Chapter 15: “Not Allowed to Hug?”

Shen Nanzhi blocked all push notifications and had no idea that, shortly after she saw the trending video, all related trending topics were completely removed within minutes.

She also did not know that later that evening, Jiang Tingxu was scolded over the phone by Mr. and Mrs. Jiang for nearly half an hour.

 
Huaihai University was close to her apartment. After finishing up in the laboratory, Shen Nanzhi did not make a special trip to the Jiang family’s old residence but instead went straight back to her small apartment. She spent the weekend confined to her study, working on research projects and analyzing current financial trends.

For the past two days, Jiang Jinnian had been away on a business trip. Aside from food deliveries, the apartment door had remained untouched.

Alone at home, Shen Nanzhi buried herself in her research and thesis. In such an environment of absolute solitude, even her daily routine had become irregular.

By Sunday afternoon at three o’clock, after staying up all night studying financial trends, she finally planned to get some proper rest and recharge.

She had just laid down in bed and had yet to enter deep sleep when her phone on the nightstand suddenly started vibrating frantically.

Shen Nanzhi groggily opened her eyes, still half-asleep, and pressed the answer button. “Hello, Qinghe?” 

On the other end of the line, there was a chaotic clamor in the background. Gu Qinghe’s voice sounded low and dispirited, blending with the surrounding noise. 

“Nanzhi, are you free this afternoon? I’m at a bar on Huajiang Road. Will you come?” 

Shen Nanzhi sat up in bed, shook her head to clear away any lingering drowsiness, and ruled out the possibility of mishearing. Sensing that something was off in her friend’s tone, she confirmed the bar’s address before quickly getting out of bed. She splashed some cold water on her face, grabbed a dress from her walk-in closet without much thought, and headed out. 

Shen Nanzhi rarely went to bars. 

Especially since Gu Qinghe, wanting to avoid running into Gu Wenchuan’s acquaintances at “Sheng Ye,” had deliberately chosen a more obscure and distant location. 

It took her quite a while to find the right bar. 

Amidst the dim lighting, flashing neon signs, and deafening music, she finally spotted Gu Qinghe sitting in the innermost booth—her face full of dejection and barely restrained anger. 

Shen Nanzhi’s head was already groggy, and the blaring music inside made it worse, as if her temples were pulsating with each beat. 

“Missy, what’s going on?”

The surrounding noise made it difficult to talk, so Gu Qinghe stood up, grabbed Shen Nanzhi’s hand, and led her toward the elevator. “It’s too loud on the first floor. Let’s go to a private room upstairs.” 

Shen Nanzhi followed her all the way up. 

When they reached the third floor, they entered a private room that Gu Qinghe had reserved in advance. 

Gu Qinghe slumped onto the sofa, looking dejected. She threw her head back and downed two glasses of alcohol before finally speaking. 

“It’s still about that arranged marriage.” 

As if she had finally found an outlet, she started venting, pouring out her frustrations between gulps of alcohol. 

“What kind of decent family starts arranging a marriage for their daughter when she’s just twenty?” 

“I’m their daughter, not some bargaining chip for their alliances! That time during Mid-Autumn Festival, they dragged me out of ‘Sheng Ye’ and locked me up at home for three days—that was bad enough. But how long has it even been? And they’re bringing up this marriage nonsense again.” 

 “So, what was I born just to be their pawn in some marriage deal?” 

The more Gu Qinghe spoke, the angrier she became. Her complaints filled the entire private room. 

Shen Nanzhi understood her well. Right now, what Gu Qinghe needed was to vent, not to be comforted. So she simply sat there in silence, listening intently until Gu Qinghe had said her piece.

Gu Qinghe truly despised the idea of an arranged marriage. 

Or rather, all children from elite families did. 

Watching Gu Qinghe’s resistance and outright rejection of the arrangement, for a fleeting moment, Shen Nanzhi thought of Jiang Tingxu, who shared the same disdain for such unions. 

