Edge of A Burning Kiss - Chapter 18

Qin Yu gave her a fleeting glance and said nothing, merely taking advantage of the red light to send a few text messages.

By the time the two of them walked through the doors of Yu Ye, Xia Jin was already facepalming at the sight of the stage, where the handsome young men were all bundled up tightly.

Wait a minute…

Who were these people?

Where were the shirtless dancers wearing only ties from the short videos? Why were they all wrapped up so tightly today? Did they all suddenly come down with frozen shoulder or something?

Xia Jin beckoned the manager of Yu Ye over and shoved the short video she’d seen earlier right in his face. “Here, tell me, where’s the location tagged in this?”

The manager stole a glance at Qin Yu, who stood nearby looking completely unbothered, and chuckled awkwardly. “Well, of course it’s our establishment, but…”

Xia Jin huffed, “But what?”

“But… the air conditioning’s been a bit too strong lately, and everyone in the shop’s been getting stomachaches from the chill,” the manager laughed nervously. “Haha, yeah, they’re all feeling a bit under the weather.”

Xia Jin took a deep breath. Oh, wonderful. So it wasn’t frozen shoulder, it was stomachaches.

“Stomachaches, huh,” Qin Yu finally spoke up, his tone leisurely. “Well, if they’re in pain, they shouldn’t keep dancing. I’m sure President Xia wouldn’t want to see employees working while sick, right?”

Xia Jin immediately sensed something off about his words.

She pulled out her phone and checked. Sure enough, Yu Ye was a bar Qin Yu had privately invested in.

“Hmph!” Xia Jin couldn’t be bothered to argue with him. Swinging her hips, she turned to follow the manager upstairs.

Just then, a man’s shocked and bewildered voice rang out from the entrance.

“What the hell?! Where are my shirtless guys?! I brought all these people here, and you’re telling me my shirtless guys are gone?!”

Hearing someone who shared her sentiments, Xia Jin’s eyes instantly welled up with tears as she turned to see which long-lost brother dared to speak his mind so boldly in front of Qin Yu.

But the next second, her sworn brother from another life, Tang Wenlun, was instantly slain by the sheer intensity of Qin Yu’s glare.

“Y-Yu… Brother Yu,” Tang Wenlun stammered, terrified. “Brother Yu, what are you doing here?”

Xia Jin noticed the crowd of about a dozen people behind Tang Wenlun. She didn’t want anyone to know she’d come to the bar with Qin Yu, who knew what kind of rumors would spread by the next day.

So she turned around, planning to head straight to Qin Yu’s private VIP room and wait for him there.

“Xia Jin? Is that you?” A woman’s voice suddenly shouted from the crowd, forcing Xia Jin to stop in her tracks.

The others immediately started murmuring, “Xia Jin? Which Xia Jin? The female CEO of Stellar Cube?”

Girl, there are so many hot guys on stage, and you just had to spot me from all the way over here?!

Xia Jin grumbled internally. Why shout so loudly? Did you bring the Golden Purple Gourd or something?

If I answer you, am I going to get sucked into the gourd in the next second?

Girl, I really don’t have time to play the little game of Golden Horn and Silver Horn with you right now.

With a sigh, Xia Jin turned around, only to be startled when she saw the face of “Golden Horn.” It was actually one of her college classmates.

Lin Jingyue was equally surprised. “Xia Jin! It really is you! I was afraid I’d mistaken you for someone else!”

“We haven’t seen each other since graduation, I’m surprised you recognized me!” Xia Jin said with a touch of nostalgia, glancing at their group. “So, what are you all…?”

Lin Jingyue beamed brightly, “I happened to have some free time, so I came to Yu Ye with a friend for fun. But it’s not quite what I saw online.”

Xia Jin, knowing she was the real culprit, laughed sheepishly, “Haha, yeah, it does seem a bit different from what’s online.”

Then Xia Jin turned to Qin Yu, pretending as if she hadn’t just walked in with him, feigning surprise and covering her mouth. “Oh! President Qin is here too! What an honor!”

Qin Yu raised an eyebrow but didn’t call her out. “Ah, President Xia. What a rare sight. I’ve heard so much about you.”

Qin Yu really had the nerve to say that. Aside from her dog, Fanbao, Xia Jin had seen him more often than anyone else these past few days.

Tang Wenlun’s eyes darted between Xia Jin and Qin Yu. As Qin Yu’s best friend, how could he not seize the opportunity now that his buddy’s crush was right in front of him?

So Tang Wenlun spoke up, “Since Xia Jin is alone, why not join us? Don’t worry, it’s all familiar faces from the same circle.”

Xia Jin glanced around, most of them were indeed people she could name.

She looked at Qin Yu, imagining the two of them alone together, and immediately got goosebumps.

Lin Jingyue also chimed in with an invitation. Xia Jin glanced at Qin Yu again, seeking his opinion. Seeing him nod nonchalantly, she finally agreed.

Tang Wenlun promptly took the liberty of booking Qin Yu’s private VIP room, the most lavishly decorated space in all of Yu Ye.

If he was helping Qin Yu woo a girl, he had to show off Qin Yu’s status, right?

Led by the manager, the group moved forward. Xia Jin and Lin Jingyue walked at the back, while Qin Yu strolled leisurely behind Xia Jin, one hand in his pocket, idly scrolling through his phone.

Tang Wenlun, of course, trailed behind the two women, purely out of nosiness.

He was dying to know what Xia Jin and Lin Jingyue would talk about.

Xia Jin suddenly asked, “How are things with that boyfriend from your college days?”

“Great! We’re getting engaged later this year,” Lin Jingyue replied with a smile. “What about you and Ye Tiyan? When’s the wedding?”

Tang Wenlun’s internal alarm bells went off. A stumbling block had appeared on his buddy’s path to love.

Ye Tiyan? Who was Ye Tiyan? None of the top-tier elite circles in the capital had anyone with the surname Ye!

Tang Wenlun was so anxious he almost stepped forward to tell Qin Yu to stop pretending to use his phone and eavesdrop with him.

But then he noticed Qin Yu’s phone wasn’t even unlocked, his fingers were just swiping absently across the lock screen. Clearly, his mind wasn’t on his phone at all.

Tang Wenlun: “…”

Hah. He’d thought Qin Yu was as steady as an old dog, unfazed by the flowers and grass around the girl.

Turns out he was just pretending to be deep and composed, following her while secretly straining his ears to catch every word.

“Ye Tiyan?” Xia Jin grimaced. “That’s Xia Zhixue’s fiancé. And besides, Ye Tiyan and I were never together.”

“Wait, really? But back then, he was so…” Lin Jingyue’s expression darkened instantly. “I knew that little snake Xia Zhixue was up to no good. I should’ve warned you properly back then.”

Tang Wenlun noticed Qin Yu suddenly raising his gaze to meet his eyes. Instantly understanding the unspoken message, Tang hurried forward to assess the situation.

“Ahem,” Tang Wenlun wedged himself between the two, “So whose fiancé were you just talking about? Mind sharing the gossip with me?”

Xia Jin curled her lips. “Tang Wenlun, don’t you have anything better to do? Eavesdropping on us, since when did you become such a gossip?”

“Eavesdropping?!” Tang bristled. “I just have excellent hearing! Your words practically flew straight into my ears!”

Xia Jin shot him a skeptical glance, her disbelief plain.

Lin Jingyue, meanwhile, stifled a giggle behind her hand.