Lin Ran steadied Xu Zhi by the shoulder, turned her around, and hurried off the plaza.

They walked all the way to the bus stop. Lin Ran bought two cans of ice-cold beer. They sat on the bench. Xu Zhi was still a little shaken and patted her chest lightly.

“That was scary.”

“Don’t think about it. Do an extra set tonight. Get tired and you’ll sleep.” Lin Ran popped his beer. As the foam surged, he took a deep pull.

“True. This big sis’s been doing squats!”

“Huh?”

“You’re not even asking why!”

“Okay, why?”

“So I can sit on the right guy!”

Lin Ran was already immune to her lowbrow dirty jokes.

He lowered his gaze to her hem. It fell to her knees. Beneath it, her calves were long and smooth. She was pretty tall—slim figure, great legs, a narrow waist. As for her chest, average, but a nice shape.

He didn’t hide his gaze. Xu Zhi noticed, but only tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, as if she hadn’t.

A summer night breeze drifted past. Xu Zhi opened her can too, clinked with him, then chugged a big gulp.

The moon hung like a silver hook overhead. The wind picked up. Her skirt swayed. Xu Zhi kept her legs close together and pressed the hem down with a light hand. Catching his gaze, she suddenly winked.

“What, want to guess the color?”

“With you… no need. It’s either black or white.”

“Oh? You saw.”

“Didn’t. I just figure a girl like you, odds are it’s one of those.”

“So you mean I’m pure at heart?”

“I mean simple.” Lin Ran looked at her, helpless.

“Not necessarily. Actually, big sis is wearing pink strings. A light pull and they come off.” Her voice turned a little sultry. She leaned to his ear and breathed softly.

The words were risqué, yet nothing felt abrupt. Only the haze of flirtation remained, as if the air was warming.

“Don’t buy it.”

“Wanna check?” Xu Zhi pinched her hem, glanced around. No one else—just the two of them at the stop. His eyes went there on instinct. He watched her lift the hem bit by bit, a hint of anticipation and playfulness in him.

Her hand moved very slowly, up near the top of her thigh. She stopped, gave him a teasing look. “So you did want to see?”

“I just want to know if I guessed right.”

He looked innocent, not a trace of embarrassment.

She hummed. “Don’t care. You guessed wrong.”

“Okay, okay.”

You really can’t argue with a woman.

Xu Zhi didn’t get the fluster she wanted from him. A tiny bit of a shame. A few seconds later, she laughed anyway, clinked his can again, and glug-glug, drained the whole 330 ml.

She was one of the few people in his late-night circle who didn’t have much of a drinking habit.

Even though Xu Zhi always joked she was rotting away, Lin Ran knew she was clean for now. Pure in a simple way.

Xu Zhi spaced out, staring at the empty street. She extended a finger and gave his chest a light poke.

“Hey…”

“Yeah?”

“Not long ago, that Young Master Qin said he wanted to keep me.”

“You could’ve texted back: I only sleep with my boyfriend.”

“Cut it out. Those rich second-gens aren’t brain-dead.” She rolled her eyes. “I can’t hook a guy like that. Wrong class, I’d be just a fling. So he named a price. Fifty thousand yuan a month.”

Lin Ran went quiet, turned to her, a little more serious this time. “Are you that tight on money?”

“Kinda… yeah.” Her voice got much softer. Head down. In the dim light, her eyes were hard to read.

“So…”

“I turned him down.” She said it through gritted teeth.

He said nothing. He knew she had more.

She grabbed his can and chugged it. Lin Ran watched her white throat move. She wiped the corner of her mouth. “Honestly, I regretted it several times after.”

“It’s your choice anyway.”

“I thought you’d call me a slut.” Her brows lifted slightly.

“Wouldn’t.”

“So I’m so annoyed, aaaaaah!”

Out of nowhere, Xu Zhi screamed at the empty street. The voice-activated lights across the way flicked on. Lin Ran listened quietly, watching the slight frenzy on her face.

