Chapter Fourteen

The atmosphere suddenly turned strange.

Everyone probably didn't expect that the lively commotion would be interrupted by the sound of a door opening. Once the excitement was broken, it was difficult to pick it up again.

Leo glanced at Nick, and their gazes collided in the air.

Nick strode in, saying, "Keep going." Then he lazily walked to the couch in the corner, sat down, bent over, picked up a glass of wine on the table, and poured it while holding it. The light cast shadows on his face, giving him a certain hardness.

The others regained their composure and tried to stir up the commotion again, but Zoe reached out and pushed away Leo's microphone, shaking her head and saying, "I can't sing."

Leo relaxed his face and smiled, his eyes sparkling. "Then I'll sing to you."

The boys groaned and giggled, their voices filled with ambiguity.

Zoe felt helpless and leaned towards Luna.

Luna put down her wine glass, put an arm around Zoe's shoulder, and smiled at Leo, "Then hurry up and sing. We've been waiting for so long, we don't even want to listen anymore."

"Alright."

Leo nodded.

He turned to look at the screen, where a younger student had already clicked on the paused page, and the visuals began to flow, the lyrics popping up.

Leo started singing.

"You accompany me into the summer, beyond the hustle and bustle of the city, the song still wanders, your eyes like pomegranate blossoms..."

Handsome guys who dare to sing with a microphone usually sing well.

As soon as Leo opened his mouth, all the girls in the room wanted to kneel before him. Sitting on the stage with his long legs dangling, singing deeply, made him even more irresistible.

Zoe felt very uncomfortable because everyone's gaze, whether intentional or not, was constantly on her.

The other half of the gazes were focused on Nick, who had chosen a very corner spot, which had now gathered quite a few people.

Zoe leaned back and focused on watching Luna and Noah compete in drinking.

Luna was very good at drinking, and Noah seemed to be struggling, but as a guy, he wouldn't admit defeat in front of the girl he liked, so he was still resisting stubbornly.

Zoe felt like laughing.

As her eyes curved into a smile, Nick leaned back, wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, and looked over. Their gazes collided suddenly.

Zoe was startled.

Nick narrowed his eyes, licked his lips, and raised his hand. A dice flew towards Zoe, hitting her nose bridge.

Zoe was stunned.

Nick said, "Sorry."

Zoe: "..."

The song in the room reached its climax.

"How could I have fallen in love with you and decided to go home with you..."

Someone noticed that Leo had changed the pronoun from "she" to "you", and the atmosphere immediately became even more lively.

Zoe was distracted by these voices and turned back. She realized that Leo was holding the microphone, bending down and singing right in front of her.

Zoe covered her nose with one hand and looked at Leo, unable to speak for a moment. She felt dizzy, a little uncomfortable, and wanted to hide. She rubbed her nose hard, stood up, and walked towards the bathroom.

The bathroom was empty at the moment, but due to its design, there was a short but deep corridor. Zoe locked the door and looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her nose was red.

The dice had landed perfectly, with the pointed end down, almost leaving a small cut. It was very red now, and even more so after she had rubbed it.

Zoe: "..."

Nick, you fucking bastard!

When she came out, the song had changed.

Zoe felt relieved. She splashed some cold water on her face and felt much more awake. When she entered the room, she noticed a new change in the seating arrangement. Leo was surrounded by a group of younger students and was playing a game.

Noah had passed out and was slumped on the table, motionless.

Luna held her cup and drank alone, while a senior female student chatted happily beside her. Zoe's seat had been taken over by the senior. Nick was also nowhere to be found in the room. Zoe glanced at the corner where he had been sitting, which was now quiet and suitable for playing on her phone.

She walked over, took out her phone, and sat down. The lighting in this area was indeed dim, and most importantly, it was far away from Leo. Zoe hid in the shadows, feeling relaxed, playing a puzzle game on her phone while listening to the young girls singing.

One by one, they sang beautifully, worthy of being from the Art Department. Zoe was completely unaware of the door opening and closing. She was absorbed in her game when suddenly, a dark figure stood in front of her. Zoe hesitated for a moment, looked up following the long legs, and saw Nick leaning against the wall, smoking a cigarette with a slanted smile.

Zoe asked hesitantly, "You want to sit here?"

He paused and replied. Nick bent down, and the scent of cigarettes filled the air. He placed one hand on the sofa behind Zoe's head, drawing their distance closer. There was also a hint of alcohol on his breath, and his angular face with a trace of strength was magnified before her eyes.

