Zhou Yinhe opened his eyes, his gaze filled with blank confusion; what he had experienced three years ago had simply been too painful.
But with her crying before him, he felt it made him suffer even more than the pain he had endured three years ago.
"As long as you're not afraid, try again." Seeing him like this, Qi Zhan made the decision for him.
"No."
After a long while, Zhou Yinhe coolly uttered two words. He straightened up, took the wine Qi Zhan handed him, and drank it in one gulp. After swallowing, he paused for a moment before saying, "I don't want to repeat the same mistake."
He was simply petty, simply unable to forget. So even if he sometimes did uncontrollable things—like carrying that bouquet back to the office, or like hugging Wen Ling and apologizing just now—he restrained himself from entertaining any thoughts of reconciliation.
After vomiting in the bathroom, Wen Ling had sobered up considerably. Leaning against the sink, she recalled the scenes from when she was drunk. Apart from that Young Master Wu who had harassed her, she could only remember the scene just moments ago of herself hugging Zhou Yinhe and crying uncontrollably.
So many people had been watching just now. Wen Ling stared at herself in the mirror, cupped some water, and patted her face, only to feel the redness that had just faded rushing up again. Although she really wanted them to know she was pursuing Zhou Yinhe, she didn't want to make a fool of herself either.
Right now, she just wanted to go home. Walking out of the bathroom with her head lowered, she said to Manager Song, "I'm going home. Please go tell them for me."
Manager Song was stunned for a moment and could only say, "Alright, then rest well when you get back."
Wen Ling nodded and left dejectedly. Two bodyguards hurriedly followed. After exiting the bar, once their surroundings had quieted down, they spoke as they walked. "Miss, are you alright? Should we go back and have Dr. Qiao check on you?"
"I'm fine." Wen Ling's tone was low, and she let out a faint sigh.
"That Young Master Wu tonight—I'm afraid he'll cause trouble tomorrow. Do we need to contact Old Master Wen?" the bodyguard asked softly.
He didn't think the owner of this bar, that Young Master Jiang they spoke of, would handle this matter. When necessary, they still had to contact Old Master Wen.
Wen Ling looked back at the brightly lit bar, pursed her lips, and said, "No need. Jiang Jibai should handle it."
She got in the car, biting her lip in annoyance. If she had known, she wouldn't have come out.
Wen Ling didn't go out again the next day. The flight from Country M to Four Nine City took over ten hours, and by the time it arrived, it was already the morning of the third day.
Wen Ling hadn't gone out all day yesterday and had long since sorted out her thoughts. Now that her precious cat son was about to arrive, she cheerfully instructed the driver to take her to the airport.
Lu Zhaoye was considerate. Fearing that the cargo hold would make Wen Ling's cat son suffer, he had directly used backdoor channels to have his assistant bring the cat on a first-class flight.
When Wen Ling arrived at the airport, the plane hadn't landed yet, so she went to the VIP lounge to sit for a while.
Unexpectedly, when she turned her head, the corner of her eye caught sight of the figure she longed for day and night.
He was leaning back in a single sofa, clean white shirt and black pants, his temperament cold and languid, his entire body exuding an alienating aura that warned strangers to keep away. Arms crossed, leaning against the back of the sofa with his eyes closed, he was resting. Beside him sat upright a man in a suit who looked like he should be Zhou Yinhe's secretary.
Wen Ling pursed her lips, gave the bodyguard following her a look, and walked over herself, gently sitting on the sofa on Zhou Yinhe's other side.
The secretary, Cheng Yu, glanced at her, somewhat on guard against whether this pretty young lady was going to strike up a conversation with his boss—after all, such things happened often.
Before he could speak, he heard this young lady softly call his boss's name.
"Zhou Yinhe, what a coincidence."
Zhou Yinhe raised his eyes. There was still some confusion and lingering drowsiness in his gaze. When he saw Wen Ling, his heart actually jumped violently, giving him the illusion that it was about to leap out of his chest.
Wen Ling lightly bit her lip and explained anxiously, "I didn't follow you here. I have business."
"Mm." Zhou Yinhe responded indifferently. He lowered his eyes, straightened up, and said calmly, "Quite a coincidence."
Wen Ling was a bit nervous. She secretly let out a breath and said, "What are you doing here? Picking someone up?"
"Mm." Zhou Yinhe still responded coldly.
"Can you not be so cold to me?" Wen Ling really couldn't stand him like this. Ever since she had reunited with him in Huaxia, even if he was sarcastic and mocking, it would have been better than this coldness that made her panic.
Only then did Zhou Yinhe raise his head to look at her. His pitch-black eyes were filled with her reflection. After a brief silence, he said calmly, "Wen Ling, don't meet with me again in the future. I won't reconcile with you."
Wen Ling was completely stunned. Her expression went blank for a moment. When she came back to her senses, she realized her entire body was trembling. She swallowed with difficulty, stood up, and feigned composure as she asked him, "Why? Just because of what happened three years ago? I really had a reason back then. You should have sensed something was wrong, I—"
"No matter what the reason is, I can't get past it." Zhou Yinhe interrupted her.
"Impossible, Zhou Yinhe. The reason I came to Four Nine City is largely because of you. You know my personality best. I won't give up like this. Anyway, you can't control me either. I'll chase you if I want. If I can't win you over, I'll have someone intercept you like that day and lock you up until you reconcile with me!" The grievance on Wen Ling's face slightly receded, the hurt and confusion in her eyes dissipating, gradually replaced by stubbornness as she spoke with a petulant tone.
Hearing this, Zhou Yinhe frowned tightly, his jaw tense. He had just opened his mouth to speak when he saw Wen Ling bite her lip, turn around, and stride away furiously. The two bodyguards, seeing this, glanced at Zhou Yinhe and jogged to catch up with Wen Ling.
"What a terrible temper!" Zhou Yinhe said angrily. Cheng Yu withdrew his gaze. He had been by Zhou Yinhe's side for over two years and knew his boss well. This young master of the Zhou family, precious as gold and jade among the elite of Four Nine City, only appeared languid and defiant on the surface, as if no person or thing mattered to him. In reality, behind the scenes he was like a little princess who needed people to coax him.
At this moment, his boss should be secretly pleased, right? Cheng Yu couldn't help but think. So this was the white moonlight his boss longed for day and night.
Wen Ling stormed out of the lounge but still couldn't help turning back to glare, her gritted-teeth expression making the two bodyguards somewhat nervous.
"Miss, why don't we go wait in another lounge? I see the plane is about to land. We should be able to pick up Young Master Hehe very soon," the bodyguard cautiously persuaded.
Wen Ling pursed her lips and humphed. She didn't even go to the lounge, directly finding a seat in the arrivals hall.
The bodyguards exchanged glances and could only stand beside her waiting.
Before long, a man pushing a pet stroller walked over. The bodyguards saw it first and lowered their heads to say to Wen Ling, who was still sulking, "Miss, Young Master Hehe has arrived."
Hearing this, Wen Ling suddenly raised her head. Seeing the kitty's head peeking out from the pet stroller, she felt her heart melt.
She stood up and trotted over, involuntarily changing her tone of voice. In a soft, drawn-out tone, she said, "Baby~"
Hehe meowed at her a few times. His voice was soft and delicate, both complaining and acting spoiled. Hearing it, Wen Ling's heart was about to melt, and Zhou Yinhe was cast to the back of her mind.
"Oh, my baby, let me pet you."