Chapter 27: Bar — Heard There’s Been Something Lately…

Chapter 27: The Bar — Heard There's Something New Lately

At nine in the evening, they walked out of a classy restaurant together.

-

Getting into the car, Qi Shi sat in the passenger seat and punched the bar's address into her phone.

Ke Fan sat in the back seat and, seeing the bar's name, said, "Qi Shi, you're into C·Live too?"

Tonight was originally supposed to be just Qi Shi and Li Ran, but in the afternoon Ke Fan had asked if she wanted to grab dinner together, and remembering how Ke Fan had seemed like she still wanted more at the bar last time, she casually asked if she wanted to come along—which is how it became a three-person outing.

Over dinner earlier, they'd already gotten a basic read on each other.

Qi Shi turned her head to glance back, a smile curving her lips. "Yeah, I do! Whenever I've been busy for a while, I go to C·Live to unwind. Plus, C·Live is pretty safe—not as sketchy."

Li Ran was driving, her fingertips tapping lightly on the steering wheel as smooth jazz played in the car, just enough to drown out the noise outside.

She didn't say much, half-listening, occasionally chiming in with a word or two.

At certain moments, she felt like the taut string inside her that had been pulled for so long was finally loosening.

No need to think about anyone or anything—just driving, heading to the destination with her friends.

But at some point, she noticed a black car following her in the rearview mirror. When she changed lanes, it changed lanes too; when she sped up, it sped up as well—yet it never overtook her, just kept tailing her.

Li Ran stared at the rearview mirror, her heartbeat picking up.

She instinctively tried to make out the license plate, but the distance was too far, the lighting too dim, and headlights were in the way—she couldn't make anything out.

By the time they neared their destination, when Li Ran looked again, the car was gone.

Was she imagining things?

Qi Shi pointed ahead. "Ran Ran, pull up—there's a spot over there."

Li Ran looked away, didn't overthink it, and drove a little further up.

Once they parked, they walked into C·Live together.

The moment the door swung open, a wave of sound hit them.

The noise was so loud it vibrated through her chest, multicolored lights swept overhead, and the air hit them with a mix of alcohol, perfume, and cigarette smoke.

At the entrance, Li Ran froze for a second.

Ke Fan noticed her pause and said with a smile, "Let's go, Ran."

Li Ran took a breath and stepped in after her.

As they made their way through the crowd, people kept brushing by them.

Some raised their glasses, some had their arms around each other's waists, and others swayed their heads to the music—people were doing all sorts of things.

Qi Shi led them straight to a semi-enclosed booth, like she knew the place. It was a bit of a distance from the dance floor, not too crowded, but the music still pounded hard enough to get your heart racing.

Li Ran pressed a hand to her chest, still not quite used to it, but she was already handling it better than the first time.

A server came over with the drink menu. Qi Shi ordered a Long Island Iced Tea, then flipped straight to the non-alcoholic page and ordered a mojito for Li Ran. Then she looked at Ke Fan.

Ke Fan didn't even glance at the menu and told the server straight, "One Zombie Cocktail, please."

Qi Shi warned, "That one's strong here—you sure you can handle it?"

Ke Fan pressed her lips into a smile and flashed a thumbs-up. "Okay!"

"Damn, nice!"

Li Ran didn't quite follow what they were talking about and asked, "What zombie?"

Ke Fan leaned in and said loudly, "Zombie Cocktail—it's a type of cocktail, and the Chinese name is literally 'zombie'! After drinking it, you'll walk like a zombie."

She cracked a joke, then stood up, stretched her arms out straight, and hopped around stiffly a couple of times, mimicking a zombie.

Then she cracked up at herself.

"Ran, Qi Shi, you two chat—I'm gonna go dance for a bit!"

With that, she headed toward the dance floor and disappeared into the sea of people in a couple of steps.

Only the two of them were left in the booth. Qi Shi took off her jacket, revealing a black tank top underneath.

Qi Shi leaned back against the sofa, crossed her legs, and looked at Li Ran sitting across from her, a knowing smile spreading across her face.

Li Ran looked confused. "What are you smiling at?"

