110 Going nowhere (2/2)

Chen Anyue already had dinner and the fried cake that only had a few more bites left so she was not too hungry. So she looked at Liu Sumeng who sat in front of her. The Ivory Sword Saint looked extremely out of place in the noisy and dirty inn with his white robes and calm refined visage. It was truly a sight to behold, she chuckled to herself.

There was still that gripping anxiety in her belly but she ignored it with a smile, ”Is there anything you would like, Liu-gege[2]?”

Liu-gege did not react very quickly. He eventually shook his head and said, ”No, I'm good. Order what you please.”

”Okay,” she turned to the waiter with mischief in her eyes, ”Then let's get twenty jugs of your best wine!”

She couldn't help but giggle at the way his jaw seemed to fall to the floor.

Feeling exceptionally brazen and delirious she even slapped money on the table and grinned, ”You may keep the change.”

The master of the inn grappled the money with nervous little movements, bowing and stuttering, ”Of course, of course. Thank you, thank you.” And scurried off like an excited little shrew.

Though she was grinning from ear to ear, Liu Sumeng was not a fool not to realize that Anyue's odd mood was brought about by her anxiety.

”Anyue-” he said, only to be cut off.

”Oh! A-Zhang does some really strange things sometimes, doesn't he?” She said with a sigh, only to continue quickly, stopping him from cutting her off, ”Please don't take him too seriously. I understand that sometimes his personality can be a little bit…Well, you should know.”

”Anyue,” he said more sternly. But was interrupted when the jugs of wine came and filled up the space around their table. She laughed exceptionally loud and even exchanged extra words with the waiter. She was purposely refusing to meet his gaze.

And when the waiter finally left, she once again spoke before he could say anything, ”Liu-gege, is it true that you've never been properly drunk before? Perhaps it's a little brazen of me to challenge the Ivory Sword Saint on my first venture with alcohol but…Liu-gege will keep me safe, right?”

He despised raising his voice against her but there was no choice, ”Anyue!”

She froze, eyes going wide. ”I'm sorry, I did not mean to upset you.” She pushed a nonexistent loose strand of hair behind her ear. Her hands were even shaking as she reached for the nearest jug of wine. ”Let's just drink.”

”Stop this. You know it's going nowhere.” Liu Sumeng finally said.

But Chen Anyue was still pouring them both a cup. Her gaze pointedly downward. She said nothing and only wore a strained smile on her face, eyes glassy.

He hated seeing her cry. But he realized now that he had made the mistake of letting this last for as long as he did. ”We need to put an end to this.”

Behind them, the roar of laughing and screaming men echoed. And despite the invasion of sights and sounds the two of them were wrapped up in their own bubble, trapped in by awkward tension.

Her voice came out trembling, ”Are you…unhappy with me? Is it because of A-Zhang? Are you…”

Not interested in women?

The last part was unsaid, for Chen Anyue was too fearful of the answer.

She couldn't admit that she had lost…to A-Zhang, because of a reason like this. It was only then she was made to realize her own shameless ego, the silent self-confidence that she had in her own appearance and charm.

”I am not unhappy with you.” Liu Sumeng sighed, but still accepted the cup of wine handed to him. ”But this will not work out. There is no happy ending for us. I do not want to cause anyone trouble.”

Why was it that when the Ivory Sword Saint managed to speak more than a few blunt words, he was still painfully cryptic and difficult to understand? She scrunched up her brows in frustration. The alcohol under her fingertips was looking more alluring by the second. ”Then…”

”We will abolish the promise to join hands. Do not think too badly of me. If you cannot bear the sight of me, then I understand.”

How could he be so calm? Quietly, she cursed him in her heart. And bit back a sniffle that threatened to undo her composure. Instead of responding, she simply took the cup of wine and chugged down the contents in one go! The sharp burn of alcohol burned down her throat and her shoulders trembled to keep her face straight as she poured herself another one.

”Anyue?” Liu Sumeng said hesitantly. But he did not stop her in time.

…

Chen Anyue did not know how she made it home. But after finishing another cup of water, only to empty out the contents of her stomach in her chamber pot did she realize that she had somehow, magically made it home.

A sudden wave of indescribable emotion overcame her and she wanted to laugh and cry at the same time.

She hiccuped, catching sight of the wooden idol of some unnamed god standing vigil at her bedside. It was a strange trinket forced upon her by her eldest brother. ”You're all I truly have,” she slurred at it.

She felt ridiculous. But there was no one watching her now, not the drunken men at the inn or the terribly infuriating Ivory Sword Saint. Caught by a wave of alcohol-induced foolishness, she pressed her palms in prayer and lowered her head at the odd wooden idol.

She didn't know what it was she was praying for. But she did it nonetheless.

[1] Also known as fantan, is a gambling game where beans or coins are sorted and you guess the number of beans that will remain...something like that.

[2] Anyue changes her form of address from Liu-ge to Liu-gege to sound cute