Chapter 519 Singing
"Well, look at you! What made you think of inviting me for a drink?"
Arabella stood at the hospital entrance, having changed her clothes. She deliberately smoothed her bangs down to cover half her face, and her large glasses hid her bright eyes, creating a perfect hillbilly look in front of Quinn.
With a proud yet simple smile, she looked every bit the country woman.
Quinn rolled down the car window and glanced at Arabella, silently mocking her in his mind. "You really went all out with this hillbilly look. Where did you get those clothes and that raggedy bag? You can't even find such outdated stuff online."
Arabella crossed her arms and looked at Quinn. "I didn't expect you, living in luxury, to know about online shopping. Impressive!"
Quinn tilted his head. "Get in."
Arabella frowned, walked around to the passenger side, and buckled her seatbelt with a click. "Where are we going for drinks?"
Quinn looked at Arabella, his face full of caution. "This time, I'm not taking your suggestions. Last time, that street food almost killed you. Let's pick a proper restaurant."
Arabella scoffed. "My stomach issues had nothing to do with the food. It was the company that affected my digestion. Do you know how many feet of intestines are in the human body? Do you know how many processes the digestive system goes through to convert food into energy? Once these processes..."
"Stop!" Quinn interrupted her medical lecture, his head aching. "Hillbilly, are all the people in your village as dumb as you?"
Not only was she dumb, but she was also stubborn and prickly, like a porcupine ready to stab anyone.
Arabella's simple smile was pure. "I'm the dumbest in my village. If I weren't, would I be drinking with you? Who do you think you are?"
"Damn it!"
The car drove off, carrying two people with different thoughts.
One was tangled in complicated family relationships, his head full of stress and pressure.
The other was mourning a crush that had been uprooted before it even began.
The car stopped outside a bar. Arabella looked up and thought, "Fuck, not here!"
Seeing the bar's sign, Arabella quickly grabbed Quinn's wrist. "Let's go somewhere else! I've heard the atmosphere here is bad, and the drinks are questionable. Let's find another place."
Quinn eyed her suspiciously. "How do you know? Have you been here?"
Fuck! Of course, she had been here. The owner was her good friend. If they went in, it would be a disaster.
Arabella forced a smile. "Heh, heh, heh, I haven't been here, but you don't need to eat pork to know what a pig looks like, right? My colleagues at the hospital told me. If you don't believe me, come by yourself next time. I don't want to end up in the hospital every time we eat."
Quinn looked puzzled at the bar's entrance. How could that be? He had been here many times without any issues.
They drove around the bar's block, and Arabella realized she had nowhere to go. She didn't have many friends, and those she did have frequented the same places. Everywhere they went, she knew someone.
Unbelievable!
"Seriously, hillbilly, are you drinking or not? I'm not making you pay, so why all the fuss?" Quinn was exasperated by Arabella's endless demands and stopped the car. "I just want a drink. You figure it out!"
Damn it! Acting like a spoiled brat!
Arabella patted his shoulder. "Move over, I'll drive. I'll take you to a good place."
Quinn gave her a skeptical look. "You? Recommend a good place?"
"Are we going or not?" Arabella opened the car door and stood by the driver's seat, exuding authority.
Quinn, too tired to argue, moved to the passenger seat. "Fine, I'll trust you one more time."
Arabella drove to the underground parking lot of a shopping mall. "Let's go up."
Quinn looked at her in disbelief. "Are you crazy?"
Arabella got out and pressed the elevator button. "Yes, I'm crazy. Would I be out drinking with you at midnight if I weren't? Stop talking and get in."
The elevator took them to the top floor, where a strong night wind blew in their faces, lifting their clothes and making their hair dance wildly.
The moonlight on the rooftop was clear and pure, unobstructed by tall buildings. The vast, deep blue night sky was dotted with stars, and the moon shone brightly.
Quinn looked at the starry sky, his expression changing completely. It was beautiful here. He hadn't looked at the night sky like this in a long time.
Arabella spread her arms and looked up at the sky. "Isn't it great?"
The night wind was cool but comfortable, making them feel like they had escaped the city's chaos, lightening their spirits.
"Great!"
Soon, a man in a delivery uniform arrived with a large box. "Miss, your drinks are here."
"Thank you!"
Quinn looked at Arabella, then at the delivery guy, and finally at the box of beer. "Is this even allowed?"
"Why not? It's the same drinks. Why go to a bar when you can drink freely in a place like this? This is real drinking!"
Quinn watched Arabella, who looked like a warrior in the wind. Her hair blew back, revealing her smooth forehead. The rooftop lights illuminated her face, and her eyes were bright and clear.
