Battlefield of the Asuras (Extra Update 13/32)

After the dinner ended, following the usual routine, the next stop was the KTV.

A large group of people marched mightily toward the nearby Cashbox KTV.

The lights in the private room were dim, and the music was deafening.

The boys were roaring the song Boundless Oceans, Vast Skies, while the girls were shaking dice.

Chen Zhi shrank into the corner of the sofa, his head feeling a little dizzy.

Partly because of the noise, and partly because the atmospheric pressure around him was simply too low.

On his left, Lin Wanwan was like a little tiger guarding its food, both hands tightly gripping his arm. On his right, one seat away, Pei Ningxue sat with her legs crossed, her gaze drifting over from time to time with a teasing, theater-watching amusement.

As for Li Zhiyi, she sat quietly next to the song selection console, helping everyone skip tracks.

Stop, stop, stop! Stop howling!

The class monitor, Zhao Kai, suddenly jumped onto the coffee table, turned off the music, and holding an empty beer bottle, shouted, What's the fun in just singing? Let's play something exciting!

Truth or Dare! Who's in?

Bring it on! Who's afraid?

The loser either answers a question or downs a whole bottle!

A bunch of freshly graduated high school students were right at the peak of their hormones, so this proposal instantly got unanimous approval.

The fruit plates and glasses on the coffee table were roughly pushed aside to clear a large space.

Everyone sat in a circle.

Chen Zhi instinctively wanted to use the bathroom as an excuse to escape, but just as he lifted his butt, Lin Wanwan shoved him back down.

Where are you going? Lin Wanwan looked at him with a beaming smile, her grip terrifyingly strong. Zhizhi, everyone is here. You wouldn't be thinking of running away at the last minute, would you?

Opposite them, Pei Ningxue casually added a stab: Our classmate Chen Zhi is our Top Scholar, his courage shouldn't be that small, right?

Chen Zhi bit the bullet and sat back properly. Let's play then. Whoever chickens out is a coward.

Alright! First round, let's go!

Zhao Kai spun it hard.

The green beer bottle spun rapidly on the smooth marble tabletop, making a rumbling sound.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on the mouth of the bottle.

The spinning slowed.

And slowed even more.

Finally, the bottle mouth wobbled to a halt, pointing at a boy wearing glasses.

Hahahaha! Lao Wang! Truth or dare?

Tr... truth.

Have you ever secretly liked any of the girls present here? Say the name!

The boy's face turned beet red. He held it in for a long time, and finally, his gaze quickly swept over Li Zhiyi. He grabbed the glass in front of him: I... I'll drink!

Tch—

The crowd let out a burst of boos.

The game continued.

The bottle spun a few more times. Someone failed a confession, someone was punished to go to the next room and ask for a WeChat contact, and the atmosphere grew more and more heated.

With alcohol going to their heads, everyone's courage grew, and the questions became increasingly tricky.

Whoosh—

Zhao Kai spun the bottle once again.

This time, the bottle spun for an exceptionally long time.

When it finally stopped, the mouth pointed dead center at Li Zhiyi, who was next to the song selection console.

The private room instantly fell silent for a second, followed by an even louder burst of cheering.

Study Rep! Study Rep!

Li Zhiyi! Truth or dare?

Li Zhiyi seemed a bit surprised. She put down the track skipper, smoothed her skirt, and said in a soft, gentle voice, Truth.

Zhao Kai rolled his eyes, but before he could speak, a girl next to him who usually loved gossiping and wanted to stir the pot asked, Zhiyi, we've all been together for three years, and we've never heard you mention anything about your love life. I just want to ask, do you have someone you like? Is he here right now?

As soon as this question was asked, the air in the entire room seemed to freeze.

Lin Wanwan's hand, which had been peeling a pistachio, suddenly paused, and her body instantly tensed up. She narrowed her eyes, staring fixedly at Li Zhiyi.

Pei Ningxue also put down her glass, resting her chin on her hand with great interest.

Chen Zhi felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

All eyes focused on Li Zhiyi.

