No Falling in Love After 2 AM - Chapter 8
Chapter 8
By the time the police took everyone away, dawn was breaking.
Distortion was a complete mess.
Wen Yan was at the bar, bandaging his hand.
I walked over and stood in front of him.
“It’s over.”
“No.” Wen Yan lowered his head to wrap the gauze. “Pei Che still hasn’t come back.”
His voice was flat when he said it.
But I heard it anyway.
Over these past three years, the person he truly refused to let go of was never Lu Qi.
It was himself.
My phone wouldn’t stop vibrating.
Ah Song, the manager, unknown numbers-everyone was looking for me.
Even news notifications were starting to pop up.
[Evidence of cold case exposed at Distortion’s Anniversary Night.]
[Investor Lu Qi taken away by police.]
Wen Yan’s name was also listed.
I took one look and flipped the phone face down.
Looking at these things now was meaningless.
I suddenly lost my voice.
After a long silence, I finally spoke.
“If my brother were here today, he’d probably start by scolding me.”
“Scolding you for what?”
“For being stupid.” I looked at him. “For getting myself tangled up in a mess just to get revenge.”
Wen Yan actually let out a small laugh.
“He would.”
I looked at the gauze on his hand.
“Do you regret it?”
“Regret what?”
“Stepping up tonight,” I said. “Getting yourself tangled up in this, too.”
Wen Yan didn’t answer immediately.
He waited two seconds before speaking.
“I already regretted something once three years ago,” he said. “I don’t want a repeat of that.”
My chest tightened sharply.
Wen Yan turned around, grabbed a glass from behind the bar, and poured me half a drink.
“Want some?”
I took it and had a sip.
It was still bitter.
“What is this?”
“Your drink,” Wen Yan said. “No Falling in Love.”
I lowered my head and smiled.
“Wen Yan.”
“Yeah.”
“I used to think I came to Distortion to destroy you.”
Wen Yan didn’t say anything.
“But then I realized you had already destroyed yourself a long time ago.”
Wen Yan’s movements paused for a moment.
He stayed still for a beat before speaking.
“Pei Shi, I didn’t just destroy myself once,” he said. “For these past three years, I haven’t let myself off the hook for a single day.”
“If I had been just a little faster that night, Pei Che might not have died.”
“So it’s only right that you hate me.”
I didn’t give him a chance to hide; I asked him directly:
“What about now?”
“What do you mean?”
“Lu Qi is behind bars, and Distortion is finished.” I looked at him. “What are you going to do next?”
The corner of Wen Yan’s mouth twitched.
“Stay alive, for starters.”
“And then?”
“Finish the police statements, fill in the gaps regarding Pei Che’s case,” Wen Yan said. “Then see if I can still make music.”
I frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“It means the reputation of Distortion was trashed tonight.” Wen Yan lowered his head to tighten the gauze. “Any name associated with this place will never be as clean as it used to be.”
“Do you regret it?”
“I don’t,” he said. “I just wish it could have happened sooner.”
I understood.
He didn’t regret what he had lost.
He regretted that this had been dragged out for three years.
He regretted that it took until today for someone to finally take full accountability for my brother’s life.
Wen Yan looked up at me.
“Now it’s your turn.”
“My turn for what?”
“Lu Qi’s side will still investigate you,” he said. “If you want to leave, leave now.”
I looked at him and suddenly laughed.
“Wen Yan, do you still think I’m going to run?”
“Why wouldn’t you?”
I walked over, grabbed his collar, and pulled him close.
“Otherwise, I wouldn’t have lunged forward earlier.” I looked into his eyes. “And I wouldn’t still be standing here now.”
Wen Yan’s gaze darkened instantly.
He reached up and pressed his hand against the back of my neck, his voice very low.
“Pei Shi, don’t provoke me at a time like this.”
“Then dodge.”
Wen Yan didn’t dodge.
He leaned down and kissed me.
It wasn’t a fierce kiss.
It wasn’t rushed, either.
It was as if, after all this turmoil, he was finally willing to acknowledge that bit of sincerity.
When we pulled apart, I was still clutching his collar.
“Wen Yan.”
“Yeah.”
“I’m still going to settle the score with you.”
“Fine.” He looked at me. “We can take our time.”
I couldn’t help but smile.
“Then you’d better not run.”
“I won’t,” Wen Yan said. “I’m not running this time.”
I finished the half-glass of liquor and looked up at him.
“What if the manager fires me, too?”
“Then let him.”
“And then?”
“We find somewhere else.” Wen Yan looked down at me. “Or stay here. It’s up to you.”
“What about you? Don’t you have nowhere to go either?”
“I do,” he said. “If you still want to settle the score, I’ll be right here.”
He said it so calmly.
So calmly it sounded like a promise.
I watched him for a few seconds and suddenly understood.
Wen Yan wasn’t just placating me.
He really didn’t plan on leaving.
He intended to settle every single debt he hadn’t finished paying three years ago, one by one.
Footsteps suddenly echoed from outside the bar.
The manager was standing not far away, his eyes bloodshot.
He glanced at me, then at Wen Yan, but in the end, he didn’t scold us.
He only asked one thing:
“Finished with the statements?”
“Not yet,” Wen Yan said.
The manager nodded.
“Then go do them,” he said. “Ah Song and I will start cleaning up this mess.”
He turned and walked away after speaking.
I watched his back and finally realized something.
Distortion hadn’t just become a mess tonight.
It was just that tonight, someone was finally willing to rip the lid off.
Outside, dawn was approaching.
The lights in Distortion weren’t all on yet.
But I knew very well that some things were only just beginning.
I had the evidence.
And as for the man, I had no intention of letting him go.
