Intoxicated
On the other hand, An Chi was not so happy. His assistant sent him a message that was urgent and stressful.
Too many doubts and noises.
He didn't respond or refute first. An Chi first called his partner in City C to confirm that the cooperation would not be affected. Then he checked the negative news online, which was almost all about him. He breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Su Yao didn't have any problems, it was good that it wouldn't affect her. Everything else was a small problem.
To deal with this matter, he didn't even stay in the hotel lobby on a cold winter day, but stood outside the hotel.
In places of extravagance and debauchery, the most dazzling sights are those of a portly man carrying a voluptuous woman. An Chi couldn't deny that in this world, evil always outweighs goodness, and that humans are born with many flaws. For example, when he first approached Su Yao, he was thinking of scheming against her, but he never expected that what he mistook for a trap would become the fox's plaything.
The internet is rife with malice.
They are like prisoners who have torn off their masks. In the past, they struggled under the mask, but once they stepped into the online world, they broke free from all their disguises and exposed their true faces to the public.
When Sido was abroad, he discussed the issues of the times with him. The industry they were in was linked to the changes of the times. He said that people nowadays always lack thinking and do not ask questions or make discoveries in an explosive manner like in the past.
Su Yao once said to him, "You young people lack ambition."
He also countered that Su Yao wasn't that much older than him, at which point Su Yao just smiled and pursed her lips.
He now has a slight understanding: when a person lacks composure, he lacks judgment and, more importantly, a thirst for knowledge.
It's terrible for people to lack the desire for knowledge, and that's what An Chi thinks now.
The comments all pointed to his reliance on Su to get a back door, which were harmless remarks to him, but he didn't want the company to be affected.
He called Sido, who was far away overseas and had no idea what had happened.
After expressing his intention to resign, An Chi repeatedly emphasized that it wasn't that he disliked the company or Sido, but that he was simply too busy. Before he started dating Su Yao, he was busy with work or studies, and he didn't need to pay attention to Su Yao all the time, so he could naturally put her aside. But now that he was in a relationship, he had to prioritize Su Yao in everything, and he also had to go back to school, otherwise he would never see her, and the professor would get angry. What if he complained to Su Yao?
Sido, hearing the firmness in his tone, had no choice but to respect his personal wishes and said that he would welcome Anchi back at any time.
An Chi smiled knowingly.
To outsiders, this matter seemed like a big deal, since if not handled properly, it would be a fatal blow to the newly stabilized "Yao". However, An Chi quickly got through the crisis and it was not a big deal, because his only big deal was Su Yao.
Su Yao is used to receiving different birthday gifts every year; in her eyes, all gifts are "ordinary".
However, just when she thought she had received the best gift of the year—Shang Jiuqi calling her "sister"—she didn't expect there to be another surprise waiting for her.
With a blush on her face, Su had attended many social events today and received "blessings" that were either sincere or malicious. She accepted them all, knowing that in such situations, one should put everything else aside.
A large pile of gift boxes lay beside her. She pondered for a moment, glanced at the crowd, and searched for that familiar figure.
I've been searching for too long, so I don't want to continue.
This was the first time she had truly experienced An Chi's busyness. She had always thought that her life was too hectic and would take up too much of An Chi's time, but he would always appear when she needed him and say that he didn't have as many things to do as she did and that he could always be there for her.
After she looked away, a person stood beside her. The chill that had just entered the room swept over her, and the coolness brought down the heat of the alcohol that Su was about to drink. She looked up and reached out to grab his clothes.
An Chi dodged away, his voice hoarse from inhaling the cold wind, "I just got back, I'm cold."
"Shall we go back?" This kind of scene usually lasts until all the guests have left, but Su Yao doesn't really want to continue today. She's been too tired lately. Without Ge Jin, it feels like the workload has doubled, even though Tang Pai is very capable.
An Chi lowered her chin slightly, blinking at Su Yao. Perhaps it was because of the alcohol, but she was unusually well-behaved today. "Then you go back first, and I'll stay and clean up the mess, okay?"
There always has to be a host at a banquet. If it's not Su Yao, then it can only be the "boyfriend" who was just announced—him, An Chi.
"Can't you come home with me?" Su murmured, her lips flushed red, and she unconsciously pouted as she spoke.
Who else could stay besides him?
Su Wenxie?
An Chi looked up, his eyes quickly searching for Su Wenxie in the crowd. There he was, sitting on the sofa in the middle of the crowd, holding a glass of pale yellow champagne, laughing and joking among his peers.
Thinking back to a while ago, An Chi remembered Su Yao saying that she had been accompanying Su Wenxie in handling Su's business, so it seems that she can finally relax and have some fun now.
