Cheng Jun felt a flicker of happiness in her heart.
But what dominated her emotions was the jealousy that surged when she saw the intimacy between the other two.
Her thoughts were simple: if Shen Yi’s first dream had been about her, wouldn’t she be the one sitting across from him now?
‘You just got lucky by arriving first. I’m not afraid of you.’
This mindset compelled her to raise her wine glass, thanking Fu Nanzhi while subtly harboring a sense of rivalry.
Fu Nanzhi, caught up in the moment, swallowed the meat in her mouth and ignored Shen Yi’s hand trying to stop her under the table. She lifted her glass with a smile.
“No need to thank me.”
“I didn’t even know you were back in the country before. Now that we’ve reconnected, let’s stay in touch.”
“Come on, cheers, sis~”
Clink.
Their glasses met.
Warmed by the alcohol, Fu Nanzhi took off her blazer, revealing a figure so striking even her shirt couldn’t conceal it.
Shen Yi took the jacket from her and hung it on the wooden coat stand in the corner.
When he turned back, his gaze landed on Cheng Jun, who was also dressed in business attire. Tentatively, he asked,
“Do you… want me to hang yours too?”
“Huh? Oh.”
Only then did Cheng Jun realize Shen Yi was speaking to her. She nodded, unbuttoning her blazer without meeting his eyes.
Handing over her pristine white jacket, she avoided his gaze the entire time.
After hanging it up, Shen Yi returned to his seat, and the two women clinked glasses again.
Each pour of red wine only filled about a quarter of the glass—not excessive, but they drank quickly, their spirits rising with every sip.
Shen Yi, sensing trouble, quickly interjected,
“I get that you’re happy, but slow down a bit.”
“You’ve barely touched the food, yet most of the bottle’s already gone.”
Fu Nanzhi giggled, swaying her glass as she tilted her head.
“But you’re here with us, so it’s fine~”
Her voice had taken on a coquettish lilt, the upward inflection at the end telling Shen Yi she was nearing her limit.
She was at that stage—70% sober, 30% tipsy. If he didn’t intervene, they’d finish the bottle and have no idea how to get home later.
Given that they were still in the probationary phase of their relationship, if Fu Nanzhi ended up completely wasted, Shen Yi would have to escort her to her doorstep.
And if Ji Shulan opened the door to that scene, all the goodwill he’d painstakingly built would vanish in an instant.
After a moment’s thought, Shen Yi leaned in and whispered,
“Maybe stop drinking? Otherwise, I’ll have a hard time explaining to Mom later.”
Fu Nanzhi’s eyes sharpened as she remembered the stakes. Nodding, she straightened up.
Shen Yi then glanced at Cheng Jun, who was holding up slightly better, nibbling on a salad with her fork.
Relieved to see them eating and chatting, Shen Yi finally relaxed.
“Zhu Yun, is the admin department busy these days?”
“Not really. Why?”
“If you’re free, drop by the legal office sometime. I’m bored out of my mind alone in there.”
“Sure, I’ll come by for afternoon tea.”
“Perfect! It’s a date.”
After a brief respite, Fu Nanzhi felt invigorated again and poured another round for herself and Cheng Jun.
Shen Yi, having finished his steak and three glasses of water, watched as the two women picked at their food like finicky cats.
He stood up.
“I’m heading to the restroom. Take your time.”
Fu Nanzhi waved him off absentmindedly.
“Go ahead.”
Shen Yi gave Cheng Jun a nod before leaving.
After asking a server for directions, he made his way to the restroom. Once done, instead of returning immediately, he headed straight for the front desk.
Giving them the private room number, he waited for the bill and settled it quietly.
Crumpling the receipt into the trash, he finally turned back.
This dinner was Fu Nanzhi’s treat, so Cheng Jun couldn’t pay. To avoid an awkward scene later, Shen Yi had taken care of it under the guise of a bathroom break.
When he pushed open the door to the private room, the silence felt off.
Neither woman acknowledged him. His eyes darted to the wine decanter—empty, of course.
In the short time he’d been gone, they’d polished off the rest of the bottle.
