5: Chapter 5 People

The girl being pointed at sat on the sofa, her face showing no guilt or panic from being caught; instead, she looked impatient and embarrassed.

Frowning, she avoided the boy's furious gaze and spoke to the empty air beside her.

"What are you doing?! Are you crazy?! Isn't this embarrassing?!"

Her voice rose, laced with disgust.

"So many people are watching! Can't we talk about this later? I'll explain everything to you then, okay?!"

Beside her sat a man in a flashy shirt with slicked-back, greasy hair, currently watching the scene play out.

He looked at the angry boy with a mocking smile, even leisurely picking up his glass to take a sip, showing no intention of standing up or explaining himself.

The man's attitude pricked the boy's nerves like a needle.

"Explain?! Explain what?!"

The boy grew more agitated, pointing at the greasy-haired man.

"Explain to me?! Huh?! Do you think I'm a fucking idiot?!"

He tried to lung forward, but those around him firmly held his arms.

"Let go of me!"

The boy struggled, his eyes bloodshot, like a wounded and enraged trapped beast.

"Let go!"

Watching him struggle, the disgust on the girl's face deepened, even tinged with a hint of contempt.

"Can you stop making a scene?! You're acting like a lunatic! Is this fun for you? Just leave already, okay? Stop making a fool of yourself here!"

"I'm making a fool of myself?!"

The boy seemed completely ignited by those words, his voice turning hoarse.

"I'm making a fool of myself?! Fine! Fine!..."

Trembling with rage, he violently kicked the wreckage of a table leg lying on the floor.

With a loud "clatter," more fragments scattered.

The security guards arrived quickly.

Two tall security guards quickly pushed through, blocking the space between the boy and the booth. One of them barked sternly.

"What are you doing! Stop! Any more trouble and we're calling the police!"

Only then did the greasy-haired man slowly set down his glass and stand up. With that same unsettling smile, he spoke to the guards and the boy.

"Oh, it's just a misunderstanding. A little lovers' quarrel. Take it easy, buddy. Let's talk nicely, don't ruin everyone else's fun."

His tone was casual, as if he were mediating a trivial matter.

The girl immediately chimed in.

"Yes, yes, a misunderstanding! He's just drunk and acting out! We're leaving right now!"

As she spoke, she reached for the greasy-haired man's arm, wanting to escape the embarrassing scene quickly.

Seeing the girl reach for another man's hand, the boy froze. The anger on his face was instantly replaced by a profound sense of despair and defeat.

He bit his lip hard, his body no longer struggling. He just stood there like a stone statue that had suddenly lost all life.

The companions holding him also let go, looking at him with a sense of helplessness.

Seeing that the boy was no longer aggressive, the guards breathed a sigh of relief, though they remained wary. They told the greasy-haired man and the girl:

"You two should pack up and leave, or find another spot. Don't bother the other guests."

The greasy-haired man shrugged, looking indifferent.

The girl, looking relieved and eager to get away, tried to pull the man around the side.

After speaking, she looked back at the boy and said:

"Don't you dare leave! You have to pay for everything you broke here!"

The boy remained frozen in place, head bowed, his shoulders trembling slightly. It was unclear if he was shaking from rage or... crying.

His companions surrounded him, whispering something as they helped him sit on the steps at the side of the bar.

The floor was still a mess. A waiter quickly arrived with a broom and dustpan to clean up.

This sudden, melodramatic conflict swept through like a typhoon, leaving behind a mess and an eerie silence before being quickly drowned out by the bar's music starting up again even louder.

The people at Chen Youhua's booth were all left staring blankly.

Wang Pengfei's mouth hung open. After a long moment, he whispered:

"Holy crap... a literal 'caught in the act' scene..."

His tone was complex, devoid of his previous playfulness.

With a look of sympathy, Feifei watched the boy's back as his friends helped him away.

"That guy... is so pitiful."

Lili curled her lip.

"That girl is really something, being so self-righteous after getting caught."

She glanced at the greasy-haired man.

"That guy isn't any good either."

Zhao Lei frowned and said nothing, seemingly annoyed by the farce.

Sisi sighed softly.

Li Fan and Xiao Yuan looked at each other, both seeing a hint of discomfort and awkwardness in the other's eyes.

Xiao Wen watched until they disappeared through the door, then looked back down at her phone, her frown deepening.

Even the fruit on the platter seemed to have lost its flavor.

No one mentioned playing games anymore.

The atmosphere became somewhat heavy and awkward.

Chen Youhua watched the waiter laboriously clean up the shards, spilled alcohol, and crushed fruit on the floor.

He watched the boy's dazed, soul-shattered silhouette.

He watched the girl pull the greasy-haired man away, quickly disappearing into the corridor on the other side, as if desperate to escape the place that had caused her embarrassment.

Chen Youhua had watched the entire drama from start to finish.

It wasn't that he enjoyed gossiping.

But having such a scene play out so suddenly was actually quite interesting.

The expressions of anger, sorrow, despair, and disbelief on the boy's face.

And the total lack of guilt on the girl's face, replaced instead by annoyance and exasperation.

Such things happen every day in the world, to both men and women.

Humans... they are both individuals and parts of a collective.

As individuals, they are constantly eroded by various desires.

Hunting, eating, reproducing.

These three biological instincts inherited from primitive man.

A frail body of flesh and blood, emotions controlled by hormones, unstable memory, and complex, chaotic thoughts.

All of these limit a person's potential, yet allow for a bottomless lack of decency.

As a collective, they form an entire society capable of bursting with incredible power.

Diverting rivers to create fields, reclaiming land from the sea, pursuing truth, and exploring the universe.

Becoming the top of the food chain, leaving human footprints across the entire globe.

There are even exploration probes launched by humans on the distant Moon and Mars.

This is humanity.

Looking at his silent classmates, who were lost in their own thoughts.

Chen Youhua raised his glass.

Drawing everyone's attention.

A full glass of alcohol went down his throat, drained to the last drop.

The atmosphere at the table gradually began to liven up again.

And Chen Youhua returned to being that socially anxious, quiet, aloof overachiever in everyone's eyes.