Blossom through the Cloud - Chapter 46

Chapter 46

When he said this, a faint, roguish smile lingered at the corner of his lips, making him look utterly unprincipled.

Ruan Sixian froze for a moment, lightly slapped his cheek, and hopped down from the sofa.

"You wish."

Fu Mingyu slowly stood up, looking rather helpless.

"Fine, I'll owe it to you then."

You certainly know how to find a graceful way out for yourself.

Ruan Sixian turned around and ignored him, picking up her empty water glass to wash it in the kitchen sink.

Fu Mingyu followed right behind her. Against the backdrop of the trickling water, he asked, "Are you feeling better?"

Ruan Sixian scrubbed the glass vigorously and let out a soft "Mm."

"Then I'll head back."

With her head lowered, Ruan Sixian muttered a barely audible "Thank you."

Fu Mingyu didn't catch it, but halfway to the door, he turned back around and asked, "Are you free tomorrow afternoon?"

"What's up?"

"Accompany me somewhere."

"Where?"

"A gathering with some friends."

Ruan Sixian turned to look at him. Though she remained silent, her eyes clearly telegraphed the question: Why on earth would you bring me to a gathering with your friends?

Are you genuinely dense or just pretending to be?

Fu Mingyu rotated his neck, letting out a prolonged, theatrical sigh.

"Everyone else is bringing their wives or girlfriends. I don't want to go alone."

He certainly made it sound pitiful enough.

"Oh, is that so?" Ruan Sixian turned back to continue scrubbing the glass, her eyebrows lifting slightly. "You don't have to go, you know."

"..."

Fu Mingyu looked down at her, unsure if he had just imagined the faint smile playing at the corners of her lips.

"Double quarterly bonus. Are you going or not?"

Ruan Sixian slammed the glass down with a heavy clack, striking a pose that screamed, You think I'd ever sell out for money?!

After a brief silence lasting all of a few seconds:

"What time tomorrow?"

That's right—there's simply no reason to pick a fight with money.

"Two o'clock." Fu Mingyu slowly backed out of the kitchen, raised his chin toward her with a grin, and said, "I'll pick you up."

The autumn rain came and went in fits and starts, returning with a vengeance overnight and lingering right into the morning, dragging both the rain and the temperature down together.

It was a rare occurrence for Ruan Sixian to sleep so restlessly.

Right around the break of dawn, she had a dream—fragmented and completely devoid of logic, yet with its scattered pieces inexplicably linked to one another. Scene after scene flashed past her like a revolving lantern; rather than feeling like she was living through it, she felt more like a detached audience member watching a film.

First, she saw the low brick wall she used to climb over as a child collapse with a deafening crash, shattering Dong Xian's vanity mirror in the process.

With a swift pivot, the scene shifted, showing Dong Xian sitting before a window holding a palette, painting an oil canvas as if entirely oblivious to the world.

Ruan Sixian stepped closer to take a look, only to realize the oil painting was a portrait of her adult self.

The dream dissolved into a blur right at that memory. When Ruan Sixian finally blinked her eyes open, the wall clock pointed squarely at eight o'clock.

She sat straight up with a spring-like jolt. Having no spare energy to wallow in the lingering emotions of the dream, she immediately hopped out of bed to wash up.

There was a safety training session scheduled for this morning, which would naturally run until noon. Yet Fu Mingyu had specified two in the afternoon; she had originally hoped to wake up early and properly dress up, but clearly, time was no longer on her side.

Rushing through everything in a mad dash, she managed to make it back home by twelve-thirty, carving out a bare window of an hour and a half for herself.

An hour and a half was hardly generous. Washing her hair and blow-drying it alone swallowed up a full thirty minutes.

By the time she finished her makeup, a meager twenty minutes remained, leaving her standing indecisively before her closet.

The temperature had dropped again, and her weather app had helpfully popped up a reminder to bundle up. But after rifling back and forth through several coats, she felt either that one was too flashy or another was too bulky, making her look like a stuffed bear.

