Lu Zhengting found Ning Xi's sudden movement completely caught him off guard. He instinctively shifted to the side, moving so fast it was like the blink of an eye. Ning Xi's attempt to hug him failed, and he fell straight to the ground. Lu Zhengting frowned and glanced at him with utter disdain.
Ning Xi rolled over, letting out a burp in the process, and looked up at Lu Zhengting with slightly tipsy eyes. "Why are you here?"
"You idiot, you called me."
"Lu Zhengting, who are you calling an idiot?" Ning Xi lifted his head, glaring at Lu Zhengting defiantly. "Did you have a fight with Xia Yan? Trying to take it out on me!"
Ning Xi's words seemed to hit the mark, reading Lu Zhengting's mind. Lu Zhengting's face turned cold, neither admitting nor denying it. He just stood there, staring fixedly at Ning Xi, then suddenly spoke, "Come on, let's fight!"
"Fight your sister, no way! You still have that nasty habit of only hitting faces."
"Yes or no?"
"Lu Zhengting, are you sick? Looking for a beating for no reason?"
Lu Zhengting shot a glance at the drunken Ning Xi, ignored everything else, and grabbed him by the collar. "Too much talk!"
Ning Xi thought he was joking, but when he took a solid punch, his drunkenness instantly cleared up quite a bit. Furious, he threw a punch back, but Lu Zhengting dodged it to the face, and it landed on his stomach instead.
"Damn! I said don't hit the face!" Ning Xi roared, throwing punches left and right, locked in a fierce brawl with Lu Zhengting.
The private room echoed with constant crashing sounds. The staff in the monitoring room were stunned by the scene and immediately notified the manager. The manager broke out in a cold sweat upon hearing it—these two were the boss's honored guests. Even if they didn't know Ning Xi, they knew Lu Zhengting.
Half an hour later, police sirens blared outside the "Heaven on Earth" establishment. The officers burst into the room while the two were still going at it, leaving them both dumbfounded. The manager, arriving right after, saw the room full of police and felt like death was near.
The lead officer calmly glanced at the two standing there stupidly and asked, "Why are you fighting?"
Hearing this, Lu Zhengting paused. Before he could speak, Ning Xi beside him moved his lips, tasting the faint blood in his mouth and feeling the sting on his face. Anger simmered inside him—this was Lu Zhengting's one flaw, always going for the face!
Ning Xi snapped back to reality and shouted angrily at the officer, "None of your damn business! Who let you in? Which eye of yours saw us fighting?"
"You're not fighting? Then what about the injuries on your face? Are you being threatened by him? Don't be afraid, I'll protect you!"
Ning Xi was stunned. He never expected to hear such a response, and it was awkward.
Lu Zhengting calmly glanced at the manager who had rushed over and ordered, "You handle it."
The manager nodded hastily, walked up to the officer, put an arm around his shoulder, and led him outside the room to talk.
Ning Xi had no idea what the manager said to the officer, but when they returned, the matter was resolved.
Now, only Lu Zhengting and Ning Xi were left sitting on the sofa in the private room. The manager stood before them with the new staff member who had called the police, speaking weakly, "Mr. Lu, Third Young Master Ning, this newbie didn't know the ropes..."
"Alright, alright, just take him out of here. Just looking at him gives me a headache." Ning Xi squinted and waved his hand dismissively.
Calling the police? He never imagined he and Lu Zhengting would end up in such an absurd situation. And that officer who showed up was clearly a rookie too—otherwise, how could he not recognize a big shot like Lu Zhengting and still have the nerve to say he'd protect him?
After the manager left, Ning Xi glanced at Lu Zhengting's expressionless face, leaned forward, picked up a glass of wine from the table, and took a small sip. "You're really on edge today! Beating me up like I'm a toy."
Hearing this, Lu Zhengting irritably grabbed a bottle of wine, put it to his lips, and downed it in one go. Ning Xi was dumbfounded, quickly setting down his glass and staring at Lu Zhengting with curiosity, saying nothing, but the barely concealed look on his face gave away his mood.
Curiosity, gossip...
Lu Zhengting's tolerance for alcohol wasn't bad, but compared to him, it was a different story. They sat in silence, drinking glass for glass. As Ning Nan would put it, what fun is there in two grown men doing nothing, not even with women, just drinking dry?
Ning Xi had already had some drinks earlier, but Lu Zhengting hadn't, and since he was drinking on an empty stomach, he got drunk easily. As the intoxication set in, Ning Xi thought about calling Xia Yan to come pick him up, but then a sudden idea struck him—why not use this chance to have Zhan Meng come get him?
With that in mind, he put on a drunken voice and called Zhan Meng, saying he was too drunk to move. But to his utter surprise, she didn't answer at all.
He then tried Xia Yan's number, but no one picked up either. Was every woman like this, refusing to answer calls over nothing?
Forget it, he'd stop trying.
Ning Xi put down his phone, glanced at Lu Zhengting, who was half-drunk and half-sober, and kept drinking.