Rushing to Fu Nanzhi’s side, he found her stabbing at a cherry tomato with her fork, missing repeatedly.
Spotting Shen Yi, she suddenly let go of the utensil and clung to him, sniffling.
“Waaah, hubby, it’s bullying me~”
Shen Yi quickly sat beside her, wiping her eyes before spearing the tomato and holding it to her lips.
“Shh, it’s okay. Hubby’ll take care of it.”
“Open up.”
The tomato successfully delivered, her tears retreated.
Once she’d calmed, he pushed a bowl of creamy soup toward her to sip slowly.
Alcohol amplified emotions, turning minor frustrations into meltdowns. Knowing Fu Nanzhi well, Shen Yi handled her with patience.
With her settled, he turned to Cheng Jun.
‘She’s doing alright—at least she’s eating on her own…’
Cheng Jun’s gaze was unfocused, but she held her knife and fork steadily, cutting her meat without fuss.
But after observing for a while, Shen Yi noticed her repetitive motions. Suspicious, he moved closer—and nearly laughed.
“Well, spoke too soon…”
Up close, he saw she’d been using the back of the knife to saw at the meat. No wonder it wasn’t working.
‘Thought I could count on you to be the responsible one.’
With a sigh, he confiscated the knife before she accidentally hurt herself.
Startled by the sudden emptiness in her hand, Cheng Jun blinked slowly, finally focusing.
“What’re you doing?”
Ignoring her, Shen Yi swiftly sliced the meat into bite-sized pieces, replacing her knife with just a fork.
“There.”
“Go ahead and eat.”
Returning to his seat, he watched as the two women—one chewing mechanically, the other sipping soup—swayed between lucidity and drunkenness.
‘Should’ve sat at the kids’ table if you can’t handle your alcohol.’
‘What’s the point of showing off? One bottle of wine and you’re like this.’
Despite his efforts, they’d drained the entire thing.
“Hubby, order another bottle. I wanna drink more with Zhu Yun,” Fu Nanzhi declared, pushing her empty bowl aside with half-lidded determination.
“Yeah, more drinks,” Cheng Jun mumbled through a mouthful of meat.
Shen Yi rolled his eyes. ‘You two are done.’ But aloud, he humored them.
“Already asked. They’re bringing it soon.”
Hic—
Cheng Jun, whether from hunger or intoxication, had stuffed her face with meat. Now, she let out a small, greasy burp.
One woman propped her chin on her hand; the other slumped halfway onto the table. Both waited, bleary-eyed, for the imaginary next bottle.
Shen Yi watched, amused, counting down in his head.
Watching their eyelids grow heavier by the second, Shen Yi pointed and commanded:
"Down, down, down!"
"Thud~"
close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
Explosive Plot Song Gua crossed over into another world, bringing along a whole crew of his doppelgangers—all of them mischief-makers. This was a world where everyone could choose a class. Song Gua became a "Bondweaver," capable of borrowing power, while his doppelgangers took on a wide variety of classes, covering just about everything. The number of doppelgangers grew day by day, each one a talented individual with a charming way of speaking. Under Song Gua's brilliant leadership, they would "greet" each other daily and engage in friendly "sparring," pulling off one major scheme after another on Earth. Sometimes they were bandits—stealing bosses, plundering mines, snatching resources. Sometimes they were saviors—descending like divine warriors to face world bosses threatening to massacre cities. Sometimes they even went undercover, infiltrating various major factions to stir up trouble from within, keeping their enemies constantly on edge. To prevent their doppelganger abilities from being exposed, Song Gua made them wear masks with mahjong tile patterns and don Taoist robes in various colors. "Remember, in front of outsiders, call me 'The Dice.'" "Got it! Boss!" "Not 'Boss'—it's 'The Dice.' Think about the vibe, pay attention to the vibe." "Yes! Boss!" "For crying out loud..." From then on, whenever they appeared, they would have their own theme song playing: ~Hey~ paying respects at the mountain stronghold at night~ whose arm is draped over whose shoulder~ gather your courage and follow along...
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
