Liang Jin didn’t follow his instructions. Instead, she asked, “Didn’t you want to know about my dad and me before?”
In that chess game they had played as a bet, he had conceded to her terms.
Liang Jin said, “He thinks I’m a troublemaker—a selfish little egoist who ruined his marriage.” She stared at him, her tone flat. “If you put me out in the open like this, aren’t you afraid I’ll cause you the same kind of trouble I brought him?”
Shen Keye didn’t reply. He lowered his gaze, and as he breathed in, the sharp, spicy fir scent of his cologne mingled faintly with her own fragrance.
Liang Jin kept her attitude distant, even though the corners of her eyes still held a hint of red.
Shen Keye asked, “So?”
The girl said, “Shen Keye, I’m just your girlfriend. You have no right to kiss me.”
It was an unexpected answer, completely illogical. Shen Keye froze for a moment, then burst out laughing as if her bold declaration had amused him. He laughed with his head bowed, his shoulders shaking slightly.
Liang Jin paused, feeling her face grow even hotter than during the kiss. She demanded, “Don’t laugh.”
Shen Keye tugged at his lips and asked, “Do you hate me that much?”
Liang Jin’s eyes burned. She turned her head away.
Shen Keye said, “I’ll take you out to have some fun tonight.”
“After I’m done with this.”
She had no intention of going back home tonight. Liang Jin was still wary of Shen Keye. She asked, “What are you going to do?”
Shen Keye teased, “I’m in a strange place with no connections, Liang Jin. I could just sell you off.”
~~~
Liang Jin didn’t take part in the memorial proceedings.
She bought a pack of cigarettes at the convenience store and waited for Shen Keye.
Under the streetlights, the girl’s white shirt was tucked into her short schoolgirl skirt, while the evening breeze lifted the hem of her skirt and her dark hair.
Shen Keye’s intentions were too hard to read. Liang Jin could still taste him in her mouth, and the sensations he had awakened lingered inescapably in her mind.
She lit a cigarette and scrolled through the part-time job ad that Wu Lin had shared with her.
The options opened up a lot more once you turned eighteen. The guide had promised an extra ten percent once filming started, but it was still too little.
“How much is your family still short?”
Liang Jin exhaled a puff of smoke and said, “Even more than before.”
Wu Lin had only just learned about Liang Jin’s little sister being sick. She asked, “This illness… does it require treatment for life?”
“Yeah.”
Staying alive cost money.
Liang Jin recalled, “Mom’s surgery is next week. Liang Wei is still in the ICU, but the doctors say they’ve basically settled on a treatment plan. If she’s lucky, she might even be able to go back to school.”
Wu Lin knew Liang Jin’s personality—cold on the outside but warm at heart. When Liang Jin truly cared about someone, she would do everything in her power for them. Wu Lin hesitated on the other end of the line before saying, “I overheard someone at the hospital today talking about a pharmaceutical research institute in Northern Europe that’s developing a drug for your mom’s rare disease… They’ve made a ton of progress, apparently entering phase two clinical trials or something? But it’s been shelved for a few years now. If you have time, you could look into it. Maybe… your aunt could live a normal life.”
Liang Jin froze in place. She asked, “A new drug? Is that real?”
Wu Lin had heard it while accompanying her boyfriend for a med change at the hospital. She hesitated again. “I heard it at Yanghe Hospital. I was planning to ask for more details and tell you. That doctor was on the phone with a woman, describing symptoms exactly like your mom’s. Her case is so unique—it has to be her. The doctor said the drug could basically cure it.”
Liang Jin glanced down the deserted midnight street. Shen Keye had said he would take her out to play, but it was so late, and he still hadn’t returned. The girl unconsciously clenched her fists. “Thanks for the huge help, Linlin… I’ll treat you to dinner next time.”
Wu Lin chuckled and said, “Sure thing, you big-shot busybody! But… no guarantees. If it’s real, then consider it my birthday gift to you.”
Her phone beeped with a new message.
Shen Keye had sent her an address and told her to head over first. It was a nightclub that Shao Xingyu had bought in Aoxin, in Macau.
Shao Xingyu had come to Macau specifically for this club. He’d just finished negotiating with the previous owner in the nightclub’s hallway when he saw Liang Jin walk in. He looked surprised and amused. “Yo, who’s this? Come to grace us with your presence?”
Liang Jin had just searched the doctor roster at Yanghe Hospital. The one Wu Lin had seen was probably Doctor Chen from the burns unit.
She didn’t reply. Shao Xingyu asked again, “You’re with Ah-Ye now, right?”
Shen Keye had asked him to reserve a private room, but he hadn’t expected Liang Jin to arrive first. Recalling what had happened on the boat, Shao Xingyu quickly pieced together the story. Leaning against the doorframe, he said, “Should I call you ‘sister-in-law’ then?”
Liang Jin took the room card from the guy who handed it to her. Shao Xingyu watched as she palmed it and hid it away.
“The school’s buzzing with rumors about you two. I want the details on that love triangle of yours.”
He had phrased it delicately, but Liang Jin slowly raised her eyes and heard the mocking laugh in his voice. “Liang Jin, you’re not exactly girlfriend material.”
