CHAPTER 325: 325 QIAOQIAO IS DRUNK

(Thanks to my friends Heart Dance and Rural Guardian for their monthly pass encouragement.)

"Brother Wang, you’ve done a great job with the roast lamb leg today," Liu Banxia complimented when Wang Dashan came in to greet them.

"I know you can eat. Anything else you want?" Wang Dashan asked.

"This is enough; I ordered plenty, and you’ve brought us several more dishes. If you’re free, why don’t you sit down and join us for a chat?" Liu Banxia said with a smile.

"I’d love to, but it’s peak time for customers right now. You two continue eating. Later, I’ll bring you some beef tendons. Today’s beef tendons are good." With that, Wang Dashan went out.

"Sigh... he’s always so courteous. But honestly, the food here is really good. The only downside is that it’s a bit far, so it’s not that convenient to come here," Liu Banxia said.

"Indeed, it’s pretty good, and it looks very clean too. Some places don’t really clean up properly; they just skewer and grill," Qiaoqiao nodded, pouring herself another glass of wine.

"Why don’t you slow down a bit? What’s the rush?" Liu Banxia said.

"It’s been a while since I’ve had a proper drink. Let’s grab a couple more bottles of beer later," Qiaoqiao said casually.

Liu Banxia’s mouth fell open slightly as he looked at the less than half bottle of liquor remaining. He was truly impressed by Qiaoqiao’s drinking capacity.

Even though they had eaten together several times, he’d never seen Qiaoqiao drink seriously. The only time Qiaoqiao had drunk a lot was with the people from the boxing gym, and he had only shown up at the very end.

The two chatted intermittently. Thanks to the roasting stove for the lamb leg, even if the skewers got cold, they could reheat them on it.

Of course, in terms of taste, it wasn’t as fresh and tender as when freshly grilled, but it was still perfectly fine.

Then, Liu Banxia discovered something: Qiaoqiao could really hold her liquor.

She finished a bottle of Wuliangye Fifth and was now on her second bottle of beer. It wasn’t that Qiaoqiao showed no reaction; she had simply become much more talkative, and she was the one initiating conversations.

Otherwise, when she first arrived, he usually had to ask a question, and Qiaoqiao would only reply when she found a moment.

"Are you going to take a bath after dinner?" Qiaoqiao asked casually.

Liu Banxia shook his head. "I have to go to sleep after I drop you off; I have an early shift tomorrow. There’s a partial hepatectomy surgery, and the adhesions look quite severe. I don’t know how long it will take."

"You doctors, always dealing with various organs, don’t you feel nauseated when you eat?" Qiaoqiao asked curiously.

"It was definitely tough at first, but I got used to it over time," Liu Banxia said.

"Everything’s a matter of habit; once you get used to it, it’s fine. When I was in school, I didn’t even dare to do dissections, but now it’s no big deal."

Qiaoqiao nodded, picked up the beer beside her, and gulped down another glass.

"By the way, when you usually take Tang Dou out to play, do you see Old Qiu’s Tiggie?" Liu Banxia asked.

Qiaoqiao nodded happily. "Tang Dou finally has a playmate! Every time he runs into Tiggie, he plays with him for a while. I was thinking about getting another dog before, but now I don’t have to worry about it."

Liu Banxia was amused; it seemed Qiaoqiao really cared for Tang Dou. But Tang Dou also had a bit of a pitiful life, often alone, and sometimes his next meal would be forgotten.

Tiggie was definitely happier. Wang Jingxian was a stay-at-home mom, and Doudou really liked Tiggie; it was as if Tiggie had fallen into a honeypot.

It was almost nine o’clock. Liu Banxia started to eat faster.

It would take a while to drive Qiaoqiao home, and then he had to go back to the dormitory. He might not get back until midnight. At this point, he noticed a new problem: Qiaoqiao seemed to have drunk too much.

She was talking less, and she could barely keep her eyes open. While it wasn’t as serious as last time, it was still a bit risky.

"Qiaoqiao, how many fingers am I holding up?" Liu Banxia held up two fingers.

"Aren’t you annoying? Who can count if you keep shaking your hand like that?" Qiaoqiao glared at him.

Liu Banxia shook his head with a wry smile. She’s definitely drunk; I didn’t even shake my hand.

Looking over, he noticed some chicken cartilage left, so he swept it onto his plate and quickly finished it off.

"Why aren’t you talking to me?" Qiaoqiao asked.

"Can’t let it go to waste. I’ll take you home after I finish eating," Liu Banxia replied.

"Hmm... you have to drive me home. I can’t drive; I drank too much," Qiaoqiao nodded.

This made Liu Banxia chuckle. No wonder people say that even a drunk person has moments of clarity; it’s really true. But now, with alcohol paralyzing her central nervous system, some things she did were purely instinctual, without any thought.

"Wow, why did Qiaoqiao drink so much?" Wang Dashan exclaimed when he saw Liu Banxia supporting Qiaoqiao out.

"I don’t know why she was so happy. A bottle of liquor and two bottles of beer," Liu Banxia said.

"Did she drink all of it by herself? I thought you two were drinking together. Will she be alright? Do you need help?" Wang Dashan asked.

"No, thank you, Brother Wang. I need to sleep when I get home," Qiaoqiao replied.

