Chapter eight
In the mansion, female models in bikinis and male models in speedos walked around with trays of drinks. The rest of the rich young men were clothed casually, each of them with a model or two in arm, busy flirting.
Sitting in front of the comparatively lonely bar, Lin Xi was approached by a muscular male model who pa.s.sed Tang Yi a gla.s.s of red wine and came close to him to whisper, "A drink, Mr. Lin?"
The corners of Lin Xi"s mouth went up as he took the red wine. Picking up a finger, he pushed it into the model"s shoulder, his expression darkening, "Stay away from me."
The male model left, disappointed. Lu Lingxing walked over and threw an invitation down in front of him, "Shen Sui"s sister"s birthday party."
Lin Xi poured the red wine mixed with G.o.d knows what substances into the sink before picking up the invitation, "How did my invitation get into your hands?"
Lu Lingxing walked behind the bar and made him a colorful c.o.c.ktail, "A few nights ago I b.u.mped into Chen Sui in the bar. We hadn"t seen you in a while, so he asked me to give you one."
Folding the invitation, Lin Xi tucked it into his shirt pocket and sipped a little from the c.o.c.ktail. At once he frowned, disgusted, "It still tastes so terrible."
"If you don"t like it, someone else will," Lu Lingxing shrugged, taking the c.o.c.ktail and setting it down on the counter before throwing a hand around his shoulder and pulling him upstairs.
Lu Xijia and the son of the Tang family were playing pool on the second floor. When Lin Xi and Lu Lingxing walked in, the game hadn"t started yet, but the two of them leaned on their poles and were busy talking.
Walking closer, Lin Xi leaned against the table, "What kind of girly gossip is this, that you have to hide to say it?"
Lu Xijia coolly raised his chin to gesture in Tang"s direction, "Ask him."
Raising his hand, Lin Xi grabbed Tang"s shoulder from behind. The latter turned his head, the scent of alcohol strong on him, as a mysterious look appeared on his face. "I heard something big recently."
"You"ve had way too much to drink," Pinching his nose, Lin Xi took a step back, "Lu Xijia, didn"t know you could hold a conversation with a drunkard."
Arms crossed, Lu Xijia chuckled. "Listen on and you"ll know why."
Lu Lingxing raised his eyebrows, interested. "Mr. Tang, come on. Tell us."
"Duan Shen, the son of the Duan family who"s older than we are. You know about him?" Squinting, Tang burped, "These few years, a lot of people have been pushing their daughters on him."
Lu Lingxing grabbed the red wine near him and took a sip, stating casually, "Well, you have to deserve it. Not anyone can marry into the Duan family."
"See, that"s where things are weird," Tang could barely hide the excitement in his eyes, "A lot of people have noticed recently that there"s a wedding ring on Duan Shen"s left hand."
Hand on chin, Lu Lingxing made a thoughtful face, "If Shen really is married, he"s hiding it well. "
Tang made a satisfied hum before dropping his voice, "You know who he"s married to?"
Lin Xi"s eyebrows rose slightly. When he and Duan Shen got married, their families had agreed not to go public with the news. Duan Shen only wore his wedding ring to keep unneeded trouble at bay. But who he had gotten married to was still a closely-guarded secret.
Raising his eyelids, he glanced at Tang, whose eyes weren"t directed at him at all, before silently sighing a breath of relief. Mockingly, he reached out and patted him on the shoulder, "Mr. Tang, it"s time to sober up."
Turning his head, he heard Lu Lingxing ask, "Who is it?"
Somewhat irritated, Lin Xi b.u.mped his elbow into him, "You"re trusting the word of a drunkard?"
Lu Lingxing made a sly expression, "Honestly, sometimes drunkards are more trustworthy."
Losing all patience, Lin Xi sat down on the sofa and flipped one leg on top of the other. "All right. Let"s see what kind of story he brings us."
Licking his dry lips, Tang"s dull eyes flashed with light. "You know the youngest child of the Fang family?"
"The one with a pointy chin, who looks like a girl?" Lu Xijia asked, looking up incredulously.
"Now that you mention him, I do remember," Lu Lingxing said after a moment"s thought, "His name"s Fang Ruolian, I think, and he"s big in the entertainment world. Lots of girls like him."
He glanced at Lin Xi, who was sitting on the sofa and playing on his phone, "Remember? We met him when we were kids."
Lin Xi"s concentration was fixed on the phone in his hands, and he hadn"t heard anything they had been saying. When he looked up, he was displeased. "Met what?"
"Fang Ruolian from the Fang family," Lu Lingxing repeated, wagging his brow suggestively, "We met him at a banquet when we were kids. He had long braids, and we thought he was a girl. You even wanted to strip his pants off so you could be sure!"
Lin Xi snorted. "Oh, that guy. What about him?"
"It must be him," Tang slurred his words, "Everyone"s talking about it. He"s the one Duan Shen"s married to."
Lin Xi"s face contorted.
Duan Shen and Fang Ruolian had nothing in common. Of all the people they could guess, why did they have to pick the one he used to pick on when he was a kid?
Squinting, he tried to recall what the guy looked like when he was a kid. Unexpectedly, the image he conjured up was that of the delicate face he glimpsed earlier in Duan Shen"s office building.
The two of them were both quite girly in appearance.
Lin Xi"s thought were casual, but somehow the two faces overlapped in his mind. What followed was the conversation between the two employees.
As the clues came to the surface, he hesitated, then slammed a fist into the table and stood up. "Yeah, right!"
Author"s note: The writer is here to give you a lesson about how this chapter was written. According to how things developed, there were three parts, basically: showing off their love at home, showing off their love in front of friends, and then showing off their live in front of strangers (tragic).