Chapter 545: Chapter 545

On the other side, Chen Ke found Mai Qiqi, who was unconscious in the private room. Seeing her flushed cheeks and tightly closed eyes, Chen Ke muttered to himself, "She’s gotten this drunk, is something troubling her heart?"

He reached out to pull up Mai Qiqi, but she was so limp that she couldn’t stand at all, sliding straight down his leg. Chen Ke, with quick eyes and hands, gave a strong pull and narrowly managed to catch her, bringing them face to face.

Immediately, Chen Ke blushed, as if electrocuted, and quickly tossed Mai Qiqi back onto the sofa.

The toss made Mai Qiqi uncomfortably grunt, turn over, and then settle down in silence again.

Only then did Chen Ke let out a sigh of relief, feeling his heartbeat returning to normal.

After thinking for a bit, he decided to use a princess carry, lifting Mai Qiqi up and awkwardly carrying her out the door, down the stairs, and then placing her in the car.

For the entire journey, Mai Qiqi was unconscious, curling up into a comfortable position on the back seat.

Chen Ke drove all the way to the entrance of the Mai Family’s compound, and after hesitating for a long while, he still ended up fishing out Mai Qiqi’s phone to make a call to her family.

"Aunt, hello, I’m Chen Ke."

"Mai Qiqi went drinking with some friends and got drunk; we are now at the main entrance."

"Oh, okay, I’ll drive right on in."

Although Chen Ke had only been to the Mai Family once, he had a good memory and managed to find Mai Qiqi’s house without error, with Mrs. Mai standing at the entrance.

As soon as she saw the car pulling up, Mrs. Mai immediately showed a warm smile on her face, looking for all the world like the wolf grandma from Little Red Riding Hood. Chen Ke hurriedly shook his head, somewhat awkwardly getting out of the car.

"Auntie, Qiqi is in the back." He opened the rear door of the car, trying his best to ignore Mrs. Mai’s burning gaze.

Only then did Mrs. Mai look towards her daughter, "Oh my, what’s happened to Qiqi? Why does she smell so strongly of alcohol? How much did she drink?"

Chen Ke forced a strained smile, "I don’t know; when I got there, she was already this drunk."

Mrs. Mai reached out to pat her daughter’s face, and Mai Qiqi slightly twisted her face before becoming unresponsive.

Mrs. Mai couldn’t help but ask, "Xiao Chen, did you and Qiqi have an argument? I’ve noticed she hasn’t been in a great mood these past few days. With her , she must be drowning her sorrows in alcohol. Xiao Chen, I’ve spoiled Qiqi, so please be a bit more indulgent with her. For a young couple, it’s pointless to argue over who’s right or wrong; the most important thing is to be harmonious and happy together."

Chen Ke felt incredibly embarrassed, thinking to himself, how did Mrs. Mai come to the conclusion that he and Mai Qiqi were a couple? Had Mai Qiqi given her family the wrong impression?

"Uh... Auntie, Mai Qiqi and I... aren’t in the kind of relationship you think..."

Mrs. Mai was shocked, "You mean you two are already registered as married?"

Chen Ke stumbled, quickly saying, "I have no relationship with Mai Qiqi at all, we’re just ordinary friends, no, not even friends, just two people who know each other."

First, Mrs. Mai was stunned, then she laughed and said, "Look at you, it’s all good, being bashful with Auntie. Well, if you’re embarrassed, then you’re embarrassed, just carry Qiqi up to her room upstairs."

Chen Ke got the distinct feeling that even jumping into the Yellow River wouldn’t clear his name. He opened his mouth to clarify the situation but saw Mrs. Mai’s incredulous look and couldn’t help but deflate, reluctantly reaching out to carry Mai Qiqi. After lifting her, he paused, asking himself why he had to carry her when guiding her would have sufficed.

So, under Mrs. Mai’s watchful eye, Chen Ke put Mai Qiqi down, grabbed one of her arms over his shoulder, and wrapped his other arm around her waist. Thinking it over, he felt this was too intimate and so stopped again, turning to Mrs. Mai to say:

"Auntie, can you help me support Mai Qiqi on that side?"

Watching his fumbling, Mrs. Mai could hardly contain her laughter. Managing to keep a straight face, she said:

"We’re all family here, there’s no need for reserve. I’ve been young once too, I understand, all understood. You should carry Qiqi inside, standing must be tiring. Let her lie down on the bed and be comfortable."

Chen Ke only felt as if there were dark clouds overhead, Mrs. Mai didn’t wait for him and stepped through the door first. Chen Ke, resigning himself to his fate, scooped up Mai Qiqi like a princess once more, and with a burst of energy, carried her upstairs to the bedroom.

Upon entering, a sweet fragrance filled the air. Chen Ke held his breath, not bothering to look around, and headed straight for the bed in the bedroom. He put Mai Qiqi down and turned to leave.

Mrs. Mai called out to him from behind, "Xiao Chen, don’t be in such a hurry to leave. Stay downstairs for a bit, your Aunt has something to say to you."

Chen Ke had no choice but to wait in the living room, thinking to himself that once Mrs. Mai came down, he must explain everything clearly. They can’t let the Mai Family continue to misunderstand; it’s not good for Mai Qiqi... or for him.

After a while, Mrs. Mai came downstairs, "Xiao Chen, take a seat." She then instructed the housemaid to pour tea for Chen Ke.

"Aunt, I have something to tell you..."

Both started to speak at the same time but stopped after half a sentence. Mrs. Mai chuckled: The rıghtful source is 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵~𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖~𝙣𝙚𝙩

"Don’t worry, even if you don’t say anything, I already know. I understand you young people are eager, but today is not the day. Let’s wait for another day, maybe this weekend would be good, when the family is all here. Then, you can come and visit."

What is all this? What exactly is Aunt Mai talking about? Chen Ke was stupefied.

"No, what I wanted to say is, Mai Qiqi and I really aren’t what you think. There’s nothing between us. You’ve misunderstood. She just got drunk today, and I... just gave her a lift on my way, that’s all." Chen Ke painstakingly explained, word by word.

Now Mrs. Mai was taken aback, her smiling face gone, as she scrutinized Chen Ke. He did not evade her gaze, boldly letting her look.

After a moment of thought, Mrs. Mai asked, "Xiao Chen, what do you think of Qiqi?"

He couldn’t respond to that, so he kept his mouth tightly shut, hoping that this would convey the message to Aunt Mai.

But Aunt Mai pressed on, asking another question, "Do you find Qiqi unattractive?"

"No, Mai Qiqi is quite pretty," Chen Ke slipped up.

"Do you think Qiqi is too old then?"

"She’s in the prime of her youth," Chen Ke wanted to smack himself.

Mrs. Mai dropped another bombshell, "Qiqi has been so worried about you these past few days she’s lost her appetite, and today she ended up drinking . Are you really that indifferent?"

Chen Ke felt as though thunder was rolling above his head.

Worried about him? Lost her appetite?

Does Mai Qiqi have feelings for him?

In the end, Chen Ke left the Mai family’s door dazed and confused, unable to understand how things had escalated to this point. He stepped on the gas pedal, but the car wouldn’t budge. Looking down, he realized the handbrake was still engaged.

Just then, Mrs. Mai rushed out again, saying, "Xiao Chen, if you can’t drive, you might as well stay here tonight."

Chen Ke immediately released the handbrake and fled in a hurry.