After contracting to have a child, the icy female CEO became addicted.

He was still the same responsible man she had known since they first met.

Even though it had been a year since she graduated from university, Jiang Ran's appearance hadn't changed much. Unlike her, there wasn't even the gloom in her eyes that came from being beaten down by society.

It seemed as if the passage of time had no effect on him.

Jiang Ran's words also calmed Xia Yunxi down from her drunken state.

The conversation ended there.

Seeing Xia Yunxi suddenly fall silent, Jiang Ran smiled helplessly.

He took a sip of orange juice. There was a big difference between this well-packaged, premium orange juice and pure, natural orange juice.

The difference is that packaged juice contains a lot of additives because it needs to cater to the market and to the tastes of most people who love sweets.

Freshly squeezed juice is different; it contains fruit pulp and residue, and may also contain unripe, sour juice.

Just like in real society.

The adult world often contains elements that are deliberately added, because the helplessness of life forces them to package themselves to cater to the market. Young people are different; they have disadvantages and are still immature.

If he were facing other women, Jiang Ran felt he might be able to hide the fact that he was divorced and might have a child, but when he was facing Xia Yunxi, he was facing his college self. He couldn't hide all these facts, nor could he present himself in front of Xia Yunxi.

Jiang Ran didn't say anything more, but simply drank the juice in the glass in front of her in one gulp.

opposite.

Xia Yunxi remained silent for a long time, as if she were going through a state of slight sobering up.

She didn't want to wake up like this, especially at this rare moment. She looked at the ice bucket in front of her, where the ice had already melted on the surface under the whistling of the heater.

She bit her lip, then suddenly raised her hand and grabbed another bottle of wine from the middle.

"Let me help you."

Seeing that she was about to drink again, Jiang Ran took the bottle of wine from her.

He didn't stop him. He knew very well that it was really rare to have the courage to say these things. Just like when he faced Wen Ling before, he could clearly feel Wen Ling's affection, but he always couldn't bring himself to ask her because he didn't believe her.

If Wen Ling weren't not pregnant yet and his mission wasn't incomplete, Jiang Ran felt he might have had a drink today to relieve his stress.

Looking at the beer glass Jiang Ran handed her, Xia Yunxi didn't say anything, but took it and drank it all in one gulp.

He poured it for her to drink.

As if it were a dream, Xia Yunxi, unwilling to wake up, drank one cup after another aimlessly.

Soon, she had drunk six out of the twelve bottles of beer.

The glass bottles on the table were tilted and overturned, and her body was already swaying from side to side, yet she still wanted to drink a seventh bottle. Jiang Ran couldn't take it anymore.

"How about we save the rest of the wine and drink it next time we come over?"

Alcohol is harmful to your health if you drink too much.

Xia Yunxi curled her fingers. "Then let's have the last bottle. I won't drink any more after this."

"OK!"

Jiang Ran responded and opened the seventh bottle for her as usual.

After drinking half of it, Xia Yunxi stood up and said, "I'm going to the restroom."

Seeing that she was swaying and about to lose her balance, Jiang Ran stood up as well. "Then I'll go with you."

Xia Yunxi didn't say anything, she just walked ahead with her head down.

Jiang Ran stood at the entrance of the women's restroom, waiting for Xia Yunxi to come out.

Bored out of his mind, he took out his phone and saw a message from his cousin, Chen Jingyu.

Chen Jingyu: [Brother, are you there?]

The message was sent an hour ago. Jiang Ran remembered that Chen Jingyu was a senior in high school this year, and it was the sprint stage right now. It wasn't the weekend, so shouldn't she be in her school dormitory right now? Why did she send him a message at this time?

Confused, Jiang Ran replied with a message: [What's wrong?]

Chen Jingyu's reply quickly popped up on the screen: "[Something happened at home, could you come pick me up now? I'd like to stay at your place tonight...]"

This little girl rarely makes such requests, except when her parents are arguing.

Especially after Chen Jingyu entered high school, she basically lived on campus and focused all her attention on her studies. Just like him back then, her excellent grades made her very likely to become the next student at Peking University.

But now...

"vomit--"

Jiang Ran suddenly heard a violent vomiting sound coming from the small women's restroom.

Knowing the voice belonged to Xia Yunxi, Jiang Ran's eyes darkened. He typed on his phone: [Explain yourself clearly. Your brother is currently busy and can't get away.]

Not long after he sent the message, he saw Xia Yunxi staggering out, leaning against the wall.

She drank too much.

"Yunxi, shall we stop drinking?"

Seeing Xia Yunxi's flushed cheeks and dazed eyes, Jiang Ran subconsciously reached out to support her.

Knowing that she had reached her limit, Xia Yunxi obediently nodded.

However, she had consumed more alcohol than she usually allowed. At that moment, she felt dizzy and her body was out of control. Before she could even take a step, she instinctively leaned against Jiang Ran.

Seeing this, Jiang Ran knew exactly what was going on. He put his phone in his pocket and squatted down in front of Xia Yunxi.

"Come on, I'll carry you back."

Xia Yunxi had imagined this scenario countless times in her mind!

Especially when Jiang Ran appeared right in front of him, alive and well.

He wasn't one of those comforting, anime-style characters on a phone, yet his tall, perfectly proportioned physique was no different from theirs.

Xia Yunxi's heart skipped a beat, and she leaned forward, clinging to Jiang Ran's back.

Those broad shoulders made direct, close contact with her.

It's warm and sturdy, giving me an incredibly reassuring feeling.

Feeling Jiang Ran get up and walk outside, Xia Yunxi nestled against his neck and felt a moment of dizziness.

She sensed that Jiang Ran went to the front desk to pay the bill, and after saying a few words, he led her into the elevator going downstairs.

The moment the elevator doors opened, the cold wind howled in from the street outside, instantly sobering her up considerably!

"It seems like it's not easy to get a taxi around here right now..."

Looking out at the bustling food street, teeming with people, private cars simply couldn't get in.

Jiang Ran stepped down the steps and looked down at the crossroads not far away.

"Just bear with it for a bit, then I'll walk towards the intersection, and we'll hail a taxi there?"

Compared to Wen Ling, Xia Yunxi was about the same weight, and even a little thinner, which made the bones in his back hurt a bit.

Not receiving a reply from Xia Yunxi, Jiang Ran assumed she had fallen asleep.

He didn't say anything more, and just walked silently toward the street corner.

However, as he approached the street corner, he vaguely heard Xia Yunxi's murmur in his ear.

"I don't mind, Jiang Ran..."