Xu Ai was forced to a stop, so she turned around to look at Su Xuan.
Su Xuan's facial expression was nonchalant, and he stared at her with his beautiful eyes. "Now that she has given you to me, you can only follow me around and can't get lost. I don't want to go to the police station for missing persons."
"You don't even know me. She was screwing around, but why are you screwing around too!" Xu Ai wanted to shake away his hand, but his hand wouldn't budge.
She became agitated. "Let go!"
"I know you! I don't know if she was screwing around or not, but I know if you don't want me to file for missing persons and get you all over the news, then you better not attempt to leave." Su Xuan had a death grip around her and just wouldn't let go.
An extremely furious Xu Ai glowered at him.
Su Xuan just stared at her with an emotionless face and a motionless body.
Xu Ai tried to struggle out of his grip but failed, thus she had to give up in frustration. She pulled a long face and uttered, "My things are still in her car!"
"Li, go and get her stuff and put them in my car!" Su Xuan turned around and told one of the people in the group.
That guy stepped out of the restaurant immediately.
"I can let go of you. From now on, you cannot leave me. I will bring you back once I am done with my business. Or else, if you dare to leave in the middle, you can think about the consequences." Su Xuan turned around. "Did you hear that?" His voice was clear and bright.
Xu Ai was so furious that her head was about to explode, "Who are you to me?"
"I thought I'm your boyfriend?" Su Xuan stared at her with a faint and strange smile on his face.
Xu Ai was at a loss for words.
"If you don't speak, then I'll take that as tacit consent." Su Xuan finally let go of her.
Xu Ai stepped back, then she turned around to head out.
Su Xuan's face became gloomy. He took out his phone and demanded in his cold voice, "Walk out of that door, and I'll call the police. Think about it; what would happen if the news about your school getting involved in a missing person case got spread around?"
Xu Ai came to a harsh stop.
"Follow me!" Su Xuan told the group of people and then walked towards her.
Xu Ai stood there and didn't dare to move.
The group of people that followed Su Xuan was completely silent. They looked at Xu Ai with all kinds of expressions as they saw Su Xuan walk towards her.
Su Xuan turned around after a few steps to look at the group of people standing by the door. He couldn't help but laugh, "That must have been entertaining to you all! Are you all hungry?"
Those people came back to their senses and started walking further inside the restaurant.
A middle-aged man in his forties came to Su Xuan and patted his shoulder. He asked laughingly, "Young Master Su, is this little lady here really your girlfriend?"
Su Xuan smiled but didn't speak.
"President Yang, didn't you check the latest news? This little lady looks familiar, I didn't believe it at first, but now that I've met the real person, I had to believe it. There is no smoke without fire. She's obviously Young Master Su's girlfriend."
"She looks very bright; Young Master Su has good taste!"
"Of course. Who do you think Young Master Su is? Do you think he would have a bad taste in finding a girlfriend?"
"Young Master Su must drink some more today!"
The group of a dozen people kept on chatting and bantering around Su Xuan and Xu Ai.
Su Xuan was the youngest man in the group. He kept his cool even when those people started joking with him. His smile never disappeared from his face. He was good-mannered, elegant, graceful, polite, and well-behaved.
Xu Ai was only one step away from exiting the restaurant, but she couldn't bring herself outside under Su Xuan's threat. She had no doubt that Su Xuan would call the police if she dared to step outside. She knew that about him, even though they had only met two or three times.
"Come here! Are you going to stand there and be a waitress and greet the guests?" Su Xuan walked the group of people upstairs and didn't forget to call Xu Ai as well.
Xu Ai took a deep breath, then another deep breath, and then she followed Su Xuan upstairs because she got nothing left to lose.
Su Xuan smiled seeing her come up.
They entered a luxurious dining chamber. The group of people humbled with one another before finally sitting down. They left an empty seat beside Su Xuan, obviously meant for Xu Ai to sit.
Xu Ai was already full. She didn't know any of them, so she didn't want to sit down. She wanted to sit on the sofa that wasn't far from the table.
"Young Master Su, may I ask this miss's name? How should we address her?" President Yang smiled and asked Su Xuan.
"The last name is Xu!" Su Xuan glanced at Xu Ai.
"Sit over here, Ms. Xu! We left a seat for you. You're Young Master Su's girlfriend; how could you not join us?" President Yang waved at Xu Ai.
