"By the way, you brought me here to eat? I thought we were having a fancy meal?" Xu Lin looked at the familiar barbecue street.
Although he enjoyed barbecue, he had expected something more upscale.
"And now it's not even summer anymore, we're in autumn and winter, past the season for leisurely skewers," he added.
"Well, they have all kinds of meat here, isn't this a feast?" Qin Yunhe said, pulling him towards a stall.
"Brother Hui!"
"Hey, isn't this Yunhe? Are you covered in blood? What happened?"
A tall man wearing a leather apron, flipping meat skewers as he talked, glanced at them.
"It's from a mission I accidentally messed up and haven't had a chance to clean up yet."
"Who's this young man?"
"He's the hero of this mission."
"If you call him a hero, he must be impressive. Just find a place to sit. Same as usual?"
"Yeah."
And so Xu Lin was pulled onto a small stool again. The people around eating saw them covered in blood and involuntarily moved away, knowing they were not to be messed with.
"I said, to go back and change your clothes before coming, right?"
"How come you changed out of your school uniform?"
"I can't just wait for you all afternoon wearing my school uniform; people would think I'm skipping class."
"Isn't this considered skipping class?"
"No, it's not. I was there to help you specifically, took leave for it."
"Thank you so much. Today, we won't return until we're drunk!"
"Don't. I don't want to make mistakes."
"Mistakes? You think you can get this Sister drunk so easily?"
With that, she pulled out a few bottles of chilled beer from the nearby refrigerator.
"You stop drinking! Your wound hasn't fully healed yet!" Xu Lin frowned and snatched the beer from her hand.
"My wound is fine!" Qin Yunhe actually felt less pain while walking earlier.
"Let me see."
"Are you... teasing me? Be careful, I'll take you on a one-day trip to the police station!"
"If you won't let me see, then don't drink."
Seeing Xu Lin's insistence, Qin Yunhe wanted to argue at first, but they weren't that close, yet she noticed the concern and gentleness in his eyes.
She obediently put down the bottle and moved a small stool closer to him.
"What are you doing? Why are you squeezing?" Although he usually wants to get close to beautiful women, but both of them are covered in blood, smelling bad.
"Take a look, is my wound healed?"
"Huh? Your alcohol addiction is too much, isn't it? I won't look, you drink."
He was just talking big; he couldn't even bring himself to take off his clothes in front of so many people, let alone other things.
"I told you, you're still a kid."
After saying that, she turned herself around, blocking the view of others towards Xu Lin.
Lowering her head and carefully looking, she found that the bloodstains on the gauze had dried up.
Xu Lin also sneaked a glance and saw the bloodstained gauze on the hem, feeling a bit sorry instead of any other feelings.
"Sorry, I just saw them lift the curtain. I should have rushed in at the first time, so that you wouldn't get hurt."
"No, in our profession, we are supposed to have the courage to face danger."
"I think you, Sister Qin, are indeed suitable to be a police officer. I hope this time you can earn your father's recognition."
"Thank you, Xu Lin. Let me tell you something, don't laugh at me either. At that time, I thought I was going to die. I actually shouted your name there. Isn't it strange?"
Qin Yunhe smiled and gently lifted the gauze, finding that the wound had completely healed, leaving only a little red new flesh.
"What did you give me to eat? My wound is almost completely healed."
"It's a herbal remedy passed down from my ancestors, but I heard it has side effects. To tell you the truth, I also took some medicine so I could defeat those people."
"?"
Qin Yunhe feels like she's a bit overwhelmed, always sensing that she and Xu Lin don't share the same worldview. She's from the urban area while Xu Lin seems to be from a martial arts background, right?
"You shouldn't doubt me. What I said this time is true. According to what my elders at home said, there are indeed side effects. Do you know how much I've sacrificed for this?"
"Well, this also has side effects. Aren't you afraid of poisoning me to death?"
"If you don't take the medicine, you would have lost too much blood already."
"That's true. The skewers are here. Let's eat and chat!"
Afterward, the two of them started devouring the food, feeling like they could eat more than usual.
They consumed 40 skewers of pork, 50 skewers of lamb, 20 chicken wings, 10 fish, and 10 skewers of shrimp, but they still didn't feel full.
"Xu Lin, can your family's medicine be eaten without experiencing side effects?" Qin Yunhe said truthfully, she usually couldn't handle these things at all.
"Oh, you guys can really eat a lot!?" Brother Hui, who was passing by while collecting plates, was also surprised to see them almost finishing their food in just ten minutes.
"Maybe it's because we've been working hard today. Bring us 50 more lamb skewers," Qin Yunhe said, glancing at Xu Lin who was getting drinks, then lowering her voice to add, "and 10 more lamb kidneys."
"Alright, gotta replenish to work well in the evening," Brother Hui said, showing a knowing expression.
"We're not..."
"It's okay, it's okay, I won't tell your old man."
Xu Lin was also holding a bottle of hawthorn wine and walking back from the counter. As he passed by Brother Hui, he patted him on the shoulder and said, "Work hard tonight."
