With too much happening lately and no idea how to deal with any of it, I finally just gave up and went to find Muzi. Shiguang Bar. It was still early, so the place was mostly empty. Muzi slid a cocktail across the bar to me. "What brings you here so early?" she asked. "Trouble?" The dancers on stage moved sensually, their movements lost in a cacophony of deafening music and screams. I shook my head slightly, setting the cocktail I’d been about to sip back down on the bar. "It's nothing," I said, looking at her. "Just wanted to stop by." "Did Fu Shenyan give you trouble again?" Muzi asked, her tone already exasperated. "If you can't live with him, just divorce him already. With your looks and figure, you could have any man you want. Why waste your life on an ice sculpture? Aren't you exhausted?" Muzi had always been brutally honest. We’d been through hell and back together, forging a bond that made us practically sisters. She lived her life without reservation and couldn't stand to see me endlessly agonizing over Fu Shenyan. I pulled the ultrasound scan from my purse and handed it to her. "Looks and figure don't matter much," I said wearily, "when you come with baggage. What kind of man would want that?" She snatched the paper from my hand, her eyes scanning it over and over before widening in shock. "Six weeks?" she stared at me. "But I thought you and Fu Shenyan weren’t… intimate. How did you get pregnant?" "Remember that night last month I got drunk, and Fu Shenyan came to pick me up?" I took the scan back from her. Her eyes were wide, a mixture of shock and disbelief. After a long moment, she said, "So what's your plan now?" I shook my head. Having come this far, I was completely lost. "Get rid of it," Muzi said bluntly. "You and Fu Shenyan were never meant to be. And with the Old Master gone now, keeping this child is just asking for trouble. Have the abortion, divorce him, and move on. Life is too long to waste it loving just one person." My mind drifted. The bar was starting to fill up. "You should get back to your customers," I told Muzi. "I'll just sit here for a bit." Seeing that her words weren't getting through, she dropped it, rolling her eyes at me before swapping my cocktail for a glass of juice. As the night deepened, the bar came alive. Muzi got busy and had no time for me, so I found a corner to sit and space out. I lost myself watching the men and women weaving through the neon haze. When the trouble started, it took me a moment to register. It was the sound of piercing screams and a sudden commotion that finally snapped me out of my daze. At some point, a group of thugs had entered the bar and were now surrounding Muzi, causing a scene. The crowd of customers had quickly thinned out, and the blaring music had been cut. I was huddled in my dark corner, mostly invisible. I could see Muzi circled by the men, several of them wielding clubs. It was obvious they were looking for trouble, but Muzi remained calm. "Are you gentlemen here for a good time," she asked, her voice steady, "or to start something?" "We're here to start something, little lady," the leader sneered, his hand reaching out to touch her face. "And if you've got the guts, you can play with me and my boys." *Crack!* Before his grubby hand could touch her, I smashed my orange juice glass against it. The thug cried out, clutching his hand in pain. "Who the hell hit me?" "I did." I rose from my seat and walked toward them, stepping between him and Muzi. I glanced at my friend, who was staring at me with worry. "What are you still doing here?" she whispered. I rolled my eyes. So, she thought I’d already left. "Where else would I be?" I shot back. "Stupid!" Muzi hissed, pulling me behind her. "When the fighting starts, you find a way to run." I knew she was just worried about me, so I didn't say anything more. Instead, I faced the man I'd hit. "A bunch of grown men picking on one woman. Does that seem right to you?"