The minor incident was over in a flash, barely making a ripple in Lin Chu’s mind.

Du Xiaoman, however, seemed to fear Lin Chu was angry. She became even more docile and attentive, practically gluing herself to his side. She looked like she wanted to follow him even to the restroom, providing him with more than enough emotional validation.

Xiaolu even chimed in nonchalantly, remarking that some guys these days really have no sense of boundaries.

Lin Chu just smiled and replied casually, not really bothered by it at all.

Even if Du Xiaoman really did have a boyfriend, Lin Chu wouldn’t have felt the least bit jealous. In fact, he might have been even more excited... ’It’s like an attack speed boost.’

’In this dazzling world, all that matters is having fun.’

With Liu Junfeng and the two girls he had chatted up joining them, the atmosphere instantly became much livelier. They played games and drank, and time flew by.

When Lin Chu returned from the restroom again, he suddenly noticed an extra person at their table. The atmosphere was subtly off.

Chen Jinyu.

She was still in her athletic wear and a hat, standing before the table. Liu Junfeng was trying to placate her with a smile. She was smiling too, but she wasn’t leaving.

’She’s obviously waiting for me.’

’Hm?’

After a moment’s thought, Lin Chu walked over and smiled. "Fancy seeing you here. You came too? Want to join us for a drink?"

Chen Jinyu maintained her grace and composure, politely declining with a smile. "I won’t have a drink. Can I steal you for a moment? Just for a quick chat?"

"Sure."

"Let’s go, then."

With a grin, Lin Chu slung an arm around her shoulder and headed for the exit.

His action left everyone at the table stunned.

’What was that all about?’

The onlookers, at least, couldn’t make heads or tails of their relationship. They didn’t seem like a married couple, nor did they seem like lovers. Most importantly, the woman wasn’t angry, so it didn’t look like a scene of someone catching their partner cheating.

Once the two were out of earshot, Liu Junfeng chuckled. "She’s a female client from my club. I think she probably likes Brother Chu, but their lifestyles are just too different. Brother Chu doesn’t want to hurt her feelings, so he’s just letting her down easy."

"Oh."

Hearing this, they immediately understood.

"Huh? Didn’t we see her yesterday? She looks kind of familiar."

Lu Ming chimed in.

Xiaolu nodded as she remembered. "Yeah, it’s her. I saw her yesterday, too. I remember thinking how beautiful, elegant, and classy she was."

Liu Junfeng laughed. "Tell me about it. They only just met yesterday—I was the one who introduced them. I swear to god, Brother Chu’s charisma... I’m truly in awe."

The group couldn’t help but laugh, and the atmosphere returned to normal.

Du Xiaoman also let out a long sigh of relief. A moment ago, while Lin Chu was in the restroom, that woman had come over looking for him, and it had nearly scared Du Xiaoman witless.

’She’d thought Lin Chu was already married and his wife had come looking for him.’

But now...

Although she still felt a little sour, on second thought, she had her own admirers chasing after her. It was only natural that a guy like Lin Chu would have lots of women who liked him.

Right now, she was more curious than anything. What had they gone outside to talk about?

...

Outside the bar, the fresh air was invigorating, clearing Lin Chu’s head. He lit a cigarette, looking completely at ease as he watched her with a slight smile. "Still can’t sleep, huh?"

All the way from her seat, Chen Jinyu had been agonizing over what to say and how to say it. His words gave her emotions an outlet, and she suddenly threw her arms around Lin Chu.

She held on tightly, as if afraid he would run away.

"I bought you pajamas, underwear, and socks, a full set of toiletries, I even made you hangover soup... but I still couldn’t stop myself from coming out to find you. I saw on your social media feed that you were drinking at this bar a couple of days ago, so I thought I’d come try my luck."

Hearing the slight tremble in her gentle voice, Lin Chu was taken aback.

"You’re really that smitten?"

He held her and patted her back. "Just hearing those words... forget a year ago, even just a month ago, they would’ve made me grin like an absolute idiot. What did I ever do to deserve an amazing woman like you being so infatuated with me? I’d have given you my life." 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Chen Jinyu’s curiosity was instantly piqued. "So, what happened this month?"

Lin Chu exhaled a long plume of smoke and said with a wry smile, "I awakened a superpower. Now all I want to do is save the world."

She looked up and gave Lin Chu a soft, reproachful glance.

’I’m asking you a serious question, and you’re just joking around.’

"Have you ever been married before?"

Lin Chu suddenly blurted out.

Chen Jinyu froze for a second, looking as if she’d been insulted. Her face flushed red and she bit down hard. "No!"

"Whoa, whoa, don’t get angry. I was just asking. I haven’t either."

"This morning, when I was putting on the socks, I was thinking, ’She must really know how to take care of a man, having socks all ready like that...’ Maybe she once had a man she loved very much. She took care of his every need, kept everything in perfect order for him. But in the end, they still broke up."

She froze again.

This time, her defenses were well and truly shattered.

Her eyes instantly reddened and tears streamed down her face. It felt like a knife had been twisted deep in her heart.

A bullet from many years ago had just crossed the river of time and struck her right between the eyes.

"Whoa, whoa, hey, don’t cry. I know you’re not crying because of me, but it’s still hard to watch. There, there, you’re a grown woman now..."

Lin Chu said with a grin, his movements gentle as he wiped away her tears.

"See? This is part of the reason, you get it now? When a beautiful young woman like you cries, someone is there to wipe your tears and comfort you. But if a guy like me were to cry, I’d be laughed at. My buddies would just get me drunk, then laugh and call me an idiot, asking, ’Broke up again, huh?’"

"I’m not going to get into a relationship again."

"It’s like I said yesterday: in this dazzling world, all that matters is having fun."

Chen Jinyu fell silent. Suddenly, she felt a pang of heartache for him. Even though she was the one crying and he was the one smiling, she could clearly sense that Lin Chu was the one who was more broken.

An innate, nurturing instinct was instantly triggered within her.

She wiped her own tears. "Then we won’t. Life goes on no matter what, right? It’s not like you’ll die without a man."

Lin Chu burst out laughing and pinched her cheek. "You won’t die without *love*. But a woman without a man, or a man without a woman, they’ll both get pent-up and frustrated. Look at you, your complexion is so much better today than yesterday. Got your circulation going, didn’t we?"

Chen Jinyu: ...

A shy yet bewitching look crept into her eyes.

The thought of their wild night sent a little thrill through her.

"How about I call you my big sister?"

Lin Chu said suddenly.

She looked up at Lin Chu, understanding his meaning. She lowered her head and said nothing.

’She didn’t want to agree.’

’But she didn’t really want to refuse, either.’

"Forget it, then."

"Well, I’m off. Bye."

Lin Chu said, waving his hand.

"Come back!"

she cried out in a panic.

Lin Chu, fully subscribing to the principle that a woman’s lack of refusal is a form of consent, grinned. "Alright, then from now on, you’re my dear sworn sister... Sis, how about we start by having you catch me up on the last twenty-four years of lucky money?"

Chen Jinyu: ?

She shot him a glare. "What do you think you are... some kind of..."

She was too embarrassed to say the word "gigolo."

Lin Chu: "I can be."

Her: ...

...

...