Rebirth: Pampered by My Children and Husband-Chapter 168 - The Lingering Spirit

Chapter 168: Chapter 168 The Lingering Spirit

When the bottle pointed directly at Zhao Jiayan, there was a burst of cheers and applause all around.

“How come it’s so accurate? You didn’t cheat, did you?” someone teased from the side.

“Go away, what cheating? This is purely a display of superior skill!” the boy defended himself.

Having said that, he looked at Zhao Jiayan again, “Young Master Zhao, would you like to answer a truth or take a dare? If you choose a dare, you’ll have to down this big glass of alcohol.”

The alcohol in that glass looked quite strong.

Zhao Jiayan helplessly tugged at the corner of his lips, “Truth.”

“Alright, then I’m going to ask,” the boy’s eyes gleamed with mischief, “do you have someone you like?”

“…” Zhao Jiayan hesitated for a moment, his voice caught in his throat.

The next moment, he picked up the glass of alcohol on the table and drank it down.

The teasing from the crowd grew even louder.

“In my experience, this kind of reaction usually means there is someone, but you’re too embarrassed to say it!” the boy joked.

“So experienced, a veteran of the love scene, huh.” someone chimed in with a tease.

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“That’s right.” The boy wore a proud expression.

The next round began, the bottle continued to spin on the table, but this time luck wasn’t as good.

After several spins, the bottle pointed straight at the boy.

“I’ll ask, I’ll ask,” someone raised a hand excitedly, amusement in their eyes, “I want to ask the veteran of the love scene, have you ever been dumped by a woman?”

The boy gritted his teeth, “…Yes.”

“Hahaha, who’s the brave soul that deserves our admiration?”

The game continued, with many people getting chosen by the bottle, and even Ji Yuqiao answering a few innocuous questions.

However, after that first time for Zhao Jiayan, the bottle seemed to be bewitched; it simply couldn’t point at him again.

“I don’t believe it. If it doesn’t point to him this time, I’ll jump into the lake from the boat!” the boy said, rubbing his palms together and clenching his fists.

“Then I’d rather see you jump off the boat, hahaha…”

Perhaps the heavens were merciful, not wanting him to lose his life right there, and lent a helping hand.

When the bottle stopped spinning, it actually pointed right at Zhao Jiayan.

The boy slapped his thigh with excitement and insisted on digging some funny dirt out of Zhao Jiayan, “Have you ever been stood up by a woman?”

Zhao Jiayan paused for a moment, and just when they thought they would get a negative response, he spoke softly, “Yes.”

“Damn, who is it?!”

“Which woman?”

Everyone’s faces were immediately filled with various gossipy expressions, even Ji Yuqiao looked over with curiosity.

Considering Zhao Jiayan’s exemplary character and prosperous family background, he was the moonlight in many people’s eyes.

Exactly which woman lacked such vision to stand him up on a date?

Everyone kept guessing, nearly naming every woman they knew.

Zhao Jiayan looked at Ji Yuqiao, who was listening with great interest next to him, and tugged at the corner of his lips again.

Perhaps sensing the gaze upon her, Ji Yuqiao turned to look and met his eyes, which carried a resigned smile.

For no apparent reason.

Even though they hadn’t interacted much, Ji Yuqiao suddenly had an inkling.

Could the woman he meant, who had stood him up, possibly be her?!

She opened her mouth, just about to inquire when Zhao Jiayan had already looked away, addressing the crowd, “I’ve already finished answering questions for this round.”

“Why so stingy? Tell us a bit more.”

“Come on, come on, show them your strength and find out who that woman is.” Everyone’s enthusiasm surged in a moment.

So, unsurprisingly, Zhao Jiayan got targeted again.

“Who’s that woman you stood up?” the boys asked eagerly.

Ji Yuqiao’s hand resting on her leg tightened, and she felt a knot of nervousness in her stomach.

Under everyone’s expectant gaze, Zhao Jiayan opened his mouth and slowly uttered two words, “A secret.”

After saying that, he took a glass of wine from the table and started drinking.

“Tch…”

“Can’t take a joke…”

A chorus of boos came from the crowd.

The game continued.

Everyone quickly put the incident behind them, except for Ji Yuqiao, who kept glancing at Zhao Jiayan, wanting but hesitating to speak.

“Are you bored? Do you want to go somewhere else to play?” Zhao Jiayan asked with concern.

Ji Yuqiao shook her head and seemed to have finally mustered up her courage. She leaned in and whispered in his ear, “You don’t mean that person is me, do you?”

Zhao Jiayan chuckled softly, causing her cheeks to flush. “It seems that some people have a good memory and haven’t completely forgotten.”

Ji Yuqiao paused for a moment, “When…?”

“That time your brother asked to meet with you and me at Century Lake,” Zhao Jiayan reminded her.

“Ah.” Ji Yuqiao finally remembered. “I didn’t think you would go. You didn’t wait there for me for a long time, did you?”

Zhao Jiayan looked at her with twinkling eyes and a guilty expression, but he just smiled.

He had met Ji Yuqiao only once before, and he could have refused Ji Tingyang’s invitation.

But for some reason, he had inexplicably agreed to it.

He waited at Century Lake for a whole day until darkness fell before he finally realized he’d been stood up.

However, when he was about to say it, Zhao Jiayan shook his head. “Not too long.”

“How long is ‘not too long’?” Ji Yuqiao insisted.

“Just… half an hour.”

Ji Yuqiao let out a sigh of relief and felt a bit less guilty. “I’m sorry, I really didn’t know you would go. My brother’s words were obviously a joke, he can’t even remember your name now.”

“It’s alright, it’s my fault too, I should have confirmed with you by sending a message,” Zhao Jiayan said.

Speaking of messages, Ji Yuqiao’s guilt intensified.

After being forced by Ji Tingyang to add him on WeChat that day, she blocked him before she even got home.

“To make it up to you, I, I’ll treat you to a milk tea later!” As if to cover her guilt, Ji Yuqiao quickly offered.

“Okay,” Zhao Jiayan smiled.

Ji Yuqiao patted her chest and breathed a sigh of relief.

Compared to the fun atmosphere around Ji Yuqiao, Ji Tingyang was in a foul mood the whole time.

He didn’t expect there to be so many frivolous men on the boat. He had only gone to get Lin Xu a glass of water, and when he came back, he saw two or three men crowding around her, nearly stuffing their business cards directly into her purse.

Ji Tingyang felt like he had a fire of rage burning repeatedly in his chest. He had barely chased those men away when he saw that persistent man again.

Xie Changyan appeared from nowhere, raising his brows lightly and curling his lips into a faint smile as he handed one of the champagne glasses to Lin Xu, his tone leisurely yet elegant.

“Would the lady honor me with a drink?”

Lin Xu took the champagne with a light smile.

Before she could even respond, Ji Tingyang expressionlessly snatched away the champagne and gulped it down in front of Xie Changyan.

Lin Xu: “…”