Chapter 48 "Crossing the Smoke"
A short while later, the waiter brought over a large glass of fresh apple juice, and Zhao Nan also asked for a lot of cut fruit and easy-to-eat snacks to be served at the same time. The coffee table, which was not small, was filled to the brim with these items.
Jiang Nuanyu and Liang Qi sat side by side, while Zhao Nan sat on another sofa to her left.
Zhao Nan opened the coffee table drawer and took out a deck of playing cards and a deck of UNO cards.
He waved the UNO deck in his hand and asked Jiang Nuanyu, "Do you know how to play this?"
Of all the card games, Jiang Nuanyu's best is Dou Dizhu (a popular Chinese card game), and she only has a vague understanding of the others. She played UNO in college, but she's long forgotten the specific rules.
"...Not really," she said truthfully.
Zhao Nan raised an eyebrow: "So you know how?"
Jiang Nuanyu: "..."
She forced a smile, then subconsciously turned her head to look at Liang Qi sitting on the other side.
"You need to see him for this too?" Zhao Nan glanced at the two of them.
Jiang Nuanyu's face flushed instantly, and as if trying to cover it up, she immediately looked away.
"Let's play for a while!" Zhao Nan didn't wait for her reply, poured the cards out of the box, and began to shuffle them skillfully.
When she looked over again, Liang Qi asked, "Want to play?"
Jiang Nuanyu, who hadn't spoken before, nodded and said, "Okay."
Liang Qi nodded, placed the wine glass on the coffee table, and moved half a body closer to make it easier to draw cards later.
Jiang Nuanyu felt as if the air around her was being compressed, and unconsciously sat up straighter.
Liang Qi's leg was right next to hers, and just now, when he got close, his leg accidentally touched her knee.
She was so distracted that she didn't even notice that Zhao Nan had already dealt the cards. It was Liang Qi who handed her the cards.
"Oh. Thank you." She took the cards, spread them out, looked at her initial hand, and tried to recall how to play.
UNO cards come in four colors, and each color has number cards and function cards.
Players take turns playing cards. The card played must be the same color, number, or type as the card played by the previous player. If a player does not have a matching card, they cannot play a card and must draw another card from the deck. The first player to play all their cards wins.
After the first round, Liang Qi finished playing all the cards in his hand.
Jiang Nuanyu and Zhao Nan compared the points of the cards they had left. Zhao Nan's total was one point higher than Jiang Nuanyu's, making him the final loser of this round.
Zhao Nan didn't feel ashamed of losing to Jiang Nuanyu, who was "not very good at playing," and said easily, "Okay, I'll punish myself with a drink."
He poured himself a small glass of whiskey and downed it in one gulp.
Jiang Nuanyu was stunned when she saw him drinking—before the game, no one mentioned what the punishment would be for losing.
She only managed to avoid defeat this time by sheer luck. She wasn't confident she could have that kind of luck every time.
She hesitated before asking, "Does the loser have to drink a penalty shot?"
Zhao Nan gestured towards Liang Qi and said, "Isn't there someone sitting next to you? Let him take your place." He then looked at Liang Qi and smiled knowingly, "Mr. Liang, you don't mind, do you?"
Jiang Nuanyu glanced at Liang Qi, who was shuffling his cards. He looked up at Zhao Nan for a few seconds and said, "Okay."
Zhao Nan, unaware of the impending "danger," snapped his fingers in front of Jiang Nuanyu: "Done!"
Jiang Nuanyu forced a smile, secretly thinking she was doomed. She didn't know Liang Qi's alcohol tolerance.
She glanced at the whiskey bottle on the table and silently estimated how many rounds she could lose at most.
However, she soon realized she was overthinking it.
Unlike the first round where he efficiently played all his cards, in this round, Liang Qi seemed to be deliberately targeting Zhao Nan, using various methods to make Zhao Nan draw more cards while preventing him from playing any.
In the end, although Liang Qi was still the first to finish his hand, in the contest between Jiang Nuanyu and Zhao Nan, Jiang Nuanyu only had two number cards left, while Zhao Nan still had seven.
After the points were converted, Zhao Nan lost.
Jiang Nuanyu was secretly delighted; she hadn't lost this time, so she didn't have to drink the penalty drink.
