62: A chance encounter at the bar - Part 2 (Bonus chapter)

Jiang Ye followed the sound and his eyes immediately lit up: "Holy shit! A beauty!"

The woman before him was about 168 cm tall, appearing to be in her early twenties. She wore a fitted off-white wool sweater on top and light blue skinny jeans below, perfectly outlining her well-proportioned, slender legs.

She held a long down jacket in her hand, with slightly wavy shoulder-length hair casually draped. Her skin was fair, and her features were delicate; even in the dim light of the bar, it was clear she had an excellent natural appearance.

Her aura hovered between innocence and light maturity, carrying a faint, elusive charm.

By Jiang Ye's standards, she was definitely above 85 points, perhaps even a point or two higher than Ye Cheng.

The beauty clearly heard his unapologetic "Holy shit!" and glanced over at him.

Seeing a young man holding a beer bottle, sipping through a straw with a "slurping" sound, and openly staring at her with wide eyes, she rolled her eyes in annoyance, too bothered to engage.

She turned her gaze back to the man named Zhang Wenhai in front of her, took a deep breath, seemingly trying to calm her tone, but her words still carried anger:

"Wenhai, I told you, if you can't hold back, go find a prostitute or mess around with your 'good sisters.' Do whatever you want, I won't stop you. But can you stop pestering me?"

The man named Zhang Wenhai was not tall, wearing a leather jacket, his expression somewhat unpleasant.

He first glared fiercely at Jiang Ye, who was watching the spectacle, and growled, "What are you looking at? Never seen a couple argue before?"

Jiang Ye slurped his beer and nodded honestly: "Buddy, you handle your business. I'm just watching, no harm meant. It's just that your girlfriend is good-looking, so I'm appreciating the view."

Zhang Wenhai: "..."

He sized up Jiang Ye's height and seemingly calm demeanor, then reluctantly turned his gaze back to the woman in front of him, softening his tone:

"Wanxing, you know that's not what I meant..."

Seeing many people around looking over, the woman lowered her voice slightly: "Then what did you mean? I saw you hugging her with my own eyes. Are you saying I saw wrong? Or am I hallucinating?"

Zhang Wenhai hurriedly explained: "Wanxing, you really misunderstood! We were just playing a dare game. I lost, so..."

"Playing a dare game requires putting your hand inside someone's clothes..."

The woman interrupted him, pausing mid-sentence as she turned her head to look at Jiang Ye, who had somehow moved closer with his beer bottle, eavesdropping with keen interest. She frowned:

"Hello, can I help you?"

"Huh? No, nothing!"

Caught red-handed, Jiang Ye scratched his head awkwardly and laughed it off: "Just watching the show. You two argue, I'll just listen. I won't disturb you, pretend I'm not here."

The woman's breath hitched, speechless at his shamelessness.

Zhang Wenhai, now too flustered to care about Jiang Ye, anxiously defended himself: "Wanxing, I... I was... I had a bit to drink and lost control for a moment... You know these past few months I..."

The woman sighed, disappointment in her eyes: "Wenhai, are you going to say again that you're a normal man with needs? We've been together for almost half a year, and since I won't let you touch me, you've been suffering?"

Zhang Wenhai instinctively wanted to nod, but catching sight of Jiang Ye's "bright-eyed" look full of curiosity, he felt too embarrassed.

But... this girlfriend named Lin Wanxing was a rare catch he'd worked hard to pursue. Even though he'd been caught cheating this time, how could he just let her go?

Ignoring Jiang Ye's presence, he steeled himself and tried to show sincerity:

"Wanxing, even though I'm a man, I respect your choices and have been waiting for you to be ready. I really was drunk just now, it was a subconscious move, and I only touched her waist, just once! If you... usually could be a little more... then I wouldn't have... done that."

Hearing this, Lin Wanxing laughed in anger: "Zhang Wenhai, what did you say when you were pursuing me? You said you liked my personality, my soul, my laughter, my liveliness!"

