Night

"They ran away?" Gu Nan stood at the empty intersection, carrying half a bag of oranges.

The road was wide, and several cars sped by, stirring up a breeze in the evening. The air seemed to carry the tartness of unripe oranges, and there were no vendors in sight.

She weighed the half-bag of oranges in her hand, hesitated for three seconds between throwing them in the trash and giving them to Ji Yuanyu, and then decisively turned around.

"Sizzle."

The sound of brakes came half a second before she turned around.

A sports car stopped beside her. Gu Nan glanced at the exaggeratedly bright pink color, crossed her arms and leaned back, then tugged at the plastic bag and suddenly found it amusing.

A secret passage, a garbage can delivered right to your door.

The car window slowly rolled down, revealing a man in the driver's seat whose face was even more flamboyant than the sports car itself, especially his captivating eyes that seemed to gaze affectionately at a dog.

"Nanbao~"

Gu Nan narrowed her eyes: "Try calling out again."

"Hehe." The man chuckled awkwardly, leaned forward, and opened the passenger door. "Where are you going? I'll give you a ride."

"Let's go home." Gu Nan handed over the oranges. "These are oranges I bought for you, don't waste them."

"Oh." Wan Yi took the oranges blankly, incredulous. "You bought me oranges, did you drug them?"

Gu Nan glanced at him disdainfully and didn't reply.

Wan Yi scratched the back of his head with one hand and rummaged through the plastic bag with the other: "This doesn't make sense. I've known you for eight years, and this is the first time you've bought me anything."

"So you're going to kowtow to me?" Gu Nan crossed her arms behind her head, raised an eyebrow, and looked away, not speaking seriously.

Wan Yi suddenly realized: "I understand now, you're trying to take advantage of me."

“Um…” Gu Nan lowered his eyes and pondered for a moment before sincerely saying, “Being your father is not something to be proud of, you don’t need to have this kind of trouble.”

...

"The rule of law saved you."

"Pfft," Gu Nan lowered his left hand, slowly flicked the seatbelt, and smiled dangerously: "Are you sure?"

Wan Yi swallowed hard: "I'm not sure."

As she was getting out of the car, Gu Nan said, "The arena match is tomorrow night. By the way, your enemies are there too."

Wan Yi ignored the second half of her sentence, gave her the middle finger as she turned away, but quickly withdrew it when she turned around, and put on a big smile: "Hello passenger, you have arrived at your destination. Please take your belongings with you..."

"Bang!"

The car door slammed shut, and Wan Yi yelled. He touched the car door with concern and said to it, "Honey, did you hurt yourself? Here's an orange for you."

Gu Nan returned, opened the car door, and saw Wan Yi half-lying on the passenger seat, holding an orange in her hand, with tears in her eyes.

Gu Nan's face was contorted with emotion, her features furrowed, and she pulled her head back slightly as she asked with difficulty, "How long has this been going on?"

"Cough cough."

Wan Yi sat back in the driver's seat expressionlessly, straightened his back, and stared straight ahead, his sharp gaze as if he were about to rush out and kill the bird on the roadside at any moment.

Gu Nan: ...

"What's up."

"Do you need me to find you a specialist?"

"Just close the door for me, thank you." Wan Yi nodded and smiled politely.

The passenger door closed again.

Gu Nan stood to the side, seemingly able to hear the wailing from inside the car.

She smiled silently, then turned and went home.

My aunt hasn't come back yet. She's standing alone in the entryway. The cold and deserted room makes me not want to go in.

With each step, it seemed as if you could hear several echoes.

Looking around, she noticed the water dispenser had been empty for two days, but she was too lazy to change it. So she took her water cup and wandered from the living room to the kitchen, filled it halfway with tap water, and drank it all in one gulp.

The water glass made a crisp sound when it was placed on the island. Gu Nan opened the refrigerator, and inside were only the dumplings that her aunt had cooked before she left, which had already gone moldy.

"Smack."

Slamming the refrigerator door shut, Gu Nan turned to leave, but turned back at the door, pointed at the refrigerator, and cursed, "I'll replace you sooner or later."

Looking up, Gu Nan noticed an extra half-bowl of cat food in the entryway and called out to the bedroom, "Sheriff?"

A black and white cat got up from behind the curtains, yawned widely, stretched as it walked, and leisurely strolled up to Gu Nan.

Gu Nan glanced at the cat food, then looked at the kitten. "Go to sleep."

