However, what's stuck in your heart will come to pass.
She arranged to meet Fang Jiaqin at a Western restaurant, and yet, by sheer coincidence, she saw that man!
At that moment, Chai Qianning felt as if a flock of crows were flying overhead.
After taking her seat, Fang Jiaqin saw Chai Qianning holding a knife and fork, gritting her teeth as she cut her steak, and couldn't help but shudder.
"Who has upset you lately?" Fang Jiaqin asked.
"No." Chai Qianning put a small piece of steak into her mouth and chewed.
"Why do I get the feeling that when you're holding that knife and fork, you have an urge to kill someone?"
.
After finishing her steak, Fang Jiaqin went to the restroom, and Chai Qianning waited for her by the sink.
As a figure drew closer, she lifted her eyelids and saw it was Sheng Muxi, then lowered her eyes again and continued scrolling through her phone.
"You're here for steak too?" Sheng Muxi put her hand under the sensor faucet.
"Mmm." Chai Qianning uttered this word almost with a nasal tone.
After a polite exchange of greetings, there wasn't much more to say. Sheng Muxi grabbed a paper towel, dried her hands, and looked up, as if to say something to break the silence.
Just then, Fang Jiaqin rushed over recklessly, and before Chai Qianning could react, Fang Jiaqin dragged her away.
"Why--"
Chai Qianning almost dropped her phone.
Sheng Muxi frowned as she watched the two figures walk away.
After running for a while, Chai Qianning stopped, put her hands on her knees, and plopped down on a round stool to the side: "What are you doing... why are you dragging me along?"
“I saw my sister-in-law.” Fang Jiaqin squatted down next to her.
"Your sister-in-law?" Chai Qianning laughed in exasperation: "Why are you running away when you see your sister-in-law?"
“I told my family I hadn’t come back yet. If they see me in City A, then I’ll be exposed.”
Chai Qianning looked around, tidied her hair, and turned her gaze back: "Why? Don't you want to go home?"
Fang Jiaqin said with a troubled look, "What else could it be? It's the pressure to get married. My mom has met my ex-boyfriend before, so she thought we would get engaged or something when we came back this time. But we broke up, and I haven't figured out how to tell my mom yet."
It was so hot outside in the afternoon that it was unbearable.
Fang Jiaqin took Chai Qianning to the hotel.
At the time, she was puzzled as to why Fang Jiaqin was staying in a hotel, since she had already found a place to live. But when she went inside and saw Xu Yuan, she immediately understood.
Judging from the large pile of snacks and drinks on the table, it's easy to guess that these two people booked a room at the hotel so they could easily spend the night playing around in the area.
The hotel has an excellent location, with bars, internet cafes, arcades, and shopping malls all nearby.
Fang Jiaqin told me that Xu Yuan's wedding was postponed because the groom's side had some issues. It's clear that the groom's side isn't very enthusiastic about the wedding, and Xu Yuan hasn't seemed to be in a good mood lately; getting married has turned into a bitter and resentful affair.
So, to prevent Xu Yuan from getting too depressed, Fang Jiaqin took her out to get away from all the messy things at home and have some fun.
The room was quite large, and there was food on the table. Chai Qianning sat down on the carpet, opened a bag of shrimp chips, and started eating.
The three of them chatted for a while, and around 5 or 6 pm, they went out for dinner in the vicinity. They then played around until around 10 pm before returning to the hotel.
Back at the hotel, they ordered a lot of barbecue and beer, and chatted while eating. Xu Yuan's recent worries mainly revolved around the wedding. When she talked about it at the karaoke bar before, Chai Qianning would chime in with a few words, but tonight she remained silent.
She's the kind of person who's very outgoing around her friends, so much so that even someone as oblivious as Fang Jiaqin could tell that she seemed to be in a bad mood.
They talked about dating, marriage, partners, and family, and before they knew it, the three of them had finished almost a whole case of beer.
The table and floor were a mess. Chai Qianning had drunk the most, and Xu Yuan suggested that she sleep in the hotel tonight. Anyway, the room was big, and the three of them could squeeze into one room.
But she felt she wasn't drunk. To prove she wasn't, she stood up steadily and spoke clearly: "I still have to go back. I drove here. I'll go downstairs and call a designated driver."
Xu Yuan glanced around and said, "You've drunk the most."
"I'm not drunk at all." Chai Qianning slung her bag over her shoulder. "You guys keep having fun, I'm going back now, it's getting late."
As she spoke, she turned to open the door, then, as if remembering something, added to Xu Yuan, "Sister Xu Yuan, if you're unhappy with this marriage, don't force yourself because of your parents' opinions. Do you think your parents would be happy to see you unhappy? Fang Jiaqin is right, communication is really important. I'm leaving."
Fang Jiaqin stood up: "How about I take you?"
"No need, I'm not drunk at all, and you drank too, didn't you?"
“I’ve only drunk less than half a bottle, and you’ve drunk more alcohol than Xu Yuan and I combined. You’ve basically finished this whole case of beer. I know a female designated driver here, I’ll contact her to come and take you home.”
"Don't bother your friend."
Chai Qianning refused Fang Jiaqin's offer to see her off, turned the doorknob, and walked out.
She took the elevator downstairs and stepped out of the hotel. The stuffy air hit her. She had thought she wasn't drunk, but now she was truly drunk—why did she see that man again? It was one thing to see him, but Sheng Muxi was always there.