Zhao Nan, who lost two games in a row, was a little depressed, especially the second game, which he felt was really inexplicable.
After drinking his second penalty cup, Zhao Nan was clearly not as relaxed as he was in the first round. He picked up his cards and said, "I'm going to play seriously this round."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Nuanyu glanced at him and began to feel secretly nervous; while Liang Qi looked down at the cards in his hand, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, as if he were smiling.
After two or three rounds, Jiang Nuanyu realized that Zhao Nan's so-called "serious fighting" was aimed at her.
She didn't get to play a single card in this round; instead, she drew a whole hand of cards.
It seems that even if Zhao Nan doesn't win himself, he has to make her lose so that Liang Qi will be forced to drink the penalty wine.
As she sorted through her cards, wondering what to do, Liang Qi played a card: "Turn."
Liang Qi used the blue turn card, reversing the order of play, and it was Jiang Nuanyu's turn again.
Jiang Nuanyu glanced at the color of Liang Qi's turn sign and was secretly delighted. Finally, she had a card she could play: "Blue 5".
Zhao Nan continued: "Yellow 5."
Liang Qi: "Yellow 6".
Jiang Nuanyu glanced at her hand and cheered again: "Blue 6!"
After playing her first card in this round, as the player to Liang Qi's left, she played her second and third cards in succession...
Jiang Nuanyu felt she was having a really good run of luck. Except for the first few rounds when she had no cards to play, she had a chance to play almost every round. Soon, she ran out of cards. She won.
Of the other two players in the game, Zhao Nan had only one card left, while Liang Qi had three.
She looked at Liang Qi, her face filled with undisguised worry: Was Liang Qi going to lose?
The cards are revealed: Liang Qi has two blue number cards (1) and one yellow number card (0); while Zhao Nan has one blue turn card left.
When calculating points, number cards are summed according to their face value; function cards have no face value and are counted as 20 points each. Therefore, Liang Qi ends up with 2 points, while Zhao Nan ends up with 20 points. Zhao Nan loses.
Zhao Nan exclaimed in surprise, "Wait, why didn't you play those two blue cards earlier?! Otherwise, I would have played them already!"
Liang Qi gestured for him to continue, saying, "A bet is a bet."
Zhao Nan: "No..."
He was extremely puzzled, shook his head, poured himself another half glass of wine, and drank it down.
After downing that glass, Zhao Nan's neck turned red. In less than an hour, he had already drunk three glasses.
Liang Qi arranged the cards on the table, glanced at him, smiled faintly, and asked, "Want to play again?"
These words sounded like blatant mockery to Zhao Nan. He had to get his revenge: "Play? Of course we'll play!"
Liang Qi nodded, then gracefully arranged the cards and dealt them to the three players one by one.
He didn't look at the table when dealing the cards; instead, he stared at Zhao Nan with a half-smile.
This is a situation that will both kill and humiliate its soldiers.
Zhao Nan felt immense pressure and sighed as he picked up his cards. He was determined to make Liang Qi drink the penalty shot in this round, otherwise his club would have been a waste of money.
But Liang Qi was too clever; beating him was too difficult. After weighing the options, Zhao Nan decided to use the same strategy as the previous game—to make Jiang Nuanyu lose.
Unfortunately, he didn't get a chance to target them at the very beginning of the game.
Jiang Nuanyu was able to play a card every round, and soon she had very few cards left in her hand.
This time, Jiang Nuanyu paid extra attention. She realized that her smooth play wasn't due to good luck, but rather that Liang Qi was intentionally feeding her cards.
But how did he know what cards she had in her hand?
Although they were sitting next to each other, she was positioned towards the back while Liang Qi was towards the front, making it impossible for him to see her hand.
That would be purely based on reasoning.
...IQ Bureau?
She suddenly felt a little sorry for Zhao Nan. How could he possibly win?
As she was thinking, Zhao Nan played a green card.
Jiang Nuanyu glanced at her hand and saw that her last card was yellow. She immediately and happily played it: "Green 3!"
She held out her empty hands: "That's all!"
Liang Qi and Zhao Nan looked at her at the same time. Zhao Nan finally seized the opportunity and questioned, "Why didn't you announce your license plate?"
Jiang Nuanyu was taken aback.
