Her once short, straight black hair had been transformed into wavy, light-golden locks that set off the snow-white skin of her long, slender neck. Her classic oval face was exquisitely made up, with gently curving, willow-thin eyebrows. The usual coldness in her eyes was gone, replaced by a hint of allure.
Today, Li Mengqing wore a chic, tweed dress. The V-neckline revealed a sliver of her fair, rounded cleavage, and her long, slender legs were shamelessly on display.
Gao Yuan suddenly felt his lips go dry, and he couldn't resist licking them.
Seeing Gao Yuan's lecherous expression, Li Mengqing shot him a mocking look. "Never seen a beautiful woman before?"
Gao Yuan tore his gaze from the scenery at her neckline and glanced at Lin Wanyu, who was clearing the dining table. "I've seen beautiful women, just never one this shameless!"
"You… Nothing good could ever come out of a mouth like yours."
Li Mengqing was so angry she wanted to curse him out, but at a loss for words, this was all she could manage.
Seeing the two of them bickering again, Lin Wanyu laughed and pulled Li Mengqing down to sit.
The two best friends began to whisper to each other, while Gao Yuan started on the teppanyaki.
The teppanyaki had to be made first, as its texture wouldn't be affected much even if it sat for a while. The steak, however, had to be eaten fresh off the grill, or it wouldn't properly showcase his culinary skills.
As delicious dishes were brought to the table one by one, the only thing left to prepare was the tomato and red wine oxtail soup. Every time Gao Yuan brought a dish to the table, the two women would immediately stop talking.
'He had no idea what state secrets those two women had just been sharing.'
Dinner officially began.
The bottle of wine their landlady, Xiao Xiao, had brought over was opened by Lin Wanyu.
Gao Yuan didn't recognize the red wine, but Lin Wanyu named it at a glance. This particular wine was known as "Carruades de Lafite."
It was the second wine from the First Growth Bordeaux estate, Château Lafite, and sold for about 4,000 yuan.
All in all, it was a pretty decent bottle of red wine.
"Cheers! Here's to Brother Yuan getting more and more awesome."
"Cheers! To your health, kid."
Hearing their two completely different styles of toasts, Gao Yuan chuckled. "Cheers! To the two beautiful ladies, may you stay 18 forever."
Although it was a cliché, it still made both of them quite happy.
After finishing their first glass, the three of them dug in. As they ate the steak Gao Yuan had cooked, the two women couldn't stop praising it.
It wasn't as greasy as steak from a restaurant, and it had a light fragrance of pineapple. This was because Gao Yuan had coated the surface of the meat with a layer of pineapple juice before cooking, giving the steak a unique flavor.
When they got to the teppanyaki squid, grilled shrimp, and eggplant, the two women exclaimed how satisfying it was, saying it had been a long time since they'd tasted anything like it.
During the meal, they also asked Gao Yuan why he was renting this place. Not only was the rent expensive, but the value wasn't great, either. For over thirty thousand a month, he could have rented a small villa.
Gao Yuan's answer was simple: it was close to Lin Wanyu's home. If anything happened to her, he could get there quickly.
Such a simp-like answer naturally earned him a happy smile from the beautiful woman.
Gao Yuan looked at Li Mengqing, waiting for her mockery, but was surprised to find her completely focused on eating, her head down. This puzzled him slightly; 'he wondered if the delicious food had given her a personality transplant.'
The three of them happily finished dinner. Gao Yuan cleaned up the kitchen while Lin Wanyu and Li Mengqing curled up on the sofa.
When Gao Yuan came over, he was surprised to find the small coffee table already covered with all sorts of alcohol.
"We're drinking more?"
The three of them had just finished a bottle of red wine. After their antics in the group chat the night before last, Gao Yuan knew all too well what a handful the two of them could be when they drank too much.
Now, on the table, there wasn't just red wine but also a bottle of XO, two bottles of sparkling wine, and some "Lethal Wusu" beer, which was rumored to knock you out with a single bottle.
"What's there to be afraid of? It's not like we have to finish it all. The ace bottle-chugger is requesting to join the battle."