"Yes. Don't be shy, Ms. Xu! We're all friends here."
"That's right. We're not acquainted now, but we will be after this meal. Don't restrain yourself."
One after one, every single person was urging her to join them.
Xu Ai shook her head and tried to make her expression look nice, but she didn't do a great job at that. "I'm so sorry, I already ate."
"It's fine if you already ate. Just sit here and chat with us!" President Yang welcomed her zealously.
Xu Ai sat there and didn't move.
"Young Master Su, we aren't enough to welcome her! You have to be the one to do the deed!" One person laughed.
Su Xuan spun the lazy-Susan table and poured himself a cup of tea. Then, he poured another cup for the empty seat beside him. He smiled without looking at Xu Ai. "See how welcoming and zealous everyone is; you can't let them lose face even if you just ate. Come sit with us!"
Xu Ai stared at him.
"Sit over here. We'll eat faster if you don't waste our time, and I can bring you back earlier," Su Xuan said.
Xu Ai stood up immediately. She walked towards them with her handbag and sat beside Su Xuan.
President Yang laughed. "You sure have your ways, Young Master Su! But the habit of bullying girls isn't the best."
Su Xuan turned his head and poured a cup of tea for President Yang. His smile was rather doting. "She just likes this! You'll get used to it."
President Yang laughed at his comment, and everyone else also laughed along with him.
Xu Ai couldn't take it anymore. She lifted her heel and stepped on Su Xuan's foot under the table.
Su Xuan put down the teapot and turned around to look at Xu Ai. He wasn't angry; he just kept a slight grin on his face and didn't speak.
Xu Ai stepped on his foot rather hard because she thought he deserved it. But now he was looking at her like that, she felt somewhat guilty. She lowered her head and didn't move the slightest, and she thought that maybe he should step on her foot back.
Su Xuan, however, did not step on her foot back. He turned his head around and started ordering with the others.
Everyone sitting here was of high social status. They kept their proper etiquette even when they joked with each other, never crossing the line and always stopping where they should. Therefore, nobody really kept on teasing Xu Ai and Su Xuan after a short while. They opted for some casual conversations after they ordered food.
Xu Ai listened to their conversations. All of their topics were business-related, which she really enjoyed. She listened attentively to their conversations with great interest and didn't feel bored at all.
After a while, she noticed that Su Xuan mostly played the listener in their conversations. Occasionally, when he was being mentioned or asked a question, he only chimed in with a sentence or two. He was concise with his words and straight to the point. His body language, on the other hand, was casual; he always had a smile on his face, which didn't make him look like an awkward man of few words. His entire ensemble was harmonious.
Xu Ai took a few extra looks at him. The short distance between them was perfect; she could really see his handsome side profile. The planes and angles on his face were even more perfect when he smiled.
How could someone so good-looking be so black-hearted!
Xu Ai turned her head around and sipped at her tea bitterly.
Su Xuan peered at her unintentionally. A very slight grin curled his lips but disappeared the next second as he continued listening to the conversations at the table.
The dishes were all served and baijiu was brought out. Everyone had baijiu in their cups, and they drank and ate together.
[TL Note: Baijiu, also known as shaojiu, is a Chinese clear, colorless distilled beverage of typically 40%-50% alcohol by volume.]
Someone raised his cup and gave a toast to Su Xuan.
Su Xuan pondered and then pushed his cup to Xu Ai, who was sitting beside him. "I have to drive her back to school later, but now that we're gathered today, I must not kill the fun for you guys. How about this? She will take a few drinks for me as my delegate."
Everyone was a bit shocked.
President Yang looked at Xu Ai. "Do you drink too, Ms. Xu?"
Xu Ai looked at the cup in front of her and cursed Su Xuan to filth in her mind. Drink for him as his delegate? What does this suppose to mean!
"She drinks, but not an awful lot. Please forgive her, everyone!" Su Xuan laughed as he looked at Xu Ai. "If I drink, I won't be able to drive you back."
"Where's your driver?" Xu Ai gritted that sentence from her teeth.
"I'm very lenient with my drivers. I let them go home and rest when it's too late!" Su Xuan knocked his fingers on the table. "If you don't want to drink, then I'll have to drink. I just don't know if I will be able to drive you back after I drink."
Xu Ai clenched her teeth and raised the cup.
