Fang Bai was getting a little anxious.
From the start of the call, Fang Bai sensed that something was wrong with Ji Yuning on the other end of the line.
Her voice was low and weak, and her tone was somewhat incoherent. Coupled with those two ambiguous sentences, Fang Bai concluded that Ji Yuning had been drinking.
He drank a lot, so much that he got drunk.
Otherwise, it wouldn't be so abnormal.
A gust of wind had started blowing outside the window, its howl making it seem as if a downpour would descend at any moment.
Fang Bai glanced at the situation outside the window, picked up her phone, and walked out of the bedroom. When she reached the entrance, she didn't even have time to change her shoes before grabbing her keys and heading out.
She was going to find Ji Yuning.
But as soon as the door opened a crack, a draft suddenly formed. Fang Bai wasn't paying attention, and the door was blown open by the wind, slamming directly against the outer wall with a loud thud.
The "duang" sound not only woke up the old, malfunctioning voice-activated light, but also startled a hedgehog huddled in a corner.
Fang Bai was also startled by the noise, but she didn't care about that at the moment and quickly stepped out of the house.
Just as Fang Bai turned to close the door, in the dim light of the motion-activated light, he caught a glimpse of white on the landing.
The walkway in the old residential area is very small, only able to accommodate four adults at most. But compared to the figure huddled in the corner, the platform suddenly seems much larger.
Fang Bai tightened her grip on the doorknob. Thinking of the noise she had just heard, she was afraid of disturbing the other person again, so she quickly closed the door.
In the dim light, Fang Bai saw the people below look up at her.
Then came the clattering sound of slippers quickly going downstairs.
As he descended the last step, a strong smell of alcohol wafted towards him, and Fang Bai slowed his pace.
It has a strong flavor, like it's been soaked in alcohol.
Fang Bai's gaze fell down and he saw that Ji Yuning was wearing the white T-shirt that she said she was going to throw away, which was covered in stains.
The clothes were too big, covering up his sports vest and shorts.
She guessed correctly; Ji Yuning was indeed drunk. But she was wrong about one thing: the clean-loving Ji Yuning didn't go to the trash can, but instead sat on the equally dirty, dusty ground.
Like a pitiful little thing that nobody wants.
Fang Bai bent his hand at his side and slowly squatted down under Ji Yuning's gaze.
Suppressing all his emotions, Fang Bai put on a gentle smile and asked the person in front of him in a voice as if speaking to a kindergarten child, "Why didn't you come home when you got back?"
Ji Yuning stared at Fang Bai for a few seconds with cold eyes before turning her head away.
Fang Bai: "..."
Great, I'll ignore her.
The motion-activated lights had already gone out, and the surroundings were pitch black.
Fang Bai turned on his phone's flashlight and shone it on the other side, the light illuminating the two of them out of the corner of his eye.
Ji Yuning ignored her, so Fang Bai had to change the subject, her voice still very calm, "Then tell Auntie, why did you turn off the phone?"
Turning her head slowly away, Ji Yuning stared directly into Fang Bai's eyes and replied, "Out of power."
Ji Yuning's fluent answers gave Fang Bai the illusion that he didn't know whether she was drunk or not.
Fang Bai quickly stopped thinking about it; that wasn't the key issue at the moment.
She placed her hand on Ji Yuning's arm, which was wrapped around her knee, and looked into Ji Yuning's eyes, saying, "Shall we go home? Auntie will charge your phone for you."
Ji Yuning's gaze swept over Fang Bai's face, and finally she lowered her eyes and said coldly, "Didn't you say you didn't want me anymore?"
Fang Bai frowned. "When did I say that?"
Why use the question of "whether she wants it or not"? Does she even deserve it?
“You didn’t say it, you showed it with your actions.” Ji Yuning looked at the hand covering her arm, feeling the warmth of the white palm, and said in a hoarse voice, “It was like this before, and it’s like this now.”
Fang Bai's heart skipped a beat. She naturally understood what Ji Yuning meant by "the past." She murmured, "It was a misunderstanding before..."
"And now?"
Ji Yuning frowned, unable to hold back the words that had been echoing in her mind while drinking, "You admit it, I'm not in your life."
As expected, he cares about that sentence.
Fang Bai apologized immediately: "I'm sorry."
She hadn't thought of an excuse yet, so she could only whisper, "Auntie was wrong."
Fang Bai had imagined that Ji Yuning would say something like, "You did nothing wrong" or "I forgive you," but to her surprise, Ji Yuning asked her with a disbelieving look, "Really?"
She felt a pang of guilt; it seemed that Ji Yuning thought she lacked integrity.
