Gu Xian was standing by the door with a plastic bag of food in one hand and a bottle of white wine in the other.
Zong Yanxi eyed him curiously. “What are you-?”
“Drink with me?” Gu Xian brushed past her as he entered.
Zong Yanxi shut the door and followed him. Something seems wrong with him.
“Gu Xian, did something happen?” she asked.
He placed the items that he had brought on the table.
Right then, Zong Yanxi’s phone chimed from where she had tossed it on the couch. It was another message from Zhuang Jiawen.
Gu Xian glanced over curiously, questioning, “Who are you talking to?”
She walked over to pick up her phone and read the message.
Uncle Guan is in room 908. You can ask him yourself.
She replied to him with: …
He sent her another text: You’re well aware that someone has been helping you from the shadows.
“Who is it?” Gu Xian craned his neck over to look.
She instinctively hid her phone behind her back, not wanting him to see the contents of the message.
“So now you’re keeping a secret from me? What is it you’re hiding?” Gu Xian huffed unhappily. He plopped down on the couch and continued, “And here I thought you could comfort me since I’m in a foul mood. Instead, you’ve only exacerbated things.”
Zong Yanxi sat down and tilted her head at him. “Why are you in a foul mood?”
He opened up the containers of food before uncorking the bottle of wine. Only then did he answer, “I think I might have bumped into that person today.”
“Who?” She had absolutely no idea who he was talking about.
“Him! That person!” he snapped impatiently.
She stared at him blankly, still puzzled about who he was referring to.
Blinking, she offered, “I’ll drink with you.”
He looked at her for a moment. Eventually, he relented, “That man. The man who’s probably my father.”
At this, her eyes widened. “You saw him?”
He nodded. “We look quite similar.”
“Where?” she asked, careful to keep her tone neutral.
“Outside the hotel.”
She gasped softly.
Uncle Guan is staying in this hotel. He’s so close!
“Err… Gu Xian,” she spoke up cautiously. After some thought, she continued, “If your appearance leads to trouble between him and his family, would you still want to meet with him or reunite with him?
“I don’t know.” He had never thought about that.
He had always wanted to search for his father, to know who he was. However, he had never thought about what he would do after that.
“You know, I’m in a terrible dilemma here. I’m pretty hung up on him, but it’s probably more accurate to say I kinda hate him. Then again, I really want to know what kind of man he is. In the end, he’s still my father after all.”
Having never been in the same situation before, Zong Yanxi could not exactly sympathize with him. She could not completely understand what he was currently going through.
Picking up the wine bottle, she poured a glass for each of them. Then, she lifted her glass to clink with his. “Stop thinking about it.”
“You’re not even going to try consoling me?” He raised an eyebrow at her.
“I don’t know how,” she confessed honestly. “I grew up in a blissful, happy family. I can’t understand what you’re feeling right now.”
“Could you stop triggering me?” He rolled his eyes.
She spread her hands out in a “what can you do” gesture. “I’m just saying the truth. I honestly can’t comprehend what you’re going through.”
“Can’t I have a happy conversation with you?” He jumped to his feet in annoyance.
He was already in a bad enough mood as it was. He did not need her to make it worse!
Zong Yanxi hurriedly grabbed his arm. Sighing lightly, she stated, “Okay, I got. I was wrong. I’ll comfort you.”
He looked down at her. “Really?”
“Yes, really. I’ll do whatever you want me to.”
“Can I get a hug?”
Zong Yanxi was speechless. “Fine… Seeing as you’re so pitiful, I’ll sacrifice myself for you.”
Gu Xian blinked at her. “You think that I’m pitiful too?”
In response, she stood up to pull him into an embrace. She murmured, “Of course. Any child without a father is very pitiful.”
“So I’m supposed to hate him?”
She mentally smacked herself. Why does it feel like whatever I’ve said today was the wrong thing every single time?
“Let’s… drink some wine.” She tugged him to sit back down on the couch.
Handing him his wine glass, she suggested, “C’mon, drink! Drink your sorrows away!”
Gu Xian took the glass from her and tipped his head back, finishing the wine in several gulps.
Zong Yanxi refilled his glass.
Gu Xian ignored the food he had bought, only focused on drinking the wine. Unable to stand it, Zong Yanxi had to eat some of the food to help alleviate the burn of the alcohol.
More than half the bottle had been finished by Gu Xian.
Zong Yanxi wanted to stop him but was unsure if she should. In the end, she did not.
After Gu Xian was well and truly drunk, she guided him to lie down on the couch. Watching him for a while, she finally uttered, “I’ll help you.”
Standing up, she tidied the table before tossing a blanket over him.
His head was pounding badly as he mumbled, “Can I sleep here tonight?”
“Sure. Are you thirsty?” Normally, drunk people tended to be incredibly thirsty.
He groaned out a “Yes.”
She left him to get a glass of water. Returning, she moved him into a sitting position and handed him the water.
He drank the water greedily, finishing it within seconds.
She took the empty glass from him and put it on the table.
Then, she helped him lie back down again, soothing, “You’ll feel better after a good night’s sleep.”
He did not answer her, merely rolling over onto his side to sleep.
She sat there for a bit, waiting till he was actually asleep before she got to her feet and left the room.
Shutting the door gently, she headed for the elevator. She needed to get to the ninth floor.
In no time at all, she arrived on the ninth floor and exited the elevator. It did not take her long to find room 908.
She took a deep breath to firm her resolve before raising her hand to knock upon the door.
