To Sweep Across Like Wildfire - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Jiang Sitian’s deduction that the people in the corner might belong to a “special profession” was peppered with uncertain terms like “possibly” and “maybe,” so Meng Chi hadn’t fully bought into it.

However, hearing the woman say it with her own ears, Meng Chi was too nervous to think deeply or question the truth of the statement. Instead, she believed whatever the woman said. She was stunned by the other’s frankness, and the bluntness of the words made the tips of her ears burn.

Aside from necessary daily interactions, Meng Chi rarely initiated conversations—in fact, she almost never did.

Though she lacked experience in these matters, under normal circumstances, if someone rejected her so flatly, she would have walked away without a second thought. But today, it was as if she were under a spell; her feet felt heavy, and she could only stand there in a daze.

When the others at the table heard Shen Qingruo’s remark, they immediately grasped the situation. They had assumed this girl was an acquaintance of Shen Qingruo’s because she walked over so directly; discovering it was a cold approach, they broke out into a chorus of playful jeering.

Shen Qingruo’s brows knitted briefly before she leaned back against the soft sofa cushions and smiled. “Just kidding.”

She rested her hand casually on the empty seat beside her and added, “Want to sit for a bit?”

Meng Chi was not used to being teased. Just as she felt trapped between advancing and retreating, the woman spoke up with an invitation. Relieved yet incredibly tense, she sat down stiffly by the woman’s side.

Ignoring the banter around them, Shen Qingruo turned her face and said softly, “Aren’t you tired of holding that drink the whole time?”

She reached out, bringing with her a faint scent of perfume, and took the glass from Meng Chi’s hand.

Meng Chi racked her brain but couldn’t think of a single thing to say. She wished Jiang Sitian could possess her body; with Sitian’s “chatterbox” nature, there would never be a dull moment.

After a few more minutes, Shen Qingruo tilted her chin toward the side and chuckled. “Is that your friend?”

Meng Chi looked over immediately. Jiang Sitian was staring their way with a look of absolute horror, as if she were witnessing something terrifying.

“…Yes,” Meng Chi said sheepishly. Seeing a familiar face in a strange environment gave her a small sense of security. She asked, “Am I bothering you?”

“No,” Shen Qingruo blinked. “You arrived just at the right time.”

Meng Chi didn’t quite catch her meaning, but looking into those warm, smiling eyes, her heart couldn’t help but race again. Worried she looked strange, she tried to regain her usual composure, telling herself to treat the woman like a textbook on advanced calculus.

“My name is Meng Chi. What is… your name? If it’s convenient for you to say.”

The “Calculus Book” replied: “Have you never been to a bar before?”

“Is it that obvious?”

“A little. When you asked for my name just now, for a second, I felt like I was back in a classroom.”

“…” Meng Chi hated how boring she was being.

She had always known she wasn’t very interesting, but she had never cared before. After all, one doesn’t need to be lively when facing a book.

Shen Qingruo said with a serious face: “Giving your real name in a bar can lead to bad things.”

“…Really?” Meng Chi hesitated. While she wasn’t a barfly, the claim sounded a bit far-fetched, but the woman looked so earnest that Meng Chi wondered if she was simply ignorant of the world.

Shen Qingruo: “For example, if you owe money at the bar, the boss might track you down to your school and let the whole grade know you’re a deadbeat party girl.”

“…Ah, that would be terrible.”

Perhaps because Meng Chi’s tone was so deadpan, Shen Qingruo burst into a smile. she leaned down, used a toothpick to spear a piece of shredded squid, dipped it in a small side dish, and held it out to Meng Chi. “Try this. Eat it in one bite.”

From a distance, Jiang Sitian couldn’t see what was in the woman’s hand, only that she was feeding Meng Chi. Sitian was terrified—what if the woman had spiked the food? To her shock, Meng Chi acted like a three-year-old, completely losing her sense of caution. She ate the food from the stranger in the blink of an eye.

The moment the squid hit her tongue, Meng Chi felt a volcanic force erupt in her mouth, surging straight toward her skull. Her eyes instantly watered. The taste was so sharp and spicy it made her face contort.

The “culprit” laughed out loud. “Okay, you definitely haven’t been to a bar.”

She pulled out two tissues and naturally wiped the moisture from the corners of Meng Chi’s eyes, sighing. “That’s wasabi squid. Little one, don’t eat things given to you by strangers in the future.”

“…I’ll do it myself.” Meng Chi lost her temper—or rather, her ability to stay upset. She took the tissues from the woman’s hand.

Shen Qingruo didn’t insist. She propped her slender arm on the sofa’s armrest and leaned toward Meng Chi. After a few seconds, she said, “Your friend has been drinking, right? Is it safe for her to go home alone?”

“Huh?”

“You… don’t you want to get a hotel room with me?”

It felt like Meng Chi had eaten another mouthful of wasabi. She started coughing uncontrollably. This woman’s style… was truly shocking.

…

Half an hour later, Jiang Sitian sat in the passenger seat of her friend’s car, clutching two Pocky sticks and inhaling them as if they were cigarettes. She couldn’t understand where she had lost. Why did Meng Chi leave her behind to run off with a woman she’d known for less than an hour?

Half an hour ago, Meng Chi had trudged back from the corner, saying she wanted to send Sitian home. Sitian was confused—they’d only been there for thirty minutes! Why were they leaving already?

Then she looked back at the corner and saw the “bad woman” stand up, walk over with a feline grace, and stop by a wine cabinet nearby. The woman leaned her elbow on the cabinet, cradling her chin, watching them lazily.

Jiang Sitian quickly realized why Meng Chi had offered to take her home first rather than them going home together.

Because her “Baby Meng” was going home with someone else.

