The ten-mile foreign settlent was dotted with luxury cars at night. At the traffic light intersection, a pure black Lamborghini stood out most brilliantly.
In the affluent playground, the Lamborghini’s window was halfway down. A man’s partial silhouette was hidden in the play of light and shadow, his fingers tapping impatiently on the steering wheel. His presence was so intense that passersby couldn’t help but steal a second glance. Which family’s young master is this? How co no one has ntioned him before?
The car drove into the private Club’s premises. It was an exclusive place; the VIP service offered inside wasn’t available to just anyone with money.
The bellboy quickly recognized the car and respectfully opened the door, leading the guest to the Pleasure Quarters on the top floor. "Second Young Master Zhou."
All night, Zhou Luchen and Chen Yao played pool in a private room. Zhou Luchen wasn’t particularly interested; he was just killing ti.
Chen Yao, leaning on the sofa, habitually stared at Zhou Luchen’s profile. "Your wound has mostly healed in the past two days; it’s hardly visible now." Those nail marks on the side of his face from a woman were a real mystery. What wild ga had he been playing to get scratched by so little darling? TSK.
"Who exactly scratched you? Shen Jing?"
Zhou Luchen shot Chen Yao a cold sidelong glance. That night, he had touched Shen Jing and gotten his face scratched. That seductive creature. After she had enjoyed the process, she turned hostile and scratched him. So infuriating.
Zhou Luchen didn’t speak, a tacit admission. Chen Yao, clearly unaware of the details, placed the pool cue in his hand. "Let’s play a couple of shots. Bet your new car on it. If you lose, it’s mine."
Zhou Luchen remained unmoved. He tapped his cigarette pack and took out a cigarette. The Club’s pool girl approached him, pressing down on the brass lighter’s wheel to light it for him.
Zhou Luchen ca here occasionally, so all the Club’s pool girls knew his na. He was the second son of the Zhou Family, grandson of Zhou Zhaoping of SJ in Beijing. Any one of his titles was enough for soone to secure a lifeti of advancent. They only dared approach him for a chat when they sensed he was in a good mood.
The fla flickered, casting his features in deep shadow, his eyes and brows marked by a disdainful sneer. He exuded an air of pride and contradiction, yet it was irresistibly alluring.
eting his gaze, the pool girl batted her long, enticing eyelashes. "What have you been busy with lately, Second Young Master?"
Familiar, are we? Zhou Luchen couldn’t recall her face, nor did he rember her na.
He gave a perfunctory laugh. "Just busy." Anyone could hear the dismissiveness in his tone. The pool girl picked up a cue, caressing it as she whispered, "Then... would you teach pool tonight? I’ve gotten rusty and can’t hold the cue properly anymore."
Zhou Luchen took a drag from the cigarette at his lips, his eyes crinkling in a smile. He leaned over from behind her, his hands guiding hers to pocket a ball.
The act was clearly intimate, a natural display of desire from the noble young master, yet he carried it off with such nonchalance.
The pool girl was nearly enveloped in his arms, her cheeks flushing an irresistible crimson. Her gaze fell to the prominent blue veins on the back of his hand; the sheer virility of his hands sent a jolt of excitent through her.
"It went in! Thank you, Second Young Master," she said, her voice soft.
He smiled, but his eyes held a dismissive coolness. "Is that so?"
His breath caressed her ear, and the pool girl’s heart pounded relentlessly. This man’s allure is overwhelming.
Chen Yao leaned against the doorfra, watching the scene with an amused expression. He clapped softly and whispered to Wei Sulin beside him, "It’s over, completely over. No one can ta him now. He really doesn’t feel a thing."
"It figures soone with the Zhou na would have such good looks," Wei Sulin remarked obliquely.
Chen Yao responded with a nonchalant "Mm," then said, "Shen Jing left, and he’s back to staying out all night. Frankly, the Zhou Family should have just let Shen Jing manage him. He used to listen to her so much; one phone call and he’d leave imdiately."
