The Jasmine Scented White Moonlight

Chapter 22.2 - The Pub

"Thank you, Xiao Lou, But..."

Ning Wan gazed at the foggy sky outside and sighed.

The future for him and Shen Shuyun was still uncertain, so how could he talk about children?

Qi Zhihan arrived quickly. Miao miao, who had been sitting on Luo Xiao's lap and playing with his tie, immediately looked up at the sound of Qi Zhihan's call. She leaped down and ran over, hugging Qi Zhihan's leg, sweetly calling, "Daddy!"

Ning Wan nodded at Qi Zhihan in greeting, "Zhihan, you're here."

Qi Zhihan smiled and patted his daughter's head, "Ning-ge, you and Luo Xiao can go. I'll take Miao miao home first."

After a moment's thought, he frowned and reminded Luo Xiao, "Drink less. If you drink, don't drive. Call me or get a designated driver to bring you back, got it?"

"Got it, got it." Luo Xiao waved him off from the sofa, "Xiao Han, go to bed early too, no need to wait for me!"

"Who wants to wait for you," Qi Zhihan retorted, but his lips curled into a smile. He bent down, took his daughter's soft little hand, and said gently, "Miao miao, let's go home with Daddy."

Luo Xiao watched the two leave before standing up, "Let's go, time for a drink. It's been ages since I went to a pub."

They drove to the familiar Bar, which hadn't changed at all. It was still the same scene of dazzling lights and intoxicating indulgence. The patrons go in and out, each with their own stories to tell and new ones to create here.

The owner was rarely present but today she happened to be in the bar. Seeing Luo Xiao and Ning Wan, she smiled and approached them, instinctively calling over two ladies to accompany them. Luo Xiao quickly waved her off, smiling awkwardly, "Just here for drinks tonight, nothing more. Just give us a quiet spot."

The owner, a woman in her thirties, was an alpha, yet more alluring than some omegas, her eyes brimming with endless charm. Leaning against the counter, she laughed, "What's this? Have you changed your ways or are my girls not to your liking?"

"No," Luo Xiao paused, his voice full of tender affection, "I'm married now. Got to stay faithful."

They walked away amidst the sighs of the women around them.

Ning Wan and Luo Xiao sat in a corner, and soon someone brought over two glasses of whiskey with large chunks of ice.

"Luo Xiao, I... I really don't know what to do."

Ning Wan raised his hand and took a big gulp of whiskey.

"What happened?"

"Do you remember, I've always been searching for the person who saved me from the Weiming River back then?"

Luo Xiao looked at Ning Wan with some confusion, "Of course, didn't you marry him? Your wish came true, didn't it?"

Ning Wan thought of the investigator from the detective agency who had laid out all the evidence in front of him that morning. The clear evidence proved that Shen Shuyun wasn't the one who saved him; it was Tang Yichuan who had pulled him from the river.

He could no longer deceive himself.

"No... it wasn't him..." Ning Wan took out a cigarette and lit it, the smoke curling around his face, making it hazy and indistinct. "That person was never him. Shen Shuyun was never in R City."

Luo Xiao was stunned, at a loss for words.

Ning Wan slowly exhaled a breath of smoke, the sharp taste burning his lungs and throat, making him feel as though he was rotting from the inside out. "Just a few days ago, I met the person who saved me. His name is Tang Yichuan..."

It took Luo Xiao a long time to process this. He gripped his glass tightly and cursed, "Damn it, what a mess!"

"Yeah, what a mess indeed." Ning Wan collapse onto the sofa, as if his spine had been removed. The flickering lights of the bar cast shifting patterns on his face, red washing over blue, under the heavy colors was a face exhausted to the extreme.

"What do you plan to do?"

Ning Wan was tormented by this question to the point of near collapse. He grabbed his hair, his elbows resting on his knees, burying his head deeply and groaning, "I don't know... I don't know!"

Luo Xiao sighed. At this moment, he couldn't give Ning Wan any advice. Matters of the heart are too subjective and complicated to be measured by pure right or wrong. The crossroads Ning Wan was facing had to be chosen by him, and the one who will bear with consequences should be himself.

Just then, Ning Wan's phone that placed on the table, suddenly rang. Luo Xiao patted Ning Wan, "Your phone."

It was a piece of melodious music, a waltz, but it was completely drowned out by the noisy and chaotic music of the bar.

On the phone screen, the caller was Shen Shuyun.

──────────

Wattpad: