It was embarrassing to be asked such a question despite having prepared herself.
Pei Kexin deliberated for a while before saying, "None."
"Why? With your looks, that shouldn't be the case."
Pei Kexin replied, "No one caught my eye, and I prefer to be single than settle for less. Unlike you, you're willing to entertain any woman who throws herself at you."
Zhan Jingchen: "...Talk about yourself, don't drag me down. Besides, I'm so handsome, it's always other people who throw themselves at me, you know?"
Having asked such an awkward question, it felt like they were becoming closer.
From then on, regardless of whether they made any noise, the two asked whatever came to their minds.
Pei Kexin asked Zhan Jingchen why he was delivering takeout.
Zhan Jingchen fabricated a story: "The pay is high. Don't be fooled by how hard delivering takeout is; the income is much higher than some office white-collar workers. I'm not a vain person; as long as it pays, I'll do anything."
Pei Kexin laughed, "I can see that."
Then she asked him again, "How many girlfriends have you had?"
Zhan Jingchen: "The same as you."
So he was still a...
Pei Kexin didn't know what was wrong with her; she kept thinking about that today, even glancing at him.
Zhan Jingchen noticed and looked back at her boldly, "We're the same, neither of us has an advantage over the other. It's good."
With such a thick skin, could he really be that pure?
Pei Kexin averted her gaze, "With your looks that attract romance, I find that hard to believe."
Zhan Jingchen couldn't help but chuckle again, raising his wine glass towards her and lowering his voice.
"Trying to renege on your promise? Anyway, I gave you my first time, so I'm yours from now on. Vice President Pei can't be a渣女 (scum girl)."
His facial features were exceptionally superior. In a crowd of rough men, unkempt, eating and drinking, he was like a crane among chickens.
His superior features were close to Pei Kexin's ear, his breath carrying a sweet alcoholic scent, spraying onto her skin, tickling and making her feel tingly.
Pei Kexin was almost flustered by his sudden intimacy, feeling a jolt. Composing herself, she pushed him back with a finger.
"What do you mean by 'mine from now on'? Aren't you planning to find a proper girl to marry and have children with?"
Zhan Jingchen sat back with a smile, "Aren't you a proper girl?"
"With me? Impossible."
"You look down on me?"
"Stop talking nonsense. I don't plan to get married, let alone have children, okay?"
Zhan Jingchen shrugged, "Okay. Then don't rush to send me away. Let me stay with you a bit longer, earn more money, otherwise, where will I get the money to marry a wife?"
They drank and chatted, rambling about everything, and accidentally spent over an hour.
On average, each person drank half a kilogram of baijiu and ate two kilograms of lamb.
By the end, Pei Kexin, who usually had a tolerance like the sea, was feeling a bit dizzy.
Why?
Because she wasn't entirely drunk.
This lamb chop restaurant was famous for a special process used on its lamb chops.
Before grilling, they were soaked in a local high-concentration baijiu for a day and a night to remove the gamey odor.
The alcohol had permeated the meat, so Pei Kexin had essentially drunk over half a kilogram of baijiu with her meal.
On the taxi ride back, the journey was bumpy, and halfway through, she started feeling unwell.
"What kind of garbage place is this? Is the lamb not authentic? Why does it make me want to vomit?"
Zhan Jingchen laughed at her, "You ate as if you were afraid I'd steal from you, shoveling it in one bite after another. Now that you're full and drunk, you say you're uncomfortable, isn't that just getting what you want and then complaining?"
This guy, he never had anything good to say.
Pei Kexin ignored him, rolled her eyes, and held her stomach, leaning to the side.
Seeing that she was genuinely uncomfortable, Zhan Jingchen leaned in and offered a suggestion, "Really uncomfortable? Well, you've eaten it, so why don't you just throw it up?"
"Driver, pull over."
The driver, afraid of getting his car dirty for a mere twenty yuan, quickly pulled over to let them out.
Pei Kexin squatted by the roadside, hugging a trash can, and dry-heaved for a while, but nothing came out.
"I can't ride in a car anymore, I really feel awful. Walk back with me."
Zhan Jingchen was happy to oblige but feigned reluctance.
"Is it far? Then you'll have to pay me. It's so late, and I've accompanied you for dinner, drinks, and now a walk. Consider it overtime."
Pei Kexin grabbed a dead branch by her hand and was about to hit him. Zhan Jingchen quickly appeased her.
"Just kidding! Let's walk, it's a good opportunity for me to take a stroll after a long time."
The two strolled through the streets.
The temperature was pleasant, the environment beautiful. A handsome man and a beautiful woman, it should have been a visually pleasing and comfortable scene. Unfortunately, Pei Kexin was genuinely uncomfortable.
She walked feebly, her legs feeling weak.
Zhan Jingchen kindly offered his arm for her to hold onto.
"Don't look like you'll fall over with a gust of wind; it doesn't suit your demeanor. Come on, lean on me. You can do it, Pei Kexin!"
Pei Kexin wanted to kill him.
She held his arm and walked for a while but felt too unwell.
Seeing a hotel across the road, regardless of its class, she told Zhan Jingchen.
"Let's just stay here tonight. Let's get a room. After getting the room, buy me medicine. I must have drunk fake alcohol; I feel so bad. I'll never drink with you again."
Zhan Jingchen found the hotel unimpressive, "With you looking like a fragile willow swaying in the wind right now, if I drag you to check into a room, won't people misunderstand?"
Pei Kexin: "Do you think people have that much free time? We're a couple! If necessary, let's show them the marriage certificate we got under the overpass."
Zhan Jingchen was amused, "I don't have a hobby of carrying marriage certificates around. Do you?"
Pei Kexin: "..."
"Are you coming or not? If not, I'll go by myself!"
Seeing she was about to lose her temper, Zhan Jingchen returned to a serious tone.
"Alright, alright, let's go. Wife, watch out a bit as we cross the road."
He dragged her, her feet feeling soft, into the hotel. Zhan Jingchen handed Pei Kexin's ID card over.
"Get a room."
"Certainly, sir. Would you like one room or two?"
"Two."
"Standard room or a king-sized bed room?"
"King-sized."
"You both want king-sized beds? Please provide your IDs respectively."
Zhan Jingchen asked Pei Kexin to lean on the front desk while he took out his ID.
The staff member then noticed that she seemed quite drunk.
With a look of suspicion, she accepted the ID card he handed over. The front desk girl carefully verified it and then called out to Pei Kexin.
"Hello, madam. May I ask if you know where you are? Can you answer my questions?"
The implication was, do you know this man? Is he a bad person?
Zhan Jingchen knew she would be suspected, so he steadied Pei Kexin.
"Don't worry, I'm not a bad person; we're friends."
"I see the lady seems quite drunk. The hotel has a policy that we cannot check in a guest who is not fully conscious... We apologize for any inconvenience."
Zhan Jingchen wasn't one to pester and expressed understanding of the hotel's policy.
He took back the ID card, cast a helpless glance at his swaying wife, and picked her up.
"Now we really have to walk back. Pei Kexin, you really know how to bully me."