She forced a smile, but her heart was already on guard. This man was more difficult to deal with than anyone she had ever met, because she had absolutely no idea what he was up to.
-Song Qing
A blue sports car was parked at the entrance of Hongmenfang in the dim light of dawn. Incongruously, a woman stepped out of the car in a rather unrefined manner, slammed the door shut without looking back, and hurriedly went inside in her high heels.
It was the time when night travelers were leaving. As soon as the bartender saw who it was, he knew it was Miss Song. He covered his still-bleeding head and ran over to her as if she were his savior.
The dance hall was in disarray, with tables and chairs scattered all over the floor. Yan Xunan was slumped awkwardly on a high chair, looking utterly disheveled. The bartenders stood around, at a loss for what to do. Who would dare lay a hand on the eldest son of the Yan family? Besides, anyone who got close would be thrown aside by his martial arts skills.
Song Qing sighed inwardly and was about to go over and help him up.
"Hey, Miss Song, be careful!" Before the bartender could finish speaking, Song Qing was flung away by Yan Xunan in a daze, hitting the table leg and bursting into tears from the pain.
She struggled to her feet and tried calling out first, "President Yan."
Yan Xunan was completely drunk, but Song Qing's voice sounded like it was coming from a dream to him, so he vaguely confirmed, "Song Qing?"
"It's me, I'll take you home first." She spoke as she approached him, bending down to help him up. The weight caused a sharp pain in her ankle, but she endured it with difficulty.
"Qing'er." Yan Xunan strained to open his eyes, trying to see the woman so close to him. But there was no need to distinguish her; he would never forget her scent.
The bartenders breathed a sigh of relief, clutching their chests. It seemed that only this young lady could keep this young master Yan in check.
Song Qing felt dizzy from the smell of alcohol on him and kept turning her head away to breathe fresh air. With the help of others, she finally managed to get him into the car.
Song Qing calmed herself down and drove, but Yan Xunan kept murmuring her name in the back seat, causing her heart to break down again and again. However, she was no longer the foolish and stubborn Song Qing from ten years ago.
Upon arriving at the Yan family home, Uncle Li, who was cleaning, quickly dropped his broom and together they helped the completely drunk Yan Xunan upstairs.
Li Bo hurriedly took off his shoes, and Song Qing took off his dirty outer clothes. He got up, wiped his sweat, and was about to leave when Yan Xunan suddenly pulled him down, causing him to fall onto the bed with a startled cry.
"Qing'er, don't go..." Yan Xunan's eyes were still tightly closed, his voice low and hoarse, carrying a faint vulnerability and pleading. Song Qingxin trembled, and the image of him that had been blurred for ten years surged into her mind in that instant.
"Xu, I love the sound of you waking up early. From now on, I want to be the first person to talk to you every morning." Back then, she would always wake Yan Xunan up in the early morning.
He gave a deep, indulgent laugh from the other end of the line, and she smiled simply and happily, then let out a silly giggle.
"Qing'er..."
She suddenly snapped out of her daze. How could she have remembered such a distant and vague past? She lowered her head and silently pushed his hand away.
"Miss Song, please take care of him. I'll have Aunt Li make some hangover soup." Seeing their expressions, Uncle Li quickly made an excuse to leave. The sudden appearance of Miss Song, whom he hadn't seen for many years, was a complete surprise to him, but it was clearly not the right time for him to investigate.
"Uncle Li, I have something to attend to and can't stay any longer. Thank you for your help," Song Qing said hurriedly, pushing his hand away before getting up in a rush.
Before she could finish speaking, Yan Xunan forcefully pulled her down again. This time, exhausted from a night's work, she unfortunately ended up lying on top of Yan Xunan. Before she could react, Song Qing was tightly embraced by him, his lips, reeking of alcohol, close to her ear. His breath, mingled with the unique fragrance of his body, made her momentarily dizzy, forgetting to struggle.
Uncle Li smiled, then considerately closed the door and left.
They remained in that position until Song Qing's phone suddenly rang.
She hurriedly got up, feeling ashamed that she had actually lingered in that embrace.
"Hello." She tried her best to keep her voice calm.
"Miss, where are you? Our meeting with Mr. Yi from the banking group starts at 8:30." Secretary Liu's anxious voice came through. It was not easy to get an appointment with Mr. Yi, and we couldn't afford to be late again.
Song Qing was startled. She wiped her cold forehead and realized that she had forgotten the important matter. She looked at her watch and saw that it was already eight o'clock!
"Secretary Liu, prepare the documents and wait for me downstairs at the bank. I'll be there shortly!"
She quickly put away her phone, glanced at Yan Xunan on the bed one last time, and without further hesitation, pulled open the door and left, rushing out of the courtyard like the wind, pushing her sports car to its limits.
"Yaping, was I seeing things? I think I saw Xiaoqing." Xu Yayue stared blankly at a figure and turned to her husband, who was getting out of bed.
"Xiao Qing? I heard Jing Mo mention her to me. She's back, but so early?" Yan Yaping asked, somewhat puzzled.
"They're walking too fast, it can't be them. Judging from their hurried manner, it must be Ning'er." Xu Yayue saw her husband's expression, walked closer, shook her head, and smiled.
"Hmm, this child hasn't been back for ten years, has she? Next time, have Xunan invite her over for a meal. Didn't you used to like her quite a bit?"
"That's right. If possible, I'd really like to have both of the Song family's daughters marry into the family." Xu Yayue nodded with a light laugh.
Yan Yaping echoed this.
Their relationship has remained as strong as ever for ten years.
※
Along the way, Song Qing felt deeply ashamed that she had forgotten such an important matter. The traffic situation in Linchuan was far worse than in England, and she was unfamiliar with the roads, plus it was rush hour. She didn't have time to think too much, only anxiously checking her watch, constantly and nimbly navigating the extremely poor road conditions.
The phone rang again.
She chose to ignore it and focused on driving.
She should have been extremely tired, but because she was highly alert, she managed to remain relatively clear-headed.
Secretary Liu stood downstairs at the bank's headquarters, constantly making phone calls, bowing and scraping, while keeping an eye on the intersection. She was worried that Mr. Yi, the president of the bank, would cancel their appointment because of their lateness.
"Lily, I'm sorry, our general manager is on his way and might be stuck in traffic, but he'll be there soon. Yes. Please explain to your General Manager Yi for me."
Just after hanging up the phone, Secretary Liu saw Song Qing's sports car rush in, which made her nervous.
Song Qing turned off the engine, tidied her makeup in front of a small mirror, and even applied a little lipstick, but it couldn't hide her dark circles and paper-white face. So she took out her glasses, put them on, and got out of the car.
As soon as the two met, Song Qing checked the documents and then hurriedly went up to the president's office on the 30th floor under the guidance of the receptionist.
The sound of high heels echoed in the empty hallway. Yi Zhengwei smiled; she had arrived. He glanced at his watch. This seemingly meticulous woman was actually late for this important appointment?