Be full of joy

Meng Ning.

Why is she here?

"Luo Bao, you're here."

Concubine Lu was sharp-eyed. She walked over in high heels, took her arm and moved to the center of the sofa.

He squeezed in between Wu Kai and Meng Ning.

Bo Xi's sinister threats flashed through Bai Luo's mind, so he didn't dare sit next to Wu Kai.

It's clearly not a chance to sit down, it's a way to die.

"The air conditioner is blowing over there. I'll sit here."

In a panic, he made up a poor excuse.

The lights were charming and dazzling. Wu Kai glanced sideways, his gaze fixed on Bai Luo's profile, tracing every inch.

His eyes slid down and fell on a red mark on the skin on the side of his neck, and his breathing stopped for a moment.

The girl has a boyfriend.

No wonder people avoid him like fire.

His knuckles were pinched white and his joints were cold. He tilted his head back and took a big gulp of ice water to suppress the dryness in his throat.

"Is everyone here?"

His girlfriend was kidnapped, and Chen Ci was bored, shaking the monochrome wine in his hand.

"Just drinking is boring, why not do something exciting to liven up the atmosphere?"

He glanced around, his eyes piercing.

"Why, you're all about to graduate, yet you're still pretending to be innocent."

"Okay, let's have some fun."

A boy whistled.

"Play with the bottle."

The wolf-tailed boy agreed with a grin.

"Whoever the bottle points at is unlucky. Truth or dare, the choice is yours."

"Don't cry if you lose."

Someone added a sentence, and the whole room burst into laughter.

It's a worn-out, old-fashioned game. It's just an ambiguous hunting ground disguised as a game.

No one is not tempted by the romantic affairs between men and women. No one is not greedy.

He said "it's just for fun" but secretly marinated his thoughts in alcohol, using a joke to spit out his true soul.

Bai Luo is a quiet social person, never hangs out in the bright lights and nightlife, and knows very little about board games.

Tonight, I listened with great interest to them talking about the rules.

"Aren't you going to wait any longer?"

"When have you ever played such a boring game?"

"Didn't we have fun on Wu Kai's birthday last time?"

She drank the fruit wine in one gulp and sat side by side with Concubine Lu. The long table was like a mirror, reflecting the two people's shadowy outlines, gorgeous but not vulgar, cold but not distant.

In the first round, the bottle mouth turned and hit the boy at the wolf's tail.

He smiled ostentatiously, chose a big risk, picked up a glass of wine without hesitation, and drank it all.

The next second, he leaned over, put his lips on the girl's lips, and poured the remaining wine into her mouth.

The world was in a clamor of whistles, screams, and applause. The light and shadows were hazy, the air was sticky, and the whole world was in heat.

Only Wu Kai was unusually quiet, his gaze fixed on Bai Luo's figure from afar.

Or you could say that KTV is a fitting room where all the ambiguities in the world are revealed, and everyone is acting.

Half drunk and half awake, I speak of my deepest affections, but who will believe me? Who dares to believe me?

It's just an absurd and drunken dream of life.

But who can really escape?

In the gaudy carnival, Bai Luo was as cold as a snow that shouldn't have appeared.

Don't laugh, don't make noise, don't hide, don't welcome.

But, it stole all the glory.

When Bo Xi put out his cigarette and returned to the box, the bottle of wine just happened to be passed to Meng Ning.

"Meng, beauty, choose truth or dare?"

Meng Ning is the birthday boy's friend, but he is more like the protagonist than the birthday boy.

Everyone knows that she is one of the female instructors in the military training of Hangzhou University every year and she is the most talented woman in the law department.

She had the typical cold and austere features of a beauty, with a high nose bridge, thin lips with a distinct arc, and neat and capable short hair that reached her ears.

"I remember Meng Xihua and Xi were in the same class. They've known each other for about three years."

"Yeah, I remember when the two of them first started school, they even went on the forum. There were thousands of comments below, and they were arguing with each other."

The group of people seemed to have forgotten the game itself and were interested in rekindling old feelings amidst wine and sex.

Bai Luo retracted his fingers.

Bo Yi and Meng Ning were classmates for three years, spending every day together.

So, that night she was followed by Meng Ning everywhere, and Bo Qi knew about it?

So, he knew Chang Liu's unknown secret from the beginning?

What were you planning after knowing that they were in contact?

Is he using her as bait to catch Chang Liu, the fish that sank into deep water? Or is he trying to pry open the key to the vault?

＿＿

Chang Liu recuperated for several days, but the scars still remained. He left for the ends of the earth without anyone noticing.

The road I chose was a wild path that was deserted and full of thorns.

Not for fame, just to keep a low profile.

