After work, Sang Ning headed straight to Junting Club.
As soon as she pulled open the door, the familiar deafening wave of music hit her. She paused at the entrance for a few seconds before stepping into the noisy lounge.
Ji Yan was dancing in the crowded club floor, and Sang Ning spotted her immediately. She made her way through the crowd and called out near Ji Yan’s ear, "Xiao Yan."
Ji Yan turned around, her eyes lighting up with excitement. "Sang Ning! You’re here!"
Sang Ning pulled her out of the dance floor and sat her down on a nearby couch. "Didn’t you say this was your bachelorette party?"
Ji Yan was getting married the next day and had insisted on throwing a bachelorette party to bid farewell to her single life. After tomorrow, she’d be a married woman.
She always had these quirky little rituals, and Sang Ning was used to it by now.
"Of course! Isn’t it obvious?" Ji Yan flipped her long, wavy hair over her shoulder and shot her a flirtatious glance.
Sang Ning pointed at Gu Xingchen, who was DJing on the stage. "Then why is he here?"
"Oh, he said he wanted to have his own bachelor party too. Since most of our friends overlap, it didn’t make sense for everyone to split up, so we just combined them."
"..."
Sang Ning choked back a sigh. "Well, that’s efficient."
Ji Yan excitedly shoved a cocktail into her hands. "I told you to bring your boyfriend along! The more, the merrier."
Sang Ning forced a smile. "He’s introverted. He doesn’t like these kinds of places."
Suddenly, a crisp thud echoed—the sound of a billiard ball sinking into a pocket.
A group of people cheered, "Nice shot, Young Master He!"
Sang Ning turned and saw He Siyu straightening up from the pool table, his dark eyes locking onto hers across the crowd.
Ji Yan glanced at He Siyu and whispered to Sang Ning, "It’s so weird. He Siyu’s been unusually free lately. I never thought he’d show up to something like this."
Sang Ning paused. "Is that so…?"
Ji Yan then glanced at Pei Songhan standing nearby and added, "Pei Songhan’s been pretty idle too."
Sang Ning picked up her cocktail and took a sip.
Ji Yan, never one to dwell on complicated matters, immediately switched topics. "I just heard about Chen Corporation’s scandal! That was a ruthless move. Isn’t the Chen family basically in your hands now?"
Sang Ning smiled faintly. "Not yet. We’ll see."
"Does your family appreciate it? Don’t let someone else take credit for your hard work," Ji Yan said warily.
Sang Ning’s gaze cooled. "They won’t."
Ji Yan scoffed. "Just because you lost the Lunjia deal recently, your family’s been hounding you like it’s the end of the world. After all the contributions you’ve made to the company, so what if one project fell through? They’re being ridiculous!"
Sang Ning’s expression remained indifferent. "It doesn’t matter."
She’d never cared in the first place.
Ji Yan’s phone buzzed. She absentmindedly picked it up—she followed a lot of gossip accounts and was always up to date with the latest celebrity news.
At first, she only meant to glance at it, but then a familiar yet jarring headline exploded across her screen:
[He Siyu, CEO of Huiyao, and Miss Nan’s Secret Romance Exposed!]
Ji Yan’s hand trembled as she tapped into the article. The enlarged photo that greeted her made her face freeze.
A man and woman walked hand-in-hand into a restaurant, caught mid-conversation—their profiles unmistakable.
He Siyu and Nan Sang Ning?!
Sang Ning had just turned back from watching the pool game when she noticed Ji Yan’s stiff expression. "What’s wrong?"
Ji Yan hurriedly shoved her phone at her. "Sang Ning, look! You’re being targeted again!"
Sang Ning glanced down, her gaze hardening.
"Is this another fake scandal?! First, they spread rumors about you and Pei Songhan, now it’s He Siyu! It has to be the Chen family’s doing!" Ji Yan said urgently.
Sang Ning immediately unlocked her phone and checked the news—it was already trending.
Just then, a call came in. The caller ID read: Grandfather.
Pressing her lips together, she took a deep breath and stood up. "I need to take this."
She pushed through the crowd, slid open the balcony door, and stepped outside for some quiet before answering.
He Siyu, still at the pool table, caught sight of her sudden departure out of the corner of his eye. His movements paused briefly as he watched her leave.
Gu Xingchen, who had just stepped down from the DJ booth, took a sip of his drink and asked Ji Yan, "What’s got you spacing out?"
Ji Yan snapped back to reality, jumping up like she’d been electrocuted. "Something’s wrong! Sang Ning’s been set up!"
"What?!"
Before Gu Xingchen could react, two other voices overlapped his.
He turned and saw He Siyu and Pei Songhan striding over.
"What happened?" He Siyu demanded, his voice low.
Ji Yan held up her phone. "Check the news! You and Sang Ning are all over the headlines!"
He Siyu’s eyes locked onto the enlarged photo of the two of them holding hands, his expression freezing.
Pei Songhan’s face stiffened.
The keyboardist on stage, sensing the tension, abruptly cut the music. The once-rowdy lounge plunged into silence as everyone turned to look.
Ji Yan’s voice was frantic. "Sang Ning’s definitely being framed again! First, they spread rumors about her and Pei Songhan, now it’s you and her! The two of you haven’t even exchanged more than a few words—how could this be real?! And the article’s wording is so nasty!"
Gu Xingchen’s mind went blank for a second before he slowly turned to stare at He Siyu.
He Siyu took the phone and scanned the headlines:
[Miss Nan Climbs the Social Ladder Again—Secret Affair with Third Young Master He Exposed]
[Failed to Secure the Pei Family, Now Sets Sights on the He Family]
[Huiyao CEO’s Relationship Leaked—Rumors of Woman Forcing Marriage for Status]
His fingers tightened around the phone, his knuckles whitening as his expression darkened.
Without a word, he tossed the phone back and strode through the crowd, which instinctively parted for him. He pushed open the balcony door and stepped outside.
Everyone inside watched as he approached.
Sang Ning stood with her back to the room, one hand gripping the railing, the other holding her phone. Her left index finger tapped restlessly against the metal bar, betraying her tension.
Her voice was calm. "I don’t know."
On the other end of the line, her grandfather’s furious voice barked, "You don’t know?! This scandal is everywhere, and that’s all you have to say?!"
"I’ll handle it."
"Get back here immediately and explain yourself! If this affects Nan Corporation’s stock prices, I won’t let you off easy!"
A flicker of irritation crossed her eyes, but her tone remained steady. "Understood."
The call ended abruptly.
Her phone rang again—someone from the company.
Too drained to deal with it, she muted it.
When she turned around, He Siyu was standing right behind her.
His expression was stormy. "I don’t know which reckless reporter dared to leak my private affairs, but when I find out, they’ll regret it."
She pressed her lips together. She already had a guess.
The Chen family, backed into a corner, was desperate enough to fight dirty.
"How do you want to handle this? Should I have someone suppress the news immediately and issue a clarification?" he asked in a low voice.
She lifted her gaze, watching him quietly.
His usually composed and indifferent eyes were now tinged with rare urgency. "Or should we just arrest that reporter and Chen Zheng, force them to hold a press conference and apologize?"
Her clear, gentle eyes met his as she spoke softly, "I want..."
His dark eyes locked onto hers intently.
She took a deep breath, pressing her lips together before saying, "I want to kiss you."
A flicker of surprise passed through his dark eyes, his expression momentarily frozen.
Gazing at him, she whispered, "He Siyu, do you want to kiss me too?"