According to the rules, if you only have one card left in your hand, you need to inform the other players; otherwise, you have to draw two cards as a penalty. She was distracted for a moment and forgot to announce her card.
The problem is, she had already played her last card, the game was over, and the outcome couldn't be changed.
Liang Qi only had two cards left in his hand, while Zhao Nan looked at his large hand and knew that he was bound to lose again.
"I've lost, I've lost." Zhao Nan folded his cards back into the deck and conceded defeat.
However, he changed the subject: "But Xiao Jiang didn't register his license plate, so he still has to drink a penalty shot."
"..." Jiang Nuanyu opened her eyes. Zhao Nan was suspected of cheating! However, she had not perfectly followed the rules of the game. Although she was not convinced, she could not explain why.
She turned to look at Liang Qi helplessly. Liang Qi smiled faintly, shook his head slightly, and glanced at Zhao Nan.
Zhao Nan poured wine into both of their glasses, as if afraid Liang Qi wouldn't drink. As he brought the glass to his lips, he added with a smile, "No license plate announcement...you should be penalized, right?"
Liang Qi wasn't one to hold grudges or disrespect his friends. Without further ado, he stretched out his long arm, picked up his wine glass, and downed it in one gulp.
The glass in his hand had diamond-shaped patterns raised on its surface, reflecting starlight-like points of light under the spotlight. These points of light were reflected in his half-closed eyes and seemed to shine into Jiang Nuanyu's heart as well.
She stared at him blankly, her heart pounding in her chest.
After finishing his drink, Liang Qi bent down and put down his glass. The whiskey was strong, and he had downed almost half a glass in one gulp. Although his expression didn't change much, a thick vein was faintly visible on his neck outside his shirt collar.
Jiang Nuanyu couldn't help but swallow, her mind racing, and her heart fluttering.
But this time, she realized she was lost in thought. The moment Liang Qi looked back, she calmly shifted her gaze to Zhao Nan on the other side.
Liang Qi noticed immediately that something was wrong with her expression, but he didn't understand why she was shy. He glanced at her again before starting to organize the cards on the table.
On the other end, Zhao Nan downed his drink, but his expression wasn't as relaxed as Liang Qi's; he was grimacing. He had indeed drunk quite a bit tonight.
"I'm going to have a smoke." Zhao Nan put down his wine glass, got up and walked away.
Jiang Nuanyu watched his retreating figure, puzzled: Although smoking is prohibited indoors, Tangwan is Zhao Nan's territory, and this was in his private room, so it was understandable for him to smoke a cigarette.
Thinking of this, she sniffed and found that the room did indeed smell fresh, without the unpleasant smell of being constantly immersed in smoke.
Her gaze returned to the table, where she caught a glimpse of apple juice on the other side of the deck of cards.
After playing a few rounds of cards, she got a little thirsty. She sat up and was about to reach for it when Liang Qi handed it to her.
She sat back down, held the cup in both hands, and said very politely and somewhat obediently, "Thank you~"
Liang Qi was arranging his cards when he heard her familiar "thank you." He turned to look at her, a faint smile playing on his lips, and replied politely, "You're welcome."
Jiang Nuanyu had just taken a sip of apple juice when she heard his tone, and her face flushed red again, much to her dismay.
While playing cards, the two men placed the deck and discard pile in front of her to make it easier for her to take them. At this moment, Liang Qi was leaning forward, arranging the cards, and was very close to her.
She let him share the small space in front of her, and suddenly couldn't taste what the apple juice in her mouth tasted like.
Her gaze fell on his hands, her eyes following his movements as he arranged the cards, only to find that Liang Qi put the cards back into the box after arranging them.
After a brief moment of confusion, she understood: Although Liang Qi appeared casual, calm, and nonchalant, perhaps due to his experience as an athlete, or perhaps due to his inherently competitive nature, his desire to win and control was undisguised in his actions. If they continued playing, Zhao Nan would most likely lose again. But they couldn't keep letting him drink forever, could they?
Jiang Nuanyu couldn't help but admire Liang Qi. Even though he was in control of everything, no one could find fault with him, and they even felt that he was doing it for the good of others.
When Zhao Nan returned after finishing his cigarette, he casually tossed the cigarette pack onto the coffee table, sat down on the sofa, glanced at the cards that had been put back on the table, and looked at the two of them: "Not playing anymore?"
