Chapter 337: 337: Accidental Encounter Over Drinks

Translator: 549690339

Yin Qin and Mu Cidian, every now and then over the past six months, they would go out for a drink.

They wouldn’t say much, but they did drink a lot.

Both men seemed to have a lot of free time on their hands.

At least, they seemed to have plenty of time to spare.

Yin Qin gulped down the wine in his glass, asking, “Mu Cidian, how do you plan to live your life from now on?”

Mu Cidian, although more refined than Yin Qin when he drinks, actually doesn’t drink any less.

He replied, “Livin’ day to day.”

“Still planning to drag things out with Xin Zaozao all this time?”

“No.” Mu Cidian replied straightforwardly, “I have nothing to do with Xin Zaozao.”

“So why are you staying in the Xin Group and not leaving?”

“Because I haven’t figured out where else I could go.” Mu Cidian continued to drink as he spoke.

“Although you won’t admit it, it’s still because of Xin Zaozao.” Yin Qin asserted confidently.

Mu Cidian didn’t feel like explaining anymore.

There was no way to clarify things to a drunk person.

Besides, he was drunk too.

He and Yin Qin, they probably spend about two days a week drinking together.

There wasn’t really a theme, it was just drinking.

Yin Qin had been feeling quite low for quite some time, and he wouldn’t say why, but it was probably because of Ji Baixing.

It was rumored that Ji Baixing was getting married.

Whether it was a rumor made up by reporters or the truth, for Yin Qin, any slight change in Ji Baixing’s life could affect his mood for the whole day.

Mu Cidian assumed that Yin Qin came out to get drunk tonight probably because of today’s news about Ji Baixin.

Mu Cidian suddenly laughed a little at that moment.

He had become so idle that he was keeping up with everyone’s gossip and knew everyone’s secrets.

He put down his wine glass and stood up.

Yin Qin, who was having a good time drinking, grabbed Mu Cidian by the arm, “Where are you going? It’s too early to leave!”

“Don’t worry, I’m just going to the bathroom.”

“Why don’t you use the one in the private room?”

“I’m leaving it for you.” Mu Cidian said bluntly.

Yin Qin looked at Mu Cidian, his expression saying ‘you understand me.’ He lightly punched Mu Cidian in the chest, “Good buddy.”

Mu Cidian gave a faint smile.

He and Yin Qin were just drinking buddies.

At most, their experiences had a slight resemblance.

But they didn’t often confide in each other.

Mu Cidian left the private room.

He was feeling a bit dizzy from drinking.

Whenever he drank with Yin Qin, he always ended up drunk.

He knew full well that he would feel terrible when he got drunk, but he just couldn’t bring himself to refuse.

His footsteps were a bit unstable as he went to the bathroom.

Just as he was about to enter the men’s room, he saw a woman coming out of the ladies’ restroom.

Her face was very red, and it was obvious that she had been drinking quite a lot.

Xin Zaozao had been forced to drink quite a lot at tonight’s social event, to the point that she felt nauseous. Unable to bear it any longer, she had excused herself to the restroom to throw up.

After vomiting, she felt much better (but she knew she would feel much worse if she had to drink any more).

She was pondering how to make a graceful exit when she suddenly saw Mu Cidian standing in front of her.

Mu Cidian, these passing days, idle and fond of drinking.

He often got himself drunk.

She had encountered him several times at the villa, drunk and barely able to walk straight. This was the first time, though, that she had run into him at a bar.

Both of them stared at each other.

Xin Zaozao walked past Mu Cidian.

He suddenly passed by.

For so long, it seemed like they only brushed shoulders.

Mu Cidian lightly pursed his lips as he went into the bathroom.

Xin Zaozao returned to the private room.

The dinner today was with a significant overseas partner who came to Jin City for inspection, and Xin Zaozao accompanied him throughout the whole process.

Since she started working at Xin Group, she has been to plenty of these dinners, and there are increasingly more.

She has become accustomed to these social obligations.

She settled down on the couch.

Song Lifei looked at her and asked, “How do you feel?”

Xin Zaozao smiled, “Nothing much.”

“If you can’t keep it up, I’ll take you home.” Song Lifei realized Xin Zaozao was slightly drunk.

He often accompanied Xin Zaozao to social occasions, and it was not uncommon for her to get drunk.

He understood very well how uncomfortable it was to be intoxicated, but she would endure till the end, not letting her subordinates drink for her, she drank with abandon.

Because she never declined a drink, anyone who liked drinking would particularly enjoy drinking heavily with her.

As a result, she would get drunk every time.

Tonight seemed to be no exception.

Song Lifei tried his best to help Xin Zaozao fend off drinks, even if the results were hard to notice.

Song Lifei, also having drunk a bit too much, got up to use the restroom mostly to give himself time to breathe.

If he continued to drink like this, Song Lifei felt he wouldn’t be able to hold on for much longer.

After using the restroom, he washed his face.

At the washstand, Song Lifei unexpectedly saw Mu Cidian.

He thought he might be drunk.

He rubbed his eyes.

He asked, “What brings you here?”

“Having a drink,” Mu Cidian replied.

