Miss Wang Weina, even your cousin won't do!

Before she could contact Wayne, Vina had no appetite for the meal. With no other option, she decided to go for a stroll and enjoy the night view of this core city, which she had always heard of but never had the chance to actually set foot in, a view that rivaled any modern mobile city and was known as the "city that never sets."

The British Empire must ensure that the sun never sets in any aspect, including the liveliness of its nights!

Seeing this, Mud Rock hurriedly followed, leaving behind the words "I'll be back in a bit" before obediently following behind Vina.

This job pays ten Victoria Gold Coins a day, which is close to ten thousand LMD. With that money, raising one Ice Cream Eater is a piece of cake, let alone raising ten!

"I can't lose my job!" A strong sense of responsibility filled Mudrock's heart. Her red eyes, hidden behind her mask, were fixed on Vina's back. As a responsible and accountable Sarkaz mercenary, she never let her employers down, especially one who had helped her in her time of need, someone who was no less than her savior.

The two of them wandered around the vast core city, one in front of the other.

........

Wayne picked at his teeth. The steak was delicious. He downed the last glass of dark beer on the table. The beer tasted good too.

He looked up, glanced at Miss Swire who was slumped unconscious on the table, then looked at Chen, who was reclining in a chair with a bottle of wine in his arms, showing off his curves, and smiled helplessly.

Haha, you want to have a drinking contest with me?

You probably don't know just how terrifying Wayne Bruce, known as the "party killer" in Victorian aristocratic circles, really is!

It was hot in the private room. Chen's hair had become disheveled, with a few strands playfully clinging to her flushed, drunken face and biting her bright red lips. Combined with her current posture, she looked inexplicably fragile and alluring.

Swire wasn't bad either, but Char Siu Cat was clearly in a worse state than Chen. She already had the worst alcohol tolerance among the three, and she seemed to be feeling sad because of the news that Chen would be returning to Lungmen immediately after graduation. She kept drinking, from red wine to beer, and finally drank herself into a stupor on the table. If Wayne hadn't been quick enough to reach out and catch her, Swire's wavy blonde hair might have ended up on the grill, competing with the ribs in flavor.

Both of them were asleep. Wayne wasn't in the best of shape either. Although his predecessor had been a heavy drinker, Wayne wasn't the same person he used to be. While he wasn't completely intoxicated, he was still feeling somewhat dizzy. He hesitated for a moment, then stood up, took off his jacket and draped it over Chen's shoulders. He then took back Swire's coat, which she had taken off because of the heat, and draped it over her shoulders. Finally, he instructed the waiter to turn on the exhaust fan and turn off the charcoal stove to cool the room down, waiting for Chen and Swire to wake up.

Should Wayne send the two back?

Wayne did want to, but firstly, she didn't know where Chen and Swire lived. Secondly, even if he wanted to take them directly back to their dormitories, given Chen and Swire's condition, it was clearly impossible for them to go upstairs alone, and the girls' dormitories were always off-limits to boys, even if he was a prince.

He certainly didn't want to die on the street in a motorcycle accident, but instead die in a college for trespassing into a girls' dormitory. Even worse, the latter would be far more terrifying; the good image he'd painstakingly cultivated with Vina would instantly be distorted into that of a scumbag who picked up a drunken college girl at a bar—a fate worse than death!

Since we have plenty of time tonight, let's just wait here for Chen and Shihuaya to wake up.

He asked the waiter for three bowls of hangover tea, drank one himself, fed one to Swire and one to Chen, washed his face, and walked out of the restaurant.

It's a bit too stuffy inside, let's get some fresh air at the door.

Thinking this, he leaned against the pillar of the Sargon's Big Roasted Meat sign, gazing at the brightly lit night view of the core city.

Soon, a blond figure in the distance caught his eye. Seemingly noticing Wayne at the same time, the blond figure paused slightly, then turned around and quickly walked towards Wayne.

"elder brother!"

With a hint of surprise in her voice, Vina quickly ran up to her.

Then, she furrowed her beautiful, delicate eyebrows...

Chapter 47 You smell of her perfume on you!

Vina was delighted; she had only come out for some fresh air, but she had unexpectedly run into Wayne, who had been missing.

Although he was a little annoyed that he had to keep his phone on silent when he wasn't dealing with anything important, those were minor issues. Once he found Wayne, these little unpleasant things could be ignored.

