After Xia Xiaolan kicked Jiang Wu, his snoring grew louder. He had collapsed like a puddle of mud, not moving at all.

Could such a scoundrel be genuinely drunk in front of Zhou Cheng?

Xia Xiaolan wasn’t sure if Jiang Wu was acting. She and Zhou Cheng were heading to Shanghai, yet she’d deliberately said Beijing. In such a tense situation, her action brought a smile to Zhou Cheng’s eyes.

Zhou Cheng was truly handsome. After drinking so much, his previously pale face now showed a beautiful flush from the alcohol.

Xia Xiaolan had to mentally recite “Amitabha” twice when she went to support him.

She didn’t drink at all, but one could become intoxicated without alcohol—she was enchanted by Zhou Cheng.

Zhou Cheng draped an arm over her shoulder, letting half his weight rest on her. He had drunk quite a bit!

What Xia Xiaolan didn’t know was that as soon as they left, someone entered the room.

The supposedly drunk Jiang Wu sat up.

“Young Master, are you just letting him go like this?”

Jiang Wu reeked of alcohol. “You think he’s just some nobody? Keeping him in Nanjing wouldn’t be difficult, but he’s Zhou Cheng!”

Even Pan Baohua had high-ranking officials protecting him.

Pan Baohua was just a common farmer’s son, outstanding at work but with no background.

Zhou Cheng was different—he was from the Zhou family. The Zhou family wasn’t weaker than the Jiang family; they might even be stronger. It’s just that Zhou Cheng’s father’s generation had stopped developing their influence in the unit, while the Jiang family focused solely on maintaining their territory.

In Pan Baohua’s case, the Zhou family hadn’t exerted their full power.

If something happened to Zhou Cheng, the Zhou family would likely go berserk.

Everything Jiang Wu had now depended on his family; he wouldn’t put them in danger.

“Why did Zhou Cheng suddenly come to Nanjing? What does he know, and how much… If he knows something, who told him? Ah Yan is my dear sister, the family has high hopes for her. She wouldn’t do anything foolish, would she…”

Jiang Wu’s words were thick with alcohol.

The person standing beside him didn’t dare breathe.

After becoming disabled, Jiang Wu had grown unpredictably gloomy. Even his people couldn’t understand his thoughts, and even the Jiang family had to accommodate him.

Though Jiang Wu and Jiang Yan were only cousins, they had been very close before the incident.

The conflict between Jiang Wu and Pan Baohua caused Jiang Yan to break ties with Zhou Cheng, Pan Baohua, and others. While she chose to support Jiang Wu on the major issues, their relationship was never the same!

Earlier in the year, Jiang Yan had a huge argument with Jiang Wu.

Afterward, she actively pursued further studies at the academy.

Coincidentally, the academy was starting a communications training class. Without family approval, Jiang Yan had applied and been accepted.

By the time Jiang Wu found out, Jiang Yan had already registered at the academy. The Jiang family couldn’t very well bring her back mid-course.

Thinking of this, Jiang Wu’s expression darkened:

“If Zhou Cheng had those intentions, it would be a good match. The Jiang and Zhou families are equally matched, Zhou Cheng himself has a promising future, and both families could complement each other’s weaknesses. But Zhou Cheng is like a stone in a cesspit—both foul and hard, always helping Pan San… The woman by his side won’t be easy to deal with either. It won’t be easy for Ah Yan to compete.”

Jiang Wu seemed to be talking to himself. The person behind him, listening to his words, ventured boldly:

“What if she were gone—”

Jiang Wu hesitated: “Let me think about it more.”

In such matters, if you don’t act, that’s fine, but if you do, it must be clean and traceless.

But in this world, how could anything truly leave no trace?

Just like the matters the Jiang family had suppressed—hadn’t someone noticed them? That’s why Zhou Cheng had come to Nanjing!

Zhou Cheng and Xia Xiaolan had long disappeared.

The weather was changeable in late July. After so many hot days, dark clouds gathered in the sky with lightning and thunder, threatening rain.

Jiang Wu’s injured leg felt like it was being eaten by thousands of ants.

His leg had become more reliable than a weather forecast.

Usually, it was fine, but on rainy days the pain became unbearable. Despite multiple surgeries, while his limp had improved, it would never return to its pre-injury state.

The pain came with every weather change. Western medicine offered no solution except painkillers.

Traditional Chinese medicine was more esoteric, suggesting gradual meridian treatment.

Jiang Wu ignored it all.

What was the use of pain relief if his leg couldn’t be cured? He wanted this pain to remind himself of his enemy Pan San!

Pan San had only left the unit—his hands weren’t broken, his legs weren’t lame. He was out there living freely and happily. Whenever Jiang Wu thought of this, he couldn’t eat or sleep properly.

…

“Is this your boyfriend?” the woman across asked Xia Xiaolan curiously.

Zhou Cheng had fallen fast asleep as soon as he got on the train. Fortunately, he’d managed to hold on until then—Xia Xiaolan wouldn’t have been able to carry him. Though Zhou Cheng looked thin, he was tall with lean muscle, quite heavy actually.

The train seats were arranged in groups of four, facing each other. In their rush, Xia Xiaolan couldn’t get sleeper tickets; she was already grateful to squeeze onto the Shanghai-bound train. Sitting face-to-face meant no privacy. The gossipy woman opposite could only make Xia Xiaolan smile and nod:

“Yes, he’s my boyfriend.”

The woman clicked her tongue, “He’s drunk, isn’t he?”

Zhou Cheng reeked of alcohol, sleeping deeply with no way to hide it. Xia Xiaolan mumbled vaguely:

“He had a few drinks with friends before boarding, and ended up like this.”

“Young people are like that, no self-control when drinking. But it’s only because life’s gotten better these past couple of years. A few years ago, just filling your stomach was a problem—who could afford to drink freely? My husband loves drinking too. He can drink two liang with fried peanuts, or even with stir-fried broad beans—he’s not picky at all!”

The man beside the gossipy woman looked embarrassed. “Why are you telling the young lady about this!”

The woman glared, “If you can do it, why can’t I talk about it?”

Xia Xiaolan was speechless.

When Zhou Cheng was drunk, he could fool people. Others’ faces would get redder with the drink, but Zhou Cheng’s face would get paler.

His speech remained clear and his steps steady.

Gradually, as the alcohol took effect, only his cheeks showed a slight flush.

When he arrived at the train station with Xia Xiaolan, Zhou Cheng was still clear-headed, even praising her vigilance for mentioning Beijing in front of Jiang Wu.

In reality, they had bought tickets to Shanghai.

After the train left Nanjing station, Zhou Cheng couldn’t hold on anymore and collapsed into his seat, snoring away.

Xia Xiaolan found it both amusing and worrying.

The couple across were still bickering, and the train was noisy—Zhou Cheng definitely wouldn’t sleep well.

Seeing her concern, the woman paused her argument to offer advice:

“Go get some cooled boiled water. When drunk people wake up, first they need the bathroom, then they want water—that’s my experience. You two are newlyweds, right? You don’t even know this yet?”

Drinking too much makes you thirsty—Xia Xiaolan understood this well.

She asked the woman to watch Zhou Cheng while she went to get water.

Just as she reached the water station, she saw a young girl quietly sobbing while getting water and wiping tears. Beside the girl stood a middle-aged woman, fair-skinned with red lips, very well-dressed:

“I’m such a kind person, I can’t bear to see people suffering…”

Xia Xiaolan’s steps faltered—truly, you can meet anyone anywhere!