“Chairwoman Xin is here too,” Song Lifei stated directly.

“I saw her,” Mu Cidian nodded.

“Oh,” Song Lifei didn’t know what else to say.

Since Mu Cidian had been at Xin Group for so long, he’d really had no interaction with him. Whenever it was necessary to seek him out, Mu Cidian would always behave very aloof.

Was this man, after all, worried that Xin Zaozao would distrust him because of his past relationship?!

Apparently, Mu Cidian trusted him, so he wanted him to stay by Xin Zaozao’s side to help him.

“Have her go home early.” Mu Cidian suddenly spoke up.

Song Lifei paused for a moment, uncertain if it was due to the alcohol, but his thoughts felt delayed.

By the time he snapped back to reality, Mu Cidian had already left the bathroom.

Song Lifei inexplicably sighed.

He fiercely washed his face again to appear more sober.

He then followed out of the bathroom.

He’d only taken a few steps when he saw Mu Cidian having a conversation with someone.

Upon getting closer, he realized it was their current business partner who obviously knew Mu Cidian. At that moment, the two appeared to be having a jovial conversation.

Song Lifei walked over.

The partner spotted him and quickly said, “Mr. Song, we’ve unexpectedly bumped into Mr. Mu. It’s been a long time. I just asked Chairwoman Xin, she said you were busy tonight. You didn’t make that up just to avoid dining with me, did you?”

Mu Cidian laughed, “Mr. Jones, you jest. I had some matters to take care of today and left the company early. I honestly didn’t know Mr. Jones was in Jin City. As coincidence would have it, I was with a friend who just got out of a breakup and we came to drink to vent. Had I known you were in Jin City, I would’ve certainly taken the opportunity to have a drink with you. I also know Mr. Jones loves our Jin City baijiu.”

“I’m surprised you remembered,” Jones replied with a bright smile.

At the moment, he was likely slightly tipsy, grabbed hold of Mu Cidian, and said, “Since chance encounters are better than planned ones, let’s go and have a good drink.”

Mu Cidian was about to decline, yet he abruptly accepted.

He followed Jones into the private room.

At that moment, Xin Zaozao was receiving a toast from one of Jones’ staff members. She drained her glass. After finishing, she turned to see Jones entering, her smile faded the moment she saw Mu Cidian.

The fleeting smile was very obvious to Mu Cidian.

He pretended not to see it.

He moved to the couch with Jones and took a seat.

Jones was seated to the left of Xin Zaozao, Mu Cidian to the right of Jones, and Song Lifei to the right of Xin Zaozao.

As soon as Jones had sat down, he started drinking with Mu Cidian.

Mu Cidian did not decline, the two of them drank rather fervently.

Xin Zaozao frowned.

She asked softly in Song Lifei’s ear, “How did Mu Cidian get in.”

“Mr. Jones ran into him outside and insisted on bringing him in for a drink, they seemed to have quite a close relationship,” he replied.

Xin Zaozao’s eyes tightened slightly.

The relationship did seem quite good.

Back then, it was Mu Cidian who had taken control of Jones’ company and facilitated their cooperation.

They had been doing business together all these years, and Jones sought collaboration with the Xin Group for a major investment project in Jin City this time.

Mu Cidian, who hadn’t expressed any opinions about the company’s affairs for a long time, suddenly appeared to be so close to Jones…

Her expression changed slightly.

She suddenly heard her name mentioned.

A smile crept onto Xin Zaozao’s face.

She could now smile at any time, even when her heart wasn’t in it.

“Chairman Xin, you can’t hide on the sidelines. You organized tonight’s drinking party and yet you, the hostess, are sticking close to President Song and not participating in the drinking. That’s not appropriate!” Jones said with all seriousness. He was somewhat drunk at that point and his words were slightly slurred.

Xin Zaozao quickly replied, “Yes, yes, Mr. Jones is right. I’ll drink a toast to Mr. Jones.”

Jones didn’t decline and clinked glasses with Xin Zaozao.

After finishing his drink.

Jones suddenly said, “Chairwoman, it’s boring if all we do is drink. Come on, have a drink with President Mu as well. His tolerance for alcohol is the best I’ve seen in Yanshang Country. Throughout all the years he drank with me, I never saw him drunk. But each time he’d drink me under the table and had to take me home, I don’t know how many embarrassing things I did in front of him!”

“Actually I would get drunk too, but after sending Mr. Jones back to the hotel, I would vomit even worse…”

“Haha.” Jones laughed heartily, “You have a higher tolerance.”

Mu Cidian also laughed along.

A moment later, Jones suddenly remembered and said, “Look at me forgetting what I was saying a second ago because I’m a little drunk. Come on, you two drink together too. I used to think that President Mu was the greatest drinker, but now I’ve learned that Chairwoman Xin is not to be underestimated. I really want to know which of you can drink more.”

“I’m a better drinker,” Mu Cidian stated plainly, “So, Mr. Jones can target me, let’s keep drinking until we’re drunk.”

“No, no, I can’t drink any more, you two go ahead,” Jones insisted.

In that moment, Mu Cidian seemed to finally turn to look at Xin Zaozao.

