0005 005 Wine doesn't make you drunk
The woman showed no sign of leaving and continued to watch her. Qi Shuyao could only pick up a bite and put it in her mouth, offering a word of praise.
She seemed very happy, and I introduced it to her even more enthusiastically.
"Western dishes aren't the restaurant's specialty, and the kitchen isn't particularly good at them, but these two dishes are exceptionally delicious, you can't go wrong with them."
Her movements made it seem like she was about to put cake on Qi Shuyao's plate, which made the girl suspicious. She straightened up completely and gently moved the plate.
The woman noticed her lapse in composure, put down the clip, and gently brushed her hair back.
"Shu... Ah, Miss Qi's birthday is coming up soon, right? I've come to wish you a happy birthday in advance. Your father..."
"Thank you, uh... you can call me Shu Yao."
She quickly interrupted the conversation about Qi Yu and immediately thanked him.
"Shu..."
"What's wrong?"
The beautiful woman was interrupted by her male companion. The rather handsome Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs walked over and put his arm around her slender waist, who was dressed in a cheongsam. She smoothed a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
"I ran into Minister Qi's daughter. I heard it's almost her birthday, so I came over to say hello."
"Oh, Miss Qi has grown so much! She's become more and more beautiful, and she's also very talented. I acquired one of Miss Qi's paintings earlier this year, and her painting skills are truly first-rate and beautiful."
Neither of them seemed to notice the girl's stiff smile, continuing their loving banter until Qi Yu came over and pulled her behind him.
"I didn't expect Secretary Cao to come too; I couldn't get away from the other side."
"It's nothing, it's nothing. I've just been too tired from meetings these past few days, so I was looking for a relaxing environment to change my mood. Meimei also said she wanted to come and see me, so I came over."
This beautiful woman is the Meimei he was talking about. These two are truly an unusually loving couple.
"Secretary Cao, please make yourself at home." After exchanging pleasantries with them, Qi Yu turned and led Qi Shuyao to the head table to sit down. The banquet was about to begin.
Song Yusheng had already followed her father to sit in the back. Qi Shuyao looked at their table and saw that most of the people there were government officials. The only businessmen were Bei Shuming, the chairman of the Entrepreneurs Association and chairman of Xizhou Group, and his son Bei Huisi.
Today, finally, her son wasn't arranged to sit directly next to her. Qi Shuyao sat down easily, surrounded by several uncles and elders who had watched her grow up. The atmosphere was relaxed and family-like.
After a few drinks, the men started making a racket, and the buzzing behind her was so loud it hurt her ears. So she focused all her energy on the dinner table. The restaurant had served its signature red king crab and blue lobster today. As soon as they were served, several uncles coaxed her to peel them for her. Bei Hui was pushed by her father and put on gloves to start peeling.
Qi Shuyao happily pointed to the part she wanted and acted coquettishly with her uncle, completely forgetting about her elderly father beside her. Qi Yu held a wine glass in his hand, watching his little girl interact and talk with her uncles and elders as harmoniously as before, as if they were the only harmonious family, with elders caring for the younger generation and the younger generation enjoying their company. Nothing had changed.
Could the problem lie with him? Did she know? Did she notice? She didn't like it...?
The more she thought about it, the more annoyed she became. She didn't want to answer any of Bei Shuming's nonsense. He loosened his tie, and the sound of his wine glass hitting the table was deafening, but it didn't attract her to turn around even once. Instead, the wine glass emptied and was filled again and again. Even the old fox Bei Shuming couldn't figure out what was wrong with him. He could only stand by and toast with her.
Everyone was eating and drinking, and everyone was glancing over here. When they saw someone toasting repeatedly, they all picked up their glasses and came over to toast each other.
When Qi Shuyao finally turned around, the man beside her had a blush on his cheeks. She had always thought that her father's skin was abnormally white, with an unhealthy pallor, even whiter than hers. Now, the blush seeping out from under his skin added a touch of humanity.
The father and daughter stared at each other, neither speaking first. Then, the people around them started making noise; someone slapped her on the shoulder loudly.
"Go and help your dad up. Is this little girl disgusted by the smell of alcohol on him?"
