Putting down her glass and seeing both of them staring at her, Cheng Yan smiled innocently, curving her lips. “Why are you both looking at me?”
She glanced at their already empty glasses, then flipped her own over. “All gone, see.”
When she met Jun Jianqing’s icy gaze, Jun Lijiang instantly snapped back to her senses.
In the bustling, lively bar, she felt for a moment as if she were in the dead of winter, a layer of cold sweat forming on her back.
“I just didn’t expect you to down it so straightforwardly.” Jun Lijiang curved her lips into her usual smile, as if that momentary stiffness had never happened.
Cheng Yan smiled. “Because it tasted pretty good, I guess.”
“Alright then.” Jun Lijiang nodded. “I’m a bit bored. Going to dance for a while. You two sit here for a bit?”
Cheng Yan instinctively looked at Jun Jianqing, a question in her eyes.
Jun Jianqing: “Go ahead.”
Jun Lijiang exhaled in relief, smiled and nodded at them both, then left.
With her gone, only she and Jun Jianqing were left there.
Recalling that Jun Jianqing usually appeared in public in a wheelchair, Cheng Yan figured she couldn’t possibly invite her onto the dance floor.
Anyhow, she simply couldn’t imagine Jun Jianqing dancing to music.
After a moment’s thought, she spoke with a hint of petulance, something between a complaint and a gripe: “Young President Jun called me over, but then she went off herself.”
But Jun Jianqing asked, somewhat cryptically, “Did you want to go dance with her too?”
A thought flickered through Cheng Yan’s mind, but she didn’t show it.
“No, I just thought—wouldn’t it be boring just the two of us drinking?”
The image of Cheng Yan holding Chen Shuhua as they exited a hotel flashed through Jun Jianqing’s mind, making her expression even harder to read.
“Bored?”
Cheng Yan immediately said, “I was worried you might be bored.”
It seemed Jun Jianqing smiled. She said, unhurriedly, “Not bored.”
“Good, if you’re not bored, that’s fine.” Cheng Yan proactively poured her another drink.
After all, she couldn’t expect the lofty President Jun to serve her.
But when she was about to pour for herself, a hand suddenly pressed down on her hand holding the bottle.
Cool, soft, and smooth.
“Have you had a lot tonight? You don’t have to drink just to keep me company.”
Cheng Yan stared at that smooth, cool hand. This seemed to be the first time the two of them had touched like this.
“It’s fine, I can still drink a tiny bit more.” She smoothly pulled her hand out, first pressing her thumb and index finger together, then pulling them apart a distance, gesturing in front of Jun Jianqing’s eyes.
A little cute.
Feeling the emptiness in her palm, a slight regret flashed through Jun Jianqing’s heart.
When she was with Cheng Yan, except for that time at the Clear Ripple restaurant, her attitude was always very gentle.
This time was no exception.
The desire that had surged up was suppressed deep in her heart; perhaps it would erupt at a suitable time.
Right now, she was restrained and composed, and she said warmly, “Your alcohol tolerance is quite good.”
Cheng Yan slightly shook her head. “My alcohol tolerance is okay. Mainly, even if I indulged and got drunk tonight, I feel like I wouldn’t be too worried.”
“Oh?” Jun Jianqing asked, “Why is that?”
Cheng Yan stared at her. In the depths of her eyes, the reflected figure was only Jun Jianqing. “Because…”
Facing such a gaze, Jun Jianqing’s heart stirred slightly, unconsciously lifting a thread of anticipation.
Cheng Yan had said before that she was a good person.
“Because the bar owner is someone my senior knows. So, getting drunk here feels like I don’t need to worry about anything.” After a two-second pause, Cheng Yan smoothly finished her reasoning.
Senior? Chen Shuhua?
Jun Jianqing’s expression turned icy.
She suddenly felt that the term “senior” was incredibly grating.
Cheng Yan seemed to see something and let out a “pfft” of laughter.
A chill permeated Jun Jianqing’s eyes as she followed her gaze.
