699: Chapter 699 Three women make a drama!

Ye Chen was taken aback when he heard this. He turned around and fixed his gaze on Bing Lan's face. "Is something on your mind?"

Bing Lan nodded.

"I'll probably have to go to South Korea on a business trip tomorrow."

Ye Chen's brow furrowed slightly. "What are you going there for?"

"It's for some exchange seminars on lingerie design."

Bing Lan explained.

"South Korea's lingerie industry is relatively mature compared to the neighboring countries."

"They have several well-known designers there. Whether it's fabric selection or style design, there's a lot we can learn from them."

She paused before continuing.

"Although Shuyue Group is currently the leader of the domestic women's products industry, we must absorb more advanced concepts and technologies if we want to enter the international market."

Ye Chen didn't speak immediately after hearing this.

He leaned back in his seat, his fingers lightly tapping against his thigh.

Seeing him remain silent, Bing Lan thought he was worried about something and quickly added, "It's just an ordinary business trip. I'll be back in three to five days, so there won't be any danger."

"I'll go with you," Ye Chen chimed in immediately.

Bing Lan looked surprised. "Aren't you very busy? Don't delay your work for such a small matter of mine."

Ye Chen rolled his eyes. "What's there to be busy with? Everything that needed to be done is already finished."

Bing Lan opened her mouth, wanting to say something more.

Ye Chen waved his hand to interrupt her. "Alright, South Korea is an unfamiliar place. I won't feel at ease letting you go alone."

Bing Lan didn't insist either and nodded gently.

"Okay."

"Then should we call Sister Meiting and Qin Qin to gather together tonight?"

Ye Chen smiled slightly. "Sure, you arrange it."

Afterwards, the two of them went to a fresh food supermarket and bought a bunch of ingredients.

Then,

they called Li Qin and headed straight to Sheshan Villa.

At this hour, Jin Meiting was probably still asleep.

As soon as they arrived,

they saw Li Qin waving at them from a distance.

The three of them met up. Li Qin ran forward, linked her arm with Bing Lan's, and said with a grin, "Sister Bing Lan, you're finally here! I'm starving!"

"You're always such a glutton," Bing Lan laughed, tapping her on the nose.

Carrying bags of ingredients, the three of them walked to the door of Jin Meiting's villa.

Ye Chen reached out and rang the doorbell.

Ding-dong—

The doorbell rang three or four times before the door finally opened.

Jin Meiting was wearing a wine-red silk nightgown, her long hair draped lazily over her shoulders, her face still carrying the sleepiness of someone who had just woken up.

Because she had to manage the affairs of the Tiangong Nightclub, her days and nights were usually reversed.

Before Ye Chen and the others rang the doorbell, she was still asleep.

However,

when she saw the three people standing at the door, she froze, her peach blossom eyes filled with surprise.

"You guys... how do you have the time to come over?"

Both Ye Chen and Bing Lan were very busy people.

Ever since the last time Ye Chen accompanied her back to her hometown, the two of them had rarely met.

Not to mention Bing Lan...

It was almost a major meeting every three days and a minor one every two days.

It was hard to even ask her out for a drink.

Bing Lan lifted the ingredients in her hand, shook them, and smiled. "We're here to freeload a meal."

Jin Meiting blinked and stretched.

"Come in. I just woke up, so the house hasn't been tidied up yet."

"No need to tidy up. It'll get messy again in a bit anyway," Li Qin said carelessly as she walked inside.

Jin Meiting closed the door and followed the three of them into the living room.

Looking at Bing Lan and Ye Chen's backs, a flicker of complex emotion flashed in her eyes, but she quickly returned to normal.

Bing Lan placed the ingredients on the kitchen island, turned to look at Jin Meiting, and said, "Sister Meiting, I'm going to South Korea on a business trip tomorrow, and A-Chen is coming with me. So, we wanted to gather with you tonight."

Jin Meiting's footsteps paused slightly, and the expression on her face became somewhat subtle.

"To South Korea? For how long?"

"Three to five days, depending on the itinerary."

Jin Meiting was silent for a moment, then nodded. "Alright, then I'll have someone else watch Tiangong tonight, and we can have a good gathering."

She turned and walked toward the walk-in closet, saying as she went, "Have a seat first, I'll go change my clothes."

"No need to change!"

Li Qin clamored, "Pajamas are so comfortable, and it's not like we're going out anyway."

Jin Meiting turned back and glared at her. "You girl, you really are treating this place more and more like your own home."

"Hehe, we're all family here," Li Qin said with a cheeky grin. "Back then, who was the one who left her 'Younger Male Cousin' alone in the pool with us female temptresses while she went to change into her swimsuit?"

Jin Meiting: "..."

Back then, to get Ye Chen close to Bing Lan, they had put on that "Younger Male Cousin" act. Now that it was being brought up again, it felt quite strange.