Vina walked briskly toward Wayne with a hint of surprise. She had originally intended to run, but then she thought that as a queen, she should maintain her composure. Wayne didn't seem to like impatient women.

From about ten meters away, Vina asked:

"Brother, what are you doing here?"

However, before she had taken more than a few steps, not far from Vayne, Vina was hit by a strong stench of alcohol. Even Old Ursus, who was a heavy drinker in the slums, didn't have such a pungent smell, and Vina couldn't help but frown.

"Brother, have you been drinking?"

Wayne was dumbfounded. No matter how much he planned, he never expected to bump into Vina on the streets of the core city. After all, Vina was the Queen, a true head of state, someone whose every move could shake the land. For such a person to stroll around the streets of the core city was as incongruous as passing by a steamed bun shop on the corner and finding the Secretary-General of the United Nations sitting inside.

Slightly startled, Wayne immediately snapped back to reality, sobering up instantly. He quickly waved his hand and said:

"No, no, no, I only drank a tiny bit, a tiny bit."

This is a lie!

Wayne drank quite a lot. You know, Chen is also a master drinker. She is a powerful being who can go toe-to-toe with natural heavy drinkers like the Oni Clan and even win. Even though Miss Chen Huijie is still in college and has not evolved to the ultimate form of Lungmen Inspector who gets better with every drink, a few bottles of ordinary wine are not enough to make her drunk.

This time, Wayne not only got her drunk, but he even got her lying down. The little dragon was sleeping soundly on her back in the chair, still blowing bubbles. She looked so peaceful. You can imagine how much Wayne drank tonight.

But drinking is not a good habit, so Wayne never drinks too much in front of Vina. At most, he'll have a couple of glasses of red wine to enjoy. What happened tonight was purely accidental.

Wayne was busy explaining, but Vina was concerned about something else.

She glanced at the signpost leaning against Wayne, then looked up at the flashing neon sign that read "Sargon's Roasted Meat," paused slightly, and interrupted Wayne. Her brown eyes narrowed slightly, she stroked her chin, and asked:

"Who were you drinking with?"

Does Vina care about Wayne's drinking? She does care, because drinking too much is definitely not a good thing. It damages the liver and kidneys, which is bad for your health. In the long run, it can even damage your health and turn you into a spoiled brat who has been "hollowed out by alcohol and women".

However, Vina wasn't entirely indifferent. Since entering the palace, the gossip about Wayne that she had overheard, whether unintentionally or actively, was as numerous as milk in the Thames. She already knew that Wayne loved to drink and frequently attended various banquets. But what touched her was that, to take care of her, Wayne hadn't attended a single party since Vina moved into the palace. Not only had he rejected and severed ties with his former noble drinking buddies, but even when Ernest invited Wayne to his friend's tavern (the Triumph Tavern where Wayne and Ernest discussed matters in Chapter Three), Wayne declined, citing his younger sister at home.

He was indeed making changes for himself, gradually shedding those unsightly labels, but things couldn't be rushed. Vina understood this, so if Wayne occasionally wanted to have a drink and experience a hangover, Vina didn't object.

The premise is that the people he drinks with are not problematic.

Her Majesty the Queen has told the Prince of Wales that he should now report in advance when making drinking buddies!

Today's situation was clearly not reported in advance, and Vina even felt that Wayne was deliberately hiding something from her and doing something underhanded!

He left the palace alone without saying a word—he felt guilty!

Silent phone and unanswered calls—it's a sign of guilt!

Running to the core city, a place I would never have gone to unless it was a coincidence—I felt guilty!

His flushed face and stammering explanation were completely different from his usual composed and strategic image—he was guilty!

Wayne Bruce, your guilty conscience is practically written all over your face. What are you hiding?!

Vina squinted, pouted, took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she smiled, took Wayne's hand, and said:

"Alright, cousin, I won't hold you accountable for running away from me today. I've booked a private room at the Elizabeth Hotel. Let's celebrate the victory of this religious reformation plan together!"

Upon hearing this, Wayne touched his stomach with some embarrassment.

It's a little embarrassing to admit, but he was indeed full.

But just as he raised his head, wanting to discuss it with Vina, he met Vina's smiling eyes, which were flashing with a cold light. A chill ran down his spine, and he quickly nodded.

Thinking about it carefully, I realized I was still a little hungry and could still eat.

It wasn't that I was panicking, it was just that I felt it would be a shame not to experience the delicious food at the Elizabeth Hotel since I had come all this way to the city center!

