"How can this be related to me..." Chen Xiaoxi's voice stopped abruptly, the last note like a string of a zither suddenly shattered by the night wind.

His cheeks were flushed with alcohol, and his Adam's apple bobbed laboriously beneath his rosy skin, like a fish trapped in shallow water.

She stared intently at the winding streaks of wine on the glass, the dark red liquid slowly dripping down the crystal's veins, just like her gradually crumbling will.

She stared at the winding wine stains on the glass, then picked up the glass of red wine on the table with a disappointed look and drank it all in one gulp.

The tartness of the wine as it glided across the tip of the tongue couldn't suppress the surging tartness in my chest.

Chen Xiaoxi's panic was clearly seen by Leng Yue. She lowered her eyes to hide the smile in them, her slender fingers entwining the silver neck of the decanter.

"Come on, let's drink, toast to unimportant things, and put all these trivial matters behind us."

The cold moon's voice was enveloped in the rich aroma of red wine, and as the decanter was tilted, the dark red liquid poured out like silk.

Chen Xiaoxi mechanically raised her glass, her head tilted back and her swallowing motions becoming increasingly hurried, while Leng Yue continued to pour wine at a leisurely pace.

The bottle of wine was quickly finished, and Leng Yue drank three cups.

Leng Yue looked at the empty decanter and pondered for a moment, 'This person's alcohol tolerance is not bad. Another bottle, please.'

As the second bottle of wine was opened

Chen Xiaoxi stared at the tears of wine slowly sliding down the glass, a bitter, rusty taste rising in her throat.

Leng Yue poured wine slowly and deliberately, the crystal glasses occasionally clinking together.

By the time she finished her Nth glass of red wine, Chen Xiaoxi's eyes had begun to glaze over.

Her long eyelashes cast trembling shadows on her flushed cheeks. She suddenly smiled and said, "Miss Leng, do you know? Lu Qingzhou was my deskmate in high school. He was very mischievous. Once, the nib of his pen poked my wrist. He said he was going to mark me."

She raised the back of her hand and held it out in front of Leng Yue's eyes. The light brown ink spots looked like miniature meteorites, embedded in her delicate skin.

"This little black dot made me stare blankly for two whole classes. I ignored it for days."

Seeing that she was starting to talk nonsense and was even reminiscing about the fun times she and Lu Qingzhou had in high school, Leng Yue suddenly became interested. "How did you two make up later?"

Chen Xiaoxi's gaze was somewhat unfocused, as if she had returned to her high school days. "He bought a lot of gifts to coax me, and this cell phone pendant was one of them."

She took out the ginkgo leaf hanging on her phone; its metal edge had long been polished to a shine.

Leng Yue looked at the small black dot on Chen Xiaoxi's arm, then glanced at the pendant hanging on her phone, and said indignantly, "You forgave him for such a small thing."

"Of course not,"

Chen Xiaoxi's eyes shone brightly, with a slightly tipsy, innocent look. "I poked the exact same hole in his school uniform. Finally, I poked his butt with a pen to mark him as well."

Leng Yue immediately exclaimed, "Really? Does he still have that mark?"

My fingertips suddenly started itching, and a perverted thought popped into my head.

I also wanted to leave a mark on Lu Qingzhou's warm little bottom. To leave my own unique mark.

Chen Xiaoxi shook her head, "It used to be there, but I don't know if it's still there now."

"It's okay, I'll check for you another day to see if it's still there."

Leng Yue gently swirled the glass, the wine creating a dark red swirl within.

Chen Xiaoxi smiled slightly, her voice gradually becoming indistinct, like an old photograph submerged in water: "When I was in high school, he always said I was stupid, but little did he know that I deliberately got math problems wrong just to hear him say, 'Chen Xiaoxi, if you keep spacing out, you're hopeless'..."

She suddenly covered her face, and suppressed sobs escaped through her fingers. "Later, when I took the college entrance exam, I couldn't get into the same college as him. I locked myself in my room and tore up all the notebooks of the wrong questions he pointed out to me. As a result, my father almost mistook me for an arsonist."

Then, something happened to his family... I searched for him for a long time without my father's knowledge, but I couldn't find him. Thankfully, he came back... but everything had changed.

The sound of sobbing mingled with the rich aroma of red wine and spread through the air.

Leng Yue watched as she slightly shrugged her shoulders, got up, and walked around the dining table, her high heels making a crisp sound on the marble floor.

He sat down next to her and reached out to wipe away the tear stains on Chen Xiaoxi's cheeks.

When her fingertips touched her hot tear tracks, she suddenly understood her persistence: "So you've never been in a relationship, just waiting for him, right?"

Chen Xiaoxi suddenly grabbed Leng Yue's wrist, her nails almost digging into her flesh: "You think I don't want to forget? But I can't forget. The day he came back from the north, he immediately sent me a message saying, 'Xiaoxi, I brought you your favorite Chengnan Osmanthus Cake.' At that time, I dropped all my work and ran to the station like a madman."

It was then that I realized those memories I thought time could bury had actually taken deeper root in my heart, gnawing at it every second. The more I tried to forget, the more vividly I remembered them.

She grabbed the wine glass, tilted her head back, and gulped it down. The red wine splashed out along the rim, spreading a glaring crimson color on the pale tablecloth.

A violent cough suddenly struck, and she arched her back, trembling violently. Dark red liquid trickled down the corner of her mouth, soaking the front of her clothes.

Leng Yue hurriedly pulled out a tissue to wipe her face. When her fingertips touched her skin, she found it to be incredibly hot, as if it were burning away all her suppressed emotions.

"Drink slowly, don't get excited."

After coughing for a while, Chen Xiaoxi felt a little better. "Miss Leng, why are people so shameless? They know he's fire, but they still have to rush at him."

Leng Yue pulled out a few more tissues to wipe away the tears that had slid down her face, her heart and eyes churning with complex emotions.

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