Chapter 31
Lin Qianqian stood up, grabbed the open bottle of red wine, and drank straight from it.
She tilted her head back, the red wine staining her white cotton top, her slender frame trembling slightly.
She couldn’t swallow much, the wine spilling down her chin. She coughed, the alcohol burning her throat and stinging her nose, making her gasp for air.
Lu Yin tried to stop her, but Lin Qianqian, her mind clouded by alcohol and emotion, clung to the bottle, refusing to let go.
Lu Yin grabbed her wrist, her other hand snatching the bottle and throwing it on the floor.
The shattering glass startled Lin Qianqian. She looked at Lu Yin, her voice trembling. “Just…pity me, just this once…”
Lu Yin pulled her away from the broken glass.
The coffee table and the floor were covered in shards.
“Can’t you even pity me…?” Lin Qianqian’s lower lip trembled.
“Don’t talk,” Lu Yin said, avoiding her gaze.
One of them had to stay sober. And that was Lu Yin.
She sat Lin Qianqian down on the sofa, picked up the larger pieces of glass, and threw them in the trash. Then, she swept and mopped the floor, cleaning up the mess.
Lin Qianqian’s emotions subsided as she was ignored.
The alcohol clouded her mind, and she remembered a time when, as a child, she would act out, and Lu Yin would patiently clean up after her.
When Lu Yin was angry, she would give Lin Qianqian the silent treatment.
Lin Qianqian, afraid of being ignored, would always apologize, begging for a smile, a sign of forgiveness.
But now, she didn’t dare approach Lu Yin, didn’t dare test her patience.
She took deep breaths, as if trying to absorb all the oxygen in the room, but the lingering scent of red wine only intensified the memory of her outburst.
She hated to admit it, but being ignored was the most effective way to calm her down.
A kind word from Lu Yin would have been more comforting, but Lu Yin wasn’t offering any comfort.
A glass of warm water was placed in front of her.
“Calmed down?” Lu Yin asked.
Lin Qianqian didn’t take the glass, drinking from the rim instead.
Lu Yin tilted the glass, making it easier for her to drink.
She examined Lin Qianqian’s wine-stained top, her brow furrowing. “You should wash this.”
Lin Qianqian leaned back against the sofa. “Later,” she said.
She didn’t want to move, wanting to prolong this moment of quiet.
Lu Yin picked her up and carried her to the bathroom.
“What are you doing?”
“Giving you a bath,” Lu Yin said, setting her down on the bathroom floor. “Be careful. It’s slippery.”
Lin Qianqian watched her retrieve a large bath towel, then realized she wasn’t leaving.
“Why aren’t you leaving?” she asked, her earlier defiance gone, replaced by exhaustion. She just wanted to shower and go to bed.
“I’m helping you. You’re drunk. It’s not safe for you to shower alone,” Lu Yin said, turning on the shower and adjusting the water temperature. “Why aren’t you taking your clothes off?”
Her tone was flat, and Lin Qianqian felt a surge of annoyance.
The classic carrot-and-stick routine. She was tired of it.
But she obediently undressed, then realized she hadn’t brought the laundry basket.
“Just leave it there,” Lu Yin said, taking the clothes and placing them in the sink.
Lin Qianqian, now only in her underwear, turned her back to Lu Yin, hesitant to remove them.
“You can wash yourself. I’ll just watch,” Lu Yin said.
What’s the difference?! Lin Qianqian wanted to ask.
“I want to use the bathtub.”
She couldn’t face Lu Yin naked. She wasn’t a child anymore. She couldn’t just casually undress in front of Lu Yin.
Lu Yin filled the tub and turned off the shower.
While Lu Yin wasn’t looking, Lin Qianqian grabbed the showerhead and sprayed her.
Lu Yin’s white shirt was instantly soaked.
“Behave,” Lu Yin said, without turning around, her voice a warning that made Lin Qianqian put the showerhead back.
“I’m drunk. I can’t control myself,” Lin Qianqian said, offering a pathetic excuse.
She had heard this warning countless times, but she never learned.
Teasing Lu Yin was a lifelong habit.
“Can’t we just shower together?” she asked, her voice hopeful.
“Come here,” Lu Yin said, turning around after filling the tub.
Lin Qianqian quickly removed her underwear and stepped into the bathtub.
Despite the warm water, goosebumps rose on her skin.
She splashed water on herself and looked at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin picked up her wine-stained clothes, examined them, and left the bathroom.
Lin Qianqian hugged herself, wondering if Lu Yin was angry.
This woman was so frustrating. Why couldn’t she just express her emotions?
Suppressing anger was unhealthy. Lin Qianqian firmly believed that.
Silence was useless. No one cared.
Well…
Lu Yin cared when she was silent.
She had tried to figure out how Lu Yin dealt with her anger, but she hadn’t found any evidence of emotional outbursts.
Lu Yin would always be calm and composed the next day, as if nothing had happened.
Her anger was usually directed at Lin Qianqian’s childish antics, but otherwise, she seemed unflappable.
