Chapter 25 Drunk

Zhao Wenchang frowned slightly: "I didn't come here to see you."

Seeing this, Zhao Weimin's face darkened, and he scolded his daughter, "Shut up! I invited Wenchang and Wanqiu over for dinner. Wanqiu just arrived in our village and ran into this disgusting mess. It's my fault as the village head for not managing things properly. I called them over to apologize in person!"

Upon hearing the name "Jiang Wanqiu," Zhao Hui's expression changed again.

Her eyes darted around quickly, then she strode over and grabbed Zhao Wenchang's strong arm, practically hanging on it.

"Dad, what are you saying! I was just arguing with Brother Wenchang, we've always been like this since we were kids."

Soon, a slender figure appeared at the gate of the courtyard.

Jiang Wanqiu walked in unhurriedly and immediately saw the eight-immortal table in the center of the room, which was full of dishes, and the two figures beside the table.

Zhao Weimin was enthusiastically carrying soup out of the kitchen when he saw her. He immediately grinned and greeted her, "Sister-in-law Wanqiu, come on in! We've been waiting for you. Sit down and eat!"

When Zhao Hui saw Jiang Wanqiu approaching, she quickly clung to Zhao Wenchang's arm and slightly raised her chin at Jiang Wanqiu, her eyes filled with blatant provocation, as if declaring her dominance.

Jiang Wanqiu seemed not to have noticed her little action. With a faint smile on her face, she walked straight over and sat down directly opposite Zhao Wenchang.

Upon seeing this, Zhao Wenchang almost instinctively tried to get up and walk around the table to sit next to Jiang Wanqiu.

As soon as he moved his arm, Zhao Hui clung to him even tighter like an octopus, pulling him back and refusing to let him go. In her haste, she blurted out, "Brother Wenchang!"

Zhao Wenchang's patience finally ran out.

He abruptly pulled his arm away, his tone full of undisguised impatience: "If you're itchy, go take a shower, don't wriggle around here!"

These words were harsh and blunt, leaving no room for sentimentality.

Zhao Hui's face turned pale with anger. She was just being coquettish! Couldn't he see that?! How could he say that to her in front of outsiders!

Zhao Wenchang ignored the woman and walked straight to Jiang Wanqiu's side, where he sat down obediently.

Jiang Wanqiu's smile deepened. She raised her eyes to look at the sulking Zhao Hui and spoke gently, "Huizi, I heard you had a fever. Are you feeling better now?"

Zhao Hui was furious but had nowhere to vent her anger, so she snorted irritably, "I'm all better now! I'm not some delicate southern woman who can lie in bed for days with a fever!"

"Really?" Jiang Wanqiu covered her mouth in feigned surprise, her eyes crinkling with laughter. "I thought you were immune to illness, since you're as strong as an ox. It seems the weather in the north is not to be underestimated when the seasons change."

"Who are you calling a cow!" Zhao Hui retorted angrily.

"Who's the cow?" Zhao Fu, who had just finished serving the dishes and sat down, mumbled with a piece of meat in his mouth. "You mean my sister? Haha, Wanqiu, you're absolutely right! My sister has been as strong as a calf since she was little. All the aunties and grandmas in the village adore her. They say she looks like she's easy to raise!"

"Brother—!" Zhao Hui stomped her foot in anger, her face turning bright red.

After dinner, Zhao Hui seemed to be at odds with Jiang Wanqiu, constantly talking to Zhao Wenchang and deliberately bringing up how close they were when they were children.

"Sister-in-law Wanqiu, don't overthink it. I just want you to get to know Brother Wenchang better. After all, no one in this village understands him better than me."

As she spoke, she glanced at Jiang Wanqiu's reaction out of the corner of her eye, her words never stopping: "Brother Wenchang has always been the most doting brother to me since we were little. Once, when I was angry with him, I grabbed his arm and bit him. That tooth mark took a long time to fade!"

As she spoke, she actually reached out to grab Zhao Wenchang's hand, which was about to serve food to Jiang Wanqiu.

"Come here, sister-in-law, take a look. I wonder if it's gone now..."

"Smack!"

Zhao Wenchang slammed his chopsticks down on the table and flung her hand away.

Seeing this, Zhao Weimin felt a chill run down his spine and quickly raised his glass to smooth things over: "Come, come! Let's eat! Wenchang, Wanqiu, let me toast you! I'm so sorry for what happened today!"

Seeing that one plan had failed, Zhao Hui came up with another. She immediately raised her wine cup before Zhao Wenchang could, saying, "Father, I'll drink for Brother Wenchang! Brother Wenchang can't hold his liquor. I've always been the one to cover for him when we're drinking outside since we were little!"

Jiang Wanqiu chuckled as she looked at her "good wife" demeanor.

She also picked up her wine glass and waved it at Zhao Hui: "What a coincidence, I can't hold my liquor either. How about, Hui-zi, you do me the favor and drink this glass for me?"

Zhao Hui's smug smile froze instantly.

How could this woman be so shameless! How could she say such a thing!

Zhao Weimin quickly scolded, "Zhao Hui! Stop fooling around! You still have a fever, why are you drinking alcohol!"

"I'll drink the wine." Zhao Wenchang's deep voice rang out. He took his wine glass, casually pressed down on Jiang Wanqiu's glass, and said softly to her, "Don't force yourself."

Unwilling to give up, Zhao Hui added fuel to the fire: "No way, Brother Wenchang. Your wife won't even drink our toast. Does she look down on the Zhao family and refuse to accept our apology?"

"Who said I won't drink?" Jiang Wanqiu smiled and pushed Zhao Wenchang's hand away, picked up her wine glass again, and looked at him intently. "It's just a little bit of wine, it's no big deal. I have to learn to drink a little, otherwise, when I become your wife, how will I protect you from drinking when we're out and about?"

This one sentence effectively shut down any further words Zhao Hui might say.

However, Jiang Wanqiu was also careless.

My drinking habit is something that developed after I married into the family in my past life. Countless sleepless nights were spent needing alcohol to numb my senses and fall asleep. But now, this young body can hardly withstand the effects of alcohol.

This is all homemade rice wine from the village, and it has a very strong aftereffect.

After a few drinks, towards the end of the meal, she started to feel dizzy and her vision became blurry.

Zhao Wenchang noticed that something was wrong with her, snatched the wine glass from her hand, and with a long arm, forcibly pulled the swaying woman into his arms.

He looked down at her flushed face, sighing with a mixture of heartache and helplessness: "If you can't drink, don't force yourself."

Jiang Wanqiu seemed to understand, yet also seemed not to understand.

She dazedly raised her head, gave the man a silly smile, then stretched out her arms and softly hooked them around his neck, pressing her whole body against him.

Zhao Hui found this intimate gesture extremely displeasing.

She jumped up from her chair, pointed at Jiang Wanqiu who was snuggling in Zhao Wenchang's arms, and shouted in a shrill voice, "Let him go! What are you going to do to Brother Wenchang!"

"Zhao Hui, sit down!" Zhao Weimin finally lost his temper. "The Wen Chang couple are just embracing, and you're singing and dancing around like that, what kind of behavior is that!"

"I..." Zhao Hui felt a little wronged, but before she could speak, she saw another scene that made her eyes pop out.