"So Ms. Xu really does drink!" The man laughed and clunk his cup with Xu Ai, then he downed his baijiu in one breath.
Xu Ai also had to down her baijiu in one breath!
"Nice!" Everyone cheered her on.
Su Xuan laughed. "You are a girl; you don't need to drink like a man. I don't want to drag a drunkard back to school!"
Xu Ai glowered at him and remembered how he poured a cup of strong liquor down her throat. She bore an old grudge and now a new hatred against him. She told herself if she were to get drunk today, then she would barf all over him. See if he would still look elegant and classy! It was what he would get for being so snottily well-dressed! It was what he would get for bullying her while pretending to be a gentleman!
"Have some of this dish." Su Xuan grinned and picked up some celery for her with his chopsticks.
"I don't like to eat this!" Xu Ai put down her cup as a disgusted look appeared on her face.
"Being picky with your food is not a good habit. I will let it go when I don't see it, but now that I saw it, you have to correct such a habit when you're with me," Su Xuan insisted, "Eat it."
Xu Ai was mad. "I just don't like it. Are you going to force me to swallow it?"
Su Xuan turned around and didn't look at her anymore. He murmured, "If you don't eat it, then I won't be in a good mood. If I'm not in a good mood, then when I drive you back…" He paused. "It will affect my ability to drive."
Xu Ai wanted to rip his mouth to pieces. Affect his ability to drive? What a joke! She turned her face away to not look at him.
"Young Master Su, I offer this toast to you!" Another person raised his cup. Even though he was speaking to Su Xuan, his cup was actually pointed at Xu Ai.
Su Xuan smiled and nodded, then he filled Xu Ai's empty cup with more baijiu. This time, he only filled half of her cup.
"Huh? Young Master Su, this would be your bad. Ms. Xu can drink, and by the looks of it, she is a seasoned drinker. You have to fill her cup. You can't make fish of one and flesh of another!" That person saw it and immediately protested.
Su Xuan smiled and shook his head. "President Chen, she's a girl, a very genuine girl. If all of you ask her to drink a full cup, then she will be drunk after only one round. If she gets drunk, then I'll have to take care of her and won't be able to stay with you at the table here anymore. It doesn't matter how much she drinks as there are no paying dues for anyone. What matters is the goodwill and the thoughts."
"Young Master Su sure has his way with words! Now that you've said it like that, I have no objections! Fine! Cheers to it! Cheers, Ms. Xu!"
"Wait, eat your vegetables first!" Su Xuan stopped Xu Ai's hands that were holding her cup.
Xu Ai turned angry.
Su Xuan waited for her. He didn't care if President Chen was waiting with his raised cup; he just kept on staring at Xu Ai.
Xu Ai felt her face burning from being stared at by everyone. After all, she was a stranger to such fancy gatherings, so pretty soon, she finally gave in and picked up her chopsticks to eat the celery.
"Good girl!" Su Xuan pulled away his hand from hers.
Xu Ai raised the cup and drank down her anger with President Chen.
Su Xuan picked up a broccoli floret for her.
Xu Ai picked it up and ate it without looking at him.
The ambiance turned even more lively afterward. Just as Su Xuan expected, everyone at the table offered to give Su Xuan a toast, and of course, each drink that was offered all went right into Xu Ai's stomach. Su Xuan picked up a kind of vegetable for Xu Ai every single time someone offered him a drink, and Xu Ai had to force herself to eat the vegetable even if she didn't like it.
As the saying goes, a wise woman does not fight when the odds are against her!
It took an hour for everyone at the table to offer her a drink. The only thing they drank was hard-*ss baijiu. Xu Ai felt tipsy and dizzy even with her high alcohol tolerance.
"Thank god she only drank half cups. If she drank full cups, then I'd be in trouble." Su Xuan smiled and said to everyone, "Her school is a little far from here. May I be excused? I should bring her back now. You guys continue on."
Everyone was also very nice about this. "We won't hold you back if you are going to bring your girlfriend back. Please, Young Master Su, make sure to bring Ms. Xu next time we gather together. She sure has a high alcohol tolerance for a lady, and we had a great time drinking with her."
"Sounds good!" Su Xuan smiled as he stood up. He asked Xu Ai, "Can you still walk?"
Xu Ai nodded then slowly rose to her feet and reached out to grab her handbag.