He also saw her eyes go a little red.

A minute or two passed.

“Much better.” Xu Zhi smiled again.

“Wait for me.” Lin Ran stood, got back on his little bicycle. A couple minutes later, he came pedaling back, four cans in hand. He wasn’t even holding the handlebars. He stopped, got off, cracked a can, and handed it to her.

They clinked. Xu Zhi chugged half the can.

“You don’t spend much. Something up at home?”

“My mom’s sick. Her meds cost twenty thousand yuan a month.” She didn’t hide it.

But she’d never said it before.

“Just meds… won’t fix it, right?” The words were cruel, but he asked anyway.

“Surgery is four hundred thousand.” She crushed the can into a ball and hurled it into the bushes across the street.

“So even if I have to sell, I’ll sell for a good price. Whoever puts down four hundred thousand… I’ll marry him.”

“I want to say something you might not like.” Lin Ran thought for a moment.

Xu Zhi turned, staring hard at him. She looked a little sickly. “You want to say, if my mom knew, she probably wouldn’t want me to do it?”

“Yeah.”

“So what? My mom raised me. My dad, that gambling bastard, ditched us long ago. Don’t even know where he died—hope he did. In this world, I only have her left…”

Tears suddenly fell.

Moonlight spilled across her cheeks, light and dark interlaced.

“But even if I sell, I can’t fetch that price.” Her voice went hoarse. Lin Ran just looked at her, eyes a little lost. To her, it read as powerless.

She knew she shouldn’t show herself like this.

So she wiped her tears, shook her head, and asked if he had tissues.

He didn’t. Xu Zhi leaned in and wiped her tears on his T-shirt. The tracks vanished on her pale face. She opened another can and clinked his.

“Alright, alright. Telling you this won’t help… let’s drink.” They clinked again.

On the quiet street, they put away six cans. Lin Ran pedaled her to the downtown strip. It was past the last bus, so Xu Zhi grabbed a cab.

Lin Ran biked home. On the way, he got her message saying she was back. He felt a little relieved. When he opened his door, the cat was waiting.

He scooped the litter box first, then booted up the computer. This time he didn’t jump into a game. He just stared.

He had a fight tomorrow night.

It was a no-rules underground fight. No limits, no tricks barred. Drop your opponent and keep him down ten seconds, you win.

No rules, not even gloves. The venue he worked at was tucked away, pretty hidden. No big-name masters. He’d brawled a lot in earlier years. He tried this job and had been at it over half a year. Undefeated so far.

He figured luck played a big part. He’d been beaten black and blue plenty over the years.

So Xu Zhi had told him to switch jobs.

He didn’t care much. He was lazy. If it paid and paid fast, he was fine. But he hadn’t saved a thing. Across his cards he had maybe twenty thousand yuan.

That’s why Xu Zhi never told him about tonight. She knew he was powerless, and it would only add worry.

She figured he saw her as a friend.

So as a friend, she shouldn’t add pointless trouble.

Likewise, Lin Ran didn’t like troubling others.

He zoned out for a long while, thought it over, and finally made a call.

The line picked up in about three seconds. Water splashed on the other end. Whoever it was was bathing, but still answered.

“Wait a sec. Let me fill the tub.”

The voice was soft, a little sweet, a young girl’s tone. Lin Ran set the phone on the desk and waited quietly. He thought he heard something drop into the water. He lifted the phone back to his ear.

“What made you call me all of a sudden?”

“Met a friend. Want to help her a bit. Meet tomorrow?”

“I’m busy.”

“Up to you then. Tomorrow morning, south side, Moonlight Café.”

Lin Ran hung up.

In the tub, the girl stared blankly at the ended call. After a few seconds, she slapped the water. It splashed up and fell onto her pale chest. Droplets rolled back into the bath.

Su Nisheng was very angry.

Does this guy have some condition where saying one more sentence would kill him?!