She fled into the walk-in closet. However, when she came out, she had changed into a set of casual loungewear and tied her hair into a messy bun, making her look several years younger.

"Will this do?" She spread her hands and spun around in front of Li Qin.

"Sister Meiting is the most beautiful!"

Li Qin gave her a thumbs-up.

Dinner for four was both simple and complex.

A split hot pot, with spicy red oil on one side and clear mushroom broth on the other.

The ingredients covered the entire table, and there were dipping sauces personally prepared by Bing Lan.

"Let's eat, let's eat!"

Li Qin was the first to pick up her chopsticks. She grabbed a slice of beef tripe and swished it up and down in the red oil pot.

Ye Chen sat between Bing Lan and Jin Meiting. A row of drinks—liquor, red wine, and beer—was lined up neatly in front of him.

"Are you trying to get me drunk?" Ye Chen raised an eyebrow.

Bing Lan smiled slightly. "Drink as you please, we'll drink ours."

Jin Meiting poured herself a glass of baijiu, tilted her head back, and downed it in one go.

As the spicy alcohol went down her throat, her brow furrowed slightly, and her eyes instantly turned red.

It wasn't because of the alcohol's heat.

Bing Lan looked at her without speaking, silently pouring her another glass.

"Sister Meiting, drink slowly," Li Qin said indistinctly, her mouth stuffed with meat.

Jin Meiting shook her head, picked up her glass again, and downed it in one gulp.

After the second glass, a flush had already risen on her face, and her gaze was becoming a bit unfocused.

"Bing Lan..."

She set down her glass and turned to look at Bing Lan. "Actually... I've wanted to say this to you for a long time... I'm sorry."

Bing Lan was swishing some mutton in the pot. Her movements paused upon hearing this, but she then continued as if nothing had happened.

"I lied to you back then."

Jin Meiting's eyes were red, her voice filled with guilt.

"But my original intention was truly for your own good."

As she spoke,

her tears began to fall.

Li Qin bit her chopsticks, looking at Jin Meiting and then at Bing Lan.

She knew what had happened before.

Jin Meiting had deceived Bing Lan, but it was for her own good, to protect her.

But what Bing Lan hated most was betrayal, especially since...

Jin Meiting used to be with Zheng Hu, and Zheng Hu was the enemy who killed Bing Lan's father.

This kind of feeling...

was incredibly awkward.

Ye Chen took a sip of his beer and remained silent.

Bing Lan placed the cooked mutton into Jin Meiting's bowl.

"It's in the past."

Jin Meiting looked up at her with tearful eyes.

Bing Lan set down her chopsticks and continued.

"At least I know now that my dad wasn't a heartless person."

"He was a hero."

Jin Meiting's tears fell even faster.

Bing Lan raised her glass and lightly clinked it against Jin Meiting's. "Drink."

Jin Meiting sniffled, picked up her glass, and drained it.

Her third glass.

Her fourth glass.

Her fifth glass.

...

Li Qin soon joined the "battlefield" as well.

None of the three women used their true qi to resist the alcohol, drinking glass after glass.

Bing Lan had the highest tolerance, but after downing seven or eight glasses of baijiu in a row, her eyes also began to grow hazy.

Jin Meiting had long since slumped onto the table, mumbling something incoherent.

Li Qin was even more exaggerated; she slid under the table halfway through, hugging the table leg and refusing to let go.

"Another glass..."

Ye Chen looked down at Li Qin hugging the table leg, his lips twitching several times.

"This has nothing to do with you, why are you blindly joining in?"

Li Qin didn't respond, already letting out soft snores.

Ye Chen sighed and stood up, first pulling Li Qin out from under the table.

This girl looked thin, but when drunk she was dead weight, like a sack of cement.

Carrying her with one hand, Ye Chen walked up to the second floor, pushed open the door of a guest room, placed her on the bed, and pulled the blanket over her.

Li Qin rolled over, hugging the blanket with a silly grin still on her face. "Younger Male Cousin~ I want more!"

Ye Chen: "???"

Huh?

Want more?

Want what?

He shook his head speechlessly, then turned and went downstairs.

Jin Meiting was still slumped on the table, one strap of her wine-red nightgown having slipped down, revealing her fair shoulder.

Tears still clung to her eyelashes, but the corners of her mouth were slightly curved upward, as if she were having a beautiful dream.

Bing Lan leaned against the back of her chair, her eyes half-open. Seeing Ye Chen walk over, she pointed at Jin Meiting in a daze. "Take her up first... I can still sit for a bit..."

Ye Chen looked at her speechlessly. "Are you sure?"

"Sure..." Before Bing Lan could finish her sentence, her head tilted to the side, and she fell asleep as well.

Ye Chen: "..."

Fine, fine, fine. Each one talked tougher than the last, yet each fell faster than the last.

He sighed, bent down, wrapped one arm around Jin Meiting's waist, slipped the other under her knees, and scooped her up in a princess carry.