After the breakup, I was taken in by a group of trendy young women.

Zhang Qian stood next to her, and the expression on her face could no longer be simply described as "awkward".

It was a delicate transition from rage to utter collapse; his eyes were red, his lips were pale, and his chin was trembling.

She watched Lin Ye embracing Shen Qing, whose face was many times more beautiful than hers.

Shen Qing nestled obediently in Lin Ye's arms, then her gaze shifted downwards and landed on the hand Lin Ye was using to hold her.

That hand was firmly clasped on Shen Qing's waist, the five fingers naturally closed, the movement casual yet resolute.

It was as if embracing this woman was a matter of course, and that he was the one who deserved her.

In the three years they were together, she had never let him hug her in this position.

"Lin Ye, you..."

"What about me?"

Lin Ye turned his head to look at her.

"Zhang Qian, do you think every man in the world has to stand still and wait for you to come back after a breakup? Let me tell you, you're overthinking it. I'm not interested in you anymore, not even a little bit."

Bai Xiaojing jumped over from in front of the sink, her face flushed with excitement, her honey-brown hair flying everywhere as she jumped.

She grabbed Lin Ye's other arm, looked up at him, her deep brown eyes filled with admiration: "Big brother, that was so satisfying! Look at that woman's face, it's as red as a pig's liver, hahaha!"

The tattooed man leaned against the corridor wall, crossed his arms, and laughed.

Zhang Jingjing peeked out from beside her and added insult to injury: "Sister, your older sister's bag is quite nice, but it doesn't really match your floral dress. I suggest you get a new stylist."

The green-haired and pink-haired boys huddled together at the entrance of the private room, their dyed earrings standing out under the corridor lights. They shouted in unison, "That's right!"

Zhang Xue's lips were pressed into a thin line.

She was still standing there, clutching the strap of her designer bag, the heels of her high heels sinking into the plush carpet of the hallway.

Her lips twitched twice, as if she wanted to say something to regain her composure. Her gaze swept over the row of colorful girls behind Lin Ye, and then she realized that all her sense of superiority was worthless in front of these girls.

They are young.

They are beautiful.

They didn't care about her designer bag.

What made her feel even more suffocated was that they seemed genuinely happy.

Lin Ye was surrounded by seven girls, who looked at him with the eyes of a hero. The level of adoration he received was something he had never experienced in any other relationship.

Her carefully maintained elegance crumbled like a paper lantern when confronted with a young man's question, "Are you sick?"

"Let's go."

Zhang Xue reached out and grabbed Zhang Qian's arm, her tone returning to its previous coldness and hardness, her voice a full tone lower than before.

She didn't look at Lin Ye or Shen Qing again, but simply pulled Zhang Qian to the other end of the corridor.

The athletic man followed behind, his silver chain swaying twice under the spotlight, before disappearing around the corner of the corridor.

The sound of high heels clicking on the ground faded into the distance, finally being cut off by the dull thud of the security door closing at the end of the corridor.

Bai Xiaojing released Lin Ye's arm, swung her fist at the end of the corridor, then turned around, looked up at Lin Ye, tilted her head, and smiled triumphantly: "Brother, when you called Shen Qing a 'young grass,' that old woman's face... hahaha, I can't take it anymore! Take a picture of my tattooed arm, I want to post it on WeChat Moments!"

She laughed as she clutched her stomach and bent over.

With his tattooed arm leaning against the wall, he took off his sunglasses from his collar and put them on, then made a toasting gesture towards the air: "Well done."

Zhang Jingjing added from the side, "But seriously, that lady's bag is real. I saw it in a shop window last time. It cost over ten thousand yuan. The two things you said to her just now made the bag worth over ten thousand yuan seem less valuable."

Qi Liuhai walked over carrying Wangcai and whispered, "Brother was so handsome just now."

After saying that, it quickly buried its face in the cat's fur.

Shen Qing peeked out from Lin Ye's arms, looking up at the angles of his profile from his forehead to his nose to his jawline. His newly cut short hair revealed the entire contour of his face, which looked particularly distinct under the corridor spotlights.

She whispered, "Brother is the best."

Then she tiptoed and gave him a light peck on the cheek.

The spotlights in the KTV had been switched to an ambiguous warm orange color at some point, and the light spots of the standby screen on the projection screen flickered in the dimly lit private room.

The watermelon in the fruit platter was all eaten, the popcorn bucket was overturned on the coffee table, and empty beer cans were scattered all over the floor.

The air was filled with the malty smell of beer, the sweet smell of fruit platter, and the mixed scents of shampoo and perfume from the seven girls: honey tea brown conditioner, the tobacco smell from the tattooed arm, Zhang Jingjing's body lotion, the affordable perfume worn by the green-haired and pink-haired girls, the faint scent of laundry detergent on Qi Liuhai's body, and the subtle white tea scent in Shen Qing's hair.

Lin Ye leaned back in the middle of the U-shaped sofa, his legs stretched out comfortably, his slippers kicked under the coffee table.

The newly cut short hair shimmered with a light golden glow under the spotlight, highlighting the sharp angles of his jawline.

His left arm was held by Bai Xiaojing, and his right arm was leaned against by Shen Qing. The woman with the tattooed arm was sitting cross-legged on the sofa cushion next to him, singing the last song of the night into the microphone. Zhang Jingjing was leaning on the armrest of the sofa, swinging her legs to keep time. Green Hair and Pink Hair were huddled at the end of the sofa, head to head, almost asleep. Qi Liuhai was curled up in the corner, hugging Wangcai. The sound of the cat purring was exactly the same as her breathing.

Lin Ye was too lazy to calculate how much he had spent today.

He spent over 30,000 at the barbershop, over 3,000 at the seafood buffet, and several thousand more at the KTV room with drinks. The system's rebate notifications kept ringing in his mind, and his card balance had long since exceeded five million. He was too lazy to even look at it.

Spending money has become a pure enjoyment for him. Watching the seven girls comfortably squint their eyes from the shampoo chair, watching their eyes light up at the seafood on the table, watching Bai Xiaojing shout into the microphone until her voice cracks but she still won't let go, is more real than any rebate figure.