Chapter 5: Hard to Please

He folded his arms and leaned back against the sofa, paying no attention to their conversation.

“No wonder that Xu design sold like crazy—it’s still a hot item,” Zhou Ruikang chimed in.

Su Yi pulled out a necklace from beneath her shirt, a hint of pride in her voice. “Mine is the original edition, the designer’s name is engraved on the back.”

“Oh, so that’s it.” Everyone played along, making a fuss to show their admiration, then moved on to the next round.

Lin Lu stood up to fetch a plate of fruit to eat.

She sat opposite Su Yi, and just as Su Yi was flaunting her necklace, the spotlights caught the row of diamonds, dazzling Lin Lu’s eyes.

Xu Mingchuan thoughtfully handed her a crystal plate for the fruit pits.

Lin Lu thanked him.

In the next few rounds, Zhou Ruikang kept winning, bombarded with questions he couldn’t answer, until he finally chose a dare, bracing himself to kiss a few of the same sex.

“All the luck of eight lifetimes must have come together today!” Zhou Ruikang collapsed into his seat, gagging, and only managed to steady himself after a few gulps of red wine.

“You really hold the fort,” Xu Mingchuan gave him a thumbs-up. The ones who’d been kissed had already gone to the restroom to brush their teeth.

“Of course, I risk life and limb for my friends,” Zhou Ruikang said grandly, swinging the bottle neck toward Xu Yancheng.

Xu Yancheng was already awake; the rowdy crowd had roused him from sleep.

“Brother, I’ll ask you something I’m really curious about, so don’t get upset,” Zhou Ruikang, now tipsy, called everyone brother regardless of age.

“Go ahead,” Xu Yancheng sat up straighter, rubbing his temples.

“How many years did you date your girlfriend?”

“No girlfriend.”

“Then your ex?”

“Six years.” Xu Yancheng answered quickly, without hesitation.

He still had his eyes closed, rubbing his temples, so no one could see his expression.

Su Yi pressed her lips together. When Xu Yancheng said he had no girlfriend, she’d felt a pang of disappointment, but hearing him say “six years” now, she was moved.

So many years—she herself couldn’t forget, so how could he?

Others might not know him, but as his closest person, how could she not understand?

Just that the proud and aloof young master was difficult to coax.

Lin Lu finally understood: this so-called truth-or-dare was just a matchmaking ploy for Xu Yancheng and Su Yi. Boring.

She got up to leave, but at that moment, Xu Yancheng turned the bottle toward her.

“What, you want to bail when you can’t handle it?” Xu Yancheng squinted at her.

Lin Lu had no choice but to sit back down.

“Ask away,” she said, without much emotion. She figured if it came to a dare, so be it—getting bitten by a pig was nothing.

“When was the last time you slept with someone?”

Lin Lu nearly choked on a piece of melon.

This was, without a doubt, the boldest question asked of any girl that night.

The whole room fell silent.

Zhou Ruikang rubbed his nose. Xu Yancheng really had a knack for shocking people—especially with Su Yi still here.

If nothing else, his cousin was here too, wasn’t he?

Even if he was trying to annoy Su Yi, he shouldn’t tease the woman his cousin liked. Wasn’t that sabotaging him?

Xu Mingchuan couldn’t stand it anymore. “Yancheng, Lin Lu’s a lady—ask something else.”

“No,” Xu Yancheng folded his arms and leaned back on the sofa, clearly not about to let it go.

Xu Mingchuan was getting annoyed. “Lin Lu, don’t be embarrassed—just take the dare if you want.”

He lowered his voice, “I’ll have someone help you fake it.”

“Say what you mean—no need for whispers,” Xu Yancheng snapped, irritated by Xu Mingchuan’s attitude.

Lin Lu set down her melon and replied calmly, “Right before I came to the club.”