Looking into Chen Yuanyuan's gemstone-like, enchanting eyes, even Song Qingshu, who had seen his share of storms, felt his heart skip a beat. He could not help asking, "Why am I the exception?"
Chen Yuanyuan gazed into the distance, a trace of reminiscence appearing on her face. "In the past, every time I drank with someone, it was something I was forced into. This time alone, I did so willingly. Wouldn't you call that an exception?"
"Of course it counts," Song Qingshu said with a smile. "It even makes me feel flattered."
Chen Yuanyuan smiled sweetly. "Since you feel so flattered, shouldn't you show it somehow?"
"What would Madam like me to do?" Song Qingshu asked curiously.
Chen Yuanyuan raised her wine cup before her, a sly glint flashing through her eyes. "Young Master is a great hero renowned throughout the land, while I am merely a frail woman who cannot hold her liquor. If you drink one cup and I drink one cup, wouldn't that be rather unfair?"
Seeing the lively mischief in her eyes, Song Qingshu recalled that the woman before him had once been the unrivaled beauty of the Qin Huai River, a femme fatale who had driven countless men mad with desire. He could not help laughing. "Madam wants me to agree that whenever you drink one cup, I drink one bowl, is that it?"
Chen Yuanyuan let out a soft sigh. "From Young Master's tone, it seems you are unwilling."
Song Qingshu shook his head. "If you had not said anything, I might have proposed it myself. But since you have brought it up, I am reluctant to drink that way instead."
Chen Yuanyuan asked in surprise, "Why?"
Song Qingshu filled his own cup and answered, "I regard Madam as a friend. Why would Madam