My Husband's Eyes Have Been Looking Different Lately After Our Marriage of Convenience - Chapter 21

Chapter 21: “Who Believes the Words of a Drunkard?”

Wang Ruijing had a bad feeling.

He snapped into a state of clarity and realized that Song Ai wasn’t actually looking at him; he was looking past him at someone behind.

Following Song Ai’s gaze, Wang Ruijing turned around. Sure enough, he saw a man in a perfectly tailored suit wearing a silver mask—looking every bit like a high-end male model—walking toward them.

He looked a bit familiar, as if they had seen him during their last visit.

The man took large strides, his posture incredibly steady—a testament to how firm his core and back were. Although half his face was hidden by the mask, one could guess from his exposed features and sharp jawline that this face was anything but ordinary.

Song Ai was still mumbling: “So he’s not temporary… this bro is actually… a permanent employee?”

Temporary? Permanent? Wang Ruijing didn’t understand a word of it.

“Model Bro” stood still in front of Song Ai. His eyes were cold as he said abruptly, “You actually came.”

“Mm-hmm.” Only Song Ai understood what he meant. He nodded slowly, taking it for granted: “If I didn’t come, how would I give you your tip?”

Tip? Oh…

Wang Ruijing remembered now. This was the “model” who had escorted Song Ai back to the booth last time.

The man frowned. “I told you, there’s no need.”

Song Ai wasn’t listening; he remained stubborn. “Then I’ll give it anyway.”

The man didn’t understand his persistence. “You’re giving it even if I don’t want it?”

Song Ai nodded heavily. He had mixed too many types of alcohol; his tongue was numb and his speech was slurring: “That’s right.”

“…” The man was momentarily speechless.

Wang Ruijing sat between them, feeling like a total outsider. He couldn’t get a word in and could only listen to them go back and forth.

When the man first arrived, he had spared Wang a glance, but it wasn’t friendly; even through the mask, the hostility was palpable.

Feeling somewhat baffled, Wang Ruijing finally found a gap in the silence. He feigned a casual tone: “Hey bro, my friend here is stubborn as a mule. Once his mind is set, no one can change it. Just take the tip so we can get back to having fun.”

In other words: Take the money and get lost.

The man turned to look at him, his lips twitching as if he wanted to say something. But before he could, a tipsy Song Ai spoke up again:

“Don’t be polite with me. I know the service industry isn’t easy. A small tip might be just a trifle to others, but to you guys, it could be a whole day’s wages, or half a month’s living expenses… Mm… for some, it could be book rental fees, or bus fare home…”

He was clearly wasted, actually holding up his fingers to start doing the math.

As he calculated, things got messier, and his nonsense increased. He gave up on the math and simply insisted: “Regardless, I must give you this tip today.”

With that, he reached into his pockets, forgetting he no longer had the habit of carrying cash. After searching every single pocket and finding not a cent, he cried out in shock: “Where’s my money??”

The man sighed and rubbed his forehead.

Unable to find money in his own pockets, Song Ai decided to check others’. Just as he was about to lunge at Li Shang nearby, the man stepped forward and pinned him down.

The heavy scent of alcohol hit his nose. The man’s tone sounded like a reproach, but his eyes couldn’t muster any real anger. He said: “You’ve drunk too much again.”

Again?

Song Ai was dazed, but he caught the keyword.

That’s an exaggeration. I’ve only been drunk twice in total.

The first time… The second time…

Okay, fine, nothing good happened either time.

A little drink is fine, but a heavy binge hurts the body and messes things up. It really was a bit improper.

Song Ai was always one to admit his mistakes, so he raised a hand in an “OK” gesture and promised: “Next time, I definitely… won’t drink this much.”

The man gave a cold laugh. “Who believes the words of a drunkard?”

Song Ai got anxious. Why didn’t he believe him?

He struggled to break free from the man’s grip, stood up, and held up four fingers in a solemn salute: “I can totally do it, okay? If you don’t believe me, I’ll swear it! I, Song Ai, from this day forward, will never drink this much again. If I break this vow, may the heavens—”

Before the last two words could escape, the man’s palm covered his mouth.

