Chapter 199: That Useless Fan
As the music started up in the bar, Zhou Fan pulled Chen Yao to her feet and grinned at Zheng Sisi. "Miss Zheng, you two aren't just going to sit there, are you? This is a dance track! Since you're here to have fun, you've got to dance!"
Without waiting for a reply, and not caring if the other two were embarrassed, Zhou Fan pulled Chen Yao into his arms and led her to a nearby corner.
"If you want to dance, let's dance, but why drag me over to a corner?" Although Chen Yao had had a little to drink, she was still a bit nervous about being pulled into a less crowded corner. She pressed her small hands against Zhou Fan's chest and asked shyly.
"I was just worried you'd be embarrassed with so many people around," Zhou Fan said, looking at Chen Yao with a wicked grin. Her face, already flushed from the alcohol, was now an even deeper shade of red. 'She looks like a ripe apple,' he thought, 'one I can't help but want to bite.'
"Y-You... don't hold me so tight, my back feels like it's going to break!" Chen Yao didn't dare to meet Zhou Fan's gaze. Despite her words, she shyly rested her face on his shoulder, letting him hold her as she followed his lead and they began to dance slowly.
Meanwhile, Ying Yi, the coward, tried several times to work up the courage to ask Zheng Sisi to dance, but he couldn't bring himself to say a word. In the end, it was Zheng Sisi who spoke first. "So, are you just going to sit here with me all night?"
"Ah? No, not at all. So, should we... go dance for a little while?" Ying Yi nervously rubbed his hands on his pants, his face redder than the bar's neon lights. When he saw Zheng Sisi hold out her hand, he snatched it, as if she'd vanish if he were a second too slow.
The two of them went to the center of the dance floor and, keeping a very proper distance, began to dance to the music.
Suddenly, just as Chu Wen had predicted, all the lights in the bar shut off. Many of the women, whether intentionally or not, feigned panic and fear. In that instant, all of their dance partners became paragons of manliness, pulling them into tight embraces and comforting them in soft voices.
"You didn't know this was going to happen, did you?" In the darkness, Zheng Sisi had no idea where they'd ended up on the floor, but with this man protecting her, she wasn't afraid. Feeling his heart beat against her, Zheng Sisi asked in a low voice.
"N-No... of course not! How could I? The only times I've been to places like this were for missions!" Ying Yi, anxious that Zheng Sisi might misunderstand, explained in a rush. But his haste made him clumsy, and he stepped right on her foot. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"
"Ouch!"
Just then, someone bumped into Ying Yi, causing him to lose his balance. He stumbled, throwing his arms around Zheng Sisi to keep them both from falling to the floor.
"Th-that... I... I didn't mean to! Someone bumped into me!" Gone was Ying Yi's usual eloquence; he was a babbling, stuttering mess.
"I know—ouch!" Zheng Sisi replied, only to be bumped by someone herself. The collision pressed her even more tightly against Ying Yi, and her face instantly flushed. 'Thank God all the lights are off,' she thought. 'How mortifying would it be if he saw how embarrassed I am right now!'
For a long moment, neither Ying Yi nor Zheng Sisi spoke. They just held each other, listening to the pounding of their hearts and feeling the warmth of each other's breath, as if the rest of the world had melted away.
Seeing this from a short distance away, Zhou Fan cursed inwardly. 'You really are a useless idiot. The moment is perfect, just kiss her already! In a situation like this, with this kind of delicate atmosphere, she wouldn't reject your kiss even if she didn't like you. Then you just whisper a few sweet nothings in her ear, and the deal is sealed, isn't it?'
"Zhou Fan, you're taking advantage of me!" Just as Zhou Fan was mentally cursing Ying Yi for being so hopeless, Chen Yao, nestled in his arms, spoke in a playful pout, her fingers pinching and twisting his ear.
"What's wrong?" Zhou Fan acted as if he didn't feel the pain in his ear at all, looking at Chen Yao with a perfectly innocent expression. His act earned him a massive eye-roll.
"What do you mean, 'what's wrong'?" Chen Yao said, exasperated. "How about you take your hand out from under my shirt?" 'This guy started taking advantage of me the second the lights went out, and now he's getting even bolder!'
When she saw Zhou Fan obediently remove his hand, Chen Yao let out a sigh of relief. But an instant later, she threw her arms around his neck and, to keep herself from screaming, bit down hard on his arm!
"Bastard... you... you bastard!" Chen Yao didn't know what else to say, repeating the word over and over, hoping Zhou Fan would move that roving hand of his from the place it had no right to be.
"Call me a bastard, then. At least it's better than being completely useless," Zhou Fan endured the sharp pain shooting up his arm and whispered, his feet already shifting to lead Chen Yao toward an even more secluded corner.
But just then, Zhou Fan's enhanced eyesight caught something. In the darkness, several figures were using the blackout as cover to move swiftly toward Ying Yi and Zheng Sisi.