Because of that, Guan Ying wasn’t in the mood to stay. Besides, she was also afraid that Ruan Yang would probe about Xin Ziao again, so she agreed immediately. “Let’s go, let’s go.”
Ruan Yang was practically pushed out by Guan Ying. Her mood was dampened and she didn’t have much interest in supper as well. “I’ve just eaten; I’m so full. I don’t feel like having supper. Why don’t we go for karaoke? Guan Ying sang pretty well just now. I haven’t heard enough.”
“… Sure.” Guan Ying glanced at Li Shaobin.
“Karaoke works too—it’s no big deal. Let’s go to the clubhouse. I’ll book a room. I’m the one who’s most familiar with Northern City.” Li Shaobin dialed a number.
Ruan Yang asked suspiciously, “You sure? This bar was also recommended by your subordinate. He said that this bar was very safe. In the end, we ran into a madwoman after we arrived.”
Li Shaobin’s face was full of awkwardness and he felt embarrassed. “This bar is certainly one that not just anyone can easily enter. I forgot about Zhao Zhu. Zhao Zhu is a member of several high-class places in Northern City, not just here. It’d be the same case in any other bar.”
“Alright.” Ruan Yang really didn’t expect this woman to really have some background. “Then I’ll trust you one more time.”
Li Shaobin rolled his eyes silently. I wasn’t even the one who recommended Extravagance.
——————————
The trio went to the clubhouse, Sound of Snow. On the way in, Ruan Yang looked around curiously. “This place looks familiar.”
Guan Ying felt awkward. If she had known they were going to Sound of Snow, she wouldn’t have bothered to come. After all, many things happened between her and Changqing here.
“Nonsense you’ve definitely come before.” Li Shaobin swaggered upstairs and entered a suite. The alcohol, drinks, and tea had already been prepared.
Ruan Yang went over to closely examine a small ice bucket. There were several colorful drinks inside which looked pretty interesting. She picked up a bottle and took a sip. “It’s alcohol.”
“It’s a cocktail.” Li Shaobin noticed how she was behaving just like a curious baby and found it funny. “It tastes like normal sweet drinks.”
“It tastes pretty good.” Ruan Yang had already finished the entire bottle.
Guan Ying reminded her: “Ruan Yang, drink less of that; this makes you drunk easily.”
“Really? Why doesn’t the alcohol concentration feel high to me at all?” Ruan Yang commented.
“You were once drunk on cocktails,” Guan Ying said helplessly. “When we first went to a bar during our time in university.”
“Alright, I’ll drink less. Go sing.” Ruan Yang waved her off.
Seeing that, Guan Ying went to pick some songs.
Li Shaobin sat beside Ruan Yang silently. He recalled the Ruan Yang in the movie he watched this afternoon. That person was sitting right beside him now, with her black hair untied just like in the movie. Her profile was pure and without blemishes. He cleared his throat and asked softly, “Why don’t you sing?”
“I don’t really remember songs from the last eight years. I only know how to sing oldies.” Ruan Yang suddenly looked at him. Her eyes shone with brilliance from the light reflected above head. “If the songs I sing are too old, you can’t make fun of me.”
Li Shaobin’s hand grabbed some nuts on the table unnaturally. “Why would I make fun of you?”
“You’re so nice.” She smiled.
Li Shaobin’s heart skipped a beat. The nuts in his hand almost scattered all over the floor. He lifted his eyes and matched her gaze. He felt as though her gaze had countless electric waves radiating from it.
Li Shaobin felt like he was in a sorry state. If it wasn’t dim inside, his face would definitely be visibly blushing badly. “You… you’re spouting nonsense. I’m not nice.”
“You even helped me teach a bad person a lesson.” Ruan Yang pressed her hand into the couch, revealing half of her delicate shoulder. “When you suddenly appeared in front of me, you were so dashing.”
Li Shaobin couldn’t help but lower his head, cursing silently inside. This woman was seducing him again, making him so shy.
“Don’t take what that woman said to heart,” Ruan Yang said gently. “Even without a woman, you’re not abnormal. I think you’re pretty normal. It just shows that you’re not a player and you’re a very, very, very good man.”
Li Shaobin drank a bottle of champagne and suddenly stood up as he said stiffly, “I’m going out for a smoke. You guys carry on singing.”
He turned to walk out. Guan Ying walked over with the microphone and asked, “Ruan Yang, what were you two talking about?”
“Nothing much; we were just talking casually.” Ruan Yang shrugged. “That woman said he was abnormal earlier. That was pretty harsh, so I just consoled him.”
Besides, he was cheated by that female cop too. Ruan Yang could probably understand how it was possible for him to still be a virgin. She really couldn’t help but console and encourage him out of goodwill.
Guan Ying had a weird expression. “That’s great. I thought you two…”
“We were?” Ruan Yang was stunned.