Song Ai: “Mmph! Mmph…”

Why this move again??

“I get it.” The man leaned closer, sounding helpless. “I believe you, okay?”

Only then did Song Ai contentedly shut his mouth.

As soon as he relaxed, his body went soft. His legs couldn’t support him, and he nearly toppled backward, only to be caught in time by the man.

The man’s frown deepened.

Drunk to this extent and still talking tough.

He looked around. The other two were in roughly the same state of intoxication. He had noticed customers in nearby booths glancing over earlier; they were likely waiting for the trio to pass out completely.

Fortunately, he came today. Otherwise…

But this couldn’t go on. The man thought for a moment, draped Song Ai’s arm over his shoulder, and wrapped his other arm around Song Ai’s waist, pulling him firmly into his embrace.

“I’m taking you back first.”

As for the other two, he would just notify their parents to send someone to pick them up.

Having made up his mind, the man supported Song Ai and prepared to leave.

Wang Ruijing, who wasn’t completely hammered, immediately stood up warily and blocked the way. “What are you doing? Put my friend down!”

The man glanced sideways, his eyes chillingly cold.

Wang Ruijing was intimidated by the aura and took a half-step back, but he held his ground. “I’m warning you…”

Before he could finish his warning, the man interrupted coldly: “Warning? Before you issue a warning, perhaps you should consider whether his stomach can handle any more drinking.”

Wang Ruijing froze. He had noticed Song Ai’s stomach issues before, but since Song Ai never made a big deal of it, he hadn’t taken it to heart either.

“I…”

“If you had considered it, you wouldn’t have let him drink like this,” the man said, hitting the nail on the head. “If you didn’t, then there’s no need to stop me now.”

The man had little patience. After speaking, he started walking again.

Knowing he was in the wrong, Wang Ruijing couldn’t speak. He hung his head in self-reproach. But after a moment of reflection, he suddenly realized something was off—

How does this male model know about his stomach?

And his voice sounds so familiar… his build too… Wait!!

A spark of realization flashed in his mind, and Wang Ruijing snapped his head up.

But before he could confirm anything, the man had already guided Song Ai to the stairs.

Wang Ruijing reacted quickly, pulled out his phone, and dialed a number.

…

At the main entrance of M&C, a group of people was swaggering in.

Leading them was a red-haired youth.

Zhou Jibai had received reliable intel that Song Ai was here tonight, so he brought a few “brothers” to help him reclaim his pride!

Song Ai had dared to play him for a fool at the heiress’s engagement party. It was unforgivable! He was determined to make Song Ai drink until he puked this time.

Zhou Jibai thought through gritted teeth, his pace quickening. “Which booth?”

“Second floor, booth 000, Brother Bai.”

“Good. Follow me. Today I’m going to—”

Before Zhou Jibai could finish his threat, he saw two people helping each other down the stairs out of the corner of his eye.

One was tall, wearing a silver mask—Zhou Jibai didn’t recognize him. But the other, wearing the gold mask… he could recognize that person even if he turned to ash.

His first reaction was: I haven’t even started pouring yet, how is this idiot Song Ai already this drunk?

His second reaction was: Who is the guy next to him??

Zhou Jibai squinted to get a better look. The silver mask only covered half the face, but he had no impression of the other half; it probably wasn’t one of the usual people Song Ai hung out with.

He knew that in places like this, there was a common term called “picking up a corpse.” Young people go to clubs, someone gets drunk and ends up alone, and local thugs wait outside to “pick them up” and take them to a hotel. It was disgusting.

Could this be the case? The more Zhou Jibai thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.

Corpse-picking has become this blatant now?

No. His revenge wasn’t complete; Song Ai couldn’t leave like this. Getting “picked up” wasn’t an option.

With that thought, as the two passed him, Zhou Jibai stuck out an arm. “Hey bro, let’s talk business. I’ll give you some money, you hand the guy over to me. Deal?”

The man in the silver mask glanced at him.

