Lin Wan stood in front of the sink for a while, feeling melancholic. The thought of that dirty, chaotic place made her disgusted, so she decided to step over to the window for some fresh air. Almost half an hour later, she began to walk back. As she reached the corner, she heard a familiar female voice, the same one she had overheard earlier. She froze in her tracks, because she had just heard a name she recognized.
"... A Jin, when are you finally going to settle down?" The woman's voice was tinged with resentment, but there was also a clear exhaustion.
"Don't overthink it. You're about to get married, isn't that good?"
"Heh," the woman gave a bitter laugh, her voice growing a little more agitated. "Good? Do you know why I'm getting married? You also know why I've been dragging this out. Honestly, every time I see you with another woman, my heart feels like it's being ripped apart, but then I see you with someone else, and I console myself by saying, look, they won't last, because they don't deserve you. As far as family background and personal qualities go, I'm the most suitable. So I've endured it, and still faithfully waited for you..."
"Fang Mei, you've had too much to drink."
"Don't stop me, let me finish. I won't have the chance to say this again," the woman coughed, continuing, "A Jin, you know, in our circle, it's all about marriage for interests. But I'm different. I have feelings for you, even if you don't love me, it doesn't matter. My love for you is enough… But do you have to find someone who loves you as much as you love her? But even if you find someone, your family…"
"This has nothing to do with it." The man interrupted impatiently.
The woman sneered, "Is that so? I really look forward to the day you get married. I want to see who you end up with."
"If you've decided to get married, you should put away all these messy thoughts…"
"Messy thoughts?" The woman raised her voice, clearly angry. "Chen Jin, you really know how to trample on someone's feelings..."
"Enough, Fang Mei. If it weren't for the years we've known each other, I wouldn't listen to you talk so much. That's it, I'm going in."
"Wait, what about Lin Wan? Will she be an exception?" The woman gritted her teeth and asked.
The man sneered, "Women really like to argue, don't they? What do you think?"
Lin Wan wasn't interested in other people's private affairs, but she still listened to this long "corner conversation" because that person wasn't "someone else." It was her enemy. She was curious about his love life, curious about how he treated a woman who loved him deeply. She was even curious about that woman's final question, although she also thought it was impossible.
She even risked being discovered and peeked around the corner. There, standing face to face with Chen Jin, was the woman, dressed in a black little dress that accentuated her perfect figure. Visually, the two of them seemed quite well-matched. Although Lin Wan only saw her profile, she immediately recognized her—the woman who wore Chanel on Chen Xi's birthday. So that's who she was.
And sure enough, that person had a heart of stone, showing no reaction at all. Lin Wan felt sympathy for the woman named Fang Mei, who had offered her heart only to have it trampled by this bastard. But she felt even more pity for herself, as she had been dragged into this mess for no reason. She was trampled, not just in heart, but in body and soul, with her entire life shattered by this scumbag.
The footsteps grew fainter, but Lin Wan felt powerless, leaning against the smooth glass wall for a while before mustering enough strength to walk back. She had barely taken a few steps when she almost collided with a girl rushing toward her.
"Hey, Lin Wan?" The girl pointed at her in surprise.
Lin Wan looked closely and recognized the girl. She smiled and greeted her, "Hi, Chen Xi. What a coincidence."
"Coincidence? You're here for this 'last single night' thing too, right?" Chen Xi said, grabbing Lin Wan's hand and pulling her the other way. "I'm telling you, don't go in there. Those old men are so boring. The whole place is a karaoke joint, and that idiot Fang Waiwai made such a mess of it. He yelled so much I thought my ears were going to burst. Let's go do something else."
Lin Wan was tempted to agree but hesitated when she thought of the hot-headed man. "Chen..."
"Ugh, don't worry," Chen Xi interrupted, waving at a passing waiter. "Hey, go tell Mr. Chen that his beloved Miss Lin has been taken away by his dear sister." She turned to Lin Wan and smiled, "Alright, let's go. I'll take you somewhere else to open your eyes."
And sure enough, it was quite an eye-opening experience.
Lin Wan was led by Chen Xi to the first floor. Since she had taken the elevator straight up earlier, she didn't realize that the first floor was a club, completely different from the world upstairs. It was crowded and noisy, the smell of smoke and alcohol hanging in the air. Everywhere she looked, she saw eyes filled with desire. If the people upstairs were disguised in pursuit of pleasure, the people here had torn off their masks, revealing their raw and direct desires.
The lighting was dim, with a beam of light focused on the stage, where everyone's attention was directed. A hot performance was underway—pole dancing. In the fast-paced music, a red-haired woman in a tight leather outfit was performing energetically, twisting her body like a snake, making provocative movements. She thrust her chest, swayed her hips, and rubbed sensually, causing the crowd to cheer and whistle in excitement.
"How's that? Exciting, right?" Chen Xi dragged Lin Wan through the crowd, finally squeezing to the front, grinning at the stage.
"Yeah," Lin Wan replied absently.
At that moment, the dancer was climbing up the pole and spinning, her red hair flying in the air like a flame blowing in the wind, or like a flower blooming fiercely. But what Lin Wan noticed wasn't her seductive moves. It was her expression, which was completely indifferent, ignoring the cheers and attention from the audience. Yet, she was fully immersed in her own world. When she wiped the sweat from her face after landing, Lin Wan couldn't help but feel envious. It looked so liberating.
Looking around at the men in the room, Lin Wan was filled with a strange feeling. These people were crude, vulgar, and unruly, but at least they were real. Thinking of the endless games played upstairs, she felt mentally and physically exhausted, and she grew to loathe herself more. A destructive desire began to rise from within her body, and like wild grass, it spread uncontrollably.