"Seeing her like this, I need to get her home quickly, or there’s no telling what kind of scene she might make. I’m leaving now. I’ll visit next time when Mingxing is resting," Liu Banxia said.

"Yeah, last time she was home, she kept saying she wanted to visit you at the hospital to chat. After chatting with you, she becomes more motivated to study. That child from the Qiu family is quite close with Mingxing now and takes good care of her at school," Wang Dashan nodded.

Liu Banxia didn’t dare talk much longer with Wang Dashan, as Qiaoqiao was already quite unsteady on her feet. It was still some distance to the car, so to save time, he directly carried Qiaoqiao on his back.

"Run faster!" Qiaoqiao shouted.

"Faster? What’s the rush? Calm down. I won’t let you drink like this again," Liu Banxia said helplessly.

"Dummy, you’re even slower than Tang Dou," Qiaoqiao muttered.

Slower than Tang Dou, so be it. He carried Qiaoqiao to the car, managed to get her into the passenger seat, and buckled her seatbelt. She was relatively well-behaved and didn’t cause too much trouble.

On the way to Linyu Villa, Qiaoqiao mostly mumbled incoherently. As for what she was saying, Liu Banxia couldn’t quite make it out.

Right now, Liu Banxia was just hoping for one thing: that Qiaoqiao wouldn’t throw up in the car. Once he got her to Linyu Villa, he could hand her over. Let Wang Xiaoyan deal with her then.

Finally, they arrived at Linyu Villa. Seeing the dark house, Liu Banxia had a bad feeling. He glanced at Qiaoqiao in the passenger seat; the girl seemed to be sleeping soundly.

WOOF... WOOF WOOF...

Tang Dou’s barking echoed from inside the house.

Left with no other choice, Liu Banxia called Wang Xiaoyan directly.

"Dr. Liu, what’s up?" Wang Xiaoyan asked as she picked up.

"Yanzi, could you open the door? Qiaoqiao drank too much," Liu Banxia said quickly.

"What? Qiaoqiao’s drunk? But I’m in Sanya right now!" Wang Xiaoyan exclaimed, sounding genuinely surprised.

"Then... is Jiaojiao here?" Liu Banxia asked.

"Jiaojiao came with us too. Qiaoqiao had too many things to look after and couldn’t get away. I’ll send you the passcode. You must take good care of Qiaoqiao. When she’s drunk, she can get very thirsty. I’m a bit busy on my end." After saying this, Wang Xiaoyan hung up.

Liu Banxia was dumbfounded. How am I supposed to handle this? He’d taken care of patients before, even drunk ones, but those were patients who had received IV drips.

His phone chimed with an incoming text. Wang Xiaoyan had sent the password.

Sighing, Liu Banxia admitted to himself that this was his own fault. Why hadn’t he asked earlier? He carried Qiaoqiao out of the car and unlocked the house door.

Tang Dou, who had been waiting eagerly, squeezed out. If Liu Banxia hadn’t been prepared, Tang Dou would have knocked him over.

As for its owner Qiaoqiao’s condition, Tang Dou didn’t seem concerned in the least. However, it seemed to quite approve of Liu Banxia, this companion.

"Good boy, Tang Dou. Let me take this handful of yours upstairs first," Liu Banxia said.

Tang Dou whimpered softly twice and quickly ran into the villa.

After Liu Banxia settled Qiaoqiao in bed, Tang Dou went over to look at her, then scampered away. When looking at Liu Banxia, his tail wagged so fast it was a blur.

"Hold on a bit. Your food bowl is totally clean. How long has it been since your last meal?" Liu Banxia patted Tang Dou on the head.

Tang Dou trotted off again and sat patiently by his food bowl, waiting for Liu Banxia to feed him.

In Liu Banxia’s opinion, Tang Dou was much less worry than Qiaoqiao. At least Tang Dou didn’t need looking after. Qiaoqiao, on the other hand, was a different story; he couldn’t leave her tonight.

What if she throws up later? What if she chokes on it? As a doctor, he couldn’t ignore such possibilities.

When he returned to Qiaoqiao’s room after filling Tang Dou’s bowl, he found Qiaoqiao had completely let loose.

She had half-taken off her clothes and was half-covered by the blanket.

What else could he do? He had to help her finish undressing. The girl hadn’t even taken off her shoes; sleeping like that all night would be miserable.

After helping settle Qiaoqiao in bed and covering her with the blanket, he placed three glasses of water on the bedside table, then finally stepped out and closed the door.

Qiaoqiao, who was supposed to be sleeping, opened her eyes and sat up. She gulped down one glass of water and smacked her lips, seeming a bit frustrated. Why wasn’t it like what they showed on TV? Wasn’t there supposed to be a stolen kiss or something? It seemed he was a true gentleman, not one to take advantage of someone when they were vulnerable. But then again, was she not attractive enough? Why hadn’t he made any move at all? This was Qiaoqiao’s ploy, or rather, her test for Liu Banxia. She definitely couldn’t just fall soundly asleep; that would be letting this guy take advantage of her. She was a bit drunk; otherwise, she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to act convincingly. But this outcome now made her a bit melancholy.

BURP...

She let out a drunken burp; the glass of water she’d just drunk truly settled in her stomach. She picked up another glass and gulped it down, quietly changed into her pajamas, haphazardly wiped her face with makeup remover, and finally got back into bed and fell asleep.

The alcohol was really potent; she had been struggling to stay conscious just moments before.