"What?" Xu Lin, puzzled, returned to his seat, only to see Qin Yunhe's cheeks flushed.
Was she getting drunk?
"Don't drink too much," Xu Lin advised.
"Why don't you drink?" Qin Yunhe asked.
"I don't like alcohol. I don't see the point; soft drinks taste better," Xu Lin replied.
"You little rascal, you don't understand the goodness of wine," Qin Yunhe teased.
"I'd rather not understand..." Xu Lin muttered.
Xu Lin forced a bitter smile as he recalled his life before his rebirth: whenever he felt troubled, he would turn to alcohol. This habit persisted even after he entered university.
However, after graduating and returning to his hometown, back to his parents' side, he felt a sense of responsibility, realizing that he needed to mature.
So instead of drowning his sorrows in alcohol, he transformed his dissatisfaction into motivation and began to strive. Although he hadn't yet found his way, he was already reborn.
Qin Yunhe gazed at Xu Lin, who appeared youthful yet handsome, with a hint of mystery in his profile, involuntarily recalling the unexpected kiss from that day.
Oh dear, what am I thinking? It must be because I drank too much. Just three bottles and I'm already feeling a bit dizzy.
She held her forehead, and took a few deep breaths. The evening breeze blew around, but despite the cool wind, she felt a surge of heat.
After quickly downing a glass of wine, although her mind wasn't fuzzy anymore, her body was still overheated, and her heart rate began to accelerate.
Shortly after, the ordered meat arrived, and the two quickly polished it off, finally reaching about 80% full.
"It seems like indeed, side effects can really pack a punch!"
Xu Lin stretched lazily, but he noticed that Qin Yunhe, who had been spirited just now, was now holding her head in silence.
"Sister Qin, are you feeling unwell? Let me take you home."
"It's... it's nothing." Before he could reach out, Qin Yunhe pushed his hand away.
"What are you doing, acting drunk? I'll take you home!"
Xu Lin stepped forward and supported Qin Yunhe, who was swaying as she tried to stand up. She attempted to shake him off, but he held onto her slender and firm waist.
Qin Yunhe eased her strength and allowed him to hold her as they walked outside.
"Hey, Brother Hui, settle the bill," Xu Lin called out to the owner, who smiled and approached them.
"You guys go ahead, put it on tab for now, we'll settle it next time," the owner said.
"That won't do."
"Her dad is my friend, go on, we'll talk about it next time!"
"Fine... then." Xu Lin felt Qin Yunhe lower her head and tug at his sleeve. He reluctantly nodded.
He helped her out of the food street and onto the main road, where Xu Lin hailed a taxi.
"Sister Qin, where's your home? I'll take you back so you can rest."
"Building 10, Unit 702, Haoyun Xiucheng."
"Driver, got that? Let's go."
"Alright!"
After about fifteen minutes, with Qin Yunhe already asleep on his back, Xu Lin headed towards her apartment upstairs.
"This girl, how did she manage to get drunk after just 3 or 4 bottles of beer? Is her tolerance really that low?"
Upon reaching the 7th floor, before he could even reach for the keys, Qin Yunhe handed them to him, leaving him momentarily stunned.
"You're not asleep?"
"No."
Xu Lin heard Qin Yunhe's voice and felt it was a bit strange, as if she were deliberately speaking in a suppressed tone. Opening the door, he entered the living room and directly threw her onto the sofa.
"Phew... I'm exhausted! You rest, I'll leave."
"Okay."
But then Xu Lin looked at her with concern and noticed that not only her face but also her body was turning red.
Could this be a side effect?
"Are you feeling unwell?"
"Leave!" Qin Yunhe suddenly sat up and growled at him!
But this made Xu Lin even more hesitant to leave. He quickly leaned over and reached out to touch her forehead.
In the next moment, he felt his fingers moist and warm as the other party licked his hand directly!
Xu Lin was startled, quickly pulling away, but the next moment, an invisible flame surged violently from his abdomen, enveloping his whole body in heat.
Instantly, he felt like he had turned into a tiger, and Qin Yunhe in front of him seemed like a juicy piece of meat emitting an enticing aroma!
"This is..."
"This is the side effect of your medicine!"
Qin Yunhe glared at him, breathing deeply as if trying to force herself to hold on.
"Then I should go!"
Xu Lin suddenly raised his hand, biting himself on the arm, creating a wound from which blood slowly flowed, momentarily clearing his mind.
He hurried towards the door, but suddenly, a figure pounced on him from behind, knocking him to the ground.
"Xu Lin... you're leaving too late."
"Please forgive me." Xu Lin couldn't control himself anymore, and his hand slid up along her gauze.
"Just this once... consider it repaying your debt of saving my life... just this once~" Qin Yunhe spoke with seductive words, grabbing his arm and gently licking the blood stains off.
Xu Lin also lost his rationality in an instant, flipping over and pressing her down on the ground!
With a couple of screams, a few blood-stained clothing fragments floated in the air, slowly falling down, accompanied by a cry of pain!