Or perhaps she was simply good at hiding it.
Lin Qianqian should be used to Lu Yin’s silent treatment, but she never would be.
She emerged from the bathroom, wrapped in a towel, and saw Lu Yin hanging her clothes on the balcony.
Lu Yin, noticing her, frowned and waved her away.
Lin Qianqian obediently stood there, waiting for Lu Yin to bring her clean pajamas.
She was going to make Lu Yin wait on her.
Lu Yin, as always, understood, retrieving her pajamas and handing them to her before retreating to her own room.
Lin Qianqian stood outside Lu Yin’s door, pajamas in hand, waiting, but Lu Yin didn’t reappear.
Lin Qianqian hadn’t forgotten Lu Yin’s offer to drive her to work.
She woke up early, sat at the breakfast table, and noticed a money transfer notification from Ming Yao, sent at six o’clock in the morning.
It was for the restaurant bill, rounded up.
[Lin Qianqian: You’re up this early?]
[Ming Yao: Morning jog.]
[Ming Yao: If I go missing, call the police! My stepmother is the prime suspect!]
Lin Qianqian suddenly remembered something. “Sister, that partner at your institution, the one who doesn’t come often, her name is Zhong…Zhong what?”
“Zhong Shiwu.”
“Right!” Lin Qianqian said. “My friend’s stepmother’s last name is Zhong too. What was her full name again?”
She messaged Ming Yao, but didn’t receive an immediate reply.
Lu Yin paused, her chopsticks hovering over her food, glancing at Lin Qianqian, then resuming her meal in silence.
Lin Qianqian muttered about Ming Yao’s recent disappearances, online one minute, gone the next.
December was approaching, and the company had taken on several New Year’s promotional video projects. Lin Qianqian had been busy.
Her colleagues were discussing a company team-building event. Lin Qianqian focused on her work, trying to be invisible.
If she could refuse, she would.
Wasting time on team building was ridiculous.
If she had a fortune, she would quit her job, and she wouldn’t let Lu Yin work either. She would spoil Lu Yin, showering her with gifts and taking her on extravagant vacations.
The company’s team-building events were optional.
Lin Qianqian wasn’t one to take the lead, but she was happy to follow if someone else refused.
But before she could say anything, her colleague added her name to the list.
She couldn’t very well refuse, especially when her colleague was so enthusiastic.
Lin Qianqian was always cautious about drinking with colleagues.
With Ming Yao, she could get tipsy.
With Lu Yin, she could get blackout drunk.
But with colleagues, she preferred to stay sober.
If her colleague hadn’t insisted on accompanying her from the office to the restaurant, she would have taken an anti-alcohol pill.
She tended to say embarrassing things when drunk, and she didn’t want to repeat her drunken recitation of her third-grade essay from her time abroad.
The gaudy, gold-colored private dining room was exactly as she had imagined.
She ate quietly, messaging Lu Yin that she was at a company dinner and wouldn’t be needing dinner.
Then, feeling guilty, she asked if she should bring Lu Yin something back.
Lu Yin declined, and Lin Qianqian’s appetite vanished.
The table was filled with women. Lin Qianqian, not one for socializing, sat beside her colleague, who was chatting animatedly with everyone. Lin Qianqian barely managed to get a word in.
She hoped the dinner would end quickly.
She was being extra cautious now, avoiding any unnecessary interactions with her female colleagues. She had to stay faithful to Lu Yin!
But her colleague, after making the rounds with her wine glass, returned and subjected Lin Qianqian to an hour-long lecture about her latest romantic woes. Her ex-boyfriend had apparently become a scammer, and she warned Lin Qianqian to be wary of beautiful women asking for money.
Then, she burst into tears, scrolling through her contacts, asking Lin Qianqian which ex-boyfriend she should call.
“I’m so miserable! Can’t you even have one drink with me?”
Lin Qianqian suddenly remembered saying almost the exact same words countless times.
Lu Yin must have been exasperated.
Lu Yin would simply force her to go to bed, while now, she was being forced to drink, glass after glass of baijiu, a strong liquor she had never tried before.
The burning sensation made her want to throw up.
“Cheers! To my ex-boyfriends!”
Lin Qianqian forced down another glass, then rushed to the bathroom to throw up.
Returning to the table, she saw her colleague had found a new target and sat down, eating some food to settle her stomach.
But the baijiu was stronger than red wine, and she felt dizzy.
She leaned back in her chair, suddenly wanting to share her own relationship drama with her colleague.
Damn Lu Yin. She didn’t want to rehash her embarrassing third-grade essay again.
Company dinners usually ended with karaoke, and Lin Qianqian planned to make an excuse and leave during the transition. But the women continued chatting, their conversation seemingly endless.
They moved to a different private room, but still no one left.
She couldn’t be the first to leave.
She had only been working here for a short time and loved her job. She couldn’t risk making a bad impression.
Absentmindedly, she tapped on Lu Yin’s profile picture in the work chat group.
