Zhou Yushen hadn’t felt this terrible in a long time.
Xu Ping was summoned to the bar by a single phone call from him.
Watching Zhou Yushen drink glass after glass, his face—already dark as the bottom of a pot—grew even gloomier under the haze of alcohol.
“What exactly happened?”
Ever since entering the private room, Zhou Yushen had been pouring drink after drink into himself.
There were only the two of them in the room.
Because of Zhou Yushen, Xu Ping hadn’t even called for any hostesses, so he could only sit there bored, watching him drown himself in alcohol cup by cup.
Now, he finally couldn’t stand it anymore.
Even after having his glass snatched away, Zhou Yushen didn’t get angry.
He simply leaned back against the sofa, tilting his gaze upward as the colorful lights illuminated his face.
Dark and striking.
Heavy with sorrow.
“Tell me… if a woman doesn’t want to have a child with you, does that mean she doesn’t really like you?”
“What?”
Xu Ping heard Zhou Yushen’s murmur-like question.
And precisely because he heard it clearly, he found it unbelievable.
His eyes widened in shock.
Zhou Yushen didn’t speak again.
After Xu Ping finally processed what he had said, he looked at the man’s slightly dispirited state with hesitation.
“Shen Nanyue doesn’t want to have your child?”
The moment the words fell, Zhou Yushen turned his head, his pitch-black eyes staring fixedly at him until Xu Ping’s scalp tingled.
Xu Ping quickly waved his hands and stiffly defended himself.
“You made it way too obvious. Am I not even allowed to say it?”
“Then do you think… she likes me?”
His deep voice carried a childlike stubbornness.
Xu Ping was now certain that Zhou Yushen was drunk.
Somewhat helpless, he sighed inwardly.
The Zhou Yushen he knew was a man standing above countless others, a noble figure almost like an immortal descended from heaven.
So why was it that after meeting Shen Nanyue in Fengcheng, he seemed to have fallen into the mortal world?
Whether she liked him or not?
Did someone like Zhou Yushen really need to worry about whether a woman liked him?
“Answer me!” Zhou Yushen propped up his head, his tone faintly impatient.
“Do you like her?”
Xu Ping asked in return.
Zhou Yushen fell silent for two seconds, as if struggling internally.
“I don’t know.”
“Does the image of that girl from three years ago still linger in your mind?”
Zhou Yushen became completely silent.
The answer was yes.
Even though he could no longer fully recall that memory, the shadow of that girl still remained in his heart.
Blurred. Fragile. Crying out in despair.
Silently tugging at his heartstrings.
Xu Ping sighed.
“You’re like this yourself, so why are you so hung up on whether she likes you or not?”
Zhou Yushen picked up his glass again and resumed drinking.
This time, Xu Ping didn’t stop him.
Maybe this guy really did need to vent for once.
Keeping everything bottled up inside like this—who knew when he might finally break?
His phone suddenly rang.
When he saw the caller information on the screen, he glanced at Zhou Yushen before turning aside to answer the call.
Gu Linlang’s sweet voice drifted through the phone.
“Brother Xu, do you know where Ah Shen is? I’ve been calling him, but he won’t answer.”
“I’m with him right now. He’s… not in a position to answer the phone.”
Xu Ping glanced at Zhou Yushen and shook his head helplessly.
“Brother Xu, where are you guys right now? Could you send me your location?”
“You’re coming over? Your body hasn’t recovered yet, so don’t run around. I’ll take him back later.”
“I’m already fine, Brother Xu. Please tell me. There was a misunderstanding between us yesterday, and I want to explain things to him clearly.”
Xu Ping frowned.
Given Zhou Yushen’s current state, this was hardly the right time to discuss misunderstandings.
Besides, Zhou Yushen had gotten drunk because of Shen Nanyue.
Xu Ping was worried that if Gu Linlang came, she might end up emotionally hurt instead.
“He’s drunk. Whatever misunderstanding you two have can wait until later…”
Just as he was speaking, a waiter pushed a drinks cart into the private room.
“Hello, guests. Here’s the alcohol you ordered. Meicheng Bar hopes you enjoy your evening.”
