Chapter 190

To be honest, Nan Yan's alcohol tolerance is not bad, at least not bad. After all, she has been in the club for two years. In the beginning, she always had to accompany the drinking. Over time, her alcohol tolerance has naturally improved. However, a whole bottle of white wine is still a bit pungent.

After hearing what Zhong Ling said, Nan Yan understood, but she still had to remain reserved. After all, she was the only one here who was not an outsider. She knew clearly in her heart that no matter how seriously they pretended, it was just an act.

So Nan Yan blinked at him and moved her lips slightly, "It's okay, I can drink it."

The two of them were facing each other, and only Zhong Ling could see the changes in her lips. She didn't say anything directly, but instead made silent lip movements to him.

Because there were quite a lot of people present, and they were, after all, an open couple in public, kissing in front of everyone was awkward, but not impossible.

So in order to avoid being discovered by everyone, and for the sake of her big financial sponsor's "reputation", Nan Yan just opened her lips slightly and said silently. She believed that with the other party's intelligence, he would be able to see it clearly.

After he finished speaking, there was no reaction from the other party. His expression was indifferent. When his eyes swept over her, they turned to the group of young people who were eyeing her covetously behind her.

Nan Yan thought that the other party's silence meant he agreed, so she gently clenched her wrist and wanted to turn around to get the bottle of white wine, but the other party held her tighter, and her entire chest was pressed against his chest.

Nan Yan seemed a little puzzled, with a flash of surprise in her eyes. She looked up at him with some doubt, and then she made a soft sound, calling out his name.

"Zhongling..."

Zhong Ling naturally heard it. He lowered his head and said "hmm" unconsciously. At the other person's slightly doubtful look, he loosened his wrist and said calmly:

"Close your eyes. It's only for a minute. It'll be quick."

Nan Yan felt even more uncomfortable now. Her face turned slightly red and her eyes were particularly watery. When she raised her eyes to look at Zhong Ling, she was obviously stunned. She didn't expect him to say that.

She still tried to refuse, and it seemed like she meant it sincerely. "No, I can..."

"What are you afraid of? Have you forgotten that we are boyfriend and girlfriend? We have done more intimate things before. It's just a kiss. Don't be afraid."

These words sounded so real that Nan Yan couldn't react for a long time. She could only look at him with strange eyes.

Being looked at by her with such eyes, Zhong Ling suddenly had a very strange feeling in his heart. The distance between the two people was very close, so close that he could even clearly feel her breath at this moment all brushing against his chin, carrying the light fragrance and softness of her body.

Zhong Ling's brows relaxed, and his eyes relaxed a lot. He leaned forward, and Nan Yan almost subconsciously took a step back. At the moment when the other party wanted to resist and step back, Zhong Ling's breathing paused, his eyes slightly raised a ripple, and then he lowered his head and kissed her calmly.

And at the moment when the two of them touched, he could see that the other's dark and moist eyes slightly widened in disbelief.

The row of thick black eyelashes trembled slightly, slowly and nervously sweeping across the skin on his face, itching and tingling, and making his breathing unconsciously slow down, and his Adam's apple rolled along.

He could even see a layer of mist quickly filling up those eyes due to breathing arrest.

Almost at the moment when the two came into close contact, Zhong Ling was certain that the girl in his arms had no experience in this area.

Her fingers unconsciously grasped his arm tightly, her nails digging into his clothes. The two of them were so close that he could clearly feel the tense and stiffness of each other's body.

Her mouth was tightly pressed at first, but when he slowly pried it open, she let out a faint moan, and her lips and tongue inside her mouth awkwardly retreated back. She put her hands on his chest, trying to get rid of his entanglement.

Zhong Ling felt his heartbeat speeding up uncontrollably. He didn't know if it was because of her influence, but he suddenly felt like reaching deeper into her, and he did just that.

Within that minute, the thoughts in my mind became increasingly confused and blank, until in the end I couldn't remember anything, and all my attention was focused on one point.

He wrapped his hands around her soft waist tighter and tighter, pressing her towards him, slowly entwining his lips and tongue inside her mouth, trying to explore deeper.

