Chapter 29: Child

Under the night sky, Nanfeng City was brightly lit, the cool breeze carrying the scent of bustling clamor.

"You did well today, you really let me vent my frustrations. Come, have a drink!"

In a restaurant along the street, Yan Lingqing gripped a wine cup with her small hand. Her usually cold and aloof face, before the strong liquor at this moment, displayed a rare sense of heroism and wild abandon.

Li Luo was also left somewhat dazed by her sudden change in demeanor. He could only weakly pick up his cup to clink it against hers, and then watched in astonishment as Yan Lingqing downed the entire cup, which had covered nearly half her face, in one go.

This way of drinking formed a stark contrast to the intellectual, cold, and glamorous aura she usually projected with her silver-rimmed glasses.

At the very least, many gazes from within this floor of the restaurant were cast over in secret with astonishment; after all, Yan Lingqing’s beauty was quite high.

"Didn't Sister Lingqing say that, in the end, you're still helping me, this Young Manor Master, make money?" Li Luo said with a smile.

"That is a fact, but that guy Zhuang Yi, relying on his seniority, has made me eat humble pie several times. I've long found him an eyesore," Yan Lingqing pouted her rosy little lips.

She then sized Li Luo up and said, "However, you did truly make me look at you with new eyes today. I originally thought you, this Young Manor Master, were just a mascot."

Li Luo felt a bit awkward. Is it really okay to chat so honestly?

Yan Lingqing poured another full cup of wine and said, "But to be honest, even so, there is still a huge gap between you and Jiang Qing'e."

"That goes without saying." Li Luo admitted this frankly. Jiang Qing'e was so outstanding that even the Saint Profound Star Academy had lowered its standards to offer her special admission. Such an honor was something even the princes of the Great Xia royal family might not enjoy.

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

Yan Lingqing said with some amusement, "Oh? Sounds like you really have designs on Qing'e?"

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

Having been childhood sweethearts with Jiang Qing'e for so many years, the emotions between them were already slightly complex. Added to that was the marriage contract, so in Li Luo's view, the two of them already shared a deep bond.

Li Luo believed that this feeling was not just his; even with Jiang Qing'e's personality, it was impossible for her to treat him as an ordinary person. This was something Li Luo could perceive in their usual interactions.

"Still quite honest."

Yan Lingqing downed another cup of strong liquor, nodded, and then smiled with deep meaning: "But if you really have this intention, the road ahead is long and arduous. You are only in Nanfeng City now. Only when you go to the Saint Profound Star Academy one day will you know just how terrifying your competitors really are."

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

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

Yan Lingqing's beautiful eyes widened slightly. She stared at Li Luo and said, "Aren't you just hiding behind a woman?"

Li Luo argued with conviction: "What is wrong with a fiancée protecting her fiancé?"

Yan Lingqing was speechless, then couldn't help but say, "That's too mean."

Then she couldn't help but laugh out loud, because given Jiang Qing'e's personality, she really might do just that, and doing so would be a double blow to both the bodies and minds of those people.

Li Luo smiled and poured her more wine. The two drank back and forth, and in the end, when Li Luo's head began to feel dizzy, he finally discovered that Yan Lingqing had slumped onto the table.

Li Luo let out a sigh of relief, shook Yan Lingqing, and found she had no reaction, leaving him somewhat speechless.

Finally, Li Luo leaned over, wrapped one arm around Yan Lingqing's slender waist, passed the other behind her knees, and lifted her up horizontally.

As Li Luo carried Yan Lingqing out of the restaurant, some envious gazes were cast their way.

However, Li Luo did not have such lewd thoughts. Once out of the restaurant, he summoned the carriage that had been waiting nearby, from which a maid emerged.

This was something Yan Lingqing had prepared when she arrived; it seemed she had known all along that if she drank, she would inevitably get very drunk.

Li Luo carefully carried Yan Lingqing into the carriage and instructed the maid: "Send Vice President Yan home."

The maid respectfully complied, and finally drove away.

On the street, Li Luo watched the carriage disappear into the bright lights, stretched his back, and thought of his previous conversation with Yan Lingqing, finally smiling lightly.

"Still have to work hard..."

While he didn't mind letting Jiang Qing'e protect him, he couldn't let Jiang Qing'e lose face, could he?

And as Li Luo turned to leave, in the departing carriage, Yan Lingqing, who should have been dead drunk, suddenly opened her eyes.

She lay there lazily and said to herself with a smile: "Not bad, he didn't take advantage of me at all."

"I'll tell Qing'e later that although her little fiancé's strength isn't much to speak of, this big sister here still approves of him."

The next day, when Li Luo woke up, he still felt a dull ache in his head, which made him feel very helpless. It seemed he would have to refuse to drink with Yan Lingqing in the future.

After washing up, Li Luo went to the front hall and saw the beautiful and charming Sister Cai Wei waiting for him to have breakfast.

Li Luo smiled apologetically.

"Drank with Yan Lingqing last night?" Cai Wei served him a bowl of white porridge and laughed charmingly.

Li Luo nodded and said, "I didn't expect Sister Lingqing to be... so heroic when drinking."

Cai Wei said with a hint of reproach: "Lingqing is really something, you're still just a child, and she actually took you out to drink."

Upon hearing this, Li Luo was immediately dissatisfied and retorted: "Sister Cai Wei, don't try to take advantage of me. Aren't you only a little older than me? You're acting just like my mother."

Cai Wei rolled her eyes at him and praised: "I know everything you did at Xiyang House yesterday. You did well; you're actually starting to be able to help out."

"During this time, I have been gradually selling off some of the useless chambers of commerce and industries of the Luo Lan Manor in Tianshu County. I even sold some of them to the Tifa family and the Bei family at low prices. Hehe, I heard the Song family even talked to those two families about it, but it didn't seem to do any good. Although this isn't enough to make them split up, it is enough to make it difficult for them to reach a complete consensus on dealing with the Luo Lan Manor."

"Having sold off these burdens, our funds are a bit more abundant. The five-star Spirit Liquid and Light you need should be able to be purchased one after another recently."

Li Luo was overjoyed: "Sister Cai Wei is truly capable, unlike Sister Lingqing, who can't hold her liquor but likes to drink recklessly."

Cai Wei blinked her thick, brush-like eyelashes and said, "Can't hold her liquor?"

Li Luo nodded and said, "She got very drunk last night, and I had to have someone send her back."

A playful smile curled on Cai Wei's red lips: "My silly Young Manor Master, Yan Lingqing could drink ten of you under the table without her face even turning red."

Li Luo froze.

Cai Wei sized him up and said, "You didn't take the opportunity to have any bad thoughts about her, did you? Otherwise, she won't have a single good word to say about you in front of Qing'e for the rest of her life."

Li Luo hurriedly recalled; it seemed he hadn't done anything out of line, and only then did he wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.

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

So he put down his bowl in a fit of shame and annoyance and said, "I'm going to the academy."

He turned and ran, with the sound of Cai Wei's melodious laughter following him, which left Li Luo feeling indignant. The big sisters' schemes are too deep; I really am still just a child.

(End of chapter)