"My mother was a hero of the people. If we're talking about orphans, compared to someone like you who has parents to give birth to you but no parents to raise you, you are the true orphan."
The moment Qin Yuan uttered these words, the surrounding atmosphere grew tense in an instant, and the murmurs of the crowd abruptly silenced.
Zhang Yue was practically green with rage, but she dared not step forward to retort. If she did, she would lose whatever shred of dignity she had left.
Because Qin Yuan was entirely right.
He truly was an orphan. His mother had been a doctor in his hometown of Yuncheng. Back when Qin Yuan was in middle school, a severe viral outbreak had struck a certain region, and his mother had gone out of town on a rescue mission. Who would have thought that while she saved many lives, she herself would become infected and pass away despite all medical efforts?
As for Qin Yuan's father...
Before Qin Yuan had even started school, his father had already left the family. He had practically forgotten what his father even looked like.
At that moment, Zhang Jiajun's expression was uglier than if he had swallowed a fly, never expecting that Qin Yuan would dare to speak to him this way.
Driven by anger and embarrassment, Zhang Jiajun lunged forward, intending to grab Qin Yuan by the collar while spitting harsh threats.
"Qin Yuan, you fucking piece of shit, you're looking for death!"
Yet Qin Yuan remained completely unfazed. Standing calmly in place, he sidestepped to dodge the attack and simultaneously hooked his foot, tripping Zhang Jiajun and sending him crashing face-first into the dirt.
From that moment on, Qin Yuan would no longer be as polite to the Zhang family as he used to be.
"You reap what you sow. Remember this for the future—watch your mouth. When you're out in the world, don't assume everyone will dote on you like your parents do."
With those words, Qin Yuan didn't stay a moment longer and left Jiangzhou University.
***
Having made up his mind, Qin Yuan hesitated not a second. He immediately returned to the Zhang family home to pack his things, resolving to cut ties with that household once and for all.
In truth, he didn't have many belongings there. His main reason for returning was to retrieve the precious photograph of himself and his mother.
Looking back, it was truly laughable. Over the past year since graduation, on the surface, Qin Yuan and Zhang Jiameng had gradually moved in together, living at the Zhang family home. In reality, however, the time they actually spent seeing each other was pathetically small, seeing as she was always busy hanging out with her male best friend.
Finishing up these tasks and eating a simple dinner, Qin Yuan grabbed his duffel bag and headed to Kaia Bar.
As early as that afternoon, Qin Yuan had already reserved a booth, originally intending to celebrate their engagement ceremony tonight.
Well, he was still going to celebrate tonight—not because of an engagement, but to celebrate freeing himself from a sea of misery.
The night at Kaia Bar was boisterous. Amidst the neon lights, Qin Yuan sat alone in his booth, drinking freely as he prepared to completely let loose for the night.
Before long, he was feeling a bit hazy and got up to use the restroom.
Over by the bar counter, a beautiful woman in a white long dress was on a video call, though her camera wasn't pointed at herself.
Instead, it was trained on Qin Yuan.
"Is it him?"
"One hundred percent sure. I checked everything out ages ago, and I'll send you the details in a moment."
"Alright, I'm making my move."
The beautiful woman picked up a glass of cocktail and walked toward the restroom as well.
As fate would have it, just as Qin Yuan was coming out of the restroom, he wasn't paying attention and crashed straight into the woman in the white long dress. The cocktail in her hand spilled onto her dress, staining a patch of pale blue.
*Splash.*
The glass shattered on the floor, and the woman let out a gasp. This snapped Qin Yuan out of his haze a bit, and he hurried to apologize. "I'm sorry, I was walking a bit too fast just now. Watch out for the glass on the ground."
Qin Yuan raised his head to look at the tall woman before him. Soft, wavy curls fell naturally against her slender waist, and the V-neck of her white long dress laid bare a patch of dazzling fairness just beneath her collarbones. Above that snowy expanse was a breathtaking, devastatingly gorgeous face.
He had to admit, she was truly stunning. Just a single glance was enough to amaze him.
However, he had no mood to admire beauties right now and quickly withdrew his gaze after that one look.
The beautiful woman shook her head slightly and stepped a little to the side, deliberately glancing down at her stained dress as she said softly, "It's fine. I was holding my drink and wasn't paying attention to where I was going either."
"But your dress..." Qin Yuan said apologetically, raising a finger to point at the damp patch of pale blue on her skirt.
"Forget it, it was just an accident. How about this—you buy me a drink to make up for it?"
"No problem."
Qin Yuan led the beautiful woman back to his reserved booth and asked a waiter to bring her the exact same cocktail.
"Thanks."
She offered Qin Yuan a polite smile and swept her gaze across the booth. There were already over a dozen empty bottles sitting on the table.
"Such a big booth, and you're here all by yourself? Don't tell me you got your heart broken and came to the bar to drown your sorrows?" the beauty asked with a playful smile.
"Heartbroken?"
Qin Yuan shook his head, offering a calm smile. "I've simply escaped a sea of misery. The wine I'm drinking is to celebrate my happiness."
"Fair enough. Wise people steer clear of romance; love just drains the mind and soul anyway, nothing worth talking about. Let's drink."
The beautiful woman raised her cocktail glass, a faint smile curling at the corner of her lips as she said to Qin Yuan, "By the way, I'm Wen Yue. And you?"
"Qin Yuan."
Their glasses clinked together. Wen Yue raised a hand to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear, stirring up a light breeze of fragrance, and lowered her head slightly to take a small sip of her cocktail.
Watching Qin Yuan finish off a bottle of beer, Wen Yue's eyes flickered slightly as she softly offered a suggestion.
"Stop drinking beer. Have cocktails with me instead. I know the bartender at this place—I'll have him make you a special signature cocktail."
Hearing this, Qin Yuan paused his hand as he was about to pour another drink, smiled, and nodded. "A signature drink? Sure, I'll go order one right now."
Just as Qin Yuan started to stand up, Wen Yue reached out to lightly touch his arm, chuckling as she rose to her feet.
"No need, just sit here and wait for me a moment. I'll go say hi to him and take care of my dress in the restroom along the way."
With that, she turned and walked toward the bar counter.
Before long, Wen Yue walked back toward the booth holding a glass of cocktail. The pale blue stain on her dress did indeed look slightly fainter.
"This one's on me."
Wen Yue placed the cocktail on the table in front of Qin Yuan and said with a mysterious smile, "This is a special house blend, though—it packs a bit of a punch. Try it, and if you find it's too strong, you can go back to your beer."
"Thanks, no worries. I trust my alcohol tolerance."
Qin Yuan chuckled dismissively and picked up the specialty cocktail without a second thought. "Cheers."
"Cheers."
Watching Qin Yuan take a large gulp from the glass, the smile on Wen Yue's lips deepened.
A little reverse psychology while the alcohol was getting to his head proved to be remarkably effective.
Taking advantage of the moment Qin Yuan lowered his glass, Wen Yue slipped her hand beneath the table and flashed an "OK" hand sign toward the opposite side.