Chapter Sixteen: An Enemy’s Path Narrows
His anger was justified.
Wei Lin had first tricked him into arranging a meeting with Zhuang Qing, forcing him to suddenly change plans and eat the Earth Pot Chicken instead, which led Tao Manwen to complain throughout the meal, leaving his pride in tatters. Even the bouquet he had brought was brazenly borrowed by Wei Lin to flatter a beautiful woman. How could he not be furious?
“Click, click!”
Wang Hongyu raised his hand, leaning halfway out the window to zoom in the camera and snap photos relentlessly of Wei Lin.
“You scumbag! Let’s see how you explain this to Zhuang Qing!”
After carefully reviewing the photos and confirming that the images of Wei Lin and Lin Nanxi were clear enough, Wang Hongyu sneered triumphantly.
...
Unlike Wang Hongyu, Wei Lin was in high spirits at this moment.
A simple meal without any overly intimate or ambiguous topics had still boosted the love meter in his mind by another 5 points, raising it to 25 out of 50.
“Finally halfway there, and most of it thanks to Lin Nanxi,” he thought approvingly, finding her increasingly agreeable. Seizing the moment, he suggested, “How about we find a hotel to rest for a bit?”
Lin Nanxi gave him a disdainful look and muttered, “All you ever think about is that kind of thing!”
The icy woman from Guotai Tower had long realized that their relationship had been off from the start. Had she not rushed into intimacy with Wei Lin while drunk, but taken things step-by-step, perhaps they would already be a couple by now.
Determined to set things right, she took the initiative: “Let’s go to Weishan, that’s where we first met.”
“Sure,” Wei Lin agreed without pushing, thinking that since it was just the two of them alone, it was a good chance to keep increasing the love meter. He figured, regardless of love, he still needed Lin Nanxi to survive.
“I’ll find a designated driver,” Lin Nanxi said, fiddling with her phone as she got up to find a ride.
Knowing she had drunk quite a bit and worried she might stumble wearing heels while using her phone, Wei Lin naturally wrapped his arm around her slender waist and said gently, “Take it slow.”
“Mm,” Lin Nanxi not only didn’t resist this time, but leaned in slightly.
...
Across the street.
“Click, click!”
Wang Hongyu hurried downstairs after paying the bill and happened to catch this scene, snapping more photos.
“Let’s see how he explains this to Zhuang Qing!”
His face darkened.
After Wei Lin and Lin Nanxi got into the back seat of the car, with nothing more to photograph, he waved over a wandering designated driver and said, “Take me to Weishan Bar.”
...
At a badminton gym.
Zhuang Qing and Han Ying, having just finished a game, wiped away their fragrant sweat with towels under the watchful eyes of a group of pig-headed men.
...
“Eh!”
Bored, Zhuang Qing glanced at her phone and saw several photos sent by Wang Hongyu. She pursed her lips in a cold smile. “Wei Lin is such a scumbag, and yet he claims he’s never been in a relationship!”
Han Ying leaned over, sneering. “First at the poetry bar the day before yesterday, flirting with my student, and now this one!”
“Zhao Yuanqing is so close to him—he can’t be a good person,” Zhuang Qing said as she casually forwarded the photos to Han Ying. “I don’t have Wei Lin on WeChat, please send them to Zhao Yuanqing.”
“Okay,” Han Ying complied and then asked, “Aren’t you going to reply to Wang Hongyu?”
“I’m ignoring his messages. There’s nothing worth replying to.” Zhuang Qing put away her racket and walked gracefully toward the changing room.
Several men resting on the court watched her retreating figure attentively.
...
In the back seat of the Lingzhi ES.
Wei Lin was showering Lin Nanxi with kisses, his hands busy, until the designated driver’s call came, and they reluctantly parted, both gasping for breath.
“Want to change places? Not go to Weishan?” Wei Lin suggested again, itching with desire.
“No!” Lin Nanxi, though flushed with passion, refused rationally. “Tomorrow’s the weekend. We’re both free. We have plenty of time tonight.”
“Alright,” Wei Lin reluctantly agreed.
The driver arrived quickly, promptly parking the car and prepping it up front.
Lin Nanxi nestled against Wei Lin, feeling indescribably comfortable and safe, eventually lying her head on his leg.
With the driver ahead, Wei Lin did not take advantage of her further. When his phone chimed, he unlocked it with one hand.
