Chapter 22: You Go If You Want To
Chapter 22: You Go If You Want To
Drinking with this ice-cold beauty was impossible. After all, she wasn’t a good buddy like Luo Xue. If they drank too much and she wanted to do something to him, he wouldn’t be able to resist!
Qin Jiuyue, with her alcohol buzz kicking in, ended up drinking the entire remaining bottle of baijiu.
Apart from the three ounces in Ling Yi’s wine divider, she had finished one jin and seven liang all by herself.
That was absolutely insane!
By the end, Ling Yi no longer thought of her as a remarkable woman among women. Instead, he felt she was a goddess.
Yes, a goddess.
She had gone mad.
But still, even after drinking that much, the beautiful President Qin hadn’t lost her composure. She was just a bit more talkative, stuck in a self-blaming loop—
She kept repeating that she was too young and too foolish back then, that she shouldn’t have been so impulsive.
“I bear a huge responsibility for him ending up like this, I have to take responsibility, you know… His horizons were too narrow before, money was too important in his world. Now he’s risen too fast, so his temperament simply can’t match his current life. He’s completely lost. He really wasn’t like this before, so… blame me.”
Listening to Qin Jiuyue repeatedly mumble this after getting completely drunk, Ling Yi thought this young lady wasn’t just rational; she was actually quite kind-hearted.
The food arrived just then, so he planned to have a drink with her, but by now the young lady was utterly wasted.
He had the waitress call a few people to help their President Qin away. Then, ignoring the waitress’s strange look at him, he calmly sat down and started eating.
Honestly, the dishes here were really tasty!
The key ingredients were very fresh!
It was almost impossible to find ingredients like these in ordinary restaurants.
The cooking methods were also superb, meeting the standard of appealing to the eyes, nose, and palate.
Ling Yi even couldn’t help taking a small sip of the baijiu from the wine divider—
Mellow, with a sweet aftertaste.
One sip told him this wine had some age to it.
Following the principle of not wasting, Ling Yi finished all the wine in the divider.
Finally, riding the light buzz, he returned to his room and had a good sleep.
Early the next morning, Qin Jiuyue opened her eyes in confusion.
Finding herself lying in an unfamiliar bed, she frowned slightly, then calmed down and surveyed the room’s furnishings.
This was her own hotel!
She was sure of that.
It was also a suite specially reserved for her.
She began to recall what had happened last night.
That man who used to be meek and submissive in front of her had caused a scene at the banquet like a mad dog.
He also dragged an innocent person into it. That person seemed quite handsome, what was his name…
Ling Yi. Oh, right, he was called Ling Yi, also the male lead in the biggest news story lately.
Then what happened next?
Qin Jiuyue rubbed her head hard, trying hard to remember.
The wine was good wine, not headache-inducing, but she had drunk too much. Her memory was spotty.
“Later, I drove him back to the hotel. Coincidentally, the hotel he was staying at happened to be under my name. Then he acted like he wanted to avoid me, which I found kind of amusing. Plus, I was in a bad mood, so I wanted someone to talk to…”
“After going to the restaurant with him, it seemed like I was the only one talking non-stop and drinking non-stop. He didn’t drink a single sip, and I got drunk…”
“Ugh… so embarrassing!”
Qin Jiuyue, who was usually ice-cold and imposing in public, now acted like a shy young girl. She threw herself back onto the bed, covered her head with the blanket, feeling rather shattered.
The strong, domineering female CEO persona she had built up so diligently had completely crumbled in front of a stranger.
If this got out, how could she ever show her face again!
Huh?
Wait, that guy didn’t seem to have taken a single sip from start to finish!
That’s too much!
She rolled around in bed until noon.
Then she got up, took a shower, put on her makeup properly, rebuilt her mental defenses, and left the room.
With a cool, aloof expression, she went to the restaurant, found the waitress from last night, and asked about what happened afterward.
