Chapter 35: Chance Encounter

Chapter 35: Chapter 35: Chance Encounter

Rian nodded nonchalantly. "Then you really have been with him for a long time."

Shawn scratched his head shyly. "Rian, could you tell me how you and Ninth Brother met?"

Rian looked at Shawn, rubbing her fingertips together. "Did you know that your Ninth Brother really likes picking up strays and bringing them home?" She reached out and lightly tapped Shawn’s shoulder with her fingertip. "You must have been picked up by him, too."

Shawn looked a bit dazed at her words, but he nodded anyway. "Ninth Brother is actually very nice. I’m very grateful to him; otherwise, I would have died that winter."

"Since your Ninth Brother treats you so well, you should stay by his side," Rian said, relaxing her posture. She could tell that this young boy actually wanted to break free from Jasper Rivers, but was held back by the shackles of morality. "Shawn, since you can’t escape, you should just face reality. You might find that this world isn’t so bad after all."

Rian raised a hand and pointed behind her.

Shawn didn’t turn around. A familiar scent of mint drifted into his nose. His body stiffened and his expression turned blank, just before a heavy weight settled on his shoulder.

Rian had, of course, seen Jasper, even though her words hadn’t been spoken for his benefit. Shawn’s initially stiff body trembled at Jasper’s approach. Jasper leaned in close to Shawn’s ear and lightly brushed against his earlobe.

Shawn’s entire face flushed red. Seeing this, the smile in the corners of Jasper’s eyes deepened. He looked at Rian. "Rian, it’s been over a decade, and your words still win my heart. However, girls should smoke less."

Rian stepped back half a pace in evident disgust. "You’re no different, you old chimney."

Jasper paused for a moment at her words before chuckling. "True enough. As your brother, I haven’t exactly set a good example, so I can hardly forbid you from doing it."

Rian kept a cold expression and didn’t reply.

Jasper smiled and shook his head. "Rian, the older you get, the less adorable you become. My Shawn is much more obedient." Half-embracing Shawn, Jasper walked toward the private booth, calling out to Rian who was standing behind them. "Rian, hurry up and come have a few drinks with me."

Rian followed behind the two of them. She noticed Shawn’s awkward, slow gait. Jasper, seemingly finding his pace too slow, simply scooped Shawn up into a bridal carry.

Rian clicked her tongue as she watched them. "Such boundless energy."

Although Rian hadn’t seen anything firsthand, she could tell from Shawn’s walking posture that Jasper was indeed quite vigorous in bed.

Back in the private booth, it was just Jasper and Shawn. Rian sat down on a single sofa to the side, relaxed her body, and stretched her legs out to rest them on the liquor table.

"Aren’t you going to tell me about this kid’s background?" Rian picked up a wine glass and took a sip. Her coat hung loosely over her shoulders, and her red dress hugged her excellent figure, making her look exceptionally alluring in the dim light.

Jasper rested one hand on Shawn’s shoulder while swirling his wine glass with the other. "You already know I like bringing strays home. Shawn is just someone I picked up."

Rian nodded. "Where did you find him?"

Jasper turned serious. "Shawn wasn’t picked up from *over there*. I found him at the foot of Mount Vorlag. He’s quite a good kid."

"He doesn’t know?" Rian asked.

Jasper shook his head. Rian was a little surprised; she hadn’t expected Jasper to keep his identity hidden so thoroughly.

Jasper set down his wine glass and handed a glass of juice to Shawn. Rian clinked her glass against his and downed the rest of her drink. "If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going now."

Jasper didn’t say much. He downed his own drink and nodded, and Rian stood up to leave the booth.

Down on the first floor, the area was packed with people dancing to the music. Rian glanced around irritably and headed toward a less crowded spot.

"Host, look at the innermost booth to the northwest," the system announced.

Rian paused upon hearing the system’s voice. She looked in the indicated direction, but with the dim lighting and the sea of bobbing heads, she couldn’t see clearly.

"Who’s over there?" Rian communicated with the system in her mind. "If it’s not anyone important, don’t bother reporting it next time."

"Host, it’s your younger brother."

"What?"

"It’s Ash Sinclair."

Rian’s expression darkened. So Ash, who was supposed to be at school, had run off to the Moonlight Club?

With a gloomy face, she dodged the hands reaching out to grab her from passing men. When she couldn’t dodge in time, she simply grabbed their wrists and flung them aside.

"Fuck! You stupid bitch! Didn’t you dress like a slut just so we could cop a feel? Stop playing hard to get!"

Rian looked coldly at the foul-mouthed man. "Welcome to the modern era, old man. Women have the freedom to dress how they want now, so shut your filthy, shit-spewing mouth."

"You filthy bitch!" the man roared, his face flushed red with humiliation as he raised a hand to slap her.

Rian caught his incoming hand and twisted it sharply backward. Instantly, the man let out a shrill squawk like a dying chicken.

"AHHH! My hand!"

Applying just the right amount of force, Rian kicked him away. The man’s flabby body crashed heavily onto a nearby sofa. The surrounding crowd stared blankly at the scene, and the people in the immediate vicinity stopped dancing.

The kicked man turned purple with rage and tried to scramble up to save face. Rian was furious right now. She stomped directly on the hand he was using to push himself up, pressing down with calculated force. Halfway up, the man collapsed heavily back down.

With a cold expression, Rian bent down to look at the ugly bastard writhing on the floor. Her smile didn’t reach her eyes. "I am in a very bad mood right now. Keep your backwards, patriarchal mindset away from me. Show some respect to women, or I’ll beat you senseless every time I see you."

After saying this, Rian delivered a vicious kick to the man’s groin and turned to leave.

"AHHH!" the man shrieked, clutching his crotch as he rolled endlessly on the floor.

The surrounding onlookers began to whisper among themselves.

"Damn!"

"That woman is ruthless!"

"Fuck, she kicked him hard enough to wipe out his entire bloodline!"

"That was way too brutal!"

"I despise men who don’t respect women," a woman chimed in. "So disgusting!"

"Exactly. We dress up to make ourselves happy. What’s this nonsense about seducing men? Look at that pathetic loser—does he really think he’s worthy?"

Rian ignored the surrounding chatter and pushed through the crowd toward the innermost booth. Because the distance was quite far, the people up ahead had no idea what had just happened in the back, so they continued to dance and drink.

A few individuals still tried to cop a feel, but Rian didn’t want any more trouble; she just wanted to drag Ash away. Dodging the wandering hands, she finally arrived at Ash’s booth.

Rian looked at the people sitting there. There were both men and women, as well as Ash’s good friend, Miles Morton. Her face darkened as she stared at the blackout-drunk Ash. Because of the oppressive aura radiating from Rian, no one nearby dared to strike up a conversation with her.

Looking at Ash, who was dead drunk, Rian’s fury intensified. She simply kicked him right off the sofa.

The loud THUD of Ash hitting the floor drew the attention of everyone in the booth, and Miles naturally spotted Rian. However, seeing Rian’s furious expression and then looking at Ash lying on the floor, Miles opted for silence.

"Good luck, bro. You’re on your own!" he thought.

The kick sobered Ash up a bit. Rubbing his bruised waist, he used the table to pull himself up.

"Fuck! Which idiot kicked me?!"