“At a glance you can tell you didn’t check the club group!” Wine Bottle sighed and pushed up the glasses on his nose as thick as the bottom of a bottle, then pointed at the Little Tiger Tooth beside him. “Song Jun’s birthday is today. He’s treating everyone to dinner tonight, the address was sent in the group—you two must give us face and come.”

The two girls froze for a moment, then reacted, and in unison wished Little Tiger Tooth a happy birthday.

As for dinner that evening, Little Mahua had already nodded in agreement without hesitation.

Yan Luqing originally hadn’t planned on going out to play. After all, Gu Ci was leaving soon—every day they had together was one day less. If she could eat at home, she preferred to eat at home.

So she had intended to decline politely, but before she could, Little Tiger Tooth spoke first: “Junior, come on.”

His eyes were opened wide, looking cute and sincere, as if he very much looked forward to her coming.

After all, he was the birthday boy, and birthdays only came once a year. If she refused, it would immediately feel awkward.

Taking advantage of her hesitation, Little Mahua added fuel: “A free dinner—if you don’t eat, it’s wasted, baby!”

Wine Bottle: “This kid is loaded, you two don’t need to bring gifts. Since you’re juniors, just bring your mouths.”

With this kind of atmosphere, and considering it was someone’s birthday, Yan Luqing’s heart softened. She asked the group: “Then first tell me—will you be drinking? If there’s not even a little alcohol, that’s really no fun.”

“You really don’t look like a drunkard…” they said, “Alright, alright, then just a little, just a little.”

Yan Luqing and Little Mahua sat facing each other, with Wine Bottle beside Little Mahua, and Little Tiger Tooth beside her. The lunch was eaten amid chatter and laughter, and toward the end, Little Mahua and Wine Bottle, who seemed closer, and sat nearer, somehow started bickering. The two of them talked back and forth, leaving no room for others to cut in.

Yan Luqing had just been watching the show, smiling, when suddenly Little Tiger Tooth’s voice came from beside her: “Junior, you have something by your mouth.”

“Mm?” Yan Luqing turned her head, testingly asking, “Where?”

“I’ll help you.” Little Tiger Tooth picked up a napkin, reached toward her, his movement natural, as though intending to wipe it off for her.

But the moment before the napkin touched her face, Yan Luqing reacted by reflex, almost instantly dodging his hand, avoiding it.

She also pulled a napkin from the table, then carelessly wiped her own mouth from left to right, and finally lifted her head to look at him: “Gone now, Senior?”

The other was clearly stunned.

Then he nodded: “Mm, gone.”

After finishing the meal and leaving the cafeteria, Yan Luqing walked back to the classroom on her own.

If she wasn’t going home in the evening, she had to tell Gu Ci.

Since she wasn’t in class and couldn’t be bothered to type, Yan Luqing directly called Gu Ci. He was probably also on lunch break and answered quickly.

Yan Luqing’s first words were: “I’m going out to eat tonight.”

“……”

As soon as those words were spoken, both fell silent.

It was unclear why Gu Ci didn’t respond right away, but after blurting it out, Yan Luqing’s mind instantly conjured strange imagery—like a head of household notifying his wife that he wouldn’t be coming home tonight.

After a moment of silence, Gu Ci’s voice came: “Calling to notify me?”

His voice was just as pleasant as that voice message she had secretly listened to during class earlier. She was used to hearing him speak normally, but hearing it come through the receiver in another form, it was somehow even more attractive.

“No,” Yan Luqing thought for a moment, “just letting you know. Just tell the driver to take only you home after school.”

Gu Ci didn’t reply to that, seemingly accepting it by default. After a pause, he asked again: “Who are you going with.”

“With the art club people, the ones you saw yesterday,” Yan Luqing said. “It’s a senior’s birthday.”

As soon as she finished answering, she once again felt that illusion—that she was a wife being phoned by the head of the household saying he wouldn’t be home tonight, only to be checked up on by the wife.

Gu Ci let out a slow “oh.” “Which one.”

“……” This felt even more like an inspection.