It seemed that only at this moment did Xin Zaozao really look at Mu Cidian.

“What’s this? Are the two of you conspiring to get me drunk?” Jones quipped, noticing that neither of them had made a move to pick up their drink.

“Mr. Jones, you’re overthinking it. It’s just that I often drink with President Mu and it has become routine, and it’s more interesting to drink with you…”

“Pretending,” Jones interrupted her, “You’re just standing together against me!”

“There are no sides at a drinks table.”

“Even so, if you two won’t drink tonight, then I won’t either,” Jones stubbornly stated.

Xin Zaozao was about to say something.

But before she could, Mu Cidian took his drink and downed it in one gulp, “Chairwoman, I’ll drink this one first.”

“President Mu is indeed generous.” Jones laughed, “All these years, and I still love the way you drink.”

What kind of attitude was that?!

A reckless way of keeping up with the drinks?

His gaze was fixed on Xin Zaozao.

Watching as she too downed her drink in one go.

This was actually the first time they had drunk together.

Under the pressure of others.

Mu Cidian averted his eyes, poured himself another glass and filled up Jones’ as well.

He knew this man too well. Unless he got so drunk he couldn’t stand, he wouldn’t end this drinking session.

He kept him drinking a lot.

It appeared as if within the private room, only the two of them were drinking.

Indeed, Jones loved drinking with Mu Cidian, and that night they both drank a lot.

Until finally, Jones passed out.

And Mu Cidian too, had reached his limit.

In that moment, he couldn’t even make it to the public restroom outside, he rushed into the washroom in their private room and barely had time to close the door before he was violently sick.

He had been vomiting for a while, but there was not much footage about it during the live broadcast.

He was completely out of control, constantly vomiting, vomiting so much that his stomach was in spasms.

He did not know how long he had been vomiting.

His entire head was buried in the sink of the bathroom, rinsing his face and cleaning his mouth.

Each time he garged with water, he would start vomiting again.

The vomiting was excruciating.

In the private room, Jones was so drunk he had lost his senses.

Song Lifei didn’t drink much that night, Xin Zaozao asked him to help her get Jones home.

She didn’t drink much either; she initially thought she’d drink a lot since she knew Jones could hold his liquor and she had prepared for it, but she ended up not being drunk on the latter half and instead became more sober.

Xin Zaozao settled the bill and prepared to leave.

From the private room’s bathroom, the sounds of anguished vomiting still echoed, almost as though he had just finished a projectile a second ago, only to begin again the next second.

She hesitated for a moment.

Slowly, she walked over.

Mu Cidian’s entire head was buried in the sink, his hair completely covering his face. She couldn’t see how miserable he was, only heard the sound of his retching.

She turned around.

She felt that whether Mu Cidian drank himself to death or not, it had nothing to do with her.

Moreover.

She even suspected that Mu Cidian had an ulterior motive for willingly drinking with Jones tonight.

Why should she show any sympathy to someone with ill intent?

She took a step.

Suddenly, she heard a loud noise from the toilet, and without thinking, she knew it was Mu Cidian who had fallen.

He must have fallen quite hard.

She paused mid-step.

There was no reaction from the toilet for a long time.

She began to wonder if Mu Cidian could have possibly died from the fall.

And tonight’s drinking party was her initiative, if Mu Cidian really died, she wondered if she would bear legal responsibility.

Eventually, she turned around and walked to the toilet.

In the bathroom, Mu Cidian had fallen and was lying motionless on the ground, showing no signs of getting up.

She was standing high above, looking down at him.

“Mu Cidian,” Xin Zaozao suddenly called out.

The sudden voice made Mu Cidian, now lying on the ground, tense up a bit.

He probably didn’t expect anyone else in the room.

Although he was drunk, he was quite conscious. He had heard outside voices deciding to take Jones home during his vomiting episode and knew that everyone outside had already left. It was the last thing he expected that Xin Zaozao was still here.

He thought that Xin Zaozao couldn’t wait to get as far away from him as possible.

That was why even after his fall and finding himself in an incredibly embarrassing state, he didn’t think of getting up right away. He felt he needed to rest a bit, so he could get back up.

However.

At this moment, after hearing Xin Zaozao’s voice, he slowly sat up.

Difficultly, he used the wall to help him stand up.

Xin Zaozao watched his every movement coldly, watched how difficult it was for him.

Even after he gained his balance, he was swaying from side to side. He tried his best to maintain absolute steadiness.

Xin Zaozao asked, “After enduring for so long, have you finally found your breaking point?”

Even though Xin Zaozao didn’t make her point clear, Mu Cidian understood what she meant.

She meant that he was trying to win over Jones to seize back the control of Xin Group.

In Xin Zaozao’s mind, Mu Cidian was always unscrupulous.

He didn’t respond nor did he feel like providing an explanation.

He was about to leave.

No matter how embarrassing he appeared to Xin Zaozao, he wanted to preserve his image in front of her.

However, things often don’t go the way we want them to.

The moment he stepped forward, the floor of the bathroom was too slippery, and he leaned backward suddenly, falling down again…