After that, they returned to drinking in the silence and their session ended at around half past two at his own house merely because they had run out of booze, and since the master of the penthouse had been knocked out of consciousness from drinking too much.

The next day, Sunday, Chen Linyun decided to visit his friend again, since the wife and her friends were out on a ladies-only escapade. He ordered Chichi to prepare hot porridge for Zhu Li Qiang whom he knew would be suffering from a hangover.

He couldn't be any more correct.

Chen Linyun spent the whole day in the penthouse, more like tending to the indolent Zhu Li Qiang. He left the television open this time, just to make sure that something's making the atmosphere more alive. He left the channel where a game of football was playing. 

Zhu Li Qiang, without saying a word, finished his porridge. He completely emptied the contents of the thermos. He had been starving, but no one was there to cook for him or tend to him, and he's not in the mood to do it himself.

'He needs a lady in his life.'

'He needs just someone just like Teng Man Rui.'

'I pray to the heavens that these two would fix whatever they share between them.'

He shook his head as he sighed, looking up towards the ceiling. Zhu Li Qiang had been diminished into such a baby.

In the afternoon, the big adult baby, Zhu Li Qiang took a nap and in the evening, he resumed drinking.

Seemingly prepared, Chen Linyun worked in his laptop while the Zhu young master fell asleep in the afternoon. Once evening came, they ordered take-outs and more beer.

They quietly devoured their food and booze.

Chen Linyun hesitatingly opened a sensitive topic. "There's a rumor going around in the business world…" He threw a side-glance in Zhu Li Qiang's direction. "…about Teng Man Rui's…." Chen Linyun trailed off.

"…Engagement, you mean to say?" Zhu Li Qiang, devoid of life, completed the sentence.

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"More or less."

"It's all over the place. How can I not know about it?" Zhu Li Qiang seemed a lot calmer now compared to the night before.

Even deeper, thicker silence enveloped them. Chen Linyun broke it first this time. "It's not too late, you know. They aren't married yet. I've been there." He pulled his eyegla.s.ses up through the nose bridge, masking his embarra.s.sment. "Not that I'm a bad influence or anything, but dude, you should do something if you love her. Maybe she's waiting for you… for what you're going to do next…"

"You think so?" Zhu Li Qiang froze. "I'm not so sure… About her feelings… I have doubts… I somehow feel that she still nurtures her past pa.s.sionate sentiments for him. Their history is deep. I cannot compete with what they shared."

"Although she said that she loves me, I think she still loves him too. I am not entirely sure if I am the intruder here."

"Maybe I'm only making her mind and world more chaotic than how it should have been."

"She doesn't even want to see me."

"…Yet I can see it in her eyes. Her love for me is true. Or maybe that's what I want to believe in. Maybe I'm just perceiving what I want to believe. That's crazy."

With an abrupt movement, he smashed his beer bottle on the countertop. It shattered into big and small shards. The larger bottom half's sharp edge slid and cut his palms and fingers open.

Shaking, his right hand fell limply on his side. Fresh, hot blood trickled from his skin towards the tip of his fingers and thick dark red droplets landed onto the white marble floor.

"Careful!!" Chen Linyun exclaimed, but it was too late.

"Ha!" Zhu Li Qiang smirked.

"Hahahahahaha!!!" He laughed boisterously, dryly, without any humor at all. 

Chen Linyun hurriedly grabbed his wrist brusquely and checked on his wound. He stood up, searched the house for the tools that he needed – a forceps of some sort, and some first aid materials, and returned by his friend's side. Using the forceps he pulled the shards out of his skin. The Zhu young master quietly endured the feat while grimacing and wincing every time a shard came out. Once everything's out, Chen Linyun tied a clean lady's handkerchief over the wound and across his palm. Fresh blood that oozed out of the wound instantly stained the handkerchief.

"That's Man Rui's. Look at what you've done. You've soiled it." He whined, not even saying a simple thanks to his temporary nanny and nurse.

"No, you soiled it. It's your blood on it, dummy." Chen Linyun bantered.

Zhu Li Qiang jeered. "Then, perhaps that's better. I've marked it."

'He's getting crazier.' Chen Linyun rubbed the back of his head with his hand. 

"What's the use of marking it? You're gonna need to dispose of it later. It wouldn't be usable anymore after this instance."

Meanwhile, he could sense that his mobile phone which he left on the tabletop vibrated several times. He picked it up. 

Three missed calls from wifey.

As he opened his inbox and read the wife's message, his face paled as he was overcome by a sense of urgency and hurriedly dragged Zhu Li Qiang with him out of the penthouse and into the deepening night, as per instructions.

'Pick us up at Zenith-O. I'm with the girls. Bring Zhu Li Qiang. Be here ASAP.'

Something in the way she typed her message triggered fright in Chen Linyun. Her statements were direct-to-the-point, concise, and what's with the request of bringing Zhu Li Qiang? He started his a.n.a.lysis upon reading the missus' message, while his brain had simultaneously listed all the possible scenarios for such behavior. It must involve Teng Man Rui as well.

Xue Jinxu, being the independent, strong woman that she was, had seldom requested for her husband to pick her up. Suddenly, she had not only requested, but she's also commanding for it.

As if intuition would have it, Chen Linyun s.h.i.+vered as gooseb.u.mps spread along his spine.

"Come on, Li Qiang!! Hurry!" Chen Linyun almost snapped at the heavy, staggering, big baby he was dragging with him. At this rate, it would take them a while to get to the wife and her friends.