Chapter 1696: I’ll Protect You (6)
Grat.i.tude appeared on Yang Sheng’s face as well. He did not say anything more and quickly nodded—
“Alright, thank you, Master Qi. When you have time, you must come over and visit.”
His voice was naturally filled with antic.i.p.ation.
Qi Lei nodded calmly.
“Alright.”
Yang Sheng responded briefly, but he was also filled with grat.i.tude. “Alright, I’ll get back to work then, Master Qi.”
…
That night, Dongfang Liuyun came to pick up Qi Lei quite late. By then, the sky had already turned dark, and the entire City Z was surrounded by brilliant lights.
The couple did not go home directly. Instead, they followed Dongfang Liuyun’s instructions and had a nice western meal in a French restaurant. After leaving the restaurant, Dongfang Liuyun even dragged him to the night market.
They walked through the square and along the bustling street. When they reached a small inn near the river, they suddenly saw a pub. From it came the familiar tune of Beyond’s “I Like You”.
Dongfang Liuyun suddenly stopped and looked in the direction of the song.
“What’s wrong?”
Qi Lei, who was holding her hand, also stopped walking and looked at her in surprise.
Dongfang Liuyun quickly retracted his gaze and glanced at him. She raised her head slightly and said calmly, “Treat me to a few drinks, President Qi? I don’t have anything on me.”
Hearing that, Qi Lei looked at her with his deep eyes. Then, he smiled and replied, “It’s my honor.”
Dongfang Liuyun liked to go to bars to drink, but he usually went to pubs instead of those bars with loud heavy metal music.
Qi Lei recalled that in the long time they had known each other, Dongfang Liuyun had often invited him to such pubs. Every time he went there, he would usually find a quiet corner with a good view and drink some wine.
The bar was open-air.
The couple sat next to each other. Outside the guardrail was the corridor by the river. Through a gla.s.s window, they could see the scenery by the river below.
“Sir, Miss, what would you like to order?”
The waiter quickly came forward.
Qi Lei took the menu and quickly glanced at it. “A long Island iced tea, a bottle of brandy, this and this platter.”
Pointing at the menu, Qi Lei returned it.
“Okay, Sir and Miss, please wait a moment. It’ll be ready soon.”
“I want a whiskey?” Dongfang Liuyun glanced at Qi Lei and said.
“No.” Qi lei answered straightforwardly, “Actually, you’re not suitable to drink that kind of strong liquor. It’s even worse when you get drunk after mixing it.”
“Your alcohol tolerance isn’t as good as mine.”
Dongfang Liuyun looked at him with amus.e.m.e.nt.
“You feel really good about yourself, but I remember that every time we went out to drink, you’re always the one who got drunk.”
Dongfang Liuyun smiled lightly.
Qi Lei saw the faint smile on her face. At this moment, Qi Lei felt his heart inexplicably skip a beat—
Of course, he would not tell her why he was the one who got drunk most of the time?
That was because he would drink two gla.s.ses when she drank one gla.s.s.
Who would believe that a person who had been in a romantic relationship for more than ten to twenty years would not be able to hold his liquor?
He had to be more gentlemanly, especially in front of a smart woman like Dongfang Liuyun.
However, his beer tolerance was not great, other white or foreign wines were not a problem.
Qi Lei looked at her quietly for a long while. He did not say anything after that until the waiter brought the platter and wine over.
Dongfang Liuyun poured him a gla.s.s. She added some ice-cold drinks for him to mix with. She picked up her gla.s.s and the couple casually clinked it before taking a sip.
“I’ve been a little busy these past few days, so I didn’t make it in time to do any health care. It’s quite nice coming to a place like this. You used to be good at playing around, but your state of mind is different. You haven’t played to the core.”
Dongfang Liuyun put down his gla.s.s, grabbed a few peanuts, casually opened them, and handed them to him.
He simply picked one up from her palm and ate it. After that, he stopped eating, but he did peel it for her quite consciously.
“I was young back then, who wouldn’t go crazy? A few years ago, when I was studying abroad, my brothers and friends who were on good terms with me were frequent customers of bars or entertainment centres. We all had our fixed VIP seats. The record we kept was that we messed around in entertainment cities for three months in a row. Other than returning to school occasionally, we never went back to our apartments.”
“After that, we drank until our stomachs bled and we went to the hospital. My mother rushed over from City Z, and the moment we met, she nagged me a lot. Afterwards, I don’t know how Qi Qiming found out about this, but he flew into a rage and told me to pick up my books and pack up my luggage to go back to China. I was only a freshman then, of course my mother wouldn’t agree. My good friend advised me for a long time before I gave up on the idea of going back to China.”
Qi Lei had never been willing to mention his time while studying abroad because, indeed, they were quite reckless back then.
“What happened after that?”
Dongfang Liuyun looked at him with some confusion. “I remember that your grades were very excellent when you were abroad. You got an excellent for your graduation thesis, a top student in the architecture department, and you even got a double master’s degree?”
“Those are nothing. However, I relied on my grades to get my tutor to not give me too bad grades, so my mother and the others actually don’t know much about my life abroad. My tutor and I have a pretty good relationship.”
“Is that so?”
Dongfang Liuyun smiled and glanced at him.
Qi Lei glanced back at her. He lowered his eyes and moved the peeled peanuts over. Then, he picked up the wine and took a sip. “What else?”
Dongfang Liuyun pursed her lips and smiled. She supported her chin with one hand and looked at him seriously as she casually picked up the peeled peanuts in front of her and ate them.
“Mrs. Qi, I’ll bet you that the girl opposite you doesn’t have a boyfriend. Also, she didn’t come to the bar to wait for someone. She came to fish for someone. Do you believe me?”
President Qi, who was an expert, suddenly gestured to his wife with his eyes and said with interest.
Hearing this, Dongfang Liuyun also looked in the direction of his gaze. A beautiful and gentle girl with a pure appearance came into view.
“How do you know?” Dongfang Liuyun raised her beautiful brows and asked.
“Do you want to make a bet?” Qi Lei said softly.
“What bet?”
“Whoever loses will go up and sing a song?” Qi Lei asked tentatively.
Dongfang Liuyun thought for a while before nodding. “Sure, but the way you look at her is too direct. I noticed that she doesn’t seem to be stealing a glance at you. She doesn’t think you’re a pervert, does she?”