Cat: "Meow?"

"Bang!"

The sound of the door closing made the door frame shake three times.

Gu Nan flipped a few times along the stainless steel stair railing and was downstairs.

The car sped all the way to its highest speed before coming to a stop at an underground nightclub with a sign that read "Night Scene".

Behind the unassuming entrance, a frenzied atmosphere of alcohol and music mingled, with drumbeats accompanying the throng of people and laser lights illuminating writhing bodies.

Here, everyone is having a blast.

Gu Nan glanced at the booths, or perhaps, they were venting their anger at their inability to control their fate under the flickering lights.

The waiter was a man wearing a black embroidered shirt. He had fair skin and a pair of captivating eyes that shimmered with affection, making him even more alluring than the women in the room.

His tone, however, was completely different from his appearance: "Do you have a table booked?"

Gu Nan: "Book a table?"

The waiter raised his hand in disgust and fanned the air. His scrutinizing gaze fell on Gu Nan, his eyes filled with undisguised contempt. He muttered under his breath, "You don't even know how to make a reservation."

After saying that, he looked up impatiently and said with disdain, "There are no seats available now, just wait."

Gu Nan: "How long?"

"Wait until a table becomes available." The waiter muttered again, "What a hassle."

"I'm asking you how long you're going to wait," Gu Nan said calmly.

The waiter suddenly raised his voice: "Are you deliberately trying to cause trouble? Don't you know that [Nightfall] is by reservation only? You should be grateful that I let you in to broaden your horizons. You'll have a seat once everyone else has had their fun and gone home. If you're willing to wait, go in and find a corner to sit in; if you're not willing to wait, get out, understand?"

Gu Nan stared at him for a while, then suddenly grinned, "I remember I gave you face before. But I can understand what you're saying, it's just a matter of whether you can hold back."

After saying that, he threw a punch, hitting the waiter in the face without holding back.

With a "thud," the waiter bumped into the bar, his arm unconsciously knocking over several glasses. The light blue liquid flowed down the bar, half of it soaking onto the waiter's clothes, his wet shirt outlining his perfect muscle lines.

It made her look even more pitiful and endearing.

"Ah!" the waiter shouted in a shrill voice, "You dare hit me?"

Gu Nan clicked her tongue in regret: "Your face would be perfect if it didn't have a mouth."

After saying that, she punched the waiter three times in a row. Seeing the waiter cower in a ball, she slowly stood up and looked down at him: "Speak properly next time."

The noisy bar had quieted down at some point, the lights were on, and the upbeat music suddenly seemed out of place.

Facing the stares of the crowd, Gu Nan straightened her cuffs as if no one was around and patiently said, "See? Arrogant people always need to have strong fists. That's my advice."

A voice from the crowd, seemingly enjoying the spectacle, said: "Keep this advice to yourself. Do you even know whose people he works for?"

Gu Nan glanced down at the waiter and praised him without reservation: "He's good-looking. If none of you want him, I'll reluctantly take him."

The waiter stood up angrily, his eyes red, and first pointed at the crowd of people who were staring at him, shouting: "What are you looking at! Get out of here!"

Then he stared straight at Gu Nan: "I'll make sure you don't leave 'Nightfall' today!"

After saying that, he roared at the security guards, "What are you standing there for? Get them! Kill them or leave no stone unturned!"

The security guards exchanged glances, each seeing hesitation in the other's eyes.

The waiter screamed, "Don't you want to work here anymore?!"

A middle-aged man dressed as a security captain squeezed out of the crowd and said to the onlookers, "Everyone will get a 10% discount on all purchases tonight. I hope this little incident didn't spoil your fun. Now everyone can leave."

His words had little effect, which Gu Nan noticed but didn't care about. She snapped her fingers at the bartender and said loudly, "A Martini, please."

Someone in the crowd remarked, "The last cocktail?"

Amidst the laughter, a woman walked around to her side, quietly tugged at her sleeve, and whispered, "Beautiful lady, you should apologize to Young Master Xu."

"Apologize?" Gu Nan glanced sideways at the waiter surrounded by security guards, silently judging: "Little Dog."

She made eye contact with the waiter, her lips moving in an exaggerated manner.

The waiter flew into a rage, pointing his finger at the security guards and yelling, "If we don't pin her down here today, none of you will get away with this!"

"Hmph." Gu Nan chuckled sarcastically and turned to check on the bartender's progress.

