Chapter 4

Maybe it was the prize, but the competition became unexpectedly fierce.

The class president even exposed her own childhood misdeeds.

She confessed that she’d always thought inflatable castles were like children’s fighting rings, built specifically for brawling.

So the second her mother paid, she would charge inside and start hitting everyone indiscriminately.

Beside her, Pei Zhaoyan clutched his head and cried, “No wonder! I always wondered why someone came in and started beating me up when I was little!”

At last, it was my turn.

I thought for a moment and looked at my half-full cup. “I’ll take a dare.”

The class president’s eyes lit up. She slapped the table. “All right! Your dare is to choose one guy here and kiss him in front of everyone!”

Then she thoughtfully added, “Cheek only, not the mouth. Thank you.”

There were only two guys present.

Jing Yan sat on my left.

Pei Zhaoyan sat on my right.

Jing Yan’s lashes were lowered. He looked cool and indifferent, as if he couldn’t care less.

But the rim of his cup rested at his lips for a very long time.

I didn’t hesitate.

I leaned to the right and pressed a light kiss to Pei Zhaoyan’s cheek.

In the next second, two people went rigid.

Pei Zhaoyan looked as if someone had cast a binding spell on him.

The normally noisy boy turned as quiet as a quail.

One hand over his cheek, he ducked his head so low that only the pink tips of his ears showed. All we heard was a tiny “whimper,” like a puppy whining.

As for Jing Yan,

he still didn’t move.

He looked like a handsome stone someone had placed on the chair.

Only his fingers trembled slightly, setting the surface of the wine quivering in his cup.

The class president went over, patted his shoulder, and giggled.

“It’s okay, top student. If you like someone, just keep missing every chance. We’ll be here to comfort you.”

“…”

Several rounds of rice wine later,

it was Jing Yan’s turn. He chose truth.

Gu Xinlin asked the question.

“Um… Yan, what event had the greatest impact on your life? Like, maybe the moment you fell for someone.”

When she finished, she looked up at him, hope flickering in her eyes.

The cup before Jing Yan was nearly empty.

If he lifted it one more time, he would be out completely.

I looked over.

The wind had mussed Jing Yan’s black hair, and the corners of his eyes were faintly red.

The icy shell that kept everyone at a distance seemed to have melted into the alcohol.

At last, he spoke.

“The thing that affected me most

“was my parents falling in love.”

The table went quiet for a beat.

“My parents’ marriage was a business arrangement. They had no feelings for each other before the wedding. Those came later. Everyone thought they were the perfect example of a couple who married first and fell in love afterward.”

“But while they loved each other deeply, they each kept lovers on the side.”

“After I was born, they seemed even more in love. In public, my mother was always smiling, linked arm in arm with my father, asking about everything in my life. Anyone looking at us would have thought we were happy.”

“But only I knew what they were like at home.”

The summer cicadas abruptly sounded shrill.

“My mother would slap my father and stand in the middle of the living room screaming, sobbing as if her heart were being torn apart.”

“My father would smash everything in a rage. Then he’d slam the door and spend the night with his mistress.”

“My mother would run out crying to find her lover. That left only me and the nanny at home.”

“The nanny was paid to do a job and didn’t want to get involved. I didn’t want to stay in that house either, so I’d hide alone in the nearby park.”

“The other children thought I was too gloomy. I didn’t talk or smile, so none of them wanted to play with me. Only…”

He broke off in a daze. His gaze instinctively shifted to me and landed on my face.

Then he looked away, skipping the name.

“…Anyway, the day after every fight, the three of us would sit at the dining table again. My father would buy my mother a new handbag. She’d lean against him and act spoiled. Everything was sweet as ever—and the lovers were still there too.”

“Getting close means repeating their mistakes. Once it begins, it’s destined to end in torment.”

“I’d rather they had never fallen in love at all.”

Jing Yan drained the last of his wine.

His cup was empty. He put it back on the table and gently pushed it away.

“I forfeit.”