An Chi watched, feeling a burning sensation on his body. It was Su Yao lying on top of him. His eyes flashed with intense heat for a moment.
"Phew—" He took a breath and called out to Pei Zhixi, the only one without a companion.
Pei Zhixi's trench coat fluttered in the air as he walked, looking extremely flamboyant. "What's wrong?"
He looked down at the two people embracing, thinking they were just showing affection.
"Help me take Su Yao home." An Chi supported Su Yao with his body, his hand loosely wrapped around her waist, and he could vaguely touch her dress. The jewels on it were sharp, but he didn't care, afraid that she would fall.
"Why are you drunk?" Pei Zhixi raised an eyebrow, her eyes showing surprise.
Although An Chi was unwilling to admit it, he still explained his guess: "Ge Jin left, and no one stopped her from drinking all that wine, so she drank it all by herself. I was just dealing with some things, and I didn't know she could be forced to drink so much."
It was his oversight that Su Yao's image of being able to drink without getting drunk left such a deep impression on others that everyone assumed she couldn't get drunk. Little did they know that Ge Jin had previously helped her fend off drinks, and two people drinking together is naturally better than one person drinking alone.
"Tsk tsk, no wonder Shang Jiuqi thinks so highly of Ge Jin." Pei Zhixi sighed. An Chi no longer felt jealous. Compared to this little thing, he was more worried about Su Yao's condition.
He suddenly became impatient, a sinister glint in his eyes, and his tone changed, his impatience practically written all over his face. "Will you help or not?"
"Are you just pretending to be patient in front of Su Yao?!" Pei Zhixi shouted, making Su Yao frown and tremble involuntarily.
An Chi's body was already tense from leaning on Su Yao, and now, he was so angry that his jaw tightened. But he still took care of Su Yao first. He put the phone in his pocket with his other hand, rubbed his hands on his clothes to warm them up, and then covered Su Yao's ear with his hand.
Previously, Su said that Pei Zhixi was a difficult person to deal with, with the temper of a young master. He would insist on talking back and forth before doing anything, even though she said he could do it. Therefore, she preferred to deal with Shang Jiuqi, who was straightforward and didn't talk much.
He didn't contact them and didn't know anything. He only chose him because he saw that everyone else had friends and he was the only one standing there alone. If he had known it would be this troublesome, he should have asked Shang Jiuqi or Zhou Qingran, who seemed unreliable, as they would have been more reliable.
"Why don't you deliver it yourself?" Pei Zhixi acted like a young master who would wait for him to finish speaking before asking him for help.
“Su Yao said that your ex-girlfriend didn’t want you because you had too much of a spoiled brat attitude. I used to think that rich people’s sons would always have a bit of a spoiled brat attitude, but now I realize I was wrong. You don’t have a spoiled brat attitude, you have a spoiled brat syndrome.” An Chi explained calmly, and after speaking, he picked Su Yao up by the waist and placed his other hand, which was loosely placed by his ear, on the back of his leg.
Pei Zhixi was left alone, still angry.
An Chi had no choice but to let Su hug him tighter and tighter, finally whispering in his ear, "An Chi, you've made Pei Zhixi angry."
He glanced at her cheeks, which were already slightly flushed; An Chi had never seen her like this before.
Her neatly tied hair fell loose across her face, the redness at the tips of her ears being the most noticeable feature. The bright white pearl earrings she wore, one white and one red, made her look even brighter. The vibrant red of her lips had faded, replaced by their original pinkish hue. Her fingers clung to his neck, the fingertips trembling occasionally as they touched his skin. The soft down on his skin and the smoothness of her fingertips caressed him. Su Yao didn't look drunk at all; she was a lustful fox.
"Don't move around, Su Yao," An Chi sighed.
He hugged Su Yao tighter and walked to Shang Jiuqi, who was closest to them, saying, "Help me take Su Yao back."
Shang Jiu glanced at him sideways. He hadn't been drinking today because he wanted to drive, so he could help. He asked one more question: "Can you walk by yourself?"
"I'll help you put it in the car."
"walk."
That makes things much easier.
An Chi tiptoed Su Yao to the car, a sight that made Shang Jiu Qi sigh with admiration.
An Chi went back to clean up the mess, Shang Jiu got into the car, started the engine, and drove off.
Su touched her head; she felt a little dizzy, but was still somewhat conscious.
"Have you been pretending enough?" Shang Jiuqi said sarcastically.
Su opened the window, and a howling cold wind rushed in, while the heat rushed out. She gasped, the cold air penetrating her body and chilling her to the bone. Su became even more sober. "I wasn't pretending. I did drink a lot today. I'm dizzy. Drive slowly."
