After dinner, Xue Rui planned to take the two of them for a foot massage.

"No way, are we really going?" Qiu Mengze planted himself in his seat, not wanting to go with Xue Rui.

’I feel like I’m walking a fine line here.’ The feeling was...

Both thrilling and terrifying...

Xue Rui was speechless. He’d previously joked about taking Qiu Mengze to do something exciting, and Qiu Mengze had put on a good act, agreeing immediately.

And now? The moment they got to the fifth floor of the club, Qiu Mengze was backing out.

"Hey, every man has to go through this once," Xue Rui joked.

"But... it’s my first time," Qiu Mengze said. His tanned face was now blushing so hard it was a dark, dusky red.

Xue Rui gave him a strange look. ’What is he thinking?’

"Let’s go, let’s go." Xue Rui slung an arm around Qiu Mengze’s neck and dragged him inside. The staff member at the front was stifling a laugh, thinking, ’Young people are so amusing.’

Lin Ruoxi followed obediently behind Xue Rui.

"Do you have a regular therapist you prefer?" the staff member asked.

"Bring a few out for us to choose from," Xue Rui said.

Soon, seven or eight young, made-up women stood before them. Each wore a low-cut uniform, black stockings, and a pair of stilettos...

Lin Ruoxi stared blankly at them, not knowing what Xue Rui was planning to do.

’These girls seem so mature,’ she thought. She had only worn black stockings once, and remembered how slippery they felt...

Xue Rui thought to himself, ’Why did they send out a bunch like this? You can tell just by looking at them that their skills are subpar.’

But of course, Qiu Mengze wouldn’t know any better. He thought Xue Rui was really about to show him a wild time.

"My mom’s calling me home for dinner," Qiu Mengze said, turning to leave.

"You just ate," Xue Rui said, pulling him back.

A few of the women giggled, and one of them spoke up, "First time here, handsome?"

Xue Rui nodded, thinking, ’Qiu Mengze is such a clam he doesn’t even have the courage to look at these girls. A talkative one is exactly what he needs to chat with him and help him build some confidence.’

"Yeah, you’ll do. Take him. Just give him any standard package." Xue Rui figured that by saying this, she would definitely pick a package that was relatively easy for her and offered a higher commission.

He wasn’t concerned about the money, though. What was important now was correcting his childhood friend’s views on romance. He shouldn’t always see a beautiful woman and immediately put her on an unattainable pedestal in his mind.

The woman took Qiu Mengze’s arm and led him into a private room. "This way, sir."

Qiu Mengze’s heart was pounding. THUMP, THUMP, THUMP. ’Is this moment really about to happen?’ he thought.

The moment the woman took his arm, he suddenly became so nervous he could barely walk, his mind a complete blank.

After shoving Qiu Mengze into the private room, Xue Rui slipped the woman a few hundred yuan as a tip and said with a sigh, "Just chat with him a lot. He recently had his heart broken."

The woman winked and made an "OK" sign. "Got it."

After getting Qiu Mengze settled in his room, he turned to the staff. "Don’t try to fool me with that group of girls. Get me two with actual skills."

’Girls dressed that scantily are usually all sweet talk, but their technique is average at best...’

’They’re good at convincing you to add more services, but it’s all takeoff and no landing.’

’He wasn’t the type to fall for that kind of trick.’

Everyone looked surprised, thinking, ’This kid is so young, but he seems to know everything...’

’As expected, a guy who brings a girl here must be a seasoned veteran...’

"Sir, perhaps you could wait a little? At this hour, they’re the only ones left," the staff member said awkwardly.

"Then just send any two over. You can consider it practice for them," Xue Rui said.

His body was young, and he had no bad habits. Just soaking in the bath had already relieved much of his fatigue, so he didn’t really need a massage anyway.

Of course, he and Lin Ruoxi were in the same private room, both lying on footbath lounge chairs.

Xue Rui seemed completely relaxed. He took out his phone and started chatting with Yu Minlan, telling her about his plans for the near future.

Lin Ruoxi, on the other hand, was tense all over, finding it hard to get used to this kind of environment.

Especially now that a woman was taking off her shoes to wash her feet.

Red rose petals were even floating in the basin...

"I... I just took a shower," Lin Ruoxi said in a small voice.

Xue Rui smiled, thinking, ’This little girl also needs to come to a place like this to get some experience.’

Lin Ruoxi didn’t lack money now, but she lived a life even more frugal than the average working person.

"You’ll get used to it," Xue Rui said with a smile.

’The little girl needs to learn to use money to buy privilege. It’s necessary for her to get used to these kinds of services.’

’Maybe it could even improve her mindset, so she doesn’t just trust anyone who’s nice to her, or feel indebted to them.’

’That mentality needs to be corrected, or she’ll easily be taken advantage of.’

However... he didn’t have high hopes. He was just showing the little girl another way of life.

Playing on his phone, Xue Rui asked casually, "How old are you?"

Lin Ruoxi replied, "Eighteen."

Xue Rui paused. "I wasn’t asking you."

He liked to make small talk with the therapists when he got a foot massage. It wasn’t that he actually wanted to talk about anything; he was just looking for a bit of entertainment.

Because every time, they’d spin a different life story, and it was like listening to a comedy routine.

The woman in front of Xue Rui answered, "Twenty."

Xue Rui continued, "Why do you work here?"

"Sigh. My family is poor, my parents passed away when I was young, and I have to earn money to put my younger brother through school..." the woman sighed, the lies rolling off her tongue.

Xue Rui’s expression remained unchanged as he listened impassively to her fabricated tale.

The women who worked here didn’t come from well-off families, but their situations were definitely not this dire.

People in this line of work were a mixed bunch. Some did have tragic backgrounds, but they were an absolute minority.

Many, in fact, had happy families, some even had a child or two. They worked here simply because the pay was high and it was much easier than other jobs.

It’s just that this kind of work was too shameful to admit to.

So, none of them would ever reveal their true situation. At the drop of a hat, they could invent a tragic backstory for themselves, making it seem as if they weren’t in this profession by choice, but because life had forced their hand.

Over time, perhaps they even started to believe their own lies.

Hearing the woman’s tragic story, Lin Ruoxi’s eyes welled with tears. She patted herself down; she was wearing a spa robe and hadn’t brought any money with her.

The little girl looked at Xue Rui with expectant eyes. "Did... did you bring any money?"

The therapist was surprised. ’Why is this girl crying?’

’Is it because of the lie I just made up?’

Xue Rui thought to himself, ’This little girl is still so kind-hearted. She can’t tell if the story is real or fake; she just thinks the other person is pitiful and wants to help.’

Xue Rui sighed. He didn’t expose the woman’s lie. ’Might as well give her something,’ he thought. ’Consider it a tip for the story.’

He took out three hundred yuan and handed it to the woman in front of him.

"Thank you, boss," the woman said, beaming.

Lin Ruoxi smiled along with her. Seeing others happy made her happy too.

As a result, the woman massaging Lin Ruoxi’s feet figured out what was going on and also began to recount her own tragic "life story."

"My father passed away early, leaving just my mother and me..." the woman began.

Xue Rui pinched the bridge of his nose, tossed a few hundred yuan over, and said with a laugh, "Shut up and just do a good job."

"You got it," the woman said with a laugh.

After receiving the tips, the two of them worked with extra enthusiasm.

The little girl squeezed her eyes shut from the massage, then burst out laughing a moment later. "It tickles..."

Xue Rui didn’t order many services for himself, but he got Lin Ruoxi the full suite of classic treatments.

Now, the therapist was giving the little girl an ear cleaning.

"Aren’t you getting your ears cleaned?" Lin Ruoxi asked, tilting her head.

"I want you to do it for me," Xue Rui said with a smile.

"Oh, okay. I’ll do it for you after I’m done," Lin Ruoxi said meekly, her expression showing irrepressible joy.

...

「In the next room.」

Qiu Mengze was tense all over. Looking at the dimly lit room and the rose petals floating in the basin, his breathing grew rapid.

He didn’t even know how it happened. He had inexplicably ended up lying down, and now the woman was drying his feet.

The woman before him was mature and beautiful, yet she was stooped over, washing his feet.

’This is a first for me...’

’It’s just... too thrilling!’

’Xue Rui really wasn’t lying.’

"So, handsome, what kind of girls do you like?" the woman asked.

"I..." Qiu Mengze stammered, not daring to meet her gaze.

He was nervous as hell and had no idea what to do.

"Don’t be nervous. You can tell me anything. What’s said in this room, stays in this room," the woman said gently.

The clients she usually served were greasy old men. It was rare to get a shy boy like this, and for a moment, she found it quite amusing.

"I, uh, I have a friend. He pursued a girl for two years, but she never said yes, though she never directly rejected him either..." Qiu Mengze said.

The woman held back a laugh. ’Isn’t that "friend" just you?’ she thought.

"My advice? Stop chasing her. Find another one. Or chase a few at the same time," the woman said.

"Why?" Qiu Mengze asked, confused.

’Besides, how did she know it was me?’

"She must have a lot of guys chasing her, right? She’s picking and choosing from a crowd of boys. Why don’t you chase a few girls at once? Wouldn’t your success rate be higher that way?" the woman said casually.

"You can do that?" Qiu Mengze was dumbfounded.

’Isn’t romance about chasing someone because you like them?’

’Why is it just a numbers game to her?’

"Why not? Actually, I used to have a boyfriend who looked a lot like you," the woman said.

"Why did you break up?" Qiu Mengze asked curiously.

"Because he was two-timing," the woman said offhandedly.

"Huh?" Qiu Mengze thought, ’Looks like me, and he was a two-timer?’

’How can two people be so different?’

Then, on second thought, he realized... ’Isn’t she describing Xue Rui?’

"If I tell you something, you absolutely won’t tell anyone?" Qiu Mengze asked.

"I won’t," the woman said with a faint smile, thinking, ’Who takes anything said in a place like this seriously?’

Qiu Mengze hesitated for a long time before saying, "My friend is two-timing."

After saying this, he felt a great sense of relief. Ever since he’d learned Xue Rui’s secret, it felt like he was the one who was two-timing. He always felt a sense of guilt whenever he faced Gu Muxue and Lin Ruoxi.

’He’d held it in for so long, and now he’d finally said it out loud.’

The woman nodded, thinking to herself that this time, the "friend" he was talking about was definitely a different person.