At midnight, A city's infamous red-light district was bustling, with the air thick with smoke. Heavily made-up women and wealthy, boorish men appeared to be its dominant figures, and it was the first time Jian Zian had ever set foot in such a nightlife scene.
She furrowed her brows as she found the shop that Jin Yu had mentioned and followed his instructions to the room number. Standing at the doorstep, however, she hesitated to push the door open.
Today was supposed to be her joyous wedding day, but the groom was at this glitzy, raucous place.
Regardless of the reason, Jian Zian felt very upset.
As she hesitated, the room door suddenly swung open. A sexy, scantily clad woman was being held by a fashionably-coiffed, bewilderingly styled man, both preparing to leave.
The man, reeking of alcohol, sneered when he saw Jian Zian, "Oh look! Isn't this the sister-in-law?" He turned his head towards the room and shouted, "Jin Yu, your wife has come knocking! What should we do?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Jin Yu walked over from inside the room, bursts of laughter sounding from within.
"Oh my, she really came, our new sister-in-law moves quite fast."
"Jin Yu, you're something else! Playing such an exciting game on your wedding night! Hahaha."
Amidst the noise, Jian Zian had difficulty hearing, but she could feel their mockery. Without anyone telling her, she knew how embarrassing the situation was.
Suppressing her feelings, she looked at Jin Yu and spoke as rationally as possible, "Jin Yu, since I've already come, could you go home with me now?"
Jin Yu hooked his lips into a smile, "Now that you're here, we should at least enjoy a bit, right?" He grabbed Jian Zian's hand, pulled her into the door, and into his embrace. Drawing close to her ear, he said softly, "When I came looking for you, you didn't follow me back either."
His comment left Jian Zian in turmoil, and she stiffened, forgetting momentarily to resist.
Jian Zian was pulled by Jin Yu onto the couch, his arms around her shoulders. In the meantime, a waitress sidled up to Jin Yu's other side, nearly clinging to him, and asked in a petulant tone filled with hostility, "Mr. Jin, why did you bring your wife to party? It's making us all feel restrained!"
Jin Yu grabbed a glass of wine and forcefully handed it to Jian Zi'an, commanding, "Drink this!" Then he smiled at the accompanying girl, saying, "Just chill, let's enjoy the party how it's supposed to be."
The girl's face brightened slightly, as she tried to lean into Jin Yu, who tactfully avoided her advancement, his eyes firmly on Jian Zi'an, hinting her to drink.
Jian Zi'an reluctantly raised the glass to her lips.
Jin Yu's buddies on the side, who knew some of their matters, never had a good impression of Jian Zi'an. Hearing Jin Yu's words, they laughed even more unreservedly.
"Exactly, exactly, let's just enjoy and have fun!"
"Women! Aren't they all about money? As long as you give them money, they'd do anything! After all, our sister-in-law here is a cheap find by Auntie, haha."
Jian Zi'an choked on her drink, and her whole body started to cough violently. She quickly placed the glass on the table and grabbed tissues to cover her mouth and nose, coughing so hard her face turned red amid the echoes of laughter.
Seeing Jian Zi'an coughing badly, Jin Yu's hand clenched involuntarily. Adjusting his expression, he gave her a light kick, saying, "You can't even handle a drink, so useless!"
Her face was wet with the drink or something else, Jian Zi'an suppressed her cough, wiped her face, and sat back next to Jin Yu, expressionlessly staring at the coffee table.
Jin Yu was irked by her attitude, was she planning to bury her head in the sand again? Didn't their years of relationship mean anything to her? He was ready to let bygones be bygones, but her behavior just lit his fire.
He reached out and put an arm around the girl who kept trying to cozy up to him, wickedly smiling, "The home flower really doesn't smell as sweet as the wild ones! You, on the other hand, have a unique scent." This drew giggles from the girl.
The hands Jian Zi'an had clamped together clenched tightly again.
Jin Yu picked up another glass of wine from the table, passing it to the companion girl, "Here, you have a drink, make it look good."
The girl laughed, accepting it, and swiftly downed the drink, causing an uproar among the men and women present. Jin Yu laughed heartily and threw a few banknotes toward her, "Good girl, good girls deserve rewards!"
The girl happily accepted the banknotes and, without hesitation, tucked them into her stuffed cleavage.
Jian Zian's eyes twitched uncontrollably.
Jin Yu's double entendre was clearly meant to provoke her.
Biting her teeth, she reached out and grabbed a glass from the table and gulped it down.
She didn't know what the alcohol tasted like. All she knew was that it felt like fire burning her throat as it slid down. She then put the glass down and looked at Jin Yu, "This drink should serve as my apology. Can we go home now?"
Jin Yu had a flicker in his eyes, but hearing her words, his gaze deepened. He snorted coldly, "Apology? This drink seems a bit too meager." He patted the arm of a drinking girl beside him. "You teach her how to apologize properly."
Upon seeing Jin Yu's serious expression, the girl stood up and responded with a smile, “Don’t worry, Master Jin. I guarantee you will be satisfied!” Saying this, she went around the coffee table, picked up all the bottles of alcohol on the floor and opened them.
Jian Zian glared at her, then looked at Jin Yu and gritted her teeth, “Do we really need to resolve our issues here?”
Jin Yu just slumped back onto the couch, nonchalantly saying, "Did I say that? I was just letting someone teach you how to behave."
The female companion laughed, picked up a bottle of alcohol and squatted down in front of Jian Zian, placing her hand on Jian Zian's shoulder. "Sister, we are both women. When a man pays for us, he is our master. We just have to obey. I advise you to drink these obediently and not upset Master Jin."
Jian Zian pushed her away, “I am not you. Don’t touch me with your hands.” She held her head high and just because she had a disagreement with Jin Yu over money didn't mean she was the same as these women who surrendered themselves to money. At this moment, she deeply regretted coming to see Jin Yu tonight.
She had contempt for this accompanying girl, but the girl didn’t think highly of her either. After Jian Zian spoke, the girl's face darkened, "Well, look at how highly you think of yourself. We're all just spending money for happiness. No one is more noble than the other. Since you refuse to drink in respect, I'll have to make you drink as a punishment." With this, she flipped the bottle and poured it over Jian Zian's head.
Jian Zian was doused in the cold drink and gave a shock, hiding to the side, "What are you doing?!"
Jin Yu watched the scene without any reaction. Everyone else in the room stopped, looking at Jin Yu and then at Jian Zian, everyone choosing to be spectators.
Jian Zian pushed the accompanying girl away, and as she stepped on the spilled drink, she stumbled. Supporting herself against the wall to stand up straight, she glared at the girl and then at Jin Yu, "If you don't want to come back with me, you can just say so, there is no need to treat me like this! I should never have come here today!" So saying, she turned and ran out.
Jin Yu's face instantly darkened.
