Chapter 18

　　Sitting in the smoky food stall, Antoinette smiled and watched everyone chatting and goofing off, and the corners of her mouth twitched. 　　In her other timeline, her friends did not fare well. 　　Haley ended up in prison. This was to keep her from invading the national system. There, they shaved off her pink hair and put her in solitary confinement. 　　Little Black was obviously a world-class top hacker, but in the end she proved to be worthless when it came to helping her friends. She was a strikingly beautiful woman, but was highly insecure due to being treated poorly by society because of the color of her skin. She had let her jealousy get the best of her. 　　And the five girls--a biological man who had a sex change operation to become a woman--she had the the worst end. The poor thing died a fiery death after being persecuted in the Middle East. 　　All this was in some way linked to what had happened to her! 　　And now that she’s been given another chance, she will never let these endings happen again! 　　Thinking of this, Antoinette raised her wine glass. 　　"Come, a toast to our reunion! Long live the X Alliance! May we always be glorious forever!" 　　Everyone was stunned for a moment, and then reacted quickly. 　　Little Black joked, "Boss, didn’t we see each other about two weeks ago? Don’t talk like that, you know what happens in the movies, they say something cheesy then something bad happens." 　　“Foreshadowing, isn’t that what they call it? 　　"But the boss is right, long live the X Alliance! The world belongs to us leets!" 　　"God, I hate it when you talk that way. But yeah, we are elite, highly intelligent and full of potential. Let's go grab us some gold together!" 　　When the four cups clinked together, even the air was filled with the smell of wine. 　　After dinner, the four of them went to the bar and drank again. 　　Antoinette was soon drunk though she’d only had a couple of cocktails. 　　A male stripper was performing on the stage, and the little raccoon pulled her sleeves excitedly. 　　"Boss, look! Your favorite boy toy is on stage! Wild Dog!" 　　Wild Dog? 　　Who the hell was that? 　　Antoinette opened her eyes in a daze, and saw a man on the stage wearing only a few pieces of leather clothing, showing off his muscles in a dance routine meant for women to find titillating. 　　She felt like she wanted to throw up. 　　"Well, I…I have to go, I suddenly remembered that I have something to do, so just enjoy the show!" 　　She turned around and was about to stand up, but Haley and everyone else held her back. 　　"Boss, what's wrong with you today? You always loved it here! The nightclub is our spot, remember? Aren’t you feeling well today?" 　　"The boss has a strict husband, don't we all know that? Hahahaha..." She sat down upon hearing the boisterous laughter, and the mention of her husband. 　　"Who said my husband is strict?" 　　"Then why are you leaving? Mr. Wild Dog will come over and hang out with us in a while, don't you want to meet him?" 　　Before Antoinette could react, there was an excited roar as the famed male stripper made his way through the crowd. 　　He had gotten off the stage and put on some clothes. He walked straight towards their table as onlookers whispered. 　　"Miss Yun, thank you for gracing our bar with your presence many times. I toast you with this glass of wine." 　　He was smiling, his bronze skin gleaming in the light. His whole body seemed like it had been literally pumped with hormones. 　　She smiled awkwardly, and looked at Haley and Little Black next to her. 　　Was she really here that often? Both Haley and Little Black nodded their heads, and Antoinette took a deep breath. 　　How dumb was she before? 　　But in the words of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the author who had created the fictional character Sherlock Holmes, it is easy to be wise after the event. 　　Wild Dog seemed very satisfied, and poured her another glass of wine. Everyone was watching, and she didn’t want to make a fuss. Reluctantly, Antoinette took the glass of wine and drank it. 　　... 　　At Gu's, Steve was preparing to leave when he suddenly thought of asking Cassey, "Has my wife gone back home?" 　　Cassey Yu's face was embarrassed. 　　"Uh, no." 　　Steve Gu moved for a while and looked up at him. 　　Under the gaze of the man, Cassey Yu had no choice but to tell the truth about the news he had just received. 　　"Your wife and a few friends went to the Club Adonis. It's probably been a long time since they saw each other. They had a get-together." 　　Thinking of what the Club Adonis is famous for, there was a frosty look on his eyes. 　　Twenty minutes later, a black car stopped in front of the bar entrance. As soon as Steve entered the door, the blasting music and the flashing lights shocked him, and he couldn't help frowning. 　　It was overcrowded, all kinds of men and women were writhing on the dance floor, dancing to the frantic beat. Muscular young men were performing on the stage, and there were drunken men and women everywhere. 　　Steve was upset at the thought that Antoinette Yun would frequent such places. 　　As he walked in, he searched for her figure, and soon he found it on the deck. 　　He recognized her immediately though she was facing away from him. There were three other women in the table with her, and a man clad in rather a rather skimpy tank top. 　　Antoinette Yun patted one of the girls and said triumphantly, "Didn't you say that the Wild Dog is the hottest man on this street? Why, I don’t think he can compare to my husband! Why is there so much Alcohol here? Come on! Let's drink and finish this up!" 　　Cassey Yu covered her eyes. She couldn't bear to watch. 　　Steve Gu strode over to them.