s the adults who are matchmaking blindly.”

Zhou Jin looked at her deeply but didn’t speak.

The Yan family and the Zhou family had close business ties, and the Zhou family’s second young master was about Yan Can’s age, so the two families had the idea of bringing them together.

To be honest, when the Zhou patriarch brought it up, Zhou Jin had been quite pleased. Yan Can had an excellent background; she was talented, beautiful, and graceful. They had even met when they were children. Zhou Jin had thought that if he absolutely had to marry someone in this lifetime, marrying Yan Can wouldn’t be bad.

He just hadn’t expected that it was all one-sided wishful thinking. That afternoon, when the others had been joking around, Yan Can hadn’t shown any dissatisfaction on the surface, but Zhou Jin could tell she was deliberately avoiding suspicion; she had been dodging him the entire afternoon.

The girl in front of him had delicate features, her chin tucked slightly into the collar of her sweater. The black fitted turtleneck made her legs look even longer and her waist even narrower. The warm lights in the corridor reflected in her eyes, glittering like tiny stars. She was beautiful, but her expression was faint and distant, treating him with obvious unfamiliarity.

She was no longer the child who used to trail after him, clamoring for him to play with her.

Zhou Jin suddenly felt a little hollow inside.

“I hope you won’t take anything they said this afternoon to heart.”

The man looked sincere. He handled Yan Can with proper tact and restraint; after sensing her resistance to the matter, he immediately stood up to explain it to his friends.

“It was all just a joke from the elders. We each have someone we like.”

That explanation made Yan Can feel a little better about him.

She couldn’t find anything in the original owner’s memories about this person at all; she didn’t know how those people had decided she liked him.

In the afternoon, Zhang Ru had even stopped playing cards and run over to ask her, “I heard from my family that your two families work very closely together. I thought you were going to get engaged.”

Yan Can was speechless. “If I were getting engaged, how come I don’t know about it?”

Zhang Ru blinked her clear eyes and said, “Then how did that rumor spread? So many people think your two families are about to marry into each other.”

Yan Can thought: How should I know?

Then she turned to look at Su Ci and found that Su Ci’s face had already gone icy cold.

It really was a split-second change in expression.

Yan Can was a little puzzled and couldn’t help glancing at Su Ci a few more times. Then she realized that, for some reason—whether Su Ci was in a bad mood or what—she had stayed expressionlessly distant from start to finish. Anyone who had even a little goodwill toward her and wanted to get close was scared off by that cold, detached air of hers.

Yan Can thought that maybe Su Ci simply didn’t like this kind of setting.

Zhou Jin told Yan Can that the arranged-marriage matter was a misunderstanding, and that he would handle it properly.

After that, he bowed very politely, said sorry, and left.

Once he was gone, Yan Can returned to the private room by the same route. She had only taken a few steps when familiar footsteps sounded behind her.

She turned back instinctively. Yu Ting had come out from the direction of the restroom and gave an awkward smile. “Sorry. I just overheard you two talking.”

Yan Can waved it off. It wasn’t anything important anyway; hearing it was hearing it.

She was just about to leave when Yu Ting’s gaze swept around the hallway. At the moment, there were only two security guards on duty, and no one else. Yu Ting said, “Can we talk?”

The two of them went to the corner of the hallway. Looking at Yan Can, Yu Ting started with an apology. Yan Can blinked, not understanding. Yu Ting said, “I was the one who invited Zhou Jin.”

Yan Can froze.

Yu Ting went on, “He asked me whether you would come too. I said you would. Then he asked whether you had a boyfriend, and I said no. That was when I realized he might be interested in you. His family conditions are pretty good, and your parents know each other too. Then there was that rumor that you two might get married, so I wanted to surprise you. Sorry; I didn’t know you already had someone you like.”

“It’s fine. You don’t need to apologize,” Yan Can said.

