"Then thank you, sis. I'll make sure you have a great time tonight." Cheng Tong smiled as he thanked her, then gestured to Ye Chen to get out of there and not come back.
Cheng Tong was a true friend. Whenever something came up, he was always there.
Ye Chen nodded gratefully at Cheng Tong, then turned to leave.
He had taken only a couple of steps when his vision blurred.
The world spun around him.
His whole body felt as if it were burning.
Something was wrong. There was no way he could get drunk this quickly.
Damn it, there was definitely something wrong with that drink.
Ye Chen didn't even bother changing his clothes. Someone else was paying, after all, so he headed straight out of the banquet hall and toward the elevator.
Money really wasn't that easy to earn.
Ye Chen wasn't greedy. He just needed enough to cover the medical bills.
He wanted to save his first time for someone he truly loved. He wasn't about to sleep with some rich woman.
Holding his forehead, Ye Chen sent Cheng Tong a warning text, then staggered into the elevator.
Ding!
The elevator doors opened.
Looking down, Ye Chen saw a pair of snow-white, long, slender legs in black high heels. The sight only made him feel hotter, his blood surging.
Ye Chen looked up. The woman wore a pleated skirt, sunglasses, and a face mask. Her long hair was tied in a ponytail, and her figure was curvy in all the right places.
The woman with the long hair called out in surprise, "Ye Chen..."
Unfortunately, Ye Chen didn't hear her.
A wave of dizziness hit him. His legs gave way, and he toppled straight toward the floor.
The woman hurriedly pulled him into the elevator and caught him against her body.
Ye Chen sank into a soft, fragrant embrace and lost consciousness.
The next day, around noon.
Ye Chen woke up alone on the hotel's soft, white bed, his head aching.
He pulled back the covers and looked. Just as he'd expected, he was naked.
Last night hadn't been a dream!
Remembering how hard it had been to get through the first time last night,
Ye Chen swept the covers away and spotted a dark red stain on the clean white sheets.
But how had he ended up in this hotel bed?
A face surfaced in his mind: youthful and delicate, full of girlish charm.
Whether she smiled shyly or whimpered through tears, she was breathtakingly beautiful.
Her skin was as white as snow, and her features were lovely, with gently arched brows.
Her eyes were large and round, like beautiful almonds.
They were clear and bright, as if crushed stars had been scattered inside them.
Her figure was graceful.
Slender, yet shapely, with a narrow waist and curves in all the right places.
Her ample curves were too much for him to grasp with one hand.
Wasn't that the face of Su Ningwei, the lead singer of Rose Girl Group?
He was losing it!
He must have been so out of it from the drug that he'd imagined the woman looked like his idol.
Su Ningwei was a born songstress, blessed by heaven itself. She'd shot to fame as soon as she debuted and won countless fans.
He didn't even know Su Ningwei.
How could she possibly have been beneath him, singing just for him all night?
Ye Chen touched the faint scar at his left temple and felt a little guilty.
The woman in the elevator must have given him her first time.
Even if it had been an exchange, she'd definitely been the one to lose out.
If she wanted him to, Ye Chen would take responsibility for her.
In his memory, she'd initially refused.
But then the drug took hold of him, and he...
Later, the woman hadn't refused either. She had only sighed softly beside Ye Chen. "Sigh, never mind. This stuff really is strong. I'd originally wanted to..."
As she spoke, she took the initiative and kissed Ye Chen.
After that, they'd shared a passionate, remarkably in-sync exchange.
Ye Chen couldn't be sure whether he'd imagined what he heard, and he didn't know what the woman had been planning...
There was a note on the bedside table, written in elegant semi-cursive script.
It read: I did this willingly. You don't need to take responsibility. Let's just pretend it was a dream.
Ye Chen carefully put the note away, choosing to respect her wishes. Still, it really had been an unforgettable dream.
The hotel staff had already dry-cleaned the clothes he'd worn last night and returned them.
Ye Chen had just gotten dressed when his phone vibrated with a deposit notification:
"You received 555,000 yuan in your bank account ending in 2023 on April 1 at 11:11. Your balance is 555,100.25 yuan. [China Construction Bank]"
Ye Chen was thrilled. Great, now he had the money for the medical bills.
Being handsome really did come in handy at times like this.
The group leader, Hao Ren, had been quick to pay. He really was a "good person" who helped poor boys.
Ye Chen immediately transferred 100,000 yuan to Ye Dashan's medical insurance card, telling him that his novel had taken off and he'd earned royalties.
When Ye Yao heard Ye Chen say that, she admired him even more and said she wanted to join the ranks of online novelists too.
Ye Chen rubbed his aching waist and knees, left the hotel, and took a taxi straight back to the dorm.
On the way, Ye Chen called Cheng Tong, but his phone was switched off.
Cheng Tong had probably been exhausted last night and was still asleep.
Ye Chen bought a big tub of malatang packed with ingredients and four boxes of white rice to take back to the dorm.
When Ye Chen had been struggling before, his roommates had often brought him food.
As soon as he stepped into the dorm,
Ye Chen heard Rose Girl Group's hit song playing. Su Ningwei was singing the high notes.
The sound sent a shiver through Ye Chen. It was incredibly familiar.
Ye Chen hurriedly shook his head and came back to his senses.
Cheng Tong wasn't in the dorm.
His roommates, Zhu Peng and Zhou Tao, were listening to Rose Girl Group while playing a doubles game.
When Zhu Peng and Zhou Tao saw Ye Chen return with food, their game had just ended, so they hurried over.
They were in their senior year, and plenty of people had gone out for internships. It was normal not to come back to the dorm to sleep.
But Ye Chen returning with a love bite on his neck was not normal.
Everyone knew Ye Chen didn't have a girlfriend and never fooled around outside.
"Chen, there's no way that mark on your neck came from a mosquito. You were gone all night, too. Come clean—did you secretly get yourself a girlfriend?" Zhu Peng pushed up his glasses, wearing a look straight out of Detective Conan.
Zhou Tao leaned over and widened his eyes. "Exactly! That's a love bite, just like the one I gave myself on my wrist."
Ye Chen blushed slightly and pushed them away. "I did it to myself. I brought malatang. You want some? If not, I'll eat it all myself."
"Yeah!"
Zhu Peng and Zhou Tao hurriedly snatched up the lunch boxes and wolfed down the food.
Since Ye Chen didn't want to say, Zhu Peng and Zhou Tao wouldn't pry. Everyone had a little secret or two.
Once they'd eaten their fill,
Zhou Tao took out four tickets and set them on the table.
"Take a look at this," Zhou Tao said with a grin.
Zhu Peng picked up the tickets, glanced at them, and jumped to his feet. "Holy crap! These are tickets to Rose Girl Group's concert at the Modu Sports Center! I couldn't get any. How did you manage it?"
"Heh, I paid extra to get them from a scalper," Zhou Tao said with a grin.
All four guys in the dorm were die-hard Rose Girl Group fans, and Su Ningwei was naturally the most popular.
"Awesome! No wonder your family's loaded. Money really does solve everything these days." Zhu Peng gave Zhou Tao a thumbs-up.