Chapter 91: The Drunken Leng Xiao
Leng Xiao watched quietly from the side, a faint curve lifting the corners of his lips. His slender fingers imitated Wen Nuan Nuan’s movements, wrapping pork belly dipped in sauce and a sour-spicy cucumber strip in lettuce, occasionally feeding her.
The atmosphere was lively and noisy, leaving Wen Nuan Nuan no time to pay attention to Leng Xiao.
As the gathering neared its end, Wen Nuan Nuan noticed Leng Xiao sitting as still as a mountain, silent for a long while. His beautiful phoenix eyes were dark and unfathomable, and she inwardly groaned—this was bad!
Was Leng Xiao… drunk?
Her distilled wine was originally only 29.5 degrees, and after steeping with rouge plums, it couldn’t be more than 20 degrees. How could Leng Xiao be drunk?
She had also drunk a cup, and she was fine!
Wen Nuan Nuan’s confusion cleared when she saw the empty wine jug. She chuckled to herself, realizing that the wine tasted sweet and pleasant, and Leng Xiao must have indulged too much.
However, the jug wasn’t large, so he couldn’t have had many cups. Leng Xiao’s alcohol tolerance was truly lacking—he’d have a hard time in official circles later.
Fortunately, Leng Xiao had good drinking manners. Even when drunk, he simply sat there quietly, neither causing a fuss nor making a sound.
“Sister-in-law, we’ll help Eldest Brother inside. You go rest first,” Leng Chen said, reaching out to help his elder brother up.
Seeing Leng Chen’s slender frame, Wen Nuan Nuan quickly stopped him. “I’ll help him. Let your Eldest Brother stay in my room tonight. You two just got back today—take a warm bath and rest well.”
She was worried that Leng Xiao might feel uncomfortable after drinking, and in her room, he could have lemon honey water.
A sweet drink after getting drunk helps prevent headaches the next day.
He still had matters to discuss with the two little ones tomorrow—absolutely no delays allowed!
Placing Leng Xiao’s left arm over her shoulder, Wen Nuan Nuan helped him toward the room. The weight she expected to be heavy wasn’t there; even drunk, Leng Xiao tried his best to walk steadily.
He really was the most well-behaved and least troublesome person.
Leng Tian brought water, and Leng Xiao cooperated obediently while washing up.
But when Leng Tian wrung out a hot cotton towel to wipe Leng Xiao’s face, the alcohol finally hit him. His expression darkened unhappily, and he pushed Leng Tian with considerable force, sending him stumbling back a few steps before regaining his balance. “Go away.”
Such a willful action and words were completely unlike his usual cold and composed demeanor!
Wen Nuan Nuan could finally confirm that Leng Xiao was truly drunk. Unlike others who might cause a scene or vomit when drunk, Leng Xiao sat upright and steady, appearing entirely normal.
Very well-behaved, very quiet, and also… quite adorable.
Shedding his usual aloof and brooding demeanor, Leng Xiao at this moment was just an eighteen-year-old youth.
Wen Nuan Nuan thought there was no point reasoning with a drunk person. Taking the cotton towel from Eldest Brother’s hand, she said, “Go wash up. I’ll handle this.”
“Thank you for your trouble, Sister-in-law!” Leng Tian said worriedly before stepping out.
Wen Nuan Nuan placed the cotton towel into the basin of hot water, swishing it around by the corner, then wrung it out by pinching the edge with three fingers. It was too hot!
Turning to face Leng Xiao, she found him staring motionlessly at her, his dark, profound eyes deep and unfathomable.
Under the gaze of such an impossibly beautiful pair of eyes, Wen Nuan Nuan not only lost her temper but also became particularly proactive, softly instructing, “Never mind, don’t move. Sit still, and I’ll wipe your face for you.”
The youth had exquisite features, a high nose bridge, and thin lips of an extremely pale hue, appearing aloof and unapproachable.
Wen Nuan Nuan’s hand holding the cotton cloth trembled slightly.
Suddenly, she felt the cotton cloth in her hand was unworthy of wiping this face. What was going on?
She wanted to use the finest silk and satin to wipe it—this face deserved only the best!
Stop, stop it, Wen Nuan Nuan. You’re not superficial, nor are you obsessed with looks.
This was just a remote mountain hollow, not the prosperous Jiangnan region rich in fish and rice, nor the opulent Jingcheng.
At this moment, having cotton cloth was already quite good. Why ask for silk and satin?!
Spreading out the warm cotton cloth, Wen Nuan Nuan inwardly insisted on just wiping casually.
Yet her touch was gentle, as if afraid of hurting Leng Xiao.
Beauty is misleading—it seems it affects both men and women.
After carefully wiping Leng Xiao’s face clean, Wen Nuan Nuan let out a sigh and lowered her hand, preparing to wash the cloth when her hand was suddenly grasped!
Leng Xiao remained silent, his phoenix eyes deep and profound, his distinctively knuckled hand firmly and earnestly holding the small hand that was about to leave.
Gulp. Wen Nuan Nuan swallowed.
Wen Nuan Nuan: …Is this Leng Xiao? What does he want?
“Don’t go!”
Wen Nuan Nuan was stunned. This was the first time she had heard any fluctuation in Leng Xiao’s tone.
Before, no matter what he said, he always spoke as if recounting someone else’s affairs—flat, indifferent, devoid of joy or sorrow, and naturally without any intonation.
This was the first time Leng Xiao had clearly expressed his demand.
Wen Nuan Nuan immediately grew interested, wanting to tease Leng Xiao a little.
But she felt it was wrong to take advantage of someone’s vulnerable state to pry into their privacy, so she gave up.
Just as she tested his grip, preparing to pull her hand away, Leng Xiao adopted another expression—one of deep sorrow and resentment, desolate and miserable as if he were the only person left in the world, pleading softly, “Don’t leave again.”
Wen Nuan Nuan couldn’t help but feel he looked pitiful.
This person had indeed lived a tragic life in his youth.
But wait—what did he mean by “again”? She had never left!
Forget it. Drunk people talk nonsense. What was there to argue about? Just go along with him. “Okay, I won’t leave. I wasn’t leaving anyway.”
“You’re lying. You left. I thought it was you, so I wrote to Jingcheng to propose marriage.”
Wen Nuan Nuan was utterly confused. Leng Xiao’s words carried so much information.
But in the book, the Wen parents were upright and honorable. The marriage arranged since childhood wasn’t broken off because the Leng Family fell into ruin, nor did they send someone else to impersonate their daughter. This was the genuine original host. Was Leng Xiao misunderstanding something?
Before Wen Nuan Nuan could ask, she heard Leng Xiao say painfully, “It wasn’t you. I feel so terrible.”
Her hand was gripped tightly by Leng Xiao, so forcefully it hurt. Wen Nuan Nuan wanted to say she was in pain too, but she softened her voice to soothe him, “I won’t leave. I’ll always be here. Don’t feel bad.”
Then, with a pained expression, she added pitifully, “You’re holding my hand so tightly it hurts. Can you loosen your grip?”
Leng Xiao seemed startled and immediately relaxed his hold, but still kept her hand enveloped in his, unwilling to let go.
The usually cold and aloof youth, now looking as if he feared she would run away—Wen Nuan Nuan thought that if Leng Xiao remembered this tomorrow when sober, he would definitely want to find a hole to hide in.
And even though she knew he had mistaken her for someone else, knew he was drunk and holding her hand while rambling, Wen Nuan Nuan still felt a pang of heartache.
Such a peerlessly stunning youth—who would ever want to abandon him?