“But,” Yu Ting smiled, “the person you like—could it be that friend of yours? Was that why you cried so badly on the field last time?”

Yan Can’s eyes paused for a beat, and Yu Ting understood from her expression.

“So it really is. I was wondering about it before and even asked if you were dating someone; you still lied to me and said it was a girl, a friend. So it’s someone from our school?”

Anyway, Yu Ting was about to go abroad, and she wasn’t as loud-mouthed as Zhang Ru, so telling her wouldn’t matter. Yan Can said, “It’s a girl.”

Yu Ting instinctively asked, “Who?”

“A girl,” Yan Can said softly, lowering her eyes. She looked a little dejected. “She doesn’t like me. She only wants to be friends.”

Yu Ting was stunned. There were actually people who would reject Yan Can? Looking at Yan Can’s bare face, prettier than a celebrity’s, she quickly understood. “She’s straight?”

Yan Can thought about it, looking conflicted. “I guess so.”

Her tone wasn’t very certain.

Yu Ting frowned, worried that Yan Can might be having her feelings toyed with. “Then what are you two now?”

Yan Can didn’t answer for a while. Then she said, “We get along harmoniously now.”

Very harmoniously.

Physically.

Yu Ting sighed. The young miss Yan had never dated before; the first girl she ever liked turned out to be straight. She advised, “If she’s straight, then just give up decisively. If you’re not sure, then test the waters; at least there’s still a chance.”

Yan Can hummed in acknowledgment and said she understood, then looked at her and asked, “What about you? Are you really going abroad to study business?”

She remembered Yu Ting saying that she wanted to apply to become a pilot.

Yu Ting lowered her gaze, as if thinking about something. After a long while, she looked into Yan Can’s eyes and said, “Do people like us even have a choice?”

Yan Can said nothing.

If she continued to stay in this world under this identity, what difference would her future path have from Yu Ting’s? There was no way her cheap dad’s business empire was going to be handed to someone else.

“We’ll see,” Yan Can said. She curved her eyes and looked at her. “Let’s go back. It’s a little cold outside.”

When Yan Can returned to the private room, the music was still playing, but no one was singing. A crowd was gathered around the table, and the room was dimly lit. She didn’t see Su Ci at first and only found it strange; then, after walking a little closer, she saw Su Ci surrounded by the crowd.

A blue light fell across Su Ci’s face, making her expression impossible to see clearly.

The girl sitting beside her was someone Yan Can didn’t know. Seeing their shoulders touching, Yan Can narrowed her eyes and walked over, squeezing herself in between them.

Having been shoved aside all of a sudden, the girl looked confused and shifted over slightly. Su Ci looked over because of the commotion, her gaze a little cold.

Yan Can…

Come to think of it, Su Ci didn’t seem very happy all day today.

Maybe she was annoyed by the noise.

That made sense. Someone like Su Ci, a top student through and through, probably would never have come to a place like this if not for Yan Can.

Yu Ting was the birthday girl today and had been answering calls and receiving congratulations the entire evening. She had just taken another call and gone out.

With so many people here, someone suggested playing King’s Game.

“Yan Can, join in too. It’s more fun with more people.”

Yan Can glanced at Su Ci. Su Ci looked listless, so Yan Can shook her head and decided to wait until Yu Ting came back, say goodbye to her, and then take Su Ci home. “I won’t play. I’m going to head back.”

They had finally managed to get Yan Can out. Besides, Yu Ting was leaving abroad after her birthday, and Zhang Ru didn’t want the group gathering to end so soon. She tried to keep her there. “Don’t go. Play for a bit.”

“Yeah, yeah. It was hard enough to get you out here. If you go back just like that, that’s not very nice!”

Several people Yan Can knew and didn’t know all persuaded her the same way.

Thinking that Yu Ting would leave after her birthday and they didn’t know when they’d all get together again, Yan Can could only agree despite herself.

“Fine then. A few rounds.”

