late at night.
Ying Qian had already fallen asleep when her phone under her pillow vibrated a few times.
She was a light sleeper. She slowly opened her eyes, groggily turned on her phone, and saw a message from Meng Beiyan.
Meng Beiyan: [Are you getting used to the house?]
Ying Qian took a deep breath, thought for a while, and replied with two words: "Habit".
The other end replied instantly again: "Aren't you asleep?"
Ying Qian: "..."
You woke me up.
The message hadn't been sent yet.
Meng Beiyan: [Would it be convenient to start a video call?]
She replied with an "ok" emoji.
The next second, the video call audio started playing, and she pressed the answer button.
It was pitch black on her side, and she could only make out an outline with the faint light from her phone screen.
"Do you need me to pick you up on the day of your exam?" His voice was hoarse.
Ying Qian guessed that Wang Mengyao must have told him that there would be no evening self-study on the two days of the class placement exam.
Feeling uneasy, she said apologetically, "No need, I can go back by myself, don't bother you."
These past few days, she's been going home with Chen Wenzhi. They can chat and buy food on the way. Zhao Yaya doesn't say much, and spends all her time studying those few cookbooks.
She smiled sweetly, "My life is great."
Meng Beiyan's eyes were deep, and his Adam's apple bobbed a few times: "That's good."
His slightly tipsy appearance made Ying Qian realize that he must have been drinking outside. Out of concern, she advised him, "Don't drink so much in the future."
Meng Beiyan wasn't in a good mood, perhaps because he had encountered some troubles recently, or perhaps because Chen Wenzhi had said something to him tonight.
Meng Beiyan rested his phone against the tissue box, his hands folded together, his hands behind his head, not looking at the screen. "Talking over the phone is useless. I want you to tell me in person..."
"What?" She thought she had misheard, her mind went blank, and as she pondered the meaning of the words, she already knew the answer. She said, "Aunt Tang won't allow it."
"She insulted you, didn't she?" He apologized awkwardly, his eyes red, like a child whining, "I'm sorry... I'm really sorry... Ying Qian."
He called out Ying Qian's name again and again.
She felt a pang of sadness upon hearing this. Seeing Meng Beiyan resting his chin on his hand, pouring himself another glass of wine and about to drink it, she quickly asked, "Where are you now? I'll come find you, okay?"
“I don’t want you to come looking for me… Ying Qian… I don’t want you to come looking for me…” His voice grew softer and softer.
Ying Qian began to observe the background behind him, and just by looking at the painting on the wall, she knew...
That painting was done by Meng Beiyan. He was a man of many talents, and his works can be found everywhere.
That was a gift he gave to a bartender. She knew that Meng Beiyan had gone to see that bartender for a drink. Fortunately, she had remembered the bartender's address.
After hanging up the phone.
She threw on a jacket and ran out in her denim shorts.
The night was dark and the streetlights cast a dim yellow glow, stretching her shadow long. She looked up at the dark sky and sighed softly, thinking, "I guess I owe him this."
"Why are you out so late at night instead of sleeping?"
The sound of a gate being unlocked came from the side.
Ying Qian didn't turn around, but smiled and asked in a raised voice, "You weren't asleep either, were you?"
"What are we going to do?"
His tall figure loomed over her, and his pleasant fragrance enveloped Ying Qian.
"My brother is drunk, I need to go pick him up," she said softly.
Chen Wenzhi's face instantly turned gloomy. He wrapped his arms around her slender waist from behind, his breathing deep and tender, his chin resting on her shoulder, his voice unchanged.
"Why should you go?"
"His own sister isn't going, his mother isn't going, so why do you have to go?"
"A man and a woman alone in a room, and he's drunk. Ying Qian, don't you know how to protect yourself?"
He was trying hard to suppress the inexplicable feelings in his heart.
He is not a possessive or controlling person; he never has been.
But when faced with this person, he really wanted to possess her; every cell in his body clamored to take her over and make her belong only to him!
He unconsciously blew a breath into Ying Qian's ear, making her feel tingly and numb all over. She had no reason to analyze the meaning behind his words, and her earlobes turned an unusual red.
She placed her hands on his abdomen and gently massaged them, her eyes blank, the lingering shadows on the ground reflected in them.
She said, "But I owe him."
“You never…” Chen Wenzhi suddenly stopped, silently let go of his hand, and stood beside him. “Then I’ll go with you.”
His body language seemed to say, "We are teammates fighting side by side."
Under the light, his features softened, and his aloofness was lessened.
Ying Qian stared at him for a few seconds, saw the faint curve of his lips, and smiled in unison, "Mm."
They took a taxi.
Chen Wenzhi leaned on Ying Qian's shoulder and rested for a while.
She thought back to that night with Meng Beiyan, when he leaned against her like this, but the feeling was just different.
She prefers Chen Wenzhi; she doesn't reject him at all.
Driven by a mischievous impulse, she started playing with Chen Wenzhi's hair, tugging at the left side and then the right.
Ying Qian noticed his frown and guessed that he must have woken up.
But he was indulging him.
Thinking of this, she smiled again. Most of the time, having him around was wonderful.
*
“He has so many friends,” Chen Wenzhi couldn’t help but say.
Ying Qian pursed her lips, "He's a lawyer, so he takes on a lot of cases and naturally knows a lot of people."
"Um."
The hallway lights came on because of their conversation.
Chen Wenzhi pressed the elevator button. Stepping out of the elevator, he found himself in complete darkness, with only the emergency exit sign glowing green.
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