Although she was born into the Shen family, she had been orphaned at a young age. The Shen Group had long lost its former glory, especially during the turbulent times after her parents’ passing. It had only managed to maintain its status thanks to the Jiang family’s backing. 

She had no powerful family to support her, no leverage to resist. So when it came to arranged marriages—this engagement that had been set in stone since her birth—her subconscious response had always been acceptance and submission. 

But Gu Qinghe and Jiang Tingxu were different. 

They had the power to fight back. 

And the means to resist. 

The older she got, the more Shen Nanzhi understood the reasons behind Jiang Tingxu’s rejection of the engagement. 

She wondered—if things had remained the same, 

If she were still the cherished daughter of her parents, 

If the Shen family’s position was still secure, 

If she were facing an arranged marriage with someone she didn’t like—facing a marriage she was doomed to be bound to—she figured she would resist just as fiercely. 

Gu Qinghe had no idea what was going through Shen Nanzhi’s mind. 

Seeing that she remained silent, Gu Qinghe poured a glass of wine and handed it to her. Then, like a sloth, she draped herself over Shen Nanzhi. 

“Xiao Zhizhi, you drink too. This wine has a low alcohol content, so it won’t get you drunk easily.” 

Gu Qinghe truly despised the impending engagement. Having grown up as a beloved and pampered daughter, she now had to face an arranged marriage she didn’t want. The anger in her heart was inevitable. 

She downed glass after glass. 

As if getting drunk could help her escape a fate she had no power to change. 

But this young lady wasn’t just drinking quietly. 

From the moment they stepped into the private room until now, she hadn’t stopped complaining. 

Shen Nanzhi hadn’t slept the entire night before, and today she had only managed to rest for two or three hours in the morning. Sitting in the private room for so long, exhaustion slowly crept up on her. 

She rubbed her temples, comforting her friend while picking up the glass on the table, taking a sip of the chilled wine to clear her head.

The icy liquor slid down her throat, carrying the sharp sting unique to alcohol. The effect of clearing her drowsiness was immediate. 

After the first glass, Shen Nanzhi barely put her drink down. It was as if she were sipping on a cold beverage, occasionally taking a few sips along with Gu Qinghe. 

However, a certain unreliable friend had left out an important detail. 

The alcohol Gu Qinghe had ordered did have a low concentration, but its aftereffects were strong.

Especially for someone like Shen Nanzhi, who had a low alcohol tolerance and rarely touched liquor. 

Once the intoxication set in, under the influence of alcohol, it became impossible to suppress. 

The Gu family’s bodyguards, who had been secretly stationed outside the bar on orders, noticed that their young lady had been inside for nearly two hours without coming out. Without hesitation, they immediately called Gu Wenchuan. 

After answering the call, the first thing Gu Wenchuan did was dial Jiang Jinnian’s number. 

As soon as the call connected, Gu Wenchuan quickly spoke while heading to the garage to get his car: 

“Hey, Jiang Jinnian, my sister dragged your sister to a bar on Huajiang Road for drinks. Are you back from your business trip? Do you have time to come over?” 

Jiang Jinnian had just stepped out of the airport. Upon hearing this, his expression darkened instantly. “I have time. I’m heading there now.” 

Hanging up, Jiang Jinnian instructed the driver in front, “Change the route. Go to Huajiang Road.” 

From four o’clock in the afternoon, the sky had been overcast, and rain had begun to fall. 

Now, nearing six o’clock, it was the height of rush hour. The bad weather and heavy traffic meant that even though the driver took the fastest route to Huajiang Road, it still took over half an hour to arrive. 

Gu Wenchuan had left two bodyguards outside to wait for Jiang Jinnian. 

As soon as Jiang Jinnian stepped out of the car, the two bodyguards hurried over to greet him. 

“Mr. Jiang, Mr. Gu has already gone up to the third floor. Please follow us.” 

Jiang Jinnian swept his gaze over the noisy bar, his expression unreadable. Without a word, he followed the bodyguards inside. 

Gu Qinghe could handle alcohol much better than Shen Nanzhi. 

But no matter how good one’s tolerance was, it couldn’t withstand drinking like water from the moment she stepped into the private room. 

