Shi Nianhuan looked around uneasily. Helpless, she could only repeat herself.
The little brother suddenly understood and pointed in a direction with his finger.
Shi Nianhuan followed the direction the little brother pointed and immediately saw Lin Xiangyang lying on a sofa not far away.
She softly said, “Thank you,” then jogged over.
Lin Xiangyang had already drunk himself unconscious. Shi Nianhuan looked over, and there were more than twenty empty liquor bottles on the table altogether.
“Brother Xiangyang…” She cautiously nudged Lin Xiangyang’s arm, but there was no response.
Worry filled Shi Nianhuan’s face. She looked around, but became even more helpless.
Lin Xiangyang was 180 centimeters tall, while she was thin and petite. She estimated that she could not carry him.
Shi Nianhuan could only continue trying to wake Lin Xiangyang, but this was no different from wishful thinking. It was simply of no avail and had not even a little effect.
“This gentleman’s total bill is twenty-three thousand yuan. Will you be paying in cash or by card?” The little brother from earlier suddenly came over.
Shi Nianhuan looked embarrassed. “By card.”
She fumbled around in her bag for a long time before finally finding her bank card.
“Um… could you help me carry him outside? I can’t move him by myself.” Shi Nianhuan’s face reddened as she cautiously spoke.
The bartender studied Shi Nianhuan thoughtfully for a moment before speaking. “Right. Before you called just now, I already called one of the contacts in his mobile phone. They should be here soon. Why don’t you wait a little longer?”
“Huh?” Shi Nianhuan did not quite understand what he meant.
The bartender said nothing and turned around to get back to work.
He called someone else? As Shi Nianhuan pondered this, she took the mobile phone from the breast pocket of Lin Xiangyang’s shirt, pressed his finger against it to unlock it, and opened the call history to take a look.
After looking at the call history, Shi Nianhuan stood frozen in place.
It had only been a few seconds, yet countless thoughts flashed through her mind.
If possible, she wanted to slip away from here as quickly as she could.
However, when she looked back at Lin Xiangyang, who was lying drunk and unconscious on the sofa, a trace of hesitation flashed across Shi Nianhuan’s face. She could not bear to leave Lin Xiangyang here alone.
But the bartender had called Jiang Chenyu…
Those three words—Jiang Chenyu—were a nightmare to Shi Nianhuan now.
A nightmare she did not even want to think about, much less mention.
If she stayed here and ran into Jiang Chenyu later, what would she do?
Shi Nianhuan was caught between two choices. She wanted to leave quickly, but could not bear to watch Lin Xiangyang be abandoned here alone.
But…
Just as she was hesitating, the figure she never wanted to see appeared within her field of vision.
When Jiang Chenyu saw that Shi Nianhuan was here too, he was clearly stunned.
He slowly walked forward. The unnatural look on his face was fleeting, and his gaze quickly shifted away from Shi Nianhuan.
He walked up to Lin Xiangyang and looked at him with disdain, as if he simply had not noticed that she was standing beside him.
Shi Nianhuan’s stiff body gradually relaxed. Her heart pounded wildly, and she was so nervous that her toes curled tightly together.
“Hey, Lin Xiangyang, wake up. Lin Xiangyang.” As Jiang Chenyu spoke, he slapped Lin Xiangyang’s face with his hand.
Shi Nianhuan looked at the scene in surprise. She instinctively tried to stop him, and had already extended her hand before suddenly realizing that something was wrong. She awkwardly withdrew it.
Lin Xiangyang’s face had been slapped red, but he still did not wake up.
Jiang Chenyu pursed his lips and seemed to sigh softly. He bent down and, despite his disdain, forcefully hoisted Lin Xiangyang up.
“Damn, he’s heavy.” Jiang Chenyu could not help complaining.
He took a step forward, his body swaying as if he might collapse.
Shi Nianhuan quickly stepped forward and supported the other half of Lin Xiangyang’s body.
Jiang Chenyu said nothing. He remained expressionless, not even looking askance at her.
The two of them dragged Lin Xiangyang along, struggling somewhat. Still, they successfully got him into the car.
Shi Nianhuan closed the car door and stood by the roadside, staring blankly at Lin Xiangyang.
Jiang Chenyu got into the car but did not drive away.
After a long time, he opened the car window and shouted at Shi Nianhuan, who was still standing outside, “Are you getting in? What are you planning to do?”
Shi Nianhuan looked at Jiang Chenyu in surprise. She bit her lower lip, her innocent face exceptionally adorable.
“I…I’m going back to school. You can just take Brother Xiangyang home.” She spoke softly.
Although she hated this man, who looked like a fine gentleman but was rotten inside, she still did not have enough courage to challenge him.
Jiang Chenyu’s expression instantly turned gloomy when he heard her call him “Brother Xiangyang.”
He was angry—angry that the treatment he and Lin Xiangyang received from her was so vastly different.
In fact, when he saw her here, looking at Lin Xiangyang with such nervousness and concern, he had already felt terrible.
“Get in.” His mood was terrible, and he was unwilling to say even one extra word.
Shi Nianhuan looked at him coldly, as if she had not heard him.
At this moment, Jiang Chenyu’s mood had already fallen to rock bottom. If she had been any other woman, he would have driven away without a second word.
But when he met Shi Nianhuan’s pure, flawless eyes, he could not bear to leave.
Did she not hate him? Then he would insist on appearing by her side and see what she could do.
Since she refused to ride in his car, he insisted on making her get in.
Shi Nianhuan’s calm was merely feigned. The instant she saw Jiang Chenyu get out of the car and approach her step by step, her thoughts had already become a tangled mess.
The best solution at this moment was to run away, but her body reacted too slowly. By the time Jiang Chenyu had pulled her into his arms, she tried to flee.
Jiang Chenyu was very strong. To her, resisting him was no different from an ant trying to shake a tree.
She used all her strength, but still could not push Jiang Chenyu away.
She was furious, yet there was nothing she could do.
Jiang Chenyu opened the front passenger-side door and forcibly pushed Shi Nianhuan inside.
“I want to go back to school.” Her face flushed red, but she continued insisting in a small voice.
Jiang Chenyu said coldly, “Are you deliberately avoiding me? You haven’t gone home for two weeks.”
Shi Nianhuan gritted her teeth and summoned her courage. “Why should I go home? Don’t you hate seeing me?”
Jiang Chenyu glared fiercely at Shi Nianhuan with his gloomy eyes. He now had to admit that he was angry.
This woman was becoming bolder and bolder. She could now argue with him so recklessly.
It seemed that her former docile little lamb act had all been an act…