"Five and three, winner!"
"Six and six, lucky!"
"Nine, I'm thirsty!"
After a few rounds, there were wins and losses, with each loss costing a drink.
At this point, the others gathered around, watching the two of them play finger guessing and drink.
Each round was best of three, yet the wins and losses were decided incredibly fast.
In less than an hour, more than a dozen bottles of wine were emptied.
Ye Lingyun finished his last drink, casually tossed the empty glass aside, and massaged his temples with his hand.
Tang Xiaomin across from him was no better. Her cheeks were flushed red, and she leaned against Shu Ya's shoulder, completely unconscious.
Shu Ya said helplessly, "What's going on? I thought we were just bringing her out to have some fun and be happy. How did she get so drunk? What are we going to do now?"
Shu Ya and the others had discovered Tang Xiaomin's unusual state and brought her to Liu Feng's ocean view villa to play. Who knew it would turn out this way.
"What else can we do? Take her home," Ye Lingyun said, still rubbing his head.
"Yan Jue... Yan Jue..."
Tang Xiaomin mumbled Yan Jue's name.
Shu Ya thought for a moment, found Tang Xiaomin's phone, flipped through it, and dialed Yan Jue's number.
"Hello, Xiaomin is drunk. Could you come pick her up?"
"No time."
...
The call hung up. Shu Ya stared blankly at her phone, a string of curses escaping her lips.
"Damn it! I thought he was so great, but he won't even come to pick up his girlfriend when she's drunk. What good is he!"
Lin Keke shook her head.
"Sigh, it seems my guess was right. Xiaomin's relationship is really in trouble."
Just then, Tang Xiaomin's phone rang. Shu Ya saw it was Tang Ye's name and answered, explaining Tang Xiaomin's situation on the phone.
"Tang Ye says he'll be here to pick her up right away. In this critical moment, family is still reliable. Men, indeed, are not."
Liu Feng said, "Unreliable men are limited to others, certainly not including me. Lili, don't you agree?"
"Six of one, half a dozen of the other. Neither of you has room to talk."
"Sigh, you... you don't cherish what you have, do you? When you were chasing me, you admired me so much."
"Oh, my eyesight must have been bad back then."
"You..."
While the two were bickering, Tang Ye drove to the ocean view villa.
He heard that Tang Xiaomin was dead drunk and thought it was unbecoming for a girl to be like that. He had planned to take this opportunity to have a good talk with Tang Xiaomin.
But when he saw the thoroughly drunk Tang Xiaomin, he couldn't utter a single word.
He carried her into the car and drove home.
"Stop!"
"Stop!"
Suddenly, Tang Xiaomin shouted from the back.
Tang Ye pulled the car over. As soon as it stopped, Tang Xiaomin got out and vomited uncontrollably by the roadside.
Her stomach churned and flipped, and she couldn't hold it in.
Tang Ye stood beside her with a pack of tissues and a bottle of water, patting her back.
"What's wrong with you, getting this drunk? It's lucky those people were your classmates. What if they were bad people? You have no safety awareness."
"Don't think you're good at fighting. Bad guys are even more ruthless than you."
"Sigh, stand up straight, don't fall."
Tang Ye reacted quickly and scooped Tang Xiaomin up in his arms.
This was the first time he had seen her so vulnerable. At this moment, it would be incredibly easy to do anything to her. She was not invincible.
Suddenly, two lines of tears streamed from Tang Xiaomin's eyes. She didn't sob, just cried.
"What's wrong? Who made you cry?"
As soon as he asked, Tang Ye regretted it.
What else could she be crying about?
It must be about the painful memories of the past.
Crying like this, she must be hurting deeply.
"Don't cry anymore. I'll take you home."
"Seeing you cry like this reminds me that I'm a sinner."
"Waa... it's really... too much," Tang Xiaomin murmured in Tang Ye's arms.
Her words made Tang Ye feel a sense of oppression and discomfort, as if something were stuck in his chest, unable to rise or fall, causing him pain.
It was indeed too much; she was gone.
If it hadn't been for a twist of fate and her return to exact fierce revenge on their entire family, leveling the score.
Her life would have been so pitiful.
"From now on, I'll treat you better. Please don't cry like this anymore, okay?"
Tang Ye carried Tang Xiaomin back into the car and took her home.
As soon as they arrived, Zhang Meiyu brought a bowl of hangover soup and fed it to Tang Xiaomin.
"How could you get this drunk? Honestly."
Tang Yu ran to Tang Xiaomin's room and drew a bath for her.
After carrying her to her room, Zhang Meiyu personally used a towel to wipe Tang Xiaomin down.
Involuntarily, she saw the faint red mark on her waist again, and her heart ached once more.
As a mother, Zhang Meiyu had hired professional childcare providers early on when she gave birth.
Therefore, Zhang Meiyu had hardly ever bathed her children herself.
This was the first time she had wiped Tang Xiaomin down.
In her memory, Tang Xiaomin was still an infant swaddled in blankets, quiet and well-behaved.
It was said that children who don't fuss are here to repay kindness.
No matter how much she had wronged Tang Xiaomin, along the way, it was Tang Xiaomin who had shown her much kindness.
She bought her clothes, and when she was sick, she stayed by her side in the hospital.
Tucking in the corner of the blanket, Zhang Meiyu took this opportunity to lovingly caress Tang Xiaomin's cheek.
"Good child, you've suffered so much."
She kissed her forehead gently and withdrew from the room with satisfaction.
The next day, when Tang Xiaomin went to school, she learned from Shu Ya that Tang Ye had picked her up and taken her home. She couldn't hold back any longer.
When school ended, unexpectedly, it was Tang Ye who came to pick her up.
"Why are you here?"
Tang Ye was driving his newly bought Porsche, which he had bought with money he had recently earned.
"I just bought a new car. From now on, I'll be responsible for picking you up and dropping you off at school."
"Don't worry, even if I'm occasionally busy with work and can't make it, I can ask Big Brother to pick you up. You won't have to take a taxi home."
Tang Xiaomin hadn't expected that Tang Ye, who was usually not very astute, would notice that she was taking taxis to and from school.
"You're suddenly so kind. It seems you've finally seen the light."
"Heh."
Tang Ye smiled, his idol-like face radiating a charming handsomeness.
"If you ever need anything, you can always ask me. If I ever frown, I'm not a man."
Tang Xiaomin got into the car with a cold smile. This driver who had shown up out of the blue was too good a deal to pass up.
After returning, she couldn't wait any longer and went to Xianfu Group.
In the office, Yan Jue, Lu Xing, and Meng Yiren were all present.
When Tang Xiaomin's gaze met hers, Meng Yiren's eyes flickered, and she lowered her head, unable to meet Tang Xiaomin's gaze.
Pan Jie had told Tang Xiaomin when she left that Meng Yiren's gaze was not pure and warned her to be careful of her.
It seemed Pan Jie had foresight.
"You all go out. We have something to discuss with Yan Jue alone," Tang Xiaomin said.
Yan Jue still had his usual languid demeanor, his arrogant gaze lacking something.
It was the warmth he usually showed Tang Xiaomin.
"You've come at the right time. I have something to discuss with you," Yan Jue said.