Seeing Wayne nod in agreement, Vina smiled with satisfaction. Just as she was about to pull Wayne away, Wayne waved his hand:

"Wait, wait a moment, I'll go up and say goodbye."

Chen and Swire were still drunk upstairs. While they certainly wouldn't encounter any bad people here, and no one would dare harm the Lungmen governor's niece or the Swire Group's heiress, leaving them alone wasn't in Wayne's nature, nor would it be good for the hard-won friendship between them. Anyway, it would only be a moment. Wayne greeted Vina. Vina didn't say anything, just casually asked:

"Who were you drinking with again?"

There was no point in lying, so Wayne answered directly, "With classmates, Vina. You know me, didn't I ask Ernest and Arthur to help me get a transfer spot at the Royal Guard Academy a while ago? This time I just came out to meet up with my classmates."

Vina nodded, and seeing Wayne's open and honest demeanor, half of the inexplicable unease in her heart dissipated.

Meeting up with classmates was a perfectly legitimate reason, and Wayne answered quickly and honestly, without seeming to lie. As for how much he'd drunk, Vina had heard about Wayne's drinking capacity; someone who could drink so enthusiastically with him was most likely not a girl, right?

To my recollection, no girl has ever been able to drink this much, at least not Vina herself.

Going out for drinks and a meal with male classmates to reconnect with them is not a bad thing, even though I don't know why Wayne suddenly wants to go to school.

There's nothing to worry about anymore.

Vina nodded in relief and gestured to Wayne to hurry back.

Wayne turned around and jogged upstairs to the second floor. In the innermost private room, unexpectedly, Chen was already awake.

Although she still seemed a little dazed, upon seeing Wayne enter, she happily gestured "I'm fine" to the side of her head, picked up her wine glass, and whispered:

"Shall we continue?"

Wayne smiled helplessly, stepped forward, took the wine glass from Chen's hand, raised it to his lips and downed it in one gulp. Then he gently placed the glass on the table where Chen, lying on her back, could definitely not reach it, before extending his hand to Miss Chen.

Chen was stunned for a moment, blinked her big eyes, blushed, and rested her head on Wayne's hand:

"You won the match, hiccup~. According to the contract, this head is yours to do as you please!"

"Damn it, we never made such a weird contract!"

Wayne lowered his hand and helplessly covered his forehead.

Having only seen the plot, who would have thought that the shrewd and capable elite inspector, Chen Sir, who always exudes a strong aura, would reveal such an adorable side when drunk?

They say that people speak the truth when they're drunk. Perhaps, this is the true image of Chen Huijie.

Wayne had no idea what was going on. He simply bent down, pulled his jacket from the curled-up Chen, and put it back on. Looking at Chen, who was puffing out his cheeks trying to reach the drink but couldn't, and his face full of disappointment, he sighed and called over the classmates who had mostly left outside:

"I was supposed to help take the two young ladies back, but I'm really sorry, something came up here, so I'll have to trouble you."

Reaching out, he took two LMD from the stack of LMD Swire had given him and handed them to the girl, Vayvan. The girl immediately accepted the LMD with sparkling eyes, gave Wayne a half-hearted salute that would surely enrage Ernest if he saw it, and assured him:

"We will definitely complete Young Master Bruce's mission!"

Wayne nodded, waved to Chen and Swire, said goodbye, and then turned around and jogged down the stairs.

Vina was waiting for him at the main entrance. When she saw Wayne come down, she took his hand and led him toward the Elizabeth Hotel. But before she had taken two steps, her relaxed brows furrowed again. She turned around abruptly, grabbed Wayne's coat, and buried her head in his chest, giving him a deep breath.

"Wayne?"

She looked up, and although it was from an angle that looked up, it inexplicably made Wayne feel a sense of unease.

Vina's face was beaming with a smile, like a forsythia in autumn, or a pitcher plant among bamboo and orchids. The more you looked at her, the more incongruous, the more eerie, the more frightening she became. Unbeknownst to him, Wayne felt a thin layer of cold sweat seeping down his back.

"Can you explain who this so-called classmate of yours is?"

Vina released her grip, her tone gentle. If one hadn't seen the tail whipping around like a fan, leaving trails of marks on the ground, they might have mistaken it for a friendly question.

"Your clothes smell like her perfume!"

Wayne shuddered!

Damn it, Chen, you tricked me!

I was so close to you in your car, but I clearly didn't smell any perfume on you!

............

The restaurant is on the second floor.