She wasn’t quite sure about the rules among members of the upper class society. Nevertheless, she figured that it would embarrass Han Qing if she hadn’t played along since the man downed three glasses of liquor. Hence, she thought she should take a gulp from the glass of liquor too.
“No, you did very well.” Han Qing glanced at her calmly. “However, you shouldn’t drink alcohol unnecessarily.”
Yan was rendered speechless when she heard that.
“Eh, President Han, are you concerned about Miss Zhou?”
“It’s such a rare occasion. In the past, it’s impossible for President Han to take a date to a banquet. Today, not only did he do just that, he’s even stopping her from having a sip of alcohol.”
The crowd teased Han Qing—in fact, everyone in attendance was rather observant. They clearly noticed that he was different from his usual self. In the past, they would never have the courage to joke openly with him. He would’ve given the person a death stare before the latter could finish their joke and most probably freeze to the ground instead. However, no matter how the crowd teased Han Qing tonight, he didn’t seem angry, which might have been a result of Yan’s presence. On the contrary, a smile flashed across his dark eyes.
“President Han, if you don’t have the heart to allow Miss Zhou to drink the alcohol, why don’t you have a glass on her behalf?”
What? Did he just ask Han Qing to have liquor on my behalf? How’s that even possible? Yan was about to say something, but Han Qing smiled calmly. After that, he downed the liquor that she had a small sip from earlier. She wanted to say something initially, but was stunned into silence after witnessing that. As a result, she stood rooted to the ground in speechlessness while looking at Han Qing’s handsome side profile.
Yan was shocked to her core. Everyone is obviously just making a fuss to make him down that glass of liquor. However, with his status, it’s doable to reject that drink—in fact, he could have easily stopped them with just a stare. Yet, he… She was moved by his actions and her eyes shone brightly. I’m not quite sure what’s happening and I don’t understand why Han Qing is acting like this all of a sudden. However… I don’t want to find out why. It’s fine as long as he is willing to accept me.
Once the crowd was convinced that Han Qing would drink on behalf of Yan, they started to toast him constantly. He never rejected anyone, so he had quite a bit to drink in the end. It was only much later when Yan finally realized that Han Qing drank too much alcohol, but she was apprehensive about stopping him. When she noticed that his eyes were glassy under the influence of alcohol, she had no choice but to march forward to him. “Stop drinking, please. Having too much alcohol will hurt your stomach.”
“Oh, my…”
There was an uproar when the crowd heard her words.
“She’s concerned about him!”
“In that case, it’s best that we stop making President Han drink.”
“How is that possible? These occasions are hard to come by. Have you ever had this chance before?”
Yan hesitated before exclaiming with a stern tone, “Stop drinking!” Worry danced in her eyes when she stared at Han Qing. He turned sideways to look at her and nodded after a pause. “Okay. I won’t drink anymore.”
Yan let out a sigh of relief when she heard that. I can finally relax. However, the rest of the crowd seemed disappointed and some even tried to toast him again. Then, Han Qing flashed them a deadly stare to stop them from continuing when, in reality, the banquet was only halfway through.
Nevertheless, Yan requested to leave earlier since Han Qing had too much alcohol to drink. She walked forward to support Han Qing, but he spoke to her softly, “I’m fine.”
“Are you sure you’re fine? In that case, can you walk on your own?”
“Yes.” After that, Han Qing walked steadily, but he was shrouded with a pungent stench of alcohol. Besides, his eyes no longer appeared calm as usual. Yan followed him from behind him and saw that he knocked his head with a loud thud when he got into the car!
Yan realized with a start that Han Qing might have had too much to drink after all! He’s not drunk! However, he had too much to drink! He’s not clear-headed! Despite his steady footsteps, he knocked his head on the car door anyway. Han Qing would never make such a mistake on a normal day. She wanted to run to him, but she wore high heels and removed it due to the inconvenience it posed. “Are you alright?”
Han Qing leaned against the side of the car. He was most probably in pain after knocking his head, which was why he rested against the side of the car. He even gazed into Yan’s eyes with his bright ones when she approached to check on him. “I’m fine. My head hurts slightly, though.”
Yan asked incredulously, “How is that fine? Let me have a look.”
Han Qing pursed his lips together while opening the car door. “Let’s get into the car first.”
She had no choice but to enter the car since he wouldn’t let her take a look at his head. She clambered into the car with her arms and legs and he took his seat just when she placed her high heels down. Mr. Nan was the chauffeur and once he saw that they were both seated, he immediately drove off in silence.
After entering the car, Han Qing leaned back and shut his eyes. His handsome face was stoic and he exuded a cold and distant aura, while he was shrouded with a stench of alcohol. Yan refrained from asking, but she couldn’t stop herself in the end. “Where did you hit your head just now? Let me have a look, please.”
Han Qing remained motionless while sitting indifferently. Yan was at a loss for words. Damn it! Can’t he at least answer me? Can’t he reject me if he doesn’t want me to check on him? I’m so embarrassed when he’s just quiet.
Nevertheless, she recalled that he drank alcohol on her behalf at the banquet, so she thought to herself, Forget it. He is willing to kiss me indirectly now, so why should I be calculative about this? I don’t have to care if he’s cold and distant. I just need to take the initiative.
Once Yan thought of that, she curled up her legs on the seat and leaned slowly toward Han Qing. The more she got closer to him, the stronger the stench of alcohol was. In fact, the scent overwhelmed her. It didn’t seem a lot when I saw him downing one glass after another. However, almost everyone was toasting him. He must have had a lot to drink at that time. No wonder he knocked his head earlier and sat there motionlessly. He must be feeling dizzy right now.
After getting close enough, she realized that Han Qing’s forehead was red from him knocking his head earlier—it even looked slightly greenish now. His eyes were closed and his breaths were heavy. She never tried to wake him up and instead, she reached out to touch the injury over his forehead.
Just when her fingers gingerly touched Han Qing’s wounded forehead, his eyes suddenly snapped wide open. Yan, who was merely inches apart from him, looked right into his eyes. She was scared witless, so she didn’t control the force on her hand. In the end, she pressed hard on Han Qing’s forehead by accident.
Before Han Qing could express himself, she withdrew her hand hastily while explaining in a hurry, “Uhm… I just wanted to check the wound on your forehead. You knocked against your forehead. If I don’t help you to rub the area now, you might…”
The more she spoke, the brighter Han Qing’s eyes were. His eyes looked as though they glowed from within. His unwavering stare made the hair behind Yan’s neck stand up. Thus, she moved her hand away silently. “Alright then. Since you’re unwilling to let me check, forget about—argh!”
