Gently bite the jasmine

The restless drumbeats stirred the crowd's excitement.

Duan Mingxuan swayed his waist slightly to the rhythm of the energetic music, revealing a large expanse of his pectoral muscles through his collarbone and chest.

Zhang Mo pressed against him, hip to hip, her wrist resting on Duan Mingxuan's shoulder.

"Wow... Wow..."

"Mingxuan, your dancing isn't as energetic as Momo's."

"You'll get your ass kicked, Duan Mingxuan."

"Come closer, and give me a kiss."

Duan Mingxuan's cronies stood below the steps and started jeering.

Zhang Mo grabbed Duan Mingxuan's collar and offered her red lips.

Another scream that seemed to hit the ceiling erupted.

Lin Xi lowered her eyes and put the sushi into her mouth.

Lin Xi's friend Liang Yutong nudged her: "What's going on? When did Duan Mingxuan start playing these tricks?"

Lin Xi: "He's his girlfriend."

“Girlfriend—” Liang Yutong choked, looking at Lin Xi, “When did you start dating her?”

Lin Xi: "I heard it's been almost a year."

Liang Yutong: "I'm in City B, how come I haven't heard a thing?"

"They might be serious," Lin Xi smiled. "The protection is thorough."

Liang Yutong asked worriedly, "Then you..."

Lin Xi shook her head at her. Liang Yutong was about to say something when the two dancers returned.

Duan Mingxuan squeezed next to Lin Xi, picked up his glass and took a swig of whiskey, saying, "Xiao Xi, don't drink."

Lin Xi didn't drink, but hearing his words stirred a rebellious spirit within her.

"I want to drink. Isn't this a welcome-back banquet for me?"

"You alone—"

"Aren't you being a bit too nosy?" Duan Mingxuan's childhood friend, Yu Lang, couldn't stand it anymore. "She's 23 already, what's wrong with her having a few drinks? Besides, we're brothers, who would dare to bully her?"

Duan Mingxuan thought about it and agreed: "Then you can make her a cocktail, but not too strong."

Yu Lang chuckled and said, "Okay."

Zhang Mo leaned against Duan Mingxuan, smiling, and said, "Mingxuan, Yu Lang is right, you really are meddling too much."

“What’s so special about that?” Yu Lang raised his eyes. “Lin Xi went to the United States for five years, and he flew there to see her every month without fail, rain or shine.”

Zhang Mo's smile froze slightly, then returned to normal in an instant. She snorted, grabbed Duan Mingxuan's arm, and questioned him in a coquettish voice:

"So when you first started dating me, those few days you disappeared every month were when you went to America? People who didn't know you were visiting your sister, but they thought you were having your period."

Duan Mingxuan grimaced as she pinched him, pleading for mercy, which made everyone in the hall laugh.

Zhang Mo glanced at Lin Xi out of the corner of her eye and suggested, "We're so bored, shall we play a game?"

As soon as she finished speaking, several girls chimed in agreement; they were all brought over by Zhang Mo.

Liang Yutong glanced at her and knew she was there to hook up with a rich guy.

But in such matters, it's a matter of mutual consent, and it's not her place to say it, but this is Lin Xi's welcome banquet.

She kicked Yu Lang: "Xiao Xi's welcome banquet, and all sorts of shady people can come? You guys are pretty easygoing now, even pigs eat bran."

Yu Lang and Duan Mingxuan exchanged a glance, speechless for a moment. They knew Liang Yutong had a sharp tongue, but this was just too harsh.

Mu Shuo chuckled and obediently raised his hands to Liang Yutong and Lin Xi: "Sisters, I don't get close to women."

Liang Yutong scoffed: "Then what are you doing here?"

Mu Shuo: "Sister Xi is returning to the palace, I've come to welcome her back."

Liang Yutong was laughing so hard: "You've watched too much 'Empresses in the Palace,' haven't you?"

Lin Xi coughed because of his address of "Sister Xi".

Duan Mingxuan patted her back and opened a bottle of purified water for her with practiced ease and a doting tone: "You're such a grown-up, how can you still choke?"

