Jin Zhao had never seen Meng Yanxi like this.

At first, the impression he gave her was one of lofty superiority, even the way he looked at people carrying an icy, condescending air. Later, she saw the passionate, soft side beneath his arrogance and frivolity. He did not deny his own high-handedness, yet at the same time, paradoxically, he could see others’ suffering and struggle, and would step in to help without hesitation. You could say he was just bored, or that he treated it as some kind of novelty, something to spice up a life largely free of troubles.

But to Jin Zhao, every one of Meng Yanxi’s quiet acts of favoritism was like sprinkling little pieces of candy into her sour past. Whether he did it deliberately or out of boredom, she was destined never to forget him in this lifetime, destined to look up to him for the rest of her life.

She had always felt that she was not good enough, that she did not deserve him. Someone as good as him—even being together with her felt unreal, so beautiful that it didn’t seem true. Sometimes she was afraid that if she woke up, she would discover it had all been just a dream.

Yet tonight, he had personally shattered all his pride, broken and pleading for her recognition.

She had actually heard those rumors. Though she didn’t believe them, Meng Yanxi’s attitude had been so arrogant that it could be taken as tacit consent. And yet, such a proud person, after getting drunk, had rummaged through boxes and cabinets to find evidence to show her, telling her it wasn’t him, that he had no need to do such a thing.

The warm light from the bedside table fell on his profile. The wolf who was usually aloof and noble shed his sharp edges at this moment, becoming so soft it made one’s chest ache.

Jin Zhao suddenly regretted it.

“I’m sorry, Meng Yanxi,” she murmured. “I shouldn’t have lied to you back then.”

In truth, over these years, she herself had reflected many times, feeling that their parting back then had been far from graceful.

What would have happened if she had simply said she was transferring schools?

It was just that at sixteen or seventeen, one’s pride is bigger than the sky—especially in front of the person one likes.

Her hand lightly touched his face, carrying regret and apology.

Meng Yanxi placed his palm over the back of her hand, pressing it more firmly against his own face, gently rubbing against it.

Once he held it, he refused to let go. Looking at her, his eyes were like those of a well-behaved, pitiful big dog, but his mouth shamelessly pushed his luck with a request: “Then kiss me, and I’ll forgive you.”

Jin Zhao couldn’t help laughing. “That’s so you, Meng Yanxi.”

No matter when, he never loses out.

She had originally wanted to say, “Then don’t forgive me,” the way he often teased her, but perhaps his gaze at that moment was too clear, too sincere. It softened her heart so much that she couldn’t even bring herself to tease him.

She bent down and gently kissed his lips.

A drunk man was burning hot all over, his lips too—soft and warm.

He didn’t close his eyes. At such close range, he stared straight at her. When he blinked, his long lashes brushed against her skin, ticklish.

Meng Yanxi was warm all over. The dominance and dangerous sense of plunder he usually brought into their kisses was gone. Jin Zhao’s heart melted into a pool of water. Unable to resist, she wrapped her arms around him and lightly bit his lip.

His mouth was sweet, melting at the tip of her heart. Jin Zhao found herself unable to stop.

And then she was tricked into it. By the time she wanted to leave, she realized she couldn’t get up anymore.

The arm behind her pressed her tightly against him. She braced against his chest, trying to rise, but he was too strong, and she was immediately pressed back down, sprawled against his chest.

“Why did you stop kissing?” someone asked, wide-eyed with beautiful peach-blossom eyes, looking utterly innocent.

Jin Zhao suspected he was starting to act all green-tea again—though maybe that wasn’t quite right. It was more like he was acting spoiled.

Drunk Meng Yanxi—he could actually act spoiled.

Jin Zhao’s heart softened. She cupped his face with both hands and gently coaxed him in a soft voice, “It’s too late. I should go back.”

She really liked him so much. Even as she soothed him like this, she couldn’t help but lovingly kiss his brow and then the space between his eyebrows, as if comforting a beloved big dog.

The big dog looked a little pitiful and asked in a low voice, “Go back where? To England?”

Jin Zhao hurriedly said, “No, just back to school—the one eight hundred meters away from you.”

The big capitalist was picky even about numbers. Even drunk, his mind was still very clear, correcting her: “It’s eight hundred meters from the north gate. From the north gate to your faculty apartment is another eight hundred meters. Altogether, 1.6 kilometers.”

Jin Zhao: “……”

“Your math must have been really good on the college entrance exam.” She didn’t know what else to say, so she casually mocked him.

