“By the way, submit yesterday’s expenses from the club, and I’ll reimburse you. After eating, get some second sleep, and I’ll take you shopping for clothes in the afternoon.” At the dining table, Zhou Tinglan suddenly spoke.
Jiang Shiheng had gone to the company, Jiang Yuzhou had classes in the morning, and Qian Youyou was even more drunk than Qin Shuyi—still sleeping in at the moment. Only the two of them were at the table.
Qin Shuyi was taken aback. “I didn’t pay the bill.”
Zhou Tinglan was a bit surprised. “Really? I didn’t receive any notification from Youyou’s card.”
Their expenses last night definitely couldn’t have been covered by Qian Youyou’s pocket money alone. She also had a supplementary card from Zhou Tinglan, but Zhou Tinglan hadn’t received any transaction alert.
The two looked at each other in confusion.
Qin Shuyi rubbed her temples, feeling as though she had forgotten something.
Zhou Tinglan waved her hand. “Never mind, I’ll ask her later.”
She looked at Qin Shuyi, who was quietly eating, and hesitated. “Shuyi… are you… alright?”
Qin Shuyi smiled. “Auntie, I’m fine.”
Seeing she didn’t seem to be forcing herself, Zhou Tinglan breathed a sigh of relief. Yesterday, seeing her come back so drunk, with swollen eyes and lips, had truly startled her.
“That’s good. By the way, your parents will be returning to the country soon. Will they go back to S City or come to the Imperial Capital?”
Thinking of her parents, whom she hadn’t seen in a long time, Qin Shuyi was also happy. “They’ll probably go back to our hometown first, but they’ll spend more time in the Imperial Capital.”
After all, she and her aunt were both here.
Zhou Tinglan nodded. “Alright, it’s been a while since I’ve seen your mom too. Once they’re back, the house will be lively again.”
She looked at her beautiful niece, who looked like a painting even just sitting there, and smiled.
If she had to guess, this sudden leave adjustment to return to the country was probably at her brother-in-law’s request.
Someone had introduced a blind date prospect to Shuyi, so as her father, he naturally wanted to vet the person.
She speculated privately that since it was a colleague’s son and someone her sister approved of, he probably wouldn’t be too bad.
Although Shuyi had tactfully mentioned that the timing of meeting this future “blind date prospect” wasn’t ideal.
She would have just ended a relationship, so it wouldn’t be appropriate to jump into something new right away—it would seem disrespectful.
The other person might not even be interested in her.
Most likely, nothing would come of it.
But Zhou Tinglan didn’t think this was a problem.
Both families were open-minded parents; no one expected the blind date to force them into a relationship.
If it didn’t work out, they could just consider it making a new friend.
As for marriage? If this one didn’t work, there would be others.
As for Ling Jue?
Hah, no one in the family had ever seen him as a serious marriage prospect.
…
While the Jiang Family’s atmosphere was harmonious, Ji Xiuheng’s mood was far from pleasant.
He stared speechlessly at the empty bottles scattered all over the floor and the two drunken men, hating his own tolerance for alcohol for the first time.
If he had passed out drunk, he wouldn’t have to clean up this mess, right?
He had no idea what had gotten into Ling Jue.
Last night, Ling Jue had asked him to track Qin Shuyi’s whereabouts. After discovering she had been taken by her little cousin to hire male models for fun, Ling Jue had stormed off angrily to confront her, only to return alone later, looking utterly dejected.
He had even dragged Ji Xiuheng and Xie Muchen out to drink in the middle of the night.
Ji Xiuheng had wanted to ask what happened, but Ling Jue’s demeanor last night was like a damp male ghost crawling out of the Arctic—gloomy all over, with icy daggers shooting from his eyes.
He silently swallowed his words back down.
The man who never overindulged in alcohol was gulping it down like water.
Xie Muchen was already drunk halfway through.
Finally, Ji Xiuheng tentatively asked, "You can't keep drinking like this. Should I call your sweetheart to pick you up?"
Ling Jue shot him a glare, sneered, and drank even more fiercely.
Ji Xiuheng: …Alright, got it. The problem lies with his sweetheart.
It has to be said, Qin Shuyi is quite something.
That's Ling Jue, after all—the prodigal son who turned over a new leaf, the carefree and unflappable Jue Ye, who could calmly handle a helicopter malfunction mid-flight and plan the best landing spot.
Even in life-or-death situations, he remained composed, yet he stumbled over a good girl like her.
Ji Xiuheng chuckled with schadenfreude.
What's the fun in being omnipotent and controlling everything? Life needs a few surprises to spice things up.
He first had someone send the dead-drunk Xie Muchen home, then stayed with Ling Jue, leisurely settling back on the sofa and playing on his phone for a while.
Eventually, he fell asleep again, and when he opened his eyes, it was already the next morning.
He yawned and started calling Qin Shuyi.
Don't ask why he didn't call last night—he wanted to, but she was also drunk and didn't answer.
To witness this drama, he had stubbornly stayed awake until morning.
When Qin Shuyi received Ji Xiuheng's call asking her to pick up Ling Jue, she was a bit confused.
She checked the time.
Nine in the morning.
Was that right?
What decent person drinks heavily early in the morning?
Besides, couldn't he just send him home himself? Or at the very least, drop him off at any hotel?
Since Ling Jue's prodigal son's return, he rarely drank late into the night outside and had become quite homebound, so Qin Shuyi rarely encountered such situations.
But there was no choice. Ji Xiuheng said Ling Jue wouldn't leave unless she came, and he had already been drinking for half the night. If he kept going, something bad might happen.
It sounded like an obvious exaggeration.
But since she was still temporarily holding the title of Ling Jue's girlfriend, Qin Shuyi also wanted to ask him about his attitude toward her breakup message. If it was over, it should end clearly, so she reluctantly headed out.
Meanwhile, Ji Xiuheng hung up the phone, feeling proud of his brilliant solution.
For young couples, staying silent and giving each other the cold shoulder when something happens is no good. He was creating an opportunity for them.
But when he turned around, he was met with a pair of cold, deep, dark eyes.
"Damn!"
Ji Xiuheng was startled.
"You're awake?!"
At some point, Ling Jue, who he thought had drunk himself to sleep, had opened his bloodshot eyes.
Wait, then didn't that mean he heard him call Qin Shuyi but didn't stop him?
Ji Xiuheng: Tsk tsk.