My Husband's Eyes Have Been Looking Different Lately After Our Marriage of Convenience - Chapter 16

Chapter 16: “Not going back, I’m going out to play”…

Song Ai didn’t leave the meal feeling particularly full.

Firstly, because Lu Tingyun’s first love and old classmates were there, performing their roles in perfect harmony. They almost turned the entire dinner into a “Memoirs of University Life.”

Secondly, even though the Shen family had spent a lot of money, hotel banquets are never as good as private chefs. Song Ai still preferred the food back at the Lu family’s old residence.

When they stepped out of the lobby, the sky was pitch black, streetlights were fully lit, and there were few pedestrians on the street.

The driver was already waiting at the curb. Lu Tingyun and Song Ai walked down the stairs side-by-side. Lu Tingyun had one hand in his pocket, his pace slow, the hem of his suit jacket fluttering slightly with his steps. He seemed to be in a good mood.

As they reached the final step, Song Ai heard him ask indifferently: “Going home?”

Even though it was dark, how long can a banquet last? Without looking at his watch, Song Ai could guess it was only around 8:00 PM. Normally at this hour, he would definitely be out “on the town.”

Lu Tingyun usually never asked. But since he did, Song Ai saw no need to hide his intentions.

Just as he was about to speak, Wang Ruijing caught up from behind, slung an arm around Song Ai’s shoulder, and asked with a grin: “Ride in my car, Ai-ge?”

Song Ai instinctively tried to shake him off twice, failed, and then stopped caring. He was always casual with his friends, and right now, he was focused on something else.

“You drove here yourself?”

“Need you even ask?” Wang Ruijing lifted his chin proudly.

Well, pride comes before a fall. As soon as he lifted his head, he caught a glimpse of the look in the eyes of the man standing on Song Ai’s other side. Wang Ruijing nearly broke into a cold sweat.

That gaze felt sharp enough to carve him up…

Wang Ruijing quickly retracted his hand.

Song Ai didn’t notice this, still pressing: “Don’t you have to look after your dad?”

Wang Ruijing swallowed hard and said sheepishly: “…No need. He has plenty of people to look after him.”

Before the banquet ended, the two of them had already agreed over WeChat on the “after-party.”

A new e-sports bar has opened in J-City. Word was the VIP boxes had massive screens for LAN gaming, allowing you to play while you drink. It was an investment by one of their friends, opening today, and they decided to go show some support.

Having received a definitive answer, Song Ai turned to look at Lu Tingyun. He didn’t speak, but his eyes were clear: I’m not going back, I’m going out to play.

The other man didn’t say anything either. He gave Song Ai a cold sweep of his eyes, then stepped into the car door the driver had opened in advance.

Song Ai: “…?”

The silent treatment??

Seeing this, Wang Ruijing—fearful that Song Ai might bolt—pushed him toward the parking lot on the other side. “Let’s go, let’s go.”

…

The bar wasn’t far.

Wang Ruijing loved to speed, and by the time Song Ai looked up from his phone (having received no reply from Li Shang), the car had already stopped.

“What did Li Shang say?”

Song Ai dimmed his screen. “Didn’t reply. No idea what he’s up to.”

“Shall we start without him?”

“Start.”

Wang Ruijing was a man of action. He grabbed his phone and headed for the front desk. He hadn’t planned on contacting their mutual friend, intending to just support the business quietly.

But as luck would have it, the friend was standing right at the front desk. Hearing Wang Ruijing’s voice, the friend looked up and brightened.

“I knew you guys would come.”

Wang Ruijing laughed. “Why is a major shareholder like you designing to work the front desk? Is the shop that short-handed?”

“Ugh.” The friend looked annoyed just thinking about it. “I hired a college student. Looked decent, seemed sharp, but he couldn’t talk his way out of a paper bag. He just offended a major client, almost ruined my opening day. I sent him to the back to wash glasses.”

Wang Ruijing caught the keyword. “What major client?”

“The kind that spends big…” Halfway through, the friend paused, suddenly looking at Song Ai. “Hey! Ai-ge should know him. He’s your husband’s cousin… name’s Cheng Chao. Quite young, looks like he just turned eighteen.”

Song Ai: “…”

Again? Seriously?

He gave a “dead” smile and said out of the blue: “He’s a minor.”

The friend froze. “What?”

Song Ai explained coolly: “Cheng Chao hasn’t turned eighteen yet. You’d better pray there isn’t a surprise inspection today.”

“…Holy sh*t?”

The friend was stunned and slightly disbelieving. “But he showed me his ID. That can’t be fake…”

“Have you never borrowed an older friend’s ID to get into an internet cafe?” Wang Ruijing’s question silenced the friend. He then offered some hollow comfort: “Forget it, you won’t be that unlucky. Just open a private box for us first.”

Dazed, the friend tapped a few keys on the computer. After clicking confirm, he asked politely: “Since you guys made the trip, can I treat you to two dozen beers?”

Tsk. Did they look like the type to take advantage of friends?

Wang Ruijing was about to decline—

But Song Ai accepted smoothly. “Sure.”

He even added a picky supplement: “One dozen beers, one dozen soft drinks. I’m focusing on my health lately.”

Wang Ruijing: “???” Friend: “…”

So, the two each grabbed a crate and headed upstairs.

Wang Ruijing was truly curious. He caught up to Song Ai and asked, “Are you short on money lately?”

Song Ai replied as if it were obvious: “When am I not short on money?”

This was the truth. If he weren’t short on money, the Song family wouldn’t have begged for a marriage alliance with the Lu family.

