The atmosphere was a bit delicate. Qin Daqing and Liu Sufen exchanged a glance; they could both tell that their daughter seemed to have a special connection with the Su family's child.

Zhao Lixia and Su Jianjun were naturally overjoyed, their faces beaming with happiness.

Su Zelin cleared his throat, breaking the silence: "Alright, alright, no need to get sentimental. Since you're younger than me, that makes me the big brother, so taking care of you is only natural!"

The dates for Gemini and Cancer are adjacent, and indeed, Su Zelin was born a month earlier than Qin Shiqing.

However, his words were rather tone-deaf.

Zhao Lixia was instantly frustrated, inwardly cursing her son for being clueless.

I wish for Shiqing to be my daughter-in-law, and this silly boy wants to be her brother!

Calling such a fine girl his sister, there must be something wrong with his head!

I really don't get why my son's intelligence and emotional quotient are both high, yet when it comes to Qin Shiqing, he just doesn't get it.

Su Jianjun scolded directly: "Big brother, huh? Do you think you're so impressive, like Ke Shouliang?"

Zhao Lixia chimed in: "Exactly, just a snotty brat, pretending to be all mature? Shiqing, don't mind him; this kid's probably drunk and thinks he's amazing!"

Su Zelin wanted to say something else, but seeing the murderous looks from his parents, he swallowed back his words.

The meal continued, with both families chatting happily and the atmosphere very relaxed and joyful.

Su Jianjun and Qin Daqing were both in good spirits, and soon the few bottles of beer in the fridge were emptied.

It turned out each only drank a little over a bottle, not quite enough to fully enjoy.

Su Zelin volunteered: "Dad, Uncle, I'll go buy some more beer!"

The mood was so good, Zhao Lixia didn't want to spoil it, so she didn't stop him, letting the two men and her son enjoy themselves to the fullest tonight.

Seeing his mom had no objections, Su Zelin dashed out the door and headed to the corner shop.

"Uncle Chen, what beer do you have? I want it chilled, preferably Shuanglu!"

They'd just been drinking Shuanglu, and it was best not to mix beers, or it'd be easy to get drunk.

The shop owner gave him a once-over, noticing the slightly flushed face, and joked, "Yo, Zelin, had your fill of drinks today, huh?"

"Haha, just a bit, having dinner with Qin family's uncle and aunt tonight."

Su Zelin responded casually.

Uncle Chen nodded.

They were all neighbors, and he knew the Su and Qin families got along very well and often dined together.

"Feeling this good, I guess the college entrance exam results are out, so you and Shiqing did well?"

Uncle Chen chatted with Su Zelin while rummaging through the fridge for beer.

"I did okay, Shiqing did great; she should make it to Tsinghua or Peking University!"

Su Zelin replied.

"Our Willow Branch Lane has a student going to Tsinghua or Peking University, huh, Shiqing is the first!"

Uncle Chen was deeply moved.

He had watched the two kids grow up.

In the blink of an eye, the Su kid and the Qin girl are going to college, and one might even make it to Tsinghua or Peking.

"No chilled Shuanglu, only Hongshiliang, Qianjiang, and Qiandao Lake in the fridge, would these do?"

Uncle Chen asked.

All these were beers from Zhejiang Province.

At that time, Xia Country still had many beer brands.

Just from Zhejiang Province, aside from the mentioned types, there were also Golden Lion, Dongxiao, Xiandu, Silver Swallow, Nanbei Lake, Jiulong Mountain, Kangle, Yiyou, Bi Lake, West Lake...

In the late 80s, almost every small county had its own brewery, and in the peak times, the country had up to 813 beer brands!

But later on, in fierce market competition, these breweries either went bankrupt, were acquired, or merged. Later, the more famous one in Zhejiang was Qiandao Lake.

Su Zelin quickly made a decision.

"Anything's fine, whatever's in the fridge, I'll take them all!"

He paid and carried back two large boxes of beer home.

"Why so much beer?"

Zhao Lixia frowned when she saw the load.

She hadn't planned on stopping the two men and her son from drinking tonight, but seeing Zelin carrying two full boxes back made her nag.

"Mom, we don't have to finish it all, what's left can just be put back in the fridge!"

Su Zelin made up an excuse.

In truth, two boxes of beer for the three men really wasn't much.

Before he was reborn, he could handle over half of it himself.

"Alright, but don't drink too much!"

Zhao Lixia reminded him once more.

"No worries, I'm just having a few with Dad and Uncle!"

Su Zelin casually brushed it off, though he didn't actually plan on sticking to that.

It was a rare opportunity, definitely had to drink freely.

"Lixia, let him drink more, it's no fun otherwise!"

Qin Daqing was also a bit excited and already considered Su Zelin a drinking buddy.

"Exactly, Lixia, don't worry, we'll keep an eye on him."

Su Jianjun also spoke up.

Seeing Qin's dad speaking up for Su Zelin, Zhao Lixia could only nod.

During the brief time he was out, a plate of marinated beans had appeared on the table.

The meal was almost finished, and these were the proper snacks to go with the drink.

Zhao Lixia turned on the TV, chasing dramas with Liu Sufen, and Granny Qin also watched "Qinghe Relic Love".

Occasionally chatting a bit about daily affairs with Qin Shiqing.

