The wine bottle had already been placed upright on the table by Ji Yuning.
Fang Bai bent his index finger and thumb into the letter C, moved it from the bottle closer to his eyes, closed one eye, gestured, and then held his hand up in front of Ji Yuning. "I only drank this little bit, how could it be too much?"
Ji Yuning glanced down and saw that the distance between Fang Bai's two fingers was less than two centimeters.
Fang Bai thought the person in front of her would speak up to refute her, but the other person turned away silently and disappeared from her sight.
Fang Bai felt inexplicably angry. There was another reason why she drank:
Everything Ji Yuning did was to deal with the original owner, who was herself. She was the unlucky one. For Ji Yuning's sake, she couldn't stop things from developing and could only watch helplessly as Ji Yuning slowly grew stronger, ultimately becoming cannon fodder herself.
Judging from the current progress, she treats him like a baby, but he just wants to take advantage of her.
Alcohol amplified the desolation within her, and Fang Bai's mind raced with countless thoughts. She wondered: If she told Ji Yuning that she wasn't the real person, would Ji Yuning be spared being cannon fodder?
"Great idea," Fang Bai thought, squinting his eyes with delight.
Ji Yuning walked to the dining table with the yogurt and saw Fang Bai with flushed cheeks, propping her head up and looking at her, her eyes misty, making it impossible to see her emotions.
Their eyes met, and Ji Yuning saw Fang Bai's lips, moistened by red wine, move slightly. "There's something I need to tell you..."
Fang Bai was completely unaware of how important what he was about to say was, or whether he would regret it when he woke up. Fang Bai licked his lips and said, "Actually—"
Before he could finish speaking, Fang Bai felt a cold object press against his right cheek.
It was icy cold, and my feverish cheeks instantly lost their temperature.
Fang Bai shuddered and tilted his head back.
After getting away from that glacier-like thing, I murmured, "So cold."
Ji Yuning did something befitting her age: she took a bottle of yogurt, still damp from the refrigerator, and mischievously stuck it on Fang Bai's face.
This was entirely Ji Yuning's subconscious action, simply because she saw Fang Bai's face was flushed.
When Fang Bai murmured how cold it was while pressing her other cheek against the yogurt bottle, searching for a cooling spot, Ji Yuning's lips curled up, and only then did Ji Yuning realize what she had done.
The smile on her lips vanished instantly. Ji Yuning shoved the yogurt into Fang Bai's hand and said coldly, "Drink this."
When Fang Bai heard that Ji Yuning had told her to drink it, she was about to raise the bottle to her face, but instead she brought the yogurt to her lips.
I don't know when the straw was inserted.
Fang Bai took a sip of yogurt, the cool liquid flowing in his hot mouth, stimulating his nerves and melting his taste buds.
"It tastes good."
Fang Bai looked up and smiled at Ji Yuning.
Ji Yuning's gaze swept across Fang Bai's face, taking in the pure and kind smile on Fang Bai's face, and her emotions fluctuated in her eyes.
Ji Yuning lowered her eyes. "What were you trying to say?"
"What?" Fang Bai asked, puzzled.
Ji Yuning paused, then repeated, "What do you want to tell me?"
As Fang Bai took the last sip of yogurt, his tongue swept across his lips, and he said, "...Let me think."
She forgot.
Two seconds later, Fang Bai looked up and met Ji Yuning's eyes, and slowly said, "The food is getting cold."
Fang Bai brushed a strand of hair behind his ear and glanced towards the kitchen. "Go heat up the food."
Ji Yuning: "..."
A few seconds later, Ji Yuning picked up the plate.
She wasn't listening to Fang Bai; she was just hungry.
Ji Yuning hadn't eaten much for lunch.
I tried Fang Bai's cooking yesterday, and it was unexpectedly delicious. Even though the dishes had cooled down, the aroma still wafted into Ji Yuning's nose when she entered the room.
While waiting for the food to heat up, Ji Yuning's gaze unconsciously drifted towards the dining table. She saw Fang Bai pour himself two more sips of wine, and then slump onto the table after finishing his drink...
In the past three years, Ji Yuning had seen women drunk no less than twenty times, but never before had she been so quiet, not smashing things, not swearing, and not treating her like before.
Looking at the back of Fang Bai's head, a thoughtful look flashed in Ji Yuning's eyes.
By the time Ji Yuning had heated up the dishes and brought them out, Fang Bai had already fallen asleep on the table.
Ji Yuning looked down at the vegetables, then at Fang Bai.
Instinct told Ji Yuning that she didn't need to care if Fang Bai sat down to eat, or even where Fang Bai slept.