You poked Lu Yin.
Lu Yin immediately called her.
Lin Qianqian jumped up and ran to the bathroom, stumbling slightly and grabbing a chair for support.
“Sister…” she said breathlessly, coughing.
“How much have you had to drink?” Lu Yin asked, her tone sharp, recognizing the slur in her voice. “Didn’t I tell you not to drink outside, especially not to get drunk?”
“I didn’t drink!” Lin Qianqian protested, stalling for time. “How do you know I drank?”
The line went dead. Lin Qianqian stared at the call history, cursing Lu Yin.
Then, a message arrived.
[Lu Yin: Send me your location.]
She rushed out of the bathroom, gulping down juice, trying to mask the smell of alcohol.
When offered another drink, she finally refused, ignoring the risk of offending her colleagues.
Lu Yin’s opinion mattered more than theirs. Lu Yin’s anger was the most terrifying.
She sent Lu Yin her location and was about to make an excuse and leave when the door opened.
Xu Sui entered, followed by Lu Yin.
Weren’t bosses supposed to skip these events?
And how had Lu Yin gotten here so quickly?
It hadn’t even been five minutes since she sent her location!
“I heard you guys were still here, so I thought I’d stop by. I ran into Teacher Lu at the entrance and managed to drag her along,” Xu Sui said with a smile. “I want to see who’s brave enough to say all those nice things about Teacher Lu to her face.”
Lu Yin nodded politely, her gaze immediately finding Lin Qianqian, who had pulled her hoodie over her head and tightened the drawstring.
So foolish. Uniquely so.
Lin Qianqian’s mind went blank. I’m doomed.
The drinks she had ordered to sober up – milk, honey water, grape juice – hadn’t arrived yet.
Xu Sui and Lu Yin were chatting with her colleagues. The door opened again, and the waiter entered.
“Who ordered these drinks?” someone asked.
“Qianqian! She’s a little tipsy. She’s trying to sober up,” her colleague said helpfully.
“Then bring them over quickly. Why did she drink so much?” another colleague asked, looking at Lin Qianqian’s hooded figure, assuming she was being dramatic.
Lin Qianqian’s face paled. She removed her hood, and her colleague helpfully smoothed her hair.
She took the glass of milk, her eyes meeting Lu Yin’s.
“Maybe I should go home. I’m not feeling well,” she said, wanting to disappear. Her stomach churned, and her head throbbed.
Not from the alcohol, but from Lu Yin.
This woman, dragged here by Xu Sui, had pretended to need her location.
Was this some kind of joke?
Lin Qianqian stood up, her movements unsteady, the noise in the room amplifying her nausea.
As she reached the door, Lu Yin grabbed her arm.
“Sister…my stomach hurts…” Lin Qianqian said, trying to summon tears, her most effective tactic.
But looking at Lu Yin’s impassive face, she couldn’t cry.
She had rarely seen such coldness in Lu Yin’s eyes. Panic set in, a jumble of apologies and questions forming in her mind, but she couldn’t speak.
“Excuse us,” Lu Yin said to the group, her voice polite but distant, opening the door and pulling Lin Qianqian out of the room.
Xu Sui followed, intending to offer them a ride, then looked at Lin Qianqian. “Do you need a ride home? Why did you drink so much? These people are terrible, always picking on the younger ones.”
“No, thank you! I’m fine!” Lin Qianqian waved her hand dismissively.
“We’re going the same way. I’ll take her home,” Lu Yin said.
Xu Sui looked at them, sensing a familiarity between them, and decided not to press the issue.
Lu Yin held Lin Qianqian’s arm firmly as they walked. Lin Qianqian tried to pull away, but Lu Yin’s grip was tight.
“Hey! That hurts!” Lin Qianqian protested, pulling back.
Lu Yin didn’t respond, opening the passenger door and pushing Lin Qianqian inside.
Before Lin Qianqian could protest, the door slammed shut.
She turned to yell at Lu Yin, but Lu Yin hadn’t gotten in the car.
Lin Qianqian tried to open the door, but it was locked. She tapped on the window, trying to get Lu Yin’s attention.
Lu Yin stood beside the car, her back turned.
Her phone vibrated. The caller ID showed “Lin Qian.” She declined the call without hesitation.
She knew where Lin Qianqian was. The tracking app on her phone showed her location clearly.
But she still had to ask, knowing Lin Qianqian was prone to lying, needing to control the situation, the outcome.
She calmed herself, pushing aside the image of someone else touching Lin Qianqian’s hair, refusing to imagine the circumstances that had led to Lin Qianqian’s drunken state.
Her clothes disheveled, her speech slurred, her judgment impaired. She never learned.
Did she really think Lu Yin would take care of her forever?
And Lin Qianqian still seemed to believe that a few smiles and a bit of aegyo would earn her forgiveness.
But things were different now.
Lu Yin knew that if Lin Qianqian continued her lies, her denials…
She would kill her. Right here, right now.
Leave a Reply