Chapter 10 I can't stand the way you look at me...
Chen Yaoan wandered around the streets for a while before finally heading to Yinye Bar, where Shi Xinyu had just opened for business.
When Shi Xinyu saw her coming, she was about to pour her a glass of juice when she heard her say, "Give me a glass of wine."
Shi Xinyu paused in her grip on the glass, looked up at her, and saw that she looked unwell. She then put down the wine in her hand and silently mixed her a low-alcohol fruit wine.
When placing it in front of her, he didn't forget to tell her, "Drink slowly."
Chen Yao'an rested her left hand on her cheek, lowered her eyes, and nodded haphazardly a few times.
Shi Xinyu didn't know if she had listened or not. With years of tacit understanding between friends, they could guess most of what was going on without even asking.
Chen Yao'an sat there for half a day, refusing all those who tried to talk to her, and just sat there silently drinking with her head down.
She only took a sip every now and then, but each sip filled her mouth completely before slowly swallowing, savoring the impact of the alcohol on her taste buds.
As more and more customers entered the store, there wasn't enough staff, so Shi Xinyu had to take over personally.
There's a new male bartender at the bar.
The glass of fruit wine that Shi Xinyu had just mixed for her was empty. She placed the glass in front of the bartender and said, "Another one, please."
The bartender had only been there a short time, and knowing she was a friend of the owner, he naturally wanted to take extra care of her. He took the glass and said solicitously, "Coming right away."
Little did they know that Chen Yaoan was not good at drinking.
The bartender mixed his best drink and pushed the glass in front of Chen Yao'an, saying, "Here's your drink."
Chen Yao'an picked up the glass and drank it, but was choked by the strong smell of alcohol and coughed for a long time before he recovered.
Even so, she didn't care and put another big mouthful into her mouth.
Chen Yao'an occasionally drinks, but he doesn't have a high alcohol tolerance. Before long, he was slumped over the bar, his eyes becoming glazed over.
Xu Jialan has been here for a while and has been drinking with Ma Qi and the others in the booth.
I went to the bar to order drinks, but I was surprised to see Yao An lying there, looking like she was drunk.
Xu Jialan sat down next to her and called out to her in a low voice, "Chen Yao'an?"
No response.
Are you that drunk?
He picked up the glass next to her and smelled it; it had a strong smell of alcohol.
He reached out and pushed her, then called out again, "Chen Yao'an?"
Chen Yao'an remained in the position of lying on the bar, and very slowly opened her eyes to look at him.
Chen Yao'an stared at him for a long time, searching her memory for anything related to him.
"What? Don't you recognize me?"
Upon hearing this, she suddenly moved closer to him, with only a fist's distance between them.
Xu Jialan did not move, allowing the two to get closer.
He could smell a faint scent of alcohol on her, mixed with fruity notes, which wasn't unpleasant; on the contrary, it smelled quite pleasant.
She stared intently at him, her gaze tracing every inch of his face.
She watched intently, her eyes sparkling as if washed by clear river water.
Chen Yao'an was undoubtedly beautiful, especially now that she was slightly drunk. Her face was fair and radiant, with a rosy glow on her cheeks. The way her eyes darted around was like that of a beautiful Persian cat curious about something.
He couldn't help but reach out and rub her head.
After a long while, Chen Yaoan seemed to finally recognize him, “...Xu Jialan.”
Xu Jialan smiled casually, "Yes, it's me."
Chen Yaoan turned back, sat back on the stool, and leaned back onto the bar. She seemed completely drained, lost in thought, and didn't bother to pay any more attention to him.
Seeing that she didn't speak, Xu Jialan had no choice but to ask her, "Did you come alone?"
The drunken Chen Yao'an lost some of her coldness and aloofness, becoming quiet and charming, answering every question with "Mmm".
Why are you drinking?
"Bad mood."
Why are you in a bad mood?
"Hmm..." Chen Yaoan hesitated for a moment, seemingly considering whether or not to tell him.
Xu Jialan was engrossed in the fun of the question-and-answer session when Shi Xinyu returned. Seeing the two sitting together, she didn't suspect anything, after all, Xu Jialan was already a regular customer of hers.
She glanced at Chen Yao'an. "Are you drunk?"
Xu Jialan replied, "Yes."
"What are you saying to her?" What's the point of talking when someone's drunk? She was afraid Xu Jialan might have some inappropriate thoughts; his reputation as a playboy wasn't unfounded.
"Just ask her why she was drinking."
Shi Xinyu didn't pursue the matter further, but sighed, "Sleeping here isn't an option either; we have to send them back."
The store was especially busy today, and she was so busy that she couldn't even keep her feet on the ground. She thought about it for a while but couldn't find a suitable candidate.
She looked at Xu Jialan.
Xu Jialan also looked at her.
However, Shi Xinyu quickly dismissed her idea, saying, "Forget it, you're unreliable too."
Hearing this, Xu Jialan raised an eyebrow but did not refute her words.
Shi Xinyu was also worried about leaving Chen Yao'an alone here. After all, there were many people around, and there might be some ill-intentioned people eyeing her, especially since Chen Yao'an was a beauty.
She had no choice but to ask Xu Jialan, "Could you please watch over her here while I'm done with my work?"
Xu Jialan readily agreed, "Okay."
Shi Xinyu turned around and went back to her work, but before leaving, she didn't forget to remind the bartender who had been standing behind the bar, "Be careful, don't let that man take her away."
