It's not even nine at night, at the entrance of the Shanghai Theatre Academy.
Deng Bo kept glancing at the time, muttering incessantly.
"Why aren't they here yet? It's almost half an hour past our agreed time."
Before him, Deng Bo had used half a precious bottle of hair gel, sculpting his hair into a third-degree masterpiece, seemingly quite pleased with taking selfies with his "stunningly handsome face" from time to time.
Gu Bai leaned against the car door, smoking a cigarette, listening to his complaints.
"I told you before, attending a date with girls, you can't be too punctual, because you'll never know how long girls will take with their fussing. Coming here on your own is one thing, but dragging us along too? With this effort, wouldn't it be more comfortable to enjoy the AC in our dorm?"
As he spoke, Lou Xun and Wen Cunming also shot him resentful looks.
Deng Bo chuckled awkwardly.
"Being on time shows we take this social event seriously..."
Gu Bai rolled his eyes.
"That's on you, don't include me. Being a simp gets you no rewards!"
Feeling guilty, Deng Bo had no choice but to listen to the others' reprimands, nodding quietly.
Another ten minutes passed before Qi Man and Yi Yiyi along with three other girls arrived fashionably late.
"Sorry, makeup took a little longer."
Before them, Qi Man let her wavy hair cascade down both shoulders, wearing a black Gucci spaghetti strap top revealing her alluring collarbones, and a black Dior pleated mini skirt. Adding to her subtle makeup, her look was quite attention-grabbing, seemingly a new outfit showing she indeed took their nightclub outing with Gu Bai's group seriously.
"No worries, it's understandable with girls."
Deng Bo put on a very magnanimous front.
Gu Bai's gaze lingered on Qi Man only for a moment. Seen outfits like this plenty, aside from her natural beauty, nothing particularly novel.
Instead, his gaze focused entirely on Yi Yiyi next to her.
Unlike her daytime pure white Lolita look, tonight Yi Yiyi went for a Gothic Lolita style.
In a purple-black dress with white ruffled cuffs and collar, the knee-length dress adorned with layers of lace, metallic chains wrapped around the waist, wide cuffs, her long white hair fashioned into twin ponytails, perhaps to match the outfit, her makeup appeared more intense than during the day.
Seeing Gu Bai watching her, Yi Yiyi bounced happily over in front of Gu Bai.
"Oni-Chan! Do I look good?"
Gu Bai didn't lie against his heart, nodding toward her.
"You look quite good."
Upon hearing Gu Bai's compliment, Yi Yiyi's big eyes turned into crescent moons, her lashes gently fluttering.
Slowly lowering his head, Gu Bai leaned close to Yi Yiyi's ear and whispered: "Where are those black stockings you mentioned?"
Yi Yiyi blushed, pulled Gu Bai slightly aside, then slowly lifted her skirt revealing her slender legs wrapped in black stockings.
"Is this it?"
Gu Bai gave a casual glance. Admittedly, though Yi Yiyi's a bit flat, other aspects are quite commendable, especially those legs, long and straight, seemingly well exercised.
Not conversing with Yi Yiyi for long, Gu Bai went directly to the others.
"Now that everyone's here, shall we head off? By the way, which bar have you booked?"
Qi Man quickly responded: "TAXX."
Gu Bai nodded, TAXX has been hyped up, quite popular, and combined with Zheng Kai's celebrity influence, most first-timers choose TAXX when exploring nightclubs in Shanghai.
"Then let's move out. My car only has two seats, I'll head there with Yi Yiyi, you guys grab a taxi."
With that, ignoring their reactions, he pressed the key, and the scissor doors of the Night Shadow beside him lifted up.
"Don't just stand there, get in."
Sitting in the driver's seat, Gu Bai called out to Yi Yiyi.
Yi Yiyi bid farewell to Qi Man and the others, then took the passenger seat next to Gu Bai.
The roar of the supercar ignited, with a burst of acceleration, Gu Bai sped toward TAXX. At this hour, the Shanghai Theatre Academy's entrance still had many students, and seeing the ghostly Night Shadow glide past, both men and women cast envious eyes at the car.
"Gu Bai is such a traitor to his friends."
Deng Bo cursed Gu Bai in front of Qi Man, then with a smile said: "Let's just call a couple of cars, TAXX isn't that far."
Qi Man's eyes still followed the supercar that disappeared into the distance, only nodding perfunctorily at Deng Bo's words.
Seeing Gu Bai choose Yi Yiyi just like that made her quite unwilling. Tonight she had dressed up for a long time, all in the hopes of catching Gu Bai's eye, but he barely even glanced at her, leaving her quite frustrated.
Oblivious to Qi Man's thoughts, the well-meaning Deng Bo enthusiastically took out his phone to book a car.
..................
In front of TAXX.
Gu Bai had already parked the car, rejecting a girl with a look score of over 70 trying to flirt with him.
Counting that one, it had already been the third one in the span of 20 minutes.
Perhaps his youthful attire made the girls approaching to flirt totally overlook Yi Yiyi by Gu Bai's side, as if she was invisible.
"Oni-Chan, you really are popular."
Yi Yiyi puffed her cheeks, watching the unsuccessful flirts walk away, sulking toward Gu Bai.
"Jealous?"
"Can't I be?"
Gu Bai smiled, not taking it seriously.
"The one popular isn't me, it's the car. Those girls hanging around nightclubs approach luxury cars automatically, similar to some guys hanging outside bars looking for easy targets."
His tone dripping with sarcasm.
Yi Yiyi wore a seemingly confused expression.
A few minutes later, finally, Qi Man and the others arrived.
"You guys were really slow."
Gu Bai complained to Deng Bo.
Before Deng Bo could speak, Qi Man quickly apologized with a guilty look, "Sorry, Shanghai's so congested. I didn't expect there'd still be so many cars at this hour."
"How come you didn't get stuck?"
Gu Bai recalled the cars that kept their distance on the road, realizing that a sports car does have its perks. It's not completely immune to traffic, but it somewhat creates its own clearing.
Without answering, Gu Bai straightened up and stretched.
"Alright, let's go in and chat. Where's the promoter for the table?"
He turned to Qi Man.
"I called him on the way. He should be here soon."
Just as she finished speaking, a man in his twenties, dressed like a promoter, came out of TAXX's entrance, looking around until he saw the group and approached them.
"Are you the K58 reservation party that called me earlier?"
Qi Man had already mentioned their group size, so it was likely them.
Qi Man stepped forward.
"That's us."
"Good evening, everyone. My name is Liu Li. If you have any needs tonight, just let me know. Shall I take you to your table first?"
Though it was dark, the lights outside TAXX were bright enough for Liu Li to clearly see Qi Man's face, making him swallow hard before he stopped staring.
As a promoter, he was quite professional and knew such a high-caliber woman was out of his league. Earning a commission from them was enough to satisfy him.
However, when he saw Gu Bai's face, it felt familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. He just assumed Gu Bai had been there before and didn't think much more.
Gu Bai had been to TAXX a few times, but never through his own arrangements. He always dealt with higher-ups, so it's not surprising the lower-level promoter didn't recognize him.
After speaking, Liu Li took the group to their reserved table.
Qi Man had booked a mid-sized table. Though not large, it was private, not connected to other tables, maintaining some distance from them. Judging by the size of the sofa, it could accommodate about ten people.
Four men and four women. Only Lou Xun and Yi Yiyi seemed new to clubbing, looking around with curious expressions as they entered.
As for Gu Bai, being a regular at TAXX, he found a comfortable-looking spot and sat down.
Yi Yiyi naturally sat beside him.
"Does anyone know what drinks they'd like?"
Liu Li asked.
"Let me see your drink menu."
Qi Man stepped up to discuss with Liu Li.
Gu Bai just sat aside, scrolling through his phone, showing no intention to pay.
Since tonight was arranged by Qi Man, even though he was wealthy, he wasn't going to play the fool. There's no need to put on airs, especially since even if he did decide to foot the bill, the girls might not appreciate it.
Meanwhile, Deng Bo and the others sat quietly at the table like Gu Bai.
Though Deng Bo had a tendency to suck up, he wasn't a playboy, ignorant of social cues.
If he wanted to impress them, he could make it up in other ways.
"Oni-Chan, do you often come to clubs?"
Yi Yiyi whispered in Gu Bai's ear, her breath tickling his neck.
Nylon-clad legs under her dress pressed against Gu Bai's.
Gu Bai sensed it, the air charged with hormones.
Thankfully, his self-control was strong. Suppressing his restlessness, Gu Bai nodded.
"I wouldn't say often, just sometimes come with friends to relax."
He didn't see the need to lie.
"Oh, so do you often find girls to drink with you at clubs?"
With a slight smile, Gu Bai turned to her and grinned: "What do you think?"
Playboy Principle, Chapter 1, Article 6: If faced with a difficult question, respond with a question to disrupt the other's rhythm.
"How should I know..."
Seeing Gu Bai's charming smile, Yi Yiyi's face suddenly turned red.
After a while, several waiters brought the drinks over.
Two packs of 1664 beer, and two bottles of Dom Pérignon champagne.
Gu Bai examined them briefly.
The total cost was around 6000 yuan, a normal level for club expenses, likely pre-agreed among the girls.
It was just past 9 PM, so TAXX wasn't crowded yet, still in the warming-up phase with some light electronic music playing. Gu Bai could clearly feel Yi Yiyi's long nylon-clad legs bouncing in rhythm beside him.
Qi Man picked up the wine poured by the waiter and stood up.
"It's fate that brought us together from all corners of the country to become classmates at the Shanghai Theatre Academy, how about a toast?"
Though she was addressing everyone, her gaze remained on Gu Bai.
Gu Bai noticed but showed no special reaction, raising his glass to clink with the others.
Regardless, tonight was organized by Qi Man, so he should give the hostess some face.