Rich Woman, But Got Dumped By A Jerk Three Times. - Chapter 2
Chapter 2: I Finally Found You
Rainwater dripped intermittently from the eaves, condensing into ice in a glass of wine amid the clamor, and then, infused with body heat, it melted into the coursing bl00d beneath the skin.
Chuncheng’s (Spring City’s) nightlife wasn’t affected by the bad weather.
It wasn’t even peak time yet, but the bar [Decadence] was already packed. Even the most expensive ‘888’ sequential seat in the center of the venue had a reservation sign hanging on it.
Mixed in with the noisy crowd, a few splashes of bright hair color were active in the inconspicuous corner right below the stage.
“That’s weird,” the golden-haired person muttered, her gaze sweeping over and then withdrawing, her falling golden hair like a briefly flickering star. She complained softly, “Normally, when the weather’s good, no one reserves the 888 seat, but as soon as it rains, someone books it.”
Sitting next to the blonde was an even more exaggerated silver-haired person who yelled, “Box, our lead singer, didn’t wash her hair again!”
This spot was too close to the stage; they had to shout to talk, and the booming speakers had led to multiple complaints from customers.
Eventually, the boss simply converted it into the band’s rest area for the musicians to drink water and relax.
“Hey! Natsuki, are you any better?” Box shouted back, pouting. “Our noble bassist only washed her face before coming, didn’t she?”
Natsuki took a slow, deliberate sip of wine. “That’s right, after all, I don’t aspire to be seen through my fragility by a rich woman, nor do I hope to have a sister wipe my tears with money, nor do I hope…”
“Enough, shut up!” Box, whose tail had been stepped on, turned her face away. “Tangtang, you judge.”
The red-haired person called out shrugged. “I washed both my face and my hair, and I also have a girlfriend.”
This boastful sentence successfully earned her two big eye rolls.
Furious, Box fixed her gaze on the only black-haired person sitting directly in front of her, who was out of place with the band’s vibrant hair colors.
The night seemed to coalesce around the person before her, highlighting her cool, aloof features, especially the white gauze covering her right eye and the faint scar winding from her left eyebrow to her ear bone.
These flaws and scars made her already aggressive face even more severe.
Especially the space between her eyebrows, which was imbued with a sexy wildness by the scars.
Noticing the expectant gaze, the person being stared at withdrew her attention from the doorway and used sign language: “Sorry, I didn’t hear clearly just now.”
Her movements were composed and elegant, her fluttering fingers long and pale.
The movement brought life to this face, which was like broken porcelain, making her so vibrant that one could completely overlook all the physical defects on her body.
“That’s enough, Box,” Natsuki, who had been teasing moments ago, cooled her expression and frowned. “Don’t bully A-Ci.”
The scolded Box lowered her head, looking like a wronged golden retriever. She belatedly realized what she had done.
A few sips of alcohol had robbed her of her senses; she had actually asked a deaf and mute person to be a judge in an argument.
What a terrible joke.
“A-Ci, what were you looking at just now?” Natsuki, realizing her protection had been too obvious, subtly changed the topic. “I saw your attention was constantly at the door.”
The crestfallen Box also looked up, interjecting ingratiatingly: “Do you want to go out for some fresh air?”
A-Ci, who was being engaged by everyone, subtly curved her lips. Her expression was always detached. The hearing aid attached to her ear bone was flashing a breathing light. She signed: “Yes.”
“Great, let’s go, let’s go get some air.”
…
Long fingers pressed a tissue to finish outlining and blending the last stroke of rich lip color. The driver smoothly parked the car on the side of the road.
The spring rain came quickly, always starting and stopping suddenly.
The rain that seemed relentless a moment ago had now silently ceased.
Yun Jiushu politely thanked the driver, opened the door, and got out. Her eyes were illuminated by the light spilling in.
This was a bar street, full of the lively scent of people.