After speaking, the waiter pushed the cart back out.
Xu Ping didn’t think much of the waiter and only hung up after reminding Gu Linlang of a few more things.
At the hospital— Gu Linlang silently memorized the name of the bar mentioned by the waiter.
She got up, changed out of her hospital gown, and headed straight out of the hospital.
Twenty minutes later— Gu Linlang appeared accurately at the door of the private room where Zhou Yushen and Xu Ping were.
Xu Ping looked at her in surprise.
“How did you get here?”
No—what he really wanted to ask was: How did you know we were here?
Perhaps sensing his confusion, Gu Linlang answered calmly,
“I overheard the waiter just now.”
As she explained, her gaze settled on Zhou Yushen.
He was leaning against the sofa with his eyes closed.
Two buttons of his collar were undone, revealing his firm, pale chest.
Traces of spilled alcohol lingered along his sexy collarbone, glimmering beneath the lights.
Even drunk, Zhou Yushen didn’t make a scene.
He simply sat quietly in the booth, eyes half-closed as though asleep.
Gu Linlang’s gaze remained fixed on him, and the affection in her eyes was far from innocent.
For the first time, Xu Ping began to feel that something was off.
Just moments ago, Zhou Yushen had hung up on Shen Nanyue’s call.
Judging from what she had said on the phone, she would probably arrive in about ten minutes to take Zhou Yushen home.
Although Xu Ping supported Zhou Yushen and Gu Linlang as a pair— The current reality was that Zhou Yushen was married to Shen Nanyue.
If Gu Linlang acted too intimately with Zhou Yushen later and Shen Nanyue happened to see it and misunderstand…
Gu Linlang probably wouldn’t survive with her body intact.
Xu Ping set down his wine glass and stood up, blocking Gu Linlang from approaching Zhou Yushen.
With a smile, he said,
“Linlang, Shen Nanyue will be coming to pick Yushen up soon. Besides, in his current state, he won’t be able to listen to any explanations anyway. Why don’t you wait until he sobers up, and then the two of you can talk things through slowly?”
After hearing Xu Ping’s words, a trace of coldness flashed through Gu Linlang’s eyes.
“You were the one who called Shen Nanyue here?”
Xu Ping was startled by the chill in her gaze, and her accusing tone made him frown.
Realizing her reaction, Gu Linlang quickly changed her tone.
“Brother Xu, what I mean is… Ah Shen rarely drinks himself into this kind of state. This time, it must have something to do with Shen Nanyue. So why did you call her over?”
Watching Gu Linlang’s expression quickly soften, even carrying a hint of ingratiation— A wave of discomfort rose in Xu Ping’s heart.
He frowned, quickly suppressing that strange sense of repulsion, and answered her calmly.
“It wasn’t me who called her. Yushen called her himself.”
After drinking too much, Zhou Yushen had ignored Xu Ping’s objections and called Shen Nanyue.
Complaining about why she didn’t want to have a child with him.
And in the end, he had pitifully asked Shen Nanyue to come pick him up.
That almost coquettish behavior had left even Xu Ping dumbfounded.
Was this really still the Zhou Yushen he knew?
A trace of embarrassment flashed across Gu Linlang’s face after hearing that.
“Ah Shen must have argued with Shen Nanyue. We should give them some time to cool down first. Let’s take Ah Shen out of here for now.”
As she spoke, she moved around Xu Ping and bent down to help Zhou Yushen up.
Zhou Yushen narrowed his eyes at the woman beside him.
In his drunken haze, he mistook her for Shen Nanyue.
Leaning against her weakly, he wrapped his arms around her.
“Nanyue… I feel awful.”
Gu Linlang, suddenly embraced by him, felt delighted for a moment— But the name Zhou Yushen unconsciously called out instantly froze her stiff.
Biting her lip, she still wrapped her arms around him in return.
“It’s alright now. I’ll take you back.”
At that moment, Shen Nanyue arrived at the doorway.
Her face cold, she silently took in the entire scene before her eyes.
— The end of the Chapter–
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