Wang Ruijing couldn’t argue with that, but he still didn’t understand. Even if he was broke, it shouldn’t be to this extent… He was about to ask more when he heard the sound of plates smashing and glasses breaking.

Song Ai heard it too and paused.

Both turned simultaneously toward the nearest large VIP box. The door was cracked open just a sliver—not much, but enough for them to peek inside.

Bars like this have a specific trait: the lights are never bright. Wang Ruijing squinted as hard as he could, only able to make out a crowd of people.

“Hope they aren’t fighting,” he speculated.

Song Ai had already reached a conclusion. “It’s not a fight; it’s one-sided bullying. Cheng Chao is getting beaten up.”

Wang Ruijing was baffled. “Huh?”

He looked closer. Sure enough, he saw a small figure resembling Cheng Chao, kneeling on the floor in front of a sofa, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. He must have just taken a hard punch to the face.

Wang Ruijing had seen Lu Tingyun’s cousin at a Lu family banquet before, so the face was familiar.

Since they were acquaintances, Wang Ruijing asked casually: “Should we go in and help?”

Song Ai didn’t hesitate for half a second. He turned to walk away.

“Help that idiot? I’d have to have water in my brain to—”

However, before he could finish the sentence, the scene through the door crack fully entered his view.

The buzz-cut guy in front of Cheng Chao had picked up a wine bottle at some point and was about to smash it over Cheng Chao’s head. From the looks of it, a cracked skull would be the best-case scenario.

The rest of the sentence—”that idiot”—stayed in his throat. Song Ai lunged forward and threw the door open.

Wang Ruijing, who had just been agreeing that Song Ai shouldn’t be a do-gooder, felt his eyes bulge at this sight.

He’s. Dead. Meat.

Song Ai looked fierce, but he actually had no idea how to fight. Wang Ruijing knew him too well.

Their first interaction in high school was when Wang Ruijing was cornered and bullied by several seniors. Wang Ruijing had just transferred and was being targeted because he was frequently dropped off in luxury cars.

One day after school, Wang Ruijing stayed late to do homework. As he headed home, he was blocked by several older students. They claimed they were seniors and wanted to “get to know” him. They promised he could “walk sideways” in school as long as he paid a protection fee.

Wang Ruijing, a good student back then, had never seen anything like this. Terrified, he was about to pull out his wallet when a backpack suddenly flew out from behind him, hitting one of the seniors squarely in the face.

Wang Ruijing turned and saw a youthful, beautiful face.

Song Ai’s school uniform was a mess back then, his hair was wild, and he looked rebellious—more like a delinquent than the seniors. But because he had a single canine tooth, he still looked somewhat cute.

Wang Ruijing thought he was a savior descending from heaven and looked at him with gratitude.

But in the next second, Song Ai grabbed Wang Ruijing’s wrist and bolted. They ran for nearly a kilometer before stopping, gasping for air.

Wang Ruijing asked, “What about your backpack?”

Song Ai was nonchalant: “It’s fine. I never brought books home anyway; it wasn’t much use.”

A classic “sacrificing the rook to save the king” move.

Thus, Wang Ruijing learned that Song Ai was actually only good at running.

Right now, Song Ai had already thrown the door open, and the people inside all turned to look. With no way out, Wang Ruijing had to bite the bullet and follow him.

Cheng Chao slowly turned his head. One of his eyes was swollen shut, so he couldn’t see clearly, only that someone had burst in.

The person had great momentum, but very thin arms. Cheng Chao was dazed. Was this person here to save him? …Why did it feel more like they were here to die with him?

The buzz-cut youth sitting in the center of the sofa with his legs crossed squinted and spoke first: “What are you doing here?”

Song Ai stood at the door, his frame not trembling in the slightest. He answered crisply: “Looking for someone.”

Buzz-cut looked around. No one stood up to claim this intruder. He asked again: “Who?”

Song Ai: “The midget in front of you.”

The 1.73-meter-tall Cheng Chao: “…”

So he is here to save me.

Buzz-cut snorted and leaned back, his posture becoming even more arrogant. He glanced at the boy kneeling before him and laughed: “Then you’re here to find death.”

Song Ai raised an eyebrow. “That’s not necessarily true.”

Hearing this, Buzz-cut sized him up. The newcomer was tall but scrawny; his legs were as thin as bamboo chopsticks. Buzz-cut figured even if this guy used all his strength to kick someone, it would feel more like a massage than a blow. He was even holding a crate of coconut milk.

Doesn’t look like he drinks, let alone fights.

Buzz-cut felt confident. He gave a look to his subordinates and ordered with a laugh: “Since he’s so ungrateful, let him taste what it’s like to wish for death. Get him! Beat him to death!”

Wang Ruijing thought: It’s over, it’s over.

There were so many people there, and they all looked tough. If a real fight broke out, Song Ai would lose half his life!

Wang Ruijing took half a step back, grabbed a passing waiter, and whispered for him to get the owner and shareholders. The waiter hadn’t seen the scene inside and looked confused.

Wang Ruijing had to explain: “I know your shareholders. Tell them my surname is Wang. There’s trouble in here. If you don’t want the police or a huge scandal on opening night, tell them to bring some people over NOW!”

The waiter finally realized the severity. “Oh, oh, okay, okay!”

Knowing he couldn’t leave Song Ai to die alone, Wang Ruijing pinned his hopes on the waiter. After seeing the waiter scramble downstairs, Wang Ruijing turned back to monitor the situation in the box.

However, in the next second, he froze.