Chapter 150 Lido Holiday Hotel
"Hey, could you not always frown?" Chen Fan was very timid. "I"ve never offended you, so why are you always picking on me?"
"What do you mean?" Wu Ruoyu"s deep blue eyes were filled with surprise. "You know what you"ve done. Don"t act all innocent."
All I did was scratch you a few times. If you"re not happy, then I"ll just let you scratch me back!
Although this was what Chen Fan had thought, his mouth blurted out these words: "You really baffle me. Setting aside the fact that I was kicked off the bed for no reason, now you keep on accusing me of molesting you!"
"I kicked you off the bed for no reason?" Wu Ruoyu"s voice suddenly increased by five scales, and her snow-white countenance reddened dramatically. Not only did this little rascal refuse to admit to his mistake, but he was also making bogus accusations against her. "If you hadn"t started to mess around, why would I have kicked you off?"
"Hiss..."
"Ahh…"
"Gah…"
Wu Ruoyu"s voice was neither loud or soft. Coincidentally, it met with the end of a song that was being sung by Zhang Xueyang, precisely at the moment when the sound in the speaker ceased completely, as it was preparing to play the following track. Therefore, all six women and five men, who were seated near Wu Ruoyu, heard this sensually flirtatious and coquettish protest.
Multiple gazes landed upon Chen Fan"s body. Envy, hatred, curiosity, eagerness, astonishment, doubtfulness...almost all of these gazes contained every kind of positive or negative emotions, and they were all p.r.i.c.king Chen Fan like a needle.
Pak!
Then, a dropping sound was heard. Ma Ruoxi, who was texting as she sat next to Wu Ruoyu, did not even notice that her phone had fallen on the ground. Two pairs of wide, disbelieving eyes stared at this "adulterous" couple, in a similar way to how they would have stared at a prehistoric dinosaur.
This is unbelievable! Too unbelievable!
Didn"t Elder Sister always say that she didn"t have a boyfriend? Dad and Mom wanted to introduce her to a few bachelors, but they had all been duly declined by her.
So, how did a boyfriend appear all of a sudden?
And, apparently, it"s even the kind that has been kicked off the bed due to him messing around!
This boyfriend... was actually Dad"s business partner, and Yun Meng"s elder brother, too!
"I…I say, old pal, you"re not doing things prudently!" Zhang Xueyang stammered. "You always tell me that you don"t have a girlfriend. Who would"ve thought that you would have actually hooked up with you know who!"
"I…I"m going to the washroom," Wu Ruoyu covered her hot face and ran outside. She knew that such things could not be explained.
Yet, this did not prevent the others from trying to learn more about the latest gossip. She didn"t use the attached bathroom in the private booth, but ran out of the room instead.
"Elder Brother Chen Fan, since when did start you hooking up with my sister?" Ma Ruoxi pulled herself from her daydream, edging closer to push herself against him.
"About a month ago." Chen Fan opened his mouth, showing his snowy white teeth and smiling shyly. "We"re neighbors, right? So, as time pa.s.sed, things just naturally became..."
"Became what?" Ma Ruoxi had great potential to become a very successful, and nosy, female paparazzi!
"Nothing. I"m going to the bathroom as well." Chen Fan hurriedly walked towards the door, attempting to avoid Ma Ruoxi"s pull.
The gazes of the people indoors were similarly hot, especially those coming from the four males. Chen Fan actually thought that, if he had stayed in the room any longer, he would have been seared into roast pork by those scorching gazes, which felt as if they were up to a high temperature of 1000 degree Celsius!
"Hehe, just wait till you get bugged to death by Ma Ruoxi!" After Chen Fan closed the door, a smile filled with treachery immediately appeared on his face.
One could not help but feel a little resigned at Chen Fan"s character. If he and Wu Ruoyu walked in the wilderness, and there came a hailstorm, he would use his body as a barrier to protect her from the lumps of ice, without any hesitation. But, if he had the chance to make a fool out of her, he also would not hesitate to do so!
Pretty girls would always be the centers of men"s attention, especially if they were of a Sino-French mixed-race, as was Wu Ruoyu.
Not long after Chen Fan had walked out to the corridor, he saw Wu Ruoyu standing at the side of the walkway, frowning as she spoke. Right next to her, stood a guy wearing a black suit.
As if there was some form of telepathy between them, when Chen Fan turned the corner, Wu Ruoyu turned around and briefly glanced toward Chen Fan"s direction. Then, with a s.h.i.+ne in her eyes, she quickly walked towards Chen Fan.
She walked right to the front of Chen Fan. This woman never ceased to surprise him with her astonis.h.i.+ng remarks. Now, the first sentence that she blurted was enough to make Chen Fan"s eyeb.a.l.l.s pop.
