Qian Meigui walked into a grand room with Zhong Liu by her side. The light dimmed, decorations were pulled up, and everyone was standing, waiting for her. Everyone came, Su Feng, friends from her office, Song Ren, the twins, and most regrettably, Song Sheng.
Song Jinyi approached them first, holding a gla.s.s of wine. Her bobbed-hair swayed as she walked, her face flushed, and her golden-brown eyes peaked at Zhong Liu beside Qian Meigui. Song Jinyi raised a brow and gave her a knowing smile. Qian Meigui glared at her to not say anything embarra.s.sing, knowing Jinyi very well. "h.e.l.lo," she said to Zhong Liu. Zhong Liu gave her a polite curd nod and with a smooth tone said, "h.e.l.lo Jinyi. Nice to see you again."
Song Jinyi walked away as she found something else that piqued her interest, without saying much of a word. Right after, Song Ren and Su Feng approached them. Su Feng was holding Song Ren by her waist and together they were affectionately walking towards them. Qian Meigui only hoped that nothing would come between the happiness of these two. It would be cruel if their relations.h.i.+p were torn.
Song Ren went to grab Qian Meigui hands, smiling as gentle as she could muster. Song Ren was not the one to show emotions; her reservation made her challenging and unpredictable. But that"s what also made her so unique, and though Su Feng was the polar opposite, he suited her most.
"You didn"t tell me that you got into school or that you were attending cla.s.ses," Song Ren said to her wearily. Qian Meigui smile subtly, "You were so busy; I didn"t want to bother you."
Song Ren"s lips parted in dismay. "Xiao Mei," she began genuinely, "You"ll never be a bother to me. We"re sisters, remember?" Qian Meigui nodded, "Sisters," she echoed Song Ren"s words, smiling grimly.
Song Ren turned to face Zhong Liu, "No hard feelings from the recent case, my friend?" she said to him. Zhong Liu smirked at her, "No hard feelings. On the contrary, it was Mei who beat me on the case, and she hasn"t made it clear if we made peace from our recent battle." Qian Meigui nudged him playfully as she smiled at him. Zhong Liu gazed at her so deeply that it nearly pierced through her. Song Ren cleared her throat and said, "Have fun you two." She then grabbed Su Feng by the hand, dragging him to find somewhere to sit. Su Feng waved at them politely as he walked away with Song Ren.
Zhong Liu made a gesture to walk ahead of him as they entered the room even further. Song Sheng approached them slowly, and Qian Meigui tried not to waver any emotion, keeping her head held up high. Shong Sheng appeared to be calm without a flicker of resentment or jealousy, it felt like a straight-up blade through Qian Meigui"s chest, but she maintained her composure.
Song Sheng wore all black. He wore a black b.u.t.toned-up collared s.h.i.+rt, black jeans, and a leather jacket. Qian Meigui cursed him in her head. Song Sheng always looked best in black, it complimented his personality and his hair, bringing out the gold in his eyes. Though all the Song children had gold-flecked eyes, Song Sheng"s eyes always shone the brightest out of the four. His eyes resembled the crackling embers of a bonfire or the eyes of wild wolves from distant mountains. It was challenging to look at him, but she took a deep silent breath and waited for what he was going to say.
Song Sheng shook Zhong Liu"s hand with a reserved expression, but Zhong Liu looked happy, he was smiling like a child. "h.e.l.lo, Dr. Song," he said. Song Sheng placed his hands in his pockets, sizing him up, "I"m no longer a doctor. I quit science and medicine," he casually said.
Zhong Liu looked shocked momentarily, but he quickly said, "May I ask what you do now?" Song Sheng nodded, "I have an executive position with Song Entertainment."
Zhong Liu nodded, "Ah," he said. Qian Meigui felt like the air was getting awkward. To relieve the tension, she said, "Let"s go sit down with the others." Zhong Liu nodded in agreement. Song Sheng gave her a side-eye glance, acknowledging her words. Although it was just a glance, his eyes were deep and penetrating; she tried not to s.h.i.+ver. Qian Meigui looked away, grabbing Zhong Liu by his hand, guiding him to the table.
Song Sheng watched Qian Meigui take Zhong Liu by the hand; though he should be happy for her, he wasn"t.
They began to eat light snacks since dinner had pa.s.sed, and bottles of wine rotated around the table. Song Sheng kept quiet nearly the entire time, while Qian Meigui was speaking to Song Ren intensely. Su Feng held Song Ren by the waist while Zhong Liu didn"t touch Qian Meigui at all, but he still sat very close. She was grateful, though, since they only went on one date, and she couldn"t fathom being close to him when they haven"t established anything yet.
As the night went on, Yang Minzhe came from the side after flirting with some of the office girls. He hiccuped as he mumbled and everyone laughed at him, especially Song Jinyi who was just as drunk as him.
He poured two gla.s.ses of bourbon and said to Song Sheng, "Sheng, let"s compete on drinking" Song Sheng raised an eyebrow.
"Aren"t you already drunk?" Song Ren asked Yang Minzhe. Yang Minzhe shook his head, determined, "I can never pa.s.s an opportunity to drink against Sheng. It"s always been a tradition between us men."
Song Ren rolled her eyes. As Yang Minzhe poured the gla.s.ses, he said, "Su Feng, join us since you are going to be a part of the family."