She shook her head. It must be a hallucination. How could someone be so persistent, running into her several times a day?
She took a few steps, intending to ignore the two people, when she suddenly realized that there was a hotel behind her!
Sheng Muxi coming to a hotel with a man so late at night? Something just didn't seem right. She turned to look at Sheng Muxi, just as she saw her walking over: "What are you doing here?"
I was wondering what you were doing here!
Chai Qianning thought she had answered the other person, but in fact she hadn't answered at all.
Seeing that she was not speaking and smelled strongly of alcohol, Sheng Muxi knew that she had been drinking, and quite a bit at that.
In the hotel room, Fang Jiaqin thought about how much Chai Qianning had drunk. Although she seemed calm on the surface, she still felt it wasn't right to let her go home alone, so she followed her. She then saw Chai Qianning leaning on a woman's shoulder.
Chai Qianning was unaware that she had leaned against Sheng Muxi while speaking. This man could indeed hold his liquor, but he was incredibly stubborn when drunk, refusing to admit that he was intoxicated.
"I'm not drunk."
"You're not even drunk yet? How much have you drunk?"
As Sheng Muxi was speaking, she saw Fang Jiaqin approach and stand beside them: "Um, she's probably drunk, maybe..."
“I’ll take her back,” Sheng Muxi said.
Fang Jiaqin took a moment to react.
He was probably thinking about whether it would be safe to send Chai Qianning back home.
Suddenly, she remembered that this woman was the neighbor Chai Qianning knew upstairs, and the woman who had made her feel distressed during their evening chat.
Fang Jiaqin turned to look at Chai Qianning, and seeing her clinging to her, nodded repeatedly: "Okay, okay, then thank you for your trouble."
Without delaying the two of them, she quickly returned to the hotel.
Sheng Muxi said goodbye to the man standing next to her: "Uncle, I'm going back now. You should rest well at the hotel."
"Are you sure you don't need me to take you home?" He glanced at Chai Qianning. "Your friend is drunk..."
Chai Qianning seemed to understand something, and shook her car keys: "I drove here." As she spoke, she tried to pull Sheng Muxi away.
Sheng Muxi said goodbye to her uncle in a hurry, and then followed behind Chai Qianning.
Where did you park your car?
It just so happens that she didn't drive over today, so she can drive Chai Qianning's car back.
The person in front didn't speak, but simply walked steadily with each step.
Sheng Muxi went over and took her arm, worried that she might bump into someone if she was drunk, but Chai Qianning broke free and said firmly, "I can walk by myself."
"You're drunk."
"No."
"Okay, you don't have one, but could you tell me where you parked your car?"
However, Chai Qianning just strolled around aimlessly, without answering where the car was.
Sheng Muxi felt so helpless she wanted to laugh.
I've seen people get drunk and act crazy, talking nonsense and lying on the ground, but this is the first time I've seen someone like Chai Qianning, who is clearly very drunk but insists that she's not drunk at all.
Fortunately, there weren't many parking lots here, so she pulled Chai Qianning around to look for the car one by one—she recognized the car Chai Qianning drove.
Finally, the car was found in the parking lot at the east gate.
Sheng Muxi told her to get in, and Chai Qianning obediently sat in the passenger seat, even knowing to fasten her seatbelt. She really didn't forget safety even when she was drunk.
The car started and drove out of the street. Chai Qianning remained quiet the whole way. But when they were halfway through Shengmuxi, on a very quiet road, Chai Qianning suddenly spoke up: "Fang Jiaqin, do you think there's a woman in a white dress standing under that streetlight?"
Upon hearing this, Sheng Muxi glanced around, but there was nothing under the streetlight. Luckily, she wasn't afraid of ghosts or anything like that, otherwise, she would have been scared half to death by Chai Qianning's words.
“I am not Fang Jiaqin,” Sheng Muxi replied softly.
Chai Qianning tilted her head, paused for a moment, and then said, "Sister Xu Yuan."
".."
"Su Ye".
".."
Sheng Muxi felt that this person might have to recite all his friends' names in front of her.
"Qingqing." Chai Qianning turned her neck to look at Sheng Muxi: "What are you doing here? Why aren't you at school? What are you doing here?"
When did you learn to drive?
"You're not old enough to learn how to drive yet."
Sheng Muxi: "..."
At first, seeing that Chai Qianning spoke clearly and walked steadily, repeatedly insisting she wasn't drunk, she almost thought the person was still conscious. But now she understood: this person simply needed a huge pot of hangover soup.
When they arrived at the residential area, the car drove into the underground parking garage. Sheng Muxi helped Chai Qianning out of the car, but then the woman broke free of her hand and tried to walk on her own.
She had no choice but to tug at the other person's sleeve to prevent them from veering off course. Once inside the elevator, Chai Qianning turned to Sheng Muxi and said, "Achu, your elevator... it's huge!"
Sheng Muxi: "..."
"You've already recited the names of all your friends. Do your friends know that you have this ability to recite names when you're drunk?"
Chai Qianning blinked: "Does my refrigerator have a cooling function?"
Sheng Muxi: "..."
"Of course it has one. It's amazing that your refrigerator doesn't have a cooling function. When will you bring it over so I can take a look?"