Liang Jin said, “So what?”
Shao Xingyu replied, “Ah-Ye’s reputation has never been this tarnished before. Getting tangled up with you is just his bad luck.”
Liang Jin pressed, “Young Master Little Shao is in such a hurry. Why don’t you help me clear things up? Shen Keye and I aren’t in a relationship.”
Her words were icy, her gaze indifferent. Shao Xingyu froze for a moment before drawing an instant conclusion. “You don’t like Ah-Ye.”
He warned her, “Liang Jin, this isn’t about money, is it? If you dare use Ah-Ye, I’ll make sure you can’t get by in Hong Kong or Macau.”
Liang Wei was in the ICU, where a single night cost 5,781.6 yuan. Zeng Zhi’s surgery was expected to run around three hundred thousand.
Liang Jin couldn’t cover a hole that big. Right now, Shen Keye was her biggest benefactor.
Liang Jin looked up at Shao Xingyu, her tone casual. “Shen Keye knows.”
She added, “He doesn’t care.”
Shao Xingyu was momentarily taken aback. He hadn’t expected Liang Jin to so boldly snatch the room key card right out of his hand.
Her eyes weren’t perfectly round, but they were bright and piercing. When her lashes lowered, her smile carried a deep, unwavering confidence. Even in her cheap outfit, she was strikingly captivating. Liang Jin assured him, “Shao Xingyu, don’t worry. The scandal will be cleared up soon.”
~~~
Shao Xingyu’s private room was on the second floor. The windows were the folding kind, and when opened, they offered an unobstructed view of everything happening below.
Liang Jin lifted the curtain, and as she gazed downward, she felt a profound sense of looking down on the world from above.
This was the largest legal nightclub in all of Macau.
The vast hall was a chaotic swirl of men and women, thick with cigarette smoke.
Liang Jin hadn’t even reached the first floor when she spotted Song Youhuai. At that exact moment, he noticed her too.
Song Youhuai’s dazed expression sharpened with sudden focus. He murmured, “Liang Jin?”
The girl was dressed simply and leaned against the windowsill. Even from a distance, he could make out the broken skin at the corner of her lip, marked by faint teeth indents.
Song Youhuai hadn’t expected to run into Liang Jin here, but the instant his eyes locked on her, a surge of inexplicable chill and hatred welled up in his chest.
—Those marks were undoubtedly left by Shen Keye.
Song Youhuai glanced around and shouted, “Find her! She’s got money!”
He had just lost three million and racked up another two million in debt. Only two hours earlier, outside the cemetery, he had begged his sister to delete those online posts that could destroy him. Song Youqing had refused.
The sister who had doted on him for eighteen years had told him, with utmost gentleness, that he was no longer important to her.
He had been playing for high stakes, and Song Youhuai felt like he was losing his mind.
He had lost everything he once took pride in, all because of Liang Jin.
To prove his point, Song Youhuai pulled up a photo he had snapped on SNS. “That’s her. She’s my girlfriend…” His speech had changed from before; malice now clouded his brow. “Oh, right—she’s got another boyfriend too. She’s loaded. Go after her. Don’t hit me.”
Song Youhuai climbed onto a round gaming table and curled into himself. The lamp hanging overhead swayed precariously.
Afraid no one would believe him, he insisted, “It’s true! Find her. She’s going to be the Big Star the whole world watches. It’s all over Hong Kong District. She’s filthy rich! Even the Hong Kong Media’s verified accounts are saying it!”
Liang Jin watched Song Youhuai’s pathetic display from above. Her phone chimed twice—Shen Keye saying he would arrive shortly.
She had no interest in Song Youhuai, but an idea was forming.
The hall could hold a thousand people. Liang Jin made her way downstairs and obtained Song Youhuai’s signed IOU from a server.
The server explained what had happened.
Song Youhuai had already tumbled off the table. He was acting erratic, muttering “pay up, pay up” over and over.
Liang Jin noticed the bruises on his neck—he had clearly been roughed up. She asked, “Song Youhuai, what makes you think I’d pay your debts?”
He shot back righteously, “Your movie’s got massive hype, but the public opinion is a mess. Even Shen Keye’s in hot water. Guess why? My sister made it happen.”
His lips cracked as he laughed, his once-young and handsome face drained of life, his eyes bulging slightly. “My sister would never let the narrative turn positive, but I can make it go nuclear. Liang Jin, if I snap, I swear your movie will be finished.”
Song Youhuai had just called Song Youqing to come bail him out, only to be rejected. On the verge of tears, he said, “I’m sorry, Liang Jin. I acted that way before because I loved you too much. I’m sorry…”
He wasn’t acting rationally and knew the odds of Liang Jin helping him were slim. He was burning with desperation.
But to his shock, Liang Jin said, “I can find a way to help you pay it off.”
Song Youhuai’s expression froze. He hadn’t expected Liang Jin to agree so readily.
The dark red walls featured a gilded clock face gleaming with cold light. The girl in the short skirt stepped forward slowly, locking eyes with Song Youhuai. “Shen Keye’s on his way,” she said. “Want me to ask my boyfriend to cover your debt?”