The bartender glanced at the two people behind the bar and readily agreed, "Don't worry, Sister Shi."
Only after providing Chen Yaoan with double insurance did Shi Xinyu feel at ease to go about her work.
Not long after Shi Xinyu left, there was movement on Chen Yaoan's side.
Xu Jialan turned to look at her; he had thought she was asleep.
"What's wrong?"
Chen Yao'an began to cry softly. In the noisy bar, her voice wasn't very loud, but Xu Jialan still heard it.
He braced his arm on the bar, bent down, and looked down at her face. A tear rolled down her cheek and disappeared into his arm.
"Why are you crying?"
She usually seems so calm and collected, I never thought she would cry.
Chen Yao'an opened her eyes, her voice sounding aggrieved and weak, "I feel a little unwell."
"Why do you feel uncomfortable?" Xu Jialan unconsciously softened her voice as well.
She stopped talking and just stared at him warily.
"Okay, I won't ask."
Only then did her gaze soften.
Her hair was disheveled and stuck to her cheeks, her eyes and nose were red, and her eyes were filled with tears, giving her a broken look.
Xu Jialan now looks at her as if she were a white porcelain vase, exquisite yet fragile, evoking feelings of pity in one's heart.
After all, everyone likes beautiful and exquisite things.
When Shi Xinyu returned after finishing her work, it was almost midnight.
Most of the customers had already left the store, so the remaining few employees were able to take care of them.
Chen Yao'an remained lying on the bar counter, with Xu Jialan beside her.
They were fairly conscientious and responsible.
"Alright, I'm done with my work. I'll take her home."
"I'll drive you there," Xu Jialan offered.
"You've been drinking, how are you going to see us off?"
I didn't drink tonight.
Shi Xinyu glanced at him, seemingly still not quite believing it.
"I really didn't drink it," Xu Jialan emphasized again.
"That's really rare."
Xu Jialan drove the car to the door, and Shi Xinyu helped Chen Yaoan into the car. The two sat in the back seat.
The drunk Chen Yaoan was very quiet, leaning on Shi Xinyu's shoulder with her eyes closed, it was hard to tell whether she was asleep or awake.
After driving for a while, Shi Xinyu's arms were getting numb. She wanted to adjust her posture, so she grabbed Chen Yaoan's arm and tried to help her up to find a more comfortable position.
Unexpectedly, Chen Yao'an suddenly cried out in pain.
She didn't open her eyes, but just mumbled, "It hurts."
She hadn't used much force, Shi Xinyu wondered.
"It hurts!" Chen Yao'an kept shouting, tears even streaming down her face.
"Where does it hurt?" Shi Xinyu was startled when she saw her tears.
Chen Yao'an kept her eyes closed, raised her hand to cover her left arm, and spoke unclearly, "It hurts here."
She was wearing a shirt jacket today, and Shi Xinyu didn't notice anything unusual about her arm.
She lifted Chen Yao'an's sleeve and peeked at her through the headlights shining in from the car outside, then exclaimed in surprise, "What happened to you?"
Her upper arm was red and had several nail marks; the skin was broken and it looked swollen.
Hearing Shi Xinyu's exclamation, Xu Jialan, who was driving, glanced at the back seat through the rearview mirror.
It was too dark inside the car, and he couldn't see anything clearly. "What's wrong?"
Shi Xinyu didn't say much. She guessed that the injury was caused by Aunt Zhou again. Since Chen Yaoan came back to take care of Aunt Zhou, she had been injured by her several times.
"Find a place with a pharmacy to park, I'll go down and buy her some medicine," Shi Xinyu instructed him.
"Okay." Xu Jialan didn't ask any further questions.
After driving a little further, Xu Jialan spotted a pharmacy and parked his car.
Shi Xinyu opened the car door. "Keep an eye on her. I'm going to buy medicine."
Xu Jialan nodded.
As Shi Xinyu walked into the pharmacy, Xu Jialan unbuckled her seatbelt, got out of the car, and leaned back to smoke a cigarette.
Chen Yao'an, however, became restless.
Hearing the noise, Xu Jialan turned to look inside the car. Chen Yaoan was frantically opening the car door, looking like she was about to vomit.
Xu Jialan opened the car door for her.
Before Chen Yao'an could get out of the car, she vomited next to the car as soon as the door opened, leaning on the car seat.
After she had finished vomiting, Xu Jialan went to the trunk and got her a bottle of water.
Chen Yao'an regained some composure, took the package, and said thank you.
After she finished rinsing her mouth, she leaned back in the car, half-opening her eyes and slumping on the seat, still looking uncomfortable.
She had her arm resting on the door handle, and Xu Jialan, worried that the door might crush her when it closed, picked up her arm to help her move.
But then, out of the blue, she hissed.
She had been crying in pain just now, and Xu Jialan was about to lift up her sleeve to take a look when a hand stopped her.
He looked up at her, only to be met with a pair of bright, dark eyes, like calm yet deep lake water, threatening to draw him in.
Xu Jialan's throat bobbed.
The two stared at each other for a few seconds.
Suddenly, Xu Jialan raised her hand and covered her eyes.
"I can't stand looking at me like that." His voice was a little hoarse.
Chen Yao'an's eyelashes swept across his palm a few times quickly, then remained still.
He lowered his hand, and Chen Yao'an had already closed her eyes. He didn't know if she was really asleep or pretending.
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