"Family?" Su Feng questioned. Song Ren smiled at him, "Yang Minzhe is my cousin. He is a distant relative from my mother"s side." Su Feng"s mouth gaped. Everything makes sense now! He recalled that Song Ren"s mother was Yang Rei.
Su Feng rose from his seat to join Yang Minzhe and Song Sheng. Then Yang Minzhe asked Zhong Liu to join as well. Zhong Liu was hesitant, wanting to reject the offer, but he felt like he should try to get close to Qian Meigui"s family because maybe one day, their relations.h.i.+p will advance.
Yang Minzhe poured more gla.s.ses of amber-looking alcohol, Qian Meigui was not sure which brand it was. The men played a round of shots, and soon, Song Ren partic.i.p.ated. "You men are boys, not gentlemen," she said as she downed a round of whiskey. Su Feng looked at her with admiration, as if he would ravish her later when there is a winner of the game. Song Ren blushed in response, and Qian Meigui had to peel her gaze away from their lovey-dovey moment.
After a while, Yang Minzhe was the first person to be out cold from the amounts of alcohol they consumed. Soon after it was Su Feng, and Song Ren patted his back for trying his best. Right after, it was Zhong Liu, leaving Song Ren and Song Sheng head to head.
After a total of twenty rounds, Song Ren gave up, leaving Song Sheng as the winner. The four were all so drunk that they were practically sleeping on the tables with their faces flushed. Qian Meigui arranged each of them to have a designated drive them home. Since Zhong Liu drove her to the venue, so she planned to drive him with his car back to his home.
As they rested on the tables, Qian Meigui searched for the bathroom, which was a bit distant from their private room. She released herself, cleaned up a bit, and exited. When she left the restroom, she did not expect to see Song Sheng leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. Qian Meigui was about to walk past him, ignoring his presence, when he grabbed her elbow gently. Qian Meigui turned to face him, her eyebrows knitted, her face annoyed. Song Sheng"s face was slightly flushed, his eyes appeared to be wary, and he gazed at her gently.
Qian Meigui was going to ask what he wanted, but he began to say, "Why did you bring him here?" Surprised, Qian Meigui"s lips parted slightly, but she shut out his slight concern. "He"s my date," she casually said. Song Sheng"s eyes widened, but it quickly narrowed. "Is he at least good to you?" he asked.
Qian Meigui scoffed, "You"re drunk, Sheng. Don"t ask about him; it would only me think that you are jealous." And at that, their eyes met. His golden-brown eyes narrowed, his eyelashes fluttered against his cheek. Qian Meigu was tired of this chasing game. She won"t chase him this time.
Song Sheng snickered coldly, letting go of her, "Why did it have to be him?"
Qian Meigui felt agitated. "Why do you even care?" she asked coldly. "But then, of course, Zhong Liu is good to me," her voice lowered, "he is better than anyone else could have been."
Within the next moment, Song Sheng grabbed her hand, pinning her against the wall. His forearm rested against above her head; his knee caressed the side of her leg. She stared into his scorching, deep gaze, his eyes appreciating her dangerously. Qian Meigui stared back at him defiantly, her eyebrows knitted. "Let me go, Sheng," she said with a frosty tone.
Song Sheng then used his other hand to trace the line of her jaw and stopped at her chin. He held it up high, so their eyes could meet. "Do you want to return to him?" he asked with a smokey tone. "Yes," she retorted quickly.
Song Sheng moved from her chin, to trace the lines of her lips playfully. His thumb was smooth against her lips; she tried not to show any reaction. His eyes dangerously danced at the sight of her lips, enticing him. Song Sheng moved closer, gently caressing her cheek. He leaned in to kiss her, but he was surprised to see that a tear slipped from her face. Her lips began to quiver, and his heart ached at sight. He didn"t mean to hurt her; his jealousy bested him.
Song Sheng let go of her, stepping away. Qian Meigui pushed him aside, walking past him, wiping the hot tears from her face.
Song Sheng rooted at his spot in a daze. He really messed up now.
Qian Meigui was tired. She was tired of Song Sheng misleading her. He was drunk, and he only wanted to play with her. He didn"t like her, not as much as she loved him. She swiftly went back to the room. Qian Meigui found the sleepy Zhong Liu. She picked him up using her shoulder. He hung his arm around her shoulders, dragging his feet against the floor.
Just as they were about to leave the building, the usher from earlier stopped them. "Miss! Miss!" Qian Meigui paused with Zhong Liu, who held his head low. "Here"s the receipt for the room." Qian Meigui took the piece of paper and thanked the woman.
She placed the receipt in her pocket, continuing to walk with Zhong Liu to his car. She fastened his seatbelt when he got in and personally, and she drove him. She helped him get into his apartment. He crashed into his bed immediately, and she took a taxi back home with a heavy heart. She took the receipt from her pocket, glancing at it, and she stilled.
All the expenses were paid for by Song Sheng. He made special requests for her, selecting her favourite foods, drinks, and games, and he invited the people she knew best. She scrunched the paper in her hand, clutching at it against her heart. Why is that he always surprising her? Why does he keep doing these nice things? What does he want?
Qian Meigui went home and slept restlessly.
Song Sheng was driven home by someone Qian Meigui arranged. He went to his balcony window, lighting a cigarette. He dialled his best friend Rong Ming who was annoyed for calling him late again.
"How do you pursue a woman?" Song Sheng asked his buddy as a greeting.