“Damn! I didn’t even tattle on him, and he showed up first! What a shameless bitch!”
Looking at the chat with Zhao Yuanqing filled with photos—some clear, some blurry—Wei Lin was both amused and exasperated.
“Good thing I’m not involved with Zhuang Qing, or this would be over.”
He never expected Wang Hongyu to linger, watching him from across the street at the Earth Pot Chicken place, following him and Lin Nanxi for a short distance after they left.
“Scared the hell out of me,” Wei Lin texted back.
“How did you run into Zhuang Qing and Han Ying?” Zhao Yuanqing asked.
“Not them, it was that damn Wang Hongyu,” Wei Lin explained briefly. “No worries, it’s unrelated. I have no feelings for Zhuang Qing.”
“Wang Hongyu’s a real dog! Want me to tell Han Ying you saw him meeting girls alone?” Zhao Yuanqing replied.
“Speculation’s speculation. I didn’t really see anything. Forget it,” Wei Lin scoffed. “I don’t care what Zhuang Qing thinks, but Wang Hongyu’s a different story.”
“Best if I never run into that bastard again!”
...
At ten o’clock, Weishan Bar.
As Wei Lin led Lin Nanxi inside, several glances swept over them, eyes filled with unmistakable astonishment and regret.
Lin Nanxi was striking to begin with, and having groomed herself for tonight’s dinner, she looked even more radiant.
Most patrons seated at the bar were casual customers with flirtatious intentions; seeing such a high-caliber beauty walk in was hard not to imagine.
Unfortunately for them, Wei Lin’s presence by her side left no opportunity.
...
“Good evening, Mr. Wei,” bartender Jimmy greeted with a smile while shaking a cocktail shaker.
“One gin and tonic, one Negroni,” Wei Lin ordered smoothly, guiding Lin Nanxi to a corner of the bar. “This is where we first met.”
Lin Nanxi’s cheeks flushed from the alcohol, shedding her usual aloofness for a more enchanting allure.
“Have the nerve to say that? You just saw me drunk and hit on me with ill intentions,” she lowered her purse and rested her chin on her hand, peering at the array of drinks behind the bar, softly complaining, “It’s all my fault for drinking too much...”
“Haha, I’m going to the restroom,” Wei Lin said, heading upstairs.
Compared to Gaoxue’s part-time poetry bar, Weishan Bar was more upscale, with the first floor housing the indoor bar and five four-person tables.
The second floor was open-air, roughly three times larger than the first, adorned with various potted plants and featuring a small scenic lake at the back.
Casual drinkers who enjoyed chatting gathered mainly on the first floor, while groups preferred the second.
Women who favored the view and liked to take photos also frequented the second floor.
“Hey, I finally caught you, bastard!”
On his way to the second-floor restroom, Wei Lin scanned the area out of habit and suddenly spotted Wang Hongyu in a corner, head down, focused on his phone.
Opposite him sat Tao Manwen, her face a product of advanced cosmetic work, repeatedly snapping photos of cocktails and two bottles of whiskey on the table.
“His chin’s been sharpened like a dagger—Wang Hongyu’s taste is really extreme,” Wei Lin grinned and quickly relieved himself.
“Hongyu, move a bit to the left so I can get the flowers behind you in the shot,” Tao Manwen adjusted the angle, urging Wang Hongyu to cooperate.
“Such a pain,” Wang Hongyu thought irritably but moved aside.
He frequently glanced at his phone screen, where the chat showed only photos he had sent, with no response from the other side.
“Didn’t Zhuang Qing see them?” Wang Hongyu was frustrated, feeling like his hard punches were hitting cotton, unable to land a real blow.
“Hello, Mr. Wang!” a somewhat familiar voice suddenly called out.
Not paying much attention to his surroundings, Wang Hongyu instinctively looked toward the voice, only to see a phone camera pointing directly at him and Tao Manwen.
Then, he saw Wei Lin’s face, twisted into a wicked smile that he hated with a passion.
“Fuck!”
Wang Hongyu froze completely.
“Enjoy your drinks, won’t disturb you,” Wei Lin said with a brilliant smile after finishing the photos, waving at Wang Hongyu before turning and descending the stairs with flair.
“Hongyu, is he your friend?” Tao Manwen asked, confused.
“Yeah.”
Wang Hongyu forced a dry laugh, more pitiable than genuine.
...