As the night began in Le Burlesque, the nightclub was a little rowdy. However, the party was not too crazy. The establishment was a high-end lounge with a futuristic motif blended with elements of the early 20th century.

The interior space had an open floor design, but each booth was elevated, separating different groups of guests. Between each booth, acrobatic dancers in burlesque costumes and exaggerated makeup were hanging from aerial silk, contorting and spinning.

At the centre of the club, mixologists were preparing drinks with flamboyant moves as part of the entertainment, attracting appreciative eyes.

As the group of four settled down in their booth, another man joined them. This man had been introduced at the banquet as Arai Riki, the contractor in charge of Clarion Extreme. He was a fine-looking man with a calm appearance that gave people the impression that he had gone through a lot in life.

"Sorry for intruding." He smiled as he sat down.

"What do you mean by intruding?" Shun laughed. "This is a party to mark the beginning of Clarion Extreme, and you are an important member of the dream."

Wang Che smiled at these words because they showed that Shun did not think of himself as an outsider. As for Kaito and Akira, they nodded at him, but they did not say much. They were not interested in this newcomer. Truth be told, they had only come to have fun and spend more time with each other.

Kaito held Akira close to himself, tucking her in his arms. She leaned even closer and pulled on the arm around her shoulders.

"I could totally do that," Akira said as she looked at the dancer hanging upside down on the aerial silks.

Kaito looked at the dancer with critical eyes. The level of contortionism employed for the movements looked crazy, but there was a strange appeal to the motions.

"Impossible." He said directly.

Akira turned to look at him. "What do you mean by impossible?"

Kaito looked at the adorable, angry face and laughed inwardly. This girl was like a small animal. She was fluffy and cuddly, but her fur would rise with the slightest provocation.

"It is a difficult craft. The level of flexibility and coordination required for aerial dancing is too high. You would probably break a bone." He said before tapping her nose.

"Don't underestimate me. One day, I will show you." She pouted with exaggeration.

"I will wait and see." He laughed.

"You don't believe me?"

"I do. And as a sign of my faith and support, I will make sure to set up a dance room for you in our home."

"Fine." Akira's mind caught up with the words. "Wait, what do you mean by our home?"

"Of course, I mean our future home. Where do you think we will live after we get married?"

Akira blushed like a tomato at the casual words. She was not as thick-skinned as Kaito, and she felt it was too soon for them to be discussing such matters.

"Who said that we are getting married?" She asked.

"Are you going to discard me after using me?" Kaito looked at her with mock pity.

"You are too shameless." Akira scoffed.

"At least, I am not shameless enough to discard people." Kaito retorted.

He picked the glass on the table filled with a blue cocktail and drank a little from it. While it was unnecessarily sweet, it was fine. He did not trust mixed drinks in such parties, especially with his uncle on the loose with unknown plans.

"That's mine." Akira tried to snatch it.

"Don't be too anxious. I am just tasting it for you. Here." He placed the rim of the glass at her mouth.

"I can hold the glass myself." She looked at him flatly.

"I can feed you in another way." The twinkle in Kaito's eyes betrayed his intentions.

These two people lost in their own little world did not seem to care about the single man at the table. Arai Riki looked with a hint of nostalgia at the sickeningly sweet couple who were so close that they were just a little short of climbing into each other's skins.

His eyes drifted to another booth across the bar. His gaze met with that of a woman sipping water from a tall glass. She looked out of place among the group of men and women drinking hard alcohol. He smiled a little painfully at her, but she looked away quickly.

He turned to his glass of whiskey as he contemplated his life.

He was good-looking and successful, and his life would only get better with the contract for Clarion Extreme. However, the woman for whom he had done everything was with someone else. She seemed to have moved on.

He had always thought that their love was true. This belief was the reason why he was willing to go and work hard to build the future she wanted and give her a sense of security.

He always thought that she would wait for him just as he waited for her. He had not even checked her news until he decided to come back to Mountain Ridge.

Finding out that she had married shortly after their separation broke his heart. But again, he was probably foolish to believe that a girl like her would remain single for long.

"Excuse me." He stood up and walked towards the restroom area.

The other people looked at him before turning back to their companions. However, Akira caught the sight of Chiharu saying something to Kazuo and then leaving her table. It would not have been a strange thing, but she thought she saw the woman staring at Arai for some time.

"What are you thinking?" Kaito whispered in her ear before sucking and biting the fleshy lobe softly.

"Contemplating a conundrum. If I dislike two people but punishing one means helping the other, what should I do?" She asked in a low and a little breathless voice as Kaito continued kissing her neck.

"Tell me about it. I'm sure we can figure out how to deal a blow on both of the people with one move." Kaito laughed wickedly.

Akira realised she was not thinking big enough. She was not usually a petty person, but she did not have fond feelings for her eldest brother and his wife. It was not bad to have a little ammunition against them.

But first, she needed to investigate.

"Let's go find the sinners." She chuckled.

As they left the booth, Shun looked at them with wide eyes.

"They are really… close." He said.

He was not a stranger to some PDA, but Kaito and Akira looked like they were glued together. They did not seem to care about anyone or anything as they cuddled up.

"Are you jealous?" Wang Che asked as he swirled a glass of red wine.

"Why would I be jealous? I can also get someone to stick to." He snorted.

"Who?" Wang Che looked at Shun with intense eyes.

Shun thought for a moment before turning his head away a little awkwardly, with some redness around his ears. It seemed that the person who was closest to him was Wang Che.