Chapter 85

Jin Chuwan sat back down, puzzled.

The others didn't say much, they just continued chatting and laughing. After more than ten minutes, Lin Ru looked at her phone and a puzzled expression appeared on her face.

She picked up her phone and went outside the coffee shop to make a call. Jin Chuwan glanced at it listlessly. The sun was shining brightly outside. Lin Ru stood on the street and dialed several times, but it seemed that no one answered. Suddenly, her movements paused, and the expression on her face became sluggish.

At the same time, Jin Chuwan noticed that her gaze was directed at her. Through the glass, she couldn't quite make out her expression, but she sensed that she seemed a little unhappy.

However, when Lin Ru came in, she had already recovered. She smiled awkwardly and apologized to everyone, saying that there was no need to wait anymore, as her friends would not be coming for the time being.

Upon hearing this, everyone else quickly said it was nothing, as they had only waited for about ten minutes.

Jin Chuwan stood up with the others and whispered something about leaving to Luo An, but Luo An pulled her back.

"No, I'll go with you. This isn't the right occasion for me..."

Jin Chuwan, who was being held tightly, felt somewhat helpless, but she understood Luo An. To be honest, she didn't like these kinds of social occasions either.

"Then let's find a chance to slip away later."

Anyway, there were a lot of people, and they didn't know most of them. Plus, the two of them had very low profiles, so they probably wouldn't be noticed if they disappeared.

The two, having made up their minds, walked at the very back.

The narrow sidewalk seemed a bit crowded because of their group. After strolling around with the crowd for a while, Jin Chuwan suddenly pulled Luo An into a small shop by the roadside.

She thought she would stay inside for a while, and by the time she and Luo An came out, everyone else would have already gone far away. But she and Luo An had only been inside for a short while when Lin Ru pushed open the shop door and poked her head in.

She glanced at the two people in the store, brushed a stray hair behind her ear, and said, "Everyone's almost gone, you two better catch up!"

Luo An smiled wryly and simply nodded, saying he would go right away.

Lin Ru nodded readily upon hearing this, but she didn't leave. Instead, she leaned against the glass door frame while tapping her phone, seemingly sending a text message to someone.

Jin Chuwan sighed softly and walked to Lin Ru's side.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know this was a social event when I came. I'm not planning on dating right now, so I won't be participating..."

Jin Chuwan's refusal was quite direct. Lin Ru blinked after hearing this, then tilted her head and said, "Although it's a social gathering, the main purpose is just to have fun and meet new friends. It doesn't necessarily have to be a relationship or anything. Don't take it so seriously..."

As Lin Ru spoke, she linked arms with Jin Chuwan.

"Seriously, I didn't believe Xing'en when she said you were too withdrawn. Don't always be alone; come out and chat with everyone, it'll make you feel better~"

Lin Ru smiled and offered her goodwill. Seeing that Jin Chuwan did not answer, she leaned over to look at Luo An, "Anyway, we're just killing time today, why not come out and relax a bit, right?"

Luo An nodded subconsciously.

But she regretted it as soon as she ordered. For her personality, she couldn't relax at this kind of gathering at all; she would only become more nervous!

But now it's clear she can't back out.

So she looked hesitantly at Jin Chuwan.

"Alright, I'll go sit for a while, but I might have to leave early..."

This was Jin Chuwan's way of declining, but the other party greeted her with a smile, and she didn't want to spoil the mood.

"Okay!" Lin Ru nodded readily upon hearing Jin Chuwan's agreement. "We'll talk about it later. If we're not busy now, let's go to karaoke. I'm telling you, there's a senior here who sings really well..."

Jin Chuwan was pulled away, and by the time they caught up with the main group, the people ahead had already booked private rooms.

However, because there were so many people, they were eventually divided into two large bags and one small bag.

Jin Chuwan was pulled by Lin Ru to a small private room, where two boys were already singing. There was also a pitcher of beer and a bottle of red wine on the table.

As soon as Luo An came in, he pulled Jin Chuwan to sit down in a corner, as she was not used to this kind of environment.

However, the two boys who were singing seemed very gentle. The one who was singing had muted his voice, and he greeted them.

"I'm Li Kun, a sophomore majoring in physics. This is my roommate Ji Nian. What about you guys?"

When Jin Chuwan saw the other person handing her a drink, she quickly got up and took it.

“We are both from the law department. My name is Jin Chuwan, and this is my classmate, Luo An.”

Luo An took the drink Jin Chuwan handed her, then greeted her shyly, "Hello, senior brothers..."

Ji Nian, who was sitting to the side, opened a bottle of beer and smiled at Luo An.

"There's no need for senior brothers and sisters, we're all the same age, just call each other by name."

Kim Cho-wan nodded in deep agreement.

"Do you have any songs you'd like to sing? I can pick one for you."

Li Kun was clearly a karaoke enthusiast. After a brief introduction, he was already standing next to the karaoke machine. Jin Chuwan shook her head when she saw his enthusiasm.

"I can't sing, but I'll just listen to you sing."

Luo An immediately said that she wouldn't embarrass herself by singing if she didn't sing well.

"Whether you sing well or not doesn't matter at all. It's not a competition. Besides, nobody sings well, so nobody should laugh at anyone else..."

While drinking, Ji Nian urged them to hurry up and choose a song. Jin Chuwan remained seated, but Luo An was tempted and went to the song selection table to discuss it with Li Kun.

Just then, singing came from next door. Although it wasn't loud, you could tell that the person was tone-deaf. The singing hadn't started yet in the small private room, and the intermittent high notes from next door sounded even clearer in the quiet atmosphere.