Nan Yan didn't know if the man in front of her was too immersed in the action and didn't notice. It was just a kiss, but her tongue was numbed by him. She clearly heard a slight "click" sound coming from behind her, like someone taking a photo.

Originally, Zhong Ling's group of brothers and friends would join in the fun when they saw Zhong Ling getting into trouble. After all, watching the flower of Kaolin make a fool of itself and fall is one of the great pleasures in life!

But as he watched, he felt that something was wrong. It was obvious that the scene of the two people kissing intimately had attracted the attention of many people in the room, especially the group of young people surrounding them. They were all energetic and full of vigor. Seeing the two people hugging each other so tightly and kissing so passionately, the intimate scene was simply enough to make the blood boil in all the men.

Didn't they expect that Zhong Ling, this bastard who appeared to be gentle and abstinent and sexually apathetic on the surface, was actually so wild in private?

Oh my god, your face is blushing! It’s great that they have girlfriends. They are not without girlfriends. They kissed so hard that the pretty girl’s lips must have been bitten, right?

They really didn't expect that Zhong Ling was such a bastard. He liked to pretend to be a refined and elegant gentleman in front of others since he was a child. He didn't like this and didn't allow people to touch that. But they didn't expect that when he was in the mood, he would play so fiercely with his girlfriend.

They felt embarrassed watching this.

Damn, he was still hugging her so tightly, the veins on the back of his hands were exposed from the excessive force, his knuckles were long and white, pressed tightly against the beautiful sister's waist, touching the exposed skin on the waist, his palm unconsciously covering it, the waist was so thin, white and soft, it could be held with one hand, but the palm covering it was in the way.

After watching this scene, the scene was really lustful and wild, which made the group of people feel quite excited.

In such an atmosphere, He Mian, who was sitting opposite, did not react at all. His expression was indifferent. He put away his mobile phone, looked at the two people kissing intimately, and sneered nonchalantly.

Well... this isn't the end yet.

After the kiss, everyone calmed down and stopped making trouble. The two of them did not stay at the party any longer. After saying goodbye to everyone, Zhong Ling took his girlfriend's hand and went directly to the parking lot, intending to take her home.

However, the atmosphere on the road was obviously a bit depressing.

The two of them haven't said a word since they came out.

Zhong Ling held Nan Yan's hand tightly, he knew that he might have gone too far tonight and was afraid that he might have scared people. He had originally intended to just pretend and fool those people, but he didn't know why he lost control later on.

So he didn't want to stay for the second half of the party and wanted to send her home first.

After what happened tonight, Nan Yan was obviously a little unwell, and Zhong Ling was not sure how she felt.

The two of them were silent all the way until they finally arrived at the parking lot. Zhong Ling opened the car door. Nan Yan was still sitting in the passenger seat. As soon as she got in, the car shook slightly, and the Ping An Fu hanging in front of the car also shook.

After the car door was closed, the noisy sounds outside were blocked out and the atmosphere in the car instantly became quiet, so quiet that it was even a little frozen and awkward.

Nan Yan pretended to reach out to grab the seat belt beside her, but maybe it was because of what happened tonight that made her obviously absent-minded at the moment. She fiddled with her fingers for a long time but failed to fasten the seat belt that was across from her.

Zhong Ling wanted to remind her that she had buttoned the wrong place, but seeing that she kept her head down and looked like she didn't know what to do, he subconsciously reached out to help her.

But just as he stretched out his finger, Nan Yan retracted her finger as if frightened, and the seat belt bounced back. The iron buckle accidentally hit his outstretched finger, making a slight sound.

Zhong Ling's hand just remained quietly in the air.

Nan Yan clearly saw the white back of the hand turn slightly red. She was stunned for a moment, but quickly reacted and realized that her action just now was obviously not good, a little too stiff, and even a little embarrassing. After all, the man in front of her was still her financial sponsor and "boss" in another sense.

So Nan Yan immediately softened her tone, as if to comfort the other person, but she said somewhat unnaturally, "I, I can do it myself, thank you Mr. Zhong..."