She finally pulled out two options and sent photos to Bian Xuan and Si Xiaozhen for their opinions.

[Bian Xuan]: What on earth are you dressing up so solemnly for?

Solemn?

Perhaps a little.

She just inexplicably felt that today wasn't a day she could casually step out bare-faced.

[Si Xiaozhen]: A date?

Ruan Sixian had already typed out "Not really," but hesitated, deleted it, and retyped.

[Ruan Sixian]: Earning money.

Without waiting for the inevitable string of question marks from the two of them, Ruan Sixian tossed her phone aside and decided she'd better make the choice herself.

From her inner layers to her outerwear, she clearly owned plenty of exquisite, eye-catching new arrivals, yet she subconsciously gravitated toward muted, understated autumn tones, determined not to let anyone see that she had painstakingly dressed up.

Even so, her little hidden schemes inevitably leaked out through her choice of perfume and jewelry.

Finally, she hit another roadblock when it came to choosing shoes.

Her shoe cabinet sat right by the entryway. Ruan Sixian swept a glance over it, feeling a touch torn.

She really wanted to wear slim stilettos, but she had no idea what kind of occasion today's gathering would be, or whether it would involve a lot of walking.

While she hesitated, the doorbell chimed.

Ruan Sixian cracked the door open a few inches, only for Fu Mingyu on the other side to take over and push it wide.

Her gaze extended outward step by step like an unfolding handscroll. The moment he took in Ruan Sixian's complete appearance, Fu Mingyu's eyes locked onto her, his gaze deepening by degrees.

"What are you staring at?" Seeing him fall silent, Ruan Sixian crooked a finger at him. "Help me pick a pair of shoes."

Fu Mingyu's eyes drifted away from her inch by inch, landing decisively on the shoe rack before casually pointing at a pair of black stilettos.

Ruan Sixian glanced down at the shoes and muttered, "You certainly have expensive taste."

He had spotted her most expensive pair in a single glance.

Fu Mingyu replied in a low voice, "Is there anything I look at that isn't expensive?"

?

Ruan Sixian slipped her feet into the shoes and asked over her shoulder, "What did you say?"

"Nothing."

Seeing that she was wrapping up her final preparations, Fu Mingyu stepped back to clear the doorway.

Ruan Sixian strapped on her shoes, grabbed her bag, and shot a glare at his retreating back the instant she pulled the door shut.

You jerk. Don't think I didn't hear that.

So stingy—just look at how much parting with an extra quarterly bonus hurts your soul.

A gust of wind swept past, sending withered, yellow leaves fluttering down from the roadside trees. The heavy storm clouds overhead had thinned out considerably, allowing a sliver of light to pierce through the perpetually gloomy sky.

Inside the same top-floor private suite at Warner Manor, Zhu Dong flicked a poker chip between his fingers and let out an irrepressible yawn.

His girlfriend nudged him with her elbow. "Stayed up late gaming again last night?"

Drooping his eyelids, Zhu Dong offered no verbal reply, taking it as a tacit confession.

Ji Yan, sitting directly across from him, glanced at his phone. "My brother isn't coming anymore. Something came up at the last minute."

Zhu Dong snapped wide awake, pulling out his phone. "Then I'll call Yan An."

None of these guys were idle corporate heirs wasting their lives away; every single one of them had demanding jobs, leaving them with precious little free time to begin with. Zhu Dong had been run ragged dealing with the expansion of autumn and winter flight routes, and none of the others were exactly swimming in leisure time either. If they failed to scrape together a full table to unwind today, everyone would leave with a grudge.

Hearing that Zhu Dong intended to summon Yan An, Ji Yan asked, "Is he even free?"

"What's a nominal director with zero actual duties supposed to be busy with? Besides, he's flying solo lately without a girlfriend to babysit. Drag him over here so Fu Mingyu doesn't fleece us out of all our cash."

Barely had the words left his mouth when Yan An replied instantly to the group chat, confirming he was on his way.

Reassured, Zhu Dong checked his wristwatch and muttered, "Why is he still not here? Does it take two hours just to put on makeup?"

