Noticing the look of disappointment on her grandfather’s face, Wu Pingyang could not help but feel embarrassed. She chided Fan Shixin softly, “Can’t you just fulfill my grandfather’s wishes and answer his questions truthfully? It’s so boring if you keep being so tight-lipped.”
Fan Shixin stared at her and insisted on sticking to his principles. “They’re the ones who keep asking me about topics that are taboo. What am I supposed to do? I really can’t answer those questions. That’s just my principle.”
“How uninteresting,” Wu Pingyang muttered under her breath, finding Fan Shixin to be completely different from what she had expected.
“What did you say?” Fan Shixin asked with a frown. He had noticed the look of annoyance that formed on her face for a split second.
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
Fan Shixin felt an urge to leave immediately but decided to endure it and stay through the evening since he was already there.
During dinner, all of the Mu family members constantly toasted to him.
Despite being able to hold his liquor well, he inevitably became tipsy after having so much to drink.
Although he constantly declined and told them that he still had to drive later, Wu Pingyang’s uncle insisted on toasting to him enthusiastically, telling him that they would get the servants to send him home later if he were to get drunk. Hence, he had no choice but to continue drinking.
Finally, he decided to stay firm to his decision and stop drinking when his stomach began to feel upset.
As Jin Qingyan’s right-hand man, he had always been sticking to his own principle of never letting himself get drunk out of his senses during such events.
Otherwise, he could easily become vulnerable to the ill intentions of others.
It turned out that his concerns were not uncalled for. When Wu Pingyang’s mother suggested that he just stay over at the Mu family home for the night, he immediately sobered up and turned her down profusely.
He stood firm to his decision regardless of how hard they tried to coerce and persuade him.
Seeing how insistent he was, the Mu family had no choice but to instruct their bodyguards to drive Fan Shixin home in his own car. They also instructed Wu Pingyang to take good care of him.
Wu Pingyang followed him into his car, and he was driven back to Wei Ni Estate.
Having slipped into a trance, Fan Shixin leaned back against the seat with his eyes tightly shut.
However, he had yet to lose his consciousness.
When they arrived in Wei Ni Estate, Xiao Huang and Xiao Bai helped him out of the car. He squinted at Wu Pingyang and said, “You may go home…”
“You’re drunk. I’ll stay to take care of you.”
Xiao Bai chuckled and said, “Sis-in-law, we’re here to take care of him, you may go home.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Huang smacked him and chided, “Watch your words.”
Reminded of the fact that she was supposed to act like an innocent and chaste woman in front of Fan Shixin, she nodded and got back inside the car. She then rolled down the window and said, “Give him some hangover broth.”
“Alright, Sis-in-law, goodbye.”
After the car left, Xiao Huang said, “Why did you let Sis-in-law leave when she offered to stay behind? You idiot.”
“Didn’t you see that Chief told her to go home? That just means that Chief doesn’t want her to stay behind.”
Xiao Huang asked Fan Shixin, “Chief, why did you drink so much?”
“They kept making me chug liquor… my stomach feels terrible,” Fan Shixin said before letting out a barf.
Unable to curb his nausea, he threw up immediately, after which he instantly felt more sober and comfortable.
Xiao Bai instructed the servants to clean up the mess. He then helped Fan Shixin back into the house together with Xiao Huang.
He also ordered the cooks to prepare some hangover broth, which the two of them then fed to Fan Shixin before leaving.
Fan Shixin dozed off. He woke up three hours later with a splitting headache. However, he felt much more sober and no longer felt sleepy.
Thus, he got out of bed, freshened up, and changed into a fresh set of clothes before leaving.
It was already eleven o’clock at night.
It was time for Xiao Bai’s shift. Upon the sight of him, Xiao Bai stifled a yawn and asked, “Chief, why are you up already?”
“My head hurts and I can’t sleep,” he answered in a hoarse voice.
“I shouldn’t have let Sis-in-law leave and allowed her to stay behind to accompany you instead. If she did, you would definitely be able to sleep very soundly. Right, Chief?” Xiao Bai asked with a sheepish grin.
Fan Shixin chided, “Right, my ass! Don’t address her as ‘Sis-in-law’ so casually. We haven’t gotten married yet.”
“What’s wrong with that? Young Madam is not married to Young Sir yet and we still call her Young Madam too, don’t we? Chief, are you just too shy? Don’t be so sensitive, Sis-in-law didn’t have any issues with us addressing her that way.”
Fan Shixin chastised, “Haven’t you been sleeping in the afternoon? Why do you still look so listless and lethargic? Wake yourself up.”
“Yes, Chief!” Xiao Bai shook his body and struggled to open his eyes widely.
Fan Shixin held the mouse in his hand and scrutinized the surveillance camera footages.
He discovered that the lights were still on in his private apartment.
Why is she still awake at such a late hour?
“How has Ms. Mu been when you guys delivered her meals to her?”
“She’s doing fine. However, Ms. Mu told us to stop bringing her food.”
“Huh? Why?” Fan Shixin asked.
“Ms. Mu said that she didn’t want to trouble us any longer and wanted us to send her some groceries in bulk instead of delivering ready-cooked meals to her. She said that she can cook her own food and kill some time during the process. Hence, we’ve already stocked her fridge up with lots of groceries that are enough to last her for at least three days.”
Fan Shixin expressed assent and turned around to enter the guardroom.
It began drizzling outside.
He exited and headed to his own apartment.
After unlocking the door with the password, Fan Shixin entered slowly and closed the door as gently as he could.
He walked toward the bedroom and knocked politely. “Who’s there?” she asked.
“It’s me.”
“Please come in.”
Fan Shixin pushed the door open to see that she was doing some cross-stitching while sitting on the bed. “Why haven’t you gone to bed yet?” he asked.
“I can’t fall asleep. Did you drink?” Mu Wansheng asked, finding that he reeked of alcohol.
“You can still smell it? I’ve already showered and brushed my teeth.”
“A little bit. You seem to have drunk quite a bit.”
“I went to your home this afternoon and had dinner there. Your family made me drunk.”
Mu Wansheng placed her cross-stitch piece on the table and asked, “Are you going to get engaged to her?”
“No, I just went because Pingyang said that your grandfather wanted to see me.”
“You must have spent lots of money, didn’t you?” Mu Wansheng asked while looking at him.
“Young Madam allowed me to bring some premium cigarettes and a bottle of liquor from the cellar at home.”
Mu Wansheng took a deep breath and asked, “Chief Fan, do you fancy Pingyang?”
Fan Shixin held her gaze and answered, “I suppose so.”
Mu Wansheng held back the words she had wanted to say. Although she did not want to be nosy, she did not want her savior to get hurt either. “It’s probably my family’s greatest wish to see you marry Pingyang. My grandfather especially. He’s definitely looking forward to it. However, Pingyang is not genuinely true to you. She has… an ulterior motive for dating you.”
Mu Wansheng had been gripping her duvet tightly while speaking.
Having already understood her point, Fan Shixin said, “I know that they’re after my superficial qualities. That’s why I haven’t made any plans to get married yet. I’ll make a decision after getting to know her better.”
