I Should Have Been Brilliant

"Tsk—" Ye Liangchen suddenly clutched his chest, sucking in a sharp breath.

"What's wrong?" Xue Shaohua asked, turning to him.

Ye Liangchen shook his head slowly, still holding his chest. "Nothing. Maybe I just got too excited thinking about all the ways I could mess with Li Qingxue."

Xue Shaohua rolled his eyes. "That’s all you ever think about."

Nearby, Gao Quan, who had been watching the two whisper, finally approached. "Brother Liangchen, should we head out?"

It was his first time at a bar, and while the excitement had been real at first, the novelty had worn off. Standing around like an idiot without drinking wasn’t fun at all.

Hearing this, Ye Liangchen flashed a confident grin. "Quan, the night’s just getting started. The real show’s yet to come!"

Xue Shaohua chimed in, "Exactly! This is just the warm-up. The real party’s later—you’ll see!" As he said this, he flicked his hair, bouncing on the spot and shaking his head wildly.

A glance at the clock, and suddenly, the bar lights dimmed.

The crowd erupted in cheers.

Then, a storm of strobe lights ignited the room.

Ye Liangchen shot Xue Shaohua a look—Remember our deal from last night?

Xue Shaohua smirked in response—Let’s do this.

"Gao Quan, wait here. I’m gonna warm up first. Got a surprise for you later!" Ye Liangchen ruffled his hair, letting his earring glint under the lights. Tonight, he wasn’t just hunting for himself—he’d use his charm to hook Gao Quan up too.

With that, he plunged into the dance floor, head banging, body swaying.

His eyes scanned the crowd, locking onto potential targets.

Soon, he spotted the perfect mark.

She looked innocent, out of place in a bar like this.

First-timer. Easy pickings.

He slithered his way over, breaking into an exaggerated dance in front of her, his hair flailing like an upturned broom.

"Hey gorgeous, here alone?" Ye Liangchen figured he’d danced enough to grab her attention. Time for the approach.

The girl gave him a weird look and turned away without a word.

"Pfft. Seriously?"

Xue Shaohua wasn’t faring any better. After spotting his own target and busting out some moves, his attempt at conversation ended the same way.

Soon, the two met in the middle of the dance floor.

Neither had a girl by their side.

They silently averted their gazes.

After all, they’d both bragged about their effortless charm earlier.

Then, Xue Shaohua’s eyes lit up. He darted toward someone new.

Watching him, Ye Liangchen panicked.

His eyes landed on the bar counter.

A smirk curled his lips.

He climbed onto it.

Instantly, all eyes were on him.

Even Xue Shaohua forgot his mission, staring at Ye Liangchen’s stunt.

Feeling the spotlight, Ye Liangcen threw up a heart-shaped hand sign and, synced with the deafening DJ beats, launched into a wild headbang, hips gyrating.

He was now the star of the show.

His energy set the dance floor ablaze.

Amid the cheers, Ye Liangchen felt like he was back in his past life—the center of attention, adored by thousands.

This was his moment.

He stopped dancing, standing tall on the bar, arms spread wide as if embracing the sky.

To the beat, to the roar of the crowd, he closed his eyes, savoring the adoration. Then, slowly, he pulled his arms back, wrapping them around himself in a self-hug.

The crowd went wild.

Their cheers only steeled his resolve.

This life, no matter what, I’ll have Hu Yuying and the others. I’ll relive my glory days.

He knew he couldn’t live without the spotlight.

Ye Liangchen was born for this.

Stepping down from the bar, girls flocked to him.

He shot Xue Shaohua a smug look—Sorry, this round’s mine.

Xue Shaohua just gave him a thumbs-up.

In this bar, guys paid, girls drank free—with a bottle of liquor to boot.

Ye Liangchen picked one, leading her back to their booth.

With her drink in hand, he showed off some flashy bartending moves.

Then, he waved Gao Quan over.

Leaning close, he whispered something to the girl.

She held up three fingers.

Ye Liangchen hesitated, but thinking of what Gao Quan might do for him, he gritted his teeth and nodded.

The girl tucked away three hundred yuan and turned to Gao Quan. "Hey handsome, let’s get to know each other."

As Gao Quan started chatting with her, Ye Liangchen grabbed his drink, one hand in his pocket, and headed where Gao Quan had pointed earlier.

At the sight of the girl who supposedly "rivalled Li Qingxue," he chuckled.

"Mengjie."

Swirling his glass, a smirk on his lips, he sauntered over to Shen Mengjie.

She wasn’t surprised to see him—after all, he’d just stolen the show.

Leaning back on the couch, Shen Mengjie watched him with amused interest.

"Do you know each other?" Huang Fei asked.

Shen Mengjie withdrew her gaze and replied indifferently, "Not really."

Hearing this, Ye Liangchen's smile froze for a brief moment.

But then another man in the booth spoke up, "Old Ao isn’t here yet, hurry up—we’ve been waiting for you..."

Ye Liangchen quickly caught on. This group must be acquainted with Long Aotian, which was why Shen Mengjie had brushed him off with "not really."

Realizing this, Ye Liangchen gave Shen Mengjie a subtle nod of understanding before leaving to find Xue Shaohua.

Last night, Xue Shaohua had been on top the entire time—fair’s fair after losing the bet. Now, for the next week, it was finally his turn to have some fun!