“You’ve been drinking?” Fang Yongnian frowned and switched ears; the one he had used earlier was still ringing from Lu Yixin’s shout.

Such strong lungs.

“Two bottles!” Lu Yixin, inside the bathroom, raised two fingers on her own.

She was exhilarated—because the moment she called, Fang Yongnian had picked up.

“I got in!” she repeated again, “I scored way above the cutoff line.”

Fang Yongnian was quiet for a moment, then gave a low “mm”: “I know.”

After Lu Boyuan saw her score, he’d handed out candies in the company; now even the security guard’s dog at the gate knew Lu Yixin had been admitted to college.

Lu Yixin held her phone and looked at the mirror above the bathroom sink.

Her face was flushed red from the alcohol, her eyes shining. Everything she had kept pressed down in her heart for so long was about to break through its shell.

She took a deep breath, suppressing the little heart that was about to leap out of her throat.

“Fang Yongnian, aren’t you going to congratulate me?” She heard her own voice. She saw her own face.

Her eyes and brows were full of unease.

“Congratulations.” Fang Yongnian was cooperative, even going further, “What gift do you want? I’ll buy it for you.”

Lu Yixin took another deep breath.

The alcohol and her nerves made her hands and feet start to tremble.

“Any gift will do?” Her voice was trembling too.

Fang Yongnian was silent.

As always—whenever she crossed even a little line—he would become like this: no response, no words.

Lu Yixin watched her reflection in the mirror dim bit by bit.

“Forget it.” She tugged at the corner of her lips.

Suddenly, the excitement waned.

Today was the day college entrance exam results were released. Today her mother had lifted her curfew. Today was the first time in her life she drank alcohol. After today, she would no longer be a high school student.

Today was important.

Today, she missed him.

She wanted to see him. She wanted to share with him the joy and melancholy of today. She even wanted to ask him: Now that she had grown up, and now that she had followed his advice and gotten into college—could she start chasing him?

But before she could speak, she already knew the answer.

Fang Yongnian was so, so good—so good that for the rest of her life she would never look at another man, but he did not love her.

“I’m hanging up.”

Drinking for the first time in her life, Lu Yixin—once the alcohol took hold—did not become wild or excitable. Instead, she turned sheepish, even losing the will to talk.

On the other end of the line, Fang Yongnian frowned.

“My mom lifted my curfew today.” Her tone sounded limp, carrying the scent of wine. “I’ll drink a little more and then go back with Ranran and the others.”

“Goodbye, Uncle Fang.” She sniffled and hung up the phone.

Why was it that when other people drank, they all became so excited—yet she, though she didn’t even feel drunk yet, only felt… so sad.

“Let’s go sing karaoke!” She came out of the restroom, tugging at Zheng Ranran’s sleeve.

“You’re drunk.” Zheng Ranran calmly supported this drunkard who was staggering out of the bathroom, nearly falling flat on her face.

“I’m not drunk.” The drunkard said what every drunkard always says. “I’m not happy at all!”

Zheng Ranran: “…”

“People who get drunk are all so happy, but I’m not happy at all!” Lu Yixin picked up a pair of chopsticks and tried to poke them into her nostrils.

Zheng Ranran felt very weary.

Just a moment ago, she had received a call from Fang Yongnian, asking where they were drinking.

Standing firm as a loyal best friend, she didn’t hesitate even for a second before giving him their location—and even helpfully added that they probably wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon.

But if Fang Yongnian were to see this kind of drunkard right now…

The most likely outcome would be her getting scolded to tears, not some strange hormonal reaction.

“Do I look like a lobster?” The self-proclaimed “not happy at all” Lu Yixin held a lobster head against her forehead and asked Gu Lili gleefully.

Gu Lili, who had been frightened earlier today by a sudden confession, picked up another lobster head. “I look more like one than you do!”

Zheng Ranran: “…”

Forget it, she really couldn’t make sense of Fang Yongnian’s feelings toward Lu Yixin.

It absolutely couldn’t be the kind of affection an uncle has for his niece, she had never seen any “uncle” take the initiative to come find his drunk “niece.”

