Chapter 387: 354 Chang Wei

Fang Qing opened her mouth.

Fu Zili turned his head, wanting to speak but then hesitated.

Fang Qing smiled at him as if nothing were amiss.

Fu Zili pursed his lips, feeling both ashamed and moved.

He knew Fang Qing rarely drank white liquor; even during New Year’s gatherings at the military’s, she would drink beer.

Her doing so was clearly for his sake.

"Bring two bottles of Maotai."

Chang Wei recovered his smile.

The atmosphere eased.

Wan Yawen let out a sigh of relief, unable to help but give Fang Qing a grateful smile.

Truly a talented woman from the Institute of Political Science and Law.

She understood the bigger picture.

Two bottles of Feitian Maotai were brought to the table.

Fu Zili went around pouring drinks and when he got to Fang Qing, he reminded her in a low voice, "Drink less."

"No problem."

Though Wan Yawen was the host, Chang Wei completely ignored both of them, focusing all his attention on Fang Qing instead.

"I haven’t had the pleasure of learning the beauty’s name yet?"

"Fang Qing."

"Nice name, Chang Wei."

No wonder many bosses liked to invite good-looking female employees to accompany them at business dinners, where women indeed accomplished much with little effort.

Wan Yawen and Fu Zili respectfully tried to curry favor, but Chang Wei ignored them with arrogance and indifference, instead showing more enthusiasm towards the relatively quiet Fang Qing.

"Beauty Fang Qing, let’s drink."

White liquor and beer differed significantly; plus, Fang Qing really hadn’t drunk much white liquor before. A gulp of Maotai scorched her throat, and she immediately coughed a few times.

Fu Zili quickly pulled out some tissues and passed them to her.

Chang Wei turned a blind eye, laughing, "Boss Wan, I see Sha City has so many beauties. Why bother looking far and wide?"

"Not every girl in Sha City is as outstanding as Fang Qing. Here’s a toast to you, Chang Wei."

Wan Yawen laughed dryly, lifting his glass.

Chang Wei finally gave him a bit of face, but while Wan Yawen took a big gulp, Chang Wei merely sipped, barely touching the liquid in his glass.

Had this been among equals, he surely would have faced criticism.

Yet Wan Yawen dared not voice any objection and pretended not to notice.

"Chang Wei, I toast to you too."

Fu Zili followed suit, stood up with his glass, but Chang Wei didn’t pay him any mind, picking up his chopsticks to eat, as if he were invisible.

Fu Zili, who normally held some clout in Sha City, likely had never been slighted like this. Reminding himself repeatedly to stay patient, his face involuntarily darkened.

There he stood, glass half-raised, neither sitting nor standing, the picture of extreme discomfort.

"Please sit down."

His boss Wan Yawen subtly signaled to him with a glance.

Fu Zili, with his pride crushed, gripped the glass tightly and could only sit down, not daring to look too much in Fang Qing’s direction.

If it had only been himself, it wouldn’t matter so much; being looked down upon and ignored due to the great disparity in status was to be expected.

But Fang Qing was there too.

In Sha City, he may seem prestigious, but now, his true status was laid bare.

"Beauty Fang Qing, drink up."

Chang Wei again gestured to Fang Qing with his glass.

Ten minutes or so.

Half of Fang Qing’s glass was gone.

A two-ounce glass, now with only one ounce, wasn’t much; but for a girl who had hardly ever drunk white liquor, it was quite challenging.

Fang Qing felt warmth throughout her body, her vision blurring slightly, her head heavy and ears starting to redden, giving her an unusually charming allure.

Wan Yawen did not just sit by idly, but since Chang Wei often ignored him as well, even if occasionally giving him a bit of recognition, it was only a token sip.

"Beauty Fang Qing."

Seeing Chang Wei approach Fang Qing for another drink, Fu Zili finally couldn’t hold back.

"Chang Wei, Fang Qing can’t drink anymore. I’ll drink with you."

"Is it your place to speak?"

Chang Wei’s smile was cutting, "She didn’t say a word; why are you butting in?"

In that instant, Fu Zili almost lost control of his surging emotions, but in the end, reason prevailed. The veins on his clutched hand stood out as he slowly sat back down.

Boss Wan Yawen sat next to him, also at a loss for what to do.

"Chang Wei, I really can’t drink much..."

Fang Qing too felt she could not go on.

"There’s no leaving leftovers on the drinking table. At least you should finish this glass, right?"

Fang Qing glanced at the half glass remaining, and considering Fu Zili’s business, she still forced herself to bear the discomfort and slowly lifted the glass.