The dim light fell on her fair, tranquil face.

Li Zhiyi did not answer immediately.

She slowly raised her head, her clear black and white eyes sweeping around the room.

Finally, her gaze crossed the many figures and landed on Chen Zhi.

Lin Wanwan clearly noticed this look too, her nails almost digging into Chen Zhi's flesh.

Zhiyi? the girl pressed on. Is it hard to answer?

Li Zhiyi withdrew her gaze.

She looked at the full glass of beer in front of her and suddenly smiled.

I choose to drink.

With that, she picked up the glass, tilted her head back, and downed it in one gulp.

A trace of the golden liquid ran down the corner of her mouth, which she wiped away without a care.

Whoa—

Study Rep has a great capacity!

Does this count as a tacit admission? She definitely has someone she likes!

Everyone was still jeering, but Li Zhiyi had already put down the empty glass. Two flushes of red appeared on her cheeks, yet her eyes remained bright and clear.

She didn't deny it.

Nor did she admit it.

Alright, alright! Next round!

Lin Wanwan suddenly interrupted everyone's discussion loudly. She grabbed the bottle and spun it hard.

The bottle spun rapidly.

Chen Zhi prayed frantically in his heart: Don't land on me, don't land on me, anyone else is fine, just don't land on me...

Murphy's Law tells us that whatever you fear the most will happen.

As if equipped with a navigation system, the bottle slowly decelerated under everyone's gaze and finally stopped steadily in front of Chen Zhi.

The mouth of the bottle pointed straight at his nose.

Whoa! Brother Zhi! It's finally your turn!

Zhao Kai slapped his thigh in excitement. Come, come, come! Truth or dare?

Chen Zhi glanced at Lin Wanwan beside him, then at Pei Ningxue and Li Zhiyi opposite him.

Choose truth?

These animals might ask something like, If you didn't consider Lin Wanwan, who would you choose?—a question that could make him die on the spot.

Dare, Chen Zhi said through gritted teeth.

I should be fine if I choose dare, right?

Dare it is... Zhao Kai was just about to come up with a wicked idea.

Wait.

Pei Ningxue, who hadn't spoken much, suddenly opened her mouth.

Since he's the future Top Scholar, let's play something a bit more elegant.

Pei Ningxue stood up, her black backless evening dress shimmering with fine light under the lamps. She walked over to Chen Zhi and looked at him, the smile in her eyes making one shudder.

This woman was up to no good!

Classmate Chen Zhi, your dare is—

She extended a slender finger and drew a circle in the air.

Choose a girl present here, look into her eyes for ten seconds, and state your first impression of her.

Remember, you have to look her in the eyes when you say it, and no lying.

As soon as these words came out, the whole room was in an uproar.

Holy crap! Goddess Pei knows how to play!

This is thrilling!

Chen Zhi felt his scalp go numb.

Choose! Brother Zhi, hurry up and choose!

Ten-second countdown!

Lin Wanwan had already let go of Chen Zhi's arm. She crossed her arms and looked at him coldly. Her eyes clearly said: Just try choosing someone else.

Pei Ningxue had a look of enjoying a good show on her face, even taking out her phone ready to record.

Chen Zhi took a deep breath.

He looked at the colorful bottles on the table and suddenly had a brainwave.

Um... I can't do eye contact. I have eye contact phobia.

As Chen Zhi spoke, he moved with lightning speed to grab a half-empty bottle of beer left by someone on the table, along with half a bottle of red wine, and casually poured half a glass of cola into the mix.

"I'll penalize myself! I'll drink!"

After saying that, he picked up the mishmash of a cup and started chugging it down.

"Hey, hey, hey! Brother Zhi, you're cheating!"

"Exactly! You can't do that!"

Chen Zhi turned a deaf ear.

He chugged more than half the bottle in one breath before slamming the cup down heavily.

"Burp—"

Chen Zhi let out a loud alcohol-laced burp. His eyes instantly glazed over, and his body tilted as he collapsed directly onto the sofa.