Half an hour later, a Cayenne finally pulled up smoothly to the valet drop-off point outside Warner Manor.

A minor fender bender on the elevated highway had caused a traffic jam, setting them back more than thirty minutes behind schedule.

Ruan Sixian stepped out of the car and checked the time. "Why are we arriving so early anyway?"

Fu Mingyu answered, "Playing cards. Do you know how?"

You guys really are a bunch of bored idlers. And here she thought it was going to be some grand recreational activity.

"Who doesn't know how to play cards? Isn't it just a matter of applied probability?" Ruan Sixian remarked, "It's just been a while since I last played."

From her casual tone, Fu Mingyu could practically hear the proud aura of a gambling goddess radiating off her.

Upon entering the grand lobby, Ruan Sixian walked shoulder-to-shoulder with Fu Mingyu, following the attendant toward the elevators.

The top floor featured a long, secluded mural corridor. To cultivate an atmospheric ambiance, only wall sconces illuminated the space, casting a dim, quiet glow where even footsteps against the plush carpet fell completely silent.

Zheng You'an stepped out of a side suite and caught sight of a figure whose broad back bore a striking resemblance to Fu Mingyu.

Her steps paused momentarily. Wanting a closer look, she watched as the two figures rounded the corner into a different passageway.

Why did she think it was merely a resemblance?

Because the side profile of the woman walking alongside him as they turned the corner looked suspiciously like Ruan Sixian.

That thought sent her mind spinning into confusion.

Surely that man beside her couldn't possibly be Fu Mingyu, right?

Yet she wasn't so delusional as to mistake someone else's build, nor could just any random man match Fu Mingyu's commanding stature.

So did that mean the woman walking next to him wasn't Ruan Sixian?

The more Zheng You'an pondered it, the more baffled she grew, wondering if her eyes were playing tricks on her or if her memory was simply misfiring.

Further down the hall, the attendant pushed open the door to the private suite. As Zhu Dong and the others looked up and spotted Fu Mingyu, they opened their mouths to speak, but the words instantly died in their throats the moment they noticed a woman trailing right behind him.

The gazes of Zhu Dong and Ji Yan swept discreetly back and forth between Fu Mingyu and Ruan Sixian, their silent inquiries practically written all over their faces.

"You're here? And who might this be?"

Fu Mingyu strolled leisurely into the room, scanning the seating arrangement with a casual expression before answering flatly, "A friend."

With that, he turned his head and asked, "Where should we sit?"

Ruan Sixian: "Wherever."

He pointed to an empty chair facing directly north. "You go first?"

Which essentially meant he was throwing her straight into the fire.

Feeling somewhat self-conscious under the collective scrutiny of everyone in the room, Ruan Sixian murmured, "I'm a bit rusty. I'll just watch for now."

"Alright, sit right next to me."

An attendant immediately carried over an extra chair, placing it right beside Fu Mingyu's seat—positioned at the exact same angle as Zhu Dong's girlfriend on his side.

Once she sat down, Zhu Dong piped up, "Care for introductions?"

Resting his arm casually across the back of Ruan Sixian's chair, Fu Mingyu kept his eyes fixed on Zhu Dong. "Ruan Sixian."

"Ah, Miss Ruan." Zhu Dong stood up and extended a hand. "Zhu Dong, Fu Mingyu's childhood friend."

Caught off guard by his sudden, formal solemnity, Ruan Sixian blinked in brief confusion. Maintaining her composure outwardly, she shook his hand professionally, after which Zhu Dong's girlfriend offered a polite nod in greeting.

Ji Yan naturally stood up next to offer a greeting of his own.

Some things didn't need to be spelled out aloud; everyone caught on implicitly. There was no need to pry, and their relaxed, composed demeanor quickly carved out an easygoing environment for Ruan Sixian.

At least, that was how they imagined it.

How could Ruan Sixian possibly remain oblivious to the undercurrents swirling in the room?

Still, since she had chosen to come, she had already mentally prepared herself for whatever awaited her.