"Wei Jie, allow me to introduce you." Wu Ruoyu lovingly crossed her arm onto Chen Fan"s elbow, then spoke with her sweet voice. "This is my boyfriend, Chen Fan, and we"re going to get married in August next year. When the time comes, you must attend our wedding!"
As the CEO of Zhong Tian Realty, which is a subsidiary of Tian Hai City"s Wei Xin Holdings, Wei Jie was definitely a young and talented man from the list of most eligible bachelors. He had not even reached the age of 30, but his net worth was already in the hundreds of millions.
He had developed two rather reputable real estate cl.u.s.ters in Zhongyun. Hence, despite having the support of his family"s influence, he was still undoubtedly an established elite in his own rite.
Yet, there was something common among all men, which is that they are all l.u.s.tful! This was revealed with Wei Jie when he was in Tianhai, where he was a frequent patron of their tabloid magazines. In fact, at peak times, he had even been reported to have had love affairs with three starlets in a single week!
A year ago, he came to Zhongyun to develop his real estate business. During a dinner appointment with local billionaire Ma Rongtao, he instantly placed his aims on this lady, who resembled the hybrid of an oriental fairy and a western angel.
Unfortunately, in this era of exploding information, even searching for a n.o.body in some foreign country was a piece of cake. Moreover, if it was the renowned "Playboy Wei," no information could remain hidden for long.
It was undeniable that men could sometimes be very vulgar. However, when the men who behave as such are under the shelter of Zhongyun city"s billionaire Ma Rongtao, they can get away with pulling off a mult.i.tude of tricks and tactics in pursuing girls. With that in mind, as this playboy had finally b.u.mped into this beauty here, he, of course, wouldn"t miss the opportunity to worm his way into being friends with her.
Not allowing himself to be fl.u.s.tered, Wu Ruoyu went up to greet the playboy politely, extending his arm. He then turned to his bride-to-be and affectionately said that they were going to get married next year.
When Wei Jie heard the news, it felt as if a sharp knife had been ruthlessly stabbed into his chest. Not many men could accept the fact that the lady in context was precisely the lady whom they were bitterly chasing after.
Wei Jie was obviously a person who valued self-consciousness, so he tried his best to contain his anger, while silently judging his rival. His build was average. Though his body seemed slightly thin and weak, he did not look frail.
He had a mediocre appearance, as he looked plain, dressed in his black casual clothes. Yet, there was an indescribable stern aura on his face.
Wei Jie, who grew up surrounded by heaps of businessmen, was not an idiot, so he knew not to ever underestimate an opponent.
"One can never judge a book by its cover!"
He had heard this proverb so frequently. Moreover, he had seen numerous people, who looked silent and plain from the outside, but whose backgrounds were the exact opposite of what they portrayed.
"h.e.l.lo." Chen Fan did not introduce himself in the detailed manner that Wei Jie wished he would. Instead, he merely grinned and extended his right hand.
Such a scenario made Chen Fan feel unsure of whether he should laugh or cry. By just thinking on his toes, he could already sense that Wu Ruoyu had used him as her excuse.
"Darling, didn"t you say that you wanted to see if our new matrimonial home was finished after being renovated?" Wu Ruoyu shook Chen Fan"s arm, like a spoiled child. She was certain that Chen Fan would play along with her charade. After all, there were in a relations.h.i.+p!
Darling! Our new matrimonial home!
These words were like knives, ruthlessly cutting into Wei Jie"s heart. Especially when he saw Chen Fan"s perpetual expression of happiness, it made him feel like he wanted to rush in and smash Chen Fan"s face, regardless of the cost.
All of a sudden, Wei Jie felt that Chen Fan"s smile was so cute and so warm. It made Wei Jie"s boiling anger had melted completely, in just 0.1 seconds, having been converted into only an abundance of ecstasy.
"Heh," Chen Fan touched Wu Ruoyu"s hands tenderly, whispering to her in a gentle voice.
"Little Sister, you"re starting to be cheeky again. How can you always take your cousin brother out as your s.h.i.+eld against other guys?" Chen Fan instantly transformed into a benevolent, lecturing elder brother. "Why take the trouble to lie to people? Wei Jie looks quite decent to me!"
"Uh…" The smile on Wu Ruoyu"s face froze at that moment.
"Brother Chen, you…" Wei Jie"s heart was so thrilled, he felt as if he had gone on a rollercoaster ride. Both his hands that were holding on to Chen Fan shook tremendously, and he was acting so toady, like a small office worker who had just met his director.
