The light in the corridor was exceptionally dim, and they couldn't see each other's faces clearly, but they both knew exactly who was standing there.

  He still wore an air of nobility, pulling the mature man's temperament to the extreme, walking against the light, striding with long legs, step by step towards Jiang Yan.

  Every step was on each other's heartstrings.

  Eight years have passed, and our appearances overlap with memories, but we are also somewhat different from each other.

  Between her slender fingers, she still held a cigarette. She narrowed her eyes, and her pair of long, upward-slanting, icy orbs were especially provocative.

  The corridor was dimly lit and quiet, which didn't match the scene downstairs.

  It seems she wasn't wrong after all, and they really did run into each other here.

  Each other's eyes were dim and unclear, unable to see each other's expressions.

  He stood in front of her, his low and mellow voice like a long-stored red wine, "It's been a while since you've returned."

  Ruan Jianglin was a man who didn't show his emotions on his face. After eight years of repression, he could still pretend to be calm and natural at this moment.

  "Who are you?" She raised an eyebrow and asked in a clear voice, her cold demeanor perfectly complemented by the cigarette burning at the tip of her finger.

  Ruan Jiang glanced at the woman with a smile, and there was a hint of awkwardness.

  Everyone says that the greatest respect for an ex is to pretend not to recognize them.

  This was also said by Ruan Jianglin, and he had said it to many of his predecessors.

  It never occurred to him that it would end up happening to himself.

  He paused for a moment, very patient, and reached out to stroke the woman's hair, she didn't dodge.

  "Hmm, back again without a word." He said to himself, with a calm and composed demeanor, not taking Jiang Yan's words seriously, and selectively ignoring the woman's tone, making it seem like he was flirting from different angles.

  She slowly put the cigarette to her lips, smoke swirling around her, every gesture a tantalizing temptation.

  With a cigarette in her mouth, she slowly exhaled the smoke onto the man's handsome face and said: "Do I know you?"

  He hooked his lips into a cold smile, and even his eyebrows and eyes turned cold. "Jiang Yan, don't play that trick with me, if you can't remember who I am, I don't mind reminding you once again."

  Both of them had been drinking and were filled with a strong sense of intoxication, the ambiguous atmosphere lingering in the air.

  Jiang Yan slowly stretched out her hand, her fingers tracing along the third button under his collar all the way up, stopping at the edge of his clavicle, like a feather, lightly brushing against the tip of his heart, making him feel itchy.

  "Mr. Ruan, just kidding, ex-boyfriend, how could he not remember." She smiled softly, her tone was indifferent and distant.

  In the past, Ruan Jianglin hated her tone of speaking the most.

  Ex-boyfriend, Ruan Jiang waited for eight years, debased himself for eight years, and finally got a title of ex-boyfriend.

  He was so arrogant and proud, his state of mind at that time was probably hateful, he would rather die with Jiang Yan than let her mention it so lightly.

  Without a hint of warmth in his tone, it seemed that he had been thinking about this for years.

  He thought so and did so, a pair of big palms wrapped around her slender neck like a snake, as if she would suffocate immediately with just a little more force.

  His eyes were very calm, if it was two years ago, you could still see the unyielding scarlet, now, it has been worn down by endless waiting, leaving no room for even a little bit of wit and patience.

  He hadn't even used his strength yet, but he suddenly started coughing violently again, subconsciously loosening the big palm that was pinching Jiang Yan's neck.

  He has been unable to resist his smoking addiction over the past month and this time his coughs have sometimes brought up blood.

  A rusty taste spread from his throat.

  When Ruan Jiang pinched her, she was scalded by the cigarette in her hand and only let go after feeling the pain.

  She subconsciously took a few steps back, Ruan Jiang was such a madman, maybe tonight he really did it to her.

  He has been getting worse and worse over the past two years, and a tall man's coughing appearance is particularly embarrassing.

  Jiang Yan blinked, a smile playing on her lips, her emotions hard to read.

  Her neck was a deep red, especially attractive, and the pain still lingered.

  "Hmph, Ruan Jianglin, you've got your comeuppance today." She mimicked his tone from earlier.

  She turned around, walked a few steps and stopped again, "Take care of yourself first."

  He leaned against the wall with one hand, hunched over, watching Jiang Yan's receding back, with blood still seeping from the corner of his mouth.

  He sneered at himself and now he had put her in his heart, but she didn't care about him at all.

  He wiped away the bloodstain at the corner of his mouth, and his smile grew more sinister. He was probably going crazy, driven mad by Jiang Yan.

  However, Ruan Jianglin believed that since she had returned now, there would be a long time ahead.

  He stopped for a moment before getting up and walking in the opposite direction.

  *

  Jiang Yan achieved her goal for tonight and didn't want to stay in Wah any longer, so she left ahead of schedule.

  However, this place is a mixed bag, and many young people come here to have fun. People like Jiang Yan are easily preyed upon by certain individuals.

  She hadn't even walked out yet when a young man stopped her and asked for her WeChat.

  She's in a good mood tonight, with a hint of a smile even at the corners of her mouth.

  "How old?"

  The young man smiled, and indeed, the colder a person's face is, the more charming they are in bed.

  A bar is a place where adults come to seek pleasure and entertainment.

  Objects of foraging, once they catch each other's eye, they become lovers for a night.

  Young man confidently said: "18cm."

  "What's on your mind? How old are you?"

  "Just turned 20."

  Jiang Yan burst out laughing and looked at him coldly, "Sorry, I don't like younger brothers."

  She left without looking back, leaving the young brother standing there thinking for a long time.

  This scene happened to be seen by the man on the second floor, and Ruan Jianglin's face was gloomy.

  He couldn't hear what the two were saying, but a surge of annoyance suddenly welled up from his heart and he couldn't suppress it.

  Seeing Jiang Yan smiling at others with a thousand charms, he really wished to tie her up and make her smile only at him every day.

  Especially in these two years, his paranoia has become more and more entrenched, which is not like him.

  In the eight years they were apart, how many people had she smiled at like that? Had she ever had a boyfriend? Did she still have any true feelings for him or not even half of it?

  He had no way of knowing and didn't want to know either.

  Jiang Yan came out from inside, a gust of evening wind blew over, blowing away her intoxication, she sobered up a bit, and her mood was especially carefree.

  She didn't drive tonight, and instead walked slowly along the riverbank.

  The evening breeze is gentle, memories are a bit intoxicating.

  She remembered the night when Ruan Jiang sent her Juliet's seeds. She was sitting by the floor-to-ceiling window, and the wind that night was also very gentle.

  For her, tonight is just the beginning.

  She took off her high heels and walked on the bridge with sparse pedestrians.

  A driver stopped beside her and asked if she needed a ride home.

  She shook her head, and at this moment, she was more sober than ever before.

  (End of Chapter)