Chapter 103
At dinner time, the hot pot gathering started smoothly.
The participants were all the members of the Student Council Presidium and Lu Man. The group of them gathered boisterously around the table, waiting for the hot pot to boil. The table was laden with dishes, and there was also wine brought by Gu Ximian.
...Quite a lot of it. Zhuang Chi secretly glanced over a few times. It was all red wine, and the labels were in a foreign language, so she couldn't tell the alcohol content. But in any case, it looked expensive no matter how you looked at it. Just like that, several bottles were placed brazenly on their table, which looked quite impressive.
Her answer to Gu Ximian's question that morning was, “In my original world, my parents would occasionally let me drink a little.” This was a rather exaggerated statement she'd made after some deliberation. The “occasionally” she mentioned mainly referred to holidays and festivals. When her family went out to eat, they mostly liked to have a couple of drinks, and a child like her would join in the fun. But at most, she would only get a quarter of a plastic cup, just enough to get a taste before it was gone.
The reason Zhuang Chi had specifically mentioned to Gu Ximian that she had drunk a little before was that she thought Gu Ximian was asking because she wanted to have a few drinks with everyone at the hot pot gathering that evening. She was worried that if she said she didn't drink, Gu Ximian would accommodate her and change her mind. Now, it seemed her guess wasn't wrong, but judging from the number of red wine bottles, Zhuang Chi couldn't help but worry about her own meager alcohol tolerance.
“Gu Ximian, Gu Ximian, can we open this wine?”
The others were all quite enthusiastic, especially Lou Che, who was holding a bottle of red wine and asking Gu Ximian, his eyes sparkling, looking very eager. Gu Ximian nodded. Zhuang Chi, who was helping by bringing the bottle opener, first confirmed, “Lou Che, can you drink?”
Before Lou Che could speak, An Chen, who had been quiet since arriving at the hot pot restaurant, spoke up, “Yeah, minors shouldn't be trying to snatch our wine.”
“Huh? Don't you look down on me!” Lou Che glared back, not to be outdone, and said righteously, “I turned eighteen over four months ago!”
...It sounded like he had just barely turned eighteen before their class of freshmen enrolled. Zhuang Chi thought. She couldn't help but feel it might be because she had previously written a note in the novel like “all characters appearing are over eighteen”...
While she was secretly thinking about these things, Lou Che had already gotten angry at being called a minor. The young genius rarely lost an argument. At this moment, he was speaking to An Chen in a rather sincere tone, “Let's not talk about whether I can drink. I think maybe you shouldn't drink first, huh? Didn't you take the day off today? I heard you weren't feeling well? I thought you wouldn't even come to this meal.”
He suddenly mentioned something she hadn't heard about. Zhuang Chi was taken aback and looked at An Chen. “You're not feeling well today? What's wrong? Are you sick?”
“...” An Chen averted his gaze and mumbled, “...Not really, just a little unwell...”
“Mhm, maybe it's lack of sleep,” Lou Che interjected from the side, his voice carefree. “When I told him to check the school forum last night, he looked like he was going to be sleepless until dawn.”
...Oh, so An Chen was “unwell” because he saw her reply on the forum?
Having roughly figured out the cause and effect, Zhuang Chi suddenly didn't know what to say to An Chen. She felt that given their current positions, anything she said to him would be strange. An Chen's expression twisted with conflict, then he suddenly stood up, snatched the bottle opener, opened the bottle, and swiftly poured two glasses.
“Zhuang Chi!” He picked up one glass himself and, puffing out his cheeks, handed the other to Zhuang Chi. “Let's have a drink!”
...How to put it, it didn't seem like an atmosphere where she could refuse. Zhuang Chi looked at the two large glasses of wine he had poured and hesitantly accepted hers. She thought to herself, thankfully it's red wine, An Chen can't possibly down this whole large glass in one go, right? Then she heard An Chen speak in a low voice, “I know you and Ximian are together now. Don't worry, Ximian and I grew up together. I won't do anything to interfere in your relationship now. Consider this drink a toast to you both! After this drink, I'll be your brother too!”
“What do you mean, ‘me too’? I don't think Gu Ximian ever said she saw you as a brother before.”
Lou Che calmly pointed this out from the side, which coincided with the confusion in Zhuang Chi's heart. But An Chen didn't care about that. He raised his glass, clinked it against hers, and, to Zhuang Chi's horrified gaze, said with a tragic expression, “I'll down it! You can drink as you please!”
“—Down what! Where did you learn such a bad drinking custom! We haven't even had two bites of hot pot, don't get drunk first and ruin our appetite!”
This really scared Zhuang Chi. Fortunately, this time Ling Jing and the others also realized something was wrong and stopped An Chen in time, snatching his glass away just before he could down the entire large glass of red wine. Even so, An Chen had already swallowed a few mouthfuls, and his gaze visibly and subtly lost focus. Olivia watched with concern and said in a low voice, “...Oh dear, it seems he can't hold his liquor very well...”