When she learned that after she was taken back to her room, that jerk actually stayed in the private room and ate heartily himself, finishing off her favorite small steak and also drinking up all the wine he hadn’t touched before…
Qin Jiuyue listened, stunned, with black lines practically appearing on her forehead.
Though the waitress tried hard to cover it up, Qin Jiuyue could tell this girl probably thought of Ling Yi as a gigolo like Wei Bo Lin!
She felt a pang of guilt unconsciously. That guy was a hundred times better than Wei Bo Lin. And come to think of it, he was quite wronged too. He hadn’t eaten anything at the banquet, came here hungry, and had to listen to her ranting. It was only normal for him to eat something.
But then another thought struck her: this scoundrel refused to drink a single drop in front of her!
But drank alone after she left?
Did he have to be that cautious?
So, he deserved to be seen as a gigolo!
After getting the situation, Qin Jiuyue left the restaurant and went down to the lobby on the first floor.
The lobby manager saw her and immediately scurried over, reporting obsequiously in a low voice, “President Qin, that Mr. Ling checked out this morning and left.”
Qin Jiuyue froze in place, looking incredulous.
But the look of surprise only flashed for an instant before she returned to normal, giving a faint nod. “I see.”
With that, she walked straight out.
The moment she turned around, she could no longer hold back and rolled her eyes hard.
So what if you graduated from Zongwu? Big deal you’re a news figure? Is being handsome that special?
You don’t want to get to know me? Well, I don’t care to know you either!
I already apologized to you, you petty-minded jerk!
Hmph!
Ling Yi saw Gu Tong in the afternoon.
Gu Tong, with dark circles under his eyes and yawning, waved at Ling Yi and grinned. “Not bad, buddy, you really have some skills. Stranger social anxiety, huh… You even managed to get close to an ice queen like Qin Jiuyue. Anxiety, my foot! Hahaha!”
Bringing this up just made Ling Yi angrier. He immediately gave Gu Tong an earful.
“You still have the nerve to say that?”
“You said you’d take me to see the world, introduce me to Spring City’s elite.”
“But you didn’t introduce me to a single Spring City elite! You ran off to flirt with some Xiaomei and left me behind!”
“Do you know what happened afterward?”
Gu Tong stared blankly at Ling Yi. “What?”
“You still have the nerve to ask!”
“A man claiming to be Qin Jiuyue’s husband barged into the banquet, thought I was her gigolo, and even got a gun from somewhere, pointing it right at me!”
“Does your genius junior brother almost get blasted by a gun, did you know?”
Gu Tong: “What the hell?!”
“Why ‘what the hell’? That damn place didn’t even have rideshares available, so I had to reluctantly take Qin Jiuyue’s car back.”
Gu Tong looked at Ling Yi with surprise: “Qin Jiuyue let you ride in her car?”
“That’s not important! Listen to me!”
Ling Yi looked furious.
Gu Tong: “…”
“After arriving at the hotel, she followed me down and said that hotel belonged to her family!”
Gu Tong: “Oh, right, it seems it really is hers.”
“She pretended to be pitiful, saying she had no friends here and no one to talk to, then dragged me to the rooftop restaurant!”
Gu Tong’s eyes instantly lit up, and he asked excitedly: “Then? Then?”
“Then nothing! That woman acted like a drunk, finished two bottles of white wine before any dishes arrived… well, nearly two bottles, then started telling me all that pointless stuff about things that already happened and couldn’t be changed!”
Gu Tong’s eyes sparkled as he pressed on: “What happened next?”
“Then she got drunk!”
“And after that?”
“After that, I had someone take her away. Anyway, it’s her family’s hotel, so no need for me to worry about her safety. Right about then, the food arrived. I was hungry all night, and it turned out really good. I even tried a sip of the wine she brought—had to be at least twenty years old!”
Gu Tong looked a bit confused, staring at Ling Yi who seemed somewhat pleased with himself: “Then?”
Ling Yi frowned: “You’re so nosy. Then I went back to sleep!”
Gu Tong looked at him with a bewildered expression: “That’s it?”
