After dinner.
In a guest room on the first floor of the villa.
Dong Xuebin, his head spinning, gulped down the tea Xie Huilan handed him.
With only the two of them in the room, Xie Huilan shook her head and laughed. "Showing off again. If you can't drink, then don't drink."
"When people toast me, how can I refuse?" Dong Xuebin held onto the chair, dizzy. "Where would I put my pride if I didn't drink? I can lose face myself, but I can't make you lose face." If it had been a dinner with Yantai County leaders, it would have been fine for Dong Xuebin to refuse outright. If he couldn't drink, he couldn't drink. But this time was different. He could refuse if he could, but if he couldn't, then even if he drank himself to death, he had to force it down. In some situations, saving face mattered far more than his health.
Xie Huilan chuckled as she straightened his collar. "Does that count as a merit?"
Dong Xuebin gave a vague grunt and swayed. "Hui Lan, why are you so gentle today?"
"Hehe." Xie Huilan narrowed her eyes into slits. "Have you always thought I wasn't gentle?"
"Ahem, no." Dong Xuebin hurriedly said, "You were gentle before too."
Knock, knock, knock. Xie Hao knocked on the door and called them out. The elders were leaving.
Whether it was Xie Guobang or Xie Guoliang, everyone present was incredibly busy. Naturally, none of them could stay long. By seven-thirty, they began leaving one after another. Ci Lifen was the only elder left. She had originally intended to stay and keep Old Master Xie company for a while, but then a call came from her workplace about an emergency. Ci Lifen apologized to everyone, then drove out of