Yan Luqing braced herself and answered: “…You probably don’t remember specific people, right? The one having the birthday is the one with tiger teeth, they’re pretty obvious. He should have run into you yesterday.”

“You’re going to celebrate for him?” he asked. “You two are close?”

Though the words were phrased as questions, Gu Ci’s tone was flat, as plain as water.

“Not really close, I only just met him. But earlier when I was eating with Little Mahua in the cafeteria, he and another senior invited us, said all the art club people were going, and since it was his birthday, I agreed…”

The more she spoke, the quieter her voice became, the more awkward she felt all over. Her head was full of doubt: Why—why was she explaining so much to Gu Ci about all the causes and reasons?!

And Gu Ci, upon hearing her words, only gave a faint “mm,” with no discernible emotion.

After that, he stopped speaking.

Yan Luqing couldn’t explain why, but she just felt that the atmosphere right now carried a faint trace of subtlety.

Even if they weren’t face-to-face, just over the phone.

After a long silence, she tested: “Then I’ll… hang up first?”

“Mm.”

He responded, but they were still on the line.

Listening to his breathing through the receiver—sometimes clear, sometimes faint—Yan Luqing suddenly felt her ears heat, her heart speeding up. After thinking for a moment, she still ended the call from her side.

What the heck…

After hanging up, she stared blankly at the screen for a while, and as she stared, drowsiness crept in. As usual, she folded herself on the desk, found the most comfortable position, and fell asleep.

In the afternoon, Software Engineering was the last class to finish. The others waited half an hour for Yan Luqing and Little Mahua, then set out together from school.

Little Tiger Tooth’s birthday dinner was set at a restaurant that looked quite distinctive. As they entered, Wine Bottle was still sighing in amazement: “This place is insanely hard to book. I’ve never managed to get in until now. Tonight I have to eat it empty.”

Everyone chimed in with agreement.

Yan Luqing’s curiosity was stirred. After the dishes were served and she tasted them, they were indeed good. She praised them out loud while inwardly noting down the restaurant’s name, naturally thinking: Next time I’ll bring a certain princess here to eat.

This gathering seemed meant just for the art club, with only Yan Luqing as an outsider. Presumably Little Tiger Tooth would also have other meals with his classmates or roommates.

The birthday dinner didn’t seem much different from the last get-together—neither the topics of conversation nor the people present were much different. The only distinction was that under Yan Luqing’s strong urging, and because it was a birthday feast, the painters finally picked up their wine glasses.

Yan Luqing sat beside Little Mahua. By her second glass, Little Mahua thought she was already a little tipsy and tried to dissuade her, but couldn’t.

Yan Luqing waved her hand carelessly: “I used to be one cup down, but now I’ve trained my tolerance really high, don’t worry.”

After saying that, she opened her phone and sent Gu Ci a message.

Because she was smiling a little foolishly, looking very cute, Little Mahua couldn’t help but ask curiously: “Who are you chatting with to be this happy?”

“No one,” Yan Luqing locked her phone. “Just notifying my wife, telling him to come pick me up.”

“???”

Little Mahua absolutely couldn’t connect that word with Big Beauty, only thinking she must have drunk too much and directly made up a wife for herself.

By the time everyone was nearly done eating, Yan Luqing had already downed her third glass, and Little Mahua snatched her wine glass away to confiscate it.

Little Mahua looked at her: “Do you still have any sense? Did you call your driver?”

“Of course I still have sense…” Yan Luqing’s voice drifted as she replied, “I didn’t call, but Gu Ci should have.”

Not sure if she was speaking the truth, Little Mahua pulled up Gu Ci’s WeChat—which she had added back on the day of the art exhibition—and recorded a short video for him.

Her original intent was just to record Yan Luqing’s condition, so Gu Ci would see and come pick her up.

But unexpectedly, just as she began recording, the birthday boy Tiger Tooth walked up to Yan Luqing’s side, concern in his expression, as if asking her something. Yan Luqing looked blank as she faced him, as if she hadn’t heard clearly, so the birthday boy leaned a little closer to continue speaking…

From this angle, it actually looked extremely ambiguous.