Despite the seemingly casual snort, the waiter reacted as if a bomb had been detonated, transforming into a wild beast that had just emerged from the forest, devoid of reason and driven only by animal instinct.

"Alright, all of you stay still. When Sister Yan comes back and sees me being beaten up right under your noses, I'd like to see how you respond."

The security captain advised in a low voice, "Young Master Xu, Sister Yan doesn't like people causing trouble in her establishment."

The waiter suddenly turned around, pointed at the security captain's nose and yelled, "Do you think this lousy place is more important to Sister Yan than me?" He then looked at the security guard who was still hesitating.

At a glance, the first security guard rushed forward.

The second and third followed closely behind.

More and more security guards gathered around, and when the security captain saw that he couldn't stop them, he quickly went out to make a phone call.

Sister Yan usually comes almost every day, and the store manager has perfect attendance every month, but today is just unfortunate, as both of them have something to do at the same time.

The phone kept ringing, and the security captain paced back and forth impatiently, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.

Xu Shao is Yan Jie's kept boyfriend, and if he gets bullied, Yan Jie won't be able to explain it. But if something happens to the girl inside, or if there's trouble at the venue, Yan Jie won't be able to explain it either.

"The number you dialed is temporarily unavailable."

The robotic female voice repeated itself for the fifth time.

The security captain glanced at the pitch-black sky, wiped the sweat from his brow, and beckoned the security guards at the gate to go in and break up the fight.

"No matter what Young Master Xu says, pull him away first."

"You three go and calm down Young Master Xu, the rest of you go and break up the fight."

"Also, keep an eye on that girl, make sure she doesn't get killed."

"Hurry up, everyone."

The security captain muttered as he walked inside: "That girl looks like she's just turned 18. If something really happens, Sister Yan will definitely come looking for us. Don't listen to Young Master Xu's angry words, just break up the fight."

One person scoffed, "He rose to power by using his ass, and now he's even become a young master."

The others nodded in agreement, but none of them dared to say anything.

"Let's talk about this privately. If they overhear, you..."

Push open the curtain.

The security captain's rambling stopped abruptly.

The security guards also stopped abruptly.

Someone asked in a low voice, "Do we still need to go in?"

The security captain stood at attention for three seconds, rubbed his eyes, and walked out with his head down, meeting the puzzled gazes of the crowd. He stopped at the door, then walked back in with a bright and cheerful look.

The scene inside remained unchanged.

The security guards were lying haphazardly on the ground, groaning incessantly. Xu Shao was slumped in front of the bar, with a clear footprint imprinted on his chest. Judging from the shape, it wasn't hard to guess who the footprint belonged to.

Beside him, a woman stood confidently at the bar, patiently directing the bartender to mix drinks.

The security captain, looking around with a puzzled expression, was among the onlookers.

Have they all obediently returned to their seats? They look like children ready to listen to the lecture.

In this chaotic nightclub, everything seemed so eerie.

Gu Nan turned around and smiled gently, her tiger teeth making her look harmless: "Are you all coming at me too?"

After a long stare-down, the security captain's worries shifted to someone else.

Sister Yan has a huge network of connections. This woman hit Sister Yan's boyfriend; I'm afraid...

"Buzz buzz buzz".

In the quiet room, the sound of the phone vibrating was especially clear.

The security captain swallowed hard, took a deep breath, and answered the call.

"Sister Yan, someone beat up Young Master Xu in the dark."

Sister Yan hung up the phone quickly, and he hadn't even hesitated whether to say the second half of his sentence.

Not only did she beat up your boyfriend, she also turned your guest into a well-behaved elementary school student.

If this woman comes a few more times, your "night" can be renamed "day."

"You can't leave."

Gu Nan nodded, looked kindly at the bartender, and asked, "Have you learned it? I'll make my Martini like this from now on."

The security captain shook his head, quickly walked to Gu Nan's side, and asked in a low voice, "Are you an adult?"

Gu Nan shrugged, neither confirming nor denying.

The security captain sighed, "That's it."

Gu Nan: "Luckily, I'm an adult now. If it were before, these people wouldn't just be unable to get back up now."

The security captain frowned. "Violence can't solve all problems, especially when it comes to those people you can't afford to offend. You...you'd better apologize properly later."

Seeing Gu Nan nod, the security guard looked relieved and let out another long sigh.

Gu Nan smiled and said, "Then it must not be violent enough."