Thinking of this, she couldn’t even cry; she had to force a smile and offer her blessings: “No need! I’ll call a friend to pick me up.”

Though Meng Chi insisted, Sitian politely declined, determined to let her friend move past her heartbreak and embrace “happiness.”

Luckily, she had a friend nearby and called them over. While waiting, Sitian felt the “bad woman” was untrustworthy and urged Meng Chi to reconsider. Meng Chi agreed repeatedly, but her face was in a daze, her mind clearly elsewhere.

Back in the present, Jiang Sitian crunched her Pocky stick, sat up straight, and opened her WeChat chat with Meng Chi. She fired off a barrage of messages: “Are you at the hotel? What’s the hotel’s name? Is it really you? Give me the code—when is my birthday?”

Two seconds later, a voice message arrived. The voice was as pleasant as ever: “When is your birthday? Is it coming up soon?”

“…” Jiang Sitian crunched her Pocky stick venomously. Let the world end. I’m done.

…

Rewinding to when Jiang Sitian first left.

Meng Chi stood by the roadside, staring in the direction Jiang Sitian had gone, even after the car had long disappeared around the corner.

A low laugh sounded in her ear, like a cool breeze in the sultry air. She snapped back to reality and looked at the woman beside her.

She had been so busy easing Sitian’s worries that she hadn’t looked closely at her companion until now.

It was after 9 PM, the liveliest time in the city. Busy cars honked at the intersection, and neon lights blurred into lines in the distance. This woman’s aura seemed to blend perfectly into this vanity fair. Her eyes were full of smiles, looking both enchanting and elegant. “Have you made up your mind? It’s not too late to regret it.”

Shen Qingruo looked at the young woman. This “little one” seemed more mature than her peers; her face rarely showed excess emotion.

Sure enough, after hearing the words, a look of hesitation crossed the girl’s face.

Though the girl was an adult, to Shen Qingruo, she still looked young. She didn’t actually intend for anything to happen; she was about to end the joke and thank the girl for helping her escape a boring party when the girl spoke. The hesitation vanished, replaced by a glint of determination.

“Are you afraid?” Meng Chi asked.

Shen Qingruo was slightly surprised, one fine eyebrow arching. She turned around, walked a few steps, and seeing that the girl wasn’t following, she said, “Follow me.”

Meng Chi followed close behind, wondering what had gotten into her. Was she really that triggered by Song Yuanzhe’s cheating? How could she have said something like that?

Shen Qingruo walked ahead in silence. Meng Chi felt anxious—was the woman angry at what she had said?

She tried to read the woman’s expression but could see nothing.

Lost in thought, Meng Chi accidentally walked right into the woman’s back. Shen Qingruo had stopped a moment ago and reached out just in time to steady Meng Chi before she fell.

Meng Chi looked up to thank her, saw the playful smirk on the woman’s face, and then turned to see where they were. If Shen Qingruo hadn’t been holding her, she might have stumbled again.

Ahead was a spacious plaza lined with luxury cars. A musical fountain in the center played soft melodies, and the air carried a faint scent of incense.

Standing before Meng Chi was a lavish, high-end hotel.

“Going in?” Shen Qingruo asked softly.

In that moment, Meng Chi couldn’t smell the hotel incense anymore—only the elusive scent of Shen Qingruo’s perfume.

Ten minutes later, Meng Chi sat dazed in a hotel suite, wondering how she had ended up getting a room with this woman.

Shen Qingruo walked into the room as naturally as if she were at home. She tossed her handbag aside, walked barefoot to the wine cabinet, checked the contents, and asked, “Do you want a drink?”

Meng Chi thought to herself: I only had two sips at the bar and I’m already in a hotel room with her. If I drink more, who knows how crazy I’ll get? She shook her head decisively.

Shen Qingruo poured herself a glass of red wine. “You should have some. You look so nervous I’m afraid you’ll faint.”

Though she had known this woman for less than two hours, Meng Chi had already picked up on some of her traits—like her love for teasing and treating Meng Chi like a child.

Meng Chi bit her lip. Even a rabbit bites when cornered. She said coldly, “You should drink less, lest you pass out drunk yourself.”

Shen Qingruo turned around. The “little rabbit” was sitting on the edge of the bed, looking like she immediately regretted her sharp words. She looked like she wanted to say something to smooth things over but didn’t know how, looking utterly pitiful.

Maybe this is just what youth is like, Shen Qingruo thought.

She held the wine glass for a long time, not even noticing she hadn’t taken a sip. She reached out to pull the curtains closed when she happened to see something outside.

A black Mercedes was parked diagonally across the street. Two or three young people were inside. The person in the driver’s seat was holding a pair of binoculars, peering up at the hotel—specifically toward their room.

Shen Qingruo’s expression turned serious. She stepped quickly to the bedside and picked up the hotel phone, intending to have the staff check it out.

Meng Chi noticed the change in her expression, forgetting her own embarrassment. “What’s wrong?”

She became very calm. Noticing where Shen Qingruo was looking, she walked to the window without waiting for an answer. Three seconds later, Meng Chi’s face turned scarlet with embarrassment.

“Those… those are people I know…”

To be precise, they were Jiang Sitian’s friends.

When Meng Chi received the WeChat message from Sitian earlier, she had reflexively sent her location to put her friend’s mind at ease. She had no idea Sitian would actually send people over. They were likely still worried about her safety.

Shen Qingruo was silent for a moment before speaking into the phone: “Never mind, everything is fine. Sorry.”

As Meng Chi struggled to think of an explanation, Shen Qingruo walked over slowly. She pulled the curtains shut, then blinked at Meng Chi, her curled lashes fluttering.

The next sentence turned the atmosphere thick with ambiguity.

Shen Qingruo lowered her voice purposefully and said: “This is actually quite thrilling.”