Chapter 12
Ji Ting’s brow twitched.
Tan Yucheng’s lips curled up slightly, then he continued drinking without saying a word. He gestured for another “Lost Island Iced Tea” cocktail. Seeing him like this, Ji Ting felt somewhat relieved. The background music here consisted of many Cantonese songs, set at just the right volume—pleasant enough not to disturb conversations. Ji Ting noticed a beautiful woman at the bar in front of them gesturing with her glass towards Tan Yucheng.
Tan Yucheng didn’t notice.
Ji Ting raised her hand to her mouth, leaned closer to Tan Yucheng, and whispered, “Look diagonally opposite, there’s a beautiful woman toasting to you.”
Tan Yucheng tilted his head slightly, thinking she spoke softly and trying to listen carefully, but their eyes met closely. Ji Ting thought he understood and gestured for him to look up.
After a few seconds, Tan Yucheng followed her gaze and lifted his head. The beautiful woman raised her glass again.
Tan Yucheng finally realized what Ji Ting meant—the beautiful woman wanted to toast him. He lifted his glass and clinked it across the space with the woman. Her eyes sparkled brightly, incredibly beautiful.
Tan Yucheng drank it all in one gulp.
Ji Ting raised her glass and also clinked it with the beautiful woman.
Tan Yucheng set down his empty glass and ordered an Icelandic row. There wasn’t much liquor in the glass, just a single ice cube inside, gently swaying. This drink had quite a kick.
He remained composed, despite the flurry of messages on his phone, most of which were from Meng Jia. Tan Yucheng flipped his phone shut and focused on his drink.
After clinking glasses with the beautiful woman, another man approached Ji Ting and clinked glasses with her, asking, “Have we met somewhere before?”
This familiar opening line.
Ji Ting smiled and asked, “Maybe you should think harder?”
The man chuckled, “But I really feel like I’ve seen you before.”
Ji Ting’s eyes and brows curved with amusement.
When Tan Yucheng lifted his glass, he noticed the man approaching Ji Ting for a chat. He casually glanced at the man, who also noticed Tan Yucheng and tentatively raised his glass towards him. Tan Yucheng shifted slightly to the side and casually clinked glasses with the man. After finishing his drink, the man turned to chat with Ji Ting, who turned to face him.
She politely responded, “Were you at Zhuoyue?”
Ji Ting hesitated slightly, “Yes.”
“Then I’m sure I’ve seen you before. I also frequent Zhuoyue. See, I’m not just some old-fashioned guy trying to strike up a conversation.”
Ji Ting chuckled at his remark.
The man quickly added, “You’re really beautiful.”
The unexpected compliment caught Ji Ting off guard. She smiled faintly and replied, “Thank you.”
Tan Yucheng drank his wine, listening to the conversation beside him. He set down his glass of Iceland, and his phone vibrated a few times. Sliding it open to check, he heard Ji Ting’s light, gentle laughter. It was a polite response. Then the man told Ji Ting a joke, and Ji Ting supported her face, listening. The sleeve of her arm slid to her elbow and casually spread out on the table.
She unconsciously twiddled the broken diamonds on her earrings with her fingertips.
Tan Yucheng finished his wine in one gulp.
Suddenly, he reached out and grabbed Ji Ting’s high stool, turning her around. Ji Ting was caught off guard and lowered her arm, looking up.
Tan Yucheng lowered his eyes and glanced at her. “Didn’t you come here to accompany me?”
Ji Ting was about to speak but hesitated.
Tan Yucheng looked up at the man.
The man paused, meeting Tan Yucheng’s inscrutable gaze. He seemed regretful, glanced at Ji Ting, then turned and left.
Tan Yucheng withdrew his gaze, lowered his head to Ji Ting, who was now closer to him. “Zhuoyue’s infamous playboy, didn’t you recognize him?”
Ji Ting smiled, “I did.”
“Then why were you chatting so happily with him?”
Ji Ting helplessly picked up her wine glass and took a sip. “Couldn’t find a point to refuse.”
