Chapter 12 I Hit the Ground
The nausea in my stomach came on fierce. I couldn't hold it down.
I covered my mouth. I felt bile about to surge up my throat.
The young driver saw it in the rearview mirror. He didn't wait for Ji Yanli to speak. He had the sense to put on the turn signal and slowly pulled over.
The car hadn't fully stopped when I shoved the door open, almost rolling out.
I stumbled a few steps to a crooked tree by the road, grabbed the rough trunk, bent over, and vomited hard.
The beer I'd poured down that night, the skewers I'd eaten, mixed with sour stomach fluid, all of it went to that tree.
I threw up until the sky went dark. Tears and snot smeared my face.
Only when my stomach was empty and nothing was left but spasms did I gasp like I'd collapsed, wiping my face messily with my sleeve.
Through blurred vision, I saw a pair of spotless black leather shoes stop beside me.
I looked up along the sharp suit pants.
Ji Yanli had gotten out at some point. He stood one step away from me.
His posture was straight. On this dim, messy roadside, he looked like he didn't belong.
The streetlight threw a long shadow behind him and covered me completely.
He pushed up his Gold-Rimmed Glasses, then said, "Qin Ye, these years, this is what you've amounted to?"
That long-unheard, utterly distant tone.
My head was still fuzzy from alcohol and vomiting. I was half a beat slow.
"Ah?"
I lifted my head on instinct, wanting to see his expression clearly.
The move was too sharp. My foot caught on a raised stone. I lost my balance. I didn't even have time to shout.
I fell backward and landed on my ass.
My ass hurt like hell. My palms scraped raw on the ground too.