When a person reaches the lowest point, they become invincible.

There’s a phrase about being utterly heartless after getting what you want, and Bai Haonan was the living embodiment of it.

Qiao Yingna realized she had been overthinking things. Early in the morning, Bai Haonan went to the bathroom and then sprawled back on the sofa, snoring away without pestering her further. He didn’t display any triumphant arrogance after his conquest, nor did he show the flattering eagerness of a womanizer. He simply nodded with indifference, and even when Qiao Yingna went to the bathroom to wash up, he didn’t come in to tease her—just lay there, head on the sofa’s armrest, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Qiao Yingna had to bite her tongue to stop herself from asking him to join her for breakfast. As she left for school, she wondered whether last night had been nothing but a dream.

As usual, she heard nothing from him all day. That night, as she headed to her club gig, she seriously doubted whether he’d still bother to pick her up after work. She told herself she didn’t care, but that vivid physical memory from last night kept resurfacing—how could she not care?

Fortunately, a little after two in the morning, that familiar silhouette appeared again outside the bar’s street-facing window.

But a woman’s mind is always a little unpredictable. Even though her set was over and she could leave, tonight Qiao Yingna dawdled, offering a few encore songs, just to see if the man outside would really wait.

In other words, she was being a bit petty.

Bai Haonan didn’t leave, but she saw, unmistakably, a drunken, slender figure sidle up to him. Without a hint of courtesy, he and a security guard with a wicked grin helped her into the restroom. By the time Qiao Yingna, fuming, packed up her things, Bai Haonan emerged looking perfectly satisfied, wiping his mouth and buckling his belt.

This was what people called “body snatching”—in nightclubs after midnight, there were always intoxicated women, be it from drink, drugs, heartbreak, or self-destruction, some barely resisting, some even eager. In densely packed nightlife spots, it happened almost every night. Bai Haonan only cared about looks and figure; as long as they passed muster, he wasn’t picky.

To think a scoundrel like that actually got lucky!

It’s not hard to imagine Qiao Yingna’s mood—she felt as if she’d been utterly humiliated.

She left with her head down, not saying a word. Bai Haonan didn’t say anything either, swaggering along with the careless stride of a playboy, birdcage in hand. A few security guards, already familiar with him, exchanged knowing, lewd glances.

Back home, Qiao Yingna slammed her bedroom door to express her indignation, but after sitting inside for a while, she couldn’t help but laugh. The man outside didn’t react—wasn’t it she who insisted there was absolutely no romantic relationship between them? Why should she care about someone so heartless?

Still, the thought of being physically close to him again left her with a knot in her stomach. When she went out for a shower, she didn’t even look at Bai Haonan. But when she came out with a face mask on, she found the man sprawled out on the sofa, already asleep, wearing a shamelessly contented look on his face!

After all that mental preparation, the medical school girl simply couldn’t make sense of it. Why should he get to have all the fun and leave her angry and worried about wrinkles? Unable to contain her annoyance, she stomped over in her slippers and kicked Bai Haonan in the waist. “Go take a shower! Aren’t you afraid of catching something? You’ll sleep with any woman you can get!”

Bai Haonan actually had a good temper. He opened his eyes, yawned, and got up. “I’ve been at this for twenty years. I know what I’m doing—my skills are on par with your medical school lab tests.”

Qiao Yingna didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “You are the most shameless scoundrel I’ve ever met! There’s some disinfectant by the sink—use it. On your whole body.”

Bai Haonan complied, and without any sense of embarrassment, he walked straight in and stripped down, making no attempt to hide himself as he did in front of Chen Sufen. “Are you hinting you want something from me?”

Qiao Yingna rolled her eyes and turned away with a snort. “Last night must have been a moment of madness! I’m going to sleep. I have class tomorrow.”

She closed the door but didn’t lock it. Bai Haonan didn’t come knocking, which somehow made her feel like he’d already had his fill and wasn’t hungry for more. She went to sleep, grinding her teeth in frustration.

So the next morning, she kicked Bai Haonan awake to make him drive her to school. “Don’t pretend! I know you hang around the medical school every day. You might as well give me a ride!”

Bai Haonan grumbled but obeyed, showing none of the newfound intimacy one might expect after a night together. It was just like before. Even when they squeezed past each other in the tiny bathroom, he didn’t make any sly moves—he even stepped politely aside.

Perhaps it was this utter lack of difference that was most infuriating.

As they ate breakfast downstairs, Qiao Yingna couldn’t help needling him. “Why haven’t I seen you drinking and picking up girls recently? You’d rather prowl for drunken women than hit the bars? Are you out of money?”

Bai Haonan hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “Yeah, I’m broke.”

Qiao Yingna was surprised by his candor. “What are you going to do?”

Bai Haonan didn’t seem worried. “I can eat at the student cafeteria for a few more days. There are always students treating me to meals lately.” A grown man, reduced to this, and he still felt no shame. And after all, more than twenty thousand yuan wasn’t a small sum. He didn’t have to worry about rent, just food, and he could blow through all that in less than two weeks. A poorer student might not even spend that much in two years!

Looking at the tall, handsome man with a faint stubble on his jaw, Qiao Yingna shook her head slowly. “Now I finally understand what it means to be all glittering façade and rotten within.”

Bai Haonan scoffed. “Don’t try to scare me with those pretentious ancient sayings—I don’t get them!”

The medical school girl gazed at the former professional athlete for a long while, finally summoning the resolve of someone in a fleeting relationship. “I… I’ll give you a thousand yuan for living expenses—but don’t get the wrong idea…”

To her surprise, Bai Haonan refused. “If you’d offered before we slept together, maybe I’d have taken it—as payment for driving you around. But now, forget it. I never charge for overnight stays. And a thousand yuan a night for me? That’s insulting. I’d be better off moonlighting as a gigolo… hmm?”

From the eager look in Bai Haonan’s eyes, Qiao Yingna knew exactly where his thoughts were headed. She couldn’t help pressing a hand to her forehead. “Do you have any sense of morality or values at all?”

Bai Haonan grinned. “Morality? What’s that—can you eat it? These days it’s money and power that matter. Even talent only ends up serving those with status. Don’t talk to me about ideals and morals—they’re all a load of crap.”

Qiao Yingna was speechless, unable to find any grounds to refute him. Or maybe, deep down, she agreed—just not as extremely as Bai Haonan did. And clearly, this extremism had been in him since he was young.

So she said nothing as they sat in his little car. She just watched quietly as Bai Haonan got them stuck in the morning rush hour traffic—a scene unfamiliar to him, since he rarely drove at this time. Qiao Yingna usually walked the two stops to class, but she wasn’t in any hurry now. She simply watched.

The sunlight at eight or nine in the morning streamed through the passenger-side windshield, perfectly illuminating Bai Haonan’s face. Even with the new stubble on his jaw, with one hand on the wheel, his features were sharply defined, his chest muscular, his arms powerful. Not even plain glasses could mute that masculine allure. Sensing her gaze, he turned and flashed a shameless, wicked smile—lips quirking up in a sunlit, dazzling grin. “Am I handsome? Want to go another round right now?”

He even gestured suggestively between his legs as he spoke.

Damn!

Just as Qiao Yingna felt the heat and thrill rise up within her, it ebbed away like a receding tide. Now she realized this man was like a drug. “You’re unstoppable, I surrender. There’s no one in this world more invincible than someone without shame!”

Bai Haonan looked positively smug.