"Heh, that’s more like it."

Chang Wei smiled in satisfaction, "Come on, let’s all drink together."

Fu Zili put on a forced smile, raising his glass.

Soon after, a waiter brought in a bottle of yogurt.

It was Fu Zili who had ordered it.

He had heard that yogurt could help alleviate the effects of alcohol, though he wasn’t sure if it was true or not.

He poured a cup and set it in front of Fang Qing.

"Don’t drink anymore."

"But what about your business?"

Fang Qing’s breathing was erratic, clearly having had too much to drink.

Fu Zili felt a whirlwind of emotions inside him.

"Worst comes to worst, I won’t do it anymore. This has nothing to do with you, you don’t need to force yourself like this."

Fang Qing took a sip of the yogurt, her eyebrows unconsciously furrowed, and she exhaled a breath.

"Just a little left."

Indeed, her cup of liquor was only about one-fifth full.

"I can only help you to this extent, after that, I’m powerless."

Seeing her forced smile amidst the discomfort, Fu Zili, who had always been proud inside, feeling himself far superior to most of his peers, felt as if his heart was hammered by a great maul, nearly leaving him breathless.

Fu Zili, who had never shown weakness even when he frequently ended up in the hospital for being brash and violent in his first two years out of school, suddenly felt a sourness from his throat to his eyes, opened his mouth but could only hoarsely utter two words.

"Thank you."

He unconsciously lowered his head, not daring to confront Fang Qing’s gaze.

"We are friends."

The idea of yogurt as a remedy for drunkenness lacked any scientific basis, and Fang Qing’s discomfort didn’t improve much.

As for the esteemed Mr. Chang, he truly wasn’t too gentlemanly, or to put it another way, his alcohol tolerance wasn’t anything impressive; he was drinking even slower than Fang Qing. She was almost done, yet he had only drunk half his glass.

Of course.

No one present at the table was pressuring him to adhere to any drinking rules.

"Ring-ring..."

The sound of a cellphone ringtone interrupted the moment.

It was Fu Zili’s phone,

He took out his phone and saw it was a call from Jiang Chen.

"Mr. Chang, I’m going to step outside to take a call."

Perhaps accustomed to being ignored, he didn’t wait for Chang Wei’s response and quickly walked out with his phone.

Jiang Chen was late.

Li Shuru was by his side.

"Sorry, there was a traffic jam on the way here."

The traffic situation in East Sea was always problematic, particularly during the evening rush hour.

Fu Zili went to the entrance to greet them.

"This is my childhood best friend, we grew up together, Fu Zili."

Jiang Chen, unaware of what had happened, introduced them, "And this is my girlfriend, Li Shuru."

"Brother Fu."

Li Shuru greeted him with an elegant smile.

"Hello."

Fu Zili quickly glanced at her, with no time to appreciate her beauty.

"Jiang Chen, there’s been a bit of trouble."

"What happened?"

Jiang Chen looked puzzled.

Fu Zili quickly explained the situation.

"Fang Qing might have drunk a bit too much. If it really comes down to it later on, you can take Fang Qing and leave first."

When parking their car, Jiang Chen and Li Shuru had also seen the green McLaren.

"Okay."

Jiang Chen nodded lightly.

"Let’s go inside," said Fu Zili, leading the way.

Wan Yawen, aware that another childhood friend of Fu Zili’s might have arrived, was explaining to Chang Wei in the private room.

But Chang Wei didn’t seem to care at all and was still pouring drinks for Fang Qing with great interest.

And truth be told,

Although he had been with countless women, he had never encountered one from the University of Political Science and Law.

He was toying with what he considered an amusing prey, almost forcing Fang Qing to drink down the last bit.

That final sip of alcohol was like the last straw breaking the camel’s back. As soon as it reached her stomach, Fang Qing felt a wave of tumultuous upheaval. "Bluurgh"— she covered her mouth, unable to hold it in any longer, and stumbled out hastily.

"Bang!"

Fu Zili, about to push the door open, found it flung toward him as Fang Qing rushed out, bumping into Jiang Chen who sidestepped. She didn’t pause, likely unsure where the restroom was, and headed straight for the entrance.

Li Shuru stood frozen.

Jiang Chen stood still for a moment, his expression gradually blanking.

"Go take care of her."

The stunned Li Shuru looked up, seeing an expression on Jiang Chen she had never seen before.

Jiang Chen walked toward the private room.

Tip: You can use left, right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.Tap the middle of the screen to reveal Reading Options.

If you find any errors (non-standard content, ads redirect, broken links, etc..), Please let us know so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report