Qi Shi said, "Ran Ran, you should spend more time with people like Ke Fan! Young, vibrant, free—doing whatever they want. The light in her eyes right now—I've seen that light in yours before!"

Just then, the server came over with a tray and set three drinks down on the table.

Qi Shi picked up the dark brown one and raised her glass. "Cheers—to freedom!"

Li Ran picked up her mojito and clinked glasses with her. "Yeah, to freedom!"

After a while, Ke Fan came back breathless, picked up her zombie, and took a big gulp.

She squinted her eyes, smacked her lips, looking totally satisfied.

Qi Shi grabbed Li Ran's arm, pulling her up. "Come on, Ran Ran, let's go dance for a bit too."

Li Ran waved her hands frantically. "No, no, no—you go ahead."

She couldn't quite picture herself bobbing her head, and she also felt she didn't have the energy to dance.

"Don't be so self-conscious. We're already here—just give it a try. Sway to the rhythm, don't think about anything, and it's so much fun! If you really don't like it, you can come back and sit."

Ke Fan chimed in from the side too. "Yeah, Ran, just try it! Let those endorphins flow—it's seriously amazing!"

Before Li Ran could react, Qi Shi had already dragged her up and was pulling her toward the center of the dance floor.

Before they headed off, Qi Shi reminded Ke Fan, "Don't accept any drinks from strangers, okay?"

Ke Fan smiled and nodded. "Don't worry, Qi Shi."

The dance floor was way louder than the booth area.

At first, Li Ran just stood there stiffly, barely moving or swaying—she genuinely didn't know how to dance, like a zombie.

The girl next to her was moving around wildly, her ponytail nearly smacking her in the face.

But at some point, she started moving to the beat—arms bent up, swaying lightly, feet bouncing along.

Qi Shi saw her starting to let loose and laughed, "Now that's what I'm talking about!"

Li Ran got a little shy and eased up on the moves.

By the time the song ended, Li Ran was already running on empty—her stamina was shot.

Right then, one thought hit her: she needed to hit the gym more.

She said something to Qi Shi, then turned and headed back to the booth.

As she squeezed through the crowded bar, a guy pushed in from the side. She didn't have time to dodge, and the next thing she knew, a whole glass of wine splashed all over her white dress, soaking a big spot on her chest, dark liquid still dripping.

The guy quickly apologized, "Sorry, sorry, I didn't see you."

Li Ran looked up and saw his face full of regret.

She opened her mouth like she was going to say something, but ended up just shaking her head. "...It's fine."

Li Ran looked down at the wet spot on her chest, sighed, asked a staff member where the bathroom was, and headed over.

When she returned to her seat, Ke Fan noticed and asked, "Sister Ran, what happened to your dress?"

Li Ran looked down again and smiled bitterly. "Some guy accidentally spilled a drink on me. I rinsed it off with water."

"Ugh, what a klutz. But doesn't it feel gross wearing it all wet?"

Ke Fan shifted in her seat, like she was trying to think of a fix.

Suddenly, she pointed at the paper bag. "Sister Ran, why don't you change into the dress Sister Qi Shi brought?"

Before they came, Qi Shi had made a point of changing into a slip dress and brought one for her as well.

The dress was a pink spaghetti-strap bodycon number. The moment Li Ran saw it, she shot it down completely—it was just a bar, no need to show that much skin.

Qi Shi had joked for Ke Fan to wear it instead, and Ke Fan said she didn't have the boobs to pull it off.

But now, even after rinsing it with water and blotting it with tissues, the wet spot was still big.

The wet fabric sticking to her chest was really uncomfortable, and you could faintly see the outline of her bra—not a good look.

Li Ran rubbed her forehead, but she still went and changed into it.

None of them could have guessed that in those few hours, while they were basically cut off from the outside world, the internet would blow up with another huge story:

JuLian founder Jin Yan's divorce confirmed—his wife spotted drowning her sorrows at a bar late at night.

The perfect couple facade is shattered, click for details...

In his study, Jin Yan was scrolling through the news that had just dropped. In the photo, Li Ran was sitting in a booth in a dress he'd never seen her wear—something she'd never have worn before. Even though the photo was blurry, he could still tell she looked bored.

And the comment section under the so-called news was already blowing up.

