Chapter 43

After sending Shen Zhirou off, Zhao Tongtong finally felt utterly bored and listless. People’s hearts are made of flesh, after all. They’d been together for three years, and now things had ended up like this—it was impossible for her not to feel heartbroken. Suddenly, Zhao Tongtong felt exhausted deep down and really just wanted to let everything fall apart.

She had poured three years of hard work into nurturing their relationship, only for it to turn into a steaming pile of shit. Wei Xuan could go out carousing and whoring around, so why couldn’t she? Why should she live such a grueling life? Tonight, she would just go hook up for a one-night stand—maybe even stumble into a fling with some hot young guy.

With that thought, Zhao Tongtong slammed her foot on the accelerator and sped straight toward Crown Bar. By the time she arrived, it was nearly 10 PM. She and her friends usually showed up around 8 or 9 to drink, and by 10 or later, they were typically wrapping up and heading out.

Zhao Tongtong parked the car, strode into the bar, and ordered a bunch of drinks at the counter. She just kept knocking them back one after another. Midway through, quite a few people came over to hit on her, but she rejected them all. She didn’t want to utter a single extra word; she simply felt a suffocating pressure building inside her chest and wanted somewhere to vent it out.

She wasn’t sure if it was the tequila’s harsh bite or something else, but Zhao Tongtong’s eyes reddened. She sniffed hard and kept on drinking, her vision gradually growing hazy and unfocused.

“Qing Jie, what are you staring at? Got your eye on that little beauty over there?” Sun Fei noticed Xiao Qing’s gaze flicking repeatedly toward the bar and asked.

“Nothing. She looks a bit familiar—like someone from our company.” Xiao Qing pulled her gaze away and took a sip from her glass.

“Aw, I thought you were into her. Turns out she’s from your company. Lame.” Sun Fei muttered under her breath. Her good friend Xiao Qing hadn’t seriously dated anyone since her last relationship ended amicably two years ago. When Sun Fei saw her staring that way, she thought the iron tree was finally blooming, but nope—she’d gotten ahead of herself.

“What do you mean ‘not lame’? Like you, flitting from one fling to the next every day?” Xiao Qing chuckled teasingly. She’d changed into a wine-red bodycon dress before coming to the bar. Now, she lounged lazily against the sofa, stripped of her usual commanding presence from the office and radiating an alluring vibe instead. They’d only been seated a short while, and she’d already shot down four or five guys who’d come to chat her up.

“Of course! I live so carefree—you wouldn’t believe it. You’re a big-shot company CEO, and you don’t even have a girlfriend? I’m seriously impressed. How’d you let yourself get like this?” Sun Fei griped casually. Her family owned an investment firm, and she had a doting older brother, so she just held a token position there without handling much real work. She lived off her monthly dividends, wining and dining to her heart’s content.

Xiao Qing’s eyes drifted back toward Zhao Tongtong. She saw the girl from her company had drunk herself into slumping over the bar top. They’d run into each other a few times in the elevator, after all, and the girl had always politely addressed her as CEO Xiao. It felt off just watching her alone like this in the bar.

Sure enough, she wasn’t the only one noticing—two guys were heading that way too, clearly aiming to hit on her.

Xiao Qing rubbed her thumb over the platinum ring on her index finger, deciding she ought to step in and get the girl to a nearby hotel for the night. She stood up and walked toward Zhao Tongtong.

Sun Fei’s eyes went wide. “Didn’t you say that’s one of your employees?”

“Yeah, and if an employee’s in danger, as her boss, I can’t just ignore her, right?” Xiao Qing shot Sun Fei a glance, striking a heroic pose like she was justice incarnate.

“Tch, whatever—boring. Out for drinks and you’re still playing company babysitter? You’re not a kindergarten teacher. I’m so done with you…”

Sun Fei kept grumbling, but Xiao Qing just smiled without acknowledging her best friend. Instead, she quickened her pace toward Zhao Tongtong and, just before the two men reached her, pulled the girl into her arms.

Zhao Tongtong was thoroughly hammered, everything tripling in her vision—she couldn’t make out the face in front of her at all, just vaguely discern that it was a woman who sort of resembled their company’s Xiao the Big Devil. Zhao Tongtong shook her head, dismissing the idea as impossible. Xiao Qing was such an austere, straitlaced type, always impeccably suited up at the office. No way she’d show up in a place like this. She quickly ruled out the possibility that the woman before her was Xiao Qing.

She reached out to push Xiao Qing away, but her arm went limp with no real strength behind it. She didn’t budge her—instead, it felt more like groping at Xiao Qing’s waist and abs. Xiao Qing caught Zhao Tongtong’s fumbling hand on her waist with one of her own and looked up at the two approaching men.

One of them flashed Xiao Qing a smile. “Hey, beauty—wanna join us for some fun?”

“No thanks. My girlfriend and I are heading home.” Xiao Qing’s face hardened as she drew Zhao Tongtong tighter into her embrace. Zhao Tongtong had no strength left anyway, her full weight slumping against Xiao Qing.

“Tch, you think we don’t know? This girl was sitting here drinking alone for ages earlier. She came by herself. You and that other girl were over at the booth—you don’t even know each other, do you?” The crew-cut man was clearly not ready to let it go.

“We had a fight, okay? But now I’ve made up with her. Right, baby?” Xiao Qing had no idea what Zhao Tongtong’s name was—there were too many people at the company for her to remember everyone—so she tossed out a pet name to brush these two guys off for the moment.