Tan Yucheng took a sip of his drink, one hand still gripping Ji Ting’s chair. His voice was low and lazy, “Just say you have a boyfriend. Is Lu Hai just for show?”
Ji Ting’s fingertips holding the wine glass paused.
Upon hearing Lu Hai’s name, she didn’t know how to respond.
She said, “Yeah, you’re right. I forgot about that.”
Tan Yucheng tilted his head, giving her a sidelong glance.
Ji Ting took a sip of her drink, swallowing the cool liquid.
She softly said, “Order something to eat. It’s uncomfortable to drink on an empty stomach.”
Tan Yucheng called the waiter over and ordered noodles for her. When the noodles arrived, Ji Ting picked up her chopsticks to eat. As she ate, she commented, “I’ve been mixing my drinks today.”
“Didn’t you just have Stoli?” Tan Yucheng asked.
“I had sake before I came here,” Ji Ting replied.
Upon hearing this, Tan Yucheng turned his head to look at her. The warmth colored her eyes and brows. Ji Ting’s nose tip had a few beads of sweat, which she wiped away. She raised her eyebrows at him. Tan Yucheng pushed a glass of warm water towards her. Ji Ting drank it down in gulps. Then, she pushed back her high stool. Tan Yucheng noticed her slightly intoxicated state and reflexively reached out, putting his arm around her waist.
Her A-line skirt and blouse exposed a slender waist in between, precisely where his arm rested.
Tan Yucheng asked, “Are you able to walk?”
“I can. I’ll go to the restroom.” Ji Ting was feeling a bit dizzy.
After steadying herself with Tan Yucheng’s help, she walked towards the restroom. The Long Island Iced Tea in this bar was different from the one at the Clear Bar that day. It seemed to use a different blend of liquor. Ji Ting entered the restroom, relieved herself, and when she came out, she faintly felt the urge to vomit. She leaned against the sink for a moment.
Coincidentally, the woman who had clinked glasses with Tan Yucheng also entered. She walked up to Ji Ting and smiled, “Hey, beauty, who was that handsome guy you were with just now?”
Ji Ting, feeling a bit dizzy, glanced at the woman beside her. “A friend.”
“He seemed really cool. I asked for his WeChat, but he didn’t give it to me. Could you give me yours instead?”
Ji Ting grabbed a tissue to wipe her face and said, “If he didn’t give it, I definitely can’t give it.”
Upon hearing this, the woman blinked her eyes.
Ji Ting was losing patience. Feeling uncomfortable, she wiped her face and leaned against the wall to walk out. Tan Yucheng was standing by the wall, using his phone, his shirt sleeves rolled up to reveal his well-defined arms. He glanced up, “Feeling better?”
Ji Ting nodded.
She walked over to him, unaware of how she looked at the moment, stumbling a few times. When she reached Tan Yucheng’s side, she staggered, and he immediately reached out to hold her waist.
Ji Ting leaned on his shoulder, feeling a bit guilty and embarrassed. “I’m sorry, I came here to accompany you…”
Tan Yucheng snorted coldly.
Then he reached out, lifted her by the waist, and Ji Ting felt even dizzier. She closed her eyes, her voice soft, “I’ll accompany you for drinks next time…”
Tan Yucheng remained silent.
They reached the bar counter, and the attendant brought Ji Ting’s small bag and car keys. After hooking them on her fingertips, Tan Yucheng went downstairs. The club had arranged for a designated driver. He carried Ji Ting to the back seat, helped her sit down, and she rested on his shoulder.
Her neckline was slightly open, her fair skin glowing. The designated driver glanced through the rearview mirror. Tan Yucheng held her in his arms, letting her lean against his chest.
Only the back of her head was visible.
As for her waist being exposed, he managed to cover it with his hand.
Ji Ting actually had a very good figure.
The details were precise, everything in its place. Many outfits suited her well, and she was quite beautiful, though not aggressively so, which naturally attracted many suitors.
However, she had her own way of rejecting people, and so far, she remained single.
