Chapter Forty-Five: Intoxicated

"Alright then," Song Wan-ning said.

Night gradually fell, and Song Wan-ning saw a massive yacht docked by the shore. Several luxury cars filled the nearby parking lot. Raising an eyebrow, she asked, "Wen Jing-xing, whose yacht party is this? It looks so lively."

"My sister's. It's her birthday today."

Song Wan-ning paused. Was it Wen Yi?

"I could just not—" she began, but before she could finish her sentence, the staff from "Let's Fall in Love" arrived to escort them. Song Wan-ning had no choice but to swallow her words.

Wen Yi—she and the original host had never gotten along. Wen Yi disdained the original for being nothing but a pretty face, a useless burden who only dragged her brother down. Song Wan-ning had no desire to invite trouble for herself.

The staff led them straight into the yacht, with no need to queue for an invitation like the other guests. The interior was extravagantly decorated, and the audience who had just joined the livestream were quick to voice their amazement.

"Wow, the lives of the rich are truly enviable."
"Just thinking that Song Wan-ning will have this life in the future makes me so jealous!"
"If you looked as pretty as her, I'm sure you could too."
"If a woman only has a beautiful face and nothing else, she'll realize how useless that is once she's old."

And so, the comments section soon devolved into arguments.

Meanwhile, Song Wan-ning and Wen Jing-xing had changed into formal wear. Song Wan-ning wore a red gown with a trailing hem, slit on one side up to above her knee. At first, she’d chosen a dress split to the thigh, finding it novel and rather liking it, but Wen Jing-xing was thoroughly displeased and insisted it was ugly. In the end, she relented and changed, much to the amusement of the livestream audience.

"Young Master Wen lies without even blinking," someone quipped.

The dress had a V-neckline at the front and left Song Wan-ning’s flawless back exposed. Wen Jing-xing, in a black suit and with a stern expression, escorted her into the party hall, arm in arm.

"Your dress doesn't look good either," Wen Jing-xing remarked again.

Song Wan-ning shook her head. "I disagree. This dress is beautiful and I want to wear it." She might be a bit old-fashioned, but her taste was not lacking. These dresses were perfectly designed to accentuate the beauty of the human form, drawing everyone's eye. Besides, the fabric of her gown was soft and silky, exceptionally comfortable to wear. For once, the usually conservative Song Wan-ning wanted to boldly try something different.

Their entrance immediately drew attention. In the circles of the wealthy, Wen Jing-xing was a celebrity; almost no one failed to recognize him. And with such a striking woman at his side, curiosity rippled through the crowd.

"Hey, look—who's that woman with Young Master Wen?"
"She's so beautiful. Maybe she's his new favorite."
"Come on, do you really think Young Master Wen is like that? He’s been single for years and never had a single scandal!"
"Yeah, and if he did, as if you’d be the first to know..."
"Still, that woman looks really familiar..."

Among the guests, a few drama-loving society ladies exclaimed, "Isn't that Song Wan-ning?"
"What! Are you kidding me? That could be Song Wan-ning?"
"Why not? If she weren't so pretty, do you think she'd have gotten engaged to the Wen family?"
"That does make sense."

Barely had Song Wan-ning entered the hall before she began to feel uneasy. The guests regarded her with peculiar expressions, whispering among themselves as if she couldn’t tell they were talking about her. But the birthday girl had yet to appear, so everyone was gathered in small groups, chatting.

Song Wan-ning went to look for Wen Jing-xing, only to see him deep in conversation with someone he clearly knew well. She sighed, picked up a glass of wine, and walked out of the hall in her black heels.

After wandering for a while, retracing her steps from earlier, she finally made it to the deck. By now the yacht was far out at sea; wherever she looked, there was nothing but water. The salty breeze blew away much of her restlessness but also unraveled the hairstyle her stylist had so carefully arranged.

Song Wan-ning wasn’t much of a drinker, but tonight she was in the mood and sipped her wine, one mouthful at a time. The day spent out with Wen Jing-xing had been the most relaxed and carefree she'd felt since arriving in this world.

Although she and Wen Jing-xing were not close—and in the book he wasn’t exactly a good person, almost cold-hearted—she couldn’t explain why, but being near him made her feel at least safe.

Her hair tumbled down, cheeks flushed, back leaning against the railing, elbows propping up her body. Her eyes were misty, lips red, a fragile sort of beauty about her.

"Oh! Sister, I can't! Please choose me instead! Let’s forget about Wen Jing-xing!" Song Wan-ning’s fans in the comments were nearly delirious.

"Is she drunk?"
"It's not safe for a girl to be drunk outside. She should go back. Where’s Young Master Wen?"
Unconsciously, everyone had come to see it as Wen Jing-xing’s responsibility to protect Song Wan-ning.

"I checked—he’s with his sister, saying they’ll look for Song Wan-ning together."

Just then, a staff member from the yacht came to this secluded corner and immediately noticed the stunningly fair-skinned beauty, seemingly drunk.

"No way! Talk about jinxing it—just as someone mentions it, a stranger comes looking for Song Wan-ning!" cried the chat.

The man cautiously asked, "Miss, are you here alone?"

Song Wan-ning tilted her head, exposing her slender, elegant neck. At the sound of his voice, she turned slowly to look at him. "Hmm...?"

Her delayed reaction convinced the man that she was well and truly drunk.

Nearly everyone in the livestream was worried for her, and then, at that tense moment, the screen suddenly went black.

"What the—no way! The stream ends now?!"
"Oh god, Song Wan-ning looks so delicate and helpless. I hope nothing happens to her!"
Some, of course, were less sympathetic.

"Serves her right for drinking."
"Maybe she needs a lesson to remember."
"Victim blaming, really?"
"By that logic, if men can't control themselves, should we just chop them all off? Maybe that would teach them!"
"Hey, let’s not paint everyone with the same brush..."

Meanwhile, Wen Jing-xing quickly realized Song Wan-ning was missing. He sent Cheng Mu to look for her, but after waiting a long while with no response, he decided to search for her himself. It was at this moment that Wen Yi appeared once more.