After resting on the couch for a bit more, she sat up and touched her lips, "My lips are numb."
"Oh? Whose fault is that?" He crossed his arms from where he was sitting.
Her index finger pointed at him, but quickly switched the direction to herself. He let out a small laugh, "Alright. Alright. We're both at fault. Call it even?"
Her face flushed at the thoughts of their intimate actions on the same couch that she was still sitting on, "mmmm." She agreed.
"So, princess. Let's talk about drinking rules from now on hmm? You're only allowed to drink at most three glasses of wine unless I am right next to you. What do you say?" He walked over with the cold towel that he got from the staff earlier and wiped her forehead. He rinsed it with cold water when she rested on the couch so the towel was cold.
"I...I don't like drinking anyways. Then you better make sure that you're close to me when I drink. Mhmm." she tried passing the responsibility back to him.
"Just don't over drink alcohol again okay? Especially when I'm not by your side. You were tipsy earlier, but what if I wasn't there and someone tries to make a move on you? You're too cute when you're half sober that any man would lay their eyes on you. There are many wolves out there." He cradled her face as he blurted out his thoughts.
"Mmmm," she whispered softly.
"Are you feeling good enough to do the opening dance with me? If not, we can skip it and have guests dance themselves." He took the wet towel that is now warm and threw it into the guests' laundry bag.
"I could do it. Shall we head back?" She stood up, ready to go. He offered to carry her, but she refused with the excuse that it won't look as great if she was in his arms before the dance. He gave it a thought and nodded, "Okay, I'll hug you by your waist then. Lean on me if your legs hurt."
They got back to the party and waited for the lights to dim. Once the atmosphere was right and the speaker announced their first dance, they walked hand in hand into the spotlight. He bowed like a gentleman and extended his palm, "May I?"
She placed her hand on his palm, "Of course." The music started to play and his arm rested on her waist. As they danced to the rhythm, their breathing slowed, matching each other's pace. Their eyes never left each other, and he complimented, "You look very beautiful." The sweetness she felt from that phrase made her smile grow wider, "And you are very charming." Both of them smiled blissfully and laughed in their little world until the end of the dance.
After seeing the couple's romantic and emotional moment, couples started joining the spotlight and danced with their partners. Ya Nuo and Huan Hei's parents and grandparents danced happily, enjoying their time with their other half. Ya Nuo's ankles were aching so she stopped dancing and Huan Hei accompanied her to their table. While having their own conversation, Ya Nuo whispered, "Look, it's Mei Ching. She's sneaking towards the storage room area. I've been waiting for her to make a move. Heh, let's go."
They followed Mei Ching from a distance and saw her enter the storage room with a key in her hand. When she came out, she was carrying a plastic bag and was going to throw it in the trash.
"Hold it right there." Ya Nuo stopped her.
Mei Ching paused and slowly turned around. She typed on her phone and asked, "What's the matter?"
Ya Nuo raised her left brow and smiled, "What's in that bag?"
Mei Ching typed, "It's some garbage that I left earlier. It's just some tissues that I used to blow my nose with."
Ya Nuo tapped her finger against her crossed arms, "Oh? I didn't know that tissues are made of plastics and paint. I also didn't know that tissues come in hand print designs and could be used as a pranking tool as well."
Mei Ching took out a handkerchief to wipe her sweat, "It's really nothing. I don't know what you're saying."
"If I take your DNA and compare it with the report from years ago, I wonder if it'll turn out to be a perfect match? Chen Ying Ying." She was tired of talking in circles, so she straightforwardly exposed her identity.
Mei Ching's lip lost its color, and she nervously bit her lower lip, "I'm Mei Ching. I don't know who Ying Ying is."
Huan Hei interrupted,"You say that you are Mei Ching, but your DNA matches with the autopsy report for Chen Ying Ying. She was Yang Qiu Rei's former wife who was pronounced dead at the hospital."
Ya Nuo added, "On top of that, the evidence of the supplies that you used to scare Gu Wing is in that bag. If you dare open that bag to let us see what's inside of it and it turns out different from what we just said, then we will apologize. If you open that bag and in it are the supplies that I just mentioned, then that means you are lying and your identity as Mei Ching is questionable. So?"
Mei Ching's mouth was opened slightly, but her fingers no longer typed any responses. She closed her eyes and untangled the knot on the plastic bag.
"Aha, what else do you have to say for.... Yourself?" Ya Nuo looked at the bag of used tissues in shock. Even Huan Hei didn't expect that it would be a bag of tissues.
Mei Ching texted, "Anything else? I'm only here to throw out garbage. I don't know who that Ying Ying is, but she is not me. Just because you saved me from Gu Wing's underground attic, doesn't mean that you could accuse me like that."
Since there was no physical evidence, Ya Nuo could only play with words, "How come you have the key to the storage room?"
Mei Ching appeared annoyed by her questions, "Your party was missing some plates and my friend works here. She asked me to help her get the plates because the party started soon. Since it was dusty in there, I kept sneezing non-stop and used up all these tissues. Anything else you want to ask?"
Huan Hei wanted to talk about fingerprints on the supplies, but it would be useless because she claimed that she was there for plates. For someone who doesn't work here, it's logical for her to say that she left it while trying to find the plates.
Ya Nuo asked, "One last question. If you said that you were getting plates for us, then why were the boxes still covered with dust? The layers of dust are literally layered in there, meaning nobody moved anything recently."
Mei Ching impatiently responded on her phone, "Because the boxes of plates were located near the window. My friend told me all this. If you want to deepen your investigation, how about I bring you over to my friend? She's still on shift."
After confirming Mei Ching's friend as one of the staff, she repeated the same things that Mei Ching had said to them. Ya Nuo and Huan Hei were extremely confident that she is Ying Ying, but she denied it. And now, they don't even have the evidence to say that it was she who set Gu wing up in the bathroom.
They had no choice but to apologize. Ya Nuo's instinct is telling her that things are not as simple as this, 'We'll see who's who. Just you wait.'