Fang Bai picked up the coffee that had already been stirred, took a sip, and then turned to look at the office building.
The woman and Ji Yuning talked for a while, but instead of going into the building, they turned around and walked towards the coffee shop.
Fang Bai paused, then said, "..."
She hadn't finished her coffee yet.
On the street.
Carrying her laptop bag, Yuan Yizhen said to the person who accompanied her to buy coffee, "Ms. Ji, Chairman Lu asked me to bring you mooncakes. I'll give them to you in a bit."
Ji Yuning coldly refused, saying, "No need, you can keep it."
Yuan Yizhen pushed up her glasses. "That's Chairman Lu's thoughtfulness."
It means she can't take it.
“I can’t take it back,” Ji Yuning said. “You can throw it away if you don’t want it.”
Yuan Yizhen was fairly familiar with Ji Yuning's situation, so she didn't insist any further: "...I understand."
Ji Yuning responded with an "Mmm".
The coffee shop is across the street at the intersection; you need to wait one minute for the traffic light to change.
Ji Yuning took out her phone, which vibrated in her pocket, and saw it was a spam text message.
As Ji Yuning deleted the text messages and put her phone in her pocket, she subconsciously glanced around.
“Miss Ji, Chairman Lu said…” Yuan Yizhen spoke to Ji Yuning, but saw that Ji Yuning’s eyes were fixed on the crossroads.
Yuan Yizhen followed Ji Yuning's gaze and saw a Porsche drive away as the light turned green at the fork in the road a hundred meters away. Yuan Yizhen couldn't see the details clearly, so she asked, "Miss Ji, what's wrong?"
Ji Yuning looked away and said calmly, "It's nothing."
If she wasn't mistaken, that car... belonged to Fang Bai.
—
5 PM.
Ji Yuning received a message from Fang Bai.
Aunt Fang: [Is the library about to close? I'll come pick you up now.]
Ji Yuning: [I'll take a taxi back.]
Aunt Fang: [Okay, what would you like for dinner? I'll cook for you.]
Before Ji Yuning could reply, Fang Bai could guess what she was going to say.
Sure enough, the next second, Fang Bai saw Ji Yuning's message: [Anything is fine.]
Fang Bai replied with an "OK" emoji, then put down his phone and turned to go into the kitchen.
Without Ji Yuning around, Fang Bai didn't need to act, and he cooked much faster.
Some people just take a long time to come back.
7:30.
Ji Yuning pushed open the door, raised her lowered eyes, and saw Fang Bai sitting at the dining table, sipping wine.
Three dishes were placed on the table.
"You're back?"
Hearing the noise, Fang Bai turned his head to look at Ji Yuning.
Ji Yuning walked to the table and took off her schoolbag: "Hmm."
Fang Bai tilted his head back and drank the wine in his glass in one gulp. Then he slowly poured half a glass of wine in return. The wine splashed into the glass with a clear, crisp sound, and the grape-red liquid slid down the side of the glass.
Fang Bai prepared dinner at six o'clock, but Ji Yuning didn't return after half an hour. Fang Bai didn't bother to ask Ji Yuning, and wandered around the living room aimlessly. Fang Bai's attention then fell on the original owner's wine cabinet.
Fang Bai doesn't drink alcohol and doesn't know much about it, so she just grabbed a bottle of wine that looked nice and tempting and took it back to the table.
They drank while waiting for Ji Yuning to come home.
Fang Bai didn't know how to drink, so she sipped it slowly. With its soft and smooth texture, Fang Bai unknowingly drank half a bottle.
Perhaps because the original owner had a high alcohol tolerance, Fang Bai did not feel drunk.
Ji Yuning looked at the wine bottle in front of Fang Bai.
After seeing the icon clearly, Ji Yuning was slightly surprised, "You..."
Fang Bai treasures this bottle of wine very much; she said it had been stored for a long time and she had gone to great lengths to obtain it.
Fang Bai swirled the cup in his hand and blinked: "Hmm?"
Fang Bai took another small sip: "What do you want to say to me?"