"No... I can't do this anymore... I'm drunk..."

He started talking nonsense, "This drink... why does this drink have two shadows..."

"Tch—"

Pei Ningxue put away her phone in disappointment and snorted coldly, "Boring. Chen Zhi, are you even a man?"

Chen Zhi kept his eyes closed, playing dead.

Whether he was a man or not wasn't something he needed to prove here.

Surviving was the absolute priority.

Lin Wanwan looked at Chen Zhi's shameless demeanor. Although she was a bit annoyed that he hadn't chosen her, at least he hadn't chosen those two seductive girls either.

"Alright, alright, if he can't drink, don't force him," Lin Wanwan immediately protected him like a mother hen. "We'll let this round pass!"

...

The party lasted until the early hours of the morning.

When it broke up, everyone was stumbling around drunk.

Supported by Lin Wanwan, Chen Zhi stumbled his way out.

Actually, that little bit of alcohol was nothing to him, but he had to pretend to be drunk, otherwise this romantic battlefield would just keep going.

At the entrance of the KTV.

The night breeze was slightly cool, blowing away a lot of the alcohol fumes.

Zhao Kai was by the roadside hailing cabs to arrange for everyone to go home.

Pei Ningxue and Li Zhiyi stood at the bottom of the steps, seemingly waiting for a family driver and a taxi.

"Zhizhi, stand steady."

Lin Wanwan struggled to hold Chen Zhi up, her small face flushed red—who knew if it was from exhaustion or the alcohol.

She looked up at Pei Ningxue and Li Zhiyi not far away.

Those two women: one aloof and noble, the other gentle and moving.

An unprecedented sense of crisis surged in Lin Wanwan's heart.

Even though they had already established their relationship, even though she had already posted on her social media to declare her sovereignty, she still felt it wasn't enough.

Chen Zhi attracted way too much attention.

Lin Wanwan bit her lip.

The alcohol made her brain a little hot, and a rush of impulse shot straight to her head.

"Chen Zhi."

She suddenly called out.

"Hmm?" Chen Zhi opened his eyes groggily. "Is the car here?"

"Not yet."

Lin Wanwan suddenly let go of his arm, instead cupping Chen Zhi's face with both hands, forcing him to look down at her.

"Look at me."

Her eyes were sparkling, as if hiding stars.

"What? I'm dizzy..."

"Even if you're dizzy, you have to look!"

Lin Wanwan stood on her tiptoes.

Before Chen Zhi could even react to what was happening, she lunged forward and kissed his lips hard.

It was a kiss filled with intense possessiveness, even a bit fierce.

She was declaring her sovereignty.

Right here at the bustling KTV entrance, in front of all their classmates, and in front of those two rivals.

"Mmph..."

Chen Zhi's eyes widened, sobering up by half.

And not far away.

Pei Ningxue, who was just about to get into her car, paused in her steps.

She watched the two people kissing on the steps, her fingers gripping the car door handle tightening instantly.

Li Zhiyi, standing next to her, also froze.

The night breeze fluttered her skirt.

She looked at the boy being forcefully kissed by Lin Wanwan, watching him go from initial shock to slowly reaching out to wrap his arms around Lin Wanwan's waist.

Li Zhiyi lowered her eyelashes, hiding the fleeting loneliness in her eyes.

A long time passed.

Their lips parted.

Lin Wanwan let go of Chen Zhi, panting slightly, her face flushed. She turned her head and looked provocatively at the two girls at the bottom of the steps.

Did you see that clearly?

He is mine.

Sealed and stamped.

Pei Ningxue sneered, pulled the car door open with a bang, and got in. Without even saying goodbye, the black sedan sped away into the night.

But Li Zhiyi didn't leave right away.

She watched quietly for a moment before turning toward another car.

At the moment she pulled the car door open, she looked back at Lin Wanwan, who was still smiling foolishly.

Her low murmur carried on the wind, so light it seemed like an illusion.

"I'm not fighting for the present."