“You cheated,” Liang Qi joked seriously. “Even if you win, you have to drink a penalty shot, so it’s no fun anymore.”
Zhao Nan chuckled and pointed at the two people opposite him: "You two teamed up first! I only realized it after I went out." He pointed at Liang Qi and said, "Were you feeding cards to Xiao Jiang the whole time?"
Liang Qi twitched the corner of his mouth and ignored him; Zhao Nan looked at Jiang Nuanyu again, and Jiang Nuanyu immediately pretended to be stupid and shook her head.
Seeing her like this, Zhao Nan opened and closed his mouth, and finally could only say, "Well, she's playing dumb to fool others."
Jiang Nuanyu couldn't help but laugh when she saw him get the short end of the stick.
The atmosphere relaxed without her realizing it, and she casually looked around, her gaze landing on the cigarette pack on the table.
The people close to her don't smoke, but it seems many people love the habit.
She suddenly became curious: "What does cigarette smoke actually taste like?"
Zhao Nan was sitting a little further away, looking down at his phone and didn't hear her speak.
She then turned to look at Liang Qi.
She still remembers this day six years ago, the day she first met him, when he was smoking at the door.
Liang Qi leaned back on the sofa, felt her gaze, and turned his eyes to look at her.
She had a straw in her mouth, unconsciously biting and pursing it gently, her clear black and white eyes shimmering like water, waiting for his answer.
His expression changed slightly. He stared at her for a while, then sat up and reached for the cigarette case on the table.
Zhao Nan looked up from his phone screen at the cigarette pack in Liang Qi's hand, unsure of what he was up to.
Liang Qi took out a cigarette and gestured to Zhao Nan with his finger: "Can I borrow a light?"
While reaching into his pocket, Zhao Nan asked in bewilderment, "Didn't you stop smoking a few years ago?"
Liang Qi didn't answer. He took the lighter that was tossed to him, glanced at Jiang Nuanyu who also looked puzzled, lowered his head, and loosely put the cigarette between his lips.
He flicked the lighter, brought it close to the cigarette butt, took two puffs to light the cigarette, and then casually tossed the lighter back to Zhao Nan.
Jiang Nuanyu was still pondering when she saw Liang Qi, holding a cigarette, take another puff, then lift her face up with his hand and lean closer to her.
She opened her eyes wide in shock. As the familiar scent of him touched her cheek, he gently pressed his lips to hers, warm and soft.
He used his fingers to pry open her teeth and passed her a small puff of smoke.
After a sudden, electric-like burning sensation between her lips and teeth, Jiang Nuanyu's sense of smell, touch, and taste all seemed to suddenly cease functioning.
She struggled to support her trembling back, her mind blank. Even after Liang Qi had left her lips, she remained tilted her head back, unable to react.
Zhao Nan was even more stunned: "Holy crap..."
He suddenly felt superfluous there, and in a flash, he quietly slipped away.
Liang Qi turned his head and slowly exhaled the remaining smoke from his mouth.
He squinted, but not out of enjoyment. Neither in the past nor now, he hadn't particularly liked the taste. But he had to admit that there were times when he needed this kind of stimulation.
He turned back, licked his lips which were slightly dry from the smoke, and seeing that she still had that dazed expression, he smiled and asked, "Did you throw up?"
Jiang Nuanyu mechanically opened her mouth and gently exhaled a small puff of smoke, but she remained in a daze.
Liang Qi stared at her for a moment, the ash from his cigarette falling onto his trousers. He glanced down, casually brushed it away, and then bent down to stub out the half-eaten cigarette.
He asked, "How does it taste?"
Jiang Nuanyu had no time to ponder the taste of the cigarette. After a long silence, she asked him, "Why?"
Liang Qi looked at her without answering. Under the influence of alcohol, his eyes were slightly red. Even though there was a faint smile at the corners of his eyes and lips, he still exuded an indescribable yet extremely strong sense of aggression.
Jiang Nuanyu's heart tightened at his silence, and she frowned, finally unable to pretend to be calm about his actions today.
He joined her social events and played games with her, which can be considered as him having a rare moment of leisure.
He noticed that she was bothered by the negative comments, and comforted and comforted her, which he could also take as a kind gesture.