But then again…

It probably wasn’t love either.

At least, not the kind of love Lu Yixin felt for him.

“You’re so pitiful.” Zheng Ranran rubbed Lu Yixin’s head. “But you have to keep going!”

The completely tipsy and muddle-headed Lu Yixin gave her a sloppy, saliva-smeared kiss in return—a loud “smooch!” echoing through the air.

୨୧ ⏔⏔⏔⏔♡⏔⏔⏔⏔ ୨୧ 

Fang Yongnian was in Hecheng today.

Before he had left Hecheng, the two male cats he had sent for neutering had both been adopted after surgery. But that particularly plump, black-and-white native cat with heterochromatic eyes had been returned.

The reason was that it wasn’t affectionate enough. The adopter felt they had spent so much effort, yet could never get it to warm up to them.

When the pet shop veterinarian messaged him, he even sent a video of the male cat. It hadn’t lost weight at all; its fur was sleek and shiny, and it looked at the camera with an expression of proud arrogance—as if declaring, “Who else but me?”

So Fang Yongnian came over, even taking the afternoon off for it.

He really liked that plump, odd-eyed cat. From the first moment he saw it, he’d felt a strange sense of familiarity.

Slow-moving, keeping its distance from everything—fat as it was, still full of pride.

A cat that was very much like him.

He decided to adopt it.

He wanted to let this cat keep its proud, dignified way of living forever. He couldn’t fulfill that for himself, but helping a cat do so was still within his ability.

Before getting on the expressway, he, as usual, detoured to an old, well-known pastry shop in Huating that sold Dingsheng cake. He packed a few boxes, and remembering that today was Lu Yixin’s results day, he specially asked the shop owner to make the packaging prettier. Ared pastry box tied with a golden bow.

A symbol of success and celebration.

It felt auspicious.

He picked up the cat from the pet hospital, stuffed it into a pet carrier, and patted the bag.

The fat cat cooperated nicely, meowing once and waving one chubby paw at him.

Everything as usual.

Fang Yongnian was satisfied. He planned to drop by Lu Yixin’s house to deliver the pastries, then return to Huating. But then he saw Lu Yixin’s new post on her social feed, she was about to start drinking.

Today was the results announcement day; she was probably going to celebrate with her friends late into the night.

He really was being foolish, still thinking she was the high school student who came straight home after class.

“You’re not heading back tonight?” Zheng Fei asked. Fang Yongnian had been staring blankly at that incredibly ugly cat in the pharmacy all evening, and now it was almost midnight. “Why don’t you stay at my place?”

“No.” Fang Yongnian stood up. “I booked a hotel.”

He hadn’t, actually—but he also didn’t want to stay at Zheng Fei’s home.

Their team was preparing the bioequivalence registration for a generic drug, and several core members were locked in the conference room compiling CTD documentation. He had originally planned to return to the company and work overnight.

But somehow, at this hour, he was still lingering in the pharmacy, holding that box of pastries he might not get the chance to give away.

He walked out of the pharmacy, said goodbye to Zheng Fei, watched him lock the door, then slowly returned to his car, carrying the fat cat.

That was when Lu Yixin called him—storming in full of energy, only to hang up for some inexplicable reason.

After hesitating a moment, he dialed Zheng Ranran’s number. Last time in Huating, to avoid Lu Yixin once again blurting out nonsense like “I want to open a cake shop,” he had deliberately saved her friend’s contact.

Zheng Ranran was very cooperative—so cooperative that after hanging up, he sat still for a long time, not wanting to move.

He had only wanted to confirm whether Lu Yixin was truly drunk; he hadn’t planned to go pick her up.

When the engine started, he glanced at the rearview mirror.

The fat cat, full and content, blinked its yellow eye at him flirtatiously.

Another change of plan. He merged into the fast lane.

But… she had hung up on him.

He looked at the navigation.

He’d go check on her anyway. Today was an important day for her.

୨୧ ⏔⏔⏔⏔♡⏔⏔⏔⏔ ୨୧ 

The late-night restaurant where Lu Yixin and her friends were meeting wasn’t hard to find, it was on Hecheng’s liveliest night snack street. When Fang Yongnian arrived, Zheng Ranran was already standing by the roadside, supporting Lu Yixin.