Su Xuan beat her at taking her handbag, then he reached out to take her hand. He smiled and said "excuse me" to everyone and dragged Xu Ai out of the dining chamber.
Xu Ai wanted to shake away his hand but failed. All she could do was follow him downstairs.
Li greeted Su Xuan in front of the restaurant.
"Just give me the keys. You can go home now!" Su Xuan reached out his hand.
Li nodded and then placed the car key in Su Xuan's palm.
The car was parked right outside the restaurant. Su Xuan opened the car door and placed Xu Ai on the passenger seat, then he buckled up her seatbelt. He walked to the driver's seat, started the car, and left the restaurant.
After they have driven off a little while, Xu Ai slowly uttered, "My school is…"
"I know!"
Xu Ai shut her mouth.
"You still know you need to go back to school; I guess you're not that drunk after all." Su Xuan tilted his head to look at her. She drank a lot, yet she did not make a scene. Quiet girls like that were hard to come by.
Xu Ai snorted, "As long as someone doesn't pour a cup of hard-*ss liquor down my throat, then I won't be drunk."
Su Xuan chuckled. "So you still remember!"
"Do you have something against me?" Xu Ai turned her head to look at Su Xuan with difficulty. The night was dark and the lighting inside the car was dim, so she couldn't see the expression on his face. She thought he was smiling and seemed to be in a rather good mood.
Perhaps she, too, would also be in a good mood if she just bullied someone?
Xu Ai's heart started pounding.
Su Xuan's eyes glimmered. He turned on the music but did not reply to her. He said, "You can take a nap now! I'll wake you once we get there."
Xu Ai was too lazy to think of anything else as the soft tunes flowed through the car. She nodded and leaned her head back against the cushion, then she closed her eyes.
It had been an exhausting day. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep.
Now that she fell asleep, Su Xuan turned the volume down and focused on the road.
Lights lit up the night sky in Beijing. The traffic flowed like rivers on the streets.
Half an hour later, Su Xuan parked his car in front of the university entrance. He woke Xu Ai, "Wake up. We're at your school."
Xu Ai looked outside and murmured, "Go to the female students' dorm building, building number ten."
"You're my guest!" Su Xuan laughed. He restarted the car and headed for her dormitory building.
After a short distance, Xu Ai was finally awake. She shouted, "Stop the car!"
"What's wrong?" Su Xuan asked.
"Here is fine! Just drop me off here, and you don't need to drive further." Xu Ai said as she thought, It isn't that late at night, so if people see Su Xuan driving his dope-*ss car to my dormitory building and see me coming out of the car, and then some douchebags that have nothing better to do post this on the school's website, would I have to hack my school's official website again?
Su Xuan shook his head. "I'm driving you to your dorm building."
"And I said you don't have to!" Xu Ai was irritated because he wasn't stopping the car.
Su Xuan glanced at her. "If I stop my car right here, then I'll still have to take you to the final destination. Would you rather get out and have me escort you back, or drive and park under your building? It doesn't count as a safe escort if I don't bring you back where you live. What if you get lost during the short distance, then wouldn't all of my hard work be futile?"
Xu Ai laughed due to extreme anger. "I never knew Young Master Su of the Empyrean Corporation is such a good Samaritan."
Su Xuan also laughed, "I don't count as a good Samaritan, but I will have to be for my rumored girlfriend."
Xu Ai choked and stared at him speechlessly.
"Where is building number ten? Now that you're awake, I don't have to find it myself. You'll be my guide." Su Xuan shifted his gaze to the outside.
"Turn left, then turn right, go straight, and then turn left." Xu Ai looked outside and gave him directions.
Su Xuan didn't talk further. He turned the steering wheel and followed Xu Ai's directions.
There were quite a number of people on the street, most of them coming from the self-study rooms. Some were carrying backpacks, some were carrying books in their hands, and some were checking their phones.
It didn't take long for them to reach the dorm building. Xu Ai unbuckled her seatbelt as soon as Su Xuan parked the car. She jumped out of his car with her handbag, then she urged Su Xuan, "Leave, now!"
Su Xuan peered at her and saw how stealthy and surreptitious she was acting. He smiled and nodded his head, then he started the car. He quickly drove away without a word.
Xu Ai breathed out a sigh in relief as his car disappeared in her field of vision. She headed upstairs carrying her handbag.
As she walked up the stairs, she suddenly remembered that the clothes she bought seemed to be still in his car.