Night had fully fallen, and both Lu Shishu and Cen Jin had finished eating. However, Cen Jin was already drunk. Lu Shishu considered for a moment; he intended to call a car, but hadn’t started yet when a pleasant bell sound suddenly rang out.
It wasn’t her phone, but Cen Jin’s phone that was ringing.
Lu Shishu glanced at the blue, thin phone screen on the table, paused for a few seconds, then picked it up. Seeing the caller ID showing the name ’Jiang Baizhou’, Lu Shishu squinted slightly, chuckled lightly, swiped to answer, and said melodiously, "Hello!"
On the other end of the call, Jiang Baizhou was taken aback, clearly recognizing the voice wasn’t Cen Jin’s, but Lu Shishu’s. Without much surprise, he countered, "Is Cen Jin with you?"
"Yeah, just finished eating." Lu Shishu nodded, then elongated his tone, "But... I need to admit something to you."
"What do you mean?" Jiang Baizhou narrowed his eyes dangerously, his tone slightly tense.
"A little, really just a little, didn’t expect her to get drunk so fast this time...." Lu Shishu laughed dryly twice, but before he could finish, he heard the call being disconnected on the other end with a ’beep beep beep’.
Lu Shishu shrugged, put the phone back on the table, supported his head with one hand, and looked at the already dazed and drunken Cen Jin, a slight smile playing on his lips.
After waiting for about twenty minutes, he heard heavy footsteps at the stairs. Lu Shishu turned to look, and on a beautiful, world-weary face appeared a trace of a smile. He lazily raised his hand and waved, greeting, "Over here, long time no see."
Jiang Baizhou exchanged a glance with Lu Shishu, finally his gaze landed on Cen Jin, who was sprawled on the table, drunk unconscious. He frowned in displeasure, "How much did she drink?"
"Well, just half a glass from that wine cup." Lu Shishu gestured at the cup nearby with his eyes, somewhat bemused, "I always thought Cen Jin was a one-cup knockout, but now it seems I overestimated her; she’s a half-cup knockout."
"You know she can’t handle alcohol."
"That’s why I only poured her a tiny bit." Lu Shishu explained with a faint smile, finally meeting his sharp gaze, and nodded, conceding, "Alright, next time I’ll make sure Cen Jin doesn’t touch a drop."
"Cen Jin?" Jiang Baizhou retrieved his gaze, bending over to look at the red-faced Cen Jin, softly calling, "Nie Cenjin?"
"Huh?" Cen Jin instinctively responded, her eyelids fluttered a few times, slowly opening. Seeing him, she smiled drowsily, "Oh... Jiang Baizhou, why are you here?"
Jiang Baizhou pursed his cool lips, sighed silently, his eyes flashed with a hint of something fierce as he glanced at Lu Shishu sitting opposite. Receiving his gaze, Lu Shishu waved his hand, "Don’t worry, this is how the drink is, once the effect passes, a good sleep will fix everything."
Jiang Baizhou hoisted Cen Jin in his arms without a word and began to walk downstairs. Lu Shishu stood up, carrying both her and Cen Jin’s bags and phones, following him down, and paid the bill before leaving the restaurant.
Outside the restaurant, Lu Shishu placed Cen Jin’s phone in her bag and hung it around Jiang Baizhou’s neck, "By the way, when did you come back from out of town?"
"Not long ago." Jiang Baizhou glanced down at the bag hanging on him and replied lightly.
"Alright, you take Cen Jin home! Let her sleep it off." Lu Shishu raised his eyebrows, speaking as he walked towards the other end of the street, waving his hand with his back turned to him.