He suddenly felt like he was seeing Arabella in a new light. She wasn't a hillbilly; she was a free-spirited warrior.
She could laugh heartily while eating street food, enjoy a cheap ice cream cone with pure joy, and open a beer bottle with her teeth on a rooftop.
This boldness was something he had never seen in the socialites he knew.
He liked it.
Arabella looked around the rooftop and clicked her tongue. "TV shows are such liars. There's no swing or even a broken chair up here. Mr. Kingsley, you'll have to sit on the ground. Hope you don't mind."
She found a clean tile and sat down, crossing her legs and holding the cold, still-frosty beer.
Quinn smirked, not saying a word, and sat beside her. He opened a beer bottle with a stylish flick against the railing, releasing a burst of cold air.
"Hillbilly, your village folks sure are wild."
Arabella smiled, her lips slightly red, her smile enchanting. She raised her hand. "Cheers!"
They clinked their bottles and drank heartily. After finishing their first bottles almost simultaneously, Arabella looked at the stars and asked, "Have you ever truly loved someone? Loved them so much you'd give them everything, even die for them?"
"That's a heavy question. Suddenly getting serious, I'm not used to it."
Arabella glanced at him and picked up a second bottle. "I didn't believe in it before, but now I do."
Seeing her about to use her teeth again, Quinn quickly took the bottle and opened it for her. "Who did you fall for? Who's the unlucky guy?"
Arabella took a few gulps. "Me? No, it's your brother and Dr. Mitchell. I just realized that loving someone can change you completely. Your brother, when he looks at Dr. Mitchell, his eyes shine brighter than the stars."
Quinn nodded, looking at the sky. "He loves his wife very much."
Arabella clinked her bottle against his. "I used to think love was optional, but now I envy Dr. Mitchell. If a man loved me that much, I'd be willing to die for him."
Quinn touched her forehead. "No fever. What nonsense are you talking about? Heartbroken? Dumped? Boyfriend left you?"
Arabella laughed bitterly. "I like Zach."
Quinn was silent. He took a few sips to calm himself. "And then?"
Hillbilly likes Zach? They were so mismatched. Zach was a successful, charming, and sophisticated man.
Arabella laughed. "And then? Then I met Zach's girlfriend. Zach's girlfriend, ha, ha!"
Quinn steadied her head. "You really are heartbroken."
Arabella rubbed her nose, feeling a bit sour. She wanted to cry but was unable to. "Sing me a song. I'm heartbroken. I'm so miserable. Cheer me up."
Quinn jumped up. "I don't sing!"
A few drinks in, she didn't know who she was. Was she asking Quinn to sing? And even requesting a song!
Arabella stood up and boldly walked to the edge of the roof. "Fine! If you won't sing, I'll sing for you!"
She started belting out a song.
Quinn quickly covered his ears. "Hillbilly, is that singing?"
Arabella raised her bottle and chugged. "Join in! Sing with me!"
Quinn, raised with the Kingsley's strict etiquette, had never done anything so wild and out of character.
"I can't."
"Come on, are you even a man? What's so hard about singing? You wanted to drink to vent, right? This place is perfect! Shout it out, let all your unhappiness out!"
Quinn finished his bottle, grabbed a third, and clinked it against hers.
"Shout!"
Arabella smashed her bottle. Whether drunk or sober, she shouted into the empty sky, "Screw you, unrequited love!"
Quinn: "Someone else already used that line."
Arabella hooked her arm around his neck. "I like it!"
She laughed heartily. "Screw you! Screw you!"
Quinn ruffled her windblown hair. "Screw you, heir!"
"Ha, ha, ha! That line's been used too. Listen to me! Screw you, socialite!"
"Screw you, rich boy!"
"Screw you, Arabella!"
Quinn looked at her. "Screw you, Arabella!"
"Why are you shouting my name? Screw you, Quinn!"
"Screw you, all the world's negativity!"
"Screw you, all the bad guys!"
They shouted until they were exhausted, then lay on the ground, looking up at the sky and stars. Arabella, half-drunk, half-awake, asked him, "Are you happy? Being born into the Kingsley family, are you happy?"
Arabella laughed at herself. If she could choose, she'd pick a small village and be a simple girl carrying water buckets.
Quinn chuckled. "Do I look happy?"
Arabella tilted her head to look at him. Quinn's eyes reflected the stars, lighting up the haze.
"Do you want to be happy?"
"And?"
Arabella propped her head up, giving him a teasing look. "Let's jump! Jumping would be thrilling and make us happy!"
"Seriously, Hillbilly, you're messed up!"
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