She frowned, and Chen Baifei, who was standing next to her, noticed her discomfort. He was about to take the wine glass from her when he was suddenly elbowed. He turned around and saw Lu Shuangshuang frowning. "Mom is calling us. Come quickly."
While pulling him over, she turned back to greet everyone, "Don't be shy with my sister, drink as much as you like."
Helplessly, Chen Baifei was pulled away by her, and before leaving, he looked back at her one last time.
Xu Xinchen knew her body wasn't up to par, so she immediately tried to leave. But as soon as she took a step, someone grabbed her wrist. "Hey, where are you going? You haven't had your drink yet."
Xu Xinchen looked at the greasy, fat man holding her hand and felt disgusted, but she didn't want to be the center of attention at the wedding banquet. She simply pulled her hand away without making a sound, smiled at the man, and said, "I'm going to the restroom."
"Finish this drink first." The man blocked her path without moving an inch, his eyes lecherously fixed on her, clearly not intending to let her go.
Someone behind them jeered, "Bridesmaid, hurry up and drink! Don't even think about escaping!"
"The last glass." After she finished speaking, she picked up the glass in one go, and was about to pour it down when suddenly her hand felt light, and the glass was taken away.
She turned around and saw Chen Ningsheng appear out of nowhere, holding a wine glass between his slender, pale fingers. He suddenly stepped in front of her, gave the man a cold laugh, and said, "I'll drink it for her."
"Who are you? Don't disturb our good time." The man glanced at him disdainfully, stepped forward and shoved him, trying to pull Xu Xinchen out from behind. But the push hit hard muscles. Chen Ningsheng was as immovable as a god, while the man almost fell flat on his face.
A burst of laughter erupted behind him.
The man nearly embarrassed himself in front of everyone; his face flushed red, and he angrily demanded, "What do you want?"
Chen Ningsheng didn't answer, but turned around, grabbed Xu Xinchen's hand, and left.
That man couldn't just let it go like that, but he didn't dare to challenge Chen Ningsheng again. With his man's intuition, he could feel the powerful aura emanating from the man.
But in a moment of inspiration, he shouted, "Dare to have a real man's contest? The winner gets to take her away."
Two seconds later, he successfully saw the two stop walking.
He was practically bursting with laughter inside. He couldn't compete with anyone else in other areas, but when it came to drinking, with his long-standing reputation for being able to drink a thousand cups without getting drunk, there was no one in Qingyuan Town who could rival him. This guy was probably asking for trouble.
Xu Xinchen watched as Chen Ningsheng turned around and walked step by step to the man's side, then asked, "How do we compete?"
She was also a little unsure. In fact, it wouldn't have been a big deal if they had just left. She didn't understand why Chen Ningsheng insisted on accepting the challenge.
Instead of using a small wine cup, Yang Laosan found a large enamel cup from somewhere. These cups have a large capacity and are usually used for drinking water or tea. But Yang Laosan directly picked up the bottle of Erguotou on the table, poured a whole cup into it, and without saying a word, tilted his head back and gulped it down.
The people around watched this scene with trepidation, not daring to breathe, and the air was filled with a deathly silence.
Xu Xinchen approached Chen Ningsheng. He remained calm and watched everything without changing his expression. However, Xu Xinchen felt a little worried. She didn't know Chen Ningsheng's alcohol tolerance, but most people couldn't handle drinking such a large glass.
After thinking for a moment, she gently tugged at Chen Ningsheng's sleeve and said worriedly, "Don't force yourself if you can't do it."
The person in front of her didn't move, but she vaguely saw a slight curve at the corner of his mouth. "Look closely, how could I lose?"
His deep, magnetic voice carried a masculine air of arrogance and swagger.
Xu Xinchen was slightly taken aback.
After Yang Laosan finished his drink, Chen Ningsheng didn't pour any more wine from the bottle. Instead, he found a new, unopened bottle of Erguotou under the table. He opened the bottle with one hand, and Yang Laosan handed him the large enamel mug, but he didn't take it.
Yang Laosan chuckled inwardly, thinking to himself, "This kid doesn't even dare to accept a cup, what a coward."
However, the next moment, he was stunned.
Chen Ningsheng picked up the entire bottle of Erguotou and poured it down the neck of the bottle. He tilted his head back, and only his Adam's apple could be seen bobbing up and down as the liquor in the bottle gradually decreased.
Xu Xinchen was stunned for a moment, then rushed forward to snatch the bottle from his hand, shouting, "Are you crazy?"
But before she could grab it, Chen Ningsheng swallowed the last bite.
Chen Ningsheng's face turned bright red immediately after finishing the drink. The surrounding air was unusually quiet. A group of people, young and old, men and women, gathered around to watch the show. No one spoke. The air was so thick you could hear a pin drop. All eyes were on him, as if they were watching a lunatic.
He ignored the stares, casually wiped his mouth with his hand, and looked sharply at Yang Laosan, a smirk playing on his lips. "How about it? Still..."
Should we compete or not?
Yang Laosan opened his mouth, staring blankly at the madman in front of him. If it were up to his drinking capacity, he could barely manage another drink, but his body remained stiff and motionless. He knew that as long as he didn't stop, this competition would continue indefinitely, unless someone fell down first. He saw a reckless, suicidal spirit in the other man's eyes.
"A madman, is it worth it for a woman?" he cursed under his breath.
Then he lowered his head, looked at no one, and silently left the crowd.
A burst of enthusiastic applause and cheers erupted around them. Xu Xinchen quickly stepped forward to support him. She could tell that, given his alcohol tolerance, this was already his limit. "Should we go to the hospital?" she asked worriedly.