The night before he left, he made a phone call, and the wind whistled in the receiver.

Who is on the other side? Heaven knows, earth knows, and wind knows.

That night, he was taken to the police station because of a fight, and several old policemen with gray hair came to him.

Without following any procedures, he was directly invited into the "special reception room".

They stared at him too long.

The background is as deep as the abyss. If he moves a finger, the entire underground world will collapse.

He is suspected to be the shadow of a drug lord, the most poisonous snake in the dark night.

After several months of tracking and spying, they discovered that he frequently met someone.

——Bai Luo.

Bai Luo's father is a close friend of a group of veteran police officers.

Before dying, he entrusted his daughter to them.

"If she's in trouble, you have to draw the sword for me."

So, they contacted her secretly.

"He has long since retired and is now a good man."

Bai Luo swore solemnly and spoke with certainty.

The old policeman confronted Chang Liu.

"You rolled in the mud in the past, it wasn't your choice, but those blood and tears were on your hands.

Only you know how to open the drug lord's vault. Now, it's your turn to choose."

After a long time, he raised his eyes, his pupils were dark and shiny.

"good."

One word, with a resounding impact.

The key is the pass to hell.

He wants to take it, return to the human world, and atone for the sins of his past and present lives.

He had heard a little about the key to the vault, but the connection was deep.

In the past, Bai Luo's father was not an ordinary man. He had lived on the edge of a knife and waded through a sea of ​​blood.

After saving the drug lord's good-for-nothing youngest son, he immediately became one of the "insiders" in the eyes of the drug lord.

He was promoted in the midst of blood and gore, and was instead lifted to a high position, becoming the "iron gate" in charge of the treasury.

With the key in hand, one holds the lifeline of the entire drug operation.

The drug lord did not expect him to betray him, and the "loyal dog" he regarded as his confidant turned out to be the deepest, coldest and most ruthless hidden nail buried by the police.

Be loyal to the national law, and bite the poisonous nest.

Few people know the key to the vault.

In 2008, Bai Luo was kidnapped by drug traffickers and imprisoned in an underground prison, where the smell of damp and mold was intertwined with despair, day after day, in darkness.

A group of beasts whispered into her ear with a smile.

"Your father, he waited until his last breath before allowing you to see him."

My father's face was haggard, and he was barely breathing, but he used all his remaining strength to silently convey the key with his lips.

The key is the remaining fire branded into the bone marrow, the fuse lit by the father with his life, and the countdown to revenge.

Later, the Skynet closed in. Those who should have been caught were caught, and those who should have escaped were let out.

There won't be just one key.

Bai Luoyou, the drug dealer, most likely has a copy in his hand.

After Chang Liu left, she didn't know whether he was a friend or an enemy, or dead or alive, if she bumped into him on the street corner one day.

Those who dare to gamble with their lives don’t care whether fate is accurate or not.

＿＿

"Tell me the truth."

Meng Ning's calm words brought Bai Luo back to his wandering thoughts.

Shen Cisi caught a glimpse of the motionless figure at the door and was startled.

"Hey, when someone comes back, he's standing at the door as a door god?"

The whole room burst into laughter.

"Yes, Master Bo, please do me a favor."

"It's so lonely to be alone. Come on, let's join in the fun."

Bo Qi turned a deaf ear and glared coldly at the quiet Bai Luo.

Don't dodge, don't avoid, don't restrain.

Among all the living beings, he filtered out the whole world and could only see her.

"Hello, sit down."

Meng Ning raised his chin and spoke in a light tone, yet he was able to control the entire audience.

The group of people started to make noise again.

"Oh my, it takes the beauty of the department to speak effectively."

The girl next to him understood immediately, stood up and offered her seat, smiling tactfully.

"Master Bo, the position is reserved."

Bo Yi's steps were slow and steady, like the night drifting over the stairs.

When he sat down, he bent his long legs lazily and took a mint cigarette and bit it between his lips.

He lowered his brows and gathered the fire, the bluish-white smoke blurred his ferocious and cold features.

Bai Luo sat opposite him, separated by Meng Ning, with his eyes lowered and his breath held, trying his best to reduce his presence.

She knew he was watching her. Blatantly. Unscrupulously.

Naked plunder.

But he was wearing a dark baseball cap, the shadow of which covered half of his face, leaving only a part of his jawline exposed.

"This is the true words of Meng's choice, right?"

Ash's voice was mixed with laughter and was particularly clear.

"No one asked, so I asked."

"Oh, Ash is going to dig up some explosive news!"

The boy with the wolf tail slammed the table and laughed, and the wine glasses clinked loudly.

"Meng Xihua, please be careful!"

