By the time the two of them arrived, the others had already ordered dishes and were waiting.
Since they had played hard in the afternoon and burned a lot of energy, everyone’s appetite had increased, especially An Che and Shen Xingrou. Probably because the two kids were still growing, An Ruo watched them wolf down their food and, for once, ate two bowls of rice herself.
She hadn’t had much appetite lately—she’d feel full after just a little, but then suddenly get ravenous not long after, and greasy food made her nauseous.
After the meal, Shen Xingrou insisted on dragging An Ruo to the third floor to watch a song-and-dance performance. They arrived just in time; a band was currently playing there. Before they even entered the hall, they could hear the deafening music, making it feel like a small music bar.
An Ruo wasn’t fond of overly noisy places. Shen Xiaoxing told her not to pick up bad habits from Shen Xingrou and instructed them to play for ten minutes and then come back.
Shen Xingrou was having a blast, letting loose with the rhythm and the customers in the venue. As the third young lady of the Shen family, she had been bound by rules since childhood—proper demeanor, extensive knowledge, and while not necessarily a master of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, she had to be proficient!
"Sister-in-law, you know what? My dream is actually to form a band and be the lead singer myself." She stared at the male lead singer on stage, her eyes gleaming, replaying the scene of herself up there in her mind over and over.
An Ruo looked at her profile and could feel her love for the band; otherwise, she wouldn’t have insisted on dragging her here.
So even the young masters and ladies from wealthy families had things they wanted to do but couldn’t.
A few young men kept glancing at Shen Xingrou, who was lost in the music. An Ruo frowned, grabbed the girl, and led her out of the third-floor music hall.
Shen Xingrou reluctantly looked back: "What’s wrong, sister-in-law? It’s just getting lively in there..."
"Your brother texted saying we need to head back quickly. We can come watch tomorrow; they’re performing for several days anyway."
The twist was that the man wasn’t in the room. After calling to ask, they found out he was playing billiards with He Su in the fourth-floor entertainment hall.
"Telling us to hurry back, and then they go off to have fun themselves." Shen Xingrou, who rarely got to go out, completely shed the "Third Miss Shen" persona, linked her arm with An Ruo’s, and headed to the fourth floor. "Let’s go play too!"
In the fourth-floor entertainment hall, a few men were sipping wine, gathered around the billiard table, taking turns showing off.
"Any stakes for the match, guys?" Huo Jinyan held his cue stick, looking bored.
Sheng Nanzhou gently swirled his glass. "Win or lose, how about the loser pays up?"
"Same old routine, boring." He Su leaned over the table, adjusted his stance, closed one eye, aimed at the middle ball, and sank it!
It reminded him of that useless Shen Tingfeng, who couldn’t sink a single shot in over a dozen tries at golf.
Sheng Nanzhou smirked slyly. "How about this: the loser goes celibate for a month?"
"I’m in!" He Su rested his hands on the cue stick, grinning mischievously. "I don’t have a girlfriend anyway, so winning or losing doesn’t matter to me."
The man in the wheelchair, who had been sitting out, turned his handsome face at the remark, his eyes darkly sweeping over them.
"Boss, you’d better step it up. You’re the only one here who’s legitimately got a beauty in his arms. A month of celibacy—can you handle it?"
"Lao Zhou, who are you looking down on? Our Shen Dage is famous for being celibate, the recognized Liu Xiahui of the circle. That reputation isn’t for nothing."
"So, winning or losing doesn’t matter to the boss?"
Shen Xiaoxing hadn’t planned on playing, but hearing that the loser would have to go celibate for a month—such a harsh bet—if he didn’t win, could he sleep peacefully holding An Ruo at night?
Huo Jinyan deliberately widened his eyes. "Lao Zhou, that’s a brutal bet. You know our A Xing is newly married, with years of pent-up desire. He hasn’t even tasted the sweetness yet, and you want him to go celibate for a month? What’s your angle!?"
With that, he exchanged a glance with Sheng Nanzhou and covered his mouth to stifle a laugh.
Shen Xiaoxing shot them a cold glare. "The one going celibate for a month is you."
Huo Jinyan laughed. "Oh? Shen Dage’s that confident?"
He Su and Sheng Nanzhou high-fived smugly, having successfully tricked the man into joining the game.
Next, the men all got into the zone. He Su, a lone bachelor who hadn’t even touched a woman’s hand, played half-heartedly and poorly. Sheng Nanzhou, without a girlfriend lately, played casually, mainly stirring the pot and enjoying the drama.
Finally, it came down to Shen Xiaoxing and Huo Jinyan, battling it out fiercely.
Despite Shen Xiaoxing’s earlier laziness, his competitive streak was now ignited. He crushed the disinterested He Su in the first round and forced Sheng Nanzhou to surrender in the second. But Huo Jinyan was still fighting for his life.
He ended up losing badly and cursed in frustration: "Damn it, who came up with the loser going celibate for a month? Is this targeting me!?"
Sheng Nanzhou quietly raised his hand. "I did..."
Huo Jinyan looked at him like a useless teammate—wasn’t this completely screwing him over?
Sheng Nanzhou shrugged helplessly. Who knew he’d lose so badly?
"I’ll have someone supervise you." Shen Xiaoxing, in the victor’s position, raised an eyebrow at him leisurely.
"..."
"You’re all here!"
Shen Xingrou walked over holding An Ruo’s hand. "You found a place to play and didn’t think to call us."
"Oh, Third Miss Shen, what brings you out with your big brother?" Huo Jinyan whistled and grinned at her. "Not afraid your dad will send someone to drag you back?"
Shen Xingrou rolled her eyes. "None of your business!"
Out of all these people, she hated Huo Jinyan the most—a self-proclaimed playboy who liked to flirt around everywhere!
An Ruo gently tugged her sleeve, signaling her not to talk back to the older Huo Jinyan in front of everyone.
"It’s fine, this guy’s been shameless for ages. Everyone in the circle knows what he’s like."
"Hey!" Huo Jinyan angrily rolled up his sleeves. "You little brat, no respect—you need to be taught a lesson."
Before Shen Xingrou could retort, He Su nudged Huo Jinyan beside him and raised an eyebrow. "Who says you get to teach her?"
"Huh?" Huo Jinyan looked baffled. "What the hell did I do to you?"
The two had been at odds for a while, and a storm was about to break out. An Ruo quietly poked the man.
Shen Xiaoxing understood her meaning and spoke sternly, "What’s all this arguing about?"
Both of them snorted and turned their heads away in opposite directions.
"Uh..." Sheng Nanzhou saw the atmosphere turn awkward. They rarely met like this, and he didn’t want things to get tense.
"There’s a hot spring at the Wisteria Courtyard on the fifth floor. It’s lively right now. Let me treat everyone to a soak—we’ll sleep well tonight."
Shen Xingrou was the first to raise her hand in agreement. "Great! I heard the hot spring here is outdoors, so we can enjoy the view while soaking and tasting specialty snacks."
An Ruo wasn’t keen on soaking in a hot spring at all but reluctantly raised her hand and forced a dry laugh.
The hot spring was separated by gender. Shen Xiaoxing wanted to soak with An Ruo in a private bath, but Shen Xingrou kept getting in the way.
As they headed back to the room to prepare, An Ruo couldn’t help asking the man, "That doctor named He Su—are you close with him?"
The man paused, turned his wheelchair to face her, and chuckled softly. "Why the sudden interest in him?"
"Last time at the hospital, I saw he had a strange relationship with Shen Tingfeng. Since he knows you and is also connected to the second branch, it’s better not to get too close."