Chapter 3
by VolareJiang Chen didn’t know why he had come here so impulsively.
He sat in the car, looking at the entrance of the bar next to him. Hesitantly, he opened his phone and invited a few people out for a drink.
He recognized the bar in the picture; Coco had even sent the location. But he rarely drank, and he had only been to such places a few times. He studied law, and law required rationality. He had always tried to maintain his rationality, so he rarely touched things that made people lose it.
As soon as he sent the message to the group chat, it caused a stir.
Xiao Fang: [Wow, the sun must be rising in the west today! Chen-ge is actually inviting people for drinks?]
Zhi Cheng: [I’m a little scared to go to this kind of gathering.]
Hua Shao: [I don’t care, if Chen-ge says the word, I’ll go even if it’s a Hongmen Banquet! Just a quick question, do you mind if I bring a few girls?]
They were all on the school basketball team and were very familiar with each other. When he called this time, six or seven people came, and some even brought their girlfriends, making it lively.
It was only nine o’clock, not yet the most exciting time at the bar. Jiang Chen chose a spot opposite Ling Sheng’s, with a dance floor in between. People were always dancing on the dance floor, and it was hard to see clearly unless you deliberately went around. Since he was the one who organized the gathering, Jiang Chen obligingly drank two glasses of wine and played a few games. But he really wasn’t very interested in this kind of occasion. Most importantly, his attention was elsewhere.
As the night grew later, the atmosphere became more and more lively. Then, a female DJ in revealing clothing came out wearing headphones. As the music changed, the atmosphere of the venue instantly changed. The people on the dance floor immediately let out excited screams, and their dance moves became increasingly wild.
“Director Ling, come up and dance! Over here!”
Amid the noise, Jiang Chen still heard this shout from the dance floor. His gaze immediately followed, and he saw a few people pulling a familiar figure into the crowd.
People wore all sorts of things here, but most of the girls were in revealing outfits. More and more people were getting hyped up by the music and jumping onto the dance floor, starting to dance closely.
Even several people from Jiang Chen’s table jumped in. It was Friday, so they could rest tomorrow no matter how late they played, so they played more and more wildly.
Leaning back, Jiang Chen saw Ling Sheng being pulled into the dance floor by a few people. He was still wearing the same outfit, with his shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows and that wristwatch still on his wrist. The people in front of him were writhing in a group. After being pulled in, he didn’t spoil the fun and started dancing along with them. His shirt was pulled a bit out of place, but the black dress pants emphasized his slender waist and long legs.
His movements weren’t that exaggerated, but he was clearly familiar with this kind of environment. His dance moves were casual and unrestrained, with a sexiness that was somewhere between relaxed and flirty. The lights flashed across his face from time to time, and there was a distinct temptation in the casual movements of his eyes.
The people on the dance floor had all been drinking, and everyone danced more and more wildly in the crazy music. Reason seemed to have been washed away by alcohol, leaving only instinct. Ling Sheng quickly became a target in this group of people.
Jiang Chen watched as a beautiful woman in a small tank top and miniskirt danced in front of Ling Sheng. The lights were dim, and even if he couldn’t see her expression, he could tell what she was thinking from her movements. Her full breasts rubbed against Ling Sheng’s chest again and again. It was no longer a subtle hint; it was almost a blatant invitation.
Jiang Chen couldn’t sit still any longer. Just then, a tall, sturdy man stuck to Ling Sheng’s back. He was obviously drunk, his eyes undisguised, and he even started sticking to Ling Sheng’s body, rubbing back and forth.
A hint of coldness flashed in Ling Sheng’s eyes. He was surrounded by a group of the company’s executives. He had suggested coming out to relax today, and he didn’t want to spoil their fun. Just as he was about to leave the dance floor, he suddenly felt the person behind him leave, accompanied by a “fuck.”
The beauty in front of him had also clearly seen something, looking at his back with a bright look in her eyes.
Ling Sheng turned his head and saw an angry, close-up profile.
The profile was also handsome, that kind of vibrant, clean handsomeness.
Ling Sheng stopped moving, opened his mouth, and something flashed through his mind. He changed his words and said with a smile, “…Xiao Chen?”
Jiang Chen was stunned by these two words. They didn’t seem close enough to use nicknames, but Ling Sheng was seven years older than him, so it didn’t seem too much to call him that.
In the end, with a bit of awkwardness, he could only reply, “Director Ling.”
The sturdy man who had been pushed away by Jiang Chen, seeing the person he had taken a fancy to being snatched away, wanted to come over again: “Fuck your mom, are you blind? I saw him first.”
Although the music was very loud, the people around them still heard this, and they all looked over. The woman who had been dancing close to Ling Sheng didn’t want to cause trouble and quickly left.
Jiang Chen felt disgusted just thinking about his movements just now. He didn’t even know if his rational thoughts had been stunned by the music. His fist clenched, and he wanted to swing it, but fortunately, he hadn’t drunk much and managed to suppress his impulse: “What did you take a fancy to?”
