Shang Qishuo finished speaking, and he ruffled Su Ling’s head with his large hand. “It’s okay, I’ll be here if you get drunk.”
“Hiccup~”
While Shang Qi was speaking, Su Ling had already hiccuped.
The smile in Shang Qi’s eyes deepened. He moved his hand away from Su Ling’s head. “What do you want to eat? I’ll serve it for you. You need to eat until you’re full.”
Su Ling blinked her eyes, looking at Shang Qi a bit blankly. The alcohol was taking effect, and her reactions were a little slow.
“Anything is fine,” Su Ling replied to Shang Qi, then picked up a piece of braised and flavorful fried crucian carp and ate it.
Shang Qi smiled without speaking, continuing to serve Su Ling dishes. His gaze occasionally fell on her, monitoring her changes.
He knew Su Ling didn’t have a good tolerance for alcohol.
In her previous life, after everyone urged Su Ling to drink, she slept for two days before waking up. Now, she had drunk a full cup of baijiu, and he wondered how long she would sleep this time.
They ate for a long time, feeling unsatisfied.
Su Ling had already stopped eating. Her face was flushed as if it were burning, and her eyes were glistening.
She was leaning against Shang Qi, and he had his arm around her. She was sleeping, leaning on him.
After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, they began clearing the table.
Shang Qi very naturally picked up Su Ling, intending to take her back to her room to sleep.
Su Ling was quiet when she was drunk, just sleeping.
“To the operation room,” Su Ling said in a soft voice, her eyes opening in a daze as she looked at Shang Qi’s face, which was close by.
Shang Qi followed Su Ling’s words, changing direction on the spot and heading towards the operation room.
The others, those who were drunk, were escorted back to their rooms by others to rest. Those with better tolerance stayed to clear the table and clean up.
It was late at night. After cleaning up, everyone returned to their rooms to wash up.
Some, not feeling sleepy, went for a walk or played ball; they all had their own choices.
Shang Qi carried Su Ling down from the castle and stopped in front of a wall. Su Ling opened her eyes in his arms. She looked at the seamlessly sealed wall, then saw a door open. Shang Qi carried her inside.
The operation room was not as brightly lit as the top of the castle; only the console emitted a faint light.
Shang Qi carried Su Ling to the console and sat on the sofa. Su Ling slept soundly in his arms, her exhales carrying the scent of alcohol.
The faint light in the operation room was gone, plunging the entire room into darkness.
Su Ling’s breathing became exceptionally clear in the extremely quiet operation room.
Although the operation room was temperature-controlled and not cold, Shang Qi still took a blanket and covered Su Ling.
Holding Su Ling, Shang Qi knew she was utterly drunk and couldn’t hear anything he said. Yet, he still spoke, “A Ling, do you know? Before I met you, I felt like my life was just going to be like this, devoid of desires, living according to my father’s standards.”
“Even after my father was killed by my eldest brother, when the apocalypse descended, and everything was reshuffled, undergoing earth-shattering changes, I still didn’t think my life had changed. I still felt the same as before.”
Su Ling’s sleeping position was uncomfortable. She shifted in Shang Qi’s arms, finding a comfortable position and stopping her soft murmurs.
Shang Qi looked at Su Ling’s flushed face with doting tenderness. He pressed his face against hers, holding her as if she were a treasure. “I didn’t want to compete with my eldest brother, but he wanted to kill me. My second brother did too.”
“It was a confrontation between both sides. Either my second brother died, or I died. I became ruthless, killed all of my second brother’s people, and then headed south. When I met you, it was the darkest time of my life. You were like a ray of light that shone into my dark world, dispelling the darkness.”
Shang Qi’s fingertip caressed Su Ling’s smooth, tender cheek, his voice gentle. “Back then, I could hear everyone’s inner thoughts, know all their restless and unfriendly voices. But only you—”