Suddenly I understood why people who are drunk are most afraid of having someone help them remember things after they sober up.
Perhaps she shouldn't have asked.
Curiosity can not only kill you, but it can also cause a heart attack.
Fortunately, Sheng Muxi said that she had only mentioned her friend's name and rambled on for a few meaningless words.
It's just nonsense, nothing was said, so it's fine.
After suffering a heart attack and spending a considerable amount of time figuring out how to cope, Chai Qianning barely managed to accept the reality of the situation. She then sent a message in a small group chat: "Who was it that said they were curious about what I look like when I'm drunk? Step forward."
A bunch of emojis popped up in the group chat.
Su Ye: [Me.]
Achu [Add one.]
Jelly: [Add one.]
Achu: [I've never seen you truly drunk.]
Jelly: [Want to grab some drinks? Let's go!]
Achu: [I just don't believe Aning can really drink a thousand cups without getting drunk.]
The claim that she could drink a thousand cups without getting drunk was an exaggeration made by Chai Qianning in front of them.
Over the years, many of my friends have gotten drunk in front of her, for various reasons, including relationships. She's always had a high alcohol tolerance and has never lost her composure in front of her friends.
Therefore, in comparison, she felt even more ashamed of losing her composure in front of Sheng Muxi.
Su Ye: [Judging from this, A Ning is very drunk? Could it be because of that matter?]
Jelly: [What's going on? What gossip have you been hiding from me?]
Achu: [Pricks up her ears.]
Chai Qianning: [According to reliable sources, when I'm drunk, I unlock the ability to verbally list the names of my friends.]
Moreover, her memory was confused; I never expected her to be like this after getting drunk. So, she shouldn't get drunk again next time; just as Sheng Muxi said, the risk factor is quite high.
After chatting with a few friends in the group for a while, she exited the group chat and called Fang Jiaqin to confirm what had happened the night before.
"Yes, it was your neighbor who took you home. I offered to take you home, but you were so adamant about not letting anyone take you, insisting you weren't drunk. When I got downstairs, I saw you hanging on your neighbor's body," Fang Jiaqin said on the other end of the phone.
Chai Qianning blinked slowly: "At that time, right at the hotel entrance, wasn't there a man with my neighbor?"
"What man? I didn't notice. Oh, now that you mention it, there really is one."
Chai Qianning frowned. Sure enough, she remembered this correctly. She did see Sheng Muxi and that man walking towards the hotel.
So, if Sheng Muxi hadn't encountered her drunk, what would she have done?
Chai Qianning still couldn't get over that hurdle in her heart.
After hanging up the phone, she lay on the sofa and closed her eyes to rest, but her mind kept wandering.
As she thought about it, she still felt that she had lost face in front of Sheng Muxi.
For the next few days, without Sheng Muxi being cold to her, she consciously kept her distance. Feeling awkward, she avoided him with lightning speed whenever they bumped into each other in the neighborhood.
Later, in order not to make herself seem like she was trying too hard to cover up her secret, she would always walk through the back gate of the community and return through the back gate, so as to reduce the chances of her running into Sheng Muxi.
However, because she had been a bit too unrestrained recently, Chai Qianning rarely went out after that drunken episode. She spent most of her time at home taking care of her health, drinking red date and goji berry tea to recover from the damage to her body caused by her recent heavy drinking.
During the National Day holiday, Chai Qianning went out and had a meal with her family, and stayed at her parents' house for two nights.
When she returned to Cuiwanju, she habitually opened the back gate of the community to enter. Chai Shuqing, sitting in the passenger seat, didn't understand: "Sister, why don't you use the main gate?"
She seemed to only just realize that she no longer cared about her previous drunken incident. But every time she saw Sheng Muxi, she still had a lingering unease. Even though Sheng Muxi wasn't cold towards her anymore, she still couldn't convince herself to accept the possibility that he might choose to marry her in the future.
Rather than doing that, she might as well let it go now.
For the next few days of the holiday, Chai Shuqing stayed at Chai Qianning's place, and Chai Qianning took her out to play, eat, drink and have fun. Until the last two days of the holiday, Chai Shuqing said that she wanted to go back to school early.
“Yao Yunqi stayed at school during the holiday and didn’t go back. She said she was very bored, so I went over to keep her company.”
"I'm accompanying a classmate." Chai Qianning rested her chin on her hand, her elbow on the car window.
"Yes, her parents weren't home during the holidays."
Chai Qianning handed the schoolbag on the passenger seat to Chai Shuqing: "Okay, it's good to go back to school early."
“If you keep saying this, I’ll think you can’t bear to part with me.” Chai Shuqing stood beside the car, clutching her schoolbag, her curled eyelashes fluttering slightly.
Upon hearing this, Chai Qianning put on her dramatic act: "Hey, you said you left, and I'm living alone. How lonely, desolate, empty, and cold I feel."
".."
Chai Shuqing put down her schoolbag, went over and snuggled into her arms: "Although I know you're lying, it sounds kind of pitiful."
".."
"You really should find someone. Look, Mom's already started bringing up marriage. If you can't find someone, Mom will definitely make you go on blind dates. Do you want to go on blind dates with guys?"