Guan Ying coughed softly. Forget it. She might’ve misunderstood when she thought something was going on between the two of them. However, she would never forget that Ruan Yang had forced a kiss on him before. “Let’s sing. I picked some songs that we used to sing together. Try singing them.”
Ruan Yang hesitated for a while before taking the microphone. At the start, she really thought she wouldn’t know how to sing these songs. However, when she heard the familiar melodies, she somehow started singing along.
Li Shaobin came back after finishing a cigarette and settling his thumping heart. Ruan Yang was sitting on the table, singing Mo Wenwei’s Cantonese song “Northern Light”. Her voice was slightly hoarse, giving him the perception of the lightness of a feather grazing his heart.
They sang until it was around 10 pm. Guan Ying went out to pick up a call and when she came back, she said apologetically, “Ruan Yang, I’ve got to go back to the company. My manager needs me urgently.”
“Run along then.” Ruan Yang frowned slightly but she was okay with it very quickly. “Could it be that reporters found out about what happened at the bar earlier?”
Guan Ying sighed silently. Ruan Yang was still so smart even though she lost her memory. However, she couldn’t make Ruan Yang worry. “Nah, it’s something else. Give me a call when you’re home later. Young Master Li, I’ll have to trouble you to take Ruan Yang back later.”
She left in a hurry after saying that.
In the large room, Ruan Yang and Li Shaobin were suddenly left staring at each other. After a while, Ruan Yang put the microphone down and said, “Forget it. Since you’re not singing, it wouldn’t be fun if I sang alone. Let’s go.”
She stood up and Li Shaobin stared stiffly at the microphone. He suddenly said, “Who says I don’t sing? It’s just that I sing too well; I was afraid you’d be bewitched by me.”
“Really? Let’s hear you sing.” Ruan Yang passed him the microphone.
Li Shaobin walked to the side of the song machine stiffly and hesitated for a very long time before he picked a song. Suddenly, he felt a fragrance wafting over from behind him. Ruan Yang had pushed his song to the top straight away. She said with a smile, “You go first.”
Li Shaobin cleared his throat and sang a Guang Liang song. The first two lines were fine but as he went on, Ruan Yang almost burst out laughing. No wonder he was unwilling to sing. He was totally out of tune.
“Don’t laugh.” Li Shaobin glared at her.
“Alright, I’m not laughing.” Ruan Yang quickly picked up a cocktail bottle and took a few sips to hold her laughter in.
Li Shaobin could only continue singing. At the most intense part of the song, he was totally off tune and sounded just like a ghost wailing. Ruan Yang couldn’t hold her laughter back anymore and spat out all the alcohol.
Li Shaobin felt awkward. He sat beside her and frowned with annoyance, warning her again, “Don’t laugh.”
Ruan Yang pressed her lips together as hard as she could but her cheeks were still rising up. Her clear eyes reflected the colors on the screen, looking very enchanting.
Li Shaobin looked at those eyes without blinking. The suite was echoing with Guang Liang’s voice: “… I remember your smile, that short memory of an image, placed in my heart, the forever you said was left behind yesterday. Let’s just take it as my most beautiful memory. My mood has changed seasons. A rainbow has appeared in the sky. The sun is shining bright…”
In the end, he could only hear a buzzing sound and he could only see her smile. As though he was under a spell, he suddenly leaned forward and kissed those lips gently.
The smile on Ruan Yang’s face froze as though someone had pressed the pause button during a movie. Everything came to a standstill.
Her smiling eyes enlarged slowly, as shock replaced her smile.
Li Shaobin saw the change in her eyes too. He seemed to have realized what he did, but the surroundings suddenly became dark—so dark that it seemed the two of them had been engulfed in darkness. Even her eyes started to become blurry. His brain buzzed and he put the microphone down. He held her cheeks with both hands and kissed her even harder, like how she sucked on his lips previously. Her lips were filled with the fragrance of the cocktail and tasted a little sweet yet astringent.
Ruan Yang drank a lot today. She was high but she was still fully aware of what was happening between them. She quickly reached out to push him away, but while suddenly flustered, she accidentally knocked over a bottle on the table. The bottle fell with a “clang”. She opened her mouth nervously, wanting to shout, but at that very moment, his tongue went in.
What did it feel like? If one had to describe it, Li Shaobin could only say that it felt as though a current was running through his entire body. Immediately after that, it felt like a doctor had opened his chest up and gripped onto his beating heart tightly.
His tongue entangled, danced and overlapped with hers.
But just as he was dancing enthusiastically, his wings were suddenly bitten.
He opened his eyes and realized that Ruan Yang had bitten his tongue, but her bite was neither too hard nor too soft. Li Shaobin’s legs almost went limp from the bite.
The two of them gazed at each other like that until Ruan Yang found it incredibly awkward and let his tongue go.