After saying that, she touched the seat belt again and this time buckled it very easily. Nan Yan breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhong Ling slowly withdrew his hand.

The expression on his face was also calm, or perhaps he was trying hard to ignore the strange and uncomfortable emotion that surged in his heart at that moment because of her subconscious resistance just now.

He hummed softly, seemingly without much emotion and not taking the matter to heart.

However, since both parties had already spoken, the quiet atmosphere in the car was broken.

Zhong Ling turned his head and looked at her. He saw that she lowered her head, her face was a little red, especially her lips, which revealed an unnatural, bright red and congested state, which was obviously caused by someone biting her.

Thinking of what had just happened, Zhong Ling's eyelashes drooped slightly, and his Adam's apple couldn't help but slide up and down.

鐘嶺将心頭隐約升起的某種不可控的情緒壓抑下去，輕吐了一口氣，然後對着身旁的南嫣說了聲，“抱歉，我剛剛做的事情可能有些沖動。”

沖動确實是沖動，但要是重來一次，他應該還是會選擇這麽做。

是他帶她過來的，他把她當成朋友，所以就不可能讓她當着他的面，被人欺負到灌酒的地步。

鐘嶺皺眉想着，這裏不是她曾經待過的會所，她不是那個任人欺負的小職員，他們也不是她的客人，他是她可以依賴的人。

聽到這話的南嫣明顯怔了一瞬。

她嘴唇輕抿了一下，轉頭看向身旁的男人，目光跟他的視線對上，她又不自覺地偏離了些許位置。

大概是對方的身份跟地位，率先跟她道歉的話讓她變得有些不自在，于是臉龐也不自覺地有些紅了，不是羞的，而是微窘的。

因為在正常人眼中看來，這畢竟是她自己玩輸了牌，才被人刻意刁難的，要不是有鐘嶺好心幫忙，她可能今天都不能站着出來了，再加上這人還是她名義上的老板。

于是，在鐘嶺等了一會兒都沒等到回應，他心中甚至想着要如何處理這次的突發情況時，對面那只纖細柔軟的手腕忽然就伸過來了，輕輕扯了扯他袖子上的扣子。

“對不起，鐘先生，您別生氣，我不是那個意思，我沒嫌棄你的想法，我就是……就是一時間有些沒緩過神來。”

“是你幫了我，你不用跟我道歉的，應該是我不好，我技術不好，不該跟人玩牌的，對不起，鐘先生，你別介意剛才的事情。”

她再次道歉了一遍，聲音誠懇溫和。

可鐘嶺聽到這樣充滿歉意的話卻是下意識地皺了眉，他也不知道自己是怎麽了？

目光落到那只伸過來的手指上，那只手在車內燈光的映照下，顯得更加纖細白皙，一只手就能牢牢掌控。

可看着對方那種小心翼翼的，甚至算得上是謙卑的姿态，他心口又莫名有些不适。

鐘嶺臉色沒什麽變化，聲調卻低沉了不少，讓人聽不出他此刻的情緒是什麽樣的。

“不用，你不需要說這樣的話，你也沒有做錯什麽事情。我們之間是平等的，我把你當朋友，你不用因為我雇傭了你，是你的頂頭上司，就對我這麽小心翼翼的。”

“更不用說這樣刻意讨好的話，介意就是介意，讨厭就是讨厭，你很讨厭我今晚對你做的事情對嗎？我這樣的行為，在你眼裏，是不是跟會所那些耍流氓的客人是一樣的？”

他也不知道自己為什麽要問這樣的問題？

或許只是因為想知道她心底對他的真正看法，而不是因為他們之間那一紙合約的關系，讓她忍着惡心，強行違背心意，對自己笑臉相迎讨好，他不喜歡她那樣的做法。

南嫣明顯是被他這番話問得愣住了。

她輕輕“啊？”了一聲，嘴唇微微張了張，卻半晌都沒有說出話來，眼裏都是意外，轉頭望着他。

“我說過，合約簽訂了之後，我們之間還是同等的，不用把我看的高人一等。”