".."
Chai Qianning raised her hand and gently rubbed her head: "Why are you starting to worry about my affairs?"
Chai Shuqing raised her eyes: "A few days ago, I overheard my parents talking about Sister Xu Yuan."
"It seems that Xu Yuan's fiancé was chosen for her by her parents. But I heard from my mother that the man doesn't care about Xu Yuan at all. He postponed the wedding whenever he wanted, without considering Xu Yuan's feelings at all. What do you think Xu Yuan's parents are thinking? Why would they let her marry a man like that?"
“I don’t quite understand either.” Chai Qianning shrugged. “But her parents probably thought that the man’s family background was good and suitable for a future life together.”
"I don't think they're living a very good life."
She pinched Chai Shuqing's cheek: "You, just focus on your studies and don't think about these other things."
“I’m thinking, if your mother forces you to get married like Xu Yuan’s parents did, but you like girls, even if the man is great, you’ll definitely not have a good life after marriage.”
"Do I look like the kind of person who would obediently get married?" Chai Qianning raised an eyebrow.
Chai Shuqing chuckled: "That's true."
"What are you thinking about all day long with that little head of yours?"
"It's just something I felt compelled to say."
"Then I'll go into the school?" Chai Shuqing picked up her schoolbag again.
"Should we bring some more food?"
"No need." Chai Shuqing patted her bulging schoolbag: "These are all the food you packed for me, that's more than enough."
"Take good care of yourself at school."
Yes, it will.
"Do you want me to walk you to your dorm?"
"I only have one backpack, not much stuff. It'll be too much trouble for you to register and stuff when you go in. You should go back now, bye-bye."
"Bye-Bye."
After watching Chai Shuqing enter the school, Chai Qianning sighed quietly.
She knew she liked girls and that she would never marry a boy.
What about Sheng Muxi? She can't decide for the other person. If the other person really wants to get married, there's nothing she can do. She has no right to interfere with other people's choices.
These kinds of things have been happening very frequently lately.
Xu Yuan's wedding went poorly, Fang Jiaqin's parents urged her to get married, and Sheng Muxi also went on a blind date.
Perhaps it's because she's getting older, but her friends are all starting to experience the same things, and it would be a lie to say she's not annoyed.
Chai Qianning turned on the music and drove away from the school.
——
The campus is quieter than usual during the holidays, but quite a few students in the dormitories didn't go home for the break. A teacher takes turns on duty on each floor of the dormitory every day.
As Chai Shuqing passed by the duty room, she saw Sheng Muxi sitting there. She then went inside and registered her name.
Back in the dorm after coming out, Yao Yunqi rushed up to her with a look of surprise and hugged her shoulders: "You're finally back! I was so bored. For the past five days, I've been either playing games or watching dramas. I'm tired of playing games and watching dramas."
This is a double room, shared only by her and Yao Yunqi. Chai Shuqing first put down her backpack, unzipped it, and most of the food inside spilled onto the table.
"So much food! Did you go to the snack shop to buy some before coming to school?" Yao Yunqi exclaimed in amazement at the dazzling array of snacks.
"No, my sister gave it to me."
"Your sister treats you very well."
Chai Shuqing lowered her eyes and rummaged through a pile of snacks: "Yunqi, what do you think is a good food to give Teacher Sheng?"
"You're giving this to Teacher Sheng? Isn't today Teacher's Day?"
"I saw that it was Teacher Sheng on duty in the duty room."
"Yeah, I'll send some snacks over. Thanks for your hard work, teacher."
Chai Shuqing continued to carefully select from the pile of snacks, finally picking out a small box of exquisitely packaged, heart-shaped chocolates and examining it closely before asking Yao Yunqi's opinion: "Do you think giving chocolates is a bit too tacky?"
Yao Yunqi exclaimed, seemingly puzzled: "Is there such a thing as 'tacky' or 'uncool' when students give gifts to their teachers?"
"This will do." Chai Shuqing picked up a carton of milk as well and left the dormitory.
In the duty room, Sheng Muxi lowered her eyes and wrote something in her notebook. Chai Shuqing tiptoed closer, hiding her hands behind her back, and softly called out, "Teacher."
Upon hearing the voice, Sheng Muxi looked up: "What is it?"
Chai Shuqing slowly placed the item in her hand on the table in front of Sheng Muxi: "My sister asked me to give this to you."
Sheng Muxi glanced at it and saw a box of exquisitely packaged heart-shaped chocolates and a carton of milk.
Chai Qianning? Sending her this? If you're going to send it, why have your own younger sister come all the way to school to deliver it to her?
"Okay, I accept it." Sheng Muxi smiled gently at her students as usual.
Seeing that Chai Shuqing hadn't left, she raised her eyes again, waiting for the other person to say if there was anything else.
“Um, Ms. Sheng, I’ll just pass on this message.” Chai Shuqing suddenly lowered her voice: “My sister told me that she lives alone and feels lonely, empty, and cold.”
Sheng Muxi was stunned for a moment.
"Bye-bye, teacher, I'm going back to my dorm." Chai Shuqing said and ran off in a flash.