By the time Gu Wenchuan arrived, both Gu Qinghe and Shen Nanzhi were already quite drunk. 

Especially Gu Qinghe—her drunken antics were notoriously terrible. 

Once intoxicated, she would shout, make a scene, and refuse to listen to anyone. Restraining her was harder than wrangling a pig. 

Shen Nanzhi rarely drank, and even when she got drunk, she didn’t cause a scene. She simply rested her head quietly on the table with her eyes half-closed, neither making a fuss nor saying a word. 

But Gu Wenchuan, while holding down his rebellious sister, felt his temples pounding violently when he saw that this troublesome girl had gotten Jiang Jinnian’s precious person drunk. 

His brows furrowed tightly—this was giving him an even bigger headache than Gu Qinghe being drunk herself. 

If it were just his own sister, he could scold her, throw her over his shoulder, and carry her out. 

But now that this troublesome girl had gotten Jiang Jinnian’s person drunk, how was he supposed to explain this to Jiang Jinnian? 

At this moment, Gu Wenchuan could only feel relieved—relieved that he had sent bodyguards in advance to secretly watch over Gu Qinghe. At least this girl hadn’t caused an even bigger disaster. Fortunately, Shen Nanzhi was only drunk and nothing else had happened. Otherwise, he would have had an even harder time explaining things to Jiang Jinnian. 

“Zhizhi, I’m not done talking yet… Let’s keep drinking…” 

Gu Qinghe shook off her brother’s restraining hand and staggered toward Shen Nanzhi, who was sitting on the other side of the table. 

Gu Wenchuan’s temples throbbed even more violently. 

He grabbed his unruly, drunken sister with one hand, gritting his teeth in frustration. 

“Gu Qinghe, the moment we get home, I’m throwing you into the wine cellar! Let’s see if you can drink to your heart’s content then!” 

Seeing that even in her drunken state, this troublesome girl was still trying to cling to Shen Nanzhi, Gu Wenchuan felt an overwhelming urge to tie her up with a rope. 

Just then, the private room door was suddenly pushed open. 

Jiang Jinnian strode in from outside. 

Gu Wenchuan let out a small breath of relief and gestured toward Shen Nanzhi’s direction. 

“This girl drank quite a bit with Nanzhi. Nanzhi is probably drunk too. See if your sister can still recognize people.” 

Jiang Jinnian’s gaze swept over the table cluttered with bottles before he stepped toward the left side of the private room, where Shen Nanzhi lay slumped over the table. 

“Nanzhi?” 

The girl, who had been resting quietly, stirred slightly, her eyelashes trembling faintly. 

The liquor had a strong aftereffect, making her head feel completely dizzy. 

Hearing someone call her name, she slowly lifted her head, struggling to sit up straight as she turned toward the source of the voice. 

Shen Nanzhi had never been drunk before. 

Especially not in front of Jiang Jinnian. 

Even during past holiday gatherings, when toasts were exchanged at family banquets, she would only take the smallest sip and never drink more than necessary. 

Gu Qinghe had finally quieted down a little. 

Gu Wenchuan glanced at his sister a few times before lifting his gaze toward Jiang Jinnian on the other side. 

Shen Nanzhi propped herself up, her clear, water-like eyes misted with drunken haze as she tilted her head up, staring fixedly at Jiang Jinnian. 

She looked as if she were too intoxicated to recognize him. A long moment passed, yet she didn’t call out his name. 

Jiang Jinnian’s dark eyes deepened as he gazed down at the girl staring blankly at him. Bending down, he reached out and gently touched her forehead. 

“This drunk?” 

“You don’t even recognize me?” 

It was still raining outside, and she had drunk quite a lot. Worried that she might catch a chill, Jiang Jinnian pressed his palm against her forehead for a moment. Sensing that her temperature was normal, he withdrew his hand and reached out, intending to pick her up. 

But just as his arm brushed against her, before he could pull her into his embrace— 

The girl lowered her gaze and leaned away. 

“Am I not Allowed to hug?”