Lin Xi took the water and drank a sip, then silently increased the distance between herself and Duan Mingxuan.

Seeing Duan Mingxuan frown, she smiled and said, "Weren't we going to play games?"

Zhang Mo immediately chimed in, "How about we play Truth or Dare?"

Liang Yutong laughed, and said sarcastically, "Momo, which ancient tomb did you come from, Little Dragon Girl? Playing Truth or Dare?"

"Huh?" Zhang Mo blinked. "But my friends and I play like this."

Liang Yutong said "Oh": "So you seem so innocent."

Yu Lang and Mu Shuo both shrank back to avoid being affected by Liang Yutong's fighting power.

Duan Mingxuan wasn't stupid; he naturally understood Liang Yutong's implied meaning: she was implying that his girlfriend wasn't innocent.

But to not give yourself any face at all is going too far.

He brought Lin Xi a fruit platter and looked at Liang Yutong with a smile: "Give me some face, she's my girlfriend after all."

Zhang Mo snorted and rolled her eyes at Liang Yutong.

Seeing that Duan Mingxuan was backing him up, he was very pleased.

Liang Yutong feigned ignorance, looking completely bewildered: "What did I say?"

Duan Mingxuan: "..."

I really don't know why Lin Xi wants to hang out with her. Doesn't she usually get bullied by Liang Yutong's sharp tongue?

Yu Lang mixed the cocktails and served them to Lin Xi and Liang Yutong, then smoothed things over by saying, "Come on, let's play a game."

There were more than a dozen people in the hall, men and women, who responded and discussed what to play. In the end, they played an upgraded version of Truth or Dare.

Liang Yutong was speechless.

Lin Xi didn't want to play. A group of men and women were together, using the excuse of playing games to dig into each other's privacy.

She said, "I'll pour you some bar water, you guys have fun."

Zhang Mo quickly stopped her: "No, this is a welcome banquet prepared for you. What kind of person would you be if you stayed out of it?"

Liang Yutong clicked her tongue and was about to retort when Lin Xi stopped her.

She looked at Zhang Mo and said in a calm tone, "Then let's play."

After several rounds of emptying the card slots in the middle of the table, Lin Xi drew patterned cards several times.

You can answer questions or choose to take an adventure.

The former is much simpler than the latter; if no answer is given, drinking can resolve the issue.

Without exception, they were all matters of the heart; if she spoke of them, she would reveal her feelings for Duan Mingxuan.

Lin Xi chose to drink to escape, a blush creeping onto her cheeks, but Zhang Mo still wouldn't let her go.

"Xiao Xi, what kind of boy do you like?"

Lin Xi couldn't drink anymore, and chuckled softly, "I like older ones."

Are you satisfied now?

Those present exchanged bewildered glances, and Mu Shuo raised his hand to answer, "I know, isn't it just being mature, steady, and considerate?"

Duan Mingxuan was amused by Lin Xi's answer; she was quite good at making things up.

"The last game." Duan Mingxuan drew a card first. "After this game, let's play pool."

Lin Xi, feeling dizzy, took out a card—a white security card. She let out a heavy sigh and leaned on Liang Yutong's shoulder for a short rest.

Duan Mingxuan's smile vanished the moment he saw his card, and he remained motionless for a long while.

Zhang Mo exclaimed, "Honey, you drew a special card!"

Yu Lang chuckled, stood up, and snatched the card from Duan Mingxuan's hand: "You've got some luck, kid. You got the card that no one else got after several rounds."

"Give it to me." Duan Mingxuan got up to take it.

Yu Lang stood on the sofa, grabbed a bag, and, being quite cheeky, read it aloud, word by word:

"Choose the first girl to your left and right, and select one of the two girls to kiss a male present (excluding yourself) for thirty seconds."

Yu Lang put down the card and mocked Duan Mingxuan: "Holy crap, what kind of idiot made these game cards? No benefits for those who draw them?"

Lin Xi was suddenly startled. To Duan Mingxuan's left and right were her and Zhang Mo, respectively.