鐘嶺看着，又平靜說了一聲。

南嫣這下感受到對方那略帶些涼意的眼神了，她下意識地轉過臉，而鐘嶺看着她這樣的反應，心底卻微微沉了下去。

又過了一會兒，他才聽到對方輕細的聲音響起，帶着幾分和解與着急，“不是，不一樣的。我知道，您跟會所的那些占人便宜的客人不一樣，我沒有敷衍你，也沒有違背心意跟你在一起，我其實也沒那麽讨厭。”

大概是怕他不相信，她又重複了一遍，看着他的眼睛，“我真的沒有讨厭，我知道你這是在幫我，所以并沒有排斥，”

鐘嶺聞言，臉色似乎緩和了不少。

南嫣說着，又偏了下頭，臉上似乎閃過一絲怪異的不解，可能她自己也有些搞不明白，“我心裏，其實是沒什麽感覺的。”

說完她又輕聲補充了一句，“但也不是完全沒有的，就是時間久了有些嘴疼而已。”

可是聽到這番解釋，鐘嶺臉色卻是再次冷凝了下來，他不知道自己的心情為什麽沒有變好，也不知道自己為什麽忽然有種心氣不順的堵悶感，但很明顯，這應該不是他內心真正想要聽到的解釋。

至于真正想要的解釋是什麽，他可能自己也不太不清楚。

鐘嶺現在只是眸色冷靜的想着，沒有感覺，被一個男人摟着當衆親吻，心底卻依舊毫無感覺，那還能說明什麽呢？

說明她對自己沒有半分多餘的心思。

這很好不是嗎？

鐘嶺再一次對自己強調，他們之間是簽了某種協議的，他一開始看中的不就是這點嗎？因為對方會審時度勢，不會胡亂糾纏。

更何況他找上她來假扮自己這段時間內的臨時女朋友不也是別有目的的嗎？就像她說的那樣，是為了讓潇潇生氣在意的！

他從一開始打的就是這個主意。

因為她溫順聽話，不會對他有非分之想，更不會随意攀扯他，這會減少很多不必要的麻煩。

而他喜歡的是自己的前女友，雖然他們分手了，但他心中仍然在意的是前女友，只不過礙于自尊一直不肯低頭而已。

鐘嶺再一次在心中對自己強調了一遍。

可是也不知道為什麽，在聽到她平靜溫和的說出那番話後，心底某處隐秘的角落卻有種難以纾解的煩悶。

一種從未有過的煩躁情緒湧上心頭，讓他忍不住扯了扯領口，好像車內的氣氛太過窒悶了，讓他有些心氣不順。

他将車窗打開了，夜晚的涼風随着車速加快而吹進車裏，鐘嶺感受到那股涼意，這才感覺胸口的那股沉悶感稍微平複了些。

緊接着鐘嶺又想到今晚發生的事情，他一開始也以為賀冕針對的是他，但後來仔細想想，他最近跟賀冕之間沒發生什麽摩擦，而且就算真的針對他，他也不至于欺負一個女孩子，所以剛才發生的那些事情，大概率都是針對身旁這人的。

他眉頭微微皺了下，想到那人不休不止的性格，目光又落到了身旁的南嫣身上。

他注意到她的手指微微捏緊了，有種想伸手過去的沖動，但這次被他忍住了。

“今天在洗手間遇到的人是賀冕嗎？他欺負你了？”

鐘嶺并不笨，相反還很聰明，腦筋一轉便想到了下午從衛生間回來後，她面色不太好看的事情，應該是那時候遇上的，否則他真的想不到，按照她那樣安靜溫順的性格，會無緣無故的得罪上賀冕。

“嗯？”南嫣疑惑看他一眼，很快也意識到他說的是什麽意思了，就露出些許不自然的神情，低着頭輕聲回了句，“嗯……倒也沒有欺負，是我自己不小心得罪到他了。”

“為什麽不跟我說？”

鐘嶺情緒還很平靜，并沒有因為這事就對她産生懷疑什麽的，在他眼裏，賀冕一貫肆意妄為，恐怕這次也是他先得理不饒人的。

南嫣猶豫着搖了搖頭，表示自己并沒有在意過，“也不是什麽大事，我沒有受欺負，而且來的時候你就說過了，你跟賀先生是關系很好的朋友，我不想你因為這些小事為難，只是沒想到會發生那樣的事情。”