Fang Bai nodded firmly: "Yes."
After saying that, she placed her hand on Ji Yuning's arm next to her face and said, "Auntie swears."
Ji Yuning stared intently at Fang Bai, glanced at the three fingers Fang Bai was holding up, and said in a very calm voice, "Then kiss me."
The word "dear" is a bit sensitive at this time, let alone "dear" Ji Yu Ning.
Fang Bai asked instinctively, "Why?"
Ji Yuning explained to Fang Bai in a serious tone: "Whenever my mother misunderstands that I have done something wrong, or wants me to do something, she kisses me. Only then will I forgive her or help her."
Fang Bai thought about it and realized that this did indeed seem to be something Lu Xia would do to Ji Yuning.
But she's not Lu Xia, and she just misunderstood Ji Yuning; if she were to kiss her now…
Fang Bai coughed lightly and said, "But you've grown up, and..."
Before she could finish speaking, Ji Yuning interrupted her: "Didn't you say you were wrong?"
Fang Bai was about to speak when he saw Ji Yuning's reddened eyes amidst her cool and serious features, and was so shocked that he couldn't say anything.
Is she...crying?
Ji Yuning didn't cry, but her eyes were a little hot. She was angry with Fang Bai, saying, "You lied to me again."
She finally spoke her mind, saying, "Fang Bai, you're a liar."
Hearing Ji Yuning's extremely aggrieved tone, Fang Bai finally confirmed that Ji Yuning was truly drunk.
However, Ji Yuning behaves differently from others when she is drunk. Although she seems to act similarly to others, a closer look reveals something is amiss.
A few minor disagreements.
“…”
Wow, so cute!
Fang Bai's lips parted slightly, and Ji Yuning's cheeks were at the boundary between light and darkness. In the dim light, her slightly puffed-up face looked like a freshly baked cake.
The color is enticing.
"You really want Auntie to kiss you?" Fang Bai asked.
However, she didn't get a reply from Ji Yuning because Ji Yuning turned her head away again.
Fang Bai: "".
She suddenly wondered if Ji Yuning would remember all of this after she woke up tomorrow.
If you remember, this is a dark chapter in your history, right?
Never mind whether Guan Jiyuning remembers or not, as long as she does.
Fang Bai cleared his throat and asked again, "You really want me to kiss you?"
Ji Yuning looked at Fang Bai with indifferent eyes and said coldly, "Liar."
Fang Bai lost; she really couldn't do anything about Ji Yuning like this.
After squatting for a while, Fang Bai shifted his feet, getting closer to Ji Yuning.
The hand that had sworn the oath was placed on Ji Yuning again. Fang Bai looked at Ji Yuning and said, "Don't dwell on what happened before. Auntie will never lie to you again."
After saying that, Fang Bai leaned towards Ji Yuning and kissed the small cake that smelled of wine.
The little cake was soft and warm, and Fang Bai couldn't resist giving it a kiss as a bonus.
Ji Yuning heard two chirping sounds, but the touch on her face was so quick that she didn't feel anything at all.
Afterwards, a gentle voice asked in Ji Yuning's ear, "Is it done?"
Ji Yuning: "...Hmm."
Although I didn't feel anything, the authentication was successful.
Fang Bai asked uncertainly again, "You've forgiven Auntie?"
Ji Yuning nodded solemnly and said, "I forgive you."
Fang Bai, like a child trafficker who has given candy to lure a child, slightly raised his rosy lips, "Then come home with me?"
Ji Yuning's eyes lit up: "Back to Hushi?"
Fang Bai paused for a moment, then shook his head and pointed to the stairs behind him, "The one upstairs."
Ji Yuning followed Fang Bai's gaze, glanced at her briefly, then shook her head and said, "No, I have things to do."
Fang Bai was surprised. He was so drunk, what could he possibly do?
Ji Yuning reached her hand to the side, and Fang Bai's gaze followed. Only then did he notice something placed next to Ji Yuning, which he hadn't seen at all because he was so focused on coaxing her.
Fang Bai shone his phone in the light and was able to see what it was clearly.
It is very big and very round.
A globe.
Fang Bai shook her phone, causing the light to flicker twice. She looked at Ji Yuning's profile and asked, "Did you buy it?"
Ji Yuning hugged the globe to her chest and said in a deep voice, "Mm."
After speaking, Ji Yuning supported herself with one hand on the ground and changed from sitting to squatting.
Two people were squatting on the narrow platform; the scene looked... eerie no matter how you looked at it.
Fang Bai, disguised as a lighting technician, quietly watched Ji Yuning, wondering what she was going to do.