Chapter 29: A Child

Under the night sky, South Wind City blazed with lamplight, the cool breeze carrying a boiling, clamoring air.

"You did well today. You let me vent a long-held breath. Come, drink a cup!"

In a restaurant facing the street, Yan Yan Lingqing's small hand gripped a wine cup. The usually cool, aloof cheeks of hers, before the fierce wine at this moment, instead revealed an extremely rare boldness and wild abandon.

Li Luo was also somewhat dumbfounded by her before-and-after change, and could only weakly pick up his wine cup and clink it against hers, then stared in astonishment as Yan Yan Lingqing downed in one gulp that wine cup that nearly covered more than half her cheek.

This way of drinking truly formed too great a contrast with Yan Yan Lingqing's intellectual, coldly glamorous air that came with her silver-framed glasses.

At the very least, in this restaurant now, quite a few gazes were cast over in astonishment, for after all Yan Yan Lingqing's looks were still quite high.

"Sister Yan Lingqing already said it. In the end, it's still helping me, this Young Mansion Master, earn money." Li Luo said with a smile.

"The fact is so, but that fellow Zhuang Yi, relying on his seniority, made me eat dirt several times. I've long found him an eyesore." Yan Yan Lingqing pouted her rosy little mouth.

Then she sized up Li Luo and said: "But you today really did make me look at you in a new light. I had originally thought that you, this Young Mansion Master, were just a mascot."

Li Luo was a little embarrassed. Is it really fine for you to chat so bluntly?

Yan Yan Lingqing poured another full cup of wine and said: "But to speak the truth, even so, between you and Qing'e, there's still a huge gap."

"That is of course a given." Li Luo was rather candid in admitting this. Jiang Qing'e was so outstanding that even the Sacred Mystic Star Academy lowered its stance to specially recruit her. Such an honor, even the princes of the Great Xia Imperial Family probably could not enjoy.

"But I will work hard." Li Luo stared at the wine cup, smiled, and said.

Yan Yan Lingqing said with some playfulness: "Oh? Sounds like you really do have designs on Qing'e?"

"Sister Qing'e's excellence needs no further words from me, does it? If I said I had no designs on her, I'm afraid even you would call me a hypocrite." Li Luo said seriously.

He and Jiang Qing'e had been childhood sweethearts for so many years. The feelings between the two were already somewhat complicated to begin with, and added to that was a marriage contract. So in Li Luo's view, the two of them already shared an extremely deep bond.

This feeling, Li Luo believed, was not only his. Even Jiang Qing'e, with her temperament, could not possibly treat him as an ordinary person. This point, in their usual interactions, Li Luo was still able to sense.

"At least you're honest."

Yan Yan Lingqing downed another full cup of fierce wine in one gulp, nodded, then smiled with deep meaning: "But if you truly have this intention, the road ahead is truly long and arduous. Right now you're only in this South Wind City. One day when you go to the Sacred Mystic Star Academy, you'll know just how terrifying your rivals truly are."

Li Luo picked up his wine cup and also chugged it in one gulp, then thought for a moment and said: "But... I am Jiang Qing'e's fiancé."

He paused, then smiled and said: "And if they really want to do something to me, Sister Qing'e will protect me too. I think at that time, the ones who might feel bad will be them."

Yan Yan Lingqing's beautiful eyes widened a little. She stared at Li Luo and said: "Isn't this just hiding behind a woman?"

Li Luo said righteously: "A fiancée protecting her fiancé, what's wrong with that?"

Yan Yan Lingqing was speechless, then couldn't help saying: "That's just too shameless."

Then she couldn't help bursting into laughter, because with Jiang Qing'e's temperament, she really might do exactly that. And with that, it would simply be a double critical hit of body and soul on those people.

Li Luo smiled as he poured her a full cup. The two kept drinking back and forth. In the end, just as Li Luo's head was starting to feel dizzy, he finally discovered Yan Yan Lingqing collapsed onto the table.

Li Luo let out a relieved sigh, shook Yan Yan Lingqing, and found she had no reaction at all. He couldn't help feeling a bit speechless.

In the end, Li Luo stepped forward and bent over, one arm wrapping around Yan Yan Lingqing's slender waist, the other passing behind her knees, then lifted her up in a princess carry.