Meanwhile, the three men ate marinated beans, chatting as they ate.

The show was over, and the time was now ten o'clock.

Granny Su turned around and saw that the two big boxes in the dining room were almost empty.

Su Zelin was already slumped over the table, and the two old men were also flushed red.

Zhao Lixia suddenly became anxious.

It seems it's not just beautiful women who can be deceiving.

Handsome men can be deceiving too.

This kid, he told me he'd drink just a little, and now he's completely out.

"And you said you'd keep an eye on your son, look at how you've let him drink like this!"

Granny Su was both angry and distressed.

"Haha, who would've thought our son could drink so much, it's a good thing, for doing business in the future, a poor drinker won't make good connections!"

Su Jianjun wasn't afraid of his wife at this moment.

"I, I believe in Zelin, he'll definitely do well in the future!"

Qin Daqing's speech was a bit slurred.

"How dare you say that, not acting like an adult at all!"

Liu Sufen couldn't bear it anymore either.

By now, Zhao Lixia was on the verge of losing her temper. She had to stop her husband from saying more.

"Daqing, stop drinking, you've been a burden on them all night, let's go home and sleep early!"

Liu Sufen didn't take no for an answer, got her husband up, and said to her daughter, "Shiqing, I'll take your dad home first, give him some honey to sober up, you stay and help Auntie tidy up!"

"Okay, Mom, don't worry!"

Even if Liu Sufen hadn't said it, Qin Shiqing would have stayed behind anyway.

Once the Qin couple left, Zhao Lixia also helped the stumbling Su Jianjun into the room.

The only ones left in the living room were Qin Shiqing and an unconscious Su Zelin slumped on the table.

In fact, the Su Zelin from the previous life had a much higher tolerance for alcohol, but he forgot one thing: since his rebirth, he hadn't been drinking much, and this body was nowhere near as accustomed to alcohol as when he used to frequent nightclubs, so after downing nearly half a dozen tonight, he naturally collapsed.

"Zelin?"

She gave her childhood friend a little push, but got no response.

Qin Shiqing hesitated for a moment, then helped Su Zelin up and step by step walked him into the bedroom.

A drunk person is especially heavy, and with Su Zelin being tall and sturdy, Qin Shiqing struggled as she placed him on the bed, lost balance, and was suddenly pulled down, ending up lying right on top of Su Zelin.

Seventeen years as childhood friends, they'd even bathed together when they were little, but such intimate contact was a first.

Qin Shiqing's heart pounded uncontrollably. Just as she was about to get up, the impact awakened Su Zelin, who suddenly opened his eyes.

His drunken gaze was hazy. Seeing the face he had dreamt of so often, a look of confusion flashed through his eyes, which then turned into excitement.

With an ape-like stretch of his arm, Su Zelin suddenly pulled his childhood friend into a tight embrace.

In his drunken state, he completely forgot that he had been reborn, and his blurry mind thought it was the previous life.

Feeling the warmth and softness of the girl in his arms, Su Zelin buried his head in her snow-white neck, inhaling that familiar fragrance, afraid that if he let go, his lifelong love would disappear.

"Shiqing, I'm sorry, don't leave me!"

The sudden confession left Qin Shiqing stunned, and for a moment, she forgot to struggle.

"Don't leave me, don't leave me, don't leave me..."

Su Zelin murmured, his voice getting weaker, but his arms still hadn't let go.

A figure silently appeared in the doorway.

It was Zhao Lixia. Granny Su, unable to find Su Zelin in the dining room, thought he must have woken up and gone to sleep himself, but still worried, she came to check, and happened upon this scene.

She didn't make a sound, tiptoed away, and a knowing smile flashed across her face.

That rascal, claims he just treats Shiqing as a sister, but his body is quite honest!

Occasionally letting my son drink a bit, perhaps isn't so bad.

...

After a while, the strength in his arms weakened, and Su Zelin fell back into a deep sleep. Only then did Qin Shiqing gently slip out of his embrace.

The girl's cheeks were flushed, the rosy color spreading down her snow-white neck, making her unspeakably charming.

She sat by the bed, watching the sleeping Su Zelin.

The usually unruly rascal seemed exceptionally calm at this moment, his profile almost flawless.

He really was a quiet handsome man at times like this.

Qin Shiqing thought to herself.

But what did those strange words mean?

Why did Zelin apologize and ask me not to leave him?

The girl was lost in thought.

"Geminis have contradictory traits in their personality. Sometimes, the things they say and do outwardly may contradict what they truly feel inside, making them more difficult to read than single-minded Sagittarius!"

For some reason, Tang Yan's words suddenly popped into her head.

"A Gemini with a divided heart, Zelin, do you really not want me to go to Qingbei, but why would you do that?"

No matter how clever and insightful Qin Shiqing was, she couldn't figure it out at this moment.

"Always craving novelty, they can be quite fickle in relationships too, and their naturally good looks and talent give them perfect conditions to become a player!"

Another of Tang Yan's comments popped up.

The girl's mood instantly soured, and she pouted her rosy lips.

"Zodiac stuff isn't necessarily that accurate!"

Turning to look at the door, she saw no one.

As if controlled by some mischievous spirit, she reached out her finger, like a green onion, and poked her childhood friend's cheek.

"Promise me, you won't be a player, okay?"

...

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