Someone showed no humility at all. “Mm. Full marks.”

Jin Zhao: “……”

Alright, he got to show off again.

Meng Yanxi: “Do full marks get a reward?”

Jin Zhao: “What does you getting full marks have to do with me?”

Meng Yanxi: “You’re my girlfriend.”

Jin Zhao reminded him, “When you got full marks, I wasn’t.”

Meng Yanxi: “Then whose fault is that?”

Jin Zhao: “……”

Meng Yanxi’s beautiful peach-blossom eyes once again revealed that pitiful, abandoned look. “I already confessed to you. You were the one who didn’t understand, and you even abandoned me.”

Jin Zhao didn’t remember him ever confessing to her, and felt a bit innocent.

But she had no way to argue about past events with a drunk person. Feeling somewhat helpless, she said, “Meng Yanxi, why are you still so good at arguing even when you’re drunk?”

Meng Yanxi: “I’m not arguing with you.”

Jin Zhao: “You are.”

“I’m asking you to stay, and you didn’t understand.” Meng Yanxi sighed helplessly, his forehead lightly pressing against hers, not knowing who he was aching for. “Lingling, you really are a block of wood.”

Jin Zhao’s feelings were a bit complicated.

Clearly, she had been hit by his words, yet she didn’t feel angry—only amused and soft-hearted.

With him holding her like this, she had no choice but to lie against him. This position was actually a bit uncomfortable, yet she couldn’t bear to leave him.

She really did think about whether to stay the night.

But it felt a little fast.

How long had they even been together? Not even a month.

Moving too fast made her uneasy.

And more realistically, she hadn’t thought about it before, nor had she brought any clothes with her in advance.

She didn’t know how a grown man like Meng Yanxi could be so sensitive, as if he could read minds. She had just wavered a little in her thoughts, and he immediately hugged her tighter, his arms hard as iron, restraining her until she was almost out of breath.

She had no choice but to softly soothe him by his ear: “I haven’t showered, and I drank alcohol—I’m smelly.”

Meng Yanxi fell silent for a moment, then accused, “Jin Zhao, you’re saying I smell.”

Jin Zhao was speechless. She truly didn’t know how someone who wasn’t a block of wood at all could interpret it like that.

Jin Zhao: “……I didn’t.”

Meng Yanxi: “Alright, then I’ll go wash right now.”

Meng Yanxi immediately released her, stood up, and headed straight for the bathroom in the master bedroom.

His steps were generally steady enough, only occasionally swaying a little.

Jin Zhao hurried after him. “Meng Yanxi, don’t mess around—you’ll fall in a moment.”

The man stopped, immediately taking advantage of the situation to make a demand: “Then come wash with me.”

Jin Zhao: “……”

She couldn’t out-argue a sober Meng Yanxi, and now she couldn’t even out-argue a drunk one.

“Then just fall,” she said bluntly.

Even so, while Meng Yanxi was showering, Jin Zhao still didn’t leave. She leaned against the wall, listening to the sounds inside, ready to go in and help him out at any moment.

Although she could imagine how awkward such a scene would be, there was no helping it—her drunk boyfriend’s train of thought was bizarre, and he was very willful.

Fortunately, Meng Yanxi didn’t dawdle for long. Soon, the sound of water inside stopped, and Jin Zhao let out a breath of relief when she didn’t hear him fall.

“Lingling,” Meng Yanxi called from inside.

Jin Zhao walked to the door. “What?”

Meng Yanxi: “Help me get a bath towel.”

Jin Zhao: “……”

Half amused and half exasperated, she said, “Meng Yanxi, has anyone ever told you that you’re very annoying when you’re drunk?”

Meng Yanxi: “No.”

Jin Zhao: “I really want to record you and show it to you when you sober up.”

Meng Yanxi: “Alright, I’ll come out now.”

“……”

Bastard! He was definitely twisting her words on purpose!

If he dared to come out naked, she wouldn’t dare record anything!

“Don’t come out, I’ll get it for you!”

Jin Zhao hurried to the walk-in closet and found a bath towel among a pile of clean bedding. After thinking for a moment, she felt a towel was too revealing, so she took a set of pajamas as well and handed them to him together.

But when Meng Yanxi came out, he didn’t accept her kindness at all. He didn’t even touch the pajamas. With only a bath towel wrapped around his waist, he came out, his upper body openly bare.

His chest muscles were taut and powerful, eight-pack abs laid out like smooth pebbles, water droplets rolling along his mermaid line and disappearing into the towel.