"I even foolishly asked you back then if it was just because I'm good-looking. You said it yourself—'No, Wanxing, I love you for who you are! If you agree to be with me, I promise I won't touch you for a year. I'll prove my words with time!'"

"Now! It's only been four months!"

Beside them, Jiang Ye internally screamed "Holy shit!"—this drama was way more exciting than TV shows!

He grabbed a passing Waiter and whispered: "Buddy, get me a plate of sunflower seeds, original flavor is fine!"

The Waiter looked confused but quickly brought him a small dish of sunflower seeds.

Zhang Wenhai, having his past words thrown back at him, turned pale and then flushed, trying to defend himself but being cut off by her wave.

"Zhang Wenhai, when I agreed to your pursuit, I told you: if you could prove your promise and treat me sincerely for this year, I, Lin Wanxing, would commit to you, give you everything, and be with you for life. This, you failed to do!"

Seeing she was about to say something more final, Zhang Wenhai panicked completely, forgetting his pride as he quickly softened:

"Wanxing, don't be angry, I was wrong! I admit I'm a jerk! But I really just put my hand in the wrong place. I don't think... this is an unforgivable mistake, right? I truly like you, I..."

"Not a big mistake?!"

Lin Wanxing's anger flared again. She glanced at Jiang Ye, who was "crack-crack" munching on sunflower seeds, and blurted out:

"You mean I could just let him touch me and then tell you 'it's not a big mistake'?"

"Cough! Cough-cough..."

Jiang Ye, engrossed in the show, nearly choked on a sunflower seed shell at these words. He quickly put down the seeds, fumbled for a tissue to wipe his hands, looking ready to "follow orders" at any moment.

Lin Wanxing watched him wiping his hands, her lips twitching slightly. The angry retort "Come on, touch me" died in her throat.

She had a strong feeling that if she finished that sentence, this troublemaker watching the drama would definitely reach out without hesitation.

Zhang Wenhai, seeing the strange interaction between Lin Wanxing and Jiang Ye, looked even more displeased. Gritting his teeth, he played the sympathy card:

"Wanxing, all the fault is mine! But I was really just drunk! I swear, if you forgive me, I'll quit drinking from now on! We'll start fresh, reset the year! I'll prove my promise with actions! If I upset you again during this time, I'll disappear on my own! How about it? Don't be angry, okay?"

Hearing "quit drinking" and "start fresh," Lin Wanxing frowned, her expression seeming to soften slightly.

Seeing this, Zhang Wenhai quickly pressed on: "I'll go explain to the group inside right now, I won't join such gatherings anymore! Wanxing, come back with me. I'll announce in front of everyone that I, Zhang Wenhai, will quit drinking for you!"

Lin Wanxing hesitated, then finally shook her head, sighing wearily:

"Forget it, Wenhai. My mind is a mess right now. You go back first. I'm going home. Let's both cool off for a few days and talk when we've thought things through."

Zhang Wenhai's face instantly darkened, his tone turning stiff: "Wanxing, is it really necessary? I've gone this far, you..."

Before he could finish, Lin Wanxing had already turned away, waving a hand dismissively, her voice distant:

"I'm heading back. You go enjoy yourself, do whatever you want, no one's stopping you. We'll talk in a few days when we've both calmed down."

With that, she turned and walked toward the bar entrance.

"Damn it! Acting all pure!"

Zhang Wenhai watched her retreating figure, muttered a curse under his breath, lit a cigarette irritably, took a deep drag, and turned toward the dance floor.

After watching a riveting emotional drama, Jiang Ye contentedly finished the last sip of his beer.

Sigh, it's really tough being a man these days!

Either you can't catch one, or when you finally do, she won't let you touch her. And when she finally does, if she gets upset, she takes it back... Hard, so hard!

After his lament, he suddenly jolted!

Shit!

I was too busy watching the drama and forgot the main thing!

That beauty left! I haven't gotten my goddess fragment yet!

He quickly tossed the beer bottle and hurried after her in the direction she'd gone.