Imperfect Desires

Xiu who had gone to explore the pantry didn't expect to stumble upon this scene between Yan Ying and Qiu Meihui. She had silently stood and listened to everything. It was a very bad habit to eavesdrop but even if she didn't try to eavesdrop, their voices were loud enough to reach her. She watched Yan Ying storming off and waited until Qiu Meihui stomped away before she came out and look at the mess.

She really didn't expect that her curiosity would be fed so soon with all the answers that had been running through her mind. But these answers left her in a very complicated mood. Cleaning up the mess from the floor, she poured the rest of the tea again in cups and took it outside with a heavy heart.

As she placed the tray down, Zhao Wei was the first one to speak, "Xiu, why did you bring it? Where is Yingying?"

Xiu bit her lips before saying, "Ying Jie made the tea and left. She got something to do." The only reason why she dared to say this lie was because she had an intuition that Ying wasn't gonna come back inside. 

Sure enough, just then Xin Zimen's phone buzzed, and after reading the text he said, "That little lass ran off again. She said something urgent came up."

"A new artifact must have come that's why she's so eager to leave," Zhao Wei shook her head knowing Ying's nature very well. 

Xiu was glad that they didn't notice that something was amiss. However, she overlooked the look that Xin Zimen and Qiu Jiayi shared. No matter how Ying would lie, they knew her very well. 

"It's either your son," began Qiu Jiayi.

"Or your daughter," finished Xin Zimen.

They both shook their head as they whispered simultaneously, "One of them definitely messed up again." They had definitely hit the mark with that. After all, they both knew that the only people who could effect Ying in this house were either Xin Xiaoli or Qiu Meihui. 

....

Yan Ying who had chosen to leave quietly was now sitting in a bar. There was no drink before her, she was merely staring into space with a blank look on her face. As her phone buzzed, she picked up the call without even looking at the caller id.

"Did you find my cousin?" came the voice from the other side.

Ying rolled her eyes as she replied, "Cali, do you really think I am God? It's only been a few hours. Have some patience, will you?"

"I can't," replied Cali sounding really tensed. "I had a really bad dream and I just can't shake off this bad feeling from my heart. She's my only relative left. Do you know how that feels?"

Ying's eyes drooped down, "Believe me, I do know how it feels."

"Huh?"

"Nothing. How about grabbing a drink with me?" offered Ying out of nowhere.

Cali frowned at her words as she said, "But you don't like drinking."

"Yeah, but right now I really need a drink or two. I didn't realize I'd feel this lonely sitting alone in the bar. So, can you come down?"

"You're at the hotel?"

"Hmm..."

"I'll be down in a minute," said Cali and hung up the call. 

Taking her wallet and keycard for the room, she went out. She took the elevator to the floor where she knew the bar was and entered. It was early evening and the crowd inside wasn't that much which made it very easy for Cali to spot Ying. As she walked closer she noticed that Ying was staring at something in her hand with a very sad look in her eyes.

Standing right beside her, she looked at the thing in Ying's hand. It was the chain around her neck that had two platinum rings looped in together. Cali frowned to see it since it seemed like the rings were a set more precisely, it appeared to be wedding rings. 

Since Ying didn't notice her presence, she tapped her shoulder before perching down beside her. "Don't you have any other friends to accompany you?" Ying had just opened her mouth when Cali answered her own question, "Sorry, I forgot you don't have any friends."

Ying didn't retort. There was no snide or playful remark from her side which Cali hadn't expected. Instead, she simply questioned, "So, what drink would you suggest doctor?"

"Huh?"

"My heart is hurting. Or maybe it's feeling empty. I can't tell really. All I know is that it sucks. So, can you suggest a drink that would numb this pain in my chest?"

Cali clicked her fingers together to call the server and ordered the drinks. She placed six shots before Ying and six before herself. "Although I don't know why you're so down, I think this might help in feeling numb. At least, until the effect wears off." Ying was about to pick up a shot when Cali stopped her. "But I'm warning you, this is gonna leave a really bad headache in the morning. Are you still up for it?"

"I don't think I can feel any worse," said Ying as she downed the vodka shot in her head and grimaced at the burning taste. "It stings."

Cali laughed at her reaction, "Just because it looks like water doesn't mean it'll taste like it as well." Saying that she picked up her own shots one by one and downed all six without a pause making Ying gape at her in surprise. "Ssss... It tastes just like I remember it."

Ying furrowed her brows, "Remember it? From your drinking ways, I believe you have it on daily basis."

Cali chuckled, "Nope! It's been a year since I actually drank such strong alcohol. Being a doctor isn't easy when you never know when you'll be called back on duty. In high school and college, I used to have it on a daily basis but now... Sigh." She shook her head to herself.

Ying placed one of her shots in front of her as she raised her own, "Then doc, drink all you want tonight. I'll pay."

Cali raised her brows, "You think I can't pay for my own drinks?"

"You know that's not what I meant," said Ying knowingly while she poured the second shot into her mouth. The burn was still strong but now it wasn't unexpected. 

While she picked up her third shot, Cali held her hand, "What happened to your hand?" Ying tried to retract her hand but she didn't let go, "It looks like a burn." She looked into her eyes, "Aren't you feeling anything?"

Ying shrugged her shoulders as she drank the third shot and slurred, "I thought my chest pain was far worse than this." She hiccuped and her head fell on the tabletop.

"No wonder you don't like drinking," muttered Cali to herself as she saw with her own eyes how Ying was knocked out with only three shots. She really had the worst alcohol tolerance she had ever seen! Sighing out, she finished the rest of her shots and looped her arm around her neck to support her body. "Dang! You're heavy, missy!" 

Although she was complaining, she still took Ying to her suite and dropped her on the bed carelessly. She brought the first aid box and started treating the burn on her hand. She was about to stand up when she noticed a red stain on the white sheets. With knitted brows, she rolled Ying over and pulled up her sleeve.

A gasp escaped her mouth at the sight of her wound that was bleeding. She really wanted to slap this idiot girl who was drinking with her body injured like that. What the hell was she even thinking? But she had already seen her swollen cheek, so she refrained from slapping her.

Instead, she pinched her nose, "You idiot! Are you that tired of living? Why are you beaten blue?"

In her drunken stupor, Ying slapped her hand away. "You! Just because you're seeing me at my weak moment, don't think I'm weak. Ying is still very strong. Ying just has some weak moments like these."

Cali didn't know what to say to that. She could only silently bring her own medical box to treat her wound. She had a doubt that it was a bullet wound. "I guess this is why you ditched me that day."