Whether Fang Bai drank it or not was irrelevant to Ji Yuning. The key point was that this bottle of wine had a strong aftereffect, and Fang Bai had drunk more than half of it.
Ji Yuning recalled the last time the woman was drunk, and how the woman pointed her finger at her and berated her…
Now look at it,
Ji Yuning felt it was the calm before the storm.
“It’s nothing,” Ji Yuning frowned. “I’m going to wash my hands.”
Ji Yuning had just reached the kitchen door when she was pulled back from behind.
Ji Yuning stopped and waited a few seconds, but the person behind her didn't let go. Ji Yuning turned her head and saw Fang Bai reaching out to grab her clothes at the lower back.
Looking at Fang Bai again, his eyes, which were clear just a minute ago, were now veiled in mist, his cheeks were flushed pink, and there was still some red wine residue on his lips, which glistened under the light.
Seeing Ji Yuning looking at her, Fang Bai hummed twice: "Wait a minute."
The hand gripping Ji Yuning's clothes showed no sign of letting go.
Ji Yuning raised her hand and tugged at her clothes, but failed to pull them out of Fang Bai's grasp. After she exerted a little force, Fang Bai also tightened his grip.
Ji Yuning took the initiative to end this childish tug-of-war, letting her hands fall to her sides, and whispered, "Mm."
A heavy rainstorm may be coming soon.
Fang Bai pulled his arm back, trying to pull Ji Yuning closer. Ji Yuning's feet were firmly planted on the ground. Her upper body swayed as she was pulled, but her feet did not move.
Fang Bai tried unsuccessfully and called out, "Ji Yuning!"
His shouts, tinged with drunkenness, were loud but his tone was weak and feeble.
Ji Yuning's fingers clenched slightly; she knew what was coming had finally arrived.
With just half a bottle of wine, a woman's disguise will be exposed. What should you say to her? Or what should you curse her for?
But... how would the words a woman utter when she's like this be compared to before?
It can't compare.
Because the torrential rain that Ji Yuning had imagined did not come; only the drizzle of Mid-Autumn Festival arrived.
Fang Bai murmured a couple of sentences:
"I've been waiting for you for an hour."
"The food is all cold."
Fang Bai rested his arm on the back of the chair, feeling dizzy, so he rested his head on his arm.
Fang Bai's hand, which was gripping Ji Yuning's clothes, unconsciously loosened due to dizziness.
Even after escaping Fang Bai's "control," Ji Yuning remained standing still.
Ji Yuning lowered her eyes to look at Fang Bai's fluffy hair. Her tucked-up hand unfolded and then curled up again. In the few seconds after Fang Bai finished speaking, her pursed lips tightened even more.
The unexpected turn of events caused even the usually indifferent Ji Yuning to lose her composure for a moment.
Fang Bai paused for a moment, then tilted her head back, resting her hand on her temple. She looked at Ji Yuning and said, "You're rude."
Fang Bai frowned: "I'm talking to you, why aren't you responding?"
Ji Yuning told herself not to argue with a drunk person, but the words stuck in her throat betrayed her: "There was a traffic jam on the way back."
"...Why don't you send me a message?"
Fang Bai clearly did not accept this reason.
Ji Yuning hadn't thought about this question.
She never reported her itinerary to Fang Bai, and Fang Bai never inquired about it.
Ji Yuning's eyelashes fluttered. "You can eat first."
"?"
Is that even human language?
Fang Bai turned to the side, raised his chin, and finished the rest of the wine in his glass. As he reached for the wine bottle, he glanced at Ji Yuning with his watery eyes and said, "Heartless."
…Is she heartless?
Ji Yuning frowned slightly.
After Fang Bai finished speaking, he raised the wine bottle, preparing to refill it by half a glass.
Just as Fang Bai raised his glass and before the bottle could be tilted, a hand reached out and gripped the neck of the bottle, stopping him from making a move.
Fang Bai looked at the owner of the hand.
Ji Yuning remained calm and said, "You've had too much to drink."
Chapter 37
Too much to drink?
Fang Bai half-opened his eyelids, his misty eyes gazing at the table.