Chapter 5 Biting Ice (New)
Cheng Ti finally managed to break free from her deep thoughts, but Lu Cheng was still chattering away, "We all thought your brother would be able to make some progress with them once he returned from out of town. They were the school's golden boy and girl back then. What a pity, there hasn't been any movement in over a year... Never mind. Speaking of which, I was the one who introduced this girl to them—"
Cheng Ti was stunned: "Out of town? When did he go there?"
Lu Cheng was also quite surprised. "Your brother went out of town right after graduation. He was gone for almost four years and only came back two years ago. You didn't know?"
Cheng Ti just asked: "Where did he go?"
"I guess he's just working hard on his career. What other hobbies could your brother have? He comes back and he's the CEO."
Cheng Ti smiled bitterly and thought: Xunmei is the daughter of an entrepreneur. No matter how outstanding Shao Mengdong was back then, he hadn't graduated yet and couldn't even be called a noble son from a poor family. Of course, Xunmei's family wouldn't approve of him.
Leaving right after graduation and only coming back when he's successful is exactly how Shao Mengdong does things. He's so proud and stubborn, I'm afraid it would be useless to introduce him to a girl.
Cheng Ti didn't even ask Xunmei if she had a boyfriend.
Sooner or later, the woman he sets his eyes on will fall into his hands.
Lu Cheng looked even sadder than her, sighing endlessly, "Look at your brother, what does it mean to be a young talent, what does it mean to be an urban elite? And then look at me, I'm almost thirty and I haven't even finished my studies yet."
Zhao Yu comforted him from the side: "As a doctor, it's inevitable that the initial investment is high. Angels in white, how noble."
"Yes, there is nothing left, only sentiment."
Cheng Ti glanced at Zhao Yu and remembered something: "By the way, is there a doctor named... Wu in your gastroenterology department?"
"Are you talking about Wu Mingzheng?" Lu Cheng mentioned the name and saw the girl's eyes light up beside Cheng Ti. He couldn't help laughing. "You're asking a little late. I just attended the full moon banquet for his son last month."
…
After leaving the hospital, Zhao Yu was still immersed in the depression of almost coveting a married man. Looking at Cheng Ti who was traveling with the gods, he felt that it was just a sad scene between two sad people. Remembering that the doctor had just said that she had recovered and had no dietary restrictions, he decided to take her to the bar.
Cheng Ti had no objection and agreed absentmindedly.
Cheng Ti and Zhao Yu are typical introverts and extroverts. The former's specific manifestation of low mood is hiding away and drinking alone, while the latter's face becomes more lively the more depressed he is in his heart.
Zhao Yu has been an active and charismatic person since she was in school. As long as she wanted, no matter whether she knew them or not, she could make a bunch of friends wherever she went. What's more, she had alcohol as a killer weapon. So as soon as she arrived at the bar, she would hook up with a bunch of men and women, play roulette and truth or dare, and have a great time drinking to relieve her sorrow.
I was so high until the party ended, I added a few contacts, and when I turned around, Cheng Ti was still drinking alone in the corner of the sofa. The bottle of red wine was almost empty, and she was drunk.
There was a frivolous young man next to her, who was saying something to her and smiling frivolously as he spoke. Cheng Ti ignored him and continued to drink one glass after another.
"What are you doing!" Zhao Yu yelled, taking a few steps forward, pointing at Cheng Ti and warning the man, "It's illegal to flirt with a newlywed woman, do you understand?"
After sending the man away, Zhao Yu sat down and said to Cheng Ti angrily, "You're just a kindergarten kid. You ate all the candy without even looking at it. If you keep doing this, I'll tell your husband."
Cheng Ti smiled and quickly responded: "Who are you trying to scare? It's not like you don't know what's going on between us."
Zhao Yu poked her head and said, "Good girl, you're quite understanding. You're just pretending to be drunk."
Cheng Ti felt dazed and uncomfortable, and leaned on Zhao Yu's shoulder, acting like a spoiled child: "Who else do you want to complain to? My dad? My mom? Sorry, they are either dead or I am not familiar with them..."
Zhao Yu felt sad when he heard this. He turned his head and saw that her eyes were closed and her breath was full of alcohol. She didn't respond when he spoke, as if she was asleep. He felt angry: You are quiet now, but you don't even have an emergency contact. You didn't tell me where you live, so where should I send you?
Zhao Yu naturally thought of Shao Mengdong.
Zhao Yu only knew a simple outline of what happened between them, such as Cheng Ti and the brother she depended on for everything were actually not related by blood, and that her sister had a crush on him but was unsuccessful, so she later went abroad with her biological mother.
Although Cheng Ti said that she had not been in contact with the other party for many years, Shao Mengdong clearly asked for her address to send something to Cheng Ti, which shows that although the man has a strong personality and seems unkind, he is actually a qualified brother.
At least not as cold as she said.
Thinking of this, Zhao Yu took out her cell phone and found the number that Shao Mengdong had used to contact her. Not sure if he had changed his number, she tried calling him first.
The call didn't go through the first time, and Zhao Yu was thinking of calling someone else to send Cheng Ti back home first. Less than ten minutes later, his cell phone rang, and it was the same number calling back.
She said carefully: "Hello, is this Mr. Shao?"
"Are you Cheng Ti's friend?"
Unexpectedly, he still remembered her. Zhao Yu quickly said, "Yes, yes, I don't know if it's appropriate to call you so late——"
"What happened to Cheng Ti?"
The other party was concise and direct, emphasizing efficiency, so Zhao Yu also spoke directly: "She's drunk, and I can't get her back by myself. Can you find someone to take care of her?"
After hanging up the phone, Zhao Yu found that his palms were sweating.