"Meng Xihua, what feelings do you have towards us?"

This remark hit the nail on the head, causing everyone to go wild.

Some people stomped their feet and shouted "amazing", some winked at Meng Ning and raised their eyebrows, and some even waved their glow sticks around.

"This question is tough enough, it's worth ten honest answers!"

"Could it be that the beauty in the department really likes us?"

Meng Ning curled the corners of his lips slightly, glanced at the people with low pressure around him, and spoke slowly.

"Emotions... can be said to be very complicated."

Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by a drawn-out "Oh~~" sound, and seven or eight people exaggeratedly covered their chests and pretended to be heartbroken.

"We've been through so much together, we've laughed and cried, we've climbed over the wall in the middle of the night to buy barbecue, we've crammed for exams..."

Meng Ning paused deliberately, and when everyone was holding their breath, she suddenly said something.

"If I say it's a revolutionary friendship, do you believe it?"

“Ah~~”

The laughter shook the light bulb so much that the boy with the wolf tail spit out half a mouthful of beer.

"Sister Meng's answer is perfect! It's both ambiguous and unclear!"

"Hey, hey, hey, don't change the subject."

Ah Xiu was pushed and shoved by the noise, his face flushed and his neck thickened.

"Tell me clearly! Do you like me or not?"

"I bet ten beers that Sister Meng definitely likes it."

Someone followed up immediately.

"I'm raising the stakes. If Meng Xihua doesn't confess tonight, I'll do a live broadcast of washing my hair upside down."

Bai Luo's eyelashes trembled.

Meng Ning likes Bo Yi.

It's quite unexpected.

The neon lights flickered, and a pair of eyes looked cold under the brim of the thin hat.

Her boyfriend was being teased by others, but she didn't seem jealous at all.

In the next few rounds, Bai Luo just watched from the sidelines, watching others having fun with cold eyes, completely forgetting that he was a participant in the game.

Concubine Lu did not expect that she would be chosen by the wine bottle. Since the beginning of the game, she has remained silent, and her presence is as faint as smoke.

"Let's take a big risk."

After thinking about it, Bai Luo answered.

She didn't want to be asked about the person she liked like Meng Ning.

After all, she also likes Bo Yi.

It's embarrassing to say it out loud.

Everyone was originally distant from Bai Luo, and with the presence of Concubine Lu, a golden branch and jade leaf, by his side, even if they wanted to joke around, they didn't dare to act rashly.

But Meng Ning was unrestrained. After looking around, he spoke directly.

"Look at the next person for ten seconds, regardless of whether it's a boy or a girl."

Bai Luo pursed his lips, took a deep breath, and spoke slowly.

"Can."

But I secretly prayed that it was a girl, it must be a girl.

The wine bottle rotates, looking like a blurry arc under the light.

Everyone stared with bated breath.

Finally, the bottle came to an abrupt stop, with the mouth of the bottle pointing directly at Wu Kai.

Bai Luo's heart suddenly tightened and he opened his mouth.

Her luck tonight was incredibly bad.

"Oh, it's Akai."

"Oh, isn't that a coincidence?"

Everyone in the circle knows that Wu Kai likes Bai Luo, and this game seems to be a match made by Yue Lao.

"Campus Belle, come on."

Shen Cisi leaned lazily against the back of his chair, his voice ending in a rising tone.

He wished the situation would become more chaotic so that he could peel off the layers of disguise and see how much anger Bo Qi had hidden for Bai Luo beneath his icy face.

The young man, who seemed to be staying out of the matter, raised his thin eyelids and glanced at Wu Kai's smug face.

Hold.

He was so jealous that he wanted to kill someone.

Why should his girl look at Wu Kai?

He and she are underground fire, addictions that cannot be seen in the light.

Bai Luo lowered his eyelashes, not daring to glance sideways, fearing he would meet a pair of sinister eyes.

Play games.

Be willing to accept defeat.

She is not the type to shrink from the pack.

Resigned to her fate, she raised her eyes and looked at Wu Kai, and saw that the corners of his mouth seemed to be smiling, as if he was silently asking a question.

"bring it on."

Two words, without emotion, but cutting.

Bai Luo's straightforwardness caused the people around him to laugh, some whistled, and some stamped their feet and screamed.

Concubine Lu held her chin, her eyes flashing with the desire to watch a show.

"The show is about to begin."

Wu Kai stood up slowly, raised his wine glass, raised his chin, and showed his determination towards Bo Qi.

"I'll stick with you till the end."

He tilted his head back and drank the wine in the glass in one gulp. His Adam's apple rolled, causing several girls to scream softly.

Bai Luo casually picked up a glass of fruit wine and drank it with gritted teeth. The sour taste made her frown.