'Lin Wanyu's comment made Gao Yuan laugh. The longer he knew her, the more he realized that beneath her cool and mature exterior was an adorable heart.'
Li Mengqing opened three bottles of red wine without a second thought. Forgetting about glasses, she simply set one bottle down in front of each of them.
"When did you guys get all this alcohol?"
Gao Yuan knew he only had the one bottle from Xiao Xiao. He had no idea when the two of them had managed to procure all this extra booze.
"Qingqing brought these over specially. And she even prepared a gift for you."
As Lin Wanyu spoke, she picked up a black gift box from the sofa and handed it to Gao Yuan.
He opened it and saw that it was a belt.
The brand was Ferragamo. This belt couldn't have been cheap. Gao Yuan immediately thanked her sincerely.
He and Li Mengqing hadn't known each other for long, and their interactions were mostly limited to bickering in the group chat. As for her private, flirtatious messages, Gao Yuan had never paid them any mind.
He hadn't expected her to give such an expensive gift for a simple housewarming party.
This greatly improved Gao Yuan's impression of Li Mengqing, and he made a mental note of her kindness.
"Don't get all sentimental. Cheers!"
With Lin Wanyu there to set the vibe, there was no trace of awkwardness between the three of them.
After drinking for a while, Gao Yuan noticed the two women had already finished half a bottle of red wine each. He suddenly said, "You two should pace yourselves. If you get too drunk, there's no room for you to stay over."
Lin Wanyu glared at him. "If we get drunk, you can sleep on the couch. Qingqing and I will take the master bedroom!"
If Li Mengqing had said that, Gao Yuan would have definitely retorted, 'This is my house,'
But given his relationship with Lin Wanyu, he couldn't bring himself to say it. So he could only pretend to be shameless and ask, "Aren't you two worried that if I drink too much, I might not be able to control myself?"
This time, before Lin Wanyu could speak, Li Mengqing took a sip of wine, licked the residue from her lips, and said lightly, "You're still young. It's perfectly normal to lose control when you see a beautiful woman."
"..."
The three of them drank as a modern romance drama played on the TV. The male lead also wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses and had a refined, scholarly air.
This suddenly reminded Lin Wanyu of what had happened that afternoon. With hazy, drunken eyes, she leaned against Li Mengqing and looked at Gao Yuan. "Tell me, do you men all like those shameless types? Always wanting what's in the pot while you're still eating from your bowl?"
Gao Yuan's heart sank.
'She must be thinking about that 'Phoenix Man' ex-husband of hers again. This is a tough question. One wrong move and the happy atmosphere of the evening would be ruined.'
He quickly took a sip of wine, his mind racing. "You can't put it like that. It's a big forest, so there are bound to be a few bad birds. That's completely normal."
"Then why did it have to be me? What did I do wrong?"
This was an easier question to handle. Without hesitation, Gao Yuan replied, "So that the good times can come after the bitter ones. When it comes to love, there's never any right or wrong."
Having finally managed to placate Lin Wanyu, Gao Yuan quietly moved the bottle of hard liquor from the coffee table to the floor beneath it.
'The two women were already a bit drunk just from the red wine. If they started mixing in hard liquor, he was afraid he'd be stuck taking care of them until dawn.'
'He'd even read stories online about people choking to death on their own vomit in the middle of the night.'
But unexpectedly, just as he'd settled Lin Wanyu down, Li Mengqing started acting up.
"You still haven't answered. Do all men like women with good figures, the more provocative ones?"
As Li Mengqing asked the question, Lin Wanyu also turned her head to look at him.
"That... depends on the person, I guess!"
Li Mengqing wasn't satisfied with Gao Yuan's ambiguous answer. She pressed him again, "Do the two of us have good figures or not?"
Gao Yuan gave a bitter smile.
"Wanyu's figure is definitely amazing. As for you, how would I know!"
Lin Wanyu was very satisfied with this answer. Ignoring the fact that her best friend was still there, she grabbed Gao Yuan's head and planted a kiss on him.
Meanwhile, Li Mengqing, as if she'd been provoked, staggered to her feet. "Well, that's easy to solve!"
After she spoke, her next action scared Gao Yuan sober in an instant.