Jin Zhao didn’t know where to put her eyes and quickly shifted her gaze away.

“Why aren’t you wearing the pajamas?” Jin Zhao asked, her face feeling hot.

Meng Yanxi was very open about it. “I’m willing to let you see. No need to thank me.”

Jin Zhao: “……”

Meng Yanxi walked up to her again and pressed on, asking, “Is my body good?”

Jin Zhao: “……”

Meng Yanxi took her silence as tacit approval, nodded proudly and a little smugly. “Mm, I knew Lingling would like it.”

Jin Zhao lifted her face and stared at him, dumbfounded.

Although Meng Yanxi was usually quite shameless, he’d never been this unhinged or this flirtatious sober.

Jin Zhao really wanted to record him, to show it to him tomorrow when he sobered up. Not just tomorrow—she could pull it out every time they argued in the future and see if he’d still be able to argue then.

But she was also very afraid that if she turned around now to get her phone, Meng Yanxi would immediately yank off the towel around his waist and let her film it, followed by another line of I knew Lingling would like it.

Enough. She couldn’t think about it anymore, she already had a mental image!

In the end, someone who cared about face could never beat someone who didn’t.

Meng Yanxi lifted his arm again and sniffed himself, then said to her, “Alright, I’m not smelly anymore. Let’s sleep.”

Jin Zhao: “……”

He really knew how to find problems on himself. She had clearly been talking about herself, yet she hadn’t done anything at all, and he had gone off to take a shower on his own.

Meng Yanxi like this was so annoying it was almost endearing.

Jin Zhao helped him onto the bed. The man held onto her hand and wouldn’t let go, looking at her eagerly as he asked, “Don’t go, okay?”

Jin Zhao bent over him, their eyes meeting. The two of them were very quiet.

Without his sharp edges, Meng Yanxi under the warm light looked like a piece of gentle jade, truly carrying that feeling of a gentleman like jade, unmatched in the world.

Jin Zhao’s heart skipped quickly. In a small voice, she said, “I won’t go. I’ll just go take a shower.”

She had seen it earlier in the walk-in closet—besides his clothes, there were women’s clothes as well, brand new. The underwear, probably because he was afraid she might misunderstand after washing and think they belonged to someone else, were disposable.

Though she was a little annoyed at how scheming he was, he had been like this even before she liked him, so it didn’t seem like there was much to be annoyed about.

He had always been like this—somewhat calculating, somewhat green-tea—but it couldn’t be denied that he was meticulous, always thinking things through for her.

Meng Yanxi confirmed from her eyes that she wasn’t lying to him, and only then did he release her hand.

Jin Zhao went into the bathroom and quickly took a shower.

Meng Yanxi had truly drunk too much tonight. When she came out, he was already asleep.

The flame-tree lamp by the bedside illuminated his quiet sleeping face.

The man who had finished throwing his drunken tantrum was finally asleep, and Jin Zhao had the sudden urge to take advantage of it and leave.

But that thought only lingered for two seconds before she gave it up.

Forget it—she had already promised him.

He didn’t know it now, but when he woke up, if he still remembered, even if he didn’t say it, he would probably feel hurt in his heart over her deceiving him once again.

Besides, he was drunk to this extent—he probably couldn’t do anything anyway.

Jin Zhao turned off the light and climbed into bed quietly.

The man beside her slept in a daze. Catching her scent, he immediately shifted over, domineeringly pulling her into his arms.

Jin Zhao lay against his chest and murmured softly, “Meng Yanxi, you’re not allowed to drink anymore in the future.”

He seemed asleep, yet also seemed a little awake. After a long while, his voice, heavy with drowsiness, muttered, “Not even when I’m happy?”

Jin Zhao found it amusing and asked softly, “Happy about what?”

Meng Yanxi thought for a moment, then said hoarsely, “Today—I’m very happy.”

Jin Zhao’s heart felt sweet. After a while, she said, “Then you need to improve your alcohol tolerance.”

The man didn’t answer her again. In the darkness, his breathing gradually steadied.

Drunk Meng Yanxi had no aggressive, plundering edge to him, and Jin Zhao soon fell asleep as well.

But in the end, she had misjudged.

Drunk Meng Yanxi not plundering didn’t mean that a sober one wouldn’t.

Behind the blackout curtains, the bedroom light was dim. Jin Zhao wasn’t sure whether dawn had come.

Inside her body, waves of desire surged and drowned her, the man’s long fingers roaming wantonly.