Mu Jinyu rushed to the Night Cat Bar and saw a pile of bodies strewn on the ground just as a man with a sleazy smile was walking towards Gu Xiyan.
He looked at Gu Xiyan who held a wine glass and rested her arm as if she were about to fall asleep, his eyebrows slightly furrowed as he quickly approached her.
The man's henchmen, upon seeing Mu Jinyu approach, exchanged glances, not wishing to disturb their boss's good time, they clenched their fists and walked towards Mu Jinyu, ready to take him outside and deal with him.
Mu Jinyu strode forward to meet them, casually lifting his hand and lightly tapping a few places on their bodies; they immediately collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
Then, as the middle-aged man prepared to regretfully reach for Gu Xiyan, Mu Jinyu stood behind him and patted his shoulder.
Interrupted twice, when the man turned around, ready to strike him, Mu Jinyu's gaze turned cold, and he violently stretched out his palm and fiercely slapped the man's face.
"Pff!"
Instantly, the man spun on the spot like a top, whirling around as he spat out blood, with the occasional splintered teeth flying out.
Mu Jinyu extended another foot and kicked the man away.
He had no intention of speaking with them.
After kicking away these disgusting maggots, Mu Jinyu went over to Gu Xiyan, lifted her hair with his hand and gently tapped her rosy cheeks, "Hey, wake up!"
As he called out, he inwardly sighed at Gu Xiyan's carelessness; had he been any later, wouldn't she have fallen prey to someone else's scheme?
Upon hearing the shouting, Gu Xiyan's tightly closed eyes suddenly opened, revealing a pair of eyes still full of intoxication yet extraordinarily cold and proud.
"So, you weren't drunk after all!"
Seeing Gu Xiyan like this, Mu Jinyu breathed a sigh of relief and joked, "You had me worried for a while, scared that I wouldn't arrive in time... "
Gu Xiyan's clear eyes, slightly drunken, looked at Mu Jinyu as the anxiety in her heart also settled, and her hand underneath the table that was tightly holding the key relaxed.
Slightly shaking her head, Gu Xiyan struggled to sit upright, gave Mu Jinyu a forced smile, then felt the world before her eyes spin wildly. Frowning tightly, she felt weak all over and, her head lolling to the side, she laid it on Mu Jinyu's shoulder.
"Hey, are you okay?! If you can't drink, don't indulge. Getting so drunk and still asking me to come drink with you is really..."
Mu Jinyu supported Gu Xiyan's shoulder as he saw she was severely intoxicated. After speaking a few words, he pulled out a Silver Needle from his pocket and stuck several needles into her body.
Suddenly.
The drunken flush on Gu Xiyan's pretty face quickly receded, returning to a healthy rosy color.
And her half-open eyes, brimming with intoxication, also faded significantly.
"All right, there, you're fine. Get up."
Mu Jinyu withdrew the needles, placed them back in the bag, then returned it to his pocket, before turning to Gu Xiyan, who was tilting her head with a slightly dazed expression, and spoke to her.
"Eh, why doesn't my head hurt anymore?" She tilted her head to look at Mu Jinyu and habitually reached up to rub her brow as she asked.
Mu Jinyu said, "Because I've metabolized the alcohol in your body, of course you're feeling fine now."
As soon as the words were out, Gu Xiyan realized the side effects of metabolism, glared fiercely at Mu Jinyu, and hurried to the bathroom.
When she came out of the bathroom, although her head still ached a bit, she felt much better overall.
And there stood Mu Jinyu at the bar's entrance, under the admiring and fervent gazes of the common rabble, as he turned back to her and said, "Let's go, I've already paid."
Gu Xiyan, upon hearing these words, felt somewhat overwhelmed.
I never would have guessed that such a money-grubbing guy would actually pay for my drinks.
Gu Xiyan strode towards him and, amid the disappointed and reluctant gazes of the women in the bar, left Night Cat Bar with Mu Jinyu.
"Why are you being so kind today, even paying for my drinks? Do you expect me to repay you tenfold or a hundredfold?"
Walking side by side with Mu Jinyu, Gu Xiyan spoke while casting a doubtful glance at him.
Mu Jinyu shook his head slightly and said, "Forget it, you don't have to pay me back. Consider it my treat. What's gotten into you tonight anyway? Why the sudden madness to go drinking at a bar all by yourself, without even bringing a bodyguard? And where's that best friend of yours?"
At his words, Gu Xiyan's face darkened once again, and she spoke in a low voice, "Even if you wanted me to pay back the price of those drinks tenfold or a hundredfold, I wouldn't have the money to repay you now... I'm completely broke..."
"What happened to you?" Mu Jinyu asked, frowning as he turned to look at the gloomy Gu Xiyan.
Gu Xiyan's gaze became vacant, like a lifeless paper flower, as she shook her head gently and murmured, "Let's not talk about that. I want to drink, I want to get drunk, just be with me..."
Seeing her like this, Mu Jinyu suddenly felt a pang of pity for her. Then he noticed a small shop up ahead, so he nodded and said, "Alright, I'll go buy you a drink."
Having said that, he quickly walked towards the shop.
Before long, Mu Jinyu had bought a case of beer, paid for it, and walked out of the shop, only to find that Gu Xiyan wasn't where she had been before.
Feeling a tightness in his chest, he heard Gu Xiyan call out from another direction, "I'm over here."
Mu Jinyu turned and saw that Gu Xiyan had slowly made her way to the steps of a nearby plaza and was sitting down, waving and calling out to him.
Exhaling softly, Mu Jinyu carried the case of beer towards her.
Reaching the steps and sitting beside Gu Xiyan, Mu Jinyu opened up the plastic bag and handed her a can of beer.
"Tssst!"
Gu Xiyan pulled the tab open and began to sip the beer in small gulps, tilting her head up slightly, her gaze hazy as she looked at the starless night sky.
Mu Jinyu said nothing but let her have some quiet time to herself, simply sitting by her side.
After finishing a can of beer, Gu Xiyan felt slightly inebriated. She looked at Mu Jinyu through drunken eyes, gave a self-deprecating smile, and then told him about what had happened that evening.
Normally, no matter how much she suffered or how tired she felt, Gu Xiyan wouldn't share her troubles with others.
It wasn't that she lacked friends to confide in, nor that she didn't want comfort. She just felt that if something was troubling her, why talk about it with friends and drag them into her troubles?!
Years ago, Gu Xiyan didn't have this mindset. Whenever she was troubled, she would confide in her best friend from school.
Initially, after venting and receiving comfort from her best friend, she felt much better.
Until one day, when her best friend, apparently troubled herself, bluntly said, "Don't keep telling me these crappy things. I'm not a trash can. Stop dumping your annoying troubles on me and making me worry with you."
From that day on, Gu Xiyan became stronger and stopped sharing her worries and negative emotions with others.
And though she still maintained a relationship with that best friend, things had changed due to those words, and they became just ordinary friends.
Even if she felt wronged and distressed about tonight's events, Gu Xiyan didn't want to talk about her troubles only to get an insincere response that would make her even more heartbroken.
Mu Jinyu was a bit different, though. After all, he had mocked and scoffed at her so many times before. She felt that in front of him, she hardly had any dignity left, so she might as well use him as a trash can to vent her frustrations...
As for how he would mock or belittle her after she finished talking, Gu Xiyan didn't care anymore.