Finally free from interruptions, Li Zhenmian grabbed a drink that looked relatively low in alcohol content and found a place to sit down.
She raised the glass and took a sip—the rich aroma of the liquor spread across her palate. It was actually quite good.
Before long, one glass was gone, and she went to fetch another.
By the time Qi Siyan noticed her, seven or eight empty glasses were already lined up in front of her.
Her cheeks were flushed red under the influence of the alcohol, and her usually cool, indifferent eyes were veiled with a misty haze.
Li Zhenmian sat there obediently like a little child, hands resting on her knees, posture perfectly straight, looking dazed and adorably silly.
Her eyes drifted with the moving crowd, her head swaying unsteadily.
It was so noisy here. She rubbed her head as overlapping figures walked back and forth before her eyes.
Suddenly, her gaze froze. A tall, imposing figure stood before her.
She blinked, and her eyes lit up instantly.
She opened her arms wide, like a child waiting for a parent to pick her up.
“A-Yan, have you come to take me home?”
The wine glass hit the ground with a sharp clatter, red wine splattering onto the expensive black handmade leather shoes.
The man trembled uncontrollably, as if struck by some tremendous shock. He clenched his fists, trying to steady himself.
The girl still had her arms outstretched, pouting with dissatisfaction.
“A-Yan, why won’t you hug me?”
A child who couldn’t get candy was acting spoiled with an adult.
“Hug me!”
She raised her arms again, stubbornly insisting.
Qi Siyan strode forward, bent down, and pulled the girl into his embrace, his arms tightening continuously.
Suddenly, he scooped her up horizontally. Li Zhenmian instinctively wrapped her arms around the man’s neck.
Her head felt a bit uncomfortable, so she buried it in his chest and let out a couple of soft whimpers.
Qi Siyan carried her out of the banquet.
Su Pei, who had witnessed the entire scene, stood frozen in place. Holy shit, this… this…
The others could only watch as Qi Siyan carried Li Zhenmian away.
Li Zhenmian’s appearance today had undoubtedly caused an explosion in this circle.
Entering with Qi Siyan, acting familiar with Yun Shiche, even Old Master Wen coming up to greet her, and finally being carried off directly by Qi Siyan.
Yun Shiche and Yun Zhi also witnessed the scene of Qi Siyan carrying Li Zhenmian away.
“Aren’t we going to stop them?” They were the actual family members, damn it!
Yun Shiche swirled the glass in his hand, lost in thought.
“Has Qi Siyan already recognized big sister? Are we really not going to do anything?”
Yun Zhi stomped her foot anxiously.
“Grandmother said, let everything take its natural course.”
Yun Zhi: ?
Letting things take their natural course didn’t mean letting their own cabbage get snatched by a pig!
“Sir, are we returning to Nianzhi Garden?”
Qi Siyan hummed softly in affirmation.
He looked down at the person in his arms, holding the treasure he had lost and regained with the utmost care.
After returning to Nianzhi Garden, Qi Siyan carried Li Zhenmian upstairs, leaving the entire household staff downstairs in a state of utter bewilderment.
What just happened? Sir really carried a woman back, right? They weren’t seeing things, were they?
Had Sir already forgotten Miss Jiang Zhi and found someone new?
“Special Assistant Su, what’s going on here?” Old Li, the housekeeper, sidled up to ask Su Pei.
Su Pei scratched his head. He couldn’t explain it either.
“Ahem, when it comes to Sir’s affairs, we should mind our own business.”
Upstairs, Qi Siyan laid the girl down on the bed.
“Zhizhi…”
He called out to the person on the bed, but Li Zhenmian had already fallen asleep on the way back.
The man’s eyes were bloodshot, his heart pounding wildly—the dead heart that had once ceased to beat was now alive again.
In the past, Jiang Zhi often snuck out to drink behind his back, but her tolerance was practically one glass and done. She had no tolerance but a huge craving.
Every time she got drunk, Jiang Zhi would sit obediently on the sofa, waiting for him to come catch her.
Just like today, smiling sweetly at him and saying, “A-Yan, have you come to take me home?”
Every time Qi Siyan wanted to scold her, her obedient appearance would soften his heart.
So just now at the banquet, the moment he heard those words, he had already confirmed that Li Zhenmian was his Zhizhi.
The three years of suppressed longing surged forth in an instant. After Jiang Zhi died, Qi Siyan hadn’t even dared to actively think about her.
Because those thoughts would gnaw at his heart like ants, causing unbearable pain.
“Zhizhi.”
“Zhizhi…” His Zhizhi had come back. The man’s eyes were filled with an unfathomable depth of affection.
Li Zhenmian was sleeping soundly. Qi Siyan helped her take off her high heels, then paused when his hand reached to change her clothes.
Zhizhi didn’t remember him. If he changed her clothes, she would definitely be angry when she woke up tomorrow.
But sleeping in her current clothes would be uncomfortable. Qi Siyan had a maid come up to change Li Zhenmian into pajamas and remove her makeup as well.
She woke up once in the middle of it, groggy and completely unaware of where she was or what was happening.
After the maid left, Qi Siyan stared at Li Zhenmian’s face, taking in every inch of it. He used his thumb to smooth out the furrow between her brows.
This face was indeed somewhat different from Zhizhi’s before, and there was also that test result.
He caressed the woman’s fair, delicate cheek, his lashes casting a shadow over his eyes. His dark pupils were like splashed ink, darker than the night outside.
Qi Siyan’s gaze was deep and obscure, carrying a mad, obsessive intensity.
No matter the reason, no matter what happened, his Zhizhi could only be his. No one could take her away.
The man, afraid that Li Zhenmian would wake up angry, sat on the sofa all night. To be precise, he stared at her all night, until the sky was fully bright.
In truth, he didn’t dare to sleep. He was afraid—afraid that this was merely a beautiful dream that would shatter.