The car sped by, streetlights casting fan-shaped shadows through the window, gliding over Tan Yucheng’s prominent nose. After a while, the backseat fell into dimness again. The air carried the scent of alcohol mixed with a faint perfume from Ji Ting’s neckline.
She wore her familiar fragrance, overall gentle with a lingering floral undertone, subtly captivating.
Tan Yucheng held her close. He had also been drinking, not heavily, but the blended scent of alcohol lingered faintly. Leaning back in his seat, he glanced at Ji Ting sleeping peacefully in his arms.
After a few seconds, he closed his eyes again.
The black sedan arrived at Zhuoyue and parked in the underground garage. The driver retrieved the keys and handed them to the man in the back seat. In the darkness, Tan Yucheng opened his eyes, took the keys handed to him, his voice low and lazy, “Payment settled.”
“Thank you,” replied the driver, wearing a thick mask.
After handing over the keys, he dared not look at the woman who was drunkenly asleep; a mere glance had already crossed a boundary.
Once the driver drove away, the underground garage returned to temporary silence. Tan Yucheng let Ji Ting sleep a while longer. After about twenty minutes, he carried her out, one long leg carefully maneuvering, before closing the black car door behind them.
They walked upstairs together, and once inside, Tan Yucheng tossed her purse onto the sofa and carried her into the bedroom.
Her room also carried a faint fragrance. After Ji Ting lay down on the bed, she actually felt quite uncomfortable. She turned over and went to grab the trash can, just in case she needed to vomit. Tan Yucheng walked out of the room, fetched some hangover pills and a glass of water, and returned to place them on her bedside table.
Ji Ting lay on her side and soon fell asleep again.
Her hair scattered over the pillow, Tan Yucheng stood by the bed, gazing at her for a moment. He reached over to pull the blanket up to cover her shoulders. In the quiet room, a faint scent lingered in the air.
Tan Yucheng straightened up, dimmed the bedside lamp slightly, and then left the room.
The next day.
When Ji Ting woke up, she still felt a bit disoriented. Looking over at the bedside table and seeing the hangover pills and glass, she recalled some scenes from last night. When he left, she had some awareness.
She remembered seeing him leave through the door.
Thinking that last night she should have been the one keeping him company, but ended up getting drunk herself.
Ji Ting felt a bit guilty. Her tolerance for alcohol was actually quite good; occasionally mixing drinks was not an issue, but it depended on the type of alcohol.
She pushed aside the blanket and got out of bed.
Half an hour later, Ji Ting sat on the sofa with a cup of hot cocoa, trying to sober up. She also messaged Zhang Yang, telling him that she wouldn’t go to the store today and to handle things themselves. She added that the coffee beans had arrived and needed to be checked for moisture.
Zhang Yang replied with a simple “OK.”
After arranging her work, Ji Ting opened her Moments on WeChat. She found Shu Xiao’s post from last night, where the comments were already long. Yu Xi asked Shu Xiao in the comments section about her boyfriend’s background.
Shu Xiao rarely responded to other classmates, but she replied to Yu Xi, saying her boyfriend was from Beijing and they attended the same school, both as graduate students.
You could sense Shu Xiao’s tone.
She was in love.
And it sounded peaceful, as if it were perfectly natural for them to be together.
Zhong Yu asked: “Who pursued whom?”
Shu Xiao replied: “He pursued me.”
Below, other male classmates commented with expressions like “Wow.”
The tone was reminiscent of the playful banter that had once been between Tan Yucheng and Shu Xiao.
Ji Ting once hurriedly washed her hands and entered the classroom, only to hear a group of people teasing and cheering. Shu Xiao glared at Tan Yucheng, then got up from his seat, blushing, and returned to her own seat. Tan Yucheng smiled, twisted open a bottle of mineral water, and sat down. They were bantering about something, but Ji Ting couldn’t quite make out the details; she only heard those teasing voices.
It’s strange, thinking back all these years, the most memorable moments for her were actually from high school.
Whether it was Tan Yucheng or Shu Xiao, every action of theirs seemed to gently tread on her nerves.