Chapter 402 The Woman Who Looks Seven-tenths Like Her
In this kind of situation, female companions are merely decorative elements to lighten the mood. Zhou Mubin didn't even lift his eyelids, his fingers holding an unlit cigarette, his knuckles turning white from the force.
He gently pushed away the wine glass that was offered to him, the rims clinking together with a crisp sound. The girl's smile froze for a moment, and she tactfully stepped aside.
"Brother, don't you like these two?"
Xu Chenghao, who organized the gathering, leaned over and said in a low voice, "I expected this, I saved a good one for you."
He clapped his hands and called out to the inner room, "Miaomiao, come and have a couple of drinks with my brother Zhou."
The footsteps approached from afar, carrying a faint scent of gardenias, a refreshing fragrance that seemed almost abrupt, unlike the strong perfumes in the tavern.
Zhou Mubin remained leaning against the back of the sofa, his gaze fixed on the wine stains on the table. Only when the figure sat down in the empty seat opposite him did he casually raise his eyes.
At first glance, she seemed like a slender girl, but when she looked up, raised her glass, and smiled politely at him, Zhou Mubin's breath hitched.
The arch of her eyebrows, the way her eyes slightly upturned when she smiled, and even the way she lightly bit her lower lip when she spoke, all bore a striking resemblance to Cui Xiao.
His relaxed posture instantly tensed, and the cigarette between his fingers fell to the ground, which he subconsciously stubbed out with his foot.
Zhou Mubin's voice, slightly hoarse even he himself didn't realize, broke the noise at the table, "What's your name?"
The girl named Miaomiao paused for a moment, then gave a shy smile. "My name is Miaomiao."
She held out her glass, saying, "Brother Zhou, let me toast you."
Zhou Mubin then noticed the difference between her and Cui Xiao. Cui Xiao's eyes always carried a tenacious spirit of not giving up, while Miao Miao's eyes were full of timid gentleness.
But these subtle differences are almost negligible in the face of those seven-tenths similar appearances.
He reached for the wine glass on the table and, for the first time, clinked glasses with someone. The wine went down his throat, but the spicy taste couldn't suppress the emotions surging in his heart.
Seeing this, Xu Chenghao quickly tried to smooth things over, "I went to great lengths to find Miaomiao. If Brother Zhou likes her, let her chat with you more."
Zhou Mubin didn't speak, but his gaze was fixed on Miao Miao's face, as if he wanted to find Cui Xiao's shadow in that similar face.
Miao Miao felt a little uncomfortable under his gaze. She tucked a stray hair behind her ear and looked away in a fluster. Little did she know that this appearance reminded Zhou Mubin of the first time he met Cui Xiao. She was clearly shy and nervous, yet so determined.
Later, Cui Xiao asked more than once why she chose a recent graduate with no experience and not from a prestigious university from among so many job seekers.
Zhou Mubin replied with two words: "I forgot."
In fact, even now, Zhou Mubin still remembers what Cui Xiao looked like when he first met her eleven years ago.
Although she had no advantages, her stubbornness was just like his when he left the Zhou family to start his own law firm; they were both so determined to go all in.
He didn't give himself a chance to turn back, and neither did she.
In other words, they are, in a sense, the same kind of people, which is why Zhou Mubin chose her.
Zhou Mubin looked her up and down, and finally his lips moved as he asked in a deep voice, "How good is your alcohol tolerance?"
Miao Miao replied cautiously, "I can drink a little, but my alcohol tolerance isn't particularly high."
Looking at the face that bore a resemblance to Cui Xiao, Zhou Mubin could only think of Cui Xiao.
In the past, when he had social engagements, Cui Xiao would always drink for him, as if she never got drunk.
Zhou Mubin chuckled, "She has a high alcohol tolerance."
Miao Miao asked, puzzled, "Huh?"
Zhou Mubin didn't offer any further explanation. Instead, he asked the waiter to bring some lemon water and pushed it in front of Miao Miao, saying, "Drink this, don't force yourself."
Xu Chenghao and the others around him were dumbfounded. Everyone knew that Zhou Mubin had recently lost interest in women. He would not only refuse to change drinks for his female companions, but he also found it troublesome to say even a single word.
Xu Chenghao was perceptive, so he quickly invited the others to play dice, deliberately diverting the noise to the other side to give the two of them some space.
Miao Miao held the slightly cool lemonade, secretly glancing at Zhou Mubin. Seeing that he was still staring at her, she hurriedly lowered her head, her fingertips tracing thin watermarks on the glass. "Thank you, Brother Zhou... You are different from other young noblemen."
These words made Zhou Mubin raise an eyebrow. "Different? How are they different?"
Miao Miao's cheeks flushed slightly, and her voice lowered, "Brother Zhou is a good person, a very, very good man."
Zhou Mubin suddenly burst out laughing.
This is the first time someone has described him as a "good person".
Miao Miao held the slightly cool lemonade, secretly glancing at Zhou Mubin. Seeing that he was still staring at her, she hurriedly lowered her head, her fingertips tracing thin water marks on the glass. "I'm a little nervous when you look at me like that."
She paused, then added softly, "Do I look a lot like that person?"
These words jolted Zhou Mubin back to his senses, his eyes instantly sharpening. "Who told you that?"
Miao Miao looked at Xu Chenghao timidly, "Young Master Xu told me that I look a lot like the woman you like, and that I must take good care of you."
Zhou Mubin's gaze locked onto Miao Miao, "She does look very much like her."
The sudden sense of oppression startled Miao Miao, causing her to shake the cup in her hand and spill a few drops of lemonade onto her skirt.
After a moment of silence, Zhou Mubin spoke first, chatting casually, "Have you been working here for a long time?"
Miao Miao shook her head. "I've only been here for half a month. I study at a university nearby and come here on weekends to work part-time and earn some living expenses."
"Going to university?" Zhou Mubin's eyebrows twitched slightly. "What major?"
Miao Miao answered honestly, "I study law."
"Studied law?" Zhou Mubin's pupils contracted slightly, his hand holding the wine glass froze in mid-air, his eyes filled with unexpected astonishment.
He let out a low chuckle; the coincidence had come so unexpectedly.
He had been working in the legal profession for five years, handling countless cases, both big and small. Now, the girl in front of him, who bore a striking resemblance to Cui Xiao, turned out to be a law student.
Zhou Mubin leaned forward slightly, the oppressive feeling in his eyes lessening, replaced by a more professional scrutiny. "What a coincidence, I also studied law."
Miao Miao naturally only knew this.
Her eyes lit up, and her earlier timidity lessened somewhat. Her tone carried a hint of a student's admiration for a senior: "I know that our criminal law professors often use the cases you've handled as excellent examples, saying that your defense logic is particularly meticulous, and that we should all learn from you. You are an idol for us law students."
She became more and more excited as she spoke, her fingertips unconsciously clenching the hem of her clothes. The way her eyes shone was more similar to Cui Xiao's initial appearance.
Zhou Mubin couldn't help but call out, "Cui Xiao..."
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