Wei Sulin still rembered. When those two had first t a few months prior, they were still in that ambiguous, playful stage, always whispering to each other as if they wanted to ld together, practically afraid others wouldn’t know they were an item. And then, just like that, it was over. How could his damn younger sister back ho have been so spot-on with her prediction? Wei Sulin couldn’t be bothered to dwell on it. They shouldn’t have broken up. The Second Young Master was clearly better to Shen Jing than to anyone else.
「The night wore on, nearing 4 AM.」
Zhou Luchen had been drinking. When Zhuang Ming personally ca to pick him up and stood beside him, Zhou Luchen finally put down his glass. He sat calmly on the black L-shaped leather sofa, a movie playing on the screen before him.
"Miss Shen just went back to Yunding to pack her things. She’s leaving," Zhuang Ming said.
Zhou Luchen, his hand propped on the sofa, fast-forwarded the movie.
Zhuang Ming ultimately couldn’t resist speaking up. "Do you want to stop her? She’s in Sun Qiyan’s car, license plate Shanghai B.K09**, currently on Zhonghuan Road."
The movie screen flickered, showing a couple kissing passionately—an excessively clear image.
Zhuang Ming suddenly pressed, "If you want to stop her, I can make a call right now. Are you going to chase her and bring her back?"
Zhou Luchen moved his thin lips. "Why chase after her?"
That was typical of the Second Young Master; it was just his nature, Zhuang Ming thought.
"She’s the Fourth Miss of the Shen Family from Xihe Bay. Her older sister is getting married," Zhuang Ming continued.
Zhou Luchen’s expression remained unchanged. "I know."
Zhuang Ming stood up straight, his gaze on the movie playing on the wall screen. The Second Young Master has connections everywhere; how could he not know where a young lady who sotis spoke with a Beijing accent ca from?
"I don’t know if she’ll co back," Zhuang Ming said. "Of the gifts you sent, she only took the ones she liked. She hasn’t touched a single car in the garage. The properties at Daoli Mansion and Yunding 9099 are still in her na; she hasn’t sold them."
As the movie neared its end, an insert song from the film began to play. It was an old movie.
Zhou Luchen sat on the sofa, smoking, showing no intention of leaving. He looked utterly detached, almost devoid of emotion.
Zhuang Ming had no choice but to discreetly send a text, instructing the manager to switch to another movie. The Second Young Master isn’t playing pool anyway. What’s the harm in watching another movie or two?
In the spacious private room, Chen Yao and the others were still carousing, their raucous laughter echoing—the sound of perpetually carefree, wealthy young scions.
Zhou Luchen gazed out the floor-to-ceiling windows. As lightning flashed outside, his usually flippant gaze flickered with a hint of uncertainty. ’I really won’t follow you anymore. I’m too tired. Please understand, and I wish you all the best.’ The words replayed in his mind. He tapped the ash from his cigarette with his index finger, his composure returning.
Perhaps he would occasionally rember that little vixen who loved to splash in puddles and sing Pingtan songs he couldn’t understand. He’d even foolishly book an entire venue just to listen, patiently indulging her as she pouted playfully in his arms. Sotis, in monts of loneliness, he would miss her. That little vixen, like a White Begonia in the palm of his hand, was beautiful and enticing. She would bloom if he wished it, and remain closed if he didn’t.
Would he regret it? No. In this world, aside from the readily attainable power and wealth, nothing and no one could make him linger or repeatedly fall into infatuation. Not even Shen Jing. If she wanted to leave, then let her. It wasn’t as if he couldn’t get used to the nights without her. No one was irreplaceable in his heart. Find a replacent, and move on. At this mont, he truly felt indifferent—a genuine, honest reaction from deep within.
The pool girl saw Zhou Luchen sitting alone on the sofa, watching movies. He had drunk, and he had personally taught her pool. Emboldened, she approached from behind the Second Young Master of United Bank. She gently massaged his temples with incredibly tender movents, all the while chatting and laughing with him.
Zhou Luchen occasionally curled his lips into a smile in response.
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