After Setting Me Up With My Ex, The Aloof Alpha Regrets It - Chapter 43

Chapter 43: Zhu Yunqi’s Heart Was Pounding Fast. She Couldn’t Tell If It Was Because of The Alcohol or Because of Shi Li.

After finally dealing with her family’s issues, Zhu Yunqi felt more exhausted than ever.

Zhu Jingshan went to the planet where her birth mother was located as soon as she could. Shen Qinghe returned to her research institute after having dinner with Zhu Yunqi. The biological research institute in Z3291 was just a branch of the Federation Research Institute. Shen Qinghe didn’t have any important research projects there; she just used it as an excuse to not go home.

Zhu Yunqi’s finger swiped across her optical computer screen.

Her finger poked Shi Li’s profile picture.

Shi Li’s profile picture was a hand-drawn cartoon dog. It had gray and white fur, clear, watery blue eyes, and a cute pink tongue sticking out. She poked into Shi Li’s optical computer community page, and it was all gray. A small line of text under the profile picture said: This user only displays updates from the last month.

She really wanted to see Shi Li. When she was tired, the first person she wanted to see was Shi Li. She didn’t need a hug or to hold hands. Just by simply walking next to her, not even needing to talk to her, Zhu Yunqi felt like she could be instantly recharged.

Shi Li’s gentle smile appeared in her mind.

Zhu Yunqi felt a stuffy, throbbing pain in her chest. It was as if a small, absorbent sponge had been stuffed into her heart and had now swelled into a large piece, as if it was about to burst through her chest and take out that unspeakable dampness to dry it.

But she couldn’t meet her.

Shi Li’s love was for Wen Yue.

Zhu Yunqi was also worried that every time they met, it would be harder to let go when she left. It was better to give it the cold shoulder at the beginning of her crush.

How could she fall in love with her fiancée’s girlfriend?

Zhu Yunqi slammed the car door.

Hai Yao let out a strange cry from the side. “Team Leader Zhu, are you trying to kill me? If you don’t want the car, you can give it to me!”

Zhu Yunqi looked up sharply, only to find Hai Yao standing by the car.

She had something on her mind and was just driving around, but she didn’t expect to run into Hai Yao here.

Hai Yao opened the car door and complained, “It’s you on shift, it’s you off shift, and I can even run into you on the road during vacation. We might as well just get married.”

Zhu Yunqi gave her a single, concise word: “Scram.”

“You’re not happy? Even if you’re not happy, be careful when you hit the car. It’s expensive,” Hai Yao pointed to a bar next to them called “Gate of Wasted Time.” “Wanna go in?”

“No.”

Hai Yao said, “If you don’t want to come, fine. Tang Yingchi will be here later. She said Shi Li is working overtime nearby. She’ll come by when she’s done with work, and they’ll go home together.”

Zhu Yunqi wanted to say “I have something to do, I’m not going,” but her body got out of the car first.

Hai Yao asked, “If you’re not coming, why are you getting out of the car?”

Zhu Yunqi: “…I’m getting out to stretch.”

Hai Yao dragged her away. “What stretch? You’re already here. I’m treating you, and you’re paying!”

Zhu Yunqi half-heartedly followed her into the bar.

Hai Yao chose a seat by the window. The lilies on the table were a bit withered. A waiter came over to change the flowers. Hai Yao said, “Any flower is fine.”

Zhu Yunqi asked the waiter, “Do you have roses?”

The waiter replied, “Yes, we do. We have pink Dianas and purple Ocean Song roses. We don’t have others for now. Roses are quite expensive.”

“Please go buy a few Rhodess. I’ll pay for the cost.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

The waiter jogged off to buy the roses. Hai Yao ordered a high-proof cocktail and a lower-proof margarita. “Team Leader Zhu, I’ve known you for two years, and I still don’t know what your alcohol tolerance is. The Black Star Belt doesn’t even have a proper bar.”

