Chapter 10 Drunkenness
Wu Zhou reeked of alcohol, his eyes were glazing, he was very drunk, and he slowly stood up while supporting himself on the armrest.
Under the light, his muscles were taut and his movements, even raising his hand, exuded an undeniable power. His eyes were fixed on the river gorge, making one's heart tighten.
“Jiang Xia?” Wu Zhou’s voice was hoarse and deep, as if he couldn’t believe that Jiang Xia would be here.
Jiang Xia took the opportunity to stride forward and extend his hand to greet him.
"Good evening, Mr. Wu."
His fingers were long and slender, with distinct knuckles, very beautiful, and good in every way, except that they were as cold as ice.
The two shook hands.
Wu Zhou's body temperature was too high. The moment he touched Jiang Xia, it was like a red-hot iron, so hot that Jiang Xia tried to forcefully shake him off.
Wu Zhou was clearly drunk. He hadn't let go of her hand yet, and his right foot took a step forward, causing his body to lean slightly.
Jiang Xia quickly supported him.
A faint scent of red wine emanated from the man, mingling with the perfume on his clothes, and like Wu Zhou's own domineering aura, it invaded Jiang Xia's nose with overwhelming force.
He looked up at Wu Zhou; he was clearly heavily intoxicated.
Before coming, Jiang Xia learned from Zhan Lintian that after the celebration banquet tonight, they would temporarily move to this venue, and several friends who are good at wine would like to bring more than a dozen bottles of wine from wineries abroad for everyone to evaluate.
In an effort to help Jiang Xia, Zhan Lintian toasted Wu Zhou several times, hoping to get him drunk so he would speak the truth.
Previously, Wu Zhou was very mindful of his limits and wouldn't get drunk easily.
But tonight, he sat on the rooftop balcony of the private room, holding a glass of red wine, enjoying the bustling night view of Montreal while downing one glass after another.
This gave Jiang Xia an opportunity. Zhan Lintian stood up and took the initiative to introduce him to the others: "This is Jiang Xia."
Today wasn't entirely a gathering of acquaintances; some people had managed to sneak in, so his calling Jiang Xia over wasn't too abrupt.
Upon hearing this, Wu Zhou straightened up on his own. Once he felt less dizzy, he nodded, which was considered an admission.
As the one who invited Jiang Xia, Zhan Lintian couldn't directly tell Jiang Xia to stay; he had to see what the other people or the host wanted.
Wu Zhou didn't ask anyone to leave, which meant he was halfway to success.
Zhan Lintian's friend Ying Hua stepped forward from the side and familiarly put his right hand on Jiang Xia's shoulder: "Jiang Xia, I finally managed to get you out of here. Come on, let's have a drink."
Just as the wine glass was about to touch Jiang Xia's lips, a hand gripped Ying Hua's wrist tightly, making him shudder with pain.
Wu Zhou seemed to have sobered up a bit, but his voice was still slightly hoarse: "He doesn't drink."
Jiang Xia looked at the palm of his hand. He didn't drink, smoke, gamble, or play video games, but only Wu Ming knew these things. Did Wu Zhou also know that he didn't drink?
Jiang Xia lowered his eyes, probably because Wu Ming was making fun of him by saying in front of his older brother that he was old-fashioned and had no private life.
He has recently become aware of the drinking culture at banquets, and while he doesn't expect to have a high alcohol tolerance, he at least wants to be able to appreciate wine.
But you can't develop good drinking skills overnight; you can only practice slowly.
Wu Zhou said, "Please sit down."
Everyone agreed.
Upon seeing this, Jiang Xia looked around and found that only the middle section between Wu Zhou and Zhan Lintian was the widest.
Are the other people too afraid to sit there?
Zhan Lintian raised an eyebrow, looked at Jiang Xia, and patted the sofa lightly: "Sit down."
Jiang Xia was forced to sit between the two people.
The heat emanating from their bodies seeped directly into their clothes and clung to their skin.
The room was very warm. In Montreal, which was gradually turning to winter, he came in a hurry and left quickly. He took off his dark brown coat and draped it over his elbow, wearing only a short-sleeved shirt.
Short-sleeved, layered shirt design, with a crisp shirt fabric inside and a loose shirt shape on the outside, looks formal yet stylish.
The clothes were thin, but Jiang Xia felt that Wu Zhou was a huge fireball, so hot that he couldn't stand it.
At this moment, Zhan Lintian spoke in a low voice: "Speaking of which, Yinghua's family is in the book business. I'll introduce you two to each other another day."
Ying Hua also owns a publishing house, which overlaps with Jiang Xia's current work.
However, Jiang Xia already knew Ying Hua before. He saw Ying Hua on the cruise ship last time, and there was someone standing next to Ying Hua at the time.
It seems that the person next to Ying Hua that day was Zhan Lintian.
Mr. Zhan was always willing to help others, and Jiang Xia was very grateful for his help on many occasions, so he smiled instinctively.
Zhan Lintian took a sip of wine, looking at the forced smile on Jiang Xia's face, and thought to himself: He is clearly not used to this kind of scene, but he still tries to squeeze in. Does he like Wu Ming that much?
He lightly lit the cigarette with his finger.
The first time I met Jiang Xia, he had just gotten off work and hadn't even changed his clothes yet. He was rushing to the port to take care of the drunk Wu Ming.
Why……
Zhan Lintian couldn't find the time to ask him.
After the party ended, everyone left one by one. He went to the restroom to smoke, and as he puffed out smoke, he squinted as he watched the river gorge approach.
Jiang Xia's face gradually became clearer through the smoke.