“對不起，是我自己沒注意到。”

南嫣又一次道歉，聲音真誠溫和。

這下也不是她故意告狀了，分明是他自己猜出來的，而且不講道理的人也不是她。

鐘嶺的眉心便微微皺了下，他真的不太喜歡她這種疏離客套的态度，這會讓他心中有種說不出的煩悶感。

“不用跟我道歉，在外面你是我女朋友，我們之間的關系更親近，我不會不站在你這邊的，你下次可以更信任依賴我一點，我不會因為這點小事就生氣。”

頓了頓，帶着一絲怪異情緒，鐘嶺的語氣又緩和了不少，“還有，賀冕那邊的事情你不用擔心，我會去處理，你以後不要什麽事情都悶在心裏，可以試着……告訴我。”

南嫣應了一聲後，就沒有再說話了。

汽車安靜開了一路，不斷往前，大概過了一小時，終于到了那個偏遠的老舊小區。

到了地方，鐘嶺将車靠邊停下，身旁的人明顯是察覺到今晚的氣氛有些不對的，她磨蹭半天，似乎有什麽話想說。

但看到對方那淡淡的臉色，最後還是什麽都沒說，直接下車了。

鐘嶺眼眸微垂，臉上卻是沒什麽表情的，他轉頭路邊那只不停閃爍的路燈，幾只飛蛾圍着燈光盤旋，落下的陰影不停忽閃，晃得人心中愈發煩躁。

但他也知道自己對着這破舊的路燈煩躁是毫無緣由的，甚至有些可笑，所以，鐘嶺只能将心底那股無名的情緒壓抑下去。

他看着那轉身什麽話都沒說的南嫣，目光頓了下，又沉默了一瞬，然後解開安全帶，也跟着下了車。

"Wait, there's something I forgot to mention. There will be a small gathering at my house in a few days. My new nephew is going to be one month old. Can I take you home then?"

The inquiring tone made Nan Yan stunned for a moment.

She stopped after taking just two steps, then turned to look at Zhong Ling behind her and nodded subconsciously.

"Of course, anytime is fine. This is my job. If you need anything, just call me anytime. You don't have to be so polite to me."

After hearing this, Zhong Ling's heart sank again.

He looked up at the girl in front of him, and could not see any unusual emotions on her face. She was even a little hesitant, so he suppressed the discomfort in his heart and continued,

“This time there might be some trouble.”

Zhong Ling looked away, his face somewhat cold. He leaned casually against the car door, the dim light shining on his jade-like profile adding a touch of warmth.

"I broke up with Xiaoxiao on impulse and didn't tell my family. They thought nothing had happened between me and Xiaoxiao and even wondered when we would get married. So if I bring you back this time, some people might say something unpleasant."

Zhong Ling seemed to have thought of that scene. His brows slightly wrinkled, but soon relaxed. He looked at Nan Yan with a soothing and gentle look, "But don't worry, it's just a meal. I will protect you."

Nan Yan nodded. This sounded just like she was really going to meet her parents, but who could know it was fake?

Zhong Ling noticed that she came a little closer, and his emotions calmed down now. He had been feeling a little uneasy the whole night, and he knew that this was his own problem and had nothing to do with the person in front of him.

"I understand. I'll pay attention."

Nan Yan didn't move after she finished speaking. She just stood quietly in front of him. Seeing that she didn't leave, Zhong Ling looked up at her again and asked, "What's wrong?"

Nan Yan's expression was somewhat hesitant.

She hesitated for a moment before saying, "Are you unhappy tonight? Did I say something wrong? If I did something wrong, please tell me and I will correct it as soon as possible."

Zhong Ling shook his head, did not deny his unhappiness, and just said calmly, "It has nothing to do with you, it's my own problem, you go back first."

It was indeed his own problem. The emotions he felt tonight came out of nowhere and he himself couldn't figure out what was going on and why he was out of control.