Some bars had already started singing early. After the rain stopped, the air carried a slight smell of earth. Soil is the artery of the earth, and even though the road surface was already poured with reinforced concrete, it still couldn’t conceal this vitality.
Yun Jiushu took a deep breath, settling her heart.
She habitually looked at the storefronts as she walked in, but just as she was about to enter the bar, her vision flickered.
A height of 1.85 meters, a pure black casual outfit, and a large hood. The loose fabric couldn’t conceal the broad shoulders and narrow waist, and the posture was straight.
That back view…
Her right eyelid twitched again, and the events of three years ago flooded back.
Yun Jiushu’s heart skipped a beat. She subconsciously lifted her foot and followed.
The sinking sky was dark like thick ink, and the back view that had captured Yun Jiushu’s attention was like an out-of-place flash of a sword in this ink slab.
Some streetlights spilled into the narrow alleyway between the walls; this was the bar’s back entrance.
Three people with exaggerated hair colors were gathered together. One held a cigarette between their fingers, and another slightly furrowed their brow.
Yun Jiushu slowed her pace and approached, but she only heard them quietly discussing the setlist for tonight.
It was just a band.
She mentally counted all the backs, but the familiar feeling was gone.
Everyone was wearing colorful clothes; there was no black one. Yun Jiushu was disappointed by her inexplicable expectation.
How could it be her?
That familiar, black-clad back, the person who had suddenly entered her life and then suddenly left, the person who still had her ID card pressed under Yun Jiushu’s possessions—that person had been missing for three years.
Yun Jiushu wickedly hoped she had died long ago.
Recalling Sister Nuo’s teasing yesterday, a surge of nameless anger rose, and Yun Jiushu turned around and walked away furiously.
She didn’t notice that the moment she turned around, another figure appeared among the original three.
“Are your shoelaces tied properly, A-Ci?” Box was still feeling guilty about the earlier incident and asked thoughtfully, “Do you need me to help?”
The person who had been shielded by her companions and was crouching down slowly finished fiddling with the shoelaces and stood up, signing “no need” and then “thank you.”
In the night, this splash of black was truly striking.
Tangtang flicked her finger, exhaling a smoke ring. “Good thing they came loose now. It would be trouble if they came loose on stage later.”
“Oh, come on,” Natsuki once again subtly defended her. “A-Ci is the drummer; she doesn’t need to jump around like you.”
The others laughed and joked, steering the conversation away.
No one noticed that the person who deliberately untied her shoelaces and then stood up got distracted again.
The person called A-Ci showed no reaction, as if she wasn’t quite used to the name.
Her physical disability meant her companions were long used to this lack of response. Her uncovered left eye was dim, and her gaze followed the disappearing figure.
From the flashing breathing light, a command came through the earpiece, which looked exactly like a hearing aid.
Attention, target person has appeared.
…
“YUN JIUSHU—”
Boss Nuo’s shout was exceptionally loud even over the music, let alone when she stood in the center of the noticeable bar.
This yell successfully made the ‘888’ VIP seating area the focal point and smoothly allowed Yun Jiushu to find her seat.
“Oh my, my dear Miss Nuo Ye, why didn’t I notice you had such a good voice before?” Yun Jiushu approached with a smile, playfully teasing: “Good evening, Nuo Ye and her great soprano friends.”
The people at the table, who were originally worried about how to start the conversation, were instantly amused by the teasing and began introducing themselves.
This gathering was not much different from what Yun Jiushu had expected.
The two friends Nuo Ye brought were one who managed the largest cold storage chain in Chuncheng and one who was a deputy in the Food Regulatory Bureau.
Each person was a useful connection for Yun Jiushu’s new store opening.
They didn’t discuss business at this first meeting, and the two bosses seemed to treat this gathering purely as a way to make friends. They were completely unpretentious. Coupled with Nuo Ye’s lively personality, Yun Jiushu easily exchanged business cards with them and successfully invited them to attend the opening ceremony.
