Xiao Anjing woke up with a splitting headache. The buttons of his shirt were all undone, and it was covered in disgusting lipstick marks.
He had no memory of what happened afterward.
Under the dim light, as he dressed, he looked around. He was the only one left in the private room. The floor, the sofa, the table... everything looked like a battlefield, littered with used condoms.
Xiao Anjing was furious. He clutched his hair, realizing he had been tricked by that scumbag Xie Qining last night!
Xie Qining dared to make such a vulgar video with him, and he would not let it go.
He got up and walked out of the private room, finding it was already daytime outside. The entire club was as quiet as if no one was there.
As he strode out, he caught sight of movement by the wall, not that the club was empty.
He went over and yanked the person out. It was a supervisor from the club.
Before he could speak, the supervisor stammered, "Mr. Xiao, last night wasn't our fault. We all have to make a living, and we were forced by Young Master Xie..."
Xiao Anjing grabbed her collar, lifting her up, almost losing his mind and wanting to unleash his anger on her, but he managed to restrain himself and let go.
The supervisor quickly slipped away. Xiao Anjing didn't want to waste time with these people. It was all Xie Qining's doing, and he was going to find Xie Qining to settle the score.
Outside the club, he found his car and immediately drove straight to Xie Qining's company.
...
Lan Yu waited on the living room sofa all night, but An Jing didn't return.
Usually, even if he worked late and couldn't come back, he would send a message or call to let her know. It wasn't like last night, where there was no news at all.
Earlier, she was afraid of disturbing his work and hadn't contacted him.
But now, with the sun up, she couldn't help but call his mobile number, but it was unreachable.
After thinking about it, she called his office landline. After ringing for a long time, someone finally answered. A woman's voice came through, likely his secretary.
Lan Yu politely said, "Hello, is Mr. Xiao in his office? If it's convenient, could you please let him take the call?"
"Mr. Xiao hasn't come to the office yet. May I ask who you are?" the secretary asked politely.
Lan Yu was stunned for a few seconds and said, "He hasn't gone to work? Didn't he always stay late at the company?"
"No, Mr. Xiao finished work at the normal time yesterday," the secretary replied. "Who are you, and what do you need from Mr. Xiao?"
"I'm his wife." Lan Yu hung up before the secretary could say anything else.
The secretary was momentarily stunned, holding the receiver, thinking she must have said something wrong.
Oh dear, who knew Mr. Xiao's wife would call so early to check up on him? This was terrible.
Dejectedly, she walked out of Xiao Anjing's office and returned to her own seat.
Tian Yi arrived at the group early, wanting to discuss the proposal for developing that piece of land into a high-end residential building with An Jing. He walked up to An Jing's secretary's desk and saw his secretary with her head down, lost in thought.
He cleared his throat lightly, tapped on the secretary's desk, and asked, "Has Mr. Xiao arrived?"
Hearing the voice of the big boss, An Jing's secretary quickly stood up and replied, "Not yet."
Tian Yi instructed, "When he arrives, tell him to come to my office."
"Okay."
Tian Yi noticed that the secretary seemed very downcast that morning and asked, "Are you feeling unwell? Your complexion is so poor."
An Jing's secretary quickly shook her head and said, "No, no. It's just... Mr. Xiao's wife called the office early this morning looking for him, and I didn't recognize her voice and said the wrong thing. I'm afraid Mr. Xiao will scold me when he arrives."
"What did you say wrong?" Tian Yi turned his full attention to her, curious why Lan Yu would call the office landline to find An Jing.
The secretary rubbed the tissues on her desk and said, "Mr. Xiao's wife thought Mr. Xiao was working late at the company last night, but I said Mr. Xiao wasn't working late."
"It's alright, just work diligently. It's not your fault," Tian Yi reassured her before returning to his own office.
He put down his bag and sat down, wondering if Xiao Anjing hadn't returned home all night and wasn't answering Lan Yu's calls, were they still arguing?
Tian Yi picked up his phone and dialed An Jing's number. Hearing the unreachable voice, he couldn't help but feel a little worried. Where had he gone all night?
Even if he was in a bad mood due to an argument with Lan Yu, given their relationship, An Jing wouldn't not confide in him.
Thinking of this, he couldn't sit still. He picked up his jacket again, intending to go to their usual haunt for drowning sorrows to look for him.
He figured An Jing wouldn't be too drunk; he might be passed out in some bar.
...
Lan Yu learned that An Jing had lied yesterday. He hadn't worked late, but he had said he did and hadn't returned all night.
She felt both anxious and distressed, wildly wondering if he, like Xie Qining, had started staying out all night.
She tried calling his mobile again, but still couldn't reach him. She didn't know what to do.
Fearfully, she thought of contacting Susu, to see if she had any ideas.
Susu had just finished breakfast at home and was about to head to her studio when her phone suddenly rang. She thought it was Tian Yi calling her after arriving at the group, wanting to chat.
Recently, they had returned to being inseparable. Tian Yi contacted her several times a day, either through video calls or phone calls.
In reality, there was little left to say; they only exchanged trivialities or listened to each other's voices and giggled foolishly.
"Hello," Susu said softly, about to ask him something.
Suddenly, she heard a crying voice from the other end. She immediately pulled the phone away and looked at the caller ID. It was Lan Yu.
She sat back down at the dining table and asked, "Lan Yu, what's wrong? What happened?"
Lan Yu cried intermittently, "An Jing said he didn't care... didn't care about my past... but he still does... *sob sob*... He didn't come home all night, and I can't reach him... What should I do?"
Susu listened, not quite understanding. She said, "Don't cry first, calm down."
Lan Yu hummed and took deep breaths.
Susu heard her breathing even out a bit and said, "You've already told An Jing about that matter, haven't you?"
"Yes, I told him everything truthfully." Lan Yu finally managed to stop crying. "He said he wasn't angry with me and that it wasn't my fault. But then yesterday, he lied to me, said he was working late, but he wasn't working late at all, and he didn't come home all night."
Susu finally understood her meaning and comforted her, "It's not like that. If An Jing said he doesn't blame you, then he truly doesn't. He's not the type of person who plays a double game..."
"But why did he lie and say he was working late?" Lan Yu feared this feeling of being deceived the most.
"Perhaps he has some other very important matter, but he doesn't want to tell you for now." Susu couldn't find a good reason for An Jing at the moment, so she could only say, "Don't rush, and don't be sad. I'll ask Tian Yi for you, see if An Jing has said anything to him. Maybe he knows what An Jing was up to last night."