Zhao Yu felt this fear every time he entered the boss's office. The thick carpet, the cold air from the air conditioner, the hushed atmosphere, and the boss behind the boss's desk were like a biting ice cube.
She seriously suspected that Shao Mengdong had come out to answer the phone during his break, even though it was almost ten o'clock. That was why Zhao Yu was surprised when she found out that Shao Mengdong came in person.
When Shao Mengdong came, he was still wearing a shirt and suit pants. He was already a "biting ice cube". When he saw his sister covered with her coat and lying on Zhao Yu's legs, he looked even more unhappy.
Zhao Yu was afraid that she would be implicated, so she complained first: "We came here to play, and I was not there. When I came back, I saw that she had blown the whole bottle of red wine."
"Thank you for taking care of her." In fact, Shao Mengdong had always been very polite to her. Zhao Yu also knew that this was because of Cheng Ti. "Did she vomit?"
Zhao Yu shook his head.
"I'll take her back." Shao Mengdong thought for a moment and said to Zhao Yu, "You can come too. I'll take her back and then I'll take you back."
After saying that, he grabbed her arm with one hand and supported her shoulder with the other, and pulled her up with a gesture that was hard to say whether it was forced or gentle.
Zhao Yu was stunned for a moment, then quickly agreed and helped Cheng Ti to his car. Seeing him fasten Cheng Ti's seat belt, Zhao Yu said, "She didn't tell me her home address either, otherwise -"
"fine."
As he spoke, he pulled up the records from the car navigation.
Zhao Yu didn't dare to say anything.
I thought to myself that I was unworthy of being her best friend. After two weeks of eating, drinking and having fun, I didn't even know her exact address. The brother and sister were like strangers in normal times, but they were so familiar with each other's homes.
It was not until he entered the small villa that Zhao Yu understood his true role tonight: as a third-party witness, after Shao Mengdong briefly introduced himself to the nanny, he nodded in guarantee.
Aunt Chen looked at the handsome Shao Mengdong, then at the car outside the window, and confirmed with Zhao Yu with a sharp look: "Oh? - My dear brother?"
Zhao Yu could only say insincerely: "Yes, yes."
"Oh my," Aunt Chen said disapprovingly, "Why did you let her drink so much when her brother was here?"
Shao Mengdongfang glanced around calmly, seeing the room filled with dark furniture and dark floors—a rich, dull look that didn't suit her taste. She'd always favored gaudy, useless things, even slapping glitter stickers over the cracked tiles in her rental apartment. The air was faintly scented with cologne, a trace of another young man.
He didn't answer but asked, "Where's her husband?"
This one sentence left Aunt Chen speechless.
He glanced at her and asked, "You haven't come back yet?"
"Our eldest young master is busy with his career!" Aunt Chen argued. Seeing the corners of his lips slightly drooping and his emotions being hard to understand, she felt even more uncomfortable.
Cheng Ti, who had been unconscious the entire way, seemed to regain consciousness at this moment and said earnestly to Aunt Chen, "Auntie, do you still have the chicken soup you made last time? Can I have some?"
No matter how unwilling Aunt Chen was, she had to go to the refrigerator to get the frozen chicken soup to thaw. The other two people had to help her to the sofa in the living room. She shouted that she wanted to wash her face, so she went to the guest bathroom on the first floor first. The towels were in the more private bathroom upstairs, so only Zhao Yu, her female friend, could get them.
In a few words, the drunk woman sent away all the sober people around her, leaving only the cold-faced and silent man.
The bathroom was lit with a warm yellow light and the door was open. He pushed her to the sink, leaned over and turned on the faucet with a click.
This is because I am holding my breath.
Cheng Ti changed her mind again and turned to leave without washing her face, which undoubtedly added fuel to the fire.
"Stop!" Shao Mengdong stretched out his hand and pulled her. She lost her balance and fell forward, crashing into his arms.
The sudden approach caught both of them off guard. In an instant, the aroma of wine, lipstick and powder, the faint scent of gardenia in her hair and the cold smell of his high-end clothes, too many unfamiliar smells filled the space between them, making her sad: all of them reminded her that they were no longer the people they knew best.
Shao Mengdong took his hand away. He was about to leave, and Cheng Ti panicked and suddenly put her arms around his neck.
Her arms were instantly clamped. Above her head was his barely suppressed anger: "How much did you drink?"
"not much……"
"You call this not much? Cheng Ti! Is this how you've been living abroad these past few years?"
She used to be afraid of him getting angry and always tried to please him. The advantage of being independent was that she no longer had to please anyone, and instead found his angry look quite amusing.
Cheng Ti stood on tiptoe: "What else?"
At least he doesn't belong to anyone yet.
Shao Mengdong used all his strength to pry her arms apart. Cheng Ti struggled to get free, staggering here and there as if it were a game. Later, she even smiled mischievously, which further infuriated him.
After several pushes and pulls, it was like struggling in an invisible tangle, which became tighter and tighter, until their breaths intertwined, and it was impossible to tell whose breath was getting heavier.
Shao Mengdong's expression was so complicated that it was indescribable, as if he hated her extremely, but he did not let go. He just held her tightly and controlled her.
The gurgling faucet and the constant clatter of pots and spatulas in the kitchen made the small bathroom seem even more cramped. The walls kept squeezing inward, making breathing difficult. He gritted his teeth and demanded, his voice hoarse, "Do you know who I am?"
Of course, this man had pushed her away so many times. She wanted to touch him so much, she wanted to take a good look at him, but she didn't dare to do it before. Now she dared to do it after drinking, but she didn't dare to admit it.
"Of course."
She smiled brightly, her lips, soaked in red wine, arched slightly, soft and plump, as she whispered two syllables. Her bones suddenly felt even more painful from being clamped, and she didn't notice the stiffness in his body.
She said, "Husband."
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