171 Protection
“She’s my goddess, don’t call her that!” Xu Meng protected He Miao and pulled her into her arms. She asked worriedly, “Are you tired?”
He Miao shyly tucked her hair behind her ears. “No, let’s play together. I don’t know how to play this yet, so you have to teach me.”
“No problem,” she said. After Xu Meng played a few rounds with He Miao, she let her roll the dice by herself. If she lost, Xu Meng would be punished to drink.
After one round, the beer bottles by Xu Meng’s feet had formed a line. He Miao did not dare to play anymore, so she pushed Xu Meng to switch places with her. “You should do it. If I lose again, I’m afraid I’ll burst your belly.”
Xu Meng waved her hand nonchalantly. Her head was finally a little dizzy, but her consciousness was still clear.
When the boys in the class saw her drinking as if she was drinking water, their jaws dropped in shock. They cupped their hands in admiration and said, “Master Xu, I didn’t expect you to be able to drink so much beer in one go with such a thin body. Where did it go?”
“You can’t judge a book by its cover.” Xu Meng waved her hand and picked up the dice cup. She wanted to play again, but the boys shook their heads and refused. “I’m not playing anymore. I’m already feeling a little lightheaded now.”
“Mengmeng, forget it. Don’t drink too much today. We still have school tomorrow.” Li Ming took away the bottle of wine from her hand and advised her gently.
Obviously, Li Ming’s words were like an imperial edict to Xu Meng. She immediately waved her hands and leaned back on the sofa, looking like an obedient girl.
He Miao was amused by her look and sang with her for a while before the birthday party ended.
Li Ming sent off the other students and came over to look at He Miao, who was on the phone. She smiled warmly and said, “Why don’t I send you back? I can also visit grandma.”
“No need, Jing Yan will be here soon.” He Miao heard the urgent honking sound from the other end of the line. She hung up the phone first, afraid that it would affect his driving.
Jing Yan could clearly hear Li Ming’s voice from the other end, and he became even more anxious.
It was already late at night and there were not many cars on the street, so he could get to her as quickly as possible.
God knew what it must have felt like to be alone in a dark room for hours after he had turned into Onion. When he finally returned to his original self, he quickly left the company and drove to pick He Miao up.
On the roadside, Li Ming raised his eyebrows and asked casually, “I heard that the person living upstairs is now Jing Yan?”
“Yes.” He Miao did not think it was a secret. Jing Yan had been going back and forth between his house and upstairs many times, and Li Ming’s grandmother, who lived opposite them, had seen him a few times. It was not strange at all that Li Ming knew about it.
When he heard the affirmative answer, he could not help but smile. “Young Master Jing is so generous. He did not want to stay in the Jing family house but lived above your house.”
His original intention was to remind He Miao that Jing Yan might harbor ill intentions and become the second neighbor to hurt her.
However, He Miao felt uncomfortable when he heard others slandering Jing Yan. She could not help but defend him. “He’s staying there to protect me. He’s afraid that I won’t be safe living alone.”
Xu Meng did not know about it, and He Miao did not mention it to her on purpose. Only Li Ming, who was involved, knew the inside story.
When Xu Meng heard He Miao’s words, she immediately blinked her eyes in envy. “Jing Yan is so good to you. It would be great if I could have a brother like him.”
When He Miao first heard the way she addressed Jing Yan, she felt like he was a stranger. She did not know when it had started, but she no longer used brother and sister as an excuse to keep her distance from Jing Yan.
She blushed and nodded awkwardly. She deliberately tried to be vague. “Jing Yan and Grandpa Jing are both very good to me.”
Li Ming shut his mouth completely and looked deeply at the dim light in front of him until a car stopped steadily in front of them. He retracted his gaze and looked at the man who got out of the car.
Jing Yan took off his coat and covered He Miao with it. He reached out to grab her small hand and said in a slightly reproachful tone, “It’s getting cold at night, and your hands are so cold. Why are you still wearing so little?”
“Jing Yan.” He Miao lowered her voice in embarrassment and anger. She leaned closer to his arms and whispered, “There’s still people here, so you should restrain yourself.”
“What’s the big deal?” Jing Yan smiled nonchalantly. After greeting Xu Meng politely, he held He Miao’s hand and looked at Li Ming, who was standing to the side.
“Thank you for waiting for me with Miaomiao, class rep.” Jing Yan glanced at him expressionlessly, then turned his gentle gaze back to He Miao. “Let’s go home.”
“And Mengmeng.” He Miao was dazzled by his smile, but she did not forget about her best friend. She pulled Xu Meng into the car with her.
In the back seat of the car, Xu Meng boldly climbed onto the back seat of He Miao’s passenger seat, looked at Jing Yan with interest, and said, “Were you trying to anger our class rep just now?”
“What’s wrong?” Jing Yan glanced at her through the rear view mirror. “Are you feeling sorry for him?”
“I’m not.” Xu Meng blushed and denied it. She looked at Jing Yan’s deep smile in the mirror and said guiltily, “I’m not feeling heartache. I’m happy for He Miao.”