"You"re Wei Jie, right? Not bad for a lad!" Chen Fan showed him a glance of approval.
It was not Chen Fan"s fetish to be a scapegoat, especially if he was going to get in trouble with a wild lion! Therefore, it was natural that Chen Fan would want to retaliate, in order to speedily restore himself to the dominant position.
"You…" the little bride-to-be looked as if she was going to cry. How could there still be someone in this world who was so insensitive? In the next second, she left the two, running away, while covering her face.
"My younger sister is always like that, so thin-skinned!" Chen Fan"s smile was ever cunning.
"It"s not a problem," Wei Jie was so excited that his entire body was shaking. He took out a box of Panda cigarettes from his pocket, then snapped one cigarette out. He then offered it to Chen Fan. "Elder Brother Chen, please have a smoke."
After Chen Fan received the cigarette, Wei Jie snapped his silverish-white lighter and helped Chen Fan to light his cigarette.
"Dang, it"s shaking. Could it be that a good night is coming?" Chen Fan could not help but mutter the excited thoughts quietly to himself.
At night, in the guestroom of the second floor of Liu Chao Restaurant...
This was a restaurant that was furnished completely in a vintage-retro style. From the green bricks and yellow roof tiles of the three-story building to the wooden flooring and staircase in its interior, all were designed according to the setting of the Qing Dynasty. Even the waitresses were dressed in vintage-style cheongsams.
"Come, sister-in-law. Let me make a toast to you!" Zhang Xueyang forced out an expression of chivalry toward Wu Ruoyu.
"Zhang Xueyang, how many times have I told you, I want nothing to do with that guy!" Wu Ruoyu angrily lifted up the gla.s.s in front of her, which was filled with a bright red liquid.
This is so infuriating! How did she run into this neighbor? If it wasn"t for her cash flow, which was running a little tight, Wu Ruoyu would already have just moved out once and for all.
Cheap, coa.r.s.e, h.o.r.n.y, dirty...
Wu Ruoyu could not think of any positive merits to describe him. The only possible thing that was worth mentioning would be his mysterious background, which was one that even her uncle could not help but admire!
"Yes, I know!" Zhang Xueyang could not stop laughing and shot an understanding look at Wu Ruoyu. "You guys have nothing to do with each other!"
"Yes, not even a single bit!" Chen Fan blinked and paused, before blinking again. "Come, Elder Brother Zhang, here"s two gla.s.ses raised to you. Happy birthday!"
"Two gla.s.ses is not enough," Zhang Xueyang said. "At least six are needed!"
Chen Fan held his gla.s.s and shook his head. "I can"t do this! This is baijiu, not beer. I would go down if I took in six!"
"Alright, just two then!" Zhang Xueyang did not insist any further. He took his gla.s.s, gulping it down.
"Drink until you"re on the floor, eh?"
Wu Ruoyu suddenly thought of something marvelous.
This guy was the fellow who had previously gotten drunk and pa.s.sed out in front of the doorstep. It was she who had helped him up, then snuck him into his bedroom. Clearly, this fellow"s alcohol tolerance was only so-so.
"Hmph." Wu Ruoyu laughed slyly. After Chen Fan and Zhang Xueyang had finished drinking, she reached for her own gla.s.s and lifted her eyebrows at Chen Fan. "Chen Fan, here"s to you!"
"You"re drinking with me?" Chen Fan pointed at his own nose in astonishment.
What was she trying to do?
Chen Fan"s first reaction was that there was probably deception in it. She had just been infuriated by him earlier in the afternoon, and now, she was all smiles, wanting to have a drink with him. To say that there was no conspiracy in this would be strange.
"Yes! You drink a gla.s.s of white wine, and I"ll drink two gla.s.ses of red wine." Wu Ruoyu"s left hand continuously twirled the baby hairs near her earlobe. She tilted her face and frowned at him provocatively. "So? Do you dare take the challenge?"
"Of course I do, why would I not dare?" The minute Zhang Xueyang discovered that something juicy going was going to happen between them, he quickly launched his instigation. "Young Brother Chen, be manly! Don"t let her shame us men!"
"Mr. Chen, I have faith in you!" Xia Qingqing laughed so hard, she felt like her stomach was going to have a cramp soon.
What the...
She is trying to goad me into taking some action!
Now, men are creatures that value their dignities, and Chen Fan was no exception. Moreover, he was standing before so many men and women. Therefore, Chen Fan had to accept this toast, and must drink until Wu Ruoyu admitted her defeat!
The baijiu was still the same Maotai brand. According to Chen Fan"s past experiences in drinking such liquor, the most he could take in was one pound. This means that, if Chen Fan chugged in one pound of baijiu, Wu Ruoyu would have to drink two bottles of red wine! Moreover, she had already drunk half a bottle just now, while he had drunk far less.
