He tricked the female lead into becoming his boyfriend, but then went on to criticize the male lead.

"Ci-ge, what are you thinking about? You're not still thinking about your girlfriend, are you?"

Gu Yanshi is also one of Wen Zhaoci's good friends. His family is very wealthy, and he is a true young master born with a silver spoon in his mouth.

Wen Zhaoci didn't look up, still staring at her phone screen, and gave a faint "hmm," her expression unreadable.

"What the hell? No, buddy, you're actually taking this seriously?" Gu Yanshi's words came crashing down like firecrackers. "I was just testing you out. That girl doesn't care about you at all."

Jiang Shangyu chimed in from the side, "Yeah, Ci-ge, why are you taking this so seriously? We went out of our way to get her to come out when you were drunk, but she wouldn't come and even called me a liar."

Wen Zhaoci finally raised her eyes, the corners of her eyes still flushed from the alcohol. She lightly tapped the rim of her whiskey glass with her fingertips, her voice indifferent: "Who said you could talk casually?"

The room fell silent for a moment upon hearing this. Gu Yanshi nearly spat out the wine he had just put in his mouth, his eyes widening in disbelief: "Seriously? Are you serious? All those socialites who chased after you before were much more obedient and sensible than her. How did you fall for this little brat?"

Wen Zhaoci didn't reply. He swiped his finger across a photo he had saved from the forum of himself holding hands with Sang Jiuning. His Adam's apple bobbed slightly. He tapped the screen and said softly, "She's different."

"Even if a girl is only after your money, she'll still come over if she hears you're drunk."

Lying on the cold mahogany table, with his face buried in his arms, Chi Nanli became intrigued in a daze. "What kind of celestial beauty could win over someone as aloof as our Young Master Wen? We must bring her out to meet you."

Jiang Shangyu flicked Nan Chili on the forehead: "Chi Nanli, are you drunk? We were just talking about how bad that girl was, why did you bring her out to meet us?"

Chi Nanli covered his forehead and stared blankly for two seconds before mumbling indistinctly, "No, it's just curiosity... I've never seen Ci care about any girl so much before."

Gu Yanshi kicked Chi Nanli, then turned and leaned close to Wen Zhaoci, lowering his voice with a gossipy look: "Seriously, Brother Ci, how far have you two progressed? Have you kissed? Have you hugged?"

Wen Zhaoci paused, her fingertips twitching slightly, her ears burning almost imperceptibly. Instead of answering, she asked, "I told you not to test her, but you didn't listen."

Jiang Shangyu choked, touched his nose, and whispered, "I just... wanted to test if she was truly sincere towards you. Who knew she was so stubborn and blocked me right away."

Wen Zhaoci pinched the bridge of his nose, locked his phone on the table, picked up his whiskey glass and took a sip. The cool taste of the drink suppressed the surging tenderness in his heart—that day when Sang Jiuning ran away, the ends of her hair brushed against his chin, soft and fluffy, and he still remembered that touch.

Hearing Jiang Shangyu's words, he raised his eyes, his dark eyes veiled with a thin layer of mist, yet still surprisingly bright. He parted his thin lips slightly, his voice low and husky as if infused with wine: "It's not that she doesn't want to come; she's always been very wary and on guard against me."

Wen Zhaoci lowered her voice, "After some time, I will bring her out to meet you."

"Well, I thought you were keeping a mistress." Nan Chili shrugged, picked up the wine glass next to him, casually put his long legs on the edge of the sofa, held half a glass of whiskey between his fingers, and his bangs were slightly damp from the alcohol, which made his already handsome face look even more relaxed and tipsy.

He hadn't contacted her these past few days because he wanted to go along with her wishes and give her enough time to process all that mess. Little did he expect that she would use all her vigilance on this.

Sitting on the other side, Zhao Muze couldn't help but laugh out loud, shaking the wine in his hand and nudging Wen Zhaoci's arm: "I've called you ten times, and you only come out with us once. Let's not talk about that nonsense, let's get down to business."

Wen Zhaoci ignored him, wiped the condensation on the glass with her fingertips, remained silent for a few seconds, put the glass on the coffee table, and slowly stood up, supporting herself on the sofa armrest.

The effects of the alcohol were definitely kicking in, and he swayed slightly as he walked. Jiang Shangyu quickly reached out to help him, but he waved Jiang Shangyu's hand away, saying, "I can go by myself."

"No, you're so drunk, what's wrong with me helping you to the restroom?" Jiang Shangyu followed behind, worried.

"No need." Wen Zhaoci straightened the wrinkled collar of his shirt, picked up his phone with his well-defined fingers and put it in his pocket. His voice came through the strong smell of alcohol, "I'm not drunk."

When Wen Zhaoci came out of the restroom, Zhao Muze saw that she was more awake and said, "What do you think of that smart robot project I mentioned before? My people have already given me the market research report and the data model. This project is definitely going to make money. It's specifically for those elderly people living alone and is called a companion smart robot. All that's missing is you, the core person for this project."

When the topic turned to business, Wen Zhaoci's eyes became calm and sharp: "I've looked at the data model. The overall framework is fine, but the core algorithm still needs some adjustments. I'll revise it and send it to you over the weekend."

He held an unlit cigarette between his fingers, his drunkenness mostly gone, and he reverted to his meticulous investor persona.

Zhao Muze's eyes lit up: "I knew you'd be fine. If this project succeeds, we'll split it 50/50."

"No need," Wen Zhaoci said casually, rubbing the cigarette between his fingers as he lowered his eyes. "I own the technical shares, so the profit sharing can be as you said before. I have no objection."

He paused, then added, "Remember, the sample robot needs to be tested first."

Wen Zhaoci leaned back on the sofa. Jiang Shangyu had changed the music in the private room to relaxing vacation music. He shook the dice and said, "Hey guys, how about taking your girlfriends to that new resort up in the mountains?"

Everyone immediately became interested upon hearing this. Chi Nanli straightened up, his drunkenness mostly gone: "I heard someone say a while ago that the resort is nice, with hot spring pools facing the mountain views and a particularly good environment."

Gu Yanshi chimed in, "It's a weekend for relaxation anyway, so let's all get together and have some fun. How about next Saturday or Sunday?"

As he spoke, he winked at Wen Zhaoci: "Brother Ci, you'll definitely bring your guy along this time, right? It'll be a good opportunity for us to see him in person and satisfy our curiosity."

Wen Zhaoci paused, the sieve between his fingers spinning halfway in his palm. His Adam's apple bobbed. He had actually been considering this for a while. He had left Sang Jiuning's space unattended, and the two hadn't chatted on WeChat. This was a good opportunity to get closer. He glanced at the friends who had come to join the fun, and a faint smile appeared on his lips: "I'll ask her later. If she's free, she can come."