Tao Zi, engrossed in washing herself, didn't notice the door had opened. She was even humming a tune.
Once she was mostly done, she straightened up. To her surprise, she found herself staring directly at Song Chuan.
"Ah!"
A gasp escaped Tao Zi's lips. Startled, she quickly slammed the door shut, her heart pounding in her chest.
He... he shouldn't have seen anything, right?
How embarrassing!
Huang Zhi Tao, how careless can you be!
She silently scolded herself.
But since it had already happened, it was no use blaming herself.
Quickly getting dressed, Huang Zhi Tao gritted her teeth and went to Song Chuan. She didn't even know how to start.
After all, it was their first meeting.
She had taken a bath in front of him… How… embarrassing…
"Finished bathing?"
"I've helped you so much, how about you help me out too?"
Huang Zhi Tao, who was struggling with how to speak, didn't expect Song Chuan to speak first.
Before she could even react.
Song Chuan had already pulled her out the door.
This karaoke place was the closest one to Shuxiang Yayuan, and the environment was pretty good.
Song Chuan went to the front desk to book a room.
Huang Zhi Tao, who was following behind him, was still wearing pink pajamas, which looked completely out of place here, causing passersby to turn their heads and stare at her.
She didn't know why this older brother had brought her here.
Did he want to sing?
"Come here."
For some reason, Huang Zhi Tao couldn't refuse anything this older brother said, and she obediently followed.
"Big brother, what are you bringing me here for?"
"To sing."
"But I still have to go to school."
Holding her wrist, Song Chuan led her towards the elevator: "Didn't I get you a day off?"
"I want to sing."
"Sing with me."
"Well… alright then…"
The two of them just entered the elevator. As the elevator slowly ascended, the atmosphere became even more awkward with neither of them speaking.
"Big brother, I still don't know your name?"
"Song Chuan."
Huh???
This name sounds so familiar!
But Tao Zi couldn't remember no matter how hard she tried.
Song Chuan took a long time to choose, and finally picked this karaoke place.
This shop had the best environment nearby.
The entire four floors were all different private rooms, and some snippets of singing came from each room.
Every private room door was tightly shut.
Walking past these rooms, you could still see colorful neon lights flashing from inside some of them.
Some doors weren't completely closed, and you could still see what was happening inside through the gaps.
Huang Zhi Tao crouched down at the door of one of the rooms, peering through the crack.
"Song Chuan, what are they doing?"
"Why is that man sitting on that woman's face? That's so rude!"
"Is that even a man? So ungentlemanly!"
She muttered to herself at the door. Song Chuan also leaned over for a look, and quickly grabbed Huang Zhi Tao by the back of her neck and dragged her away.
He was afraid Huang Zhi Tao would ruin the good time of the big brother inside.
He dragged her all the way to their private room, and Song Chuan tossed her onto the sofa.
"Pick a song, and sing it for me."
"Huh? Brother Song Chuan, isn't it you who wants to sing? Why are you asking me to sing?"
"Sing."
Song Chuan uttered a single word, then sat on the sofa, already using his phone to contact the front desk to send over some alcohol.
"Alright then."
Usually, Tao Zi had a heavy study load at school, so she rarely came to karaoke.
This time, having the chance to go out and have some fun, Tao Zi didn't hold back. She grabbed the microphone and ordered a song.
Tao Zi's voice was naturally sweet, and her singing voice was also smooth and pleasant.
Soon after.
A waiter brought a case of beer and placed it on the table, along with several plates of fruit and snacks.
Seeing so much beer, Tao Zi couldn't even focus on singing anymore. She hopped and skipped over to sit beside Song Chuan.
"Wow! So much beer!"
"Brother Song Chuan, did you order all of this?"
"It's no fun just singing; we need to eat and drink to have a good time."
Before Song Chuan could reach for a beer, Tao Zi had already grabbed a bottle from the basket.
She moved with practiced ease, using the bottle opener to twist off the cap.
"You seem pretty good at that..."
"My uncle likes to drink, so I often opened bottles for him. Beer, baijiu, red wine, I've opened them all."
"But I've never actually drunk any, so I don't know what it tastes like."
Pouring a glass of beer, Huang Zhi Tao looked excited, her cheeks flushed.
She buried her face in the glass and, in one gulp, finished the whole thing.
"So that's what beer tastes like!"
"Delicious!"
If the system's task hadn't mentioned that Tao Zi had never drunk alcohol before, Song Chuan wouldn't have believed it!
Is this someone who's never had alcohol?
She'd downed half a basket of beer, and other than her face being a little flushed, she seemed perfectly fine.
He'd thought beer would do the trick, but it seemed he'd need to switch to baijiu.
After drinking with Tao Zi for so long, Song Chuan also felt a bit bloated: "Tao Zi, wait for me here."
"I'm going to the restroom first."
"I'll come back and drink with you after I'm done."
"Mmhmm."
After leaving the private room, Song Chuan exhaled a breath. He needed to hurry to the restroom and then find the front desk to get some white wine.
Generally, people with good liver and kidney function have a faster alcohol metabolism rate.
It seemed Tao Zi was one of those people.
He still underestimated Tao Zi.
But as he passed a nearby private room, he couldn't help but stop.
The door to the private room next to him wasn't closed tightly.
Four men in suits were sitting on a leather sofa.
Generally, in situations without women, men are discussing business.
"Xiao Zhou, it's not that I won't invest in you, but the risk of your investment is too high. I can't afford it. I have something to do at home, so I'll be leaving first."
Following the departure of one person, the other two middle-aged men also left.
Only a cold, solitary young man remained in the private room.
The young man swept everything off the table with a face full of anger, as if only this could vent the sorrow and indignation in his heart.
Song Chuan, standing at the door, narrowed his eyes.
He also recognized the person in front of him: Zhou Xun!