"A night run? Spare us, man," Liu Nan flinched, staring wide-eyed at Quan Yafeng. "It’s the middle of winter," he said in dismay. "Let’s just go back to the warm dorm and sleep. Don’t be crazy."
After finishing their study session, the four of them were walking together down a tree-lined avenue outside a Landa University academic building.
The cold had frozen them stiff. After just a few minutes in the north wind, their bodies were already giving out. The weather was damp and bone-chilling.
Yet Quan Yafeng had suddenly proposed that he wanted to start a nightly running routine to stay in shape, starting today!
"I’m not running either. I plan on spending the evening with my wife," Wei Zhen said, shivering.
"Since when do you have a wife?"
"Haven’t I told you before? Shigino Hiyori! Tonight, I’m planning to finish the second season of *Miss Hiyori*."
"Calling a 2D character your wife is just sick."
"That’s just how hardcore otakus are. I wouldn’t even be surprised if our dear Zhen started wearing a short skirt and white stockings and became a full-on femboy one day. You can’t comprehend his logic. He ignores all the real girls available to him just to obsess over his 2D world."
"Hey!" After Liu Nan’s jab, Wei Zhen’s face flushed red and he stammered, "What are you talking about, ’femboy’? Don’t just slander me out of nowhere..."
"Why are you getting so defensive? Don’t tell me I actually hit the mark?"
"Get lost!"
The guys continued to bicker as they walked, but Quan Yafeng remained silent, seemingly oblivious to their conversation. Then, he abruptly stopped in his tracks.
"I’m going for a run," he said, looking up, his eyes reflecting the soft glow of a nearby streetlight. "Starting today, I’m going to be a self-disciplined person. Whether it’s studying or working out, I’m going to change—starting right here, right now!"
"Are you insane? Can’t you just go for a run tomorrow morning?"
"No. It starts tonight!"
Quan Yafeng whipped his head around and strode toward the athletic field, his steps firm and determined.
It was as if he was driven by a resolve that no one could possibly stop.
The guys exchanged a look.
"What do we do?"
"I think this is probably because of Li Bing. He gets these random bursts of ambition. He’ll probably be over it in a few days. It’s not a bad thing for him to blow off some steam," Chen Yuan said, then started to follow Quan Yafeng.
"You’re not heading home?"
"I’m good. I can go back a bit later. I’ve got nothing else to do, anyway."
A few seconds later, Chen Yuan, who was already more than ten meters away, called back from the distance.
"Damn it! What’s with this psycho fit..." Liu Nan cursed, then hurried to catch up.
"Unbelievable..." Wei Zhen rolled his eyes and started walking as well.
...
The four of them ran like a bunch of poor saps, accompanying Quan Yafeng on the track. Lap after lap they went, and it wasn’t long before they were so exhausted that steam was rising from their heads.
「Meanwhile, about ten kilometers away in Lanjing South District.」
Jiang Ning had just killed her car’s engine and was now heading upstairs in her high heels.
The owner of this rather high-end villa was a woman named Qin Ting. She was a beautiful thirty-nine-year-old, not just pretty, but possessing a particularly captivating charm.
She was the owner of a beauty salon and had been friends with Jiang Ning for many years.
They had met at a dinner party back when Jiang Ning hadn’t even graduated from college yet.
Women’s friendships can be strange. Sometimes, a shared interest in something as simple as a clothing brand can blossom into an inseparable bond. That was more or less how her friendship with Qin Ting began, and it had now been five or six years.
Later, Jiang Ning came to Lanjing to teach.
Qin Ting was a Lanjing native herself, so their connection grew even closer.
"Ms. Qin?"
Jiang Ning stepped into the spacious, brightly-lit living room and called out softly. A moment later, a voice floated down from upstairs. "Ningning, come on up! We’re on the terrace!"
’We...?’
Jiang Ning was a bit puzzled. She went up the spiral staircase to the second floor and immediately saw several women dressed to the nines out on the terrace.
She recognized a few of them—friends she often went out to eat and shop with.
There was also an unfamiliar face, a woman who looked slightly older than her, with big, wavy hair. Her long legs were crossed, giving her a very seductive air.
"Why are the lights off...?"
Jiang Ning sat down on the edge of the sofa. The entire floor was dim, with only a beautiful lamp on the table ahead casting a faint glow that illuminated the women’s faces.
It created an atmosphere that was both hazy and intimate.
If anyone leaned back even slightly, their face would immediately disappear into the darkness, becoming impossible to make out—you couldn’t even tell the color of their hair.
From the terrace, the glittering surface of the river reflected the moon. Further north, the scattered lights of the city skyline stretched out into a single, beautiful vista.
"If we turned on the lights, we’d lose this beautiful ambiance, wouldn’t we?" Qin Ting said with a charming smile, the silver earrings on her lobes glittering.
She adjusted the soft, heavy blanket, tucking it in around Jiang Ning.
"It’s cold at night. Don’t catch a chill."
"The moment Ningning arrived, I couldn’t stop staring. We’re all women here, but how is her aura just so refined?" said a woman huddled in a corner of the sofa, so buried in her blanket that she was nearly invisible.
"How can you even compare? She comes from a prestigious family."
"So this is the Jiang Ning you all talk about so much... Wow. I thought you were exaggerating before, but seeing her in person, I’m truly blown away," said the woman with the wavy hair, her own beautiful eyes sparkling with admiration.
"Well, among all of us sisters, Ningning is definitely our crown jewel."
"Oh, not at all..."
Jiang Ning waved her hand shyly, not forgetting to thank the woman with the wavy hair for her compliment.
"My name is Gao Min."
"Jiang Ning."
’She still couldn’t figure out why everyone had been gathered here so late at night.’
’And it seemed Ms. Qin had no intention of getting to the point, either.’
Instead, she simply handed Jiang Ning a glass and poured some wine into it.