A Heart-Racing Dare - Chapter 1

The dare I drew said:

[Kiss someone of the opposite sex you like for thirty seconds.]

Everyone began hooting and exchanging knowing looks with Shen Xu, who sat across from me. The coming alliance between the Jiang and Shen families was no secret, and Shen Xu and I had grown up together. We weren’t officially a couple, but almost everyone treated us as one.

What they didn’t know was that Shen Xu had always kept me at arm’s length. He accepted every open or subtle gesture I made, but never returned one. I had nearly given up on him already. After what happened a few days ago, I had no reason left to hold on.

I drew a deep breath. I might as well settle things tonight. Whatever his answer, at least I could stop being trapped in this uncertainty.

“Shen Xu, could you…”

Before I could finish, several lines of text floated before my eyes.

[Why Shen Xu? Why not his older brother, Shen Zhaobei?]

[Enough! I can’t watch the heroine get hurt, die, and leave him to regret it forever again!]

[Why does Shen Xu get to be the male lead? He’s got enough almost-girlfriends to form a whole company. Can someone jump into this book and slap him?]

What?

I blinked and froze. Were these… audience comments?

I looked at Shen Xu. He looked exactly as he always had, but now I caught a hint of mockery in his eyes. He seemed certain I would choose him.

“You want my help? Fine.” His smile held, but his voice went cold. “Jiang Xia, you’re not a child anymore. Isn’t it time you took responsibility for what you did wrong?”

Of course. I gave a bitter little smile. Whatever faint affection I’d once felt for him seemed to vanish right then.

With his looks and family background, Shen Xu had always been the center of attention at school. There had been endless rumors about his love life—until our families agreed to an alliance. Everyone thought he’d finally settled down for me. I had been naive enough to believe it too.

An arranged marriage to someone I’d known since childhood seemed safer than one to a stranger. We didn’t need some grand, passionate romance. An ordinary marriage would have been enough for me. I would marry him, I’d thought.

Then, a few days ago, I saw him kissing another girl passionately around a corner in the corridor. She was crying as she spoke to him, and he bent to kiss away her tears with a tenderness that was almost fierce. He had never shown me emotion like that. My nails bit into my palms as I stood there, suddenly sick to my stomach.

Before I could sort through my thoughts, Shen Xu noticed me. The girl startled, wiped her tears, and fled. Shen Xu watched her go, then stared at me without expression. The hatred and disgust in his eyes chilled me through.

“Jiang Xia, haven’t you hounded me long enough? You drove Shi Yu away. Happy now?”

So her name was Shi Yu. What I had thought of as showing my affection had been shameless harassment to him. The rumors hadn’t stopped because of our engagement. They had stopped because he’d fallen for someone else.

I don’t remember how I got home. I remember only the dead silence of the long night, and my own voice repeating inside me: I can’t do it. I can’t marry Shen Xu.

“Jiang Xia, get Shi Yu to come back to me and I’ll agree,” he said now. “To the kiss, and to the marriage.”

Convinced he had offered something I couldn’t refuse, he lifted his chin and folded his arms, ready to enjoy the show.

No. I made up my mind and searched the crowd. Better to cut my losses than keep tangling myself up with Shen Xu. I would choose someone else.

The comments still raced past my eyes. One caught my attention.

[Please look at Shen Zhaobei! Who understands the appeal of an insecure, brooding puppy who loves her with his whole heart?]

Shen Zhaobei? Someone had mentioned him earlier. Wasn’t he Shen Xu’s older brother?

I looked past Shen Xu. From here I could see only Zhaobei’s tall figure, his face half hidden in shadow. His eyes were lowered as he idly turned a wineglass in his hand, as though he hadn’t noticed the commotion.

Wait. His fingertips were white. He looked close to crushing the glass.

[His whole room is covered with pictures of the heroine, but he can barely bring himself to speak to her.]

[If she kisses someone else tonight, he’ll go home and cry alone again.]

An entire room of my pictures? I was still reeling when Shen Xu frowned at my strange silence.

“Jiang Xia. Hurry up.”

Forget it. A little creepy was better than dead.

I steeled myself and smiled at Shen Xu. “You misunderstood. What I was trying to say was—”

“Shen Xu, could you move? You’re blocking the person I like.”