The four people in the private room couldn't help but laugh.

Ji Nian sat down next to Jin Chuwan at some point. He had already finished the bottle of wine he had just drunk, and after putting it down, he opened another bottle. However, he didn't rush to drink it. Instead, he picked up another bottle and weighed it in his hand.

"Want some?" He gestured with his chin. "The rich girl next door said she's treating, all drinks are on the house. Why not drink if you don't want to?"

Jin Chuwan smiled and accepted the wine that Ji Nian handed her.

That's true.

It's free, so why not drink it?

The two sat on the sofa without saying much more, simply listening quietly to Li Kun and Luo An sing.

To be honest, their singing skills are not bad; what they said earlier was obviously just modesty.

The private room was dimly lit, with ambient lights swaying gently above the people's heads.

Before they knew it, there were already six empty bottles on the table. Luo An and Li Kun came over to get their drinks after singing until they were exhausted, and they were stunned when they saw the empty bottles.

"We came here to have fun, but why do you two look like you're drowning your sorrows in alcohol?"

As Li Kun spoke, he dragged a single sofa over and sat down, carrying a bottle in his hand.

"Tell me, what's on your mind?"

Jin Chuwan shook her head and said, "I haven't, I've always been like this."

Ji Nian followed suit, saying, "I don't have any either; I just enjoy drinking."

Li Kun was about to eat the fruit platter when he heard the two of them talking at once, and he angrily ate a grape in one bite.

"Keep pretending... I can't be bothered with you..."

Li Kun went back to sing karaoke in a huff, while Ji Nian and Jin Chuwan exchanged glances and then laughed.

Jin Chuwan looked at the beer on the table. To be honest, she rarely drank unless it was for work, but for some reason, she suddenly felt that it was okay to have a little today.

Anyway, she has a pretty good alcohol tolerance.

The two continued drinking casually and listening to music in silence. Jin Chuwan genuinely seemed to have nothing on her mind, but Ji Nian beside her was clearly not as open and honest as he claimed.

There were many empty bottles on the table, but he had drunk most of them himself.

Jin Chuwan glanced at her side; the young man was lying on his back on the other side, his arm covering his eyes, and he looked like he was asleep.

Seeing that it was almost time, she decided to leave.

Suddenly, cheers and a few shrill whistles came from the next cubicle. Jin Chuwan glanced to the side, then picked up her phone and left a text message for Luo An.

She seemed to be in a good mood, so Kim Cho-wan didn't disturb her.

When Jin Chuwan pushed open the door to the private room, she noticed that the door next door was open. Just as she looked up, she saw Li Xing'en come out of the private room.

He had a faint smile on his face, but it wasn't deep; it seemed like a perfunctory smile, yet also like just the right amount of politeness.

At this moment, Li Xing'en seemed to have noticed her as well.

Their eyes met, but neither of them spoke.

The moment their eyes met seemed to stretch on indefinitely until Lin Ru and two other girls walked out together.

Their voices urging Li Xing'en to go inside broke the eye contact between the two.

Jin Chuwan breathed a sigh of relief and quietly turned to leave.

After all, we had agreed beforehand to pretend we weren't familiar with each other when we were out in public.

The dim, ambiguous lighting in the corridor made her face appear somewhat blurry. While dealing with the people in front of her, Li Xing'en kept glancing at the people walking away out of the corner of her eye.

She was clutching her bag, clearly intending to sneak away.

He had been suppressing his dissatisfaction when he arrived, but upon seeing her, it all seemed to dissipate like a gust of wind, becoming insignificant.

He couldn't help but chuckle softly.

"Alright, you all go in first. I have something to say to Lin Ru alone."

Li Xingen's words brought a meaningful smile to the girl's face.

"Okay then, we won't be light bulbs anymore!"

After they finished speaking, the two went inside and thoughtfully closed the door behind them.

Lin Ru looked up at Li Xing'en. No matter how many times she tried, she couldn't control her feelings. In front of him, her heart was pounding so hard she could hear it herself.

“Star, Star Grace…”

"Miss Lin—"

The person in front of me had a faint smile on their lips, but their voice was distant and indifferent.

"I remember reminding you to stay away from me, and stay away from her too..."

Lin Ru showed a brief moment of panic, but she didn't think she was wrong. "But I just wanted to see you, and I didn't do anything wrong. Is it wrong to bring her out to make friends?"

Lin Ru, fearing that Li Xing'en wouldn't believe her, continued to explain, "After you got angry before, I really didn't do anything reckless again! This time it was really just a normal friendship. I know you care about her, so I thought I'd bring her out to relax and meet more friends. It's better than her being alone, right?"

Li Xingen's smile deepened. He glanced in the direction Jin Chuwan had left, then lowered his head and slowly leaned close to Lin Ru's ear.

Why does she insist on getting to know all those shady people?

"And you really love being self-righteous..."

Li Xingen looked at Lin Ru with amusement, her gray eyes filled with mockery and sarcasm.

He really hated people who hung around Kim Cho-wan, whether they were men or women.

It was because there were more and more annoying people like this that Jin Chuwan drifted further and further away from her.

If only he were by her side.

The tall young man paused for a moment, then patted Lin Ru on the shoulder before turning and leaving.

Li Xing'en left after speaking, and Lin Ru stood there blankly, looking somewhat dejected. At this moment, the door to the next private room opened, and Ji Nian leaned lazily against the door, gazing intently at the dazed Lin Ru.

"What... I got rejected again?"