Volume One, Chapter 76: Let Me Count Your Abs

Beep.

Beep, beep.

The phone rang for a long time, but Xu Yiyi never answered.

Lu Jinnian opened Xu Yiyi’s moments feed.

In the nine-grid post from dusk, there was Dongpo pork elbow, squirrel fish, sweet and sour ribs, steamed pork, and an array of aesthetically pleasing celery with lily and chilled spinach, the colors delightfully arranged.

At first glance, every dish was rich in color, aroma, and flavor.

He didn’t even have to guess—he knew it was Sang Wan’s cooking.

The last photo showed the sunset through the floor-to-ceiling window.

From the angle, it was taken from Sang Wan’s dining table.

He tapped the central photo in the grid, the family feast of delicacies. Even though the chopsticks hadn't been set out yet, the sheer number of dishes and the compulsively arranged soda cans told him everything.

Lu Jinnian concluded, Sang Wan had hosted five or six people for this meal.

Besides Xu Yiyi, who else?

Colleagues?

Or… newly made friends?

She’d moved out of the Lu family villa just over a month ago, and already she knew so many people she could invite to her home for dinner?

All in their twenties, eating, drinking, chatting.

When night fell, they went to the bar together.

It seemed only natural.

Yet Lu Jinnian’s heart thudded uneasily.

As if, after tonight, something would irrevocably change.

He grabbed his car keys and left.

“Jinnian…”

The bathroom door opened, Lin Chaochao’s smile froze.

Just thinking about how, starting next week, she wouldn’t have to suffer at work anymore and could live as a pampered wife in a wealthy family, her spirits soared.

Determined to reward Lu Jinnian tonight, she’d added rose oil to the bath and soaked herself thoroughly.

She’d even changed into a full set of lace lingerie.

But now, all she saw was Lu Jinnian’s back, leaving without a word.

“Jinnian, where are you going?”

Lin Chaochao chased after him.

His voice was colder than the night wind: “Go to bed. Don’t wait for me.”

As he spoke, the Mercedes roared away.

Standing on the steps, Lin Chaochao’s eyes flashed with panic.

…

It was already eleven. The atmosphere in the bar grew hotter.

Every beat of the drum echoed in the ears, pounding against the heart.

Nerves soaked in alcohol felt like ballet dancers tiptoeing on a tightrope, timid yet eager for the next beat.

Sang Wan’s gaze focused on Xu Yiyi in the dance floor.

It was both their first time here, but Xu Yiyi was much more liberated than Sang Wan.

A few gulps of her drink, and when handsome men approached to invite her to dance, she boldly went with them.

At first, she was awkward, her movements clumsy as if borrowed.

But after a few songs, she blended in as if she were a regular, dancing with the surrounding men and women.

When someone grabbed Sang Wan’s wrist, she twisted to break free.

But the grasp held firm.

She turned to glare, meeting Lou Ye’s smiling eyes.

Sang Wan’s eyes sparkled. “Ye…”

Bright and shining eyes.

Her voice, lazy and alluring after a few drinks.

Lou Ye’s heart skipped.

Despite the raucous noise threatening to awaken every cell in his body to wild abandon, his heart remained tranquil.

“Shall we go?”

“Go? No, I won’t… I’m waiting for the show…”

Sang Wan shook her head, revealing a lovestruck smile Lou Ye had never seen. “There’ll be handsome guys strutting soon. We can count their abs…”

Count their abs?

Lou Ye’s gaze deepened. “How do you count them?”

Sang Wan blinked. “With your eyes, of course. How else?”

Lou Ye laughed.

His enchanting eyes brimmed with indulgence.

Under the kaleidoscopic lights, he was charming and irresistible.

A beauty in a deep V dress leaned in with her WeChat QR code, ready to say, “Handsome, add me on WeChat—”

But Lou Ye caught Sang Wan’s wrist with one hand and wrapped her waist with the other, pulling her into his embrace.

A beam swept over them.

Seeing Sang Wan’s face, the beauty pursed her lips and left in regret.

“Let’s go…”

“Go… where?”

“To count abs!”

“But Yiyi…”

“She’s being watched!”

Holding Sang Wan close, Lou Ye glanced up just as Lu Jinnian entered.

Through the crowded throng, Lu Jinnian frowned, scanning the room.

He looked like he was searching for someone.

Seeing Sang Wan in Lou Ye’s arms, barely able to walk straight, Lou Ye decisively turned and led her into a private lounge on the other side.

The crowd was dense.

The lighting dim.

Lu Jinnian pushed forward, drawing curses.

But he didn’t find Sang Wan.

When a lively song ended, the disco ball returned to warm white.

Lu Jinnian spotted Xu Yiyi in the dance floor.

He reached to grab her, but before he could touch her, two burly men pinned his arms.

“Do you know him?” one asked Xu Yiyi.

She turned to glance at Lu Jinnian, beaming. “No, I don’t.”

With that, the two men stood shoulder to shoulder, forming a protective wall before her.

Lu Jinnian was fuming. “Xu Yiyi, where’s Sang Wan?”

The wild music drowned out his shout.

Whistles and cheers erupted as men and women in the booths rose and joined the dance floor.

The disco ball spun, beams swirling.

Everyone’s faces glowed with excitement and joy.

Lu Jinnian threw a fierce glare at the two bodyguards and continued searching amid the jeers.

She wasn’t in the dance floor.

Nor in the booths.

Suddenly, he thought of something and spun to look at the corridor lined with private lounge doors, some open, some closed.

If Sang Wan was drunk…

If someone had ill intentions…

Then—

He dared not imagine further. Lu Jinnian turned and ran toward the lounges.

“Sang Wan…”

“…Sang Wan?”

Inside the rooms he opened, people nestled together feeding each other drinks, playing truth or dare.

In others, dimly lit, couples crowded into corners, whispering sweet nothings.

Lu Jinnian searched until he reached the last lounge at the end, its lights off.

Knock, knock!

“Sang Wan?”

“…Sang Wan?”

His anxious calls accompanied the knocking.

Behind the door, Sang Wan held her breath.

Her head spun, as if she were on a trampoline in an amusement park.

She could barely stand.

Instinctively, she clutched Lou Ye’s shirt.

In the darkness, nothing was visible.

Her hearing sharpened.

The thumping heartbeat—she didn’t know whose, hers or his.

Sang Wan was so tense she dared not even breathe loudly.

“Sir, excuse me, this is our boss’s office. Please don’t linger without permission,” a staff member came to remind.

Lu Jinnian glanced at the pitch-black office, hesitated, then turned downstairs.

Inside, Sang Wan exhaled in one breath.

Her taut body relaxed and slumped against the wall.

A chill crept up her back, clearing her foggy mind for a moment.

She was divorced.

Single now.

Besides, coming to a bar for drinks and dancing was nothing shameful.

Why hide?

“Lou Ye…”

She spoke softly, raising her head to look at him in the darkness.

The scent of cold fir suddenly enveloped her.

Lou Ye bent down and kissed her.