“Ah, my seniors saw me. They’re waving at me.”
Jun Jianqing paused slightly. It was a group of young girls; that face she was expecting was not among them.
Cheng Yan also waved back at them, then, with her smile still lingering, said to Jun Jianqing, who had clearly come specially tonight, “What’s more, I ran into Aunt Jun at the bar tonight. It feels like every time I meet Aunt Jun, you’ve helped me out in some way. So even if I got drunk tonight, with you by my side, it feels like there’s nothing to worry about.”
She tilted her head slightly. The alcohol had consumed her lipstick, leaving an alluring tint smudged on her lips.
“Am I right?”
A complete turnabout.
Jun Jianqing felt her heartbeat quicken, but she forcefully suppressed it and regained her composure.
She couldn’t help but scrutinize Cheng Yan.
Yet Cheng Yan’s face held only pure trust and a smile.
Her suspicion dissipated. Jun Jianqing curved her lips, in a rather good mood. “You trust me that much?”
Cheng Yan nodded vigorously. “Of course. Your actions are worthy of trust.”
The aura around Jun Jianqing softened even more. She said gently, “If you want to indulge tonight, go ahead.”
“After all, I am trustworthy.”
Jun Jianqing swirled her wine glass, no longer doubting whether rushing over upon receiving Jun Lijiang’s message had been appropriate. She smiled faintly, completely at ease.
Cheng Yan imitated her posture, leaning lazily against the sofa back, pressing the cold glass against her face to cool down. “Even so, I can’t be that unrestrained.”
Jun Jianqing said, “You can be unrestrained.”
She took the initiative to pour more wine into Cheng Yan’s glass, her tone indulgent: “Drink if you want.”
Cheng Yan stared at the swaying liquid before her, then abruptly straightened up. “A toast to you.”
Jun Jianqing raised her arm, their glasses clinking gently.
Not far away, Jun Lijiang had been keeping an eye on that side. Seeing the two chatting and laughing, clinking glasses and drinking, she couldn’t help but sigh in relief.
It seemed her cousin really had her eye on this girl.
Thinking of the look her cousin had given her earlier, Jun Lijiang sighed. She definitely had zero interest in that girl that way now.
That instinctive reaction just moments ago was purely because she’d been momentarily stunned watching a beautiful woman drink so sexily.
A hand landed on her shoulder. A bold, hot beauty invited, “Want to dance together?”
A brilliant smile bloomed on Jun Lijiang’s face, full of charm. “Of course.”
—
Jun Jianqing really was excellent at conversation.
Cheng Yan thought dizzily: when a woman like this—capable of overturning clouds with a flip of her hand—truly wanted to have a conversation with you, she could make you unconsciously immerse yourself in the emotion of chatting with her, without the slightest discomfort, so pleasant that you wouldn’t even notice time passing.
Was this the linguistic skill of someone in power?
Or the advantage of age?
She truly was no match for her.
Cheng Yan raised her hand and gently rubbed her temples. It seemed she really had drunk too much this time; her head was dizzy, barely retaining a sliver of clarity.
Thinking this, she felt a twinge of regret.
She really had unconsciously drunk so much while chatting. If not for the vigilance she still held, she would have long since passed out drunk.
The seniors, their party over, came to find her.
Cheng Yan gathered her spirits and sat up, but her vision was somewhat blurry.
She heard a fragmented conversation by her ear.
It seemed like the seniors wanted to take her away, but Jun Jianqing refused.
Forcing her eyes wide open, Cheng Yan used that last bit of clarity to try and see the situation clearly.
Jun Jianqing was currently refusing.
Cheng Yan propped her eyelids open and looked at her seniors.
Indeed, only two were sober enough to be lucid.
She interrupted the conversation. She thought her voice was clear and articulate, but it was actually slurred with intoxication. Fortunately, it was still discernible to sober ears.
“You guys go ahead first, don’t worry about me. I’ll message you tomorrow after I get back to school.”
