Chapter 009: The Strongest Alcohol_1
The Dilin Restaurant, located in the city center, is a high-end establishment.
The environment here is very nice, and the location is quite good too; the entire restaurant is almost entirely built of wood, situated by the river, possessing the charm of the water towns in the south of the Yangtze River.
The two chose a spot by the window and sat down; turning their heads, they could view the majestic river rushing past below and the bridges decorated with neon lights, each one more imposing than the last.
When the waiter handed over the menu, Shu Yimo didn't hold back and ordered a great variety of dishes, mostly vegetarian—she was truly a bit hungry, having not eaten anything all day!
Long Chengyu, on the other hand, went for quite a few meat dishes.
"Do you have any drinks here?"
As Shu Yimo passed the menu back to the waiter, she asked on the side.
"Yes, we do, Miss. However, we only sell our own homemade alcoholic beverages. Here is the drink list."
"No need for that, just bring me your strongest drink, warmed."
"Very well, Sir and Miss, please wait a moment!"
The waiter promptly took the menu away, and soon after, the hot pot and its ingredients were served.
Shu Yimo poured a drink for Long Chengyu across from her and spoke in a faint voice—
"I heard you're injured, so drink less. I've been locked away for too long and have missed this taste. The strongest alcohol—I want to get seriously drunk just this once."
Some playfulness could vaguely be heard in Shu Yimo's voice, but when Long Chengyu looked into her eyes, he could distinctly capture a trace of world-weariness and desolation.
Such dramatic ups and downs in life; it was no wonder she felt this way.
He remembered, two years ago, when he met her, she should have been someone climbing towards the pinnacle of the Pyramid.
Lowering his gaze to the drink she passed him, which was still emitting a faint heat, he looked at her quietly after a moment, only softening his gaze when he saw the weak ripples on her pale face.
He picked up the drink and silently drank it all in one go.
Shu Yimo felt sudden gratitude for the man across from her, thankful that he wasn't looking at her with pity.
"The world is cold, and people are unpredictable, it's not your fault. Suffering a setback isn't necessarily a bad thing. What others give you is a gift, but what you earn yourself is truly yours."
Long Chengyu hesitated for a moment, then put down his emptied glass and said in a low tone, "Aren't we still young? Tomorrow has only just begun, right?"
Shu Yimo paused, looking up at him, to see his slender and attractive hand nonchalantly picking up the bottle to refill his empty glass.
"That's true, but every beginning is hard."
Shu Yimo also picked up her glass and drank, his understanding and tolerance somehow making the sourness suppressed in her heart want to surge forward.
However, she didn't allow herself to show any vulnerability.
Vulnerability is for one's own viewing; how could anyone else understand?
"Difficulties have to be faced, regardless."
Long Chengyu said, drank another glass, and then elegantly picked up his chopsticks to cook some food in the pot and placed it in her bowl.
Shu Yimo, meanwhile, poured more drinks for the both of them.
"How have Grandpa Shu and Minister Shu been these past few years?"
Grandfather Shu Rui and the Long Family Head, Long Ao, had known each other since they were children and were good brothers. Her uncle, Shu Qiang, was previously Long Chengyu's superior. The relationship between the Shu Family and the Long Family was very close.
"I haven't seen them since I went in. I'll go visit them after I deal with some of these troublesome matters in a couple of days, when I'm a bit better," she said.
Shu Yimo didn't dare to visit now, as her injuries were quite serious and there were many things she hadn't sorted out yet.
Her grandfather Shu Rui had been so enraged by her and Fan Lingjue's affair that he fell ill; her imprisonment had made it worse, and he was hospitalized. Thankfully, the situation eased later; otherwise, she, Shu Yimo, would have been unforgivable.
Long Chengyu could understand the subtext of Shu Yimo's words.
"Take care with the injuries on your body."
Shu Yimo nodded slightly, picked up her chopsticks, and silently continued her meal.
...
Throughout the dinner, Long Chengyu hardly ate anything; he just simply drank a few glasses of wine, while occasionally blanching vegetables and placing them into Shu Yimo's bowl.
Shu Yimo, on the other hand, did not stand on ceremony, feeling quite satisfied after the meal. A few glasses of wine warmed her up and dispelled much of the coldness in her body.
Long Chengyu was not very talkative, mostly just occasionally asking Shu Yimo one or two questions, which she answered while eating.
The two of them seemed like old friends who had known each other for many years.
In fact, they had indeed known each other for many years, just without much interaction.
As the meal went on, Shu Yimo ended up drinking most of the wine, and her bright eyes began to look somewhat hazy.
When Adong arrived, he saw Shu Yimo already slumped unconscious at the table, her shoulders draped with their young master's coat, while their young master was thoughtfully fiddling with the now empty wine glass in his hand, looking pensive.
"Young Master!"
Adong called out in a hushed voice.
Only then did Long Chengyu furrow his brows and cough lightly a few times, slowly getting up.
"Help her into the car. Let's head back to the Lan Residence,"
he said and gracefully moved past, pushing aside the hanging bead curtain, and began walking outside.
Seeing Long Chengyu's figure disappear into the dim rain curtain ahead, Adong hurriedly helped Shu Yimo up and followed.
Outside the dreary wind and rain were still faintly discernible, the air chilled and moist, but inside the car, it was quite warm.
Long Chengyu sat in the back seat, while Shu Yimo was sleeping next to him by the car door. As soon as the car started moving, Shu Yimo's body leaned uncontrollably towards him. Long Chengyu tried to adjust her position a few times, but it was all in vain.
In the end, Long Chengyu gave up trying.
At that time, all Shu Yimo felt was pain in her head, and the oppressive ache in her chest made her want to get drunk just to rest, just to barely keep going...
"Young Master, I'll have the servants prepare some hangover soup right away. The doctor said your injuries aren't healed yet, and you shouldn't be drinking..."
"It's okay, just prepare a bowl for her and feed it to her,"
Long Chengyu instructed simply, looking at the sleeping Shu Yimo on the bed, before turning and leaving the room.
...
No sooner had he left the room than his cell phone began to ring.
Long Chengyu took it out and answered the call.
"Ayu, it's me."
The voice that came through the phone was somewhat elderly, but indeed sounded rather kind.
"Grandfather."
It was the call from Long Ao, the Family Head of the Long Family.
"How has your recovery been these past few days?"
"Pretty good,"
Long Chengyu responded indifferently.
This time Long Chengyu had been hit near the shoulder and lung area because he was protecting a hostage. It wasn't a fatal wound, but it still caused Long Chengyu quite a bit of suffering, and the Long Family was very concerned and anxious.
Their counter-terrorism unit faced mostly very dangerous tasks every day, and even someone as agile and skilled as Long Chengyu occasionally had mishaps.
He had been serving in the Northwest Military Region, but when the higher-ups ordered the formation of a counter-terrorism unit, Long Chengyu became the captain of this team. Because of this, Long Ao and Long Chengyu's father, Long Wuhan, were strongly opposed!