Zhao Tongtong’s hand was still resting on Xiao Qing’s waist, gripped firmly in Xiao Qing’s hand, while Xiao Qing kept her arm around Zhao Tongtong’s waist, holding her close in her embrace. Hearing the word “baby,” Zhao Tongtong wriggled a little in Xiao Qing’s arms. She lifted her hazy eyes, struggling to focus on Xiao Qing’s face, and mumbled in a soft, sticky voice, “I just heard you call me baby. Sob… do you like me?”

“Yeah, no more fighting. I’ll take you somewhere else to rest properly, okay?” Xiao Qing did her best to soothe the girl in her arms, gently patting Zhao Tongtong’s back.

“Sob… do you want to sleep with me?” Zhao Tongtong’s head was spinning, but she hadn’t completely forgotten she was in a bar, so her words still carried a thread of logic.

“No, just to rest.” Xiao Qing tamped down her rising frustration and spoke in a gentle tone. She’d only come over to help out, planning to hustle Zhao Tongtong to a hotel, book her a room, and leave her there to sleep it off. She hadn’t anticipated it being quite this much trouble.

“If you want to sleep with me, it’s not like it’s impossible. You kinda look like Xiao the Big Devil. Ugh, this is so annoying—can you just stand still? You’re making my head hurt.” Zhao Tongtong frowned, chiding Xiao Qing.

Xiao Qing gritted her teeth and held her temper. She was still mulling over who this “Xiao the Big Devil” Zhao Tongtong had mentioned might be when the girl in her arms, seeing no response, started chattering again. “Here’s the deal—you kiss me once, and if I like it, I’ll go open a room with you. Fair, right?”

Her eyes were rimmed with a flush from all the alcohol, like a delicate flower glistening with spring dew, making her look irresistibly alluring—tempting someone to take advantage of her.

Xiao Qing drew in a sharp breath and resisted the urge. They were acquaintances, after all; it wouldn’t be right to take advantage like that.

That was her thinking, anyway—but Zhao Tongtong had other ideas. She’d come out to drink and blow off steam, still fuming over how that bastard Wei Xuan had slandered her and Zhirou. Just because Wei Xuan could find a new fling didn’t mean she couldn’t, right? And this time, she was determined to pick a beauty.

With that thought, Zhao Tongtong lurched forward in her drunken haze and kissed Xiao Qing. But her double vision threw her off, and she only managed to graze the corner of Xiao Qing’s mouth. Smugly appraising it afterward, she declared, “That felt pretty good. Alright then, let’s go open a room.”

The two men wore frustrated expressions. Seeing the girls kiss, they lost interest in arguing and slunk back to their booth to drink.

Xiao Qing glanced down at the drunkard nestled in her arms and let out a helpless sigh. No good deed goes unpunished—she’d have to see this through to the end. Off the clock and still playing chauffeur for a company lightweight to a hotel.

She kept a firm hold on Zhao Tongtong to keep her from stumbling and led her out of the bar to hail a cab. Her plan was to find the nearest hotel, drop her off there, and head home herself. She’d lost her taste for more drinking anyway.

Seeing Xiao Qing ignoring her, Zhao Tongtong looped her arms around Xiao Qing’s neck and clung tightly, nagging on in a nonstop mutter. “Why aren’t you more into this? My head’s killing me—why won’t you kiss me?”

Zhao Tongtong’s mind was a foggy mess as she leaned in and kissed Xiao Qing’s lips again. This time, she hit her mark. She rubbed her soft lips against Xiao Qing’s like a mewling kitten, her warm breath washing over Xiao Qing’s face.

Xiao Qing’s ear tips flushed red from the teasing. She’d intended to deliver the girl to a hotel room with purely good intentions, letting her crash alone—but Zhao Tongtong clearly had different plans.

Xiao Qing tightened her grip on Zhao Tongtong’s slender waist and deepened the kiss. Zhao Tongtong was already wobbly from the booze; after that intense kiss, she would have collapsed if not for Xiao Qing holding her up.

Xiao Qing’s gaze fell on Zhao Tongtong, taking in the deeper flush along her eyes and cheeks, her full, perky lips parting slightly as she mumbled something like a cat.

Xiao Qing leaned in closer to listen and caught the girl’s soft, sticky voice: “Sob… you’re so good at kissing. My legs have gone all weak.”

The warm puffs of breath against Xiao Qing’s neck and ears pinned her gaze right there, unable to look away. At the same time, a flicker of anger stirred in her chest. If she hadn’t shown up today, wouldn’t this girl have fallen prey to those other guys?

Xiao Qing’s expression darkened as her hand tightened around Zhao Tongtong’s waist. Feeling uncomfortable, Zhao Tongtong pushed lightly at her. “You’re squeezing too hard—I can’t breathe.”

“Aren’t you going to run off with someone else if I don’t hold you tighter?” As she spoke, Xiao Qing leaned down slightly and gently bit Zhao Tongtong’s lip. She didn’t use much force, but the girl in her arms was incredibly delicate, her tears falling like little pearls, plop plop. “You bit me… it hurts so much, wuwuwu…”

Xiao Qing hadn’t expected the girl in her arms to be so fragile, so she patiently coaxed her, using her slender fingertips to gently wipe away Zhao Tongtong’s tears while softly soothing her: “Alright, don’t be mad anymore. Let’s head back to the hotel first and talk there. Once we’re back, you can bite me back, okay?”

After Xiao Qing coaxed her for a while, Zhao Tongtong finally felt a bit better. Her head was still dizzy, and she softly nestled in Xiao Qing’s arms.

Finally, Xiao Qing managed to hail a cab and brought Zhao Tongtong to a nearby hotel. While Xiao Qing was checking in at the front desk, Zhao Tongtong wouldn’t stay still in her arms, wriggling around restlessly. If it weren’t for Xiao Qing’s usually commanding presence, she herself would have lost control by now.