Chapter Sixty-One: Once More, the Beauty

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It seemed that Zhao Kewen was startled by my sudden, almost neurotic behavior. Yang Xiaoyu, sitting on my other side, also widened her eyes, staring at my hand with an expression of disbelief.

Under their gazes, I suddenly felt that my impulsive words were somewhat childish. I flicked away the cigarette butt and awkwardly scratched my head, forcing a bitter smile.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Kewen suddenly lunged forward and hugged me. Instinctively, I wanted to push her away, but after raising my hand, I hesitated and instead gently rested it on her delicate shoulder, holding her softly.

“Brother... are you always this gentle with everyone?”

I could hear Zhao Kewen’s soft yet magnetic voice. I didn’t move, only looking up at the dazzling stage lights flashing in rhythm with the rock music.

After a moment, Zhao Kewen finally let go of me. Seeing the slight glisten in her eyes, I didn’t know what else to say, so I tore open a tissue packet on the table and handed her a tissue.

Noticing my somewhat stiff gesture, Zhao Kewen suddenly burst out laughing. She took the tissue but didn’t wipe the tear shining like starlight at the corner of her eye. Instead, she reached out and took my hand that had just held the cigarette butt, gently prying open my clenched fingers. With the tissue, she softly wiped the reddened, possibly burnt palm.

“Does it hurt?”

Watching Kewen’s gentle touch, I smiled genuinely and shook my head vigorously.

“Boss Yang must be wrapped in a heart full of love right now. So many people beg Sister Fox for comfort but don’t get the chance,” Yang Xiaoyu whispered into my ear with a smile, seeing the seemingly intimate interaction between Kewen and me. “Am I right? Doesn’t it feel a bit suffocating being hugged by Sister Fox?”

I flicked Yang Xiaoyu’s mischievous forehead with my free hand, gave her a stern look, and told her not to talk nonsense.

“Until now, I suddenly feel I might have some regrets,” Zhao Kewen said softly, blowing on my injured hand. She looked up into my eyes, her tone instantly turning seductive and enchanting. “I should have pushed you down early on. Then you would have been mine. Sigh…”

I admired Sister Kewen’s ability to make jokes sound like truth, and I had already grown accustomed to her irresistibly charming teasing.

“Brother... I’m not joking. Take this seriously,” Zhao Kewen said, noticing my slight blush but calm demeanor, and decisively intensified the teasing.

I kept telling myself not to falter, trying to dispel the temptation radiating from this stunning, enchanting sister before me.

“Words alone aren’t convincing...” Zhao Kewen said as she scooted closer to me, squeezing into the small table space. What was originally a tiny card table suddenly felt cramped. To my left was Zhao Kewen; to the right, I tried to keep some distance from Yang Xiaoyu. This move instantly made me extremely awkward, the intimate tension skyrocketing.

“No… Sister, I’m listening,” I hurriedly admitted defeat, unable to push her away. She was now pressed right against me, and I was too scared to even move my hands near my chest.

“Muah,” Zhao Kewen’s fragrant kiss was about to land on my cheek when she suddenly stopped and smiled at my flustered expression.

“You little brat, do you dare disappear without saying a word again?”

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Only then did I realize that Sister Kewen was purely retaliating against my sudden disappearance back then.

I hurriedly waved my hands, begging for mercy. Zhao Kewen finally let me go and returned to her seat, raising her beer bottle to clink with mine before taking a big gulp.

“You scared me. I thought Sister Fox was about to execute Boss Yang on the spot,” Yang Xiaoyu pretended to look frightened, but I caught a gleam of excitement and anticipation in her eyes. I raised my hand to flick her again, but she nimbly dodged to the back of the seat and escaped.

“Brother, you must have a lot of questions,” Zhao Kewen looked straight into my eyes. “Since you’re so good to me, it would be unfair to keep hiding things. Ask away. Except for sizes, I can tell you everything.”

Ignoring the teasing undertone in her words, I nodded and gathered my thoughts before asking, “Sister, what’s your relationship with Zhang Chuang?”

Zhao Kewen seemed to have anticipated my first question. She smiled casually, lit a cigarette, elegantly blew out the smoke, and answered, “Familiar strangers.”

“Can you be a little clearer?”

I didn’t want to play word games anymore; these answers might change the fate between two people—either to fulfill or to destroy.

“We haven’t known each other long. In fact, we met by chance for the first time.”

“What did you do that night?”

Seeing my serious expression, Zhao Kewen dropped the playful tone and said, “I was really mad that night, planning to teach him a lesson. But when I saw him drunk, I softened... When I browsed his phone, I saw a girl anxiously messaging him. For fun, I pretended to be Zhang Chuang and chatted with her a bit. I got a rough idea of their relationship.”

“Later, I thought a relationship shouldn’t be so fragile, so I helped soothe the girl,” Zhao Kewen said, flicking away her cigarette.

“And then?”

“Then I gave him a good beating,” she said nonchalantly.

I recalled Zhang Chuang’s state when I found him, knowing this was the real situation.

“So how did you and Zhang Chuang become close later? That night at dinner, I asked him, but he was vague.” This was the crucial point I couldn’t understand. Since Zhao Kewen had helped Zhang Chuang reclaim his love, why did she later walk alongside someone burdened by love, abandoning the lonely, nearly broken Li Huixin?

“Brother, you know how complicated love is,” Zhao Kewen continued. “After that night, Zhang Chuang found me again, asking what to do. That’s when I learned he’d fought fiercely with the girl after returning home. Their relationship was tense, on the brink of collapse.”

“But love is personal. How could I, an outsider, know? Maybe because I slightly mended their relationship that night, Zhang Chuang trusted me unusually and asked for help.”

“You agreed?”

“Of course. To me, Zhang Chuang was just an immature kid and a jerk. I told him to pretend to be my boyfriend and ignore the girl for a while, see how things went. If she truly loved him, she’d give up what she pursued for him.”

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“Then Zhang Chuang followed my advice. On the surface, we pretended to be a couple. To make it more convincing and prevent the girl from finding out, only the two of us knew. After a while, it was clear the girl was under great pressure. But what I didn’t expect was how stubborn she was—laughing, crying, refusing to give in.”

“At that time, Zhang Chuang began to sense the situation was going wrong. The story was heading in a bad direction. But I was having fun and refused to let him tell the truth, telling him that as long as we kept up the pressure, she’d come back.”

At this point, Zhao Kewen turned her head away, unable to meet my eyes.

“You knew continuing would only make things worse, didn’t you?”

Zhao Kewen nodded but remained silent.

“And then?”

“Later, Zhang Chuang somehow contacted her again. But the girl’s heart was irreparably hurt, unwilling to forgive. Zhang Chuang came to me, furiously shouting and swearing. But to me, he was just a toy I played with when bored.”

“Just... a toy?” My heart trembled. Could such an attitude destroy someone’s happiness so easily? Was that all there was to it?

“A few days later, somehow Zhang Chuang seemed to have feelings for me,” Zhao Kewen said casually with a smile. “Whether true or not, to me, it was just his childish, pitiful revenge. I got tired of that kind of thing ten years ago. But since he wanted to play, I’d play along. I was bored anyway.”

I clenched my fists unconsciously, my voice stern: “How do you know it was revenge? And why didn’t you try to make things right? Did you really just watch him and Li Huixin fall apart? Watch a breakup that shouldn’t have happened?”

“Brother, you seem really angry,” Zhao Kewen finally looked up at me, her tone tinged with sadness. “Your eyes look like you want to kill me, don’t they?”

“Sister Kewen, I’m not—”

She smiled and shook her head, looking toward the bar’s entrance, whispering, “I know what kind of person I am. Just give up on me...”

I rushed forward, holding Zhao Kewen’s warm body and shouted loudly, “Why do you deny yourself so easily? I lost Zhang Jiaxin and made her suffer hellish pain—that was my fault. Now I’ve lost Luo Qing, making her disappointed in love. That’s my fault too. I’ve made so many mistakes. How do I make amends? Yet here I am, standing in front of you, thinking about how to make everything better, how to salvage even a little bit of what’s lost.”

Zhao Kewen trembled slightly. I lowered my head and pressed my forehead against her shoulder.

“Why not give yourself a chance? To bring back what’s lost? Why not give people like us a chance? Let me see again...”

“See the beauty...”

Zhao Kewen gently helped me up, her soft hand cupping my cheek. Smiling slightly, tears slipped down from the corner of her eyes as she choked out, “Then... then let’s see it once more...”

(Ten-Headed Bird Academy)