Chen Ningsheng shook his head, trying his best to support his body and prevent too much force from pressing down on her.
Xu Xinchen still led Chen Ningsheng to the Moon Bridge at the southernmost part of the town. Under the tall sycamore trees, in a dark and secluded spot, the sound of vomiting came one after another. After vomiting, Chen Ningsheng went to the river to wash himself up briefly.
Xu Xinchen sat by the river, watching him carefully tidy himself up. She felt a surge of guilt as this stranger, whom she had only met a few times, hurt himself so much for her.
Chen Ningsheng had finished tidying himself up, his clean face without a trace of mess. His cold profile was even more sharp in the moonlight, and the well-defined curves extended down to his collarbone, revealing a strange sexiness.
Xu Xinchen glanced at him and then looked away. The light around her dimmed, and Chen Ningsheng sat down next to her.
"Are you alright?" Xu Xinchen turned to look at him, her eyes filled with obvious worry.
"What's a little bit of wine?" he scoffed.
Xu Xinchen knew he was putting on a brave face, but she didn't call him out on it. After a few seconds, she finally spoke, "Thank you."
"No need." He said lazily and indifferently, "I can't stand to see a girl like you being made things difficult."
"In our northern region, women are meant to be protected by men."
Surprisingly, Xu Xinchen didn't refute these boastful claims. Instead, she lowered her face and a slight smile appeared on her lips.
Chen Ningsheng sighed, lay down, and sank into the grass. The bright moonlight above illuminated the area, making it appear as if covered with a milky white halo. At the end of the grass, a babbling brook flowed, bringing a touch of coolness. The water was clear and the air was quiet, with only the cicadas chirping in the trees.
He half-closed his eyes, rested his arms behind his head, and relaxed, feeling everything around him. Suddenly, a faint fragrance wafted to his nose. It was very faint and refreshing, but it lingered around him.
He thought it was the scent of flowers and looked around, but found nothing. Suddenly his gaze fixed on the woman in front of him. Her back was straight, and her clothes outlined her curves in a graceful way. Her waist was like a slender scallion, and he estimated that he could wrap his arms around it. Further up, a long neck extended from her clothes, as white as snow, even more dazzling than the moon hanging in the sky.
Chen Ningsheng's eyes darkened, and his throat tightened. He tilted his head and shifted his gaze away from the person in front of him.
For a long time, neither of them spoke again. One sat, and the other lay down, with a strange tacit understanding.
Suddenly, footsteps came from across the river. Xu Xinchen felt a lightness in her body and found herself being carried behind a large tree. Chen Ningsheng's presence enveloped her tightly, his breath tickling the back of her neck. She turned her head uncomfortably.
"Don't move," his voice came from behind me.
Faint voices could be heard coming from the bridge; they were probably residents of the town. A woman wondered, "I think I saw two people under the bridge just now, but they disappeared in the blink of an eye?"
The other person replied, "You must be seeing things. It's the middle of the night, no one would have an affair in a place like this. You're getting old, your eyesight needs to improve."
The man didn't mind being teased and laughed, "How can my old eyes compare to Zhao Lanzhi's? I never expected her to be so stingy, filling her daughter's dowry with nothing but scrap metal. If it weren't for Aunt Yang seeing how heavy the box she prepared was and asking her to open it, we really wouldn't have seen this good show."
"Didn't you see Zhao Lanzhi's face? Her face turned white when she opened the box. She's quite the actress. She personally prepared the dowry for her daughter. How could she not know what was inside? Chen Baifei's mother was furious when she saw it. She refused to go through with the engagement and left with her son. This will definitely become a laughing stock if word gets out."
"Luckily, the marriage didn't happen, and we'll get our betrothal money back."
Laughter echoed through the air.
Xu Xinchen felt a little guilty. She had only tampered with things to prevent Lu Minshi's dowry from being given away for no reason, but she hadn't expected it to cause Lu Shuangshuang's wedding to fall through...
She didn't know what to do. Zhao Lanzhi must be furious right now and would definitely not let her off the hook. She wasn't afraid to confront her directly, but she just didn't want to face either of them.
After the two people on the bridge left, Xu Xinchen and Chen Ningsheng emerged from under the tree. Chen Ningsheng turned to look at her, "Are you alright?"
He had just noticed her stiffness and guessed it might be related to the wedding. So he casually asked her a question.
Xu Xinchen snapped out of her reverie, responded, and then said, "It's getting late, we should go home."
She had just taken a step when her wrist was suddenly grabbed. She turned around and met Chen Ningsheng's eyes.
"What's the rush?" Chen Ningsheng asked anxiously. Seeing that she didn't react, he bent down, put one hand on his abdomen, and scrunched up his face.
Xu Xinchen was shocked to see him like this and quickly asked him what was wrong.
"It's nothing. I just drank too much. I'll be fine after sitting down and resting for a while."
Xu Xinchen sat next to him on the grass. She was worried and wanted to take him to the hospital, but he refused outright. "The clinics in town are all closed now. There's no need to go through all that trouble. Just stay here quietly for a while."
Xu Xinchen didn't force her anymore. She stayed with her and sat quietly for a while. Seeing that she seemed to be feeling a little better, Xu Xinchen gradually relaxed.
After a while, Chen Ningsheng suddenly spoke up, "Have you ever considered going out to see the world outside Qingyuan Town?"
After a while, not hearing a response, he turned his head to look. Xu Xinchen's eyes were closed, as if she had fallen asleep. She tilted her head and leaned towards him. He hurriedly reached out and caught her, placing his palm behind her head and gently leaning her against his shoulder.
She was sleeping soundly, making soft purring sounds like a kitten. Her face, devoid of the daytime radiance, was now filled with gentleness and tranquility.
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