Don’t Even Think About It - Chapter 7

The nightlife around eleven or twelve o’clock had just kicked off. Everywhere, men and women were moving back and forth, and the continuous sound of conversations, laughter, and playful banter rose and fell. While the individual noises weren’t overwhelming, the collective din was quite rowdy.

Qiao Yan took the long way back, deliberately avoiding Zhou Xiyun to ensure they wouldn’t cross paths head-on.

It wasn’t that she was intentionally hiding from Zhou Xiyun, rather, this kind of situation was quite awkward. Out of consideration, she consciously chose not to interrupt someone else’s good moment, worried that if they discovered her, both sides would be embarrassed, and she wanted to avoid creating unnecessary complications.

Qiao Yan was long accustomed to scenes like this. This wasn’t her first time encountering such a thing, and she had developed a wealth of experience in handling it smoothly.

During their middle and high school years, a few boys who wanted to pursue Goddess Zhou were terrified of being rejected and didn’t dare to confess face to face. They had stealthily approached Qiao Yan, her compound neighbor, several times to have her pass along love letters and gifts. They had once racked their brains to bribe her, using every trick in the book.

Some things simply became familiar after the first try, after a few repetitions, one adapted.

Initially, Qiao Yan hadn’t been willing to do the favors. No matter who approached her, she would claim she wasn’t close with Zhou Xiyun and had no intention of getting involved. But later, on one occasion, she reluctantly agreed and helped one of them deliver a small, sentiment-filled gift.

The result was entirely predictable. Zhou Xiyun had thrown everything away with a dark expression, ruthlessly mocking Qiao Yan for poking her nose into other people’s business, and even forbidding her from stepping foot inside the Zhou family’s front door ever again.

From then on, Qiao Yan truly washed her hands of that lady’s romantic affairs. She stayed as far away as possible and refused to get involved in any of it, saving herself the trouble.

Zhou Xiyun hated it when others interfered in her private life. It didn’t matter who it was, even when her own mother stepped in, it didn’t work.

When the top student threw a tantrum, it was actually quite terrifying, to the point of turning her back on her own kin. Qiao Yan still had a deep impression of those past events. She could easily recall the look on Zhou Xiyun’s cold face when she was angry. Though she was usually a gentle and placid person, once her temper flared, she looked just like a deity of wrath.

Qiao Yan discreetly returned to their booth and shifted her seat to one in the corner.

Rong Yin asked with concern, “You were gone for so long before coming back. Is something wrong?”

Qiao Yan replied, “No, I was just over there catching some fresh air.”

Rong Yin followed up, “I wondered what happened to you. I was just about to go look for you.”

Being alone in a bar wasn’t safe and things could easily go wrong, so her friends were keeping a watchful eye.

Qiao Yan poured herself a glass of water, held it in her hands, and replied, “You guys go ahead and play, don’t worry about me.”

Rong Yin nodded, turning around to accept the cigarette Min-jie handed over, then stepped aside to join the rowdy crowd on the other side.

To the side, A-Kuan was still unable to let loose. Being young and thin-skinned, she was always easily teased; a little ribbing from the older brothers and sisters readily made her face and ears turn red. The young girl showed a rare moment of cleverness this time, actively leaning in to light Rong Yin’s cigarette and even helping Boss Rong hold her wine glass.

Rong Yin lowered her head to take a drag, then raised her hand to caress A-Kuan’s face. She rubbed and pressed with her fingertips, alternating between light and heavy pressure, directly leaving a faint, reddened mark on the girl’s chin. This sequence of actions carried a deep meaning, laced with an ambiguous undertone.

Rong Yin had drunk quite a bit and wasn’t entirely sober.

How could the friends lack this bit of perceptiveness? Every single one of them understood perfectly in their hearts, but on the surface, they all pretended not to see and refrained from teasing blindly.

Qiao Yan likewise turned a blind eye, burying her head in her phone to act as an invisible person.

Tomorrow was Saturday, so there was no need to work. Tonight, she could cast everything aside and relax.

Min-jie and the others were still drinking glass after glass. Judging by this momentum, the party most likely wouldn’t break up until the early hours of the morning.

Qiao Yan didn’t rush them either, in no hurry to go back. For the remainder of the time, she didn’t touch a single drop of alcohol, occasionally just popping a couple of bites of food into her mouth, while frequently scanning the surroundings, her gaze drifting toward the direction of the bar counter.