"Two bottles of red wine?" Chen Fan glared back at Wu Ruoyu disdainfully. If she could really chug them, then that would be truly outrageous.
In reality, both of them had underestimated each other. Chen Fan kept insisting he was not a drinker, but if he forced himself, chugging down one pound was not a problem.
Meanwhile, one was not to be fooled by Wu Ruoyu"s appearance of being a pet.i.te little high school girl. Having studied abroad in France for four years, she had already tasted all of the country"s famous brands of liquor. She even spent a month playing at one of her best friend"s wine cottages during her summer holidays. There, she drank red wine daily.
Since he had made up his mind, Chen Fan was definitely not going to act indecisively, like a woman!
"Come, cheers!" Chen Fan gulped the liquid in his gla.s.s at one go, while looking very heroic. He lifted his head as he swung his hands, then drank as if he was swallowing the rolling streams of the Yangtze River, rather than some famous liquor produced in the town of Maotai.
"Good job!" Zhang Xueyang blew a whistle.
Just one look at Chen Fan"s brisk and turbid expression, and he knew that he was going to win for sure. Wu Ruoyu was also extremely brisk. After finis.h.i.+ng one gla.s.s of red wine, she poured herself another gla.s.s, then chugged it.
She could be considered as having gone all out today. As such, she would not give up until she has put this douchebag, Chen Fan, in his place!
Chen Fan had gone all out as well. He figured that, if worse came to worst, he could just go home and sleep it off. Therefore, after Chen Fan had waited for Wu Ruoyu to finish drinking her two gla.s.ses, he immediately gulped down another gla.s.s himself.
Both of them kept in this same pattern, drinking in this particular order. It wasn"t until Chen Fan"s fifth gla.s.s when he finally could not take any more. The gas from the alcohol, which was like overturning seas and rivers in his stomach, flooded out.
"Eat!" Chen Fan jokingly said.
As one bottle of red wine went down her stomach, Wu Ruoyu"s cheeks were imprinted with two dabs of redness. After gulping down two bowls of soup that were filled with clams and ladybell roots, Chen Fan looked at Wu Ruoyu"s blaringly reddish face. He estimated that it would take just two more gla.s.ses for her to pa.s.s out. So, he continued to raise his gla.s.s, and with a dreamy gaze, he said, "Drink!"
After drinking another gla.s.s, Chen Fan slightly regretted his rash actions. Wu Ruoyu"s cheeks were still flushed, but her gaze told Chen Fan that she was only a small distance away from getting drunk.
"Drink!" This round, Wu Ruoyu raised her gla.s.s and made a show of authority towards Chen Fan.
"Come!" Chen Fan gritted his teeth and gulped down another cup.
Although Zhang Xueyang was normally a man of good humor, he was not someone to act without regard to the severity of the situation. The duo"s actions obviously indicated that they were already drunk, so when Chen Fan finished a whole bottle by himself, he quickly stopped his girlfriend from creating a disturbance.
"Stop stop stop!" Zhang Xueyang took away Wu Ruoyu"s wine gla.s.s and held a jumbo-sized Minute Maid Pulpy Orange Juice in the middle. "Coming up next, the fruit juice segment!"
"Great!" Chen Fan"s eyeb.a.l.l.s were fixated on Wu Ruoyu. Competing on fruit juice? He won"t flinch, even if he was given three bottles!
Although Wu Ruoyu"s eyes were looking misty, this did not mean that she was not clear-headed. Over two bottles of red wine had already made her little stomach bloat until was round and bulging. If she swallowed more juice, it would definitely explode.
Therefore, she protested, "No way, it"s either we continue drinking, or you surrender!"
"Then we should just stop drinking. Can you imagine how troublesome it would be for me to send all you drunkards home, one by one?" Zhang Xueyang kept the fruit juice and said, "Today"s challenge will be considered as a tie. You guys can battle again when the both of you have gotten over the hangover tomorrow. After all, the both of you live together, so there is plenty of time to do so."
Since the birthday boy had spoken, both of the drunkies willingly accepted his advice. Each of them left furious remarks with one another, then sat down wobbly on their chairs to momentarily ease the repercussions of the alcohol.
After taking out his phone to call w.a.n.g Bing to have him picked up, Chen Fan continuously rubbed his temples. He hadn"t expected for Wu Ruoyu to be such a crazy woman, who could still stand after drinking over two bottles of red wine!
They continued to have their dinner until eight in the evening. Only then did Zhang Xueyang wave his hands and announce that the banquet was over.
