Fine beads of sweat instantly broke out on Du Feng's forehead. He quickly declared his stance.
"Right, right, right! Assistant Zhou, you're absolutely right! It was my oversight. I failed to educate my daughter properly!"
"Don't worry. I'll go find Chaochao early tomorrow morning. I'll definitely have a good talk with her and make her apologize to Young Master Yan."
"This engagement is a major matter for both families. How could we let her act on her childish temper!"
"That's good. President Yan hopes to see Miss Meng change her mind soon."
After Assistant Zhou finished speaking, he politely yet distantly hung up the phone.
Du Feng held the phone that was already beeping with a busy signal. His face turned alternately green and white.
Xia Lian had overheard most of the conversation. A look of worry and a fleeting look of smugness flashed across her face.
"Old Du, what's going on? Did that girl Chaochao really cause trouble? Did she offend Young Master Yan?"
Du Feng suddenly slapped the phone on the table. His chest heaved with anger.
"This unfilial daughter! I knew she'd cause big trouble sooner or later.
"The marriage with the Yan family is something many people can only dream of. How dare she throw a tantrum and want to break up?"
"Does she still have this family in mind? Does she still respect me as her father?"
The angrier he got, the more he thought about it. He immediately called Meng Ruochao.
But the other end prompted that the phone was turned off.
With a livid face, he made another call.
"Find out for me where Meng Ruochao has moved to.
"I want to see her early tomorrow morning."
At this moment, in the apartment, Meng Ruochao had no idea about the storm brewing in the Du family.
She picked up the wine glass and gently swirled the crimson liquid inside under the warm yellow light.
Then she gave Pei Jiangmu a genuine smile.
"You're still a student. Can you drink?"
Pei Jiangmu looked at her, suppressing the myriad of thoughts in his heart. He picked up his glass and gently clinked it with hers.
"Sister, I'm already an adult."
The glass cups clinked, making a clear sound.
For some reason, when Meng Ruochao heard this, she always felt he was hinting at something else.
But she didn't have time to think more. She couldn't wait and rather boldly took a big sip.
The alcohol slid down her throat, bringing a hint of aftertaste after the slight astringency. It seemed to really wash away some negative emotions.
"Does sister have a good capacity for alcohol?"
Pei Jiangmu raised his eyebrows slightly as he watched her drink so boldly.
Meng Ruochao nodded hesitantly.
"Although I don't remember either, I just have this feeling that I can drink well. I even feel close to the wine when I see it."
She clearly had a huge cognitive bias about her own capacity for alcohol.
In the past six months or so, she had been busy recovering her body and running the store. She was exhausted both physically and mentally. She simply had no chance or mood to drink.
So she didn't know that her capacity for alcohol could be described as the pitiful "one-glass wonder".
The reason she felt close to the wine was that Pei Jiangmu had relied on alcohol to fall asleep for a long time.
As Yan Qiubai's "possession", she had also been arranged to live with him at that time.
So every night, it was her who served the wine to him.
At that time, Pei Jiangmu was in a very bad mood. No one dared to approach him except her.
Even to her, he often lost his temper.
But as long as he drank, he would be very easy to talk to. That's why she had a good impression of the wine.
Pei Jiangmu listened to her "boastful words" without saying a word. He just watched with a smile as the blush quickly spread across her face.
Even her beautiful eyes became watery and lost focus.
He knew her capacity for alcohol like the back of his hand.
But he didn't stop her. Even when she poured herself another glass of wine, he "considerately" filled her glass up.
He knew that some truths could never be pried out when she was too sober and on guard.
And now, perhaps it was an opportunity.
Sure enough, after three or four glasses of red wine, Meng Ruochao's world began to become hazy and soft.
She leaned on the armrest of the sofa, tilted her head, and stared at Pei Jiangmu sitting opposite with a drunk and blurred look in her eyes.
The light cast a nice shadow on his well-defined face.
His thick eyelashes drooped, covering part of his deep eyes. His straight nose bridge and the thin lips that seemed to carry a hint of a smile at the moment... He looked incredibly good-looking.
"Pei Jiangmu..."
She suddenly spoke, her voice soft and slurred after getting drunk.
"Hmm?"
Pei Jiangmu looked up at her. He deliberately lowered and softened his voice, with a coaxing tone.
"You're really good-looking..."
She giggled stupidly, like a child who had discovered a treasure.
"You're the best-looking person I've ever seen... Better, better than those movie stars and models..."
Pei Jiangmu's heart skipped a beat, but he remained calm on the surface. He just leaned forward slightly, narrowing the distance between them.
His voice became even lower, with a hint of temptation.
"Really? Do you like it?"
The faint smell of the refreshing body wash on him assailed her.
Meng Ruochao's dizzy mind became even more muddled.
She nodded vigorously, then shook her head violently. A very regretful expression appeared on her face.
"It's a pity... Such a pity..."
"What's a pity?"
Pei Jiangmu continued to coax her. His fingers casually brushed against the back of her hand that was placed on her knee.
The slightly cool touch made Meng Ruochao tremble slightly, but she didn't dodge.
"It's a pity that you're still a student brother..."
She sighed. Her tone was old and pretentious, but also carried a hint of regret that she didn't even notice.
"Sister here is a proper gentleman. Even, even if I'm single now, I can't, can't make a move on a student brother...
"This, this is a matter of principle..."
The four words "single now" were like a bright light that instantly struck Pei Jiangmu!
So the big decision she mentioned was to break up with Yan Qiubai?
Was it because of Shen Xinyin's humiliation to her?
Then it really was something to celebrate.
He suppressed the ecstasy and the even more surging heartache in his heart and continued to get closer to her.
He got so close that he could almost feel the warm, wine-scented breath she exhaled.
He picked up her hand that wasn't holding the wine glass and guided it to gently rest on his cheek.
The warm touch of his skin and the slightly resolute bone outline came from the palm of her hand. Meng Ruochao wanted to pull back her hand as if she had been burned, but he gently held it down.
"Do you feel it?"
His voice was deep and hoarse, with an indescribable magnetism.
"A young man in his prime. So it's not a pity."
He held her wrist and guided her fingers to slowly slide across his eyebrow bone and nose bridge. The movement was slow and full of hints.
It wasn't brazen of him to say this.
After all, he was only 25 years old. If he started school late, he really might not have graduated yet.
Moreover, he did have the identity of a student now.
Meng Ruochao was completely stunned.
Her brain was churned into a mess by the alcohol and his sudden intimate actions.
She could only stare at him stupidly with a pair of hazy big eyes, feeling the amazing touch and temperature under her fingertips.
"Is what sister said about breaking up really true?"
While enjoying the slightly itchy touch brought by her hand, Pei Jiangmu didn't forget to try to get information from her. His tone just sounded like simple curiosity.
"Was it because he made you unhappy? Will you really not get back together?"