Just as the sturdy man was about to speak, Ling Sheng grabbed Jiang Chen’s arm, stepped forward, his eyes smiling but his voice cold: “Take a fancy to what? The music is too loud, let’s go outside and talk?”
Ling Sheng had come with more than a dozen company executives today, both men and women. They had all been drinking and there were many people, so five or six men immediately stepped forward.
“What are you doing? What do you want to do?”
“Go outside and talk if you have the guts!”
The man had originally just wanted to find a romantic encounter. Seeing their stance, he cursed under his breath and left.
Jiang Chen was very tall and already stood out in the bar. He had been noticed as soon as he came in. After the sturdy man left, a few people pulled Jiang Chen: “Isn’t this Xiao Ya’s younger brother?”
“You came to play too?”
Jiang Chen quickly pointed to his table of people playing games as cover: “I came to play with friends. What a coincidence.”
Ling Sheng looked at the group of people having fun playing games over there and said with a smile, “It is quite a coincidence.”
This kind of small conflict was too common in bars. The surroundings quickly returned to normal, and the executives pulled Ling Sheng up: “We came to have fun, so let’s have fun. Come on, let’s continue dancing. Don’t let an idiot spoil the fun.”
Jiang Chen had never played in a place like this before. He had only come up on impulse just now. Usually, he might have just gone down, but at this moment, he was pulled and dragged into the crowd. The music just changed, and he saw the people around him all holding hands and hugging waists, starting to jump.
“Little brother, come on, come on, brother will take you to play~”
They were drunk and excited, especially since they had just done something together, which made them directly categorize Jiang Chen as one of their companions. A slender man with long hair and a feminine aura leaned over and grabbed Jiang Chen’s arm. When he got closer, Jiang Chen saw the glitter on his lips. Jiang Chen took three seconds to remember that he was wearing lipstick.
He recognized it entirely because of Xu Peiya’s science lesson, saying it was some kind of glossy or glass lip.
The dance floor was very crowded. In just those ten seconds, the man had already leaned on him. Pushed forward by the people behind him, he lunged forward, and the lipstick directly rubbed onto his shoulder, leaving a faint pink mark on his white T-shirt.
“Oops, I’m sorry, I got you dirty.” The man reached out to wipe it, taking the opportunity to squeeze his shoulder: “Why don’t you let me take it back to wash it for you? Leave me your WeChat, and I’ll send it back to you then.”
Jiang Chen got goosebumps from his blatant flirting gaze and quickly backed away: “No, no, I’ll wash it myself.”
After speaking, he ran out of the dance floor to the bathroom as if escaping.
After splashing his face a few times, he washed away that creepy feeling. Jiang Chen began to regret that he shouldn’t have just looked at a photo and run here.
This was completely unlike his behavior. He couldn’t figure out what he was thinking.
Looking at the time, it was already eleven o’clock. He should go back.
He shouldn’t have come here.
Looking at the faint pink mark on his shoulder, he wet his hand and rubbed it a few times, but the mark was still there. Instead, he had wet half of his shoulder.
Jiang Chen walked out while patting the water on his shoulder, thinking about just saying something, paying the bill, and going back. But as soon as he walked out, he saw Ling Sheng leaning there. His back was against the wall, his body slightly bent. This posture made his stretched legs even longer. Because of the movements just now, his hair was also a bit messy, showing a bit more casualness and disarray than the strictness he had seen the previous two times. This posture was like he was waiting for someone.
The corridor was only this big, so the two of them were bound to meet. But actually, there was nothing wrong with meeting.
Jiang Chen just felt like his footsteps had become heavier. He cleared his throat softly and pulled at the wrinkled clothes from just now, trying to make himself look as natural as possible before walking over and saying hello: “Director Ling.”
The music wasn’t as loud here as it was outside. Ling Sheng heard his voice, looked up, saw him, and glanced at his wet shoulder before revealing a slightly apologetic smile: “Did Tonio get your clothes dirty?”
Jiang Chen immediately said, “It’s okay, it’ll be fine after I wash it.”
But his gaze quickly fell on the wet shirt on Ling Sheng’s chest. Ling Sheng was only wearing this shirt. When the wine wet it, the white shirt immediately became translucent, sticking to his body. The light in the bathroom was much brighter than outside. The overhead light shone down, and the shape of his thin chest muscles was faintly visible.
Jiang Chen felt a heat in his chest. At this moment, someone suddenly came in, and they were not far from the door. Jiang Chen almost subconsciously blocked in front of Ling Sheng, as if afraid that others would see something.
The person was drunk and his eyes were not working well. He staggered in. Only then did Jiang Chen stabilize his somewhat chaotic heartbeat and look down again.
Ling Sheng noticed his gaze and casually pulled at his clothes: “I accidentally spilled a little, I just washed it.”
The two of them were standing close together, making the difference in height obvious. Ling Sheng needed to lift his head slightly to meet his eyes. The eyes under the glasses curved slightly: “Get to know each other.”
He had never felt that his alcohol tolerance was so bad. Jiang Chen felt that his behavior was completely out of his brain control. Reason was warning him, telling him to refuse, but he heard his own voice saying, “Okay.”