Chen Fan moved wobbly along with the flow of people, as he exited the entrance. Only after quivering in response to the rush of cold wind, did Chen Fan unwillingly became a little more sober.
"Old man, are you drunk?" w.a.n.g Bing, who was waiting at the door, quickly ran towards him and said with a smile. "How about taking a bath to ease that tipsy feeling?"
"Bath my foot!" Chen Fan spoke, the heavy scent of alcohol on his breath, then pa.s.sed his keys to him. "Quick, get the car over here."
"Old pal, since it"s on the way, let"s pick Wu Ruoyu up, too." Zhang Xueyang smiled sheepishly, walking in front of Chen Fan. He lifted the corner of his mouth at Wu Ruoyu, who was being supported by his girlfriend"s arm and said, "Isn"t it easy to sort out a disagreement between a couple? Go back and battle for 300 rounds, I guarantee that your grudges will vanish immediately!"
"Oh!" Chen Fan nodded. He only heard the first half of his sentence, as the latter part was uttered very softly by Zhang Xueyang, so he could not clearly make out what he had said.
Once Wu Ruoyu heard that she was going to ride on Chen Fan"s car in order to get back home, her mind resisted immediately. However, before she could even protest, her drunken body, which was like a noodle, was pushed into the car by Zhang Xueyang"s girlfriend, Xia Qingqing.
There was nothing else to be done, simply because she was Chen Fan"s "girlfriend."
"Hmph!" Ruoyu rolled her eyes at Chen Fan. Then, she pulled over a small pillow and placed it against the window of the car, before closing her eyes to continue her battle against the strength of the alcohol.
Even though there had been a bad impression during that trip to America, Ruoyu believed that, since they had so many main and supplemental connections and a.s.sociations with one another, it would be unlikely for him to do anything outrageous.
"Start the car, and send us back!" Chen Fan also pulled over another pillow and mimicked Wu Ruoyu, as he placed it against the window of the car and leaned on it.
"Okie dokie!" w.a.n.g Bing smiled, steering the car steadily on the driveway.
The dim and misty night imprinted a layer of bizarre reflections on the surface of the car. The black BMW drove toward the east for over 30 minutes before stopping. w.a.n.g Bing turned to nudge Chen Fan"s elbow lightly.
"We"re home already?" Chen Fan blurrily opened his eyes.
Where is this?
Chen Fan looked at the magnificent neon lights. Lido Holiday Hotel. Seven huge Chinese characters took up half of Chen Fan"s line of sight.
"Why did you bring me here?" Chen Fan punched at w.a.n.g Bin"s chest with his fist. "Hurry up and let"s go home. What is your brain filled with?"
"Naw!" w.a.n.g Bing showed an innocent look. "Boss, what can a man and a woman do, if not book a hotel room?"
"Book a hotel room?" Ruoyu was woken up by the duo"s commentary. Just like Chen Fan, she looked around the place. When she saw the seven characters of Lido Holiday Hotel, she immediately became like a lioness that had fallen into a state of panic. She howled, as if she was about to strangle Chen Fan"s neck in desperation.
w.a.n.g Bing jumped out of the driver"s seat and whistled a tune. He walked toward the BBQ stall at a distance, preparing to wait and talk to them after their spat had pa.s.sed.
"Bring it on, you rascal!" Wu Ruoyu suddenly pounced on Chen Fan before tearing, scratching, and biting him.
"Have you gone mad?" Chen Fan grasped onto Wu Ruoyu"s pet.i.te hands. "This was all done by my bodyguard, so why are you putting the blame on me again?"
"Your bodyguard?" Ruoyu was not going to believe that explanation. The truth had already been laid before them, and yet, he still had the audacity to try and weasel his way out of this. How shameful!
Both of them were in a bad state of drunkenness, so their pus.h.i.+ng and hitting appeared to be a little off their usual standards. After a few rounds of pus.h.i.+ng and resisting, they rolled from the top of the seat to the bottom of the seat.
"Little rascal, you...you... What else do you have to say?" Wu Ruoyu gritted her teeth, while she sat on Chen Fan"s thighs, her legs crossed over them.
She had been bullied by him more than once or twice. Wu Ruoyu also took into account the previous awkwardness in his bedroom.
She gasped for over 10 seconds. Initially, Chen Fan was prepared to continue his pretense, but when Wu Ruoyu opened her legs and straddled him, he shamefully realized that he was aroused.
As the old saying goes, alcohol makes a hero braver! Thus, Chen Fan took the advantage and flipped Ruoyu over, so that she was pressed under his body. Then, he opened up his tiger-like mouth and placed a kiss on her fragrant and rosy lips.