The two seniors handling four drunkards was already difficult enough; she wouldn’t add to their trouble.
Besides, even if she passed out drunk next to Jun Jianqing tonight, Jun Jianqing wouldn’t do anything.
Relying on her last wisp of clear-mindedness, Cheng Yan analyzed the pros and cons internally and quickly made her choice.
Hearing she could still respond and that her consciousness hadn’t completely succumbed to the alcohol, the two sober seniors glanced at the two of them, then followed her suggestion.
Jun Jianqing’s lips curved at her choice. She raised a hand, making a gesture. Two bodyguards, who had been concealed not far away the whole time, came forward.
“Go help them.”
The two seniors were slightly startled, then quickly thanked her.
After everyone left, Jun Jianqing took the glass from Cheng Yan’s hand and said, “We should get going too.”
Cheng Yan blinked dazedly, muddled. “Right, we can go. Where am I going?”
Jun Jianqing: “You’re coming with me.”
Cheng Yan repeated, “I’m, I’m coming with you.”
On the dance floor, Jun Lijiang finished exchanging contact info with a beauty and came back. She looked at Cheng Yan and exclaimed, “How much did she drink?”
Jun Jianqing gave her a flat look. The lipstick on Jun Lijiang’s lips was already smeared from kissing.
“We’re leaving.”
Jun Lijiang: “Yes, yes, let’s go. I’ll come with you.”
She glanced at the two of them and asked, tentatively, “Want me to help support her?”
Jun Jianqing said, “The bodyguards are back.”
Fine. It saved her the trouble, anyway.
Jun Lijiang followed behind them, feeling lighthearted.
In front of the bar, Jun Lijiang got into her own car and waved at Jun Jianqing. “Cousin, bye-bye.”
Jun Jianqing nodded, got into the car, and watched as the bodyguard helped Cheng Yan into the car, right next to her.
The person beside her had closed her eyes, seeming to have fallen into a deep, drunken sleep.
She was very well-behaved when drunk, not fussy at all.
Her sleeping face was peaceful and sweet, her cheeks still slightly flushed, exceptionally moving.
Jun Jianqing’s gaze roamed over her face unbridled.
Until her unrestrained gaze accidentally landed on her neck, her Adam’s apple.
Her eyes darkened deeply.
A slender, cool, pale hand hovered in the air above at some unknown point, then slowly descended, gently and repeatedly grazing the Adam’s apple hidden beneath the skin.
Cheng Yan felt a slight itchiness, reached out to touch it, found nothing, and uneasily opened her eyes.
But there was no clarity in her eyes; she was clearly still drunk.
She moved her head, looking left and right, barely making out that this was inside a car and that Jun Jianqing was beside her. The other woman sat with her hands resting easily on her lap, eyes closed in repose, looking leisurely and elegant, noble and unmatched.
Seeming to sense the drunkard’s gaze, Jun Jianqing opened her eyes and asked, “Uncomfortable?”
Cheng Yan obediently shook her head.
Jun Jianqing chuckled lightly. Then, casually, she asked, “Does Yanyan have someone she likes?”
The drunk Cheng Yan was a bit slow to react. After several seconds of vacancy, seeming to realize she was being spoken to, an expression of contemplation appeared on her flushed face, looking incredibly soft.
“…Probably yes.”
Jun Jianqing remained perfectly calm. “Oh? Who is it?”
Cheng Yan mumbled a couple of syllables, “Sen…ior?”
She used a questioning tone, but because she was drunk, the final intonation was particularly light, making it sound like a statement.
But she didn’t like her anymore now.
She thought dizzily.
Jun Jianqing’s expression instantly turned frosty, icy cold.
After answering, Cheng Yan tilted her head the next second, nestling against the car seat and falling asleep.
The air inside the car froze over. The person beside her was cold and menacing. All the chaos had nothing to do with the sleeping drunkard.
Slumped against the seat asleep, hidden by the black hair falling over her face, Cheng Yan slept soundly with a curved smile on her lips.
