Chapter 2: Accidentally Entering the Wind

Chapter 2: Accidentally Entering the Wind

Outside the car window, the hustle and bustle of Cloud City at night has not yet faded.

Driving through the downtown and passing through the quiet and elegant streets, a single man and a single woman sat quietly in the car, and a sense of ambiguity suddenly arose.

Wen Baijing drove the car steadily, and Ye Zhenzhen quietly looked at him from the side.

After not seeing him for a few months, he looked even more stern than before, and his features became clearer and more distinct.

"What's wrong? Don't you recognize me?" Wen Baijing seemed to notice Ye Zhenzhen's gaze and turned to look at Ye Zhenzhen.

His eyes were still calm, and his voice was slightly warm.

Ye Zhenzhen shyly shook her head, smiling with curved eyebrows and a slightly sweet voice, "It's been a long time since we last met."

She wanted to take a closer look, but she didn't dare to say it. She pursed her lips, her eyes slightly evasive.

Ye Zhenzhen rubbed her fingers nervously, her heart beating like a deer.

After getting out of the car, Wen Baijing reached out to hold her hand, but Ye Zhenzhen subconsciously hid her hands behind her back.

"Let's go!" Seeing Ye Zhenzhen's uneasy look, Wen Baijing didn't insist.

Outside the panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows, the bright stars of the city are within reach, and the beautiful scenery of lakes and mountains is all at your feet.

The interior decoration is minimalist and low-key, and all the furniture is from the Italian brand Poliform.

After taking a shower, she stood in the bathroom, putting on Wen Baijing's white shirt, and was slightly dazed.

The scent of pine and cypress from the snow-capped mountains came quietly, and the familiar smell made her feel at ease.

The two of them sat on the sofa, with a bottle of red wine on the table. Friends who hadn't seen each other for a long time couldn't help but drink some wine and talk about their feelings.

“When other people meet again, they say it’s been a long time since we last met. But when we meet again…” Wen Baijing shook his head and took a deep puff of cigarette, the smoke filling the air between them.

Ye Zhenzhen could hear his resentment, and she would not disturb him if she didn't have to.

"I'm sorry!" Ye Zhenzhen bit her lips lightly, and raised her clear eyes. "Is it too late to say long time no see now?"

Wen Baijing smiled slightly and nodded, "Well, it should be in time."

Late at night, they clinked their glasses again after several months, and Wen Baijing felt relieved to have regained what he had lost.

"Why didn't you tell me that you were wronged?" Wen Baijing's voice was a little fluctuating. He had not had an easy time these days.

She lowered her eyes to cover the clear spring. After a few seconds of silence, her slightly sweet voice was unusually hoarse at this moment, "Can we... not talk about the past?"

"Ye Zhenzhen, do you want to erase me as well?"

Wen Baijing spoke at a moderate pace. He looked overly calm, yet there was an indescribable sense of oppression in his voice.

There was a moment of dead silence in the living room.

He lit another cigarette and held it casually in his hand. The rising smoke made Ye Zhenzhen confused.

In the afternoon, she smelled a faint smell of cigarettes in Wen Baijing's arms. She was a little confused because Wen Baijing had never smoked in front of her before.

She always thought Wen Baijing didn't smoke.

"I'm sorry." Ye Zhenzhen didn't seem to know what to say except to apologize, and the ripe autumn cockleburs were pricking her heart.

"Ye Zhenzhen, I mean so much to you..." Wen Baijing said halfway and swallowed his words back.

Ye Zhenzhen found herself getting drunker and a faint blush appeared on her face.

Seeing Ye Zhenzhen's slightly tipsy appearance, Wen Baijing suddenly didn't want to wait any longer.

"Let me go..."

Ye Zhenzhen's soft lips were covered by him. She struggled in vain in her drunkenness, and the image of Wen Baijing in the past emerged in her mind.

months ago……

The gentle countryside of Jiangnan always captivates and intoxicates the eyes.

On a night in late April in Yuncheng, neon lights lit up the city and nightlife had just begun.

People take advantage of the weekend to indulge in the extravagance and debauchery. In a high-end business KTV, the lights in the luxurious box are dim and ambiguous, and the MV of "Boundless Oceans and Skies" is playing on the display.

A bald man with a round belly was singing passionately. Perhaps the song was too inspiring, the guests whistled and applauded.