“What are you looking at?” Zhou Jibai said irritably. “I don’t know you, but you should at least know me.”

He had rushed in wearing only sunglasses; now, he took them off to reveal his face. “My surname is Zhou. Get it?”

The Zhou family wasn’t originally local, and the name was relatively rare in J City. Only a few held any weight, and since he looked quite like his father, he was confident the man would recognize him.

But the reality check came fast. The man didn’t even spare him another look, simply pushed his arm aside, and continued walking out.

“?” Perplexed, Zhou Jibai chased after him and grabbed the man’s shoulder. “No, bro, I suggest you be smart about—”

Before he could finish.

The man used his free hand to remove the mask. A handsome, mature face was revealed.

Zhou Jibai’s eyes widened. One of the “brothers” behind him let out an audible gasp: “Holy shit, isn’t that Lu—”

The deterrent effect of revealing his identity was immense.

Zhou Jibai was stunned. The others were equally dumbfounded. They stopped making trouble, and Lu Tingyun didn’t bother wasting words. He pulled his hand back, steadied Song Ai, and strode out.

Once they had completely disappeared through the door, the group finally began to whisper.

“Holy crap, that was Lu Tingyun??”

“Didn’t they say the Lu family looked down on Song Ai? Why did Lu Tingyun come to pick him up personally?”

“Did they actually fall in love over time?”

“What do we do, Brother Bai? Is Song Ai the type to hold a grudge? If I knew, I would have said less when we were making fun of him. My family can’t afford to offend the Lu family…”

“Gotta say, their masks actually matched quite well…”

The group chirped. Only Zhou Jibai remained silent, staring at the door, biting his lip with a heavy expression.

…

A drunk Song Ai was not a well-behaved one.

But unlike last time, he didn’t get touchy-feely. Instead, his mouth wouldn’t stop moving, and his “rebellious bone” was in full effect.

When Lu Tingyun tried to help him into the car, he gripped the door handle tightly and said, “Sir, I sell my art, not my body. I don’t do that.”

When Lu Tingyun finally managed to get him into the seat and tried to buckle the seatbelt, he thrashed about, claiming he was a “free fish” that couldn’t go on land or he’d die of thirst.

When Lu Tingyun buckled him in and was about to leave, Song Ai grabbed his arm and asked pitifully, “Are you going to leave me here?”

“…”

After ten minutes of struggle, Lu Tingyun finally got into the driver’s seat. The car started slowly.

Song Ai managed to stay quiet with his eyes closed for a moment, but then he started squirming again.

“Where are you taking me?” He sounded like he had just woken from a nightmare. He opened his bleary eyes, turned his head with difficulty, and realized someone was sitting next to him.

The silhouette looked a bit like… Lu Tingyun?

Why is Lu Tingyun here??

Wait… wasn’t I catching up with Model Bro? How did I end up in Lu Tingyun’s car??

Song Ai noticed the scenery changing outside the window and instantly felt like he was being kidnapped. He instinctively tried to flee, but as soon as he rose, the seatbelt jerked him back, bouncing him into the seat.

He looked down at the seatbelt and grew even more terrified.

“Holy shit! Why am I tied up??”

The anxiety of being restrained led him to search for the release buckle, his fingers pressing everywhere.

Before his fingers could find the button, Lu Tingyun leaned over and pinned his hands down. His broad shoulders pressed Song Ai into the seat, making it impossible for him to move.

Lu Tingyun explained, “This is a seatbelt. Don’t move around, or you’ll get sick.”

Unable to move, Song Ai tilted his head. He found the man’s dark pupils inches away, and deep within them seemed to be a burning, intense, and extremely dangerous emotion.

He immediately stopped struggling.

The air seemed to grow thin.

His throat was parched; he licked his lips, wanting to ask why the other was here, but he didn’t quite dare.

Firstly, because he felt guilty—guilty that just a moment ago he was greeting “Model Bro.”

Secondly, because he had an inexplicable premonition… that the moment he opened his mouth, the heat in the man’s eyes would swallow him whole.