"Dressed like that and going to a bar—obviously not a good woman!"

"Come on, she's a legit Restorer. Is she not allowed to wear a dress, or not allowed to go to a bar, or not allowed to wear a dress to a bar? Who made that rule? (vomit)"

"Aren't they always so happy together? How did they suddenly get divorced? It's fake. @Jin Yan, CEO Jin, come out and clear this up!"

"Perfect couple? You know how these personas work—they're the easiest to crumble. Can't keep up the act anymore."

"She's literally just sitting there. These gossip accounts really know how to spin a story."

"What does it have to do with any of you? Worry about your own wallets."

"Heard some big shot has been backing her lately, investing in some documentary. If you know, you know. (side-eye)"

Jin Yan's finger stopped on that comment. He frowned hard and immediately called his assistant, telling Jiang Lai to handle the public opinion and do crisis PR.

After hanging up, he slammed his phone on the desk with a crack. He leaned back in his chair, tilted his head against the headrest, and pinched the bridge of his nose.

This wife of his.

She really knew how to cause him trouble.

Was a bar even a place she should be going to?

And those comments—she'd never dealt with anything like this before. Would she overthink it?

If she'd just settled down and lived a normal life with him, she wouldn't have to deal with this kind of random disaster.

A moment later, Jin Yan got up, left the room, grabbed his car keys, and headed straight for the underground garage.

In the dim car, his dark eyes gleamed cold and sharp.

Pulling out of the parking lot, he floored it, speeding toward that one and only destination.

It was almost midnight when they finally came out of C·Live.

Outside the bar, Li Ran tilted her head up a little. The sky had gotten a layer of dark clouds, heavy and oppressive, like it might rain any second.

She took a deep breath, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw Qi Shi checking her out.

Feeling creeped out by Qi Shi's stare, Li Ran turned her head. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Ke Fan jumped in, "Because you look too good."

Qi Shi nodded. "Yeah, too good. Fair skin, pretty face, long legs, slim waist—lean where you should be, curvy where you should be. Your body is insane."

It was already late summer, and the weather was getting cool.

Inside, they hadn't felt cold, but now that they were outside with bare skin, the wind sent goosebumps all over her.

At that moment, though, Li Ran's cheeks heated up from Qi Shi's blunt words.

"Alright, don't just stand here. I'll take you both home."

She was the only sober one.

As they got in the car, Qi Shi held up her phone to ask for Ke Fan's home address. Before she could even punch it into the car's navigation, she spotted the push notification.

She paused, looked up, and said slowly, "Ran Ran..."

Li Ran had just buckled her seatbelt. "What's up?"

Qi Shi turned her phone around to show her.

The screen showed her on it.

She glanced at it. The photo had been taken right after she changed into the dress she was wearing now, and she didn't look happy in it, simply because she wasn't used to such revealing clothes.

But why would someone have taken a photo of her at the bar? It looked deliberately staged, with the angle so precise—was it that car that had been following her earlier?

Li Ran frowned, then casually started the car. "These gossip accounts really have vivid imaginations."

With that, she sighed softly, shook her head helplessly, and pulled out of the parking spot.

She didn't want to deal with it now because they had just entered the cooling-off period. Once she had the divorce certificate and everything was finalized, if any more baseless rumors surfaced, she would definitely issue a statement.

"Leave it alone."

Qi Shi and Ke Fan both gave her a thumbs-up at almost the same time.

Ke Fan, sitting in the back seat, continued, "Sister Ran, I've noticed that you're different now from the you I first met."

"What's different about me? I'm still me."

Ke Fan shook her head. "I can't quite put my finger on it, but you're just different."

Qi Shi, fiddling with the screen, casually remarked, "She's more carefree now. She doesn't care what others think anymore. She's starting to live for herself."

Li Ran's lips curved into a slight smile, but she said nothing.

Maybe that was true.

After safely dropping both of them off at home, she drove back to Jinyu Huating on her own.

Standing at her front door, Li Ran unlocked it with her fingerprint.

As the door pushed open a crack, a sliver of cold white light crept out.

Why would there be light?

Author's note:

In the next chapter, Jin, that dog, is being a jerk again—feel free to curse at him...

Some people will like it, and some won't, right?