As Li Luo walked out of the restaurant carrying Yan Yan Lingqing, some envious gazes were cast from all around.

But Li Luo did not have such filthy thoughts like them. Once out of the restaurant, he beckoned over the carriage that had been waiting nearby, and a maidservant emerged from within.

This had been prepared by Yan Yan Lingqing before she came. It seemed she had long known that once she drank, she would surely get thoroughly drunk.

Li Luo carefully carried Yan Yan Lingqing into the carriage compartment, then instructed the maidservant: "Send Vice President Yan home."

The maidservant respectfully assented, and finally drove off into the distance.

On the street, Li Luo watched the carriage vanish into the blazing lamplight, and also stretched his back. He thought back to his earlier conversation with Yan Yan Lingqing, and finally smiled lightly.

"Still have to work hard..."

Of course he didn't mind letting Jiang Qing'e protect him, but at the very least, he couldn't let Jiang Qing'e lose face, could he?

And just as Li Luo turned and left, in the carriage departing into the distance, Yan Yan Lingqing, who should have been thoroughly drunk, suddenly opened her eyes.

She lay there lazily, smiling to herself and saying: "Not bad at all. Didn't even take advantage of me."

"I'll tell Qing'e about it later. Her little fiancé, although his strength is nothing much, this big sister of his still rather approves of him."

The next day, when Li Luo got out of bed, he still felt a faint throbbing in his head, which made him feel quite helpless. It seemed he would have to refuse drinking with Yan Yan Lingqing in the future.

After a brief wash, Li Luo came to the front hall and saw the lovely and charming, flower-like Cai Wei-Zhong Jie waiting for him to eat breakfast.

Li Luo smiled somewhat apologetically.

"Drank with Yan Yan Lingqing last night?" Cai Wei ladled out a bowl of plain porridge for him, smiling sweetly.

Li Luo nodded and said: "Didn't expect Sister Yan Lingqing's drinking... to be a bit bold."

Cai Wei said with some reproach: "Yan Lingqing is really something too. You're still just a child, and she actually took you out drinking."

Li Luo, hearing this, immediately became dissatisfied and retorted: "Cai Wei-Zhong Jie, don't try to take advantage of me. Aren't you just a little older than me? Acting like you're my old mother."

Cai Wei shot him a glance and praised: "What you did at Xiyang House yesterday, I know all about it. Well done. You can actually start being of help now."

"During this period I've been gradually selling off some of Luo Lan Mansion's useless merchant houses and properties in Tianshu Prefecture. Some of them I even sold at low prices to the Di Fa family, the Bei family—hehe, I heard the Song family even went to talk to those two families about it, but it seems it didn't do much good. Although these aren't enough to make them split apart, they're enough to make it hard for them to reach a complete consensus when dealing with Luo Lan Mansion."

"Having shed these burdens, our funds are a bit more ample. The fifth-grade Spirit Water Odd Light you need should be able to be procured bit by bit recently."

Li Luo was overjoyed: "Cai Wei-Zhong Jie is really capable. Unlike Sister Yan Lingqing, whose drinking capacity is poor yet she likes to drink recklessly."

Cai Wei blinked her thick, brush-like lashes and said: "Poor drinking capacity?"

Li Luo nodded and said: "Last night she got thoroughly drunk. It was I who had someone send her back."

Cai Wei's red lips curved into a playful smile: "My silly Young Mansion Master. Yan Yan Lingqing's drinking capacity could down ten of you, and her face wouldn't even blush."

Li Luo was dumbfounded.

Cai Wei sized him up and said: "You didn't take the chance to have any improper thoughts about her, did you? Otherwise she'd never say a single good word about you in front of Qing'e for the rest of her life."

Li Luo hurriedly thought back. It seemed he hadn't done anything out of line, and only then wiped a cold sweat from his forehead.

But clearly, he had still been played by Yan Yan Lingqing.

So he somewhat shamefacedly and indignantly put down his bowl and said: "I'm off to the Academy."

He turned and ran. From behind came Cai Wei's pleasant, sweet laughter ringing out continuously, which made Li Luo feel grief-stricken and indignant. The sisters' tricks run too deep. I really am still just a child.

(End of this chapter)