Chapter 109: Drinking His Wedding Wine Within a Year

When the three of them returned to the banquet hall, the atmosphere seemed even livelier than before.

Cheng Si was somewhat puzzled. He quickened his pace and went up to his grandfather, asking, “What’s got into you all? Why are you laughing like that?”

Old Master Cheng coughed, then said with a smile, “Your Third Brother says he’s thinking of settling down. He’s aiming to let us drink wedding wine within a year.”

At that, Old Master Cheng’s expression shifted slightly. He tapped Cheng Si on the back of the hand and said, “You’d better be more ambitious too! Once your Third Brother has made up his mind, you’d better hurry up as well!”

“Sure, sure.” Cheng Si answered halfheartedly, then instinctively looked at Lin Xi behind him.

Behind him, Bai Xu handed a glass of wine to Lin Xi. Lin Xi took it naturally, then stood up to toast the other elders.

Looks like she hadn’t heard it...

Before Cheng Si could even breathe a sigh of relief, Bai Xu curved his lips and shattered his hope with a single sentence: “She heard it.”

Cheng Si: “...”

“This time you can’t blame me, right?” Bai Xu was positively smug, showing him no mercy at all and dumping the blame squarely on him. “And you still had the nerve to lecture me. Well, look at that now—you’re the one who put her in a bad mood today.”

Cheng Si: “...”

He hurried after Lin Xi in a few steps, and after drinking a round of toasts with her, he kept glancing at her as if he wanted to speak but couldn’t find the words.

Of course Lin Xi knew what he wanted to say. She set down her glass, took another from a waiter’s tray, lightly clinked it against Cheng Si’s, and then tilted her head back and drained it in one go.

Since she had come to offer a toast, how could Cheng Si not drink? He simply kept her company with a small cup of clear liquor.

After drinking, Lin Xi spoke first. “I heard everything. It’s a good thing, Fourth Brother. You don’t have to be so nervous.”

“Whoever asks about it, the answer’s the same.”

“No.” Even now, Cheng Si didn’t quite know what else to say. “Those old men had too much to drink. Third Brother was probably just humoring them.”

He knew he shouldn’t say too much, so he quickly ended the subject. “Drink less, or you’ll get a headache on the way back. I’ll keep them company and drink a little. You don’t have to.”

“Mm.” Though she answered, Lin Xi clearly hadn’t really taken it in. Her tolerance was good, and today she had pushed herself to the limit.

She was the only younger generation member left in the Lin family, and no one could help her shoulder the duty. She drank a toast to every elder she was expected to greet.

By the time the banquet ended that afternoon, she still hadn’t fully recovered.

She leaned back in her chair, eyes closed, resting.

When she dozed off for a while and was called awake again, her head felt even more dizzy than before.

“Your tolerance is better than mine.” Bai Xu teased her, stretching out an arm. “Lean on me.”

She was wearing high heels today, and because she felt a little unsteady and didn’t want to fall, she didn’t put on any airs. She grabbed his arm and used it to steady herself as she stood.

“Most people have already left. Ready to go back?”

“Mm.”

Lin Xi answered and walked out with him.

Bai Xu walked slowly, deliberately waiting for her. Glancing at her sideways, he clicked his tongue and said with a smile, “You look like an empress dowager.”

Lin Xi had a headache and no energy to joke with him.

The two of them came out of the elevator, and Bai Xu immediately spotted Qin Yu’s assistant standing by the lobby entrance.

His mind raced. He stopped in his tracks.

Lin Xi was forced to stop as well. She opened her eyes and looked at him. “What is it?”

“I left something upstairs.” Bai Xu lied effortlessly, not even blinking. “I’ll go back up and look for it. You can go ahead and ride with Fourth Brother.”

“Fourth Brother hasn’t left yet?”

“No, he’s outside.”

“Mm.” Lin Xi let go of him. Under the influence of the alcohol, she was a little slow to react and didn’t think much of it at all.

After Bai Xu left, Lin Xi lowered her head and slowly made her way outside on her own.

At the entrance, a gust of wind hit her, and she hurriedly wrapped her coat tighter around herself, but her calves were still exposed to the cold.

She was looking around for Cheng Si when a soft voice sounded beside her. “Miss Lin.”

At first, the voice sounded oddly familiar. Lin Xi narrowed her eyes and turned her head. “It’s you.”

She knew him; he was Qin Yu’s assistant.

The man looked a little older than she was, probably around Qin Yu’s age. He had the air of an elite professional, refined and courteous.

The assistant nodded and asked with concern, “How are you getting home?”

“I’ll just go with Cheng Si.”

“With Mr. Cheng?” The assistant smiled faintly. “Mr. Cheng left ten minutes ago.”

Lin Xi froze, then looked around again. There really was no sign of Cheng Si’s car.

Or rather, there was hardly anyone left around, and certainly no familiar car.

Only Qin Yu’s and Bai Xu’s were still there.

“Are you sure?” she asked stubbornly.

“Yes,” the assistant said. “I was the one who drove Mr. Cheng’s car over here.”

At that, Lin Xi more or less understood.

It was all Bai Xu’s scheme.

Taking a deep breath, she gave the assistant a slight smile. “It’s fine. I’ll wait for Bai Xu.”

“All right.” The assistant said nothing more.

Ten minutes passed, but Bai Xu was nowhere to be seen. Irritated, Lin Xi took out her phone and called him, and as expected, there was no answer.

“Miss Lin, why don’t you take Mr. Qin’s car first? It’s the same route anyway, so it makes no difference.”

“I don’t need to.”

“Don’t need what?”

As soon as she spoke, Qin Yu’s voice suddenly came from behind her, startling her so badly that her shoulders jerked.

Instinctively stepping aside, her foot slipped.

Fortunately, Qin Yu reacted quickly. He caught her around the waist with one hand and pulled her back toward him. “What are you running for?”

Standing steady again, Lin Xi resisted the dizziness and said to him, “Why haven’t you left yet, Third Brother?”

“Something came up.”

Utterly perfunctory.

Lin Xi gave a faint “Mm” and said nothing more.

“You’re not leaving?”

“I’m waiting for Bai Xu.”

“You’re sure you can actually wait for him?”

She couldn’t.

“Get in the car first.” Qin Yu took her arm and, with a somewhat forceful motion, led her into the vehicle.

Once inside, Lin Xi lowered her head and seriously typed out a message, tapping away for two full minutes before finally pressing send.

Needless to say, the entire message was a stream of insults aimed at Bai Xu.

After the car started, Lin Xi was afraid she might fall asleep, so she forced herself to stay awake. But for some reason, the driver was unusually slow today. Before long, she could no longer hold out and leaned back in the seat, falling asleep.

Qin Yu had been watching her from the corner of his eye all along. Only after he heard her breathing settle into a slow, even rhythm did he turn his head.

Lin Xi’s hand was resting on the armrest, and the cuff of her coat had ridden up. Her bracelet pressed against the armrest just right, leaving several marks on her skin.

Frowning, Qin Yu took her hand and placed it on her leg.

Lin Xi was sound asleep and didn’t react.

Seeing that, Qin Yu draped the blanket beside him over her legs, covering the calves that had been left exposed.

“Mr. Qin...” The assistant in the front seat seemed to remember something and turned around.

He had only just made a sound when Qin Yu shot him a look. The assistant immediately closed his mouth.

Then he opened his phone and used WeChat to speak with Qin Yu: [Mr. Qin, over the past two days Song Ning really has been asking around about Miss Lin. The missed calls Miss Lin mentioned were indeed from Song Ning’s number. I’ve already arranged to meet him, just as you instructed.]