Drunken Duets and Surrendered Desires
She said that, and Chu Fei turned to her with a half-smile. "Alright, where do you live? I'll take you home!"
"No, I don't want to go back yet... Chu Fei, let's go sing karaoke! I haven't sung in so long!"
"My singing sucks!" Chu Fei shook his head instinctively, refusing.
"Aw, mine's not great either. Come on, just keep me company for a bit? Please, please, pretty please?"
"Then just one hour, and we leave?"
Chu Fei was weakest against girls pulling this act. Faced with Jiang Ning's pleading gaze, he finally caved. He had nothing going on tonight anyway—might as well have some fun with her.
"Yay!" Jiang Ning let out a delighted cheer. He really couldn't figure out what she found so thrilling about it.
Even during Chinese New Year, the big KTV chains stayed open. Good thing it was the holidays; on a normal day without a reservation, they'd be waiting in line forever. But with the crowds thin now, Chu Fei smoothly snagged a small private room. Still, once he and Jiang Ning settled in, they hadn't even finished their first song before waiters kept knocking, asking if the two of them wanted to order anything...
Every industry has its unspoken rules, and KTVs are no different. Room rates these days are totally transparent with slim margins, so they make bank on everything else—pushing those "extras."
After all, folks come to KTV to cut loose. You've gotta get some food, drinks, right? Dry-singing without anything? What fun is that?
Of course, sometimes you get those real tightwads. Then the waiters get extra "friendly" with their reminders: "Sir, madam, can I get you anything?"
If you're a big spender who gets it, the staff plays along too—they won't bug you anymore and might even slide out the hidden panel on the glass door for privacy, so you can do whatever inside.
But penny-pinchers? Good luck lasting a full hour.
Chu Fei didn't know the drill, but he was out with a girl—he couldn't come off cheap. So he just waved it off. "Jiang Ning, order whatever. Tonight's all about you having a blast!"
"You said it!"
"Yeah!"
Knowing Chu Fei was loaded these days, Jiang Ning went wild, ordering a mountain of stuff like she was robbing the rich. The waiter beamed—this was straight commission in his pocket...
Chu Fei was floored. No wonder the girl was still single, and her family was desperate to set her up. At this rate of blowing cash, few guys could keep up.
But he'd already said "whatever," so backing out now would look bad. Still, her free-spending spree rubbed him the wrong way a bit, so he tuned it out, plopping down at the computer to pick songs.
The waiter soon wheeled in Jiang Ning's haul, shut the door with a grin, and bounced. Then something blocked the glass panel on the door—total privacy from outside. Jiang Ning didn't clock Chu Fei's mood, though. She cracked open beers with glee, passed one his way, and dragged him into some lovey-dovey duets.
She'd ordered way too much, so before they knew it, four or five hours flew by as they polished it all off.
Including a whole case of canned beer!
Got to hand it to her—Jiang Ning had pipes. At first, Chu Fei swore he was hearing the original artist...
But after three or four hours, her voice was shot, her singing all breathy and weak. Loaded with booze, she ended up draped all over him.
Propping her up as they left the KTV, she was good and tipsy. Chu Fei asked for her address one more time, but she just mumbled, "I'm not going home!" and snuggled right back into his arms like she belonged there.
No options left, Chu Fei drove to a halfway-decent hotel, booked a room, and dumped her on the bed, figuring he'd head out. But suddenly, she grabbed his arm and lifted her bleary, drunken eyes. "Don't go... stay... keep me company... okay?"
If Chu Fei bailed right then, it would've proved he wasn't man enough. He froze for just a second before spinning back, scooping her up, and carrying her straight to the bathroom...
In the steamy haze thick with raw temptation, Chu Fei stripped her bare effortlessly, turning her into a pale little lamb. She was foggy from the drinks but still aware enough to know what came next. Her cheeks flushed a vivid crimson ahead of time, tempting as ripe grape wine.