Night had fallen upon the City of Southwind. Lanterns were lit up all around, heralding the hustle and bustle of nightlife as the chilly wind blew past.
"Your performance today wasn't bad! It truly helped me out of a pinch! Down this cup!"
In a winehouse facing the street, Yan Lingqing was grabbing a cup of wine and shrieking. Her usual cool and collected demeanor had turned into a rarely seen heroic and unrestrained temperament thanks to the assistance of liquid courage.
Li Luo was also a little stupefied at this sudden change of events. Helpless, he could only gently clink cups and then stare in shock as Yan Lingqing downed the entire cup, which was the size of half her face, in a single breath.
This way of drinking seemed to run completely contrary to Yan Lingqing's bespectacled and cold appearance. It was a complete change in personality!
Similarly, numerous gazes within the winehouse had sneakily shifted towards them as Yan Lingqing truly was quite an attractive individual.
"Elder Sister Lingqing, you don't have to say more. Ultimately, I'm just protecting my spending money..." Li Luo laughed.
"Perhaps that might be true. But that bastard Zhuang Yi, always waving around those ‘qualifications’ of his around me... I've suffered more than a few times thanks to him... I've never seen eye to eye with him." Yan Lingqing let loose.
At the same time, she continued sizing Li Luo up. "However, you've truly amazed me, and now I have a whole new level of respect for you. I had always thought that this Young Lord was just some sort of mascot!" Li Luo was a little embarrassed upon hearing those words. Wasn't she being a little too honest?
Not wasting any time, Yan Lingqing refilled her large cup and continued, "Frankly speaking, there's still a huge gap between you and Jiang Qing'e."
"That is to be expected..." Li Luo honestly admitted. Jiang Qing'e was exceptional, so much so that even the Astral Sage College was merely another stepping stone to her. This sort of honor was something even the prince of the royal family would not be able to receive.
"Though I will continue to struggle and work hard." Li Luo stared at his wine cup and smiled.
Yan Lingqing playfully retorted, "Oh? It sounds like you truly have a thing for Jiang Qing'e."
"Sister Qing'e's excellence does not need to be elaborated on. If I said I never had any funny ideas about her, I'm afraid even you wouldn't believe me," Li Luo said honestly.
He had been with Jiang Qing'e for many years, and their relationship and feelings had naturally become more and more complex. Adding fuel to the flames was the marriage agreement, and from Li Luo's perspective, the two had become deeply intertwined.
Li Luo was sure that this feeling was not exclusive to him but also extended to Jiang Qing'e. It was impossible for her to treat him as an ordinary person, and this was something that Li Luo could sense after being with her for so long.
"How honest." Yan Lingqing downed yet another cup of strong wine. Nodding her head, she gave a smile with a deeper meaning. "If you truly have these sorts of thoughts, then you have a long way to go. You're currently still in the City of Southwind despite all this. Perhaps when you enter the Astral Sage College one day, you will realize how frightening your opponents are."
Li Luo grasped his wine cup, feeling slightly dejected as he thought of how to reply. "Well... I'm still Jiang Qing'e's husband-to-be." Pausing slightly, he chuckled. "If anyone truly wants to harm me, they'd still have to go through Sister Qing'e. I think that when that happens, the ones who will find it most unbearable will be those opponents themselves."
Yan Lingqing's beautiful pupils widened a little at this statement, and she glared at Li Luo. "Wait... aren't you just hiding behind your woman?"
Li Luo replied with conviction and sincerity, "Isn't it the duty of the bride to protect the groom? What's wrong with that!? Huh?"
Yan Lingqing, who was slightly taken aback, couldn't help but exclaim, "You... that's going too far!" Immediately after, she burst into laughter as she understood Jiang Qing'e's personality best. She truly would do such a thing and treat these competitors as pieces of meat, a double blow to their ego and prestige.
Li Luo smiled as he refilled her cup, the two continuing to drink. Towards the end, as he felt his head starting to spin, he noticed that Yan Lingqing had already collapsed atop the table.
Li Luo could finally sigh a heave of relief. He shook Yan Lingqing gently and realized she was completely unresponsive, leaving him speechless.
