You are a duck.

At six o'clock on Saturday evening, she and Qin Yu arrived at Xinghe to attend Xi Haifei's birthday party. Xinghe was the hottest club in town, the kind of place you had to book in advance for weekends and holidays.

She and Wei Yu were dressed quite casually: Wei Yu wore a pale green suit, while she herself had chosen a black tracksuit. Wei Yu, taking in her all-black ensemble, widened her eyes and exclaimed, "My dear Mumu, are you sure you're here for a birthday party and not a memorial service?"

She replied indifferently, "I'm sure. But these are the only clothes I have, so what can I do? Let's go. Did you bring the birthday present?"

Qin Yu gave her backpack a pat and reassured her, "Don’t worry, it’s right here. Bought it and haven’t touched it since I got home."

Suddenly, an obnoxious, leering voice called out, "Hey, the ladies are here! Sister-in-law and little Yu have arrived!" She and Wei Yu exchanged a look of mutual disgust as the voice continued, "Guys, come out and welcome our special guests!"

The raspy, jarring voice made Mu Qingxi want to kick him. Seriously, what did he take them for? Hostesses? He might be, but she certainly hadn’t come here for entertainment.

As she was cursing him inwardly, Qin Yu chimed in with perfect timing, "Hey, are you a gigolo? How much do you charge? I don’t have any money."

She couldn’t help but burst out laughing. "That’s hilarious. With a voice like that, even if you weren’t a gigolo, you’d still sound like one."

The boy with the hoarse voice turned a mottled shade of pale and green.

"Luoya, why aren’t you inside yet?" A boy with a shock of yellow, nest-like hair came out, grumbling in annoyance, followed by a few others.

She couldn’t hold back another laugh—what a perfect match of person and name. Qin Yu was laughing too, "Luoya, the raspy gigolo! Duck duck! Ha!"

With the “duck” fuming, they entered the club. She saw Bai Fanhao sitting in the center. Under the club’s lights, his eyes sparkled. Even sitting amid the crowd, smiling faintly at the conversation around him, she still sensed his loneliness and sadness; at that moment, he looked like a melancholy prince.

She noticed that when Bai Fanhao saw her, he started slightly, his gaze becoming odd—conflicted, almost resentful. She couldn’t understand why, nor did she care to. After all, everyone has their secrets, don’t they?

"Mu Qingxi, you and Qin Yu sit over here," Xu Hongliang said, standing before her. "We saved you seats."

She glanced at Bai Fanhao again, then walked over with Qin Yu. She asked Xu Hongliang, "Where’s Xi Haifei?"

Xu Hongliang replied coolly, "Haige went out to buy something. He said to go ahead and sit, he’ll be back soon."

It wasn’t long before Qin Yu was chatting away with the guys, and watching them, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy. She turned and saw Bai Fanhao had somehow ended up sitting beside her. "Bai Fanhao, let’s talk," she said.

To her surprise, Bai Fanhao replied, "Mu Qingxi, I don’t want to talk to you."

"You don’t want to talk to me? Then why did you make such a big deal out of me before? I was about to ask you why!" Mu Qingxi muttered in frustration.

Bai Fanhao shot her a glance, lounging against the sofa with a mocking air. "I thought it’d be fun," he said.

Looking at him, Mu Qingxi couldn’t help but say, "Bai Fanhao, you’re such a fool."

He glared at her, silent, but she caught the sudden clench of his fist—was he about to hit her? Mu Qingxi just chuckled. "Bai Fanhao, you’re so foolish, it’s almost heartbreaking."

She had no idea what expression crossed Bai Fanhao’s face after hearing that, but it was truly how she felt—he was a fool, a fool who made her heart ache.

She decided to go out for some air. As she walked past Bai Fanhao, he called out after her, "Mu Qingxi, you’re so wooden!"