Xie Junyi (Refined Edition) · chat.title

Under the dim, hazy lights of the nightclub booth, Xie Junyi sat right in the center, flanked by Chi Yixiao on his left and Meng Qian on his right, with Song Qi sitting across from them. The four of them had grown up together, thick as thieves, knowing each other so well they could recite every girlfriend the others had ever cycled through. Joining them tonight was Yu Manshu. She had been hanging around Xie Junyi quite a bit lately and had a lively, outgoing personality. Within ten minutes of sitting down, she had already hit it off with everyone at the table, clinking glasses with each of them one by one, her bright laughter easily cutting through the booming background music. "Come on, Young Master Xie, have another one with me." Yu Manshu leaned in close, practically draping half her body over his shoulder, her lips hovering barely inches from his cheek as she spoke. Xie Junyi didn't pull away. Tipping his head back, he downed the drink in a single gulp, his Adam's apple bobbing. Sometime throughout the night, a faint streak of red lipstick had smudged onto his cheek. A trace of it lingered on his collar too, plain as day from this angle of the booth. Meng Qian caught sight of it and let out an amused snort. "Look at you. Leaving your mark everywhere you go, huh?" Song Qi swirled his glass, chiming in, "That smudge is way too obvious. Even the laundry lady's gonna get the wrong idea tomorrow." The table erupted into laughter. Chi Yixiao pulled out his phone and casually snapped a photo of them—Xie Junyi expressionlessly holding his glass, Yu Manshu leaning against his shoulder with a radiant smile, and the lipstick smudge on his cheek clear as crystal. Looking down at his screen, Chi Yixiao typed a caption—"Same old spot, same old crew"—and hit send to post it to his Moments. Nobody remembered to check the visibility settings. Just like countless times before, whether that post would show up on your feed or remain safely hidden behind a privacy filter didn't even cross anyone's mind. That was, until Xie Junyi glanced down at his phone. The screen lit up. Resting inside his pinned chat was a single screenshot—the exact photo Chi Yixiao had just taken, with Yu Manshu's lipstick smudge glaringly vivid in the nightclub lighting. Right after, a second notification popped up. Before he could even tap into it, the phone vibrated once more.