"Jiajia, come on, have another drink, I'm really so happy today."
In the luxurious bar, Shen Shijia was sandwiched among a few men while bottles of unopened liquors filled the table before her. By her side, a man persistently persuaded her to drink more. Despite already succumbing to an intense drunken haze, the man raised yet another glass for her to consume.
The colorful lighting struck her face, making her eyes squint tightly with the energetic music and playful laughter blending into the backdrop. Although splendid and opulent, this was a nightclub.
Shen Shijia had never set foot in a place like this before. It was Wang Yongjie who forcefully brought her here, claiming he knew a powerful businessman who could help him study abroad. He insisted that tonight he would meet with this businessman at the hotel and Shen Shijia had to accompany him, as he was nervous.
Both Wang Yongjie and Shen Shijia are kids from rural areas, parents unable to provide monetary funds. The fact that they could attend university was already a considerable feat. However, Wang Yongjie maintained a dream - to study abroad. But his parents simply could not afford it. Shen Shijia, being an orphan, was in the same situation. Hence, to them, the funds for studying abroad were a massive sum. Now that Wang Yongjie found an opportunity, of course, he was elated. He asked Shen Shijia to accompany him to meet this 'businessman', to which Shen Shijia agreed without any objections.
But upon arrival, the so-called 'businessman' insisted on making Shen Shijia drink. In order to let Wang Yongjie secure the funds, Shen Shijia begrudgingly consumed the alcohol. However, being someone who rarely drinks, she began to feel inebriated after only the second drink and the third made her want to vomit.
"Excuse me, I need to use the restroom." Shen Shijia, with an apologizing smile, excused herself from the 'businessman' and rushed to the restroom to vomit violently.
Whether it was the alcohol percentage or if someone had tampered with her drink, Shen Shijia felt even worse after vomiting, her head foggy as she felt sleep creep over her.
"Hey, I gotta say, that girl looks quite appealing, how about we go ahead and——then kill her afterwards?"
As Shen Shijia was about to leave the restroom, she suddenly noticed two men stealthily huddling in a corner discussing something. One of them made a sleazy gesture before gesturing slitting his throat.
It seemed that these two were hired to murder someone. Shen Shijia took a brief glance, ignoring them, ready to leave. However, she was stopped by the words of the other man.
"Hmm, what's her name again? Shen Shijia, right? She does look pretty decent. Have you picked the location? We can go about it as you suggested."
Shen Shijia? Hearing her own name mentioned, Shen Shijia quickly stepped back in surprise. Is it her? But very quickly, she discarded that speculation since being powerless and without any significant enemies, it was highly unlikely that someone wanted to murder her.
However, before she could even smile in relief, the conversation between the men chilled her to the bone.
"The location is all set, we just need to wait for the boss to get her drunk, then we can make our move." The other one replied, then continued leisurely, "You gotta admit, Wang Yongjie is quite the character. Why would he condemn such a beautiful girlfriend to death?"
"So what if he's handsome, is he wealthy?"
Over there, the two were still arguing back and forth, as Shen Shijia sat back, completely dumbfounded.
It was Wang Yongjie, if she hadn't heard it herself, she would've never believed it to be true.
"Bro, that's enough, let's go and check it out," One of them abruptly suggested, and footstep sounds gradually approaching ensued. Shen Shijia quickly retreated into the women's restroom.
Massaging her temples, Shen Shijia closed her eyes and began to slowly recall the earlier events, and then...
Then she felt dizzy, suspecting that the people might have spiked her drink, she quickly induced vomiting with her fingers. Her throat hurt from the vomit, and she decided to rinse her mouth. She then looked around, trying to find an escape route.
But this was the second floor, the window was above the sink, and the fall would be around 10 meters. Jumping from here would either result in death or disability.
"What are you doing?" A sudden intrusion of a waitress came as Shen Shijia perched at the window surveying the situation outside.
Seeing her at that height, the waitress asked her, abruptly screaming: "Someone's trying to jump!"
Hearing her reaction, Shen Shijia quickly jumped down and grabbed the waitress from behind, muffling her screams.
Thankfully, the loud music outside drowned out the maid's scream.
"Don't shout, someone outside is trying to kill me." Shen Shijia quickly dragged her into the restroom, fabricating an elaborate, tragic tale. The waitress, seemingly sympathetic, remained silent.
"Could you help me escape?" Shen Shijia, realizing that the waitress was kind-hearted, shamelessly asked for aid.
However, the waitress denied this time, scared of the people outside.
"You don't need to do anything, just switch clothes with me," Shen Shijia eyed the waitress's uniform, scheming her next move.
Working as a waitress here, she must have witnessed some unusual incidents. Upon hearing Shen Shijia's heart-wrenching tale, she felt a surge of compassion. At Shen Shijia's plea, she agreed to swap her clothes with her.
Dressed in the waitress's clothes, Shen Shijia became overwhelmingly bold. She strode quickly out of the restroom, planning to sneak out while Wang Yongjie and the others were dismissive. Once she left the bar, Shen Shijia considered she would be safe.
"Come over, help the boss refill his drink," Wang Yongjie suddenly called her when Shen Shijia was passing by.
A sudden apprehension gripped Shen Shijia, inducing panic. If she went over, she surely would be recognized.
She decided to pretend she didn't hear. Even if suspicion arose, there would be some distance, and hopes of getting away would be higher. Thus, she hung her head, feigning ignorance, and swiftly moved towards the exit.
"Why are you running when I told you to refill my drink?" Ding Fu cried out when Shen Shijia not only ignored his command for a drink refill but started running towards the exit, making him scold her.
However, perhaps due to Wang Yongjie's status, he didn't say much more. Meanwhile, another individual had noticed something odd about Shen Shijia.
"Bro, don't you think there's something off about this girl?" The man put down his alcohol, observing Shen Shijia's retreating figure keenly, voicing his suspicion seriously.
Upon hearing this, panic set in Shen Shijia. Knowing her identity had been discovered, she promptly ran down the stairs with all her might.