Her tone was negotiating as she continued, “All you have to do is beg him.”
Liang Jin deliberately lowered her voice, biting down on the word “beg.” A wave of humiliation crashed over Song Youhuai in an instant. He frowned and demanded, “What did you say?”
The girl lowered her gaze, her delicate nose bridge framing thin lips that curved up lightly. “Song Youhuai,” she said, “you didn’t get me, but he did. You’re no match for Shen Keye. Go ahead and beg him.”
In a fit of rage, Song Youhuai swept the drinks and water from the gambling table onto the floor. He glared up at Liang Jin from the table with vicious intensity, his eyes reddening. “You tricked me into letting you pay off my debt just to spout this crap?”
The colored liquids splashed onto her clothes, but Liang Jin didn’t dodge. Her skirt hem clung wetly to her waist and thighs.
Song Youhuai lunged to strike her, but Liang Jin seized his wrist in a tight grip.
He froze for a split second. Her dark eyes burned with icy flames as she stood bathed in the glow of the nightclub’s crystal lights.
Song Youhuai had never realized Liang Jin possessed such strength.
She looked down at him and said, “If you cause a scene or bully me, I’ll tell my ‘boyfriend’ every detail.”
Even now, Liang Jin was still fixated on Shen Keye. Song Youhuai yanked his hand free and sneered, “You think I’m scared of him finding out if I hit you?”
He was already pathetic enough as it was.
Liang Jin replied, “I provoked you on purpose, Song Youhuai.”
He shot back in disbelief, “What?”
“You helped me out, in a way.” Liang Jin didn’t believe Shen Keye could tolerate anyone laying hands on what was his. She wanted him to see the fallout from ignoring the rumors.
The girl’s cold smile carried an almost innocent emotional void.
Liang Jin genuinely wanted to help Song Youhuai. “Once Shen Keye finds out,” she said, “he’ll squash the rumors, and you can head home from this nightclub. Congratulations.”
She paused, then added, “But—”
Shen Keye would never let him walk away unscathed.
The chips slipped from Song Youhuai’s fingers with a clatter. Bewilderment and fear flickered across his face.
He remembered Shen Keye warning him never to show up in his sight again.
Outside the nightclub, lights blazed brightly.
Liang Jin’s clothes were half-soaked from the drinks and tea Song Youhuai had flung in his frenzy.
She stood by the door and spotted Shen Keye’s car—a license plate for cross-regional travel, the young man’s stern face, his features set in somber lines. From the driver’s seat, he gave her a quick glance.
“Shen Keye.”
Liang Jin spoke first.
He ignored her.
She leaned in closer. “Your little brother’s not too bright, and gambling? Once you’re hooked, it’s nothing but trouble.”
Shen Keye fished a cigarette from the pack and clamped it between his lips. The lighter clicked as he cupped the flame, the orange glow highlighting his icy expression. “Liang Jin,” he said, “you’re clever.”
He’d heard about the incident from Shao Xingyu and immediately saw through her little scheme.
She’d put herself in harm’s way on purpose, signaling that without going public, she’d keep getting tossed into danger. She was cornering him.
Liang Jin flattered him. “You’re smarter than I am.”
“After all, you’re the one calling the shots. I’m just a reluctant player in your game. You decide—go public or not.”
Shen Keye asked coldly, “You that certain I give a damn if you live or die?”
The young man turned his gaze on her.
The nightclub door eased open. Shen Keye had just called Song Youhuai’s biological mother to come bail him out. Liang Jin spotted Song Youhuai, who glared at her with pure resentment.
She despised this helpless feeling.
In the nightclub, on the cruise ship, in the school equipment room—Liang Jin had felt that suffocating panic and fear in every one.
Even now, her hands trembled faintly.
The girl lowered her eyes. “Shen Keye, I hate being on the reactive side.”
She proposed, “Let’s switch up how we do this.”
His long-fingered hand rested on the steering wheel; the small black mole on his nose bridge shifted as he looked away.
Before he could respond, Liang Jin grabbed him.
She leaned through the car window, her frame filling the narrow space, her breath mingling as her soft lips pressed against his.
On the unfamiliar street, amid the sweltering night breeze, Shen Keye’s dark eyes reflected her magnified face, lids gently closed.
Liang Jin took the initiative—probing and eager to please, awkward yet daring.
The sharp mint tang blended with the deep, shadowy tobacco smoke, flooding his throat.
She was kissing him.
No sense of security gripped her; she clutched his collar fiercely.
Even as she drew back, her hands stayed locked tight.
It was a light, teasing kiss, almost an invitation.
Liang Jin pulled away, biting her lip as she stated her terms. “You want obedience? Fine. But Shen Keye, not entirely on your rules.”
“For fairness’ sake, grant me one request: let me kiss you once. How about it?” On the dim street, the girl’s skin was so pale it was nearly transparent, blending into the murky light, her soft lips still brushing against his.
Shen Keye narrowed his eyes.
Finding the idea absurd, Liang Jin chuckled softly to herself and confirmed again: “If you can play, then so can I.”