Zhu Yunqi cautiously ordered a low-proof mojito. She wasn’t very confident in her alcohol tolerance. But she felt like she needed a little alcohol to relax.

A short while later, the waiter came back with a small bouquet of fiery red Rhodess roses and replaced the lilies in the vase on the table.

Hai Yao looked at Zhu Yunqi with a scrutinizing gaze.

Zhu Yunqi cleared her throat and explained, “I just think this kind of rose is beautiful.”

“Is that so? Is it really because you like them…” Hai Yao was about to keep asking questions, but Tang Yingchi appeared at the door, peeking inside. Hai Yao stood up and waved to her.

When she sat down, she excitedly shared with Zhu Yunqi: “I have a lot in common with Tang Yingchi. It’s just that I can’t dress casually every time I see her.”

Tang Yingchi sat down next to Hai Yao. The smile on her face froze the moment her eyes landed on Zhu Yunqi.

Ever since Shi Li told her that Zhu Yunqi was the leader of her and Wen Yue’s fan club, Tang Yingchi could no longer look at Zhu Yunqi directly.

A rich, good-looking Alpha actually shipped such a dark and bizarre couple…

She stiffly exchanged a few pleasantries with Zhu Yunqi and couldn’t help but ask, “Zhu Yunqi, do you know when our Li Bao and Wen Yue got together?”

Zhu Yunqi had recently heard the correct answer from Wen Yue. “Freshman year of college.”

Her heart ached when she said the answer.

When Tang Yingchi heard it, she took a sharp breath and thought, “OMG” to herself. She really is a fan. She even knows the details of when they got together.

She really wanted to yell “Stop shipping them.” but she couldn’t open her mouth.

Hai Yao commented from the side with a lot of subjective bias: “Wen Yue, that person, is a bit sketchy…”

She was pulled into a different topic by Tang Yingchi.

Soon, the two of them were chatting away. Both of them had a good alcohol tolerance. Hai Yao could drink a lot right from the start, while Tang Yingchi needed some sweet liquor to start, but the kick would be strong later.

Zhu Yunqi couldn’t join their conversation, nor did she have the energy to. She was also afraid of saying things she shouldn’t if she drank too much. She occasionally stirred the ice cubes in her glass, taking small sips.

The resident singer in the bar was singing a love song, and it was one of Yuna Isadora’s songs. Her raspy voice gave Yuna’s sweet song a different flavor.

Time passed by. The alcohol started to take effect, and Zhu Yunqi felt her heart rate pick up a bit.

She walked outside the “Gate of Wasted Time” and leaned against the railing, enjoying the breeze and looking at the flickering neon lights.

The summer night breeze carried a subtle hint of lime scent across the Alpha’s face. The obscure, dark eyes instantly lit up with a low-temperature light.

She looked up, and the person she wanted to see was right in front of her.

Shi Li tilted her head slightly and lowered her neck a little. Zhu Yunqi had been looking down, so Shi Li could only look from a lower position to identify if the melancholic beauty was Zhu Yunqi.

“It really is you,” Shi Li said happily. “Getting some fresh air to sober up?”

She looked at her optical computer and scrunched her nose a little. “Tang Yingchi must be drunk. She gets drunk fast, but when she’s drunk, other than talking nonsense seriously, she doesn’t show any other symptoms. That’s why she always tells people she has a high alcohol tolerance. Look, she still hasn’t replied to my message.”

Zhu Yunqi’s heart was pounding fast. She couldn’t tell if it was because of the alcohol or because of Shi Li.

“It’s a bit stuffy inside. Do you want to go in and find Tang Yingchi? She’s with Lan Yang, so she’ll be fine.”

“Yes, I have to take her home. Otherwise, she’ll keep drinking until midnight.”

“Then I’ll go in with you.”

Following behind Shi Li, Zhu Yunqi chastised herself in her heart for not being able to resist temptation. She had so firmly decided not to see Shi Li if she could help it, but she still couldn’t control her desire to go to places where she might appear. Her gaze also lingered on her all the time.

