She did have feelings for Jiaxi; they had loved each other once. It was just that now, she herself didn't understand what she wanted, whether she should marry him, whether they could walk into marriage and grow old together.
Mengyao continued to read what Jiaxi had written.
"My business is concluded, and I've returned to Huilan City. I'm waiting for your answer."
Below that were his signature and his "I love you" written in English.
Mengyao closed the card and then proceeded to open the gift box. It turned out to be a sparkling diamond ring.
She took out the diamond ring and slipped it onto her ring finger. It fit perfectly, but she hastily took it off. So this was the answer he wanted.
Without her having to say it aloud, as long as she wore the ring or didn't, he would understand her intention.
...
Hong Jiaxi hadn't lied to her; he wouldn't pester her anymore this time. He had returned to Huilan City.
Early in the morning, he woke up in his hotel room and discovered that Mengyao had truly left him alone all night, letting him sleep off his drunkenness until dawn.
When he went to the front desk to check out, he learned that Mengyao had already left the hotel room. He left the proposal ring he had brought with him at the front desk, asking the hotel staff to pass it on to Mengyao, and also wrote a card.
Hong Jiaxi knew he couldn't push too hard anymore. He could only return to Huilan City and wait.
After exiting the airport in Huilan City, his mood was extremely gloomy. He didn't want to go home, so he checked into a hotel and went straight to bed.
Waking up, Hong Jiaxi found that it was already dark outside and realized he was very hungry.
He ordered room service from the hotel, and soon a server brought him dinner.
After dinner, he stayed alone in his room, feeling bored and restless, and decided to go out for a drink.
Hong Jiaxi went to the same bar where he had gotten drunk last time. This bar was not as noisy and didn't have many people, making it suitable for him to drink alone.
As soon as he arrived at the bar and ordered a bottle of wine, he saw the same woman he had drunk with last time.
However, this time the woman was drinking with a middle-aged man at another table. From his angle, he could see the middle-aged man being overly familiar with her, but the woman was still feigning compliance, clearly intending to make the middle-aged man drink more.
Hong Jiaxi realized what kind of woman she was – a "wine promoter."
He stopped looking at her and smiled at the bartender, saying, "I didn't expect you to hire wine promoters here. Are there any real customers, or are most of them wine promoters?"
The server immediately explained, "No, no. Only she is a wine promoter, and we didn't hire her. She approached the manager herself, and our manager, seeing her plight, agreed to give her a commission."
"What's her name?"
The server replied, "Everyone here calls her Lili."
Hong Jiaxi said a faint "Oh," and said nothing more. He continued to drink gloomily, thinking that by this time Mengyao must have returned to the hotel.
But she had seen the diamond ring and the card, and hadn't even sent him a text message.
"What are you pretending for? I ordered a lot of drinks for you, what's wrong with a touch!" Hong Jiaxi suddenly heard someone shouting loudly and looked in the direction of the sound.
He saw that it was the wine promoter named Lili having a conflict with the middle-aged man.
Lili, furious, poured a glass of wine over the middle-aged man's head and said, "Behave yourself, this is a respectable place. You ordered these drinks yourself, I didn't force you..."
The middle-aged man's already sparse hair, when wet, looked bald, causing the people nearby to laugh.
"If you don't pay me back for these drinks, you're not leaving!" The middle-aged man grabbed her arm and slapped her fiercely, "What are you, acting pure after selling yourself!"
Lili, covering her face, shook off his hand and forced herself to say, "You ordered the drinks, why should I pay for them! Let go of me, if you don't let go, I'll call for help!"
"Go ahead and call! Let everyone see that you were the one seducing me, that you're that kind of woman, tricking me into ordering expensive drinks! I'm not afraid even if you call the police, let's see who they arrest!" The man said, then kicked her again, roaring ferociously, "Give me the money!"
No one in the bar helped her. A server even went over to them and said, "If you want to argue or fight, take it outside. Don't affect our business."
Hong Jiaxi couldn't stand it anymore. Remembering that Lili had helped him call a designated driver last time and hadn't charged him extra, he stepped forward to help her. He said to the middle-aged man, "Let her go. I'll pay for these drinks. How much?"
The middle-aged man looked at Hong Jiaxi and said, "Three thousand. Hand it over."
Hong Jiaxi took out his wallet and was about to give the man three thousand.
Lili stopped him and said, "He's lying. The most he ordered was fifteen hundred."
Hong Jiaxi didn't care about a few thousand yuan. He pulled Lili away from the man and still gave the man three thousand yuan, saying coldly and fiercely, "Get lost. Don't let me see you here again."
The shameless middle-aged man took the money, gave Lili a glare, and then left the bar.
Lili thanked him and immediately clutched her stomach where she had been kicked and went to the restroom.
Hong Jiaxi watched Lili's embarrassed back, feeling that this woman was a bit pitiful. He wondered why she had fallen to being a wine promoter.
However, curiosity was curiosity; it ultimately had nothing to do with him. Helping her out tonight was just a good deed.
He finished a bottle of wine alone that night. Although he wasn't drunk yet, his stomach felt uncomfortable.
It was probably because he was still recovering from being drunk last night. Hong Jiaxi didn't want to drink anymore. After paying the bill, he left the bar. Just as he was about to drive away, he heard someone calling him.
"Sir! Please wait!"
Hong Jiaxi turned around and saw that it was the woman named Lili calling him.
"Sir, thank you for earlier. I'll return that three thousand yuan to you."
Hong Jiaxi saw that she had changed her clothes and removed her makeup. Her face didn't look too good. He said, "You don't need to return the money. Are you alright? Did that man injure you?"
"No, I'm fine." Lili covered her face with her hand and asked, "Can I have your contact information? I will definitely return the money to you."
Hong Jiaxi took out his phone and added her on WeChat, saying, "As you wish. I'm curious, you're still young, why don't you find a proper job? Why do you have to be a wine promoter in a bar? This money isn't easy to earn, and you often encounter drunk people acting out. Aren't you afraid..."
"I don't have the education or connections to find a good job. Besides, I like to drink, so this is the most suitable thing for me," Lili interrupted him, smiling and saying, "Alright, I'll contact you to repay the money when I have it."
After saying that, she turned and walked in another direction.
Hong Jiaxi watched as she didn't walk far before she clutched her stomach and squatted down, looking like she was in great pain.
He had intended to drive away, but he couldn't help but step forward and ask her, "Did that man kick you? I'll take you to the hospital."
Lili covered her stomach with her hands, unable to hide the red marks on her face from being hit.
Hong Jiaxi saw the obvious red marks on her face from being hit and tried to help her up, saying, "Let's go to the hospital..."
"No need." Lili pushed him away and said, "We're not even familiar with each other. Why are you being so nice to me? Are you interested in me?"