The sense of oppression followed, making Zoe feel slightly breathless. She had hardly ever seen him so close before. His narrow eyes, which she had only ever described in her dreams, were now staring at her.

"Zoe."

He called her name with a half-smile, snapping her out of her trance. Zoe jerked awake and tried to move away to the side. However, Nick switched hands and blocked her.

Zoe stared at him, noting the other hand that hung down, holding a cigarette with smoke swirling around it.

"What is it?" she asked.

Zoe looked up, meeting his gaze with composure and without a trace of panic.

"You..." He didn't finish his sentence directly, but leaned down further, tilting his head to her ear and asking with his breath, "Do you have feelings for me?"

At that moment, Zoe felt like she had been struck by a bolt of lightning, frozen into a statue. Secret love was beautiful but also pitiful. Pursuit was normal, but failure made it even more pitiful. Life's changes had left Zoe unable to open her heart to love. Once, she had thought that with her money and looks, pursuing a young master would be easy. However, that young master, Nick, had a much higher status than her. During their third year of high school, Nick had already made a net profit of three million in the stock market in just one night... while she was crying over three hundred yuan.

After that, she never paid attention to him again. The gap was too big, and she didn't dare face it. Their interaction in this secluded corner had already caught the attention of some people nearby.

Zoe's heart skipped a beat, but her breathing gradually calmed down. Her eyes cleared, and she turned her face slightly away. The boy's thin lips were close to her, with a trace of a smile. Nick stared down at her. Her red lips were very close to him, and a hidden desire flashed in his eyes. Along with it came a hint of brutality and madness.

However, Zoe leaned backward, creating distance between them. Under his gaze, she replied calmly and clearly, "I'm not that sentimental!"

Nick's eyes darkened even more. He smiled slightly and said, "Is that so?"

"Nick, what are you doing?" Leo could no longer keep his composure. He pushed through the crowd and came over, his eyes cold. The scene had been too for him.

Nick glanced aside, placing the smoldering cigarette between his lips and casually replied, "Just chatting."

"Is this how you chat?"

"Otherwise?"

Nick arched his eyebrows and asked.

The two brothers, who had grown up together since childhood, faced each other again with an air of impending danger. Zoe noticed that Nick's grip had loosened slightly, so she pushed hard on his waist, rolling away to the side. She hastily fixed her hair, looking a bit disheveled.

Luna quickly stepped forward and helped her up, her tone teasing, "What's going on?"

Zoe shook her head, retrieved her fallen phone, and said, "Let's go back first. Are you drunk?"

Luna laughed, "I'm not drunk at all. Come, let's go."

Saying that, she took Zoe's hand and walked away under everyone's gaze.

Luna smiled confidently, "We're leaving first. You guys can continue chatting."

The senior student said, "I'll walk you out."

"No need."

Luna shook her head.

The two left the room without Zoe turning back. Once outside, Zoe felt her breath return to normal, and Luna gave her a smile that seemed amused and sarcastic.

As soon as they left, the room fell into an even deeper silence.

Leo resisted the urge to chase after Zoe. He bent down to pick up the bottle of liquor, clinked it against the glass in front of Nick, producing a crisp sound. He raised his eyebrows and said coldly, "Drinking?"

Nick turned and sat on the sofa, resting his long legs on the coffee table. His eyes were filled with ferocity, and he smiled playfully, "Sure."

The atmosphere was tense, and the senior students and others held their breath.

Leo opened the bottle and sat down next to Nick. Nick picked up a beer bottle, easily popped off the cap, and bubbles formed on his long fingers. He lowered his head and licked the beer off his fingers.

The girls around him blushed, staring at him without blinking.

Leo narrowed his eyes, took a large gulp of liquor, and then turned his head to wave, saying, "You guys continue, don't worry about us."

The others were momentarily stunned.

The senior student smiled, relieved, and clapped her hands, "Alright, let's have fun ourselves and not disturb the vice president and the president."

The music started playing, and everyone slowly relaxed.

Nick swayed his bottle of liquor and said amidst the noise, "What do you want to say? Hmm?"

Leo leaned against the coffee table, coldly staring at Nick. After a moment, he clinked his bottle against Nick's, "I hope you won't regret this."

The words were not explicitly stated, but everyone knew what was meant.

Nick was silent for a moment, then said, "Oh."