Just as the four of them were chatting happily about all sorts of topics, the background music, which had been playing randomly, suddenly stopped, and the noisy bar fell silent instantly.
“It’s finally starting,” Nuo Ye, who had been drinking, was clearly excited. Her gaze was fixed on the stage, and she chuckled. “My dear friends, I dare say this is the most awesome band in all of Chuncheng. Prepare to have your ears cleansed.”
The other two bosses, also slightly tipsy, rested their heads on their hands and narrowed their eyes, adopting a posture of careful appreciation.
Someone was already opening the show on stage. A dazzling blonde jumped around, introducing the band’s history, members, and her role.
The breathing light on the cell phone, which was placed face down on the table, flickered. A new incoming message pulled Yun Jiushu’s attention away from the stage.
Yun Jiushu didn’t get distracted by playing around during social gatherings.
She had just arrived in Chuncheng, and there were simply too many things to deal with. In the short time she hadn’t checked, the messages had already stacked up to 99+.
The two latest ones that popped up, however, were not related to work.
Yun Xiao: Sister, I just left the library and am heading back to the dorm.
Yun Xiao: Sister, have you eaten yet? Is the store running smoothly?
Yun Jiushu glanced at the messages, didn’t click in for a closer look, and didn’t reply. Instead, she scrolled down past the new message, picking out the important ones to respond to.
She had just finished arranging a lunch meeting for the day after tomorrow with two new supply chain partners in Chuncheng when a pale, slender wrist reached over and snatched her phone away.
“Hey, workaholic, no working during relaxation time,” Nuo Ye forcibly turned off Yun Jiushu’s screen and pretended to be fierce. “The show is about to start. Watch seriously!”
The phone-snatched Yun Jiushu sighed helplessly, nodded, and played along. “Alright, alright, whatever you say.”
Finally raising her head, Yun Jiushu noticed that everyone around her had uncharacteristically turned off their phones. All attention was miraculously drawn to the stage.
What kind of band had such great appeal?
Yun Jiushu, who generally disliked loud heavy music venues, perfunctorily glanced towards the stage.
Coincidentally, the moment she looked up, the main stage lights went out.
Following the sequence in which the music began, the spotlights from above illuminated the faces of the people on stage one by one, like opening a gift.
The bored Yun Jiushu counted the colors with her eyes.
Blonde, silver-haired, red-haired…
Boom—
An extremely heavy drum beat, accompanied by the light, instantly captured all of Yun Jiushu’s attention. That splash of black, completely out of place with the other vibrant colors, was spotlighted in the corner of the stage.
“That drummer is powerful, right?” Seeing her friends’ eyes light up, Nuo Ye said proudly, “I’m telling you, this person is incredible. Half the people in the bar come just to hear this one beat. Isn’t it amazing, A-Jiu? Look, you weren’t interested a moment ago, but now your eyes are glued.”
The other two bosses, hearing the laugh, turned their heads and indeed saw that the person who had been uninterested moments ago was now frozen in place as if under a spell.
Her friend’s teasing, the sudden burst of music, and the roaring crowd all seemed to fade away from her ears at this moment.
Yun Jiushu stared intensely at the corner of the stage.
If a gaze could forge a knife, the drummer who was manipulating the music and controlling the sensory input of their ears would have already been torn to shreds by her eyes.
Perhaps sensing her gaze, or perhaps it was a deviation caused by her obsession.
The next moment, Yun Jiushu felt the person she had locked onto with her sight also look over.
With the crash of the heavy drum beat.
The energy was pushed to its climax by the music, and the bar officially entered its most feverish moment.
In contrast to the frenzy of the people around her, Yun Jiushu, who remained seated, calmly met the gaze of the person on the stage.
“I finally…”
Struggling to control her overwhelming emotions, her red lips parted. Yun Jiushu stared at those eyes, uttering slowly, word by word, with a cold smile:
“Found you.”