But the body reacted first.
“…”
By the time Ji Yuning came down from the second floor, the dishes on the table had gone cold.
When Fang Bai woke up, he felt his mouth was dry.
Not only that, but I'm also very hungry, like I didn't eat last night—
The person, who was still half asleep, suddenly opened their eyes, their almond-shaped eyes staring wide-eyed at the ceiling.
Have a meal--
The three words stirred Fang Bai's memories, and fragmented images of last night appeared before his eyes.
She had been drinking.
He was also drunk.
Fang Bai rubbed her temples. All she could think of right now was that she wanted to tell Ji Yuning the truth. But that wasn't the point. The point was that she couldn't remember if she had actually told the truth.
As for anything else, Fang Bai couldn't remember any more.
If even the one thing I remember is so tragic, then what about the rest...?
Fang Bai covered his face with his hands, unwilling to face reality.
That wine was so sweet, how could I get drunk?
After lying on the bed for ten minutes, Fang Bai slowly moved up.
What must be faced will eventually have to be faced; there's no use running away.
When Fang Bai arrived at the bathroom and was washing up, he noticed that she was still wearing the casual clothes from yesterday, not her pajamas.
…She was so drunk yesterday that she went to sleep without even changing out of her pajamas?
Fortunately, she wasn't so drunk that she couldn't go upstairs, and she still knew to go back to her room to sleep.
Fang Bai changed his clothes, wearing a tight white short-sleeved shirt and black athletic shorts. His hair was tied up with a black hair tie, and he looked very refreshed, completely unrelated to being hungover.
Fang Bai walked down the stairs and around the corner, and immediately saw Ji Yuning sitting at the dining table.
Ji Yuning also heard the sound and turned her head to look at the person on the stairs.
Fang Bai was still wondering if she had been exposed, so he didn't greet Ji Yuning with a "good morning" as usual.
Ji Yuning looked at her indifferently.
"You," Fang Bai said slowly, only speaking when he reached the bottom of the last flight of stairs, "you're up."
How can she always say such obvious things?
Fang Bai paused for a moment, then said, "What I mean is, I didn't expect you to get up earlier than me."
Ji Yuning didn't say anything.
"..." Fang Bai took his phone and walked to the dining table. As he sat down, he looked at the white porridge and dishes on the table. "Did you make this?"
Ji Yuning scooped up a spoonful of porridge and held the spoon in mid-air. "The porridge is made from leftover rice, and the vegetables are leftovers from last night."
Mentioning last night made Fang Bai's heart, which had just been at ease, jump again. She cleared her throat and said, "I originally intended to have a little to drink last night, but I accidentally drank too much."
Fang Bai asked casually, "Did your aunt... say anything to you?"
Ji Yuning met Fang Bai's eyes and asked, "Aunt Fang, have you forgotten?"
Fang Bai's heart skipped a beat. She couldn't figure out Ji Yuning's attitude and didn't know whether to speak or not.
Fang Bai straightened his back. "I forgot one thing."
Ji Yuning stared at Fang Bai for two seconds, then turned her head away, saying, "I didn't say anything."
Fang Bai: "Really?"
Ji Yuning: "Mm."
Seeing Ji Yuning's calm expression, Fang Bai felt slightly relieved.
If Ji Yuning knew that she wasn't the real person, her attitude probably wouldn't be like this.
Fang Bai relaxed, returning to normal. She smiled, her eyes crinkling, "Was the food good? Did you try it last night? How did you like it?"
"Um."
Ji Yuning didn't say whether it was good or bad, and Fang Bai didn't care. She said in a low voice, "I'm sorry, I was supposed to cook."
As a result, Ji Yuning had to rely on her own efforts.
Fang Bai also served himself a bowl of porridge.
Fang Bai felt empty and uncomfortable in his stomach. It wasn't until he ate the hot porridge that his stomach felt warm.
Fang Bai took another sip. The rice grains were soft and sticky, melting in his mouth. It was delicious and warming. Fang Bai looked at Ji Yuning and praised, "Xiao Ning, you're so good at cooking!"
"..." Ji Yuning finished the last mouthful of porridge, stood up, and said, "I'm done eating."
Fang Bai nodded: "Okay, leave the bowl there, I'll wash it."
Ji Yuning ignored Fang Bai's words and took the empty bowl into the kitchen.
Fang Bai was about to speak up to stop him when his phone on the table suddenly vibrated and the screen lit up. It was a WeChat message from Fang Maozhou.
Old man: [Are you coming home for family dinner tonight? Dad's asking Old Chen to pick you up.