The moment Mo Fei appeared in the VIP section with Zach at his side, the atmosphere shifted.
It wasn't dramatic enough for music to stop or glasses to freeze midair, but it was close. Heads turned. Conversations dipped. Eyes slid across the room one by one until they all landed, on him.
Mo Fei flushed at once.
He already got stared at enough every day by Louis. Being examined by one exhausted manager was one thing. Being silently judged by an entire nest of rich and curious strangers was another thing entirely.
Some only spared him a glance before going back to their drinks, too proud or too lazy to care. But others started whispering among themselves.
"Eh? Is that not Mo Fei?"
"What is he doing here?"
"I heard Xi Beauty used him for a shoot."
"Really? But I thought... "
"Hush, he can hear us!"
Zach, however, behaved as though he'd just escorted royalty into a banquet hall. He didn't slow down. He simply grabbed Mo Fei by the arm and led him straight to a table where a group of sharply dressed people were already lounging with drinks in hand.
"Everyone," Zach announced brightly, "guess who I brought."
Mo Fei gave an awkward, polite bow.
He was already beginning to regret following this smiling fool upstairs, but then again… this section was packed with fine beauties. How could he, the supreme Mo Fei, turn back now? No, no. That would be cowardly.
"As I live and breathe, it's Mo Fei," one of the men said with a laugh. He stretched out his hand. "I'm Jax."
One by one, the others introduced themselves, and Mo Fei nodded with a small smile, accepting each handshake while mentally filing away their faces under categories like annoying-looking, too smug, possibly harmless, and that one probably bites people in arguments.
Then one of the women at the table batted her lashes at him and smiled. Unfortunately, her eyes didn't participate.
"You don't mind, right?" she asked sweetly. "We were just talking about you."
Mo Fei raised a brow. "Not at all,"
His mind darkened. Why would I mind being used as after-dinner conversation? I am, after all, famous. Please continue.
Out loud, he only smiled.
Another person leaned in. "It's just that none of us expected you to come out so soon."
"Yes," someone else said, laughing into their drink. "It must have been such a shock."
"I mean…" one of the men drawled, "after such a huge scandal, who would expect you to still stay in the industry?"
The table laughed.
Mo Fei's smile remained in place, but something cold and sharp quietly unfolded inside him.
Ah.
So that was it.
Too late, he realized Zach had not brought him here to make friends. He had brought him as entertainment.
"Relax," Zach said with fake gentleness, stepping in. "We're all friends here. No need for teasing words."
He poured whiskey into a glass and handed it to Mo Fei.
Mo Fei accepted it with a gracious calm, in his mind, he had already cursed the entire table in so many foul languages that if anyone heard even half of them, they would lose hearing on the spot. It was honestly impressive how much profanity one beautiful face could contain.
"Oh, come on," Jax said, already sounding slightly drunk. "It was just a joke. I mean, I for one thought scandals came with house arrest."
He slung a hand over Mo Fei's shoulder and laughed.
Mo Fei looked down at the hand on his shoulder with visible disgust, like he was staring at a dead spider.
Then, very gently, he removed it and brushed his shoulder where Jax had touched, as though disinfecting the area through sheer moral force.
"I thought celebrities had better hobbies than recycling gossip," Mo Fei said.
Silence.
Immediate silence. All eyes turned to him.
The expressions around the table changed at once. A few blinked. One man choked. The woman with the dead-eyed smile forgot to keep smiling at all.
When had Mo Fei learned to talk back?
The Mo Fei they knew, barely reacted, barely argued, barely defended himself. Yet here he was, looking perfectly calm while stabbing people in the chest with neat little sentences.
Did they hear wrong? Was it old age?
Who just spoke?
Someone coughed awkwardly, trying to save the atmosphere before it died completely.
"Mo Fei, you came just in time," the person said. "We were actually playing a game."
Mo Fei said nothing.He sat down slowly, still wearing that calm face.