Zhuang Chi also watched with concern, but seeing An Chen still stubbornly staring at her untouched glass of wine, she worried that if she didn't drink, this half-drunk person would soon ask, “Why aren't you drinking? Are you looking down on me?” So, she carefully picked up her glass and took a few sips after some hesitation. Only then did An Chen nod in satisfaction, muttering things like, “Zhuang Chi, you shouldn't drink too much either, I think this wine is quite strong,” before slowly sitting down. He then started staring blankly at the hot pot, which made his words seem very convincing.
The red wine was smooth and sweet going down, and only after it reached her stomach did a burning sensation from the alcohol slowly emerge. Zhuang Chi sat down with some trepidation, but at least she didn't show any strange signs right after drinking like An Chen did—wasn't their Student Council President's alcohol tolerance a bit too poor? Just as she was thinking this, she heard Gu Ximian ask softly from her side, “How are you?”
Zhuang Chi looked over and shook her head. “I'm still okay for now...”
Gu Ximian was watching her intently. Hearing her words, she thoughtfully withdrew her gaze, which lingered for a moment on Zhuang Chi's half-empty glass, and said impassively, “It seems your tolerance is much better than An Chen's.”
That's probably because An Chen is too weak. Nothing to be proud of. Zhuang Chi thought, then felt a little bad and said with a wry smile, “...If I had known, I should have tried to persuade him first...”
Gu Ximian let out a soft laugh and replied in a volume only the two of them could hear, “Well... if you were the one to persuade him, he probably would have been even more unstoppable. He's the love rival you wrote for yourself. Who else would he drink with if not you?”
...Alright, if he wants to drink, let him drink. Zhuang Chi pouted helplessly. A glance showed that the others were also starting to pour wine, creating a harmonious atmosphere. She then looked at Gu Ximian's still-empty glass and smiled, “What about you? Are you going to drink?”
“...” Gu Ximian's gaze flickered. When she looked back at her, she tilted her head up slightly, as if in provocation. “I'll drink if you drink with me.”
In the end, they got drunk.
—Three people got drunk. Zhuang Chi, An Chen, and Ling Jing. Three people, three different ways of being drunk, a complete mess.
As the main character of this dinner, Gu Ximian was toasted quite a bit. She had also selfishly pulled Zhuang Chi into drinking a lot with her, so now she was a little tipsy too. Fortunately, due to her family background, she had many more opportunities to drink than the others, so she barely managed. The other main character, Zhuang Chi, wasn't so lucky. Red wine is the type that hits you later. She was fine at first, but in the latter half, the alcohol gradually crept up to her face, flushing her fair complexion with a layer of pale pink. Her large, misty eyes blinked, and the corners of her eyes and brows exuded a softness, revealing a dazed, cub-like innocence.
And Zhuang Chi was clearly the type who wouldn't cause a scene when drunk. At this moment, aside from being unable to maintain an upright posture and leaning back in her seat, she was very well-behaved and quiet in every other way. Her eyes would open and close intermittently. When they were open, she would mostly stare at Gu Ximian. When they were closed, she would obediently lean back in her seat, as if planning to take a little nap.
This was in stark contrast to Ling Jing next to her—that drunkard was now very familiarly grabbing an innocent passing waiter, slurring, “Let me tell you, our Zhuang Chi and Gu Ximian are together! A very well-matched pair! Speaking of which, it might have been me... and Xiao Ying who played matchmaker for them—” and other such things. Although what she said was true, both the content and her delivery would make anyone think she was on a drunken rampage.
Not to mention An Chen, who had already started snoring away, the other two members of the Presidium were busy trying to control Ling Jing. Olivia repeatedly apologized to the waiter for her, while Lou Che, while struggling to push down Ling Jing who was taller than him, found a moment to add to the waiter, “My big sister here has some problems with her head, please bear with her”—he looked very sincere when he said it. To be honest, it looked a bit comical. Gu Ximian shook her head with amusement, then looked down at her phone to contact the butler and call for a car to take them back. After making the arrangements, she saw Lu Man, who was also still relatively sober, tiptoeing over to Zhuang Chi's side. Looking at the closed-eyed Zhuang Chi, she called out softly, “Time to wake up, Zhuang Chi—honestly, I can't really tell how drunk you are, but anyway, I'll make you a cup of honey water when we get back to the dorm...”
As she spoke, she was about to reach out and poke Zhuang Chi to wake her up. Gu Ximian frowned unconsciously, her actions faster than her thoughts, and pulled Zhuang Chi towards herself first. Zhuang Chi forced her eyes open, letting out a dazed “Hm?”. Lu Man's poke missed. Gu Ximian came back to her senses, cleared her throat, and explained to her, “...I'll take care of Zhuang Chi.”
