Chapter 19: Pretending to Be Drunk is So Hard

Meng Chuning’s foggy mind seemed jolted by those four words, her breathing suddenly growing heavier. She didn’t quite dare meet Jiang Xiaoyi’s eyes, so she turned her head and made space.

Jiang Xiaoyi fumbled for the garter buckle, her thumb and forefinger gently applying pressure. The buckle came undone smoothly, and the garter sprang open as if in relief.

Unfastening one side made the other far easier.

Switching hands, Jiang Xiaoyi tried to undo the second buckle with one hand. But the damn thing seemed to fight her, slipping from her fingers several times.

Growing a bit anxious, she tugged harder and accidentally pinched the soft flesh on Meng Chuning’s thigh.

In her fluster, the back of her hand bumped the other side.

Meng Chuning fluttered her lashes, her eyes rimmed red as she looked at her.

“…” Jiang Xiaoyi immediately apologized. “Did I pinch you? Does it hurt?”

Meng Chuning said nothing, softly biting the inside of her cheek. Pretending to be drunk was even harder in this situation, especially with Jiang Xiaoyi’s innocent fretting.

“Sis, this buckle is so tricky.” Jiang Xiaoyi tried several more times, unable to get it loose. She didn’t dare look down at her legs—something felt off, like the buckle was tangled in silk thread.

Not wanting to trouble her, Meng Chuning mumbled a suggestion. “You could just rip it.”

“Rip… rip it?” Jiang Xiaoyi’s eyes lit up, and she repeated excitedly, “Can I really rip it?”

Meng Chuning let out a faint hum, wondering why Jiang Xiaoyi seemed so thrilled about tearing black stockings.

With both hands, Jiang Xiaoyi grabbed the threads on either side of the buckle and yanked hard.

Rip!

Ding-dong.

【Task completed. Account balance: 690,000.】

Jiang Xiaoyi let go, her eyes sparkling with barely contained excitement.

“Sis, it’s off.” She straightened up and stood. “I’ll take you home.”

Meng Chuning tilted her face up, her eyes even redder at the corners. “Like this?”

Standing in front of Meng Chuning’s legs, Jiang Xiaoyi had forgotten the scene in her excitement.

Big Boss Sis sat there before her, her skirt barely covering her thighs. The black stockings on her left leg were torn open in the middle, exposing pale thigh, while the half-torn stocking draped over her calf. The garter from the other leg lay scattered on the sofa.

The sight…

Anyone who saw it would think Jiang Xiaoyi had roughed up Meng Chuning badly.

“…” Jiang Xiaoyi instinctively covered her eyes, her ear tips burning red. “Sis, pull… pull your skirt down first.”

Oh god.

She wondered if Meng Chuning would remember any of this tomorrow. Would Big Boss Sis blacklist her after seeing her in such a vulnerable, ravished state?

Clutching her eyes shut turned her world dark, sharpening her hearing.

Jiang Xiaoyi heard Meng Chuning’s slow movements—probably adjusting her skirt.

Only when the sounds stopped did Jiang Xiaoyi slowly ask, “Sis, you good?”

Meng Chuning hummed in response. Jiang Xiaoyi lowered her hands and opened her eyes, nearly choking.

Meng Chuning hadn’t fixed her skirt at all. Instead, she’d removed the stocking from her other leg.

Both long, slender legs now dangled bare over the sofa’s edge.

“…” Jiang Xiaoyi hastily looked away, feeling like she’d asked too much. Meng Chuning was drunk—how could she manage her skirt?

Fine… fine.

As long as she didn’t get blacklisted tomorrow.

Jiang Xiaoyi stepped closer, bending to wrap one arm around Meng Chuning’s waist and lift her off the sofa. With her other hand, she yanked the skirt hem down. In a blink, the skirt was straightened.

Before Meng Chuning could react, she was back on the sofa. Jiang Xiaoyi’s hand left her waist as she crouched beside her, sliding the dangling black stocking off her calf.

“…” That wasn’t what Meng Chuning had expected. Even after all that, Jiang Xiaoyi calmly straightened her clothes without batting an eye.

Jiang Xiaoyi’s heart pounded in her throat, but she calmly gripped Meng Chuning’s ankle and slipped her high heel back on. Then she tucked the torn stockings into her jacket pocket.

“All set, Sis. Let’s head home.” When Jiang Xiaoyi looked up, Meng Chuning was staring at her jacket pocket.

“Don’t get the wrong idea. I just didn’t want the staff spotting them here.” Jiang Xiaoyi explained—she wasn’t some pervert obsessed with a beautiful sister’s black stockings.

Meng Chuning replied slowly, “Mm. Home.”

So Big Boss Sis wasn’t bothered by that. Jiang Xiaoyi wrapped an arm around her again, letting her lean against her. “Try walking.”

Meng Chuning’s arms looped around Jiang Xiaoyi’s waist, her chin resting on the crook of her neck. “I can…”

“Then let’s go.” Jiang Xiaoyi focused entirely on supporting Meng Chuning as they walked out, scanning their surroundings to avoid Su Jiuyue.

Coming in together with Meng Chuning could be explained as a crew gathering.

Leaving together? That would raise questions.

She asked the manager for the direct route to the parking garage, avoiding the lobby. The manager thoughtfully had a designated driver waiting by the car.

As the elevator descended, the swaying Meng Chuning pinned Jiang Xiaoyi into the corner.

The manager stood ahead without turning, but Jiang Xiaoyi was at her limit—Big Boss Sis kept nuzzling her neck.

“Sis, that tickles.” Jiang Xiaoyi hinted gently, hoping she’d stop.

But Big Boss Sis lifted her face slightly, gazing at her with misty eyes and letting out a dazed “Huh?”

“…” Jiang Xiaoyi looked away, cursing her own lack of resolve. “Go ahead and nuzzle.”

Meng Chuning’s lips curved in a smile before she dipped her head again, burying it in the side of her neck like a kitten sniffing around.

Jiang Xiaoyi was suddenly glad she’d showered before heading out.

The elevator doors finally opened. Jiang Xiaoyi straightened and stepped out of the corner, following the manager to the car.

The manager confirmed they needed nothing else and left. The driver was professional, eyes forward.

Jiang Xiaoyi opened the rear door, supporting Meng Chuning’s lower back to ease her inside. “Sit tight, Sis.”

Meng Chuning reluctantly released her grip on Jiang Xiaoyi’s neck.

Jiang Xiaoyi lifted her under the knees, half-carrying her farther in before shutting the door. She circled to the other side and got in.

The driver asked politely, “Where to?”

Before Jiang Xiaoyi could answer, Meng Chuning—slumped in the back seat—rattled off her home address crisply. “Lovers’ Water Bay Building 1.”

Jiang Xiaoyi and the driver both froze. The driver spoke first. “Is that the right address?”

He directed the question at Jiang Xiaoyi, wary of a drunk misstating it.

Jiang Xiaoyi nodded. “Yes.”

Her mind was sharp, her speech quick.

Meng Chuning bit her lip. Pretending to be drunk was so hard.

She’d planned to keep leaning on Jiang Xiaoyi in the car, but now she huddled in the corner, forehead pressed to the cool window glass in regret.

“Sis, the glass is cold.” Jiang Xiaoyi scooted closer, pressing the back of her hand to the window so Meng Chuning’s forehead rested in her warm palm.

After drinking, the body weakened—pressing against the cold glass all night would mean a cold tomorrow.

Meng Chuning pillowed her head on that warm hand, her cheeks gradually heating.

Was it possible Jiang Xiaoyi hadn’t noticed she was faking?