With my attitude at that moment, anyone who didn't know better might have thought I'd won the lottery.
My brain was like a lightbulb with a bad connection, flickering on and off. Hugh Pei's face appeared as a double image, completely blurry.
I turned my head and saw that not just Hugh Pei, but everyone in the room looked like ghostly figures, distorted and hazy.
"Zoe, come on, let me take you home!" Tilly Ouyang came over to support me.
I had probably drunk the most out of everyone, since I was the only one who kept choosing to drink. The others had at least chosen truth or dare at some point.
Ella Li was also afraid I would continue to cause a scene with Hugh Pei. She and Tilly Ouyang flanked me like two guardians, trying to help me up. "Zoe, let's go back!"
I swayed and pushed them away, then lunged towards Jake Fu. "No, the dare isn't finished yet..."
Even though I was drunk, I still remembered that I wanted to embarrass Hugh Pei.
Jake Fu looked at me as if he'd seen a ghost, wishing he could disappear into thin air. He scrambled over to Lucas Lu, who held him tightly. They looked like a pair of brothers in distress.
Evan Yu, seeing the situation, got up and blocked my way. He grabbed my arm, his voice gentle. "Let's go back. Get a good night's sleep."
"Evan Yu, why are you so mean?" I tried to widen my eyes to look at him. "You were targeting me during the game just now. Believe it or not, I'll go to the hospital tomorrow and file a complaint against you. You abuse patients. I'll make sure you can't be a doctor anymore, and you'll have to go home and inherit the family business..."
"Alright," Evan Yu said, looking both helpless and amused.
"Quack! Quack!!" I shouted. I was quite familiar with throwing a drunken fit. In the past, when Hugh Pei didn't come home, I would often drink alone at home. If I had a little too much, I would act up, but that was just talking to myself in an empty room. No one paid me any attention.
Just as I was about to continue slandering Evan Yu's reputation, I suddenly felt my body lurch. A strong arm wrapped around my waist, then lifted me up and slung me over a shoulder.
The world spun around me, and my head felt even dizzier. I almost threw up.
Hugh Pei's hand moved from my waist to my thigh, holding me firmly so I wouldn't fall off his shoulder. At the same time, he warned me, "You're done for if you dare to throw up on me."
Everyone watched Hugh Pei's actions with mixed expressions, especially Lucas Lu and Jake Fu, whose mouths were agape, wide enough to fit an egg.
Hanging upside down, my blurry vision swept over them. Then, with a series of jolts, I was carried out of the private room.
They must have been thinking, why would Hugh Pei carry me away? I was just a dispensable wife in a marriage of convenience. Ginny Deng once described it to me: if I hanged myself at home one day, Hugh Pei would probably think I was swinging on a swing set.
His anger just now, and the faint hint of possessiveness, shouldn't have been directed at me.
As we went down the stairs, I seemed to see the door to the private room open again. Evan Yu's figure emerged, staring intently at Hugh Pei and me.
I thought I would be taken straight to Hugh Pei's car, but someone stopped him halfway.
A sleazy man's voice sounded, "Bro, is this your catch for the night? She looks pretty good. I got one too. Want to trade?"
This is why a woman should never get drunk alone outside. You never know what kind of scumbag will show up and try to take advantage.
Unfortunately for this guy, he had the bad luck of asking Hugh Pei.
I felt a violent jolt, followed by Hugh Pei's curse, "Are you tired of living?!"
The next second, I was placed on a nearby sofa. I forced my eyes open to see what was happening. Hugh Pei looked like he had swallowed a lit firecracker. He grabbed the man, who was already on the ground, by the collar and rained down punches.
Even in that noisy place, I could hear the sound of fists hitting flesh.
Someone called the manager of Tang Ge Yuan over. He was originally going to try and break up the fight, but when he saw Hugh Pei's face clearly, he didn't dare say a word. He just stood next to me and whispered to a waiter, "Call 120!"
The waiter hurried off to call 120. The man on the ground was already beaten to a bloody pulp, unrecognizable. I was afraid Hugh Pei would actually kill someone and wanted to tell him to stop, but then I gagged and threw up.
Hearing my retching, Hugh Pei stopped. He looked at the manager coldly. "Have your boss handle this."
"Yes, yes, of course," the manager nodded repeatedly.
Hugh Pei strode over to the sofa. This time, he didn't carry me over his shoulder, but picked me up in his arms and left Tang Ge Yuan in full view of everyone.
Before we even reached the car, I had fallen asleep in Hugh Pei's arms.
I had assumed Hugh Pei would take me back to Mapleview Manor, but when I woke up, the surroundings were wrong. The decor was clearly different, but it wasn't a hotel.
Where was this? I wandered around the room, then went out to the balcony to look.
In the distance, the river shimmered with points of light. On both banks was a stretch of bamboo forest, now covered in white snow, looking cold and beautiful.
I think I knew where this was. Cui Lin Jiang Ting, probably one of Hugh Pei's properties, the most expensive apartment complex in City A.
Why did he bring me here? I couldn't even come here before, but now he had brought me here himself. What I found most amusing was that in my past life, this was where he had kept Lila Wei. This was his "golden house" for his mistress, and the place where he and Lila Wei officially got together.
I still remembered how I had managed to find a small clue about Lila Wei's whereabouts back then and tried to rush in to find her, only to be chased away by the bodyguards Hugh Pei had arranged.
It was very quiet. I left the bedroom and explored the entire apartment, but there was no sign of Hugh Pei.
However, on the living room table were some photos. I walked over and looked, and the color drained from my face.
"Click." The sound of the living room door opening. Hugh Pei was at the door. When he saw me in the living room, he said coolly, "You're awake."
"What is this?!" I picked up the photos, my emotions spiraling out of control. "Where did you get these? Hugh Pei, you are so cruel!"
The photos in my hand were the bed photos of my father and Zhao Sufang.
So, in this life, Hugh Pei had still gathered some dirt on my father. And we were in the middle of a divorce. If he used these photos to threaten me into leaving with nothing, I would most likely agree.
"I have my ways of getting them. What?" Hugh Pei closed the door, casually tossed his car keys, and sat down on the sofa, looking at me calmly.
"Why would you do this?" I asked through gritted teeth. "What has my family ever done to you?"
In my past life, I could understand him going after the Xu family. After all, I had dragged him through a messy divorce. But now, we were practically strangers, and I had agreed to the divorce. He had no reason to secretly go after my family.
Hugh Pei's thick brows furrowed, his eyes sharp. "Are you still drunk?"