As night deepened, the bustling streets gradually quieted down, but the atmosphere inside the small restaurant remained lively and warm.
Dish after dish was added, and bottle after bottle of wine was ordered.
The group at the table drank until eleven o'clock, all of them ending up drunk and sprawled across the table.
Pei Yang and a few others were regulars at the restaurant, and the owner knew them well. Seeing them so intoxicated, he rifled through his phonebook and began calling their homes one by one to inform someone to come and pick them up.
Ma Sufen and her husband usually slept early, and having been tired from the birthday celebrations that day, they had each retired to their respective rooms by 9 o'clock. Whether it was from exhaustion or deep sleep, they weren't woken by the restaurant owner's call. Instead, it was Shen Baolan who was disturbed from her sleep by the ringing.