Chapter 96

"W-what?"

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Li was stunned, an instinctive resistance rising within her: "I am not going!"

Li Wanchang's tiger-like eyes widened: "If you don't go, are you expecting me to go? Didn't you just say you would do anything for our son?"

Not giving her a chance to quibble, Li Wanchang picked up his napkin to wipe his mouth, then stood up and said, "It is settled. If you can't even handle such a small matter, I think it would be more worry-free to just send Xiao Zai abroad."

Seeing that her husband was serious and not joking at all, Mrs. Li panicked: "I'll go, isn't that enough!"

Li Wanchang snorted coldly and turned to go upstairs. He left Mrs. Li sitting alone at the dining table, holding her forehead. She felt a splitting headache and was so physically and mentally exhausted that she had no appetite.

With her son in such a terrible state, she, as his mother, hadn't slept soundly in days.

Before long, footsteps sounded from downstairs. Mrs. Li thought it was Li Wanchang, but when she looked up, she discovered it was actually her son.

Li Xiao was neatly dressed and had even showered; although his complexion was still poor, he didn't look as disheveled as before.

Mrs. Li hurriedly stood up to greet him: "Xiao Zai, where are you going?"

Li Xiao changed his shoes without a word, casually picked up the sports car keys hanging to the side, and left, opening the door without responding to his mother.

Mrs. Li did not try to force him to stay, but she watched her son's back and urged him repeatedly: "Drive slowly, stay safe!"

Her son, who hadn't left the house in days, was finally willing to go out, and she was happy about that. Regardless of where he was going, it was good for him to get out and clear his mind to distract himself.

It was better than keeping himself locked in his room all the time.

Most importantly, she had secretly installed a tracker on her son's sports car, and she could know the car's location in real-time via her phone, so she wasn't worried about anything happening to him.

Li Xiao drove to a high-end club's lounge bar in the city center. It was still early, and there were no other guests in the bar. Li Xiao went straight to the bar counter, sat down, and said, "Give me two specials, double strength."

"Very well, sir, please wait a moment."

Li Xiao sat on a high stool, his eyes fixed on a painting on the wall. The painting was nothing special, but he kept staring at it, trying to focus his attention on one spot.

He was in too much pain. These past few days, the fragmented events in his mind had left him restless. He couldn't sort them out or make sense of them, and as he thought, his mind was filled with Shen Ci's face.

He was going crazy; he needed to numb himself with alcohol, even if only for a little while.

He wanted to empty his mind, he wanted to get drunk!

"Sir, your two extra-strong specials, please enjoy."

The bartender pushed the two drinks in front of Li Xiao. Li Xiao casually picked up one and downed it in one go, "Gulp, gulp."

The intensified alcohol washed over his throat and invaded his body, allowing Li Xiao's body and mind to feel a momentary relief.

He picked up the second glass and drank it to the bottom in the same way.

The bartender looked at Li Xiao in surprise. He had seen many guests trying to drown their sorrows in alcohol, and those who drank like this were usually suffering from heartbreak.

He sighed silently, then heard Li Xiao say again: "Two tequilas."

Mixing drinks is the easiest way to get drunk.

Just like that, glass after glass, mixing different types of alcohol, Li Xiao's vision began to blur before long. However, he still had some reason left; under the influence of the alcohol, instead of making him completely drunk, it infinitely amplified the emotions in his heart.

He began to cry without warning, tears and snot streaming down his face, while he whispered Shen Ci's name under his breath.

He felt even sadder, so sad he couldn't catch his breath.

The bartender couldn't bear to watch anymore. He prepared a glass of apple cider vinegar mixed with warm water to help with the hangover and pushed it in front of Li Xiao, watching as he drank it all in one breath, thinking it was alcohol, without noticing a thing.

He was drunk after all.

"Li Xiao? Li Xiao!"

In his daze, Li Xiao seemed to hear someone calling his name. The voice drifted in and out, as if it were far away in the sky, and as close as if it were right by his ear.

It sounded like Shen Ci's voice!

Lin Biqi looked at Li Xiao, who was almost unconscious, with a worried expression, shaking his shoulders hard in an attempt to wake him up.

Didn't his mother say he hadn't been out for even an hour? How could he be this drunk!

"Brother Li Xiao! Brother Li Xiao!"

Li Xiao, with drunken, hazy eyes, forced his head up. The face before him seemed to have countless shadows, stretching her features out; he saw dozens of eyes, dozens of noses and mouths.

"A-Ci..."

He murmured, squinting hard, trying to bring the countless faces before him into focus; he wanted to see Shen Ci's face clearly.

Lin Biqi didn't hear what he was muttering clearly. Seeing him react, she used her strength to drape one of his arms over her delicate shoulder, attempting to help him up.

But how could Li Xiao, who was over 1.8 meters tall and in a drunken state, be a weight she could bear?

"Miss, do you need help?" the bartender asked proactively upon seeing this.

In the end, Lin Biqi opened a luxury suite on the top floor of the club, and two of the club's waiters helped Li Xiao up together.

Once the waiters left, Lin Biqi walked to the bedside and sat down, raising her hand to stroke Li Xiao's cheek without hesitation.

He was born so handsome, with moisture still hanging on his long eyelashes, and he kept humming and murmuring in his mouth.

Never having seen such a vulnerable side of Li Xiao, Lin Biqi's heart pounded "thump-thump." She pursed her lips, leaned down, and gently planted a kiss on Li Xiao's lips.

His lips were slightly cool and soft, and his breath was accompanied by the mellow fragrance of alcohol, blowing her into a state of infatuation.

The next second, Lin Biqi deepened the kiss fiercely.

"A-Ci..."

"A-Ci..."

In his muddled state, Li Xiao felt something unusual, but the person he saw in his subconscious was Shen Ci.

A heat surged through his body, and his hands responded instinctively; with a sudden tug, he swapped their positions.

Lin Biqi's pretty face flushed red as she gasped for breath, looking at Li Xiao with watery eyes: "Brother Li Xiao..."

"A-Ci..."

Li Xiao buried his head to conquer and occupy; in his mind, consciousness, and heart, there was only one thought: he would never let A-Ci be disappointed in him again.

This time, he would perform well!

The next day, Li Xiao woke up slowly with a splitting headache. The room was pitch black due to the blackout curtains. He felt as if his head were extremely heavy, as if it were filled with lead, and his stomach was churning; he felt miserable.

He reached out toward the bedside, just happening to touch the smart switch for the curtains. The curtains in the room slowly opened to both sides, and the sunlight poured in, gently falling upon Lin Biqi's side profile as she slept soundly.

Only then did Li Xiao realize belatedly that there was someone else lying on the bed—a woman with disheveled hair and exposed shoulders!

And he himself was stark naked. A flash of white light crossed his brain, and he froze on the bed in shock.

The blinding sunlight woke Lin Biqi. She opened her sleepy eyes to meet Li Xiao's cold, stern gaze, and her drowsiness vanished for the most part instantly.

She then feigned naturalness, revealing a smile, and said in a sweet, coquettish voice: "Brother Li Xiao, you're awake?"