The Favored Heiress
Chapter 430: All Drunk Too Much

Chapter 430: Chapter 430: All Drunk Too Much

During the meal, the private dining room was very quiet.

Xia Siyu and Shen Qingye barely spoke because both of them were frequently biting on their chopsticks and staring straight at Li Qiao and Shang Yu.

Across from them, the girl ate her meal in small bites, much like a cat nibbling on its food.

The man beside her continually served her dishes, while conveniently picking out the side dishes she didn’t like.

There was a mysterious unspoken understanding and solidity between the two that outsiders couldn’t seem to penetrate.

Once again, Xia Siyu thought of Yun Lih, and even the exquisite and delicious food began to taste like wax.

As for Shen Qingye, having seen such scenes a few times, he was essentially immune to them.

But it was undeniable that Li Qiao and Shang Yu’s way of interacting was still damn pleasing to the eye.

After dinner, Shang Yu watched Li Qiao take small sips of tea and raised his hand to ruffle her hair, "I’m going to the office, I’ll pick you up after I’m done."

Li Qiao’s teacup paused at her lips as she looked up at the man; his gaze was focused and open, swirling with a tenderness that was easy to capture.

Her heart fluttered, understanding his intention all too well.

The company issues were just an excuse; he was creating an opportunity for the three of them to be alone.

After all, Xia Siyu and Shang Yu weren’t familiar with each other, and Shen Qingye, due to his father’s relationship, was somewhat in awe of Shang Yu.

With him around, those two guys couldn’t let loose at all.

Li Qiao blinked, responding with a light smile, "I’ll walk you out."

Shang Yu’s palm smoothly moved from her head to her cheek, caressing it twice before pushing himself up from his knees to stand.

Li Qiao walked him to the door, and Xia Siyu watched their retreating figures, a rare envy flickering in her eyes.

Love, it truly is a poison.

Even the once cold and distant Xiao Qi Zai had become an affectionate charmer.

Xia Siyu exhaled softly without thinking, and Shen Qingye, lounging in his chair with one leg crossed over the other, didn’t miss any opportunity to tease her, "Sighing is useless, Shang Shaoyan only has Qiaoqiao in his heart."

"Old Dog Shen, I’ve noticed you seem almost human when you keep quiet."

Xia Siyu mocked him, took a sip of tea from her cup, feeling inexplicably downhearted.

Over the past years, there was suddenly an intense and unbearable urge to... see Yun Lih.

...

That night, Entertainment City, a high-end club.

Li Qiao and the two others were seated in the dimly lit private suite of the club, where a giant screen in front continued to play soothing music, the environment both elegant and luxurious.

At that moment, the waitress brought over drinks and a fruit platter. Xia Siyu promptly opened a few cans of beer, placing them on the coffee table, "Let’s do this, we’re not going home unless we’re drunk tonight."

In total, there were over thirty cans of beer, plus five bottles of Jägermeister.

Li Qiao glanced at them, arching an eyebrow slightly.

Shen Qingye, meanwhile, looked expressionless at Xia Siyu, "Are you aiming to not go home unless drunk, or are you trying to get alcohol poisoning?"

Xia Siyu handed a can of beer to Li Qiao and then turned to look at Shen Qingye, "Are you deliberately being a buzzkill or looking for a fight?"

Shen Qingye silently started gulping down his beer.

The reunion of the three was supposed to be a happy occasion.

But memories weighed on their minds, bringing an unspeakable sadness with them.

Li Qiao drank her beer slowly, the wall lights casting a beautiful and hazy blue halo around her. After finishing a can of beer, Shen Qingye drifted off.

"Qiaoqiao, doesn’t it tire you, being with a man as dominant and overbearing as Shang Shaoyan?"

Li Qiao pinched the beer can, her expression indifferent as she watched the screen ahead, "Not tiring."

"Cut it out," Shen Qingye scoffed lightly, "I’m tired just watching. Men like him are not only overbearing but also possessive. You haven’t angered him yet, but I’ll leave my words here.

The day there’s another man by your side who matters a lot to you, just watch how he reacts."

Normally, Shen Qingye could hold his liquor well, but that night, his emotions were suppressed, leading him to become more drunk and unguarded as he spoke.

His mind was very clear, yet he didn’t want to be sober.

So when he spoke those words, they were tinged with a measure of spitefulness.

Towards Shang Shaoyan, and towards himself.

Thus, at this moment, none of the three people imagined that Shen Qingye’s incessant rambling would eventually become prophetic.

For a full two hours, they drank non-stop, and chatted without any awkward silences.

From the past to the future, from their embarrassing stories to those years on the border.

As they chatted, they all became drunk.

Thirty cans of beer gone, five bottles of Jägermeister emptied.

Shen Qingye was both crying and laughing, masking under the guise of drunkenness the sentiments he dared not reveal.

He knew, it was time to give up on Li Qiao.

Because what Xia Lao Wu said was right, the agreement of the Seven Sons must not be broken.

One might give up one’s life, but not sever the connections of the heart.

Time flew, and at half-past eleven at night, Xia Siyu staggered to the restroom.

She leaned against the door, also blocking the soft music from inside the private room.

Taking out her phone, she shook her head, opened her contacts, and found a number hidden at the very bottom.

The note was a symbol, [Heartbreak].

Xia Siyu hesitated for a long time, under the tug-of-war between reason and emotion, time seemed to slow and stretch.

Eventually, she mustered the courage to dial the number, bringing the phone to her ear, holding her breath as she listened to the voice on the other end.

A few seconds, or perhaps shorter, the man’s deep and cool voice came through: "Who is this?"

Ah, Yun Lih...

Xia Siyu’s eyes reddened almost instantly; the voice after more than a thousand days and nights was both strange and familiar.

She choked up, covering her mouth, not speaking, even her breathing stopped.

Yun Lih frowned at the unfamiliar incoming call, his tone deepening a few notches, "Speak."

It was still him.

Apart from the absolute gentleness he reserved for Li Qiao, he was always indifferent and distant towards others.

The drunken Xia Siyu, in a daze, heard the disconnection tone from the phone.

With slightly teary eyes, she stared blankly at a certain spot, lost in thought.

Three years, so short, yet so long.

Short enough for her to clearly remember his voice, but also long enough for him to have already deleted her phone number...

Xia Siyu didn’t know that Yun Lih hadn’t deleted her number.

He had... never saved it to begin with.

...

Li Qiao was drunk for the first time in her life.

When Shang Yu arrived at Entertainment City to pick her up, she was sitting in the private room, legs crossed on the coffee table, one hand holding a wine glass, the other clutching a can of beer, sipping from each as if it were water.

Shen Qingye was already knocked out, sprawled on the sofa mumbling lyrics no one could understand.

Xia Siyu seemed to be the most sober one, poking at her phone intermittently.

So, she had no idea that on this very night, she made more than eighty calls to Yun Lih, dialing every few seconds then hanging up as soon as it rang.

Meanwhile, at Mercenary Headquarters, Yun Lih was staring darkly at his phone as it vibrated, cut off, vibrated again, and cut off again...

The tension throbbed at his temples, and he ordered his subordinates to check out which enemy the phone number belonged to, overnight.

He was up for a fight or two, but to be pestered in the dead of night, what sort of sick trick was this?