Chapter Seventy-Seven

After everyone had visited Zhang Yan, the original plan was to spend the night together and share the changes in their lives over the past few years. Yu Xingyue had intended to leave early to look after Sun Ying at home, but at that moment, Yang Shuting called to say she had already picked Sun Ying up. Yang Shuting simply didn’t want to ruin Yu Xingyue’s chance to reunite with friends, so she made the decision herself.

This time, they were going to stay at Zhou Ruoxue’s house. Since Ruoxue’s parents were busy with work and rarely at home, her place was the best choice. There was no need to worry about rooms either—there were eight in total: one for herself, one for her parents, and the rest all for guests. So the boys wouldn’t have to sleep on the floor.

By the time they arrived at Zhou Ruoxue’s home, it was already past eight in the evening. They changed into the pajamas Ruoxue provided and set up bedding in the living room to play games. It was obvious from the setup that they were about to play Truth or Dare. Yu Xingyue and Xiao Jian thought to themselves that this felt much warmer than the last time with Wang Tianqi, whose questions had been much harsher.

In front of each of the six was a bowl of vinegar. According to Ruoxue’s rules, anyone who couldn’t answer a question or fulfill a dare had to drink a mouthful. The smell of the aged vinegar was so strong that Ruoxue handed out clips for everyone to pinch their noses, but the clips were so tight they could barely breathe. In the end, they just took them off.

Ruoxue dealt the cards. Whether you got Truth or Dare, you had to follow the instructions on the card. The cards were distributed quickly: Yu Xingyue, Xiao Jian, and Wang Chaolin got Dare; Lin Ling, Xu Yaya, and Ruoxue herself got Truth. Wang Chaolin immediately accused Ruoxue of cheating by giving all the dares to the boys and the truths to the girls. Xu Yaya insisted it was just coincidence, and Chaolin didn’t argue.

Xiao Jian was the first to draw, so he had to announce his dare. When he saw the card, he realized it was a familiar challenge—they’d played it before with Wang Tianqi: go to a designated spot and say a phrase assigned by someone else. Xiao Jian said to Ruoxue, “I’ve done this before with the Xintianyuan team. Can I swap?”

Yu Xingyue raised his hand. “I can vouch for him—he’s played this one already.”

Ruoxue smiled and took the card from Xiao Jian. “Since it’s a repeat, you can have another. I hope this one suits you better.” She handed him a new card, and when Xiao Jian saw it was a Truth, he relaxed—this one was simple: reveal one female friend from your WeChat contacts.

This was easy enough. Xiao Jian pulled out his phone and showed all his female contacts to the group. His motto, borrowed from a shampoo ad, was: “I have nothing to hide.”

Ruoxue took his phone and looked through the list. The female friends were all noted: Wang Tianqi, Lin Ling, Zhou Ruoxue, Yu Li, Chen Siyu, and one particularly intriguing username: Lily Ink.

“This ‘Lily Ink’, why isn’t there a real name attached? Is she a new friend, maybe a young lady you just added?” Ruoxue pressed, and everyone looked at Xiao Jian with curiosity.

Xiao Jian answered honestly, “She’s a girl I added last month. I helped her once, and she asked for my WeChat, but we haven’t chatted at all. I don’t even know her name. It’d be rude to ask directly, right? The rules only said to show my contacts, not to message anyone. No cheating!” He took his phone back.

Ruoxue nodded, “You’re right, that’s not part of the game. You passed. Next is Hugo—let’s see what your dare is.”

The atmosphere felt like a TV show’s big reveal as Yu Xingyue showed everyone his dare. This one was a bit tougher: “Shout ‘I love you’ to one of your brothers, then give him a kiss.”

Yu Xingyue slapped the card down for dramatic effect and shouted, “Who the hell came up with this?!” Saying “I love you” was hard enough, but the kiss was just too much. He protested loudly—if it had been a girl, he’d have been just as reluctant.

Lin Ling said calmly, “You don’t have to actually kiss him—a gesture or pretending is fine, or even doing it with a photo of your ‘brother’.”

Yu Xingyue shot her a look. “Easy for you to say, but it’s not that simple. Even pretending is too much—I don’t want my first kiss to go to a guy. I just can’t…” In truth, his first kiss had already been stolen by Wu Siying, when he’d helped her fend off a pursuer, but it still felt wrong to him.

At the thought, Yu Xingyue shuddered and adamantly shook his head. Ruoxue didn’t force him, simply taking his dare card and giving him another. “Try this one—no kissing involved.”

Yu Xingyue took the new dare suspiciously. When he saw it, he relaxed—a simple task: maintain eye contact with a female friend for twenty seconds. Looking at the three girls present, he decided on Lin Ling, who was unlikely to be embarrassed.

Before starting, Yu Xingyue said to Lin Ling, “Just saying, Senior Sister, don’t fall for me—you know I won’t be able to resist. And what about Wu? Are you planning to cheat on him?” His logic made everyone laugh, and Lin Ling’s face went pale with annoyance.

“You better watch your mouth, or there’ll be consequences,” she threatened, cracking her knuckles. Yu Xingyue put on a calm front, trying not to think too much. The dare began. At the five-second mark, someone snickered, making Yu Xingyue’s mouth twitch, and Lin Ling nearly smiled but quickly suppressed it.

After ten seconds, Yu Xingyue held strong. Things were going well until Wang Chaolin, perhaps intentionally, tried to push Yu Xingyue toward Lin Ling. Sensing trouble, Yu Xingyue dodged and shoved Chaolin instead. Ironically, Chaolin missed his mark and ended up in an awkward heap.

In that moment, it wasn’t just Yu Xingyue who was stunned—everyone was, especially Xu Yaya and Ruoxue, who quickly covered their faces. The scene defied description: Wang Chaolin, in trying to push someone, instead fell into Lin Ling’s arms, his face landing squarely on her chest. Lin Ling was mortified.

Realizing his predicament, Chaolin jumped up and stumbled back three steps. Lin Ling’s face was beet red. After a moment, she said with anger, “Wang Chaolin, should I consider this harassment?” Her voice trembled with fury. Chaolin couldn’t meet her eyes and muttered, “I didn’t do it on purpose—it was Hugo’s fault for dodging. It’s not my fault.”

“Oh, so you’re the victim now? Ruoxue, forget Truth—I want a dare: let me punch him. I won’t be satisfied otherwise!”

Ruoxue nodded. “I support you, Senior Sister. That pervert deserves it. Hugo dodged, and you just fell into Senior Sister’s arms—what were you thinking, Wang Chaolin?” She was genuinely annoyed.

Wang Chaolin wailed, “This is too much for me!” Before he could finish, Lin Ling punched him to the floor. Everyone averted their gaze from the violent scene, and Yu Xingyue thought Chaolin had brought this upon himself. The sound of his cries was oddly satisfying.

A minute later, Lin Ling was done with him. Wang Chaolin lay sprawled on the ground, beaten so badly by Lin Ling that he didn’t dare move a muscle.