After the car had left, the man removed his cap and sunglasses, revealing a handsome face. Although he was not handsome enough to attract the attention of women, it was the kind of handsome that made you feel safe and comforting. With a face like that, he looked reliable and trustworthy.
"The promise of almost a decade huh…"
Mo Chou clenched the cap in his hands. He was a failure of a man. A failure of a friend. But most of all, he was a failure of a human.
Such a sin is unforgivable! Even he would not be confident that he would forgive himself. But knowing her, she would definitely forgive him.
But that forgiveness would only further deepen his guilt. A sin he could never erase. Her existence today was proof.
He could feel her grief and despair from miles away.
He…
Could he even be allowed to meet her?
…
Orchid Serenity was atleast 20 minutes away from her current speed. But if it was traffic, it might take her an hour to arrive. Thus, Zhi Ruo planned to call Xiao Tong to let her know that she might attend.
Ring ring ring!
Perfect timing. Xiao Tong was calling her. Zhi Ruo smiled and answered the call.
"Hello?"
[Xiao Ruo? Hello? Are you there?]
She could faintly hear the sounds of crashing and laughter in the background, along with singing.
As if sensing the helplessness in her tone, she said, "Yeah, I'm here. What's the matter?"
[Xiao Ruooooo! Help meeee! This bunch of drunkards keep pestering me about you! They're so annoying! Not to mention they began singing on the karaoke machine.] Xiao Tong cried out. [Ah no! Don't stand on the chair you're gonna fall!]
Zhi Ruo furrowed her brows. Xiao Tong was considered the hostess so her job was to accomodate the guests, but she could already feel her best friend's supposed everlasting energetic self run out.
"Hang on, I'll be there in 20. Just try not to kill anyone and wait for me," Zhi Ruo consoled and hung up the call.
There was no time to delay. Her best friend may or may not die from exhaustion so it was up to her to straighten those drunkards out. Zhi Ruo sped up her car and drove faster, overtaking the other cars.
…
Inside Orchid Serenity.
Chen Zhou remained seated in a bar stool, observing the chaos that ensued amongst the old friends.
"Such immature drunkards. They can't even hold their liquor," he snorted while swirling the wine glass in his hand while the other was propped on the granite countertop.
The bartender shot a look at the man but otherwise remained silent. It was not a while ago that he was the drunkard who kept spewing nonsensical words and crying over the man who left him. And when the hostess, Xiao Tong, pleaded for help, he did not bat an eye and stuck his tongue out at the woman before returning to spewing nonsense.
This gave the bartender a headache and so he gave him water to sober him up. The man did not seem to remember his embarrassing moment and just observed the chaos. Such a dense and immature man made the bartender in disbelief.
Forget it. He did not want to quibble with him.
"Ah… I miss my wife. Too bad she is too busy taking care of the twins," Chen Zhou lamented as he drunk out of the glass.
Genise, who was his wife, became a housewife ever since they had kids two years ago. Although Chen Zhou felt bad that she had to quit her dream job, his wife was otherwise happy taking care of the kids.
Once again, the bartender could only shake his head. Why must he be forced to endure the man's attitude while the others could relax in the staff room? They might as well just kill him now.
…
After 20 minutes, Zhi Ruo arrived at the hotel. Orchid Serenity had 50 floors with different amenities on each floor. If she remembered right, Xiao Tong and the others should be located at the 9th floor. As for which room, it would be easy enough if she relied on her hearing.
She threw her car keys to the valet who approached her and walked inside. After confirming her visitation to the receptionist, Zhi Ruo hastily rode the elevator.
As soon as she arrived, she immediately heard a loud commotion from the nearest door and immediately slammed the door open.
She could clearly see the others with disheveled looks snatching the mics from each other, taking turns singing. While the others danced along arms huddled over each other singing in sync.
Despite the urgency of her voice in the call from a while ago, Xiao Tong seemed to perfectly enjoy herself while belting out a high note in the karaoke.
It took a while for her to notice Zhi Ruo who stood their with an annoyed expression.
"Ah? Look who had arrived guys! It's Zhuxi!¹" Xial Tong exclaimed while walking towards her.
Zhi Ruo helplessly massaged her forehead. This woman! She had clearly needed help over the phone and completely sober but yet here she is getting wasted.
Zhi Ruo could smell the stench of alcohol on her and scrunched up her nose. "Since you seem to be enjoying yourselves, I will leave."
She turned to leave but before she could, Xiao Tong had already grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the crowd.
"Don't leave! I haven't even introduced you to the others yet." Xiao Tong swayed as she approached the drunken crowd. "Everybody! Zhuxi has arrived!"
Her words earned a round of applause and claps. Some of them cheered and downed a bottle of wine while the others were still busy merrymaking. They were absolutely wasted.
Zhi Ruo felt an oncoming headache. She was not in the mood to control a bunch of drunkards. Rest sounded really good to her right now. She could already feel herself snapping any time.
"Look at this beauty here," a man who sported a casual attire with a tie tied around his head approached them.
This was Chou Tang, their good-for-nothing classmate who ended with a job as a desk clerk. Among their batch, he had ended up with the most average job.
Although he could be considered nice, when drunk, he lost control of himself. Because his vision was quite blurry, he failed to realize that the one he was faced with was Zhi Ruo.
Zhi Ruo, on the other hand, frowned and ignored the man. She turned to Xiao Tong. "Can I go now? This isn't exactly my kind of scene. Also, it's already late. I want to sleep."
Xiao Tong pouted and hugged her. "Noooooo! I don't want to!"
Chou Tang suddenly felt annoyed that he had been ignored. He once again approached the beauty and touch her but before he could, Zhi Ruo sensed the hidden intent and grabbed hid arm before pinning it behind his back.
Her eyes turned cold as she said in a chilling tone, "How dare you try to touch me?"
Chou Tang cried out in pain. This cold beauty, whom he thought was an easy target, almost practically break his arm. Any further and he would end up in the hospital.
"I'm sorry! Please let me go. I won't do it again."
This Chou Tang was also a coward. He would always be pleading for forgiveness after doing something wrong. But the good thing was that he would not do it again. Then again, he was s bit dumb and so most people let him off. As for the people who didn't, that's a story for another time.
However, Zhi Ruo was already feeling quite annoyed and so continued to pin the man's arm. Ignoring his cries for pain, she had a chilly gaze as she looked down on the man.
She did not like being touched by others. In fact, she almost detested being touched. So the thought of being touched by a drunkard did not sit well with her, especially since she was in a bad mood.
"Careful. Any further and that man will end up in a hospital. I'm sure you wouldn't like to pay for his hospital fees?"
A voice interjected behind her.