Chapter 196 - 194: Okay

Chapter 196: Chapter 194: Okay

"...Thank you. You’re a good person, but I’m not looking to be in a relationship right now. I’m sorry."

The boy’s body stiffened, and the hope in his eyes quickly dimmed, replaced by deep disappointment.

He forced a smile. "To be honest, I already guessed as much. Thank you... Thank you for listening to what was in my heart, Shen Ying. I hope we can still be friends."

"Okay," Shen Ying said with a gentle nod.

Watching him leave in dejection, the others couldn’t help but start whispering among themselves.

"Yanwan, are you guys staying? I want to go home," Shen Ying said softly to her good friend.

Jiang Xia hesitated. "Then let’s all head back. It seems like the others are going to a KTV for karaoke, but we’ll skip it."

He first went to let Teacher Wang know, said goodbye to his classmates, and then prepared to leave with Wang Ming.

"Are you leaving?" Jiang Xia asked Chen Yao.

"Yeah, I’m going." Chen Yao slung her small leather purse over her shoulder and suddenly added, "By the way, he drank a lot just now. You should keep an eye on him."

Jiang Xia froze. He glanced at the floor—good heavens, there were three more empty bottles. How long had it been?

He bent down to look at Wang Ming’s face. It was flushed, as expected. Though he didn’t seem drunk yet, when you’re unlucky in love, it’s often not the alcohol that gets you intoxicated.

"Mm, okay. Will you be alright going home alone?"

"What, is President Jiang planning on escorting me? Isn’t that a little inappropriate?" Chen Yao glanced toward Lin Yanwan with a charming smile.

Jiang Xia rolled his eyes, ignoring her teasing. "The most I’ll do is call a cab for you. You’re paying the fare yourself."

"Tsk, no sincerity at all. Forget it. Old deskmate, until we meet again."

"Until we meet again."

After saying that, Chen Yao left the hotel without a single look back, her departure clean and sharp.

Jiang Xia smiled to himself. ’After today, the next time we see each other will probably be in college, won’t it? Even though Tsinghua and Peking University are right next to each other, I doubt it’ll be that easy to meet up.’

’Knowing Chen Yao’s personality, she’ll probably be holed up in the library even on days with no classes. And I have my animation business to worry about. Unless we specifically plan to get a meal... but why would I randomly ask Chen Yao out?’

He shook his head, pushing the messy thoughts from his mind, and patted Wang Ming’s shoulder. "Old Wang, stop drinking. Let’s go."

"Oh, oh, okay..."

Wang Ming nodded belatedly. As he stood up, he saw that guy, Zhou Tao, also drinking his sorrows away and suddenly felt a sense of kinship in shared misery.

The four of them left the hotel. Feeling the gentle caress of the night breeze, they all felt much more comfortable.

"Are you two taking a cab or walking?" Jiang Xia asked the pair.

"A cab," Wang Ming and Shen Ying said in unison.

"Alright. Old Wang, try to sober up a bit. I’ll call a cab for you two."

Considering they lived in different directions, they should have gotten separate cabs. But with so many people leaving the party at once, and the area around the hotel bustling with a supermarket, food stalls, and a night market, they couldn’t spot a single available cab, let alone two.

After waiting for about five or six minutes, a taxi suddenly flicked on its turn signal, rejected several other potential passengers, and pulled up directly in front of Jiang Xia.

Seeing the license plate, Jiang Xia’s face twitched. ’Do I have some kind of flag stuck to my back? How is it that seven out of ten times I try to hail a cab, it turns out to be my dad?’

’Is this some kind of father-son telepathy?’

"All done eating? Heading home now, are you?" Jiang Wende asked, rolling down the window to look at his son.

"Pretty much, but... it’s for my two classmates," Jiang Xia said, stepping aside and pointing back at the other two.

"Taking them home, right? Sure, tell them to get in." Jiang Wende agreed without a second thought. Jiang Xia opened the car door and waved for Wang Ming and Shen Ying to come over.

"Dad, this is Wang Ming, you know him. And this is Shen Ying, Yanwan’s classmate," Jiang Xia introduced.

"Hello, Uncle Jiang," said Wang Ming and Shen Ying.

"Hello to you both," Jiang Wende said with a chuckle.

Jiang Xia said, "Dad, they live in different directions, so you might have to take a detour. You can ask them for the specific addresses."

"No problem."

Jiang Wende nodded. His son’s business was his business. Whether he made money on this fare wasn’t important.

"What about you two?" His gaze lingered on his son and daughter-in-law for two seconds.

"Ahem, I ate a little too much just now, so I’m planning to walk for a bit to digest. Don’t worry about me, I’ll head home on my own later."

"Alright, in that case, we’re off."

Jiang Wende lifted the clutch and released the brake. The car started moving slowly, then accelerated, quickly disappearing at a junction not far ahead.

"Phew, finally got those two sent off. Good thing my dad showed up when he did."

Jiang Xia let out a long breath, then casually took her hand and kissed it. "Darling, shall we take a walk?"

◇

Inside the car, Shen Ying and Wang Ming sat on opposite sides. After the whole confession incident, Shen Ying had originally wanted to take a cab home alone to ease the psychological awkwardness. But since the driver was her boss’s father, she was forced to share a ride with Wang Ming.

"Who am I dropping off first?"

Jiang Wende glanced in the rearview mirror. ’The atmosphere between these two... it looks so much like when I first picked up my son and daughter-in-law.’

His vast life experience told him there was definitely a story between them.

"Drop him off." "Drop her off." The two said it at the same time, with an odd sort of rapport.

"So which is it?" Jiang Wende asked, exasperated.

Shen Ying said, "Uncle Jiang, please drop him off first. He drank a lot today, so it’s best he gets home to rest early."

Wang Ming said, "Uncle Jiang, drop her off. She’s a girl, and she doesn’t live too far from here. It’s just a few turns away."

"Alright, alright, stop deferring to each other. We’ll drop off... Shen Ying, is it? Where do you live?" Jiang Wende said.

"Um, Xiangshan Mansion."

"That’s not far at all."

Shen Ying lowered her gaze and whispered a "thank you." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Wang Ming leaning his head against the car window, his eyes closed as if he were resting.

"When you get back later, take a shower right away and get some proper rest. Don’t even think about staying up late tonight," she said, looking out the window.

Wang Ming slowly opened his eyes. All he could see was her high ponytail, swaying gently with the movement of the car.

"Okay," he said.

"And also, drink less in the future." Shen Ying suddenly turned her head to look at him. ’Does this guy really think I didn’t notice?’

While Zhou Tao was confessing to her, he had been silently drinking off to the side, one glass after another.

Wang Ming’s face suddenly flushed red, but it was hard to see in the dim light of the car. He instinctively averted his gaze, pretending to be interested in the scenery outside the window.

He didn’t know how to answer. After hesitating for a long moment, he could only nod and say, "Okay."

"Oh, right. I heard the roast duck in the Imperial Capital is delicious. Can you bring one back for me to try in the future?"

"Okay."