"Start the countdown!"

Ah Xiu smiled evilly and pressed the stopwatch on his phone. The noise suddenly died down and all eyes were focused.

Bo Qi's cold eyes stared at Bai Luo's profile without blinking, as if he wanted to peel him apart.

Ten seconds?

It was enough for him to beat Wu Kai eight hundred times in his mind.

The cigarette between the fingers burned out, the ash about to fall but not falling. The veins on the back of the hand were exposed, each one clearly visible.

Hold.

I really want to pull him into my arms and kiss him hard.

Bai Luo took a deep breath and looked Wu Kai in the eye. However, he couldn't help but glance in the direction of Bo Yu. Seeing that he looked like he was going to eat someone, his heartbeat became even more erratic.

Ten short seconds seemed like half a century. She could clearly see her own reflection in the other person's pupils.

And a certain piercing gaze that almost burned her silhouette.

Suddenly, the countdown ended with a shout.

"Three, two, one... time's up!"

Someone shouted, and the whole room suddenly became lively. There were whistles, shouts, and table-slapping sounds. Some curious people even raised their cameras to record the scene, and flash lights popped.

Indulge in sensual pleasures and live a life of luxury.

The music is loud. The wine is strong. The lights are broken. The people are fake.

Everyone is addicted, and the atmosphere reaches a boiling point.

"They're a good match."

A cold voice, without any warmth, but it forcibly carved a silence zone.

"Yi, do you think they're a good match?"

Meng Ning raised his eyebrows and smiled meaningfully, but a hint of temptation flashed across his eyes.

Bo Xi was too lazy to look at people and just twitched the corner of his mouth.

"It's boring, let's go."

In full view of everyone, he left coldly and draggingly, his back looking distant.

Bai Luo's eyelids twitched.

I understand that he is really angry.

I can't stay here any longer with peace of mind.

Perhaps it was the alcohol that made her head feel groggy. The dimmed light reflected her indifferent expression as she casually offered an excuse.

"Lu Fei, I have something to do, so I'll leave first."

Before Concubine Lu could respond, she disappeared like smoke into the dim light.

"What's going on? Why did you leave?"

"Is the school beauty shy?"

A girl timidly finished off the attack.

"I just saw a red mark on the school beauty's neck."

The meaning of the red marks is self-evident.

"Luo Bao has a boyfriend?"

Concubine Lu blinked and looked at Wu Kai curiously.

"Do you know?"

"Maybe."

Wu Kai twitched the corners of his mouth, and his smile was bitter and cold enough to bleed.

He shook his head, not out of helplessness, but out of sarcasm.

He mocks the world, mocks fate, and mocks himself, a fool who is kneeling in love and can't get up.

As if possessed by a ghost, he picked up the cigarette box scattered on the corner of the table.

He took a puff, biting his lips and teeth, and ignited the flame with trembling fingertips. He took a deep breath, and the acrid smoke choked his lungs, burning like his heart at that moment.

There seemed to be a cold wind blowing outside the window, like the sneer of fate.

It is such a bone-wrenching pain to love someone but not be able to get him/her.

He remembered Bai Luo's expression when he smoked.

＿＿

It was the beginning of her freshman year. She was leaning against the railing of the playground, holding a cigarette between her fingers, her eyes empty and lonely.

I could faintly hear her whisper.

“Sometimes, living is like waiting for a rain that never comes.”

So fucking poetic, and so fucking desperate.

＿＿

The smoke blurred reality, but clearly reflected every frame of her in my memory.

By the library window, she lowered her eyes and flipped through the book, her eyelashes trembling in the sunlight.

Walking side by side on a rainy day, the jasmine scent wafting from her hair was as gentle as a dream.

But dreams are just dreams after all.

All the fragmented moments burned in my palm like soot. Clearly within reach, yet separated by the realm of life and death.

Concubine Lu looked at Wu Kai, her eyes red and she looked disheveled from the smoke.

She knew that Wu Kai had been silently in love with her for three years.

He would quietly clean up the mess after the Bailuo Society members left and went away. He would like every one of her photos on WeChat Moments, but never leave a comment.

For three years, she never looked back once.

He is not blind, he just doesn't want to understand.

The cigarette butt in his hand burned to the end, and his fingertips were burned awake by the sparks, and he smiled silently.

Pain is the final wake-up call.

He put out his cigarette, and there were three pieces of debris in the ashtray, just like his three-year unrequited love.

He muttered to himself.

"Maybe it's time to stop this rain."

Some love is born to be a fire that burns the body.

It can't burn people to death, but it can burn people into ashes bit by bit.

But tonight.

The fire is out. The ashes are cold. He no longer burns.