“Stop!” Seeing Lin Xixi going further and further off the rails, Xia Zhiwan had to urgently call a halt.
“Xixi, I’m serious! Ah Han and I really are a loving couple.”
“Oh, I know what you’re thinking. But tell me—do you remember that time I almost got…?”
Lin Xixi nodded; of course she remembered.
That year, Xia Zhiwan had almost been assaulted, and it was Lu Zeming who saved her, which was why she had trusted him so much.
A year after that incident, Xia Zhiwan had started dating Lu Zeming.
Seeing that Lin Xixi remembered, Xia Zhiwan continued:
“The person who actually saved me back then wasn’t Lu Zeming at all—it was Ah Han. I’d been completely deceived.”
“What?!” Lin Xixi was shocked to hear this.
She had advised Xia Zhiwan after seeing her spend time with Lu Zeming, warning her that he wasn’t a good man.
Yet Xia Zhiwan had said he was her lifesaver, so she was willing to give him a chance.
“I had already loved Ah Han long before we got married, but because of gratitude, I didn’t dare admit my feelings,” Xia Zhiwan explained.
“How did you realize that the person who saved you was Li Xiaohan?”
“It was by chance… it felt like a dream,” Xia Zhiwan said, describing the experience with emotion, without mentioning past and present lives.
But she knew clearly it had really happened.
The burning in her throat, the sharp pain in her legs—those moments were etched in her memory, replaying like a nightmare.
“Wanwan… I’m so glad you figured it out. Otherwise, who knows how long that scumbag would have deceived you!”
Lin Xixi shivered at the memory and patted her chest, relieved for Xia Zhiwan.
But only Xia Zhiwan knew she wasn’t particularly smart.
In her past life, she had been deceived for so long… long enough to lose a lifetime with Li Xiaohan.
“Wanwan…” Lin Xixi hesitated, then asked again, “But… is Li Xiaohan really good to you?”
As Xia Zhiwan’s best friend, Lin Xixi had been worried when she learned that Xia Zhiwan’s fiancé was Li Xiaohan.
She assumed that someone as powerful as him must have a cold, ruthless side, maybe even terrifying.
But she also knew Lu Zeming, Xia Zhiwan’s supposed lifesaver, wasn’t a good man.
Between the two, Lin Xixi leaned toward Li Xiaohan—but she couldn’t be sure if he was genuinely kind or just pretending.
Hearing Lin Xixi’s question, Xia Zhiwan felt a warm current flow through her heart.
Besides Li Xiaohan, the only person who truly cared for her well-being had always been Lin Xixi.
She nodded and hugged Lin Xixi tightly again. “Ah Han treats me really well… really, really well.”
Lin Xixi finally relaxed, realizing that Li Xiaohan truly cared for Xia Zhiwan.
After all, with Li Xiaohan’s position, he had no need to keep a woman he didn’t love.
She had even heard Xia Zhiwan yelling at him over the phone, telling him to get lost.
Yet over a month, then two months, and gradually half a year, Li Xiaohan had always been patient and protective.
And now hearing Xia Zhiwan say it herself—that he was good to her—Lin Xixi couldn’t help but feel happy for her best friend.
Xia Zhiwan and Lin Xixi laughed and chatted, hugging each other, while on the other side of the sofa, Li Xiaohan watched Xia Zhiwan’s bright, radiant smile, feeling as if his heart was melting.
Originally, he had wanted to stop her from drinking.
But seeing how long it had been since she last met her best friend, he let her be.
As long as she was with him, she could do whatever she wanted.
“Old Li, come on! Sing a song!”
Gu Yeting raised his glass from the sofa and handed the microphone to Li Xiaohan.
Li Xiaohan frowned, his gaze cold. “Step aside.”
Rejected, Gu Yeting slinked away and sent a message to Shen Mo’an on his phone, privately—not in the group chat—behind Li Xiaohan’s back:
“Old Shen, where are you? Hurry up and get here!”
Meanwhile, Director Shen Mo’an was busy expanding his hospital and completely ignored the message, even at night.
And really, it wasn’t entirely unreasonable that Gu Yeting had been shunned.
He had just plopped himself in the exact center of the sofa, completely blocking Li Xiaohan’s view of his Wanwan.
He had no sense of choosing a spot; it was a miracle he wasn’t beaten.
Suddenly, the private room door opened. Gu Yeting saw who had arrived and hurried over. “Old Mo! You’re finally here!”
“This guy, Old Li, is so boring. Come on, sing with me!”
The man called Old Mo was pulled to the center of the room to sing a love song, strangely heartbreaking to hear.
“Old Mo, why sing something like this when you’re happy? You’re as boring as Old Li,” Gu Yeting complained, taking the microphone from Mo’an and switching it to his own playlist.
The two men, having been scolded by Gu Yeting, sat on the sofa, chatting casually.
Tonight, it had turned into more than just a girls’ gathering.
On the men’s side, three of the four brothers were now together—a rare chance for a brotherly reunion.
“Xixi, I’m so happy today. It’s been ages since I felt this happy.”
Xia Zhiwan’s cheeks were flushed as she leaned on Lin Xixi’s shoulder, her voice slightly tipsy.
“Xixi, I’ll tell you a secret… my husband is so handsome, so brave, so amazing.”
Lin Xixi was slightly tipsy too, but far more sober than Xia Zhiwan.
Handsome, okay, but “so brave, so amazing”? What does that even mean?
Was that really something she wanted to hear?
Gu Yeting, meanwhile, was wailing through the song Betray My Love, so Li Xiaohan didn’t know what Xia Zhiwan was saying.
But seeing her like this, he realized she had drunk enough.
He strode over to Xia Zhiwan, whose hands were now unsteady on the glass, and bent down to ask gently:
“Wanwan, are you uncomfortable? Let’s go home first.”
Li Xiaohan’s voice was gentle, but alcohol makes things go fast, and Xia Zhiwan felt her head heavy.
“Huh? Honey… why do you have two heads…?”
She shook her head and sat up. “Xixi, why do you have two heads…?”
“Wanwan, stop shaking. You’re making me dizzy,” Lin Xixi, slightly more sober, said, but she too was tipsy.
Seeing both girls drunk, Li Xiaohan bent slightly and scooped Xia Zhiwan into his arms.
But Xia Zhiwan reached toward Lin Xixi. “Xixi, come with me!”
Lin Xixi didn’t want to be a third wheel. Besides, she wasn’t that drunk. She shook her head.
“I’m fine on my own. Wanwan, you go back first.”
“No,” Xia Zhiwan refused. “It’s dangerous for you to go home alone.”
“Ah, Li Ge, me and Old Mo will take Miss Lin home. Don’t worry,”
Gu Yeting volunteered. Seeing Xia Zhiwan already half-asleep, Li Xiaohan nodded. “I’ll leave it to you.”
Gu Yeting was mischievous, but Mo’an was steady.
With both of them, Li Xiaohan felt reassured. He carried Xia Zhiwan straight out of the private room.
Knowing she had been drinking, he had instructed the driver to wait outside, so he could take care of her on the back seat after she got in.
As he carried her out, Xia Zhiwan wriggled a little in his arms, murmuring.
“So hot… where are we…” she mumbled, eyes closed, hands wandering.
“Ugh… so hard…”