But he brought her to Zhao Nan's private room, said those ambiguous things at the door, and now he's doing such ambiguous things. What does that mean?
He can easily let go when he wants to show respect, and he can use gentle coercion when he wants to get closer.
When he has thought things through, she must be unconditionally honest; otherwise, she is playing hard to get and manipulating him, while he can remain vague and silent.
Why does it seem like...he's the one who makes all the decisions? Is it just because she likes him?
She wouldn't accept that.
"Why do it this way? Why use this cigarette like this?" She stared at him, trying to catch every possible answer on his face.
Unfortunately, he didn't.
His face showed neither the answer she wanted nor any expression.
She wouldn't give up, relentlessly pressing for an answer: "At the beginning of the month, right at the entrance of Tangwan, I already said those kinds of things, why did you still..."
"Since you don't care about what I'm telling you, what do you mean by 'there's no turning back' and 'it's not of any reference value'? Why are you telling me these things in the first place?"
She pursed her lips, mimicking his usual way of responding to her probing questions, and said, "What do you want me to know?" As if in a fit of pique, she added, "I don't know."
After she finished speaking, her heart was in her throat.
After confirming that she had finished speaking, Liang Qi glanced at her briefly before subtly shifting his gaze elsewhere.
His silence was like a high wall, clanging and rattling back every word she mustered the courage to vent her emotions.
Her thoughts were shattered, and even the breath in her chest was dissipated.
She should have known that Liang Qi was least afraid of stalemates. No matter how much others urged him, it wouldn't change anything he didn't want to discuss, or deal with.
She lowered her head and sighed in frustration and self-mockery.
Liang Qi finally looked at her: "When are you leaving?"
Jiang Nuanyu was stunned.
The surging, aggressive aura that had just been there crumbled in an instant with just one sentence from him, turning into uncertainty and unease.
She looked up, hesitated, and began to speak: "You..."
Liang Qi looked at her with clear eyes, then suddenly smiled: "Don't want to tell me?"
Now Jiang Nuanyu was certain that he was referring to her trip to Paris.
The situation had suddenly reversed. She shook her head, instinctively wanting to explain, "It's not that I don't want to, I..."
Liang Qi said, "On the day of the magazine's team building event, at the hotel entrance, I wanted to say this?"
Jiang Nuanyu was stunned again, surprised that he already knew the truth, and even more surprised that he had connected all the details of the past.
She remained silent in acquiescence, and Liang Qi nodded, not answering her barrage of questions. There was no need to.
Some things are best left unsaid; making them too explicit loses their meaning. He didn't want his will to influence her choices, including her own and her feelings for him.
He glanced at the time, then looked back at her face and said, "It's getting late, let's go back. I'll take you."
Jiang Nuanyu's mind was a mess; it seemed like things had been explained clearly. He didn't blame her for concealing the truth, nor did he condemn her departure, yet she didn't feel relieved.
He returned the choice to her with just a few words, but she suddenly didn't know how to use that right.
Even if their relationship is no longer a must-have option, can she really decide what the future holds and where it can go on by herself?
If "she can decide freely" is the final outcome, is that really what she wants?
On the way back, the car was quiet, and neither of them initiated a conversation.
Jiang Nuanyu was struggling with her words; several times, the words were on the tip of her tongue, but she frowned and swallowed them back.
She felt like she was standing at a crossroads without road signs, unable to tell which way to go. She couldn't decide which path to take, and she couldn't ask Liang Qi to light up a signal that might give her hope or disappointment.
He understood her relentless resistance and gave her the power to make the decisions; how could she possibly ask anything of him now?
Liang Qi noticed her hesitation, but this time, he didn't press her for an answer.
*
When Jiang Nuanyu got home, it was past midnight. Christmas Eve was over.
According to tradition, Santa Claus will secretly bring gifts to sleeping children on Christmas Eve.
She has no religious beliefs, and like most people, these festivals each year are just symbolic celebrations.
She lay in bed, recalling everything that had happened that day, the indignation she felt while writing the article, the heartache and pain she felt in the emergency exit, every look and every word Liang Qi uttered tonight, and that kiss that wasn't really a kiss.
Finally, she recalled the feeling she had when she first met him six years ago.
She discovered that, without realizing it, Christmas Eve seemed to have taken on a special meaning for her.
She knew it was because of him.
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