Not wanting to get too involved with Zhang Cheng, she could only silently drink the wine brought by the waiter.
Her attitude was obvious, and Zhang Cheng had long noticed it. However, his ego, accustomed to being pursued by girls, drove him to keep looking for opportunities to try his luck.
Zhang Cheng kept moving closer to Tang Zhiwu, reaching out to pour a glass of orange juice and placing it in front of her.
Because the bar was very noisy, he pretended not to care and boldly leaned in. “Drink less wine. It’s not good for girls to drink too much.”
Tang Zhiwu, who had just taken another big gulp, gave him a strange sidelong glance, as if looking at an idiot.
Sis came to the bar to drink. Who the hell wants your damn orange juice?
Swallowing the alcohol in her mouth, Tang Zhiwu subtly moved a little farther away, wearing a polite and distant smile. “Thank you for the juice.”
Although she accepted the glass of juice, she didn’t touch it at all, continuing to drink the wine in front of her instead.
So awkward, so awkward…
After a while, Zhang Cheng, still unwilling to give up, was about to try striking up a conversation with Tang Zhiwu again when the girl beside him, who had just been holding a wine bottle high, suddenly slumped onto the table with a thud.
Hearing the noise, the three of them turned their heads simultaneously.
Ke Jiuyyao: …
Football Hottie: …
Zhang Cheng: …
No one expected that Tang Zhiwu would already be drunk and passed out after sitting for such a short time.
Even Tang Zhiwu herself didn’t expect to be such a lightweight, a total lightweight when it came to alcohol.
Now, no one could focus on having fun anymore.
Concerned for Tang Zhiwu’s safety, Ke Jiuyyao, with a sense of responsibility, suggested ending the drinking session early.
Declining their offer to take her home, Ke Jiuyyao carried the unconscious Tang Zhiwu on her own and set off.
The taxi ride was manageable, but the most difficult part was the journey back to Tang Zhiwu’s home.
Panting heavily as she carried Tang Zhiwu on her back, halfway through the trip, the unconscious girl on her back began to mumble incoherently, muttering something under her breath.
“Huh? What did you say?”
After Tang Zhiwu mumbled a few more times, Ke Jiuyyao finally made out what the little girl was murmuring.
“Xu Ge…”
“Xu… Xu… Xu Ge…”
Over and over, only these two words escaped her lips.
Ke Jiuyyao was drenched in sweat, her carefully applied makeup now smeared all over her face.
“Damn you, Xu Ge!” she gritted her teeth. “Tang Zhiwu, if you don’t call me ‘Auntie’ ten times tomorrow, I won’t let you off.”
Staggering and stumbling, they finally made it with great difficulty.
Ke Jiuyyao lifted Tang Zhiwu’s arm, grabbed her index finger, and pressed it against the fingerprint lock.
With a click, the door opened. Hearing the commotion inside, Tie Jun rushed out immediately.
Seeing Tie Jun, Ke Jiuyyao’s eyes lit up as if she had found a savior. “Tie Jun, my precious, help Auntie get your sister inside.”
This household would fall apart without Tie Jun.
In the end, Tang Zhiwu was half-carried by Tie Jun and half-dragged by Ke Jiuyyao into the house.
Ke Jiuyyao threw her onto the sofa, and the commuter bag hanging from her shoulder fell onto the sofa as well. Her phone, books, earphones, and many other items spilled out, leaving the sofa in complete disarray.
Exhausted and out of strength, Ke Jiuyyao collapsed onto the sofa. After resting for a while, she glanced sideways at Tang Zhiwu’s flushed face, then looked over at Tie Jun standing guard nearby.
“Tie Jun, it’s up to you!”
In the end, she stood up again, patted Tie Jun’s head, and entrusted the daunting task of taking care of Tang Zhiwu to him.
She hurriedly grabbed her bag, rushed to close the door securely, and sped out of the villa.
With a loud “bang” as the door shut, the entire villa fell into an unusually deep silence.
Tang Zhiwu felt her throat dry, her mind a complete muddle, her whole body heavy and dazed.
Unconsciously reaching out, she fumbled around until her hand landed precisely on her phone.
In her dazed state, her fingers tapped randomly, opening WeChat.
After drinking with Duan Qianren at the Carefree Tavern, Xu Ge parted ways with him and returned alone to Xu Manor.
Along the way, his mind kept circling around whether the events of the past two days were merely his own delusions, figments of his imagination.
As if to confirm these sudden thoughts, the first thing Xu Ge did upon returning to Xu Manor was not head to his own bedchamber, but instead make his way to Frost Chill Pavilion.
The paper, brush, inkstone—everything in the room was exactly as he had left it, including that small, closed jeweled box.
He walked alone to the table and, under the moonlight and the lingering warmth of the wine, slowly opened the box.
The strange jade pendant was still inside, and a surge of burning emotion erupted from the depths of his heart.
None of this was his own delusion.
Just as Xu Ge was about to close the box, the quiet jade pendant suddenly lit up, enveloped entirely in a white glow.
His expression grew slightly more serious, his dark eyes almost seeming to shimmer with intensity.
His sharply defined, handsome yet roguish face was also bathed in this white light.
Uncontrollably, he reached out his hand and took the glowing jade pendant into his palm.
Under his gaze, it seemed as though something was flowing within the jade, with wisps of mist swirling upward around it.
Finally, that something transformed into a small, bright point of light.
Xu Ge froze for a moment, then ultimately extended his hand—his fingers long and slender, his knuckles distinct.
The pad of his finger gently touched the small, glowing point of light.
The next second, a soft, distinctly girlish voice came from it.
“Xu… Xu Ge… Jin Zhi…”
In Frost Chill Pavilion, the wooden window was wide open.
A cool breeze blew in, carrying the fresh scent of phoenix trees straight into the pavilion, lifting his loose, ink-black hair into the air.
The last traces of his tipsiness were swept away by this refreshing wind.
Xu Ge quietly stared at the jade pendant in his hand, the light in his eyes impossibly gentle, his heart filled with an unprecedented sense of fulfillment and relief.
It’s good.
The jade pendant isn’t fake.
It’s good.
She isn’t fake either.