There were about 20 male and female guests in the box. They were agents of Zhichu women's clothing in various provinces. Today, Zhichu Brand Company hosted a banquet for the agents. They had just finished their meal at the five-star hotel next door and rushed to sing. Some toasted each other, lit cigarettes for each other, rolled dice to compare the size, talked and laughed, and ate fruit plates seriously. The laughter was endless, and the scene was full of joy for both the host and the guests.

Ye Zhenzhen had her hair combed neatly into a bun, her smooth forehead was free of a single strand of hair, and she was wearing a proper blue work suit. She moved gracefully around the box, squatting down to open the wine, removing the empty bottles, changing the ashtray, etc. She was very busy and happy.

Just as she raised her head and was about to stand up, a female customer in her thirties on the right waved at her. She walked up to the female customer, squatted down, tugged at her skirt, and whispered in her ear with a smile.

"Princess, order me a bowl of Red Bean, remember to give me priority," said the female guest.

Ye Zhenzhen walked to the computer and ordered songs for the customer. When she took a moment to relax, she realized that a thin layer of sweat had appeared on her forehead.

The waiters in this luxurious box are two princesses, who are responsible for serving tea, cleaning, and taking songs for guests. There is also a young master who is responsible for taking wine, fruit plates, snacks, etc. from the water bar and delivering them to the box. Even with three people serving, there is no free time.

KTV waiters have no basic salary and no social security, so they can only rely on tips from customers. Ye Zhenzhen was very careful all night, fearing that she would make mistakes, be complained by customers, and be fined by the company. As an intern, she had to hand over all the tips she received to the company.

Li Ling, who was also a princess in the box, asked Ye Zhenzhen with a smile:

"How do you feel about your first day of internship?"

Ye Zhenzhen replied with a big smile on her face, "I'm a little nervous, Sister Li Ling. There are things I don't quite understand, so I'd like to trouble you to teach me more." After saying that, she gently shook her collar with her hand, and then let out a slight breath.

"Don't be nervous, you'll get used to it. The air conditioner is so cold, but you're still sweating." Li Ling touched the goose bumps on her arms, smiled and shook her head.

Ye Zhenzhen pulled down the skirt of her work clothes and shook her ankles quietly. After standing in high heels for a whole night, her feet felt a burning pain and she secretly groaned inwardly.

Ye Zhenzhen and Li Ling stood side by side in front of the computer desk, looking around with a smile. The table in the box was normal and everything was normal.

She lifted her heels slightly, and her heels were free from the constraints of the shoes, and she felt free all over.

When she raised her eyes, her sight accidentally swept to the man on the sofa across from her who was looking at her nonchalantly. Ye Zhenzhen blushed instantly for the indecent little action she made a second ago.

She had no choice but to pretend to be calm, smiling and nodding at the man. The man ignored her, looked away, calmly picked up the teacup, and slowly drank a sip of tea.

The man looked to be under 30 years old, wearing a neat white shirt, sitting upright on the sofa. Ye Zhenzhen did not dare to stare at him, but felt that he had an aloof and refreshing temperament, and his clothes were not stained by dust, which was a bit out of place in the environment filled with smoke and alcohol.

Very inappropriately, she remembered a sentence - floating like a loner isolated from the world.

"who!"

A "hissing" sound came from the speakers, and everyone covered their ears.

The bald, pot-bellied man staggered, reeking of alcohol, and yelled into the microphone, "Who cut my song?"

His voice was unclear, as if there was a lump of old phlegm stuck in his throat, or like the roaring Yellow River with sand and rocks rolling up in an uproar.

There was silence in the box, and everyone turned their eyes to the bald man and the two waiters.

Ye Zhenzhen panicked instantly and looked to Li Ling for help.

Li Ling smiled and went over to him, apologetically comforting the bald, big-bellied man: "Brother, I'm sorry, the new waiter didn't know better and accidentally gave priority to someone else's song. Calm down, I'll give you priority right away."

The bald man shouted into the microphone: "What are you sorry about? Is that all?"

"Brother, I'll give you a toast and apologize."

"Brother, I'll do it for you!"

After Li Ling finished speaking, she handed the bald man half a glass of wine, poured herself a full glass, tilted her head back and drank it all in one gulp.

Bald man: "Just a glass of wine?"

Ye Zhenzhen had never seen such a scene before, and she stood there for a moment, not knowing what to do. She simply stepped forward and apologized: "Brother, I'm sorry, it's my fault, I apologize to you."

Bald man: "Did you prioritize other people's songs?"

Ye Zhenzhen's face flushed, and she stuttered, "Brother, I'm sorry, I was ignorant... I apologize to you."