"You're not staying by Wu Zhou's side? I've created an opportunity for you."
Jiang Xia smiled and said, "He changed his clothes in the bathroom in the private room and got them dirty. I have a few minutes to rest."
Zhan Lintian looked at Jiang Xia, and after a moment, stared into his eyes and asked in a low voice, "Jiang Xia, is it worth it to work so hard for Wu Ming? If he ends up marrying Xie Xingzhang, what will you gain?"
“Wu Mingren is a good person,” Jiang Xia argued.
There was no explanation as to why those painful memories of the past were kept hidden in Duliang's hometown, and that they shouldn't be brought into this modern metropolis, so as not to appear so pitiful.
A faint fragrance filled the air, along with the faint sound of music; it was quiet, safe, and peaceful.
More than ten years ago, he boarded at school when he was in junior high school. The school conditions were poor, with eight people in a dormitory, one sink, and two people sharing a toilet.
The teaching staff is excellent, but the accommodation is poor because the school is not convenient to expand and there are too many students.
Winters in Duliang are cold and humid, with the winter wind carrying dampness blowing through the cracks.
When Wu Ming found out, he insisted on staying in the dormitory and begged his family to use their connections to transfer him to the teachers' dormitory. The next day, he carried Jiang Xia's bedding to the new dormitory and even took the old books from under his pillow.
That night, Jiang Xia snuggled into the warm, fluffy blankets, listening to Wu Ming's breathing, and an unprecedented sense of happiness welled up within him.
Everything is getting better now, but people's desires haven't changed; they still crave more.
He then tried to use suffering to escape his feelings of unease.
When Jiang Xia was a child, he longed more than once to have a serious illness so that he would have the courage to escape his predicament and gain the attention of adults, just like the poor children in the news who would be treated by kind doctors.
But he was too healthy, so healthy that he couldn't even fake having a fever.
It wasn't until Wu Ming came to Duliang due to family changes that Jiang Xia noticed he wasn't happy when he stood on the podium and introduced himself.
It was raining on the day he went to school. Wu Ming fell in the morning and got mud on his trouser legs. He didn't eat lunch and just slept on the table.
Jiang Xia thought he was just as pitiful as she was, and as if she were trying to save another version of herself, she mustered up her courage to talk to him and even gave him a steamed bun.
And so, their destiny began.
Jiang Xia looked at the wealthy young man in front of him. According to Wu Ming, he and these people should have been parallel lines, never intersecting, but now they had only met briefly because of a mistake.
I may not care about others, but I cannot give up on Wu Ming.
The other party has helped him many times, and I feel obligated to repay that kindness...
Jiang Xia neither explained nor answered, but instead asked, "Didn't President Zhan help me many times because of the small favors I did for him?"
Looking at his smile, Zhan Lintian raised an eyebrow: "I understand. You can go with Wu Zhou later. Whether Wu Zhou speaks the truth or talks nonsense after drinking depends on your ability."
"By the way, I'm recording a video. Can you say a few words to my niece?"
He was speechless at this request.
The incident started when Jiang Xia was buying dolls for his daughter in Chongqing. He appeared on camera and said a few words. In the video, Jiang Xia seemed kind and approachable, and his little niece wanted to play with him.
Zhan Lintian dotes on the only next generation member in the family.
The camera is pointed at the Yangtze River Gorge.
Jiang Xia asked, "What's the child's name?"
"Wenwen."
Zhan Lintian looked at Jiang Xia in the camera, and Jiang Xia smiled gently: "Little Wenwen, do you like your new gift? Next time, Uncle will celebrate the holiday with them with you."
He is indeed not young anymore; at twenty-six or twenty-seven, he is considered old and unmarried in a small county town.
A younger generation has emerged, and Jiang Xia readily accepts the title of "uncle."
Zhan Lintian put away his phone and glanced at the video: "Okay, don't overwork yourself."
In the distance, Ying Hua called out to him, and Zhan Lintian responded before turning and leaving.
"I'm leaving now."
"Goodbye, Mr. Zhan."
Jiang Xia returned to the private room, ostensibly to retrieve the bag he had left behind.
In reality, he had deliberately left his bag behind, using it as an excuse to come back and re-enter the private room.
Now only Wu Zhou is present.
He sat on the sofa and closed his eyes to rest. As the host, he had drunk the most alcohol tonight. He had just drunk some hangover soup, but it didn't help.
Assistant Xie was dealing with something, and he was conflicted: "It's great that you haven't left yet!"
Jiang Xia, who had other plans in mind, nodded awkwardly: "Something was left behind."
"Help me get Mr. Wu to the next room. He definitely won't be able to go back tonight. I'll contact the family doctor, find two more caregivers, and arrange for a personal assistant." Assistant Xie took his phone and went to the side to make a call.
After Xie finished doing all this, he checked his phone and said, "The caregiver will be here in about ten minutes. I need to go home to see my wife and kids first. Jiang Xia, can you wait here for me?"
"Please, please, if I miss that subway, I'll have to take a taxi home, which is super expensive."
Jiang Xia reluctantly agreed: "You go first, there won't be any problems if you go first."
Assistant Xie gave an OK sign, indicating that there was no problem.
Jiang Xia sighed helplessly, but he couldn't blame anyone else; he had come here of his own volition.
He has a knack for taking care of drunk people.
After graduating from university, Wu Ming always loved to go out and have fun, and he would easily get drunk after drinking.
He expertly unbuttoned Mr. Wu's shirt; the Wu brothers were probably of similar drinking character.
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A note from the author:
Actually, Rabbit's draft save software also contains Jiang Xia and Zhan Lintian's fragrant rice, hehehehehehe...
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