In the end, he lifted her up with one hand on her slender waist and the other on her knees, gradually carrying her away.
As Li Luo carried Yan Lingqing out of the winehouse, numerous envious gazes were trained upon him!
However, he did not possess their vile thoughts. He quickly flagged a carriage over and a then certain lady then came out to receive them.
This was something previously arranged by Yan Lingqing as she knew that she'd definitely go big before she went home.
Li Luo carefully lifted Yan Lingqing into the carriage before informing the attendant, "Please take Vice President Yan home."
The female attendant respectfully nodded and then proceeded to guide the carriage away.
On the streets, Li Luo watched as the carriage was bathed by the numerous lights within the city. He stretched lazily as he recollected the conversation he had with Yan Lingqing, eventually smiling wryly.
"I guess I have to work harder." Although he didn't mind having Jiang Qing'e protect him, he couldn't be a stain on her reputation either, right?
As he turned to leave, within the swiftly leaving carriage, the originally drunk Yan Lingqing suddenly opened her eyes.
As she lazily lay within the carriage, she murmured to herself, "Not bad indeed. He clearly didn't try to take advantage of me. When I get back, I have to let Qing'e know that while her little husband is not very strong, he is definitely someone that this elder sister recognizes!"
....
When Li Luo woke up the next day, he could feel a pounding pain in his head. Feeling completely helpless, he made a mental note to reject any more drinking excursions with Yan Lingqing.
After hastily cleaning up, he made his way to the front hall, where he spotted the charming and alluring Elder Sister Cai Wei waiting for him for breakfast.
Li Luo gave an apologetic smile at this point…
"Did you have a few drinks with Yan Lingqing last night?" Cai Wei grinned as she passed him a bowl of porridge.
Li Luo nodded. "Who would have expected Elder Sister Lingqing to drink so... heroically?"
"Lingqing truly is too much. You're just a child. Why did she take you out for drinks?" Cai Wei chided.
Upon hearing this, Li Luo felt dissatisfied. "Elder Sister Cai Wei, don't take advantage of my youth! Aren't you only a little older than me? You almost sound like my mom."
Cai Wei glared at him before she praised, "I heard of what happened at the Suncreek Villa yesterday. You're not bad! You've finally reached a point where you can assist us in the bigger picture. I've also taken the opportunity to dispose of some of our more useless assets in the Tianshu Province. I've even provided a bargain for the Difa family and the Bei family. Hahaha. I heard that the Song family tried to discuss some new terms with the other two families, but to no avail. They stonewalled the Song family and said that this wasn't part of the deal. This has created friction and made it more difficult for them to reach a consensus when it comes to dealing with House Luolan. Now that we have gotten rid of some of these burdens, our coffers have been replenished and we should be able to complete your requested purchase smoothly soon."
Li Luo was extremely excited. "Elder Sister Cai Wei, you're just too capable! Unlike Elder Sister Lingqing, who can't drink but still gorges herself silly!"
Cai Wei's thick eyelashes flapped as she blinked in slight confusion. "She can't drink?"
Li Luo nodded. "She drank till she blacked out yesterday! I even had to carry her to her carriage."
Elder Sister Cai Wei had a playful expression on her face. "My dumb little Young Lord. Yan Lingqing's alcohol capacity is incomprehensible. She could out drink ten of you and her face wouldn't even turn red."
Upon hearing this, Li Luo was flabbergasted.
"You didn't have any unsavory thoughts about her, did you?" Cai Wei said as she sized him up. "If you did, she will never utter a single good word about you when she's with Qing'e."
At this point, Li Luo quickly racked his brains as he tried to recollect what happened the previous night. It seemed as though he had not done anything untowards to her... Only upon this realization did he wipe his forehead free of cold sweat.
He had almost been toyed with by Yan Lingqing.
With a slightly awkward expression, he placed his bowl down. "I'm heading to the academy."
Turning away, he swiftly ran off as Cai Wei's melodious laughter echoed out, further increasing his sense of indignation and grief. These elder sisters were just too cunning, and Li Luo had been played like a fiddle.
“I'm truly just a child like they say!”