Xinan bid farewell to Meng Qiu after wrapping up work and walked alone toward the direction of her rental place.
By this time, night had already fallen, the sky littered with a myriad of stars, while the moon hung above, emitting a soft glow.
Besides the "Mist" crew, there were other film crews around, engaged in big-budget productions.
Because of the unique nature of film sets, their locations were often remote, and Xinan hardly saw anyone walking on the road as she made her way back.
Fortunately, the rental wasn't too far from the set; it took Xinan less than ten minutes to spot the familiar building.
As Xinan fumbled for her keys to unlock the door, suddenly, a force pushed her from behind.
She yelped, but the next second she was thrown onto the bed.
With a "bang," the door shut.
Everything happened so abruptly that before she could react, the figure was upon her.
"Ah..." Xinan screamed out, frantically trying to resist, but she was no match for the man.
The room was pitch black, and Xinan couldn't see anything, save for the sliver of light seeping in through the half-open window.
Xinan's eyes widened in terror, trying to open her mouth to call for help, but the man didn't give her the chance, blocking her mouth with his, kissing her deeply.
"Mmm... Mmmm..." In a lull, Xinan screamed out his name: "Cheng Yi..."
As if he hadn't heard, the man continued with his actions, and Xinan felt his hand slipping under her clothes.
Xinan's body shivered violently; as she remembered what Yang Shuyu had said on set that afternoon, her heart grew colder.
She began to struggle desperately, but he was like a rock, solid and unyielding, leaving her powerless to resist.
The more she struggled, the more intense his kisses became, as if he intended to consume her whole.
A loud slap rang out as Cheng Yi's face took the impact.
"Cheng Yi, enough!" Xinan yelled at him.
Even in the dark, Xinan could sense the change in Cheng Yi's body, and the atmosphere in the room grew heavy.
Cheng Yi felt blood trickle from the corner of his mouth, but he didn't raise his hand to wipe it, his eyes glaring fiercely at Xinan, as if trying to see through her, "You dare hit me?"
Although Xinan couldn't see Cheng Yi's eyes, she knew they must be icy cold.
In fact, she regretted acting out the moment she did it.
She opened her mouth to say something, but Cheng Yi spoke up first.
"So, you find me repulsive?" His voice was unexpectedly calm.
But the calmer he was, the more frightened Xinan felt.
"I..."
Cheng Yi suddenly let out a laugh, a chilling laugh that made one's skin crawl, "I must be a fucking masochist to have come here looking for you."
Then he got up from Xinan and turned around, striding towards the door to leave.
It was only after the door slammed shut with a "bang" that Xinan slowly recovered.
She had actually hit Cheng Yi!
Xinan closed her eyes in despair; her relationship with Cheng Yi was already strained, and now that she had hit him, things would probably become even more rigid.
When she first married Cheng Yi, she didn't hope for his affection, just for mutual respect. But when she saw him with Yang Shuyu, she couldn't contain herself.
Now that things had come to this, their relationship could only grow colder, like ice.
As Cheng Yi walked out, he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth; the streetlight illuminated his face, revealing five distinct red marks.
He leaned against the wall, then slowly took out his phone from his suit pocket, and called Ye Rui.
"Book me a flight back to Jing City."
"Yes, for tonight."
—
Tan Bo was playing cards in a club in Jing City when he received a call from Cheng Yi.
He was holding cards in one hand and answering the phone with the other, "Ah Yi, what's got you calling me?"
"Where are you?"
"I'm at xxx playing cards. You coming over?"
A hum came from the other end of the line before the call ended.
Han Jibai was sitting across from Tan Bo; hearing him call out "Ah Yi," he asked, "Is Ah Yi coming?"
Tan Bo tossed his phone onto the couch beside him and said, "Mhm, I felt from his tone just now that he might be in a bad mood. Looks like we might have a rough time ahead."
As soon as Cheng Yi's car pulled up to the club, the manager bent over to open the door for him.
Cheng Yi walked straight inside without so much as glancing at him.
Once Cheng Yi came in, several people who weren't very familiar with him began calling out, "Mr. Yi."
Cheng Yi, as if he hadn't heard them, remained expressionless until his gaze fell on Han Jibai sitting at the card table, and only then did his eyes show a trace of change.
Tan Bo made a subtle gesture to someone beside him, signaling him to clear a spot.
Then he cleared his throat and said to Cheng Yi, "Ah Yi, come over and play cards; we've made space for you."
Cheng Yi's gaze moved away from Han Jibai as he took a seat at the card table.
Because Cheng Yi was seated sideways to Tan Bo, he immediately noticed the red mark on Cheng Yi's face and exclaimed, "Ah Yi, what happened to your face?"
The mark was faint and hardly noticeable if one didn't look closely.
"A cat scratched me," Cheng Yi uttered indifferently.
Cheng Yi didn't even have a cat, and where would a cat come from to scratch him, especially on the face? Clearly, someone had hit him, but since Cheng Yi didn't want to say more, Tan Bo didn't press the issue.
"Come on, shuffle the cards, shuffle the cards. My luck's insanely good today; your title as the gambling god might be in jeopardy tonight."
Cheng Yi scoffed, "Don't start begging me when you lose later."
"Come forth!"
Cheng Yi was about to shuffle when Tan Bo stopped his hand, saying, "No way, can't let you shuffle."
He had played cards with Cheng Yi for so many years, his skill was too well known to Tan Bo; if Cheng Yi wanted to win, a mere flick of the fingers could make it happen.
With that thought, he randomly pointed to a waiter standing nearby and said, "You, come over and shuffle for us."
Cheng Yi curled the edge of his mouth into a smirk, pushed the cards to the waiter, then leaned back in his chair and lit a cigarette.
The first round, Tan Bo was the dealer, and he won.
The second round, Cheng Yi was the dealer, and he won.
The third round, Han Jibai was the dealer, both Tan Bo and Cheng Yi won.
...
After going back and forth for more than twenty rounds, Tan Bo finally realized something was off: whenever Han Jibai dealt, or when he and Cheng Yi were on a team, they would lose.
So all night, it was Han Jibai losing money.
This was plainly Cheng Yi targeting Han Jibai!
Han Jibai got engaged on a day when Tan Bo was on a business trip abroad, missing his and Ran Shasha's engagement banquet, so he was unaware of what had happened between him and Cheng Yi.
Tan Bo saw through it but said nothing; Han Jibai seemed to have also realized, but nobody at the table spoke up.