"Okay." Shang Jiu listened to her explanation, neither saying whether he believed her nor not, and simply agreed to her last sentence.
He was driving towards Royal Bay. Su wanted to know him, so she spoke again, "To the downtown flat."
Shang Jiu chuckled, "You really think I'm your driver?"
With just that one sentence, the car turned around at the next intersection and headed towards the ground floor.
After escorting Su Yao downstairs, Shang Jiuqi left, and Su Yao went upstairs by herself.
It was a dark place, with no lights on.
Su opened it and found a small gift box tower, similar to the one at the banquet, but a miniature version.
She knew it was An Chi who prepared it.
She didn't care about any of that, she sat down on the ground with her legs crossed, and started unwrapping the gifts.
There were all sorts of different things, each with a label indicating how old the gift was. Even though he had been gone for four years, he had given her more than ten gifts.
After spending ages unpacking, I still haven't received this year's gift.
The last one, finally here.
She opened it and found a thick letter. She flipped through it and found not only letters but also postcards.
Looking through them, it's clear that An Chi wrote a postcard almost every week. Over the years, he's sent a postcard to almost every place he's been to—San Francisco, California, Los Angeles… mostly places in the Americas, but also some in Europe.
She was mesmerized; each postcard had a message written by him.
The one that pierced her to the bone the most was the one from Iceland.
He said: Su Yao, I want to die here.
Su didn't know what his attitude was when he said those simple words, but they were a shock to her. She still didn't understand what he had been through, and a feeling of guilt welled up inside her.
An Chi was all alone in a foreign land, with only the long nights to keep him company.
Su should think this way.
If An Chi were with her and knew about her thoughts, he would only find it funny: the rich frantically absorb spiritual power, while the poor are still worrying about whether they will have their next meal.
He had already overcome this loneliness when he was a child, when he couldn't even afford warm clothes, so he didn't care about it that much.
Even in his most empty moments, he didn't feel lonely; he still had friends around him. An Chi only struggled because he couldn't perceive his own worth, and even considered taking his own life.
He likes to travel alone, he travels all over the world.
I have been to many cities and many places.
When Anchi went to Iceland, he chose the time to go, which happened to coincide with the polar night. He was in darkness all day long. He held the hot milk given to him by the guesthouse owner, sat on a small stool, and his phone still wouldn't charge, but he wasn't in a hurry.
He guessed it must be because of the cold weather.
Anchi sits from morning till night, changing his hot milk into hot tea. Not many people pass by, and at this time, no one goes out because it's too cold and too dark.
The feeling of emptiness was even stronger.
After sitting all day, An Chi felt exhausted when he returned to his room. His eyes were sore and painful, his eyelids were drooping, and his neck and shoulders felt like they were stuck. He turned his arm and heard his bones cracking. The boss knocked on the door and asked him if he needed something to eat.
His mind went blank, and all he could hear was the twitching of the muscles at the corner of his mouth, like frozen meat slowly thawing in a refrigerator: "No, thank you."
He sat hunched over his desk, pen in hand, postcards pressing down on his fingers. He had been in Iceland for over two days but hadn't written anything down. He looked at the tightly sealed window; it wasn't the color of the sky. The owner had covered it with sealing strips to keep it warm.
Suddenly, I feel that this kind of life is meaningless.
So he picked up his pen and wrote: Su Yao, I want to die here.
He simply wanted to write down what he saw and felt; that was his thought at the time. Yet, he had clearly lived a life far more difficult than this.
He sighed and put the postcard away.
At the party, An Chi's main task was to get everyone to leave. Around midnight, he finally returned home.
Su Yao lay on the sofa, clutching the postcard in her hand, surrounded by various gift bags, boxes, and letters scattered on the floor.
An Chi took out the postcard and saw an extra sentence on it: An Chi, take a nap.
This statement was nonsensical, but Su Yao must have her own thoughts. He didn't pay much attention to it and instead picked Su Yao up and carried her to the bedroom.
Perhaps because she had something on her mind, Su woke up while walking. Her first words upon waking were: "Sleep for a while, An Chi. Sleeping is a kind of temporary death."
Startled, An Chi stopped in his tracks, but quickly composed himself and walked inside. His subconscious thought after his initial shock was that Su would be cold sleeping like that.
After settling Su in, An Chi recalled the words he had just heard: "Sleeping is a form of temporary death."
She didn't tell him to live well, nor did she tell him that his idea was wrong; instead, she suggested that he take a nap.
Because sleeping is the shortest form of death in the world.
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