The gathering of white-collar workers from the Yifeng Group had just started, and they hadn’t even finished their first round of drinks.

Tonight’s gathering should be a welcome ceremony held for someone, a celebration of sorts. Perhaps it was for Zhou Xiyun, or perhaps for Jiang Kaipin.

The probability lay heavily with the former, after all, the latter’s position was much lower.

During this interval, a man of medium build stood up to toast Zhou Xiyun, his attitude exceptionally flattering.

Zhou Xiyun’s expression remained unchanged, making it impossible to tell whether she was pleased or not. She merely gave a lukewarm nod, neither returning the man’s toast nor even clinking glasses with him.

Afterward, Jiang Kaipin also toasted Zhou Xiyun with a smile, smoothly pouring her more beer.

Zhou Xiyun treated him slightly better, not quite as cold and detached.

Qiao Yan took the entire process in, roughly able to guess exactly what the situation was over there.

Zhou Xiyun didn’t reject Jiang Kaipin. Qiao Yan could feel it. It was too obvious, requiring no guesswork at all. The treatment Jiang Kaipin received from Zhou Xiyun was absolutely unique. If this had been anyone else, there was a high probability Zhou Xiyun wouldn’t even let that glass of alcohol touch her lips, at most offering a couple of perfunctory gestures.

Previously, Qiao Yan had thought that the habitually aloof top student probably wouldn’t accept Jiang Kaipin’s advances, but right now, the facts were vastly different, it wasn’t like that at all.

But this wasn’t strange either, the development was quite reasonable.

Jiang Kaipin’s personal qualities in the company really weren’t bad. Although he didn’t rank among the most premium standards, he possessed the advantages of being young and ambitious. His educational background, height, and appearance were all decent, his speech and demeanor were generous and witty, his family background was average without holding him back, and his methods of pursuing someone were passable. Compared to those slick old-timers in the workplace, he was definitively a blue-chip stock with real potential, which undoubtedly made him quite sought-after.

A steady and introverted man was very suitable for Zhou Xiyun, they paired together quite well in every aspect.

Qiao Yan unlocked her phone screen, tapped into her Moments once again, and scrolled down to refresh.

The faint light cast onto her face, illuminating the beautiful contours of her features.

Zhou Xiyun didn’t pay attention to this direction, speaking in a low voice with the colleague beside her.

On stage, the resident performing band appeared once more, playing and singing for all the patrons and interacting with the various drinkers. The entire bar grew lively, and everyone supported the performance quite enthusiastically.

After the band took their bows, the bar owner went up to make an appearance, driving the atmosphere of the entire venue.

The bar owner was a glamorous woman in her thirties named Wen Ruyu. She had a beautiful face and a stunning figure. She was very warm, after stepping off the stage, she came over to their side once, waving at Qiao Yan with a beaming smile.

Qiao Yan conversed with Wen Ruyu for a short while, chatting casually.

Wen Ruyu generously gifted their table a crate of alcohol and even offered a twenty percent discount on this evening’s bill.

Qiao Yan wasn’t affectedly coy; she accepted it graciously and voiced her thanks.

Wen Ruyu had other matters to attend to and left before long.

Qiao Yan watched her leave, inadvertently glancing into the distance once more.

Presumably still not having noticed this side, Zhou Xiyun had already sat down, staring down at her phone.

At the same time, Jiang Kaipin on the other end of the sofa was also silently tinkering with his phone, looking as though he was messaging and chatting with someone.

These two might very well be chatting with each other.

With so many colleagues present, some words were inconvenient to say face to face, so they could only discuss them in detail over WeChat.

Qiao Yan turned her face away to look elsewhere, no longer paying attention to that spot.

The bar was noisy, becoming louder and more crowded the later it got.

The small gathering among friends concluded at half past midnight. Min-jie and the others couldn’t withstand the drowsiness, having drunk enough, they wanted to leave.

Qiao Yan stayed behind to tie up loose ends, sending off a few people first, then helping to call rides for Rong Yin and A-Kuan.

“Keep an eye on her, make sure she’s delivered right to her front door,” Qiao Yan said to A-Kuan, giving worried instructions.

A-Kuan hummed in agreement, supporting Rong Yin into the car.

There were still friends behind her. Qiao Yan painstakingly expended time and effort to find designated drivers for these remaining people, continuing until she had sent off the very last one.