Fu Mingyu glanced down at his watch and asked, "Is anyone else coming?"

Ji Yan replied, "Yan An will be here in a minute."

Ruan Sixian: "......?"

Sitting upright and proper, she executed a swift, subtle kick against Fu Mingyu's shin beneath the table.

Are you trying to stir up trouble?

"Yan An?" Fu Mingyu gave a light cough. To signal his own supposed innocence in the matter, he deliberately asked, "Did you guys invite him?"

"My brother had an emergency come up, so we needed a spare player," Ji Yan asked, "Why, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Fu Mingyu nodded. "Doesn't matter."

The moment the words left his mouth, he took a second kick to the shin.

Fu Mingyu tilted his head toward her. "Want something to eat?"

Ruan Sixian maintained an immaculate, polite smile while her eyes flashed with murderous intent.

Clenching her teeth, she hissed, "No thanks."

Zhu Dong chuckled. "My, aren't we polite."

Distracted by the interruption, Ruan Sixian smoothly transitioned back to her normal expression, though internally she was busy hacking Fu Mingyu to pieces a million times over.

During the few minutes waiting for Yan An, Fu Mingyu pulled out his phone and scrolled down his notifications. A couple of minutes prior, two new WeChat messages had popped up from Zheng You'an.

[Zheng You'an]: Are you at Warner Manor?

[Zheng You'an]: I think I just saw you.

Ever since that messy incident at the bar, the two of them hadn't crossed paths once, let alone maintained private contact.

Zheng You'an was burning with curiosity, but lacking Ruan Sixian's contact information, she had no other choice but to message Fu Mingyu directly.

Seeing the notification, Fu Mingyu had no idea what Zheng You'an was playing at, nor did he harbor any intention of replying.

He hadn't bothered to shield his phone screen from Ruan Sixian while reading it, letting her catch every single word loud and clear.

Just as he backed out of the chat window to switch apps, a cool, unhurried voice chimed in right beside his ear.

"Not going to reply?"

"Reply to what?" Fu Mingyu casually slid the phone across the table toward Ruan Sixian. "You want to reply for me?"

His tone was as casual as if he were asking her to pass a glass of water, so laced with deceptive normalcy that Ruan Sixian didn't realize the trap until her fingers had already brushed against the device.

What kind of logic is it for me to reply for you?

She shoved the phone right back at him. "Reply yourself."

Fu Mingyu flipped the phone face-down onto the table and murmured, "I wouldn't dare."

The back-and-forth banter between the two of them wasn't lost on the others, who wisely kept their mouths shut with knowing grins.

A few minutes later, the private room door was pushed open by the attendant.

Even though Ruan Sixian had mentally braced herself for Yan An's arrival, she certainly hadn't expected Zheng You'an to walk in right alongside him.

The moment they locked eyes on each other's faces, the entire group froze in unison.

A split second later, an indescribable cocktail of surprise, shock, and awkward tension settled heavily over the room.

Out of the four guys present, Fu Mingyu was probably the only one whose emotional state remained entirely undisturbed.

Ruan Sixian's expression went virtually rigid.

What kind of romantic drama purgatory is this?

Yan An stood rooted in his tracks for a long moment, looking as though he couldn't quite process the scene before his eyes.

Even more thunderstruck than him was Zheng You'an, who stared straight at Ruan Sixian without blinking once.

Oblivious to the suffocating atmosphere, Ji Yan simply assumed Yan An was surprised to see Fu Mingyu accompanied by an unfamiliar woman, so he stood up to bridge the gap. "What took you so long?"

Then, turning to Zheng You'an standing beside him, he asked, "Did you two run into each other on the way?"

Internally, Yan An was cursing Fu Mingyu's entire ancestral line down to the eighteenth generation, but on the surface, he forced an expression of supreme nonchalance. "Ran into each other downstairs. She said she wanted to come up and join the table."

Zheng You'an happened to know Zhu Dong and Ji Yan as well, so nobody questioned the coincidence.