The bald man retreated to the sofa, crossed his arms over his chest, glanced at Ye Zhenzhen, and said condescendingly: "Okay! Six bottles... I will forgive you after you finish six bottles of wine."

Six bottles! Ye Zhenzhen was in a dilemma. If she didn't drink and let the customer make a fuss, she would definitely be troubled when she paid the bill, and she would also be fined. Drink it. She really couldn't drink six bottles.

"Drink or not? If you want to apologize, show your sincerity!" The bald man said while pointing at Li Ling, signaling her to open the wine.

Looking at the row of beer bottles on the bar counter overflowing with thick foam, Ye Zhenzhen bit her lower lip.

She picked up a bottle of wine, tilted her head back and gulped it down.

"Cough cough..."

Ye Zhenzhen finished a bottle and gently placed the empty bottle on the table. Perhaps because she drank too quickly, Ye Zhenzhen couldn't help coughing.

"Go on!" bald man.

Ye Zhenzhen frowned, picked up the second bottle of wine, gritted her teeth and continued to blow the bottle.

For people who don't know how to drink, the wine doesn't taste good. Ye Zhenzhen held her breath and finished the second bottle. She felt her face getting hot and her whole body was burning.

"Bald, forget it if the girl can't drink!"

"That's right, you are a big man, don't bother with a little girl."

"Look at her. Her face and neck are all red. Even her hands are red."

Everyone started to talk and persuade the bald man.

The bald man ignored the people's pleas and waved his hand at the people who were begging for mercy. "How can I not drink when I work here? Stop talking."

The bald man had phlegm stuck in his throat. He spoke long sentences with one breath but seemed to be short of breath and lacked strength, as if he would die in the next second due to lack of breath.

Seeing that the bald man had no intention of giving up making things difficult for her, Ye Zhenzhen could only continue drinking.

After finishing the fourth bottle, Ye Zhenzhen felt a little dizzy. She put down the beer bottle and reached out to wipe the remaining beer from her chin.

The female customer who asked her to order a song did not come out to explain for her. Perhaps she just wanted to watch the show and have some fun, or maybe rich people really could not empathize with ants.

Inadvertently catching a glimpse of that aloof and refreshing man, he was just a motionless bystander, looking at Ye Zhenzhen coldly, with no intention of being a hero to save the damsel in distress, nor any sign of rescuing her.

Tsk! Men! Ye Zhenzhen complained in her heart.

Her stomach suddenly churned, she frowned, staggered to the bathroom in the private room, and vomited violently while holding the toilet.

I felt like something was pinching my stomach. The wine I had just drunk, mixed with stomach acid, rushed down my throat like a flood bursting a dam, unstoppable.

After a while, my stomach finally calmed down.

She struggled to get up. The self in the mirror looked like a boiled shrimp, with a light layer of white powder on her red face, the collar of her work clothes was a little wet, and there were undried tear marks at the corners of her eyes.

When Ye Zhenzhen came out of the restroom, the box was dark with only colorful spotlights flashing. The DJ music was dynamic and loud, and everyone was immersed in the music, letting themselves go and dancing wildly to the melody.

Ye Zhenzhen staggered along the wall to the door of the box.

Seeing her come out, Li Ling said, "Are you feeling better? The guests are dancing and the waiter has to come out. I knocked on the bathroom door and called you, but you didn't respond."

"I feel better now. I feel much better after vomiting." Ye Zhenzhen forced herself to stay awake and tried to maintain a good posture as she stood at the door of the private room.

The light background music in the hall floats in the air, and French court elements can be seen everywhere in the corridor, such as crystal chandeliers, carved columns, and gilded retro oval mirrors embedded in the wall.

"Just bear with it. They'll probably pay the bill after they finish dancing." Li Ling leaned over and looked at the aisle next to her. "It's the weekend, and most of the customers have left."

About twenty minutes later, the music stopped in the box. Ye Zhenzhen and Li Ling pushed the door open and turned on the light. The young master was holding a steaming hot towel and handing it out to the guests with a smile.

The table was a mess and the guests were lying on the sofa in all directions.

"Waiter, Checkout!"

"Okay, wait a moment!"

This sentence was like a love word to the waiter, which meant that the money would be in his pocket in the next second. After checking the bill, Ye Zhenzhen submitted the bill and clicked the call to pay.

The director held the intercom in one hand and the POS machine and bill in the other, and asked the customer with a smile: "Good evening, boss! The total consumption here is 8800 yuan. May I ask whether it is by card or cash?"

The aloof and refreshing man raised his hand and gestured, "Here!"

"Wait a moment!"