He was bad, always chasing the next new thing

If you had money, you might as well live it up.

His apartment had two bedrooms and a living room. One was his bedroom; the other was a guest room piled with clothes, doubling as a small walk-in closet.

Ever since he had become financially independent in college, he had bought an outfit every month, sometimes two or three in summer. That came to nearly twenty outfits a year, not counting holidays or the occasional impulse purchase.

After several years, his collection had grown to a staggering size. Outfit after outfit hung neatly on the room's simple clothing racks.

Against the wall stood a plastic shoe cabinet divided into dozens of cubbies, not one of them empty. In some, two pairs of shoes were crammed together, looking rather sorry for themselves.

Qi Su had once had the privilege of entering this room. His first and only thought had been blunt: "You might as well open a clothing store."

After all, Cheng Yue only wore each outfit a few times and took such meticulous care of them that they looked practically new.

Cheng Yue had promptly shoved him out and scoffed. "You don't know shit, you hopeless straight guy!"

If he hadn't lent Qi Su a few outfits back then, would that guy have managed to win his girl and come away so pleased with himself?

Even then, after his wife got together with him and discovered that Qi Su wore only two outfits all year, she had nearly called the police to report that she had been scammed.

Although his friends often teased him about his clothes-shopping habit, every one of them wanted Cheng Yue's advice whenever an important occasion came up.

That included, but was not limited to, blind dates, weddings, meeting their fathers-in-law, buying gifts for clients, and accompanying their bosses on business trips. In short, whenever something called for even a little formality, they all came begging to Cheng Yue.

Cheng Yue's response was: "I'm tired of hearing you call me Dad. Next time, call me Grandpa."

Qi Su had delivered his latest clothing purchases to the security office after work the following day. Cheng Yue had taken them home, given them a rinse, and hung them up, leaving them untouched.

He had thought they looked pretty good at the time, but now, among all the different styles, they didn't seem to stand out at all.

Cheng Yue admitted it. He was bad. He always chased the next new thing.

His fingers brushed over outfit after outfit until a flash of royal blue caught his eye. Only when he picked it up did he realize it was the shirt he had worn home a couple of days earlier.

Ji Huaijin's.

It was probably one of the more striking dark pieces in Ji Huaijin's wardrobe. The double-faced pearlescent satin was silky and draped beautifully, while tiny black diamonds studded the dark buttons, making it all the more dazzling.

At ten that evening, the street lined with nightlife venues buzzed with voices. Young people in trendy clothes and outlandish outfits gathered in clusters.

Luxury sports cars occasionally passed along the road, their engines roaring into the sky and drawing countless admiring, envious looks.

By the time Cheng Yue walked up to the bar entrance, Qi Su, their eldest dormmate, and the others had already arrived. They stood huddled together, smoking and bantering.

They were all still in their work clothes-plain white shirts and black dress pants-which made them stand out among the fashionable young crowd.

"Is Orange coming or not? He organized this thing, and now he's making us wait. That brat's getting more and more disrespectful."

Their eldest dormmate put on a stern face. "We'll teach him a lesson when he gets here!"

Qi Su's eyes lit up. "A group fight? Do we all go at once, or one at a time?"

He preferred all at once, because he couldn't beat Cheng Yue in a fight.

It was a bitter tale. Though he ranked third among their dormmates, he had absolutely no authority over Cheng Yue. Not only did that brat disrespect him as an older sworn brother, he was always trying to turn the hierarchy upside down and become his godfather.

Faced with Cheng Yue's superior fighting ability, he could only swallow the humiliation and bear it with much aggrieved hesitation.

Honestly, he had been waiting for this day for ages. Now that he had a chance, he had to have a proper heart-to-heart with that rebellious little brother and teach him that respecting the old and caring for the young was a traditional Chinese virtue.

Qi Su rubbed his hands together and looked at their eldest dormmate with eager anticipation.

General, just give the order, and your loyal servant will...

"Make him drink three penalty shots!"

Qi Su: "..."

Are you sure that's a punishment?

Don't you know how much that lightweight loves drinking?

Cheng Yue made his entrance under everyone's gaze. That was no exaggeration: practically every pair of eyes within ten meters landed on him.

The collar of his fine-quality shirt lay slightly open, and black cropped dress pants outlined his long, shapely legs. A leather cord choker circled his neck, layered with a punk-style cross necklace resting against his collarbones.

Most eye-catching of all was his beautiful blue-gray hair. The carefully styled cut brought every handsome feature into sharp relief.

Cheng Yue touched the sparkling stud in his earlobe and looked at the stunned faces around him. "I thought you'd be immune to this handsome face by now," he said confidently.

Qi Su was the first to recover. "Get lost. I'm a hundred times better-looking than you, okay?"

A girl who had walked past them several times to get a look at the handsome guy shot Qi Su a disdainful glance at that.

Their eldest dormmate sighed and patted his shoulder. "Number Three, a little self-awareness goes a long way."

Back in college, Cheng Yue had dethroned a senior who had held his place on the rankings for years, becoming the new campus heartthrob and keeping the title for several years running. Couldn't someone who had never even made the list have a little fucking perspective?

Qi Su nearly choked.

Not content with winning, Cheng Yue twisted the knife. "Third Brother, you might not have a face that's one in ten thousand, but at least you've got the inner beauty of knowing when to bend and when to stand tall, right?"

Qi Su: "..."

Everyone looked at Qi Su's sickly expression and burst into utterly heartless laughter.

If Cheng Yue was the darling of their entire dorm, then Qi Su was its universally acknowledged punching bag.

There was no helping it. He had such a resilient heart-who else could shoulder that weighty responsibility?

Seething with indignation, Qi Su drank everything in sight, determined to make Cheng Yue's wallet hurt tonight.

Cheng Yue didn't care. Bring it on.

He was on his own, unlike the others, who had spouses and families. At twenty-seven, they had all moved past their partying years and shifted their attention to their careers and homes.

Cheng Yue was different. For personal reasons, he probably wouldn't marry in this lifetime. With no parents to support and no baby formula to pay for, he poured all his enthusiasm into eating, drinking, and having fun.

After several rounds, their eldest dormmate and the others draped their arms around one another's shoulders and began airing their troubles and pouring their hearts out. Cheng Yue couldn't be bothered to listen. Bored, he held a glass of Dita lychee liqueur and bobbed his head to the beat.

Before eleven thirty, the bar played easy-listening music or songs popular online. Anyone who wanted to could even request a favorite tune.

The real nightlife began at midnight.

"I thought that looked like you from way over there. Turns out it really is."

The newcomer was the bar manager, a man of around thirty. His black hair was slicked back so shiny that there was no telling how much hairspray he had used.

"What brings you here today?"

Cheng Yue smiled and bumped fists with him. "I missed you, of course. Brother Sun, it's been a while, but you're still as dashing as ever."

"That mouth of yours. There isn't a soul you can't sweet-talk."

Sun Chong accepted the glass Cheng Yue slid toward him, and they exchanged smiles.

After they chatted for a bit, Sun Chong asked a server to bring over a fruit platter, then exchanged a round of polite flattery with Qi Su and the others.

Just then, the band onstage began packing up.

"What do you say, Cheng Yue? Want to get up there and have some fun?"