Ling Yi looked strangely at Gu Tong: “What else?”
Gu Tong stood there with a weird expression, looking equal parts amused and exasperated. After a moment, he forcefully patted Ling Yi’s shoulder: “Bro, you’re really something!”
“Obviously, of course I’m something.”
Ling Yi watched Gu Tong, feeling this guy was really baffling. He then recalled how Gu Tong had abandoned him and left with a girl, so he warned sternly: “Next time there’s such a mess, don’t ever call me. Also, if you keep being this unreliable, I might just call you when you’re on a date with a girl!”
Gu Tong finally couldn’t hold back his laughter, nodding vigorously: “Don’t worry, it won’t ever happen again. Oh, and when I’m doing stuff, my phone’s always off, so calling won’t work.”
Then, suddenly with a serious face, he said: “Do you know what the Qin family’s biggest business is?”
Ling Yi shook his head: “Not sure, but I’ve heard the Qin family in Capital City is quite powerful.”
Gu Tong said: “The Qin family’s biggest business is Demon Beast Cores. Their trade spans the Seven Nations and even reaches overseas islands.”
Ling Yi: “That is impressive.”
Right then, a City Guard Army soldier looked over from afar: “Instructor Ling, it’s time for our lesson.”
Ling Yi glared at Gu Tong and strode proudly toward them: “Coming!”
Watching Ling Yi’s straight back, Gu Tong held his forehead and sighed: “My junior brother isn’t stupid either, he even knows about my dates, so why is he so clueless when it comes to himself? Do you really think just anyone can ride in Qin Jiuyue’s car? But… that contract husband of Qin Jiuyue’s causing a scene at the banquet? I should look into this. Maybe my silly junior brother… really has a chance!”
That night, Ling Yi once again stayed at the City Guard Army’s single dormitory.
Actually, he could stay at other hotels now, but he was afraid of accidentally staying in a Qin family hotel again.
That woman was too scary—not only did she attract trouble easily, but she also drank too much, and she seemed to have intentions toward him. He had to be cautious.
Getting the old house fully renovated would take some time, so Gu Tong would have to make do temporarily.
Because as long as he stayed here, Gu Tong would almost certainly come over for meals.
A man who can’t cook is shameful!
Gu Tong brought over a bunch of fresh ingredients, even a few Golden-scaled Fish he’d gotten from somewhere.
Ling Yi cooked in the small kitchen, while Gu Tong leaned against the doorframe watching him. Gu Tong said, “I asked around. Qin Jiuyue divorced that contract husband of hers. That guy had one leg broken and was kicked out of Spring City, but Qin Jiuyue gave him ten million. With the house and car she gave him before, if he doesn’t squander it, selling those would be enough to live comfortably for a lifetime.”
“Oh,” Ling Yi responded without looking up.
“If Qin Jiuyue weren’t soft-hearted, that guy wouldn’t have seen today’s sunlight,” Gu Tong said lightly. “I didn’t expect things to blow up so much yesterday.”
Ling Yi said, “I really don’t like this talk of killing and fighting you all have. It treats human life too carelessly.”
“He wanted to kill you,” Gu Tong said.
“Didn’t succeed, did he?” Ling Yi replied.
“What if he were a Golden Body stronger than Wang Fu?” Gu Tong asked.
“There’s no what if.”
“There is, junior brother. You have talent, ability, and you’re smart enough, but in some life experience, including observing human nature, you’re still lacking. It boils down to being too young.”
Gu Tong felt like a wise old father, speaking earnestly: “Whoever it is, strong or weak, if they develop a desire to kill you, then taking them down is only right! Even if it’s just a momentary murderous intent, if you show a little mercy, the consequences might be something you absolutely cannot bear.”
Ling Yi thought carefully and nodded: “I think you’re right. I was oversimplifying.”
Gu Tong nodded happily: “By the way, Qin Jiuyue called earlier, saying she wanted to invite us…”
Ling Yi immediately refused: “Go if you want! I’m not going!”