The night grew darker. Dark clouds gathered on the horizon but didn't move. The sky over Jiangcheng remained a deep blue. The sun had set, and a faint crescent moon hung in the sky, surrounded by no stars. The city lights came on, glowing in a riot of colors, and people's lives slipped into the night.
Xia Yan's phone was on silent, left in the living room. She was curled up in bed, covered with a thin blanket. The room was dark, with only the faint moonlight filtering in through the window. She lay with her eyes open, suddenly recalling her days living in the Xia family.
Ever since Xiao Lanzhi fell ill and was hospitalized, her standing in the Xia family had declined day by day. She once thought she wasn't doing enough, so she doubled her efforts in everything. But later, when she accidentally overheard a conversation between Old Madam Xia and Xia Siyue, she realized it wasn't what she had imagined.
Xia Yan felt a chill in both her body and heart. She couldn't help but pull the blanket tighter.
Meanwhile, at the "Heaven on Earth," it was a different scene. Ning Xi, who always claimed he could hold his liquor, was now dizzy and swaying as he walked. Lu Zhengting seemed even worse, completely unconscious. Their condition left the manager at a loss.
Lu Zhengting's driver received a call from the villa, braced himself, and came to the private room to find him. Without Lu Zhengting's knowledge, he took him back to the villa, and Ning Xi was brought along to Dongshan Villa.
When Jiang Mingxiu saw the state of the two men, she was furious. She ordered the servants to take them to their rooms and sat on the sofa fuming. Ever since she strictly forbade Xiaohan from seeing Xia Yan, Xiaohan had been constantly throwing tantrums at her.
Jiang Mingxiu rubbed her temples wearily. Ke Yaru came out of her room, saw her, and instinctively stepped forward to massage her shoulders for a while.
"Yaru, my son gives me no peace. At least I have you, such an obedient one by my side."
Hearing this, Ke Yaru smiled. "I think Zhengting is just temporarily blinded by his feelings, so he doesn't understand your good intentions, Auntie."
"If only that were true." Jiang Mingxiu patted the back of her hand, then suddenly thought of something and added, "Yaru, Zhengting will feel awful after drinking. Go upstairs and check on him."
"Is that appropriate? I'm worried..."
"Worried about what? I'll handle anything that happens. Go ahead." Jiang Mingxiu said calmly.
Ke Yaru feigned shyness, and with Jiang Mingxiu's approval, she slowly made her way upstairs toward Lu Zhengting's room.
Lu Zhengting lay quietly in bed, eyes closed. Ke Yaru lingered at the doorway for a moment before moving to the bedside. She looked down at his sleeping face—a scene that had appeared in her dreams countless times.
She crouched by the bed, her expression barely hiding her excitement and longing. She reached out a hand, her index finger gently tracing from the top of his head down to the corner of his mouth, passing over his brows, eyes, and nose. At that moment, Ke Yaru felt an even stronger desire to have Lu Zhengting quickly, to stop sneaking around and be open about it.
She sighed inwardly, then leaned in and kissed his forehead. Suddenly, she pulled out her phone and took a photo, a strange smile curling at her lips. Without a second thought, she sent the photo to Xia Yan under her own name.
Xia Yan had only felt thirsty and got out of bed to get a glass of water from the living room. When she saw her phone flash, she frowned slightly and picked it up. Opening it, she froze, and her hand loosened, sending the glass crashing to the floor.
The sharp sound shattered the night's silence. Xia Yan's eyes widened in disbelief at the photo Ke Yaru had sent, unable to trust her own eyes.
Ke Yaru was sweetly nestled in Lu Zhengting's arms, while he slept unusually peacefully, just as she had always seen him. What was really going on under the covers?
Xia Yan couldn't stop herself from wondering. Clutching the phone, trembling slightly, she quickly dialed Lu Zhengting's number. The moment the call connected, she suddenly felt like she couldn't even speak.
"Hello, Xia Yan? Zhengting is already asleep. Do you need me to wake him up for you?"
Ke Yaru's voice was soft and seductive, her low laugh sending chills down Xia Yan's spine. She couldn't bear to hear that voice any longer. Xia Yan hung up abruptly and turned off her phone, not wanting to hear any sound at all.
The next day, before dawn, Lu Zhengting woke up. He rubbed his temples, squinting as he scanned the room, realizing he was back home. Throwing off the covers, he went to the bathroom, splashed cold water on his face, and felt much more alert.
In early spring, dawn came a bit earlier than in winter. By the time Lu Zhengting was ready, it was already 7:30 in the morning. He put on his watch and left the room, running into Ning Xi, who was stumbling out of his room looking dazed and clearly still hungover. Spotting the dark bruise at the corner of Ning Xi's eye, Lu Zhengting grimaced in disgust and headed downstairs.
Ning Xi glared at Lu Zhengting and snapped, "Whose masterpiece is this! And you're still disgusted!"