Because of that, Guan Ying wasn’t in the mood to stay. Besides, she was also afraid that Ruan Yang would probe about Xin Ziao again, so she agreed immediately. “Let’s go, let’s go.”
Ruan Yang was practically pushed out by Guan Ying. Her mood was dampened and she didn’t have much interest in supper as well. “I’ve just eaten; I’m so full. I don’t feel like having supper. Why don’t we go for karaoke? Guan Ying sang pretty well just now. I haven’t heard enough.”
“… Sure.” Guan Ying glanced at Li Shaobin.
“Karaoke works too—it’s no big deal. Let’s go to the clubhouse. I’ll book a room. I’m the one who’s most familiar with Northern City.” Li Shaobin dialed a number.
Ruan Yang asked suspiciously, “You sure? This bar was also recommended by your subordinate. He said that this bar was very safe. In the end, we ran into a madwoman after we arrived.”
Li Shaobin’s face was full of awkwardness and he felt embarrassed. “This bar is certainly one that not just anyone can easily enter. I forgot about Zhao Zhu. Zhao Zhu is a member of several high-class places in Northern City, not just here. It’d be the same case in any other bar.”
“Alright.” Ruan Yang really didn’t expect this woman to really have some background. “Then I’ll trust you one more time.”
Li Shaobin rolled his eyes silently. I wasn’t even the one who recommended Extravagance.
——————————
The trio went to the clubhouse, Sound of Snow. On the way in, Ruan Yang looked around curiously. “This place looks familiar.”
Guan Ying felt awkward. If she had known they were going to Sound of Snow, she wouldn’t have bothered to come. After all, many things happened between her and Changqing here.
“Nonsense you’ve definitely come before.” Li Shaobin swaggered upstairs and entered a suite. The alcohol, drinks, and tea had already been prepared.
Ruan Yang went over to closely examine a small ice bucket. There were several colorful drinks inside which looked pretty interesting. She picked up a bottle and took a sip. “It’s alcohol.”
“It’s a cocktail.” Li Shaobin noticed how she was behaving just like a curious baby and found it funny. “It tastes like normal sweet drinks.”
“It tastes pretty good.” Ruan Yang had already finished the entire bottle.
Guan Ying reminded her: “Ruan Yang, drink less of that; this makes you drunk easily.”
“Really? Why doesn’t the alcohol concentration feel high to me at all?” Ruan Yang commented.
“You were once drunk on cocktails,” Guan Ying said helplessly. “When we first went to a bar during our time in university.”
“Alright, I’ll drink less. Go sing.” Ruan Yang waved her off.
Seeing that, Guan Ying went to pick some songs.
Li Shaobin sat beside Ruan Yang silently. He recalled the Ruan Yang in the movie he watched this afternoon. That person was sitting right beside him now, with her black hair untied just like in the movie. Her profile was pure and without blemishes. He cleared his throat and asked softly, “Why don’t you sing?”
“I don’t really remember songs from the last eight years. I only know how to sing oldies.” Ruan Yang suddenly looked at him. Her eyes shone with brilliance from the light reflected above head. “If the songs I sing are too old, you can’t make fun of me.”
Li Shaobin’s hand grabbed some nuts on the table unnaturally. “Why would I make fun of you?”
“You’re so nice.” She smiled.
Li Shaobin’s heart skipped a beat. The nuts in his hand almost scattered all over the floor. He lifted his eyes and matched her gaze. He felt as though her gaze had countless electric waves radiating from it.
Li Shaobin felt like he was in a sorry state. If it wasn’t dim inside, his face would definitely be visibly blushing badly. “You… you’re spouting nonsense. I’m not nice.”
“You even helped me teach a bad person a lesson.” Ruan Yang pressed her hand into the couch, revealing half of her delicate shoulder. “When you suddenly appeared in front of me, you were so dashing.”
Li Shaobin couldn’t help but lower his head, cursing silently inside. This woman was seducing him again, making him so shy.
“Don’t take what that woman said to heart,” Ruan Yang said gently. “Even without a woman, you’re not abnormal. I think you’re pretty normal. It just shows that you’re not a player and you’re a very, very, very good man.”
Li Shaobin drank a bottle of champagne and suddenly stood up as he said stiffly, “I’m going out for a smoke. You guys carry on singing.”
He turned to walk out. Guan Ying walked over with the microphone and asked, “Ruan Yang, what were you two talking about?”
“Nothing much; we were just talking casually.” Ruan Yang shrugged. “That woman said he was abnormal earlier. That was pretty harsh, so I just consoled him.”
Besides, he was cheated by that female cop too. Ruan Yang could probably understand how it was possible for him to still be a virgin. She really couldn’t help but console and encourage him out of goodwill.
Guan Ying had a weird expression. “That’s great. I thought you two…”
“We were?” Ruan Yang was stunned.