“The pretty girl next to you joining too?” someone asked Su Ci.

Yan Can looked at her. Su Ci’s expression was still cold and indifferent. “She won’t; she can’t drink—”

“I can,” Su Ci said lightly.

Yan Can blinked twice and asked softly, “Can you drink alcohol?”

She had only ever seen Su Ci drink once, and that was at her house. It didn’t really count as drinking; Su Ci had just licked a little at it with the tip of her tongue, leaving a trace of wine at the corner of her lips. Thinking of that, Yan Can’s face grew a little hot.

Su Ci glanced at her indifferently. Normally, when they were outside, Su Ci rarely showed any intimate behavior toward Yan Can, but at this moment Yan Can clearly felt a sense of distance from her.

Yan Can thought it was strange. Su Ci was off today.

She had been fine this morning when they left.

When exactly had something started going wrong? Yan Can was still thinking when she heard someone say, “I’m the King. I want number 3 and number 4 to kiss each other on the cheek.”

It wasn’t a very harsh punishment, since everyone playing happened to be girls.

Girls kissing each other on the cheek was perfectly normal.

“I’m number 3,” said a girl with glasses, looking gentle and proper.

“Who’s number 4?” someone asked.

“It’s not me.”

“Number 6.”

…

One after another, people revealed their number cards.

Soon, only Su Ci and a pink-haired girl were left without showing theirs.

Yan Can looked at her own number. Number 5.

“I’m number 4,” said the pink-haired girl. She had a striking, flamboyant kind of beauty. Looking at Su Ci, she lifted her brows slightly. “You do it, or should I?”

It was just two girls, and it was only a kiss on the cheek. Most people didn’t think there was anything unusual about it; only two girls were watching Su Ci and Yan Can closely.

Those two girls were the same ones who had said at noon that the two of them looked like a couple.

Yan Can turned to look at Su Ci, conflicted. She didn’t want Su Ci to kiss someone else, but she was also afraid Su Ci might not be able to drink, so she struggled over it.

But the person beside her didn’t even spare the others a glance; she simply raised a hand and reached for the wine glass without hesitation.

The pink-haired girl deliberately let out a soft sound and said with a smile, “Rejected.”

Yan Can’s lips curled slightly.

The others all laughed it off and didn’t think much of it. After all, some people simply disliked physical contact.

Only those two girls exchanged a glance, their faces clearly saying, See?

Their little expressions were all seen by Zhang Ru, including Yan Can’s.

Taking out her phone, she immediately typed: Tingbao, I think I may have discovered something incredible!!

Yu Ting: ?

Zhang Ru: I suspect Yan Can and Su Ci are a couple!!!

Yu Ting: She told you that?

Zhang Ru: How could that be? I’m guessing.

She looked at the two people across from her again, the more she looked the more suspicious it seemed: Don’t you think Yan Can is way too good to Su Ci?

She typed furiously, not noticing someone beside her pat her. “Are you the King?”

She put down her phone and saw that everyone was looking at her. She quickly checked the number card and, sure enough, it was hers. “Sorry, then I’ll pick something simple. Number 1 and number 2, just shake hands.”

A chorus of groans rose from the crowd; everyone thought the punishment was boring.

Only the two unlucky people who had been chosen let out a breath of relief. That had scared them half to death. Thinking of the last round’s punishment, where they’d had to take off their bras, they were still shaken.

…

Su Ci was unusually unlucky today. Out of ten rounds, eight of the punishments involved her.

She absolutely refused to touch anyone else, and she also refused to be touched by anyone else; the result was that she drank too much.

She should have drunk too much, Yan Can wasn’t quite sure, because it was hard to tell with Su Ci. Although her cheeks and eyes were both red, if you asked her a question, she could still answer clearly.

After another punishment round, Yan Can put an arm around Su Ci’s shoulders and asked, “Are you drunk?”

Su Ci frowned at her and answered crisply, “No.”