Zhong Ling lowered his head and thought gloomily. After thinking for a long time, he still couldn't figure it out. He exhaled, and his heart seemed to be much better. He didn't know why, but he suddenly had the urge to smoke. He also smoked, but not often.

Zhong Ling withdrew his fingers from the car door.

Nan Yan faintly smelled a faint scent on him, not perfume, but a faint scent of red wine. She took another step forward and this time directly grabbed his cufflinks.

"Is it about Mr. He?"

Zhong Ling only felt that the sound suddenly rang in his ears.

The warm breath sprayed over, gently and softly, bringing a tingling feeling.

He turned his head and his eyes fell on her lips again. They were still red and congested. He looked away again and made up an excuse to say, "It's not what you think. It might be because of the cold wind at night. I have a headache."

As he spoke, he pressed his fingers between his eyebrows and rubbed them gently twice.

When Nan Yan heard what he said, she immediately showed some concern in her eyes. She raised her hand and put it on his forehead subconsciously. She felt that his temperature was a little high, but he didn't have a fever, and she couldn't feel that there was any problem. However, she still consoled him,

"Zhong Ling, does your head hurt?"

The concern in her eyes became more obvious, and she showed a bit of hesitation, "Did you eat something bad tonight? Headache is not a small matter. You drove for such a long time. Do you want to come to my house and sit for a while? I'll pour you a glass of water, okay?"

"My house is a little small, but it's very clean. I keep it tidy every day. Don't mind. It should be okay for you to sit on the sofa and rest for a while."

As she spoke, she naturally reached out to help him.

Zhong Ling closed his eyes, subconsciously grasped the thin and soft fingers on his forehead with his palm, turned his head to look at her, his eyes were somewhat deep.

Nan Yan didn't have any other thoughts. She pursed her lips and didn't even notice the strange emotion that flashed across his eyes. She thought he had a severe headache, so she supported him with more force and moved her whole body closer to him.

Zhong Ling took a step back immediately, loosened his fingers, and turned his face away uncomfortably.

"It's no big deal, don't worry, I'll recover after sitting in the car for a while."

"Also, didn't anyone tell you? Don't invite men into your house at night. It's not a good idea!"

Nan Yan was startled when she heard this, then shook her head, pursed her lips and smiled softly at the man in front of her, with a look of trust in her eyes, "That's different, I know you are different from others, and I have never invited other men."

Zhong Ling's expression froze for a moment. He turned his head, his tall nose casting a shadow on his face. Half of his face was hidden in the shadow of the street lamp. He suddenly said in a cold voice:

"There's nothing different. I'm a man too. All men have bad intentions. Don't think so highly of me."

His voice was low, but somewhat cold.

When Zhong Ling said this, he didn't really mean anything else. He just hoped that she would be more alert. But after he said it, he felt that something was wrong.

Nan Yan felt something was strange when she heard this.

She looked up at him. Zhong Ling's expression was cold and indifferent. Compared to his usual handsome and gentle demeanor, he looked particularly calm tonight, but there was nothing unusual about him.

So she deliberately ignored the hint of uneasiness in his words, pretending to be unaware of anything, and asked softly, "Then Mr. Zhong, do you have any bad intentions?"

Zhong Ling did not deny it, but turned to look at her and asked,

"What do you think?"

He saw Nan Yan standing there very quietly. She always had a calming aura about her.

Nan Yan lowered her head and thought for a while. Her voice suddenly became slow and sincere. "I don't know. I don't know what other people think of Mr. Zhong, but in my eyes, you are a very good person. Although it may be a bit cheesy to say this, I always feel that even if you really have any bad intentions, they are just thoughts. You will not really do anything to hurt others."

Zhong Ling was silent for a moment. He felt that he could see the sincerity in her eyes. Perhaps he had already expected that she would answer like this.

Zhong Ling suddenly felt helpless, shook his head, and then said, "It's late, go back and rest early. I'll take you to buy some shoes tomorrow so you can wear them when you come to my house."

Nan Yan looked at him and seemed a little worried, her eyes fell on his forehead.

"Does your head hurt?"

Zhong Ling said calmly, "It's not a big deal. I'll be fine after taking a rest in the car."