Guan Ying coughed softly. Forget it. She might’ve misunderstood when she thought something was going on between the two of them. However, she would never forget that Ruan Yang had forced a kiss on him before. “Let’s sing. I picked some songs that we used to sing together. Try singing them.”
Ruan Yang hesitated for a while before taking the microphone. At the start, she really thought she wouldn’t know how to sing these songs. However, when she heard the familiar melodies, she somehow started singing along.
Li Shaobin came back after finishing a cigarette and settling his thumping heart. Ruan Yang was sitting on the table, singing Mo Wenwei’s Cantonese song “Northern Light”. Her voice was slightly hoarse, giving him the perception of the lightness of a feather grazing his heart.
They sang until it was around 10 pm. Guan Ying went out to pick up a call and when she came back, she said apologetically, “Ruan Yang, I’ve got to go back to the company. My manager needs me urgently.”
“Run along then.” Ruan Yang frowned slightly but she was okay with it very quickly. “Could it be that reporters found out about what happened at the bar earlier?”
Guan Ying sighed silently. Ruan Yang was still so smart even though she lost her memory. However, she couldn’t make Ruan Yang worry. “Nah, it’s something else. Give me a call when you’re home later. Young Master Li, I’ll have to trouble you to take Ruan Yang back later.”
She left in a hurry after saying that.
In the large room, Ruan Yang and Li Shaobin were suddenly left staring at each other. After a while, Ruan Yang put the microphone down and said, “Forget it. Since you’re not singing, it wouldn’t be fun if I sang alone. Let’s go.”
She stood up and Li Shaobin stared stiffly at the microphone. He suddenly said, “Who says I don’t sing? It’s just that I sing too well; I was afraid you’d be bewitched by me.”
“Really? Let’s hear you sing.” Ruan Yang passed him the microphone.
Li Shaobin walked to the side of the song machine stiffly and hesitated for a very long time before he picked a song. Suddenly, he felt a fragrance wafting over from behind him. Ruan Yang had pushed his song to the top straight away. She said with a smile, “You go first.”
Li Shaobin cleared his throat and sang a Guang Liang song. The first two lines were fine but as he went on, Ruan Yang almost burst out laughing. No wonder he was unwilling to sing. He was totally out of tune.
“Don’t laugh.” Li Shaobin glared at her.
“Alright, I’m not laughing.” Ruan Yang quickly picked up a cocktail bottle and took a few sips to hold her laughter in.
Li Shaobin could only continue singing. At the most intense part of the song, he was totally off tune and sounded just like a ghost wailing. Ruan Yang couldn’t hold her laughter back anymore and spat out all the alcohol.
Li Shaobin felt awkward. He sat beside her and frowned with annoyance, warning her again, “Don’t laugh.”
Ruan Yang pressed her lips together as hard as she could but her cheeks were still rising up. Her clear eyes reflected the colors on the screen, looking very enchanting.
Li Shaobin looked at those eyes without blinking. The suite was echoing with Guang Liang’s voice: “… I remember your smile, that short memory of an image, placed in my heart, the forever you said was left behind yesterday. Let’s just take it as my most beautiful memory. My mood has changed seasons. A rainbow has appeared in the sky. The sun is shining bright…”
In the end, he could only hear a buzzing sound and he could only see her smile. As though he was under a spell, he suddenly leaned forward and kissed those lips gently.
The smile on Ruan Yang’s face froze as though someone had pressed the pause button during a movie. Everything came to a standstill.
Her smiling eyes enlarged slowly, as shock replaced her smile.
Li Shaobin saw the change in her eyes too. He seemed to have realized what he did, but the surroundings suddenly became dark—so dark that it seemed the two of them had been engulfed in darkness. Even her eyes started to become blurry. His brain buzzed and he put the microphone down. He held her cheeks with both hands and kissed her even harder, like how she sucked on his lips previously. Her lips were filled with the fragrance of the cocktail and tasted a little sweet yet astringent.
Ruan Yang drank a lot today. She was high but she was still fully aware of what was happening between them. She quickly reached out to push him away, but while suddenly flustered, she accidentally knocked over a bottle on the table. The bottle fell with a “clang”. She opened her mouth nervously, wanting to shout, but at that very moment, his tongue went in.
What did it feel like? If one had to describe it, Li Shaobin could only say that it felt as though a current was running through his entire body. Immediately after that, it felt like a doctor had opened his chest up and gripped onto his beating heart tightly.
His tongue entangled, danced and overlapped with hers.
But just as he was dancing enthusiastically, his wings were suddenly bitten.
He opened his eyes and realized that Ruan Yang had bitten his tongue, but her bite was neither too hard nor too soft. Li Shaobin’s legs almost went limp from the bite.
The two of them gazed at each other like that until Ruan Yang found it incredibly awkward and let his tongue go.