Oh heavens.

Little Mahua stared at the video in her hand, rewatched it several times, and then, without hesitation, hit send.

Because she had always thought the art club people, after seeing that interview, all understood Yan Luqing and Gu Ci’s relationship, she never expected Yan Luqing could still attract peach blossoms. Only today did she see the thoughts of Tiger Tooth Senior.

Since she saw that Little Tiger Tooth didn’t make any overstepping moves, Little Mahua didn’t interfere further. She had drunk the least of everyone there, so she opened the forum, found the thread from her favorites, and left the latest comment on the first floor—

280l[= =]: Family, this time it’s real. The moment has come to witness whether my CP is true or fake!!! This time it’s not a secret! I’ll come back with a live broadcast!!!

……

After dinner, Gu Ci received a message from Yan Luqing.

【Runaway Saintess】: Are you coming to pick me up?

【Runaway Saintess】: I drank alcohol! /grinning

“……”

He asked for the address, told the driver, and also had Big and Little Black follow along.

But he didn’t give her a definite reply.

Over an hour later—

That girl nicknamed Little Mahua, whom Yan Luqing had introduced that day, suddenly sent him a short video.

In the video, the background was a private room in the restaurant. Yan Luqing sat at the table, her face covered with the big word “drunk.” One hand propped her cheek, her lips slightly parted toward the man beside her, her mouth shape looking like she was asking: “What?”

Then the two leaned a little closer again.

It lasted only a little over ten seconds.

After watching, Gu Ci expressionlessly said to the man at the computer opposite him: “Uncle, something urgent came up, I’m stepping out.”

“Ah? What matter could be so urgent right now?”

“Anyway,” Gu Ci was already standing, putting on his coat, and said blandly, “more important than this meeting.”

“……”

After Yan Luqing’s wine glass was confiscated, her drunkenness faded somewhat from its peak. Her tone was no longer so floaty, her reason had returned, and she was simply a little drowsy.

While everyone chatted, she rested her chin in one hand, listening, until little by little her head began to sink down—exactly like back in high school during math class.

The first to notice was Little Tiger Tooth.

He had originally been sitting quite far from Yan Luqing, but later the person next to her complained the air conditioner was too hot and wanted to switch seats, so he ended up moving to sit beside her.

Yan Luqing’s chin was still nodding, and soon everyone at the table noticed she was dozing off. They all found it amusing, but no one said anything.

Suddenly, there were two knocks on the private room door, then someone pushed it open. At the same time, Yan Luqing’s hand lost its support under her chin. Her jaw slipped from her palm, and she was about to bang her chin against the table—

That instant of weightlessness was enough to make her open her eyes.

But before Yan Luqing could react, a hand suddenly stretched from behind and accurately cupped her chin.

That hand carried the coolness of the night outside, delicate to the touch, like icy smooth jade.

Her whole body was burning from the alcohol, and when she suddenly pressed against it, she let out a comfortable sigh.

That hand drew her chin back, and as she tilted her head up with the motion, she clearly saw who had come.

“Gu Ci?” Yan Luqing looked at that familiar face, her expression bright with excitement. “You didn’t reply to me, I thought you weren’t coming.”

He didn’t speak.

The girl’s entire body was flushed, whether from wine or the air conditioner’s breeze, and her skin, pressed against his, seemed almost scalding.

At some point, the surrounding noise had quieted down.

Gu Ci held her face and swept his gaze once around the room, finally settling on the birthday boy. With a polite smile, he said: “Carry on, I’ll be taking this drunken fool away first.”

Then he lowered his eyes, released Yan Luqing’s face, bent slightly, and draped her arm over his shoulder.

Yan Luqing instantly realized what he was about to do.

Right now, her ability to form words wasn’t enough for much, but she still offered a token protest.

“I feel… I can still walk.”

Gu Ci’s eyes lifted faintly, pupils dark as ink, their contrast with his pale skin striking to the point of being almost enchanting.

In one clean movement, he scooped her into his arms. As Yan Luqing felt herself weightless, falling into his embrace, his cool voice landed by her ear.

“You felt wrong.”