Volume One, Chapter 13 “Are you with the man you love?”
The alcohol had already gone to her head, and Xu Zhi’s reactions noticeably slowed. She stared at her phone for a full half-minute before finally pressing the answer button.
She brought the phone close to her ear. The voice on the other end called out, “Little Zhi,” but it sounded somewhat muffled. She instinctively replied, “Ah?” and asked, “What did you say?”
Liang Muzhi obviously heard the commotion on her end and had to raise his voice. “Where are you?”
“I…” Xu Zhi hesitated, “I’m at a bar.”
“What?!” Liang Muzhi’s tone was anxious. “Why did you go to a place like that? You never used to! Who are you with? Which bar? I’ll come get you.”
The questions came at her like rapid-fire. Xu Zhi stood there, dazed and slow-witted. Everyone wanted to control her, everyone wanted to dictate her choices, and Liang Muzhi was no different.
He took his girlfriend to bars himself, claiming there were only so many places young people could enjoy. Now that she was here, he suddenly disapproved.
“I…” She glanced at Liang Jinmo, then spoke into the phone, “I’m with a friend. Don’t worry about me.”
“What friend?” Liang Muzhi sounded worried. “Male or female? When did you meet? Bars are full of all sorts of people—it's too dangerous for you.”
Xu Zhi found him nagging, but his concern wasn’t feigned. That made it all the more cruel to her.
“Are you listening, Little Zhi? Give me the address, I’ll come pick you up…” Liang Muzhi’s voice slowed, as if recalling something. “Are you… with the man you like?”
Xu Zhi was stunned for a moment, not yet ready to answer when Liang Muzhi’s tone hardened, “How can you just drink with a man? Do you even know what kind of person he is? I’ve told you, there aren’t many good men out there—if you’re not careful, you’ll get taken advantage of…”
Xu Zhi gripped her phone tightly and interrupted him, “If I get taken advantage of, it’s my own business. Don’t interfere.”
Liang Muzhi found her unreasonable. “You should have some limits even if you’re upset. This behavior just invites trouble from shady men. Be good, give me the address.”
“I won’t,” Xu Zhi’s nose stung, and she just wanted to vent her frustration. “Even if a man takes advantage of me, it’s my own business. Liang Muzhi, stop meddling in my life!”
With that, she hung up.
The music around her returned, buzzing in her ears. Her phone vibrated again—it was Liang Muzhi’s call. She refused it and turned the phone off.
She placed the phone on the coffee table and looked up, meeting Liang Jinmo’s gaze.
His dark eyes were deep and steady, watching her quietly.
She pointed to her phone. “He’s the real liar… He tricked me, and I lost so much…”
Liang Jinmo was silent for a few seconds. “You’re drunk.”
He’d guessed her tolerance wasn’t great, but hadn’t expected it to be this poor. She was clearly not lucid anymore.
Xu Zhi was lost in her own emotions, tears slipping from the corners of her eyes. “Grandpa Liang said we were promised to each other as children, that I’d be the Liang family’s daughter-in-law one day. I believed him… He never denied it, why didn’t he object?”
Liang Jinmo said nothing, raising his glass and taking a drink.
Xu Zhi wiped her tears with the back of her hand, careless and messy. “But it doesn’t matter. I just hung up on him. It’s the first time I’ve ever done that.”
She thought of it as a kind of revenge, though it was childish.
Liang Jinmo remained silent.
“Why don’t you say anything?” she asked, fighting her dizziness as she stared at him. “Why are you always like this, so quiet? You know, when you first arrived, I thought you were mute.”
There wasn’t much to say to a drunkard. Liang Jinmo had intended to ignore her, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw her take another big gulp of tequila. He couldn’t sit still any longer.
He got up and moved to her side, placing a hand over her glass. “Stop drinking.”
At this point, Xu Zhi’s mind was utterly muddled, but her body was strangely sensitive. The warmth of his hand on hers was unfamiliar but not unpleasant.
She turned her face toward him, and they held the pose for a few seconds. Then, without warning, Xu Zhi leaned in, lowering her head close to his neck and inhaled deeply.
Like a curious kitten.
He carried a cool, woody fragrance, tinged with a faint hint of tobacco. It was intoxicating, and Xu Zhi couldn’t help but get closer.
Liang Jinmo frowned, about to speak, but as she lifted her head, her nose brushed lightly against his Adam’s apple.
He stiffened instantly.
Xu Zhi, oblivious, inhaled again. Perhaps it was the chaos of sending memes back and forth with Yang Xue; her muddled brain recalled the one Yang Xue, the notorious fujoshi, had sent—the lewd meme, and she blurted out the words printed on it: “Bro, you smell good.”
Liang Jinmo: “…”
Had she been even a bit more sober, Xu Zhi would never have said such a thing. Though he knew she was drunk, Liang Jinmo found it hard to accept.
He tried to take the glass from her. “Stop drinking, I’ll take you back to school.”
“Don’t touch my drink!” Xu Zhi protested, clutching the glass tight.
Liang Jinmo became firm, reaching with his other hand to pry her fingers away.
In the struggle, most of the liquor spilled from the glass, soaking Xu Zhi’s chest.
The bar was crowded, the air warm, and the three of them had shed their coats not long after arriving. She was wearing only a thin white shirt, now drenched at the chest.
But her senses were dulled; after a few seconds, she muttered, “The drink’s gone.”
Her drunkenness was truly disgraceful. Liang Jinmo snatched the now-empty glass, grabbed her down jacket, and wrapped it around her.
“It’s too hot, I don’t want it!” Xu Zhi started to struggle like a child.
Liang Jinmo’s patience was tested; he’d never dealt with this before.
Just then, Zhou He returned and was bewildered by the scene. “What happened?”
Liang Jinmo shot him a look. “She’s probably never drunk before. You shouldn’t have brought her to a bar.”
Zhou He’s back went cold; sometimes Liang Jinmo’s stare was truly intimidating.
“She’s drunk already? She barely had any…” Zhou He was baffled. “Her tolerance is so low. She said she could handle tequila—it wasn’t my idea…”
Feeling wronged, he set down his drink and sat beside them. “Are we taking her back to school?”
Liang Jinmo didn’t answer, too preoccupied. He tried for the third time to drape her coat over Xu Zhi, only to have her yank it off again.
“I’ll help,” Zhou He offered kindly.
Liang Jinmo blocked his hand. “No need.”
Zhou He paused, looking at him.
Liang Jinmo’s attention was entirely on Xu Zhi. He frowned and lowered his gaze, pressing her shoulder, his tone softening, “Just be good.”
Xu Zhi met his eyes, and in her drunken honesty, replied, “I don’t want to be good.”