“How did you get this drunk?” Fang Yongnian parked the car and opened the door.

Zheng Ranran, who had been harassed to the brink of madness, looked utterly speechless.

“Never let her drink again,” she warned Fang Yongnian in the tone of someone who had seen the world, bent down, and stuffed Lu Yixin into the back seat, then patted her hands clean.

“Mission accomplished.” She let out a long sigh of relief.

Thank goodness Fang Yongnian had come. If he hadn’t, she would probably have ended her friendship with this drunkard tonight—she was far too handsy! What a pervert!

“You two should get in as well,” Fang Yongnian said, leaving the car door open.

“Nope.” Zheng Ranran had already jogged off, waving a hand toward him as she went.

Tonight was important to her.

She hoped that for Lu Yixin, it could be important too.

After all, this was the first time in Lu Yixin’s life she’d gotten drunk—and the person by her side should be Fang Yongnian, not her.

At this hour, it was impossible for Fang Yongnian to get out and chase Zheng Ranran down. He couldn’t run fast, and he couldn’t leave Lu Yixin alone in the car either.

But…

Fang Yongnian, once again watching everything spiral out of control from a plan that hadn’t even existed, frowned as he looked at the little drunkard in the back seat.

She wasn’t wearing her school uniform anymore. It was June or July, and she had on a white short-sleeved T-shirt and high-waisted denim shorts.

A bright, youthful outfit—but not suitable for right now.

At the moment, she was still half-sprawled across the back seat where Zheng Ranran had tossed her, her two bare legs conspicuously propped up against the seat back.

Fang Yongnian got out of the car, fetched a blanket from the back seat, and threw it over Lu Yixin—head and all. Still unsatisfied, he used a baseball bat from the back seat to push her legs down from a distance, then grabbed another blanket and wrapped her tightly, completely sealing her up.

He finally exhaled, shut the door, and started the engine.

Fortunately, her home wasn’t far.

He’d call Liu Miqing when they reached her building, he decided silently, arranging the plan in his head.

But then again, if she went home like this… would Liu Miqing beat her?

Fang Yongnian glanced at the rearview mirror.

He should probably buy a bottle of water first, to help her sober up a bit.

Another plan formed in his head.

How did she get this drunk? he thought, frowning, glaring at the blanket-wrapped ball that was Lu Yixin.

Lu Yixin let out a soft groan and shifted under the blanket.

She was suffocating, felt like she’d been wrapped in a ten-kilogram down quilt.

She was practically sweating out a heat rash.

First, she kicked off the blanket, then frowned and shoved away the pet carrier beside her, which was breathing warm air at her face.

“So hot…” she muttered, still dissatisfied, fumbling as she started to take off her clothes.

“Lu Yixin!” Fang Yongnian, who had been driving while witnessing the entire scene through the rearview mirror, turned green in the face.

Half-dazed, Lu Yixin blinked, but her hands didn’t stop moving. She was tugging at her T-shirt, trying to pull it over her head—but because she was lying down, the position made it difficult. Then, with Fang Yongnian’s sudden brake, she went thump-thump-bang!—and rolled right off the seat.

Groaning in pain, she opened her eyes. The two bottles of beer hadn’t actually contained much alcohol, and now, half-awake, Lu Yixin felt her drunkenness fading by half.

She was in a car.

She looked around in confusion.

Black seats, black interior—definitely not the gaudy Chevrolet at home that she’d decorated with colorful trinkets.

Propping herself up halfway, Lu Yixin looked toward the driver’s seat.

Fang Yongnian was sitting there, face dark as iron.

Their eyes met.

Lu Yixin licked the corner of her mouth.

Fang Yongnian didn’t move.

Lu Yixin scratched her head.

Fang Yongnian’s expression still didn’t improve in the slightest.

“Um…” The girl, with an extremely strong will to survive, suddenly performed beyond her limits. “I didn’t take it off!”

“I—I’m still wearing a tank top underneath!”