Zhou Cheng, who had already walked over and extended his hand, lowered it upon hearing this. His eyes seemed to say, "Miss, please do it." Qi Shuyao shook her head and took a step back, her expression completely turning into that of a child disgusted by the smell of alcohol.
"Come on, take good care of our minister. Have a good meal and drinks today, and may everything go smoothly. I also wish our mid-month meeting a successful one!"
She said that this group of people were no different from ordinary people, especially after drinking. Their voices were getting louder and louder, and they always acted like they were understanding, but in fact they were pointing fingers and giving orders everywhere.
The crowd had already dispersed and left. Qi Yu finally came to his senses. He pushed Zhou Cheng's hand away, wrapped Qi Shuyao's small fist in his own hand, stood up, and led her to see everyone off.
Before leaving, Song Yusheng ran over and stuffed a few pieces of candy into her mouth, saying that she should put them in her mouth to mask the smell of alcohol. She also ran over to help her father. The last to leave were the Bei family father and son. Old Bei was again leading his son around, showing off his pheasant.
But today, Xiao Bei was surprisingly enlightened. He took the initiative to come over to Qi Shuyao and told her a bunch of ways to sober up, his tone gentle and his eyes gentle as well.
She was very familiar with this look; so far, everyone who had told her they liked her looked like this.
However, he misplaced his tenderness tonight. Did he think she would have to take care of her drunken father herself when they got home?
The Bei family father and son had also drunk quite a bit tonight, and once they started talking, they wouldn't stop. They were already standing at the door and still wouldn't get in the car. Zhou Cheng and the two doormen had to use a lot of effort to shove them into the car, and the rolled-up car window blocked their slurred drunken ramblings.
Qi Shuyao raised her hand and threw her long hair that had been tossed in front of her back. When she looked up, she saw Secretary Cao and his Meimei standing not far away. The man was making a phone call with his back turned, and the woman seemed to be staring at them the whole time. After being caught by Qi Shuyao's gaze, she hurriedly looked away.
Before she could think it through, she was pulled by a powerful force and slammed into a warm embrace.
"what!"
She gasped suddenly, then realized they were at the entrance of a restaurant. Her suppressed shout reached Qi Yu's ears, but he didn't back down at all, nor did he find it offensive. Instead, he tightened his arms, stuffed her completely into his suit jacket, and even tried to button it up.
"What are you doing? Are you really drunk?"
Qi Shuyao was about to cry. No matter how obvious or prominent her feelings were, she had never thought of hugging her father like this in public. She was no longer a child, and there were already people watching. But no matter what she did, she couldn't push him away.
It's raining.
The person who was holding her finally spoke, his tone sticky and indistinct, which startled her at first. Then, following his words, she stretched her arm out from under the eaves, and sure enough, several large raindrops hit her forearm.
She hadn't even noticed when it started raining.
They heard hurried footsteps behind them, and two waiters came running out with umbrellas, one holding it above their heads and the other handing it to Secretary Cao and his group.
"I apologize, Mr. Qi, it was our oversight."
"It's nothing, thank you for your hard work."
He quickly regained his composure, and his words betrayed no signs of drunkenness, but he still put his arm around her and got into the car, driving towards home.
The car was on air circulation to dissipate the smell of alcohol, but the pungent odor was still overwhelming. Qi Yu leaned back with his eyes closed to rest, but then shifted his position uncomfortably.
Qi Shuyao finally had a free hand to tear open the candy that Song Yusheng had stuffed into her mouth. She picked one up and put it in her mouth. The minty aroma immediately filled her entire nasal cavity and oral cavity, and her breathing became clear for a second.
She took a few deep breaths, then turned her head and leaned over to rub Qi Yu's eyes and face. She peeled a piece of candy and put it in Qi Yu's mouth as well. She pinched his lips and put it in his mouth. The man opened his eyes and saw a magnified, serious little face in front of him. Her fingers were messing around on his face. He raised his hand and accurately caught her little hand in his. He pulled her to lie on his lap and patted her gently like he was coaxing a child.
The full text and extra chapters of "The Moon Falls Ten Thousand Times," totaling 455,000 words, have been revised and are now available on Aifadian.com. You can search for the author under the same pen name.
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