Yan Can held up two fingers. “What’s this?”

Su Ci looked at her as if she were an idiot. “Are you insulting me?”

Yan Can…

Maybe she wasn’t drunk.

“Did Su Ci drink too much?” Zhang Ru asked from across the table. “Her face is so red.”

The lights were a little brighter now, and Yan Can also noticed that Su Ci’s skin did seem unusually red, especially around the eyes; they were as red as a rabbit’s, and her gaze was obviously a little unfocused.

“Yu Ting, she’s drunk. I’ll take her back first,” Yan Can said to Yu Ting, then put an arm around Su Ci’s waist. “Can you walk?”

Su Ci’s voice was calm, and her breath still carried the scent of alcohol. “I’m not drunk. I can walk by myself.”

After saying that, she headed straight for the door, walking very steadily. She really didn’t look all that drunk.

But Yan Can still wasn’t at ease. After saying goodbye to Yu Ting, she immediately followed after her.

Once they were gone, Zhang Ru shot Yu Ting a meaningful look. “See? I told you.”

Yu Ting said nothing. She thought that Yan Can had said she liked a straight girl, so what was going on with her and Su Ci now? A love triangle?

Su Ci had drunk too much, so Yan Can definitely couldn’t leave her alone at home. In the end, she took her back to her own place; after all, it wasn’t as if they hadn’t slept together before.

Maybe the alcohol was kicking in. On the way back, Su Ci had been frowning the whole time, and when she got out of the car she almost vomited.

Yan Can helped her onto the sofa to lie down. The indoor heating was strong. She took off her own scarf and coat, then went to the kitchen to pour Su Ci a cup of warm water. The moment the rim of the clear glass touched Su Ci’s lips, Su Ci was like a thirsty fish, gulping down the entire cup in one go.

“Want more?” Yan Can touched her cheek with the back of her hand; it was burning hot. A dense ache spread through Yan Can’s heart. “Actually, with things like handshakes and hugs, you don’t have to keep your distance. I’m not that—”

Before she could say stingy, Su Ci’s scorching palm circled her wrist. Her tone was faint. “If you dislike it, I won’t do it.”

Because of her own possessiveness, she had chosen to drink throughout the whole game.

Yan Can’s heart moved. For a moment, she almost blurted out, Su Ci, do you like me even a little too? Not as a friend, not as a fuck buddy, but the kind of liking that girlfriends have.

But Yan Can pressed her lips together and said or asked nothing.

She wasn’t sure whether Su Ci was still sober.

She didn’t ask, but Su Ci did. “You have someone you like?”

Her face was very red, her eyes even redder, with complicated emotions surging within them. In that instant, Yan Can had the illusion that Su Ci was asking because she liked her.

“I do.” Yan Can swallowed. “Do you want to know?”

Su Ci’s eyes were very beautiful. Especially now, perhaps because of the alcohol, the corners of her eyes were flushed red, giving her a seductive sort of beauty.

Looking at her, Yan Can thought: If you ask, I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you I like you, love you; I don’t want to be friends, and I don’t want to be fuck buddies. I want something deeper, a relationship I can openly and proudly speak of to the outside world.

She faintly hoped for it.

The pressure on Yan Can’s wrist vanished. Su Ci’s pale, slender hand slipped away as she lowered her eyes; her long lashes fluttered twice, and her voice turned cold. “I don’t want to know.”

That icy tone scattered the words Yan Can had already been holding back at the tip of her tongue.

Yan Can’s throat tightened, sour and bitter. She rubbed Su Ci’s hair and bent down to lift her into her arms. “I’ll take you back to your room to sleep. You don’t need to shower tonight.”

She slid one arm under Su Ci’s knees. One slender, bony hand grabbed her collar and pulled hard; Yan Can toppled onto her body. Before she could react, a thick wash of alcohol hit her face, wrapping her tightly.

“Kiss me.”