Shi Li found her friend by the window. As she had expected, Tang Yingchi was in high spirits. Other than being a little overexcited, everything else was normal. The glass of “Aunt Roberta” in her hand was already half-empty.

The Rhodess roses on the table were vibrant and eye-catching.

Tang Yingchi looked at Shi Li and then said to Hai Yao, “Lan Yang, this is Shi Li. She’s my best friend. Let me introduce her to you.”

She turned back to Shi Li and frowned. “Li Bao, why did you ride over on a banana? You, Wen Yue, Zhu Yunqi… ugh… a pot of porridge, a pot of porridge.”

Zhu Yunqi: ?

What is she talking about?

Shi Li explained helplessly, “She said, ‘This is my best friend Shi Li. How did I get here by riding a banana? She also said that my relationship with Wen Yue and you is a bit messy. Don’t worry, I didn’t say anything I wasn’t supposed to.”

When Tang Yingchi got drunk, her words would get mixed up, like a robot with a programming error.

It was strange that Hai Yao could understand her without any problems and immediately responded seamlessly.

Shi Li pointed to the banana-colored tote bag on her arm. “I’m riding a banana to pick you up and take you home.”

Tang Yingchi calmly refused. “No need. I can go home myself. Li Bao, since you’re already here, have a drink. Something sweet.” She pointed to the half-empty glass of bluish-purple “Aunt Roberta” in her hand.

Seeing the color of the drink, Shi Li thought it was a low-proof fruit wine. Since she was a little thirsty, she picked it up to wet her throat.

The glass was stopped in mid-air. She looked at Zhu Yunqi in confusion.

Zhu Yunqi said, “That’s ‘Aunt Roberta.’ It’s about fifty proof.”

Hearing fifty proof, Shi Li quickly let go. It was a good thing Zhu Yunqi reminded her.

Zhu Yunqi’s five fingers covered the glass from top to bottom and put it back on the table. She then pointed to the almost empty mojito. “This one is lower-proof. If you want a drink, you can have this one.”

Shi Li shook her head. “I’d better take her home.”

It was okay to have a sip to wet her throat, but if she drank too much, she would get crazy.

Hai Yao laughed charmingly from the side. “You can have Team Leader Zhu drive you home.”

Zhu Yunqi told herself in her heart that she couldn’t take Shi Li home again.

But what if she ran into danger on her way home? An Omega and a drunk Beta. The safety factor didn’t seem very high at all.

So she said, “Right, I’ll drive you.”

Shi Li didn’t want to trouble her and said that it was very close to the bus station and convenient. After struggling with Tang Yingchi for a while, she finally managed to get her out. Tang Yingchi continued to talk to Shi Li with jumbled words, but her steps were very steady and light.

Zhu Yunqi watched their backs as they left, feeling disheartened.

In just a few minutes, she had only said a few words to Shi Li, and now she had to leave again.

They always had to meet through others’ gatherings.

Once Tang Yingchi left, Hai Yao half-reclined on the booth sofa, her enchanting eyes squinting at Zhu Yunqi. Zhu Yunqi was looking out the bar door, her eyes filled with longing.

“Team Leader Zhu, your eyeballs are about to run away from home. If you want to drive them home, just do it.”

Zhu Yunqi hardened her heart and broke her gaze.

She said bluntly, “I don’t want to.”

“You don’t want to, but you keep staring at them.”

“I’m just checking on my contractor.”

Hai Yao tutted. “Okay, okay. You’re a very dedicated and good client.”

“Yes, I’m just a client.”

Nothing more.

Zhu Yunqi picked up a random, untouched glass of wine from the table and drank it all in one go as if she was fuming.

The spicy liquor with a fruity aroma slid down her throat, giving her a painful yet satisfying feeling.

Hai Yao’s mouth hung open in surprise. Her lips were in an ‘O’ shape.

The drink Zhu Yunqi had just chugged was even stronger than the “Aunt Roberta.”

Support After Setting Me Up With My Ex, The Aloof Alpha Regrets It