Chapter 1

Shi Zhi first met Fu Xiling on the day she was celebrating her boyfriend Shen Jia's birthday.
About twenty of them crowded into the bar. Shen Jia had already reserved the largest booth in advance. After providing the last few digits of his phone number, a server led them inside.
The late-night bar had a deafening, boiling atmosphere. Lights flickered on and off constantly, and the DJ's beats pounded like rapids, heavily bombarding everyone's eardrums.
Most people in the bar were squeezed onto the dance floor, swaying their heads and dancing to the rhythm, with colorful lights and arms waving freely.
Shi Zhi lagged half a step behind Shen Jia, looking down at the birthday cake delivery information on her phone.
Someone on the dance floor stepped back and almost bumped into her, but Shen Jia quickly intercepted them and considerately moved her to a position closer to the outer edge of the dance floor.
The environment was so noisy that it was impossible to hear anyone speak. Shen Jia smiled at Shi Zhi and mouthed, "There are a lot of people, be careful."
Shi Zhi smiled back: "Okay."
Shi Zhi's boyfriend Shen Jia was a graduate student in science and engineering at B University, with excellent grades and well-liked by his teachers.
Moreover, despite being a top student, Shen Jia wasn't particularly dull. He had many friends in private, and also liked sports, pets, and travel.
No matter when you saw Shen Jia, he always wore a gentle smile on his face. His gestures and interactions with others showed good family upbringing, and he was very popular at school.
Many girls liked this type of gentlemanly boy, so when Shen Jia pursued Shi Zhi, she agreed within two weeks.
They had been dating for about half a year, and their relationship was quite good. Shi Zhi herself was quite satisfied with her boyfriend.
Passing through the noisy crowd in the bar, the server leading the way stopped at an empty booth.
Shen Jia's friends happily teased loudly, "Boss Shen is so generous, booking such a large table. It makes us brothers look so inconsiderate! We gave ordinary gifts, yet the birthday boy has to spend so much..."
"Stop joking, sit down quickly and see what you want to drink."
Shen Jia had been smiling too, but just before sitting down, when his gaze swept over a certain direction, Shi Zhi clearly noticed a pause in his steps, and his smile became slightly unnatural as the corners of his lips slowly fell.
Shi Zhi sensitively followed Shen Jia's gaze and saw Fu Xiling in the neighboring booth—
The neighboring booth was the same size as theirs, also a table for twenty-five people. In the huge gray sofa sat only one boy.
The boy was about their age, wearing a black short-sleeved shirt. His posture wasn't very proper—he had his long legs spread out, lazily leaning back in the spacious sofa.
The lively, bustling atmosphere around him seemed unrelated to him. He held an iPad in his hands, head down, looking at something.
Shi Zhi glanced twice and intuitively felt that the boy didn't seem to be waiting for anyone or have companions. She guessed the denim jacket draped over the sofa was also his own.
Perhaps sensing the gaze from this direction, the boy also looked up.
He had very three-dimensional features—high brow bones, deep eye sockets, and a prominent nose bridge. At first glance, his eyes seemed slightly aggressive, and his thoughts appeared deep and unfathomable.
Half his face was hidden in the bar's flickering light purple spotlights. His smile was cut by the lights in an inexplicably sinister way. He raised his hand and casually waved a greeting to Shen Jia's group.
From the lip reading, it seemed like he was saying "Hi, what a coincidence."
Shen Jia seemed to take a deep breath. When he turned his face, he was smiling warmly again. He put down his backpack and told Shi Zhi and the others that he had met an acquaintance and needed to go say hello.
Following Shen Jia over was one of his childhood friends.
Shi Zhi lowered her eyes and guessed that Shen Jia and the others had known the person in the neighboring booth for quite a while.
However, their relationship seemed ordinary. After exchanging a few pleasantries, less than two minutes later, Shen Jia had already returned.
From the conversation between Shen Jia and his childhood friend, Shi Zhi learned the name of the person in the neighboring booth: Fu Xiling.
Shi Zhi could sense that Shen Jia extremely disliked Fu Xiling, but due to his upbringing, he restrained himself and never really said anything bad about him.
Disliked him.
But what was the reason?
Shi Zhi glanced behind her.
On Fu Xiling's rectangular table sat the drinks package he had ordered. The Macallan and several bottles of beer seemed untouched. Only the mineral water was half-drunk. A server had just removed the large bowl from which he had eaten—whether it was wontons or soup noodles.
As for Fu Xiling himself, he was still holding the iPad, looking at it.
He didn't seem like someone looking for fun to pass the time, but rather like someone who was hungry and had stopped by to eat.
"Shi Zhi, what do you want to drink? Beer?" One of Shen Jia's friends handed over a red Budweiser.
Shi Zhi was very familiar with all kinds of drinks in bars, even knowing the cost price and sales commission, but Shen Jia reached out and stopped that Budweiser: "Don't mess around, Shi Zhi doesn't drink."
After saying that, Shen Jia ordered fresh juice for her and thoughtfully inserted a straw.
Birds of a feather flock together. Shen Jia's friends were also the kind who had serious business.
This group came to the bar for a light drink, purely to have a second gathering after dinner and healthily relax their usually tense nerves.
They didn't drink much, had good drinking manners, didn't hit on girls or cause trouble, and when dancing, they stayed close to their own group.