Zhou Jinbei despised him in her heart.
His alcohol tolerance was too poor.
It was all her second brother's spoiling.
What kind of assistant position was this easy?
Besides handling the president's daily work, she barely had to attend any drinking sessions.
Her second brother was truly a breath of fresh air among presidents.
But Zhou Jinbei wasn't so easily dealt with.
Thinking of her father, her mother, her brother, none of them could hold their liquor.
Even if she hadn't eaten pork, she'd seen pigs run. With their strong genes supporting her, she was bound to be better than him.
Soon, dinner was served.
The three of them sat around the small living room, eating meat and drinking first.
Dad Zhong poured a disposable paper cup for each of them.
Zhou Jinbei took two sips. It was so sweet, she didn't feel anything.
"I request another cup. Without wine, meat doesn't taste good."
Dad Zhong poured her another. Ah Zhong reminded her, "It's strong. Take it easy."
Zhou Jinbei joked, "Don't worry, I won't drink it all. Look how stingy you are."
As everyone was happily eating, the door was suddenly pushed open from the outside.
Seeing the scene in the room, Uncle Zhang was a little confused.
"Why are you eating at this hour? Is this lunch or dinner?"
"Oh, you have guests. Who is this?"
Dad Zhong warmly welcomed him in, briefly introduced Zhou Jinbei, and then pulled Uncle Zhang to sit down for a drink.
"When I first came here, I was unfamiliar with the place, and you took care of me."
"Ah Zhong has always said he wanted to thank you properly, but never found the chance. Today is perfect. Ah Zhong, quickly, have a few drinks with your Uncle Zhang."
The meal lasted over two hours before they dispersed.
Ah Zhong was dizzy and disoriented, and Zhou Jinbei helped him back to his room to rest.
To be honest, she was also quite dizzy.
One shouldn't underestimate homemade wine. It was sweet, but the alcohol content was truly high.
She definitely wouldn't be able to have a snowball fight today. Everything would have to wait until Ah Zhong woke up.
Zhou Jinbei tucked him in, pulled up the blanket, and was about to go out to warm herself by the fire when Ah Zhong suddenly pulled her into his arms.
His lips brushed against her ear as he murmured warmly.
"Don't go, Beibei, don't go."
"..."
"Don't go, be good, don't go..."
Zhou Jinbei had a dream.
In the dream, she felt as if she were in the clouds, sometimes floating upwards, sometimes plummeting rapidly.
The feeling of tension and joy made her emotions a jumble, and she broke out in a cold sweat.
She wanted to reach out and grasp something, but her hand met empty air, and she woke up.
Then she was stunned by everything she saw before her.
It turned out that what she had dreamed about wasn't fake.
She, a "bride-to-be" who had already received a betrothal gift and was about to marry someone else, had actually... with her second brother's assistant...
A chill ran down her spine, and the alcohol instantly wore off.
Zhou Jinbei sat up from the covers, her first instinct being to run.
Although she didn't know what to do next.
But she didn't want Ah Zhong to see her.
He had just come out of a relationship. If he fell into it again, and she couldn't give him anything, wouldn't she just be hurting him?
Or perhaps, if she fell out with her family and insisted on being with Ah Zhong.
What about the ten million yuan she had already accepted from Jiang Sicheng?
In any case, she had to leave here first.
After finding a quiet place to calm down, she could figure out how to resolve this.
No sooner said than done, Zhou Jinbei turned on her phone and quickly called a car using a ride-hailing app.
Then she got dressed, tidied up the scene, and quietly slipped out.
Fortunately, they had gone to bed early, so it wasn't too late yet.
Zhou Jinbei paid the driver a thousand yuan to take her back to Nancheng overnight.
On the way, she saw many missed calls and WeChat messages on her phone. One of them was from Jiang Sicheng.
"My father wasn't available before the New Year, but he is now. We'll meet the parents on the second day of the Lunar New Year, so prepare in advance. I'll pick you up at your place at six in the evening."
"..."
Zhou Jinbei looked at the rapidly passing night scenery outside the window, her mind in utter chaos.
To be honest, she really liked Ah Zhong.
Although his family background was average, he was steady and sincere, and his father was hardworking and capable.
The key was that he also liked her. If she were with Ah Zhong, she could foresee a future of peace and stability.
Moreover, did she even have the face to marry Jiang Sicheng now?
Although Jiang Sicheng would never discover her external purity, at least he was upright and didn't deceive her.
Having taken his money, was it really right to enter the marriage so ambiguously?
Would she truly not regret missing out on Ah Zhong for her entire life because of ten million yuan?
Zhou Jinbei closed her eyes and leaned against the car window, imagining.
Imagining everything that had happened to her today happening to another girl.
Imagining Ah Zhong's father and Ah Zhong giving all their warmth to another girl...
No!
Zhou Jinbei was filled with jealousy.
She couldn't stand it even imagining it, let alone seeing Ah Zhong marry and have children with someone else in the future.
She would surely die of anger!
No. She couldn't go through with this marriage so haphazardly.
She couldn't give up the rest of her life for a mere ten million yuan, for a small immediate gain! No!
So, after the car reached Nancheng, she asked the driver to go directly to the Zhan family.
Unexpectedly, her aunt was not at home.
According to the housekeeper, Zhan Beijue was injured and hospitalized, and Madam was at the hospital to see him. Zhou Jinbei hurriedly took a taxi to the hospital.
However, what she didn't expect was that Zhan Beijue had become like this after not seeing him for a while.
His complexion was so sallow, as if he had a terminal illness. His eyes were hollow, his expression grim, and he sat in a wheelchair, staring intently at the hospital bed in front of him.
The woman lying on the hospital bed, completely unresponsive, was his ex-wife Jiang Nanfang!
What had happened between them? How had they ended up like this in just a few days?
She ventured into the ward, intending to play the victim and borrow ten million yuan from Zhan Beijue to break off her engagement with Jiang Sicheng.
However, as soon as she stepped into the ward, she was cursed at and kicked out.
"Get out!"
"..."
He didn't even turn his head or look at who it was, yet he was so fierce?
"Second brother..."
"Shut up. Get out."
"...I came to find my aunt, my aunt she..."
"Zhou Jinbei, if you utter one more word of nonsense, there will be another you lying on this hospital bed."
"..."
"Don't go to the Zhan family anymore, and don't look for your aunt. She doesn't want to see you."
"..."
"Scram."
Zhan Beijue's temper was already not just bad when he wasn't sick, but now that he was sick, he was even more unreasonable.
It seemed impossible to borrow money from him.
She tried calling her aunt, but before the first call was finished, she was blocked!
It was over.
With Zhan Beijue and her aunt unable to help her, there was no hope of getting the ten million yuan.
Daylight would bring the second day of the Lunar New Year, and she had to go to the Jiang family to meet his parents.
It seemed that marrying Jiang Sicheng was inevitable.
Thinking of this, Zhou Jinbei quickly left the hospital and went to a roadside pharmacy.
She bought and took an emergency contraceptive pill, then listlessly returned home.
As she opened the door, a wave of smoky, drunken, and cigarette-filled air hit her.
Seeing her return, her mother ran over and grabbed her hand.
"You little brat, where did you run off to? I haven't seen you all day!"
"Quick, come and pay your respects to the aunts and uncles. Everyone knows you're getting engaged soon, and they all want to give you red envelopes!"