Chapter 16: Are you still blaming me in 2016?
Fu Han bent her eyes, her face full of smiles as she held onto Elder He's hand, playfully saying, "Grandpa, haven't I come to keep you company?"
All she heard was Elder He snorting, but his eyes were full of tenderness as he ruffled Fu Han's hair.
The servant, seeing the harmonious scene between the two, felt it inappropriate to disturb them but still approached, "Master, the young master says he won't be coming back tonight."
"That damn boy not coming back again, old and with no one by the side anymore, only willing to come back when he sees me lying in bed, unable to move."
Elder He blustered, completely unaware of the hint of indistinct emotion that crossed Fu Han's eyes.
"Don't be angry, Grandpa, you've got me to keep you company," she said.
Elder He sighed softly, thinking that nothing could compare to the comfort she provided.
After dinner, Fu Han made up an excuse to go upstairs. As soon as she entered the bedroom, she kicked off her shoes and lay down on the bed.
She had wanted to suggest to Elder He the idea of moving out, but after hearing what her grandfather had just said, she simply couldn't bring herself to say it.
Elder He was the only one who had truly cared for her these years, and she couldn't bear to see him get hurt.
Fu Han's mind was a mess, and she unknowingly drifted into a deep sleep.
On the other side, He Xing squinted at the crowd dancing in the ballroom, ceaselessly downing one drink after another.
At a distance, a man in a suit and leather shoes held his drink and chatted amiably with the women beside him. Noticing the situation here, he shook his head helplessly and walked over.
"What's upset you this time, that you've come here to drown your sorrows in alcohol?" The man's face was always smiling, but a closer look revealed a hint of coolness in his eyes.
He Xing kept his head down, drinking, and took a long while before he muttered to himself, "Tell me, can someone really find a new love that quickly?"
Ji Liangchuan looked at the man beside him somewhat surprised. Having grown up together, this was the first time he had ever seen his brother drink over a woman.
No, this was the second time. The first time was three years ago, and he was becoming more and more interested in that woman.
Too bad for Fu Han though, even though he had never met her, he had heard quite a bit about her from others in their circle. Such a sentimental person, yet this guy just wouldn't cherish her.
To make the usually fastidious He Xing come to this bar in the dead of night to get drunk, he had to see what was so special.
"Sure, why not. Maybe the heart died, maybe they think the last one wasn't as good as the next, anything's possible."
Hearing Ji Liangchuan's words, He Xing laughed self-deprecatingly and whispered, "She's still blaming me, still blaming me..."
Looking at the other person now drunk to the point of stupor, Ji Liangchuan felt helpless; he couldn't take him in tonight.
Ji Liangchuan found He Xing's phone and seeing the only contact listed, he tugged at the corner of his mouth and sighed softly, "Another deep-feeler."
Then, Liangchuan dialed the number with his slender fingers, and after a while, the other side finally picked up.
"What's up?"
Hearing the other end's heavy drowsiness, Liangchuan looked at He Xing and chuckled softly. It looked like a case of unrequited love.
"He Xing is drunk. Could you come and pick him up?"
Hearing the man's gentle voice, Fu Han forced herself to sit up from the bed, "What's that got to do with me?"
Liangchuan looked at He Xing, who was still muttering, and thought it seemed he had encountered a cold beauty. Well, let it be a favor for a brother.
"We're about to close up, and if you don't come, he'll be left out on the street. Being on the street is not a big deal, but the bar here, with all sorts of people..."
"I'll come!"
As soon as she got the address, Fu Han hung up the phone. She hadn't expected the world to have such talkative people, truly annoying.
Fu Han quickly got dressed and headed downstairs only to see Elder He standing on the balcony on the phone.
Hearing her, Elder He turned his head and looked at Fu Han, "Hurry there and back, it's unsafe for a girl outside at night," he said before continuing his dispute with the person on the phone.
Fu Han paused mid-step. Why did she always feel that Grandpa knew what she was going to do? Never mind that now, first to pick up that troublemaker.
If Fu Han had known the state He Xing would be in, she would definitely not have come, no matter what was said.
Looking at He Xing sprawled over the bar, dead drunk, Fu Han twitched her mouth, "This one, you guys really should just throw him out on the street."
Liangchuan had been watching the woman since she entered, her makeup-free face remarkably clear, her peach-blossom eyes contemplating He Xing on the table, seemingly deep in thought.
Liangchuan was stunned. He never thought there could be two people so alike in the world.
"We wouldn't dare do that; we would be legally responsible," Ji Liangchuan said, his eyes warm with a gentleness he didn't notice himself.
Fu Han had no choice but to resign herself to the situation, and with some effort, she helped He Xing up from the bar.
He Xing opened his eyes and seeing the person in front of him, thought he was hallucinating, "Fu Han, why won't you forgive me?"
Fu Han, after hearing this, remained still for a moment but said nothing.
Liangchuan opened his mouth. So that's Fu Han, the one who had liked He Xing for so many years.
"Let me help you," Liangchuan still with his gentle demeanor, assisted Fu Han in tossing He Xing into the car.
"Thank you." After saying that, Fu Han got into the car, rubbing her temple in irritation, not giving Ji Liangchuan a second look.
Watching the car disappear in the distance until it became a speck, Ji Liangchuan finally turned and went into the bar.
He walked to a table, picked up a photo frame with a gaze that suddenly turned soft as water, "Taozi, did you see that?"
The woman in the photo was beaming with joy, looking exactly like Fu Han who had just left.
It took a long moment for Ji Liangchuan to murmur softly, "It's been a long time since you talked to me."
Met only with silence, Liangchuan gave a bitter smile, put down the photo frame, and walked alone to the bar to drink.
...
Fu Han, with much difficulty, helped He Xing into the villa. The servants rushed to assist when they saw her.
But the drunken man was far from cooperative, flailing his arms and yelling, "Don't touch me, nobody touch me..."
The servants exchanged glances but dared not approach. Fu Han twitched her mouth, looking at the man beside her, still drunk and messy.
She couldn't just drop He Xing on the floor in front of all these people; Fu Han had no choice but to support the man as she staggered upstairs, not forgetting to instruct, "Get some honey water ready."
The servants glanced at each other, "Miss Fu still has feelings for the young master," they said, nodding in agreement.
Fu Han expelled much effort before she managed to fling the man forcefully onto the bed, not bothering to look at He Xing, she turned to leave.
The moment before, still drunk on alcohol, He Xing suddenly grabbed Fu Han's wrist.