In a flash, Lu Man quickly understood the meaning behind Gu Ximian's words and decisively handed her roommate over, readily agreeing, “Okay, okay, then you two can actually leave first. We'll take our time with Ling Jing and An Chen, no need to wait for us.”
Gu Ximian felt a little embarrassed, but ultimately decided to accept Lu Man's kind offer. After telling her that a car would come to pick them up later, she went to help Zhuang Chi up. When she turned her head, she saw the person who had just been woken up fumbling for her phone, her movements not very nimble but very determined. Gu Ximian leaned closer and asked her, “What's wrong?”
Zhuang Chi looked up at her, her eyes moist, and answered honestly, “Pay the bill.”
...It was quite rare to see someone who was drunk still remember to do this first. Gu Ximian couldn't help but curve her lips into a smile and said softly, “I already paid.”
Watching Zhuang Chi slowly furrow her brows, Gu Ximian didn't even notice that her tone had unknowingly become like she was coaxing a child. In a soft voice that only the two of them could hear, she said, “Didn't you write my family to be very wealthy? Then my money is your money. Me treating is the same as you treating.”
This was a bit long, so Zhuang Chi took a moment to process it, then shook her head very seriously. “Those are two different things. You can't count it like that. It's not my money. Even after we get married, that's still your family's money...”
She was still smiling while listening to the first half of the sentence, but her breath hitched at the end. Gu Ximian became flustered when she heard her say the word “married” so seriously. Her face grew a little hot, and seeing that Zhuang Chi was about to say more, she hastily interrupted, “O-okay, okay, we can sort out the treat later. Right now... it's very late, we should go back.”
Fortunately, Zhuang Chi was very obedient. She closed her mouth and used Gu Ximian's support to stand up. Zhuang Chi wasn't completely wasted; she could still walk in a relatively straight line, but her steps were light and airy, looking a bit weak. Gu Ximian half-supported, half-held her as they walked out of the hot pot restaurant. Feeling the weight of the person beside her leaning against her with complete trust, she felt a sense of guilt, as if she had done something bad.
...After all, she had deliberately prepared the wine.
It wasn't that she had any sinister intentions. Gu Ximian just felt that she couldn't bring herself to directly voice her desire for Zhuang Chi to move in with her. She thought that if they had a little wine after dinner, it would soften the atmosphere, making it easier for her to bring it up... She really had no other thoughts.
But now, Zhuang Chi was even more drunk than she had imagined. Looking at her, Gu Ximian felt a sense of self-blame and guilt, reflecting that she had gone too far. This feeling lingered even after they got into the butler's car, and she was in no mood to bring up those matters. But when Zhuang Chi's head tilted carelessly and bumped against the car window, she immediately snapped back to her senses. Gu Ximian anxiously pulled the person, who was now rubbing her head pitifully, to her side and raised a hand to feel the spot. “Did you hit your head? Don't lean that way. If you're dizzy, you can lean on... my shoulder.”
Still not used to saying such things, Gu Ximian stumbled over her words. Unexpectedly, Zhuang Chi was a bit uncooperative, struggling in the opposite direction. She only stopped when Gu Ximian glared at her, then said in a small voice, “...But I feel like my head is very heavy. It'll weigh you down.”
Instantly charmed by Zhuang Chi's strange point of concern, Gu Ximian's heart softened slightly. She said softly, “How could it? I'm not a snowman.”
Zhuang Chi stopped trying to get away and instead stared at her seriously, as if trying to judge the credibility of her “not a snowman” statement. At first, Gu Ximian patiently let her look, but once Zhuang Chi started, she didn't move her eyes away. The half-drunk person didn't know what it meant to be subtle, staring so openly and intensely that Gu Ximian was about to be unable to bear it, yet she still didn't look away. Her gaze was exceptionally focused.
The side of her face being watched by Zhuang Chi felt hotter than the other. Gu Ximian couldn't help but want to turn her head away and tell Zhuang Chi to stop looking, but just then, she felt a weight on her shoulder. It was Zhuang Chi, finally willing to lean on her properly. And just as she breathed a sigh of relief, she heard Zhuang Chi's voice again.
“You're so beautiful.” Her voice was soft, murmuring as if half-asleep. “I like you so much.”
Gu Ximian's breath caught. These two simple sentences threw her mind into complete disarray. She only gradually came back to her senses when the breathing of the person leaning on her shoulder became even. Then she began to worry if the sound of her own heartbeat was too loud and might wake Zhuang Chi up.
At this moment, the butler, who had consciously been an invisible person in the driver's seat for a long time, looked back and, with great perceptiveness, kept his voice extremely low, “Young Miss, should we go to St. Blaisedon first or...?”
He was asking if they should take Zhuang Chi back to her dorm first. Gu Ximian thought, her eyes lowering slightly.
“...No need,” she said softly. “Go straight home.”
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