Naturally, no one had any inkling that her true motivation was simply to verify whether the woman she had glimpsed earlier was indeed Ruan Sixian.

Now that she had seen her and confirmed her identity, Zheng You'an found herself even more hopelessly lost.

"Well, grab a seat then," Ji Yan urged them to take their places before adding, "This is Miss Ruan."

His gaze flicked knowingly back toward Fu Mingyu, a knowing, corner-of-the-mouth smirk playing on his lips as he added, "A friend brought by President Fu."

Smile away, motherfucker.

Yan An yanked a chair out with aggressive force, his eyes locked daggers at the pair sitting across from him.

The two targets of his gaze, however, were thoroughly unbothered: one was staring at his phone while the other focused on sipping water, neither deigning to acknowledge his glaring hostility.

Fu Mingyu simply couldn't be bothered to humor him, while Ruan Sixian had no earthly idea what sort of expression to wear, leaving her with no choice but to keep drinking water.

Zheng You'an took a seat beside Yan An, her gaze darting back and forth between Ruan Sixian and Fu Mingyu.

"A friend?"

Fu Mingyu lifted his gaze from his phone to look at Zheng You'an, then cast a sideways glance at Ruan Sixian before speaking up. "What else?"

Ruan Sixian kept her lips pursed into a tight, quiet line, offering no commentary.

Zheng You'an, however, remained thoroughly skeptical.

Since Ji Yan had formally introduced her as a friend rather than a girlfriend, she reasoned Ruan Sixian couldn't possibly be that blind.

And yet, something about the dynamic felt profoundly wrong.

With the hour growing late, Zhu Dong urged everyone to get the game started.

Outwardly, it was just a harmonious, casual mahjong session, and Ruan Sixian did her absolute best to maintain a normal, relaxed expression. Even so, she could painfully feel Zheng You'an's probing gaze drilling holes into her every few seconds.

Please stop staring, sister.

I'm begging you, my facial muscles are about to give out.

Though her acquaintance with Zheng You'an was shallow at best, the sheer intensity of those looks made Ruan Sixian feel like an adulteress caught red-handed.

Yan An didn't wear his emotions on his sleeve quite as blatantly as Zheng You'an, but the fact that he deliberately targeted and blocked Fu Mingyu for several consecutive rounds spoke volumes of his underlying awkwardness.

Had she known those two would be here, Ruan Sixian wouldn't have agreed to come even if Fu Mingyu offered her ten times her quarterly bonus.

Ruan Sixian quickly realized that Fu Mingyu was genuinely the only unflappable human being in the room—while casually tossing tiles, he still found the bandwidth to lean over and ask if she was feeling cold.

Who could possibly feel cold in an environment like this? Her soles were practically radiating heat, thank you very much.

"Not cold."

"Mm, they keep the heating set pretty low in here."

As he spoke, he discarded another tile.

"Full flush, all pairs!" Yan An slammed his tiles down with a sharp clack. "Pay up."

Fu Mingyu chuckled softly, pushing a stack of chips across the felt. "Manager Yan's luck is quite impressive today."

Yan An offered a mirthless smile. "Just pay up when you lose, stop talking so much."

So righteous and hypocritical with his "friend" label earlier.

Would a normal "friend" get dragged to a private setting like this?

Another few rounds flew by. Fu Mingyu's phone suddenly chimed with an incoming call.

Glancing at the caller ID, he turned to Ruan Sixian and said, "I need to step outside to take this. You take over for a bit."

With that, he stood up, leaving his seat empty.

Zheng You'an instantly locked her eyes onto Ruan Sixian, that nagging sense of wrongness swelling to a crescendo.

Would a normal friend get brought to a gathering like this?

Fortunately, shortly after Fu Mingyu stepped out, Zheng You'an's phone rang as well, prompting an urgent summons from her own circle of friends.

She had originally intended to attend her own social circle's meetup nearby, but curiosity had gotten the better of her like a scratching cat the moment she spotted Fu Mingyu and Ruan Sixian.

"My friends are calling me, I have to head over."

Once Zheng You'an departed, Ruan Sixian felt a massive weight lift off her shoulders—that inquisitorial glare finally vanished from the room.

Ruan Sixian let out a long, pent-up sigh of relief and casually flipped over a tile.

"Hu (Win)." Ruan Sixian turned her tiles face up. "Full flush."

Ji Yan and Zhu Dong efficiently settled the debt with their chips. "Alright, consider it a welcome gift for our first meeting."

Yan An arched an eyebrow, silently sliding his stack of chips across without a word.

Yet Ruan Sixian's lucky streak seemed to begin and end with that single hand, as she plunged straight into a losing streak afterward.

By the time Fu Mingyu finished his call and walked back in, the pile of chips in front of her had dwindled down to next to nothing.

"Your turn?"

"No need." Fu Mingyu stood right behind her, resting both hands over the back of her chair. "My legs are a bit tired. You keep going."

Ruan Sixian thought it was utterly bizarre. Her luck at cards was usually decent; how on earth was she getting completely demolished today?

She refused to believe in bad luck.

For the next several rounds, Ruan Sixian played with agonizing concentration, yet she still couldn't escape the fate of bleeding chips.

Leaning over her shoulder, Fu Mingyu chuckled softly. "Little sister, your technique leaves a lot to be desired."

"This hand has nothing to do with technique." Focused entirely on the layout before her, Ruan Sixian failed to notice Fu Mingyu leaning in close, resting one hand on the back of her chair while his face hovered right beside hers as he pointed to a specific tile. "Play this one."

"Don't talk, I'll play my own game."

Ruan Sixian discarded a completely different tile instead, only for Yan An to instantly claim it with a deadpan expression before flipping over a tile from the wall and laying down his hand with effortless nonchalance: "Robbing the kong."

Ruan Sixian: "......"

Fu Mingyu turned his head to look at Yan An, a teasing smile dancing in his eyes. "Didn't Manager Yan even think to show a little mercy?"

Yan An smirked. "Does President Fu look like he's short on pocket change?"

Staring at the layout, Ruan Sixian wanted to strangle herself in frustration.

How on earth could she have forgotten that this specific tile hadn't hit the table yet? Someone was clearly hoarding it in their hand the entire time.

A massive strategic blunder.

Shortly after a fresh round commenced, Zhu Dong tagged his girlfriend back into the game just as an attendant rolled in a fresh platter of seasonal fruit.

Fu Mingyu picked up a crystal fork, speared a slice of orange, and brought it straight to Ruan Sixian's lips. "Eat something."

Ordinarily, such an intimate gesture from Fu Mingyu would have sent Ruan Sixian's mind into a tailspin, but with her eyes glued to her hand of tiles, she instinctively parted her lips and ate it without a second thought.

She was probably the only person in the room oblivious to how natural that motion looked.

Following suit, Zhu Dong's girlfriend copied the move, turning to her boyfriend with a pout: "I want some too."

Zhu Dong speared a piece of apple, but before he could feed it to her, he caught Ruan Sixian tossing out a tile and immediately shouted, "Hu! Hu!"

His girlfriend's eyes lit up instantly. Abandoning the apple, she flipped her tiles face up with glee.

Ruan Sixian took a deep, steadying breath.

What is actually happening today?!

Zhu Dong grinned brightly at his girlfriend. "Make sure you thank President Fu for paying for your new handbag today."

His girlfriend immediately beamed at Fu Mingyu. "Thanks a bunch, President Fu!"

Fu Mingyu smiled and kept quiet, while Ruan Sixian experienced a silent cardiac arrest.

A single pile of poker chips like that was enough to buy a luxury handbag?

These capitalists really play for keeps, don't they?

If she lost the chips required for this hand, her stack would be wiped out completely.

Ruan Sixian looked up at Fu Mingyu. "Are we still continuing?"

Fu Mingyu chuckled, reaching down to pluck a fresh stack of chips from the attendant's tray. "Continue."

"What happens if I lose again?"

Fu Mingyu found her question immensely amusing, turning a chip over in his fingers.

If you lose, you lose. What else could happen?

"What else? You expect me to pay out of my own pocket if you lose?"

Ruan Sixian: "......?"

Weren't you the one having me play in your place? Why is it suddenly my debt to pay?

"Are you kidding me? You guys are playing for stakes this high—do you expect a middle-class salary earner like me to foot this bill? Are you exploiting the proletariat?!"

Before Fu Mingyu could reply, Zhu Dong's girlfriend chimed in with a bright suggestion: "Oh, that's easy! For every loss, you just give President Fu a kiss to clear ten thousand."

?

The temperature in the private room spiked instantly as everyone cast knowing, amused glances their way.

The tips of Ruan Sixian's ears, half-hidden beneath her hair, turned crimson in a microsecond.

Inevitably, someone else piled on, "Sounds like a solid deal to me. Money talks are so boring anyway."

Fu Mingyu lowered his gaze to study Ruan Sixian, a chip spinning rhythmically between his knuckles with a faint, crisp click. His expression wasn't particularly gentle; instead, it carried a subtle, provocative edge—Are you backing down now?

An itch flared up in Ruan Sixian's throat. She snapped her head away, refusing to meet his eyes.

A storm of conflicted emotions raged inside her, refusing to settle into any coherent flavor.

Right on cue, Zheng You'an pushed the door open and re-entered. Taking in the strange, charged atmosphere, she blinked. "What's going on?"

Silence met her question.

Yet her inopportune interruption conveniently handed Ruan Sixian a lifeline to escape.

Pushing her tiles flat across the table, Ruan Sixian declared, "I'm not necessarily going to lose."

Surrounded by a chorus of ambiguous, teasing gazes, Ruan Sixian drew her final tile from the wall.

With the stakes raised to entirely new territory, everyone's focus sharpened into tactical precision—you'd think they were military strategists mapping out a battlefield campaign.

Only Yan An remained an island of bitter isolation from the cheerful mood.

Twice.

Yan An cursed mentally.

That made two separate times the women he had his eyes on inexplicably defected to Fu Mingyu's side.

The clock seemed to stretch this single hand of mahjong into eternity.

With only a handful of tiles left in the dead wall, the outcome remained stubbornly ambiguous.

Suddenly, Yan An discarded a four of circles. Ruan Sixian froze for a split second before reflexively pulling it into her hand.

"Kong."

Ji Yan scanned the table layout and turned to look at Yan An. "Are you feeding her on purpose?"

Yan An furrowed his brow, irritated. "Misclicked in my head."

Ruan Sixian wasn't entirely sure how their table etiquette handled this scenario, but the deep, resonant voice of Fu Mingyu sounded from directly behind her: "No taking back once it hits the table."

Yan An turned to shoot Fu Mingyu a look laden with complex resentment, offering a silent sneer.

Such a hypocritical gentleman.

With that hurdle cleared, Ruan Sixian comfortably claimed the tile.

She drew a tile from the wall, deliberated for a long moment, and tossed out a discard.

The consistently quiet Zhu Dong's girlfriend abruptly slammed her tiles face-down with a bright snap.

"Full flush. Hehe, sorry about that, little sister."

The entire room plunged into absolute stillness, the ticking of the wall clock ringing out with crystal clarity.

Several pairs of eyes zeroed in on Ruan Sixian. Though their underlying emotions differed, the collective weight of their gazes was scorching.

Clueless as to what had just transpired, Zheng You'an simply followed the crowd and stared at Ruan Sixian.

Ruan Sixian sat motionless, and the man leaning against the sofa behind her didn't move either.

Succumbing to the pressure of the atmospheric vacuum, Ruan Sixian finally turned her head around.

Fu Mingyu was lounging indolently against the sofa cushion, his posture loose and relaxed as he arched a single brow.

Whether due to the wine or something else, his gaze possessed a hazy, intoxicating quality—as though he were deliberately reeling her in, or perhaps murmuring, Come on now, time to settle the debt.