Inside, however, his thoughts had turned vicious. he was already sharpening knives.
This crazy, deranged bunch of foolish idiots. How dare they look down on me? Fine. Fine. Smile, Mo Fei. Smile. I'll remember every face here and collect interest later.
He wore a calm, pleasant smile so perfectly composed that it began to unsettle the woman beside him. There was something deeply unnatural about a him smiling that sweetly while giving off the spiritual energy of someone preparing seven-layer revenge.
Zach, seemingly encouraged by his own bad decisions, poured more drinks into the glasses around the table. Everyone filled their cups.
The game began.
"Eh, Little Ning, you have to answer truthfully," said one of the men, grinning.
The man had the exact facial arrangement of a rat. Razor-sharp teeth, darting eyes, suspicious cheekbones.
[Disclaimer: The author would like it officially noted that she does not judge anyone by their looks. This is entirely Mo Fei's spiritual problem and personal opinion]
Little Ning let out a laugh so hoarse and shrill that Mo Fei briefly considered shoving a tissue into her mouth
"Let's start, let's start," she urged. "Don't keep everyone waiting."
Questions began to fly around the table. Some answered. Some drank. Some lied so obviously even the whiskey looked embarrassed for them. The atmosphere loosened around them.
Soon, it was Mo Fei's turn.
Zach smiled.
He had heard of Mo Fei long before tonight. In fact, he had once admired him, once. They were both in the industry, though Zach was only B-tier, nowhere near Mo Fei's level. He had been excited to work on a shoot where Mo Fei was present. He had gone up to greet him full of enthusiasm, only for Mo Fei to ignore him completely.
To most people, that might have passed as nothing.
To Zach, it had become a grudge.
And when the scandal hit, no one had smiled more privately than he had.
But now? Now Mo Fei was trending again. Recovering and reappearing.
And that irritated Zach more than he wanted to admit.
So if Mo Fei wasn't going to stay humiliated on his own…
He would help, He smiled wider.
Across from him, Mo Fei sat with a drink in his hand, completely unaware of the opera of resentment playing inside Zach's head.
His own thoughts were busy elsewhere.
I came to this club for beauty. Fine beauty and soft beauty. Yet here I am surrounded by human bitterness in designer clothing. If I want anything worthwhile tonight, I need to find Sima Li. That shameless peacock probably already has more women hanging off him.
He shook his head faintly. The universe is not on my side tonight.
What a cruel fate.
"Mo Fei," Zach said "your turn now. Truth or dare?"
Mo Fei, who was still mentally searching for beauties in the club like a man following destiny, answered absentmindedly: "Truth."
Zach's smile sharpened at the corner.
Just as expected.
"Did you know she was engaged," he asked, "or are you just into that type?"
The table went quiet.
Several people inhaled. Others froze with their drinks halfway to their mouths. They had all teased Mo Fei, yes, but lightly, at least by their standards. None of them had wanted to be the one to actually rip the scandal open and dump it on the table.
What was Zach doing?
Meanwhile, those who had secretly been waiting for proper gossip straightened almost eagerly.
Mo Fei looked up, "…Can you repeat the question?"
Zach's fingers tightened around his whiskey glass. "I said, did you kn... "
"I heard you, I heard you," Mo Fei cut in, waving one hand dismissively.
That made Zach's smile twitch.
Far across the VIP floor, in a dimmer and more secluded section reserved for people who were too famous to tolerate average human proximity, Zhang Yichen sat among people of roughly his own level, but the lighting around his section was low enough that anyone not actively looking for him would miss him entirely.
Two women sat near him, each one beautiful, and making subtle attempts to draw his attention.
Zhang Yichen already noticed Mo Fei's arrival earlier.
He had seen him the moment Zach led him to his circle of friends.
By now, Zhang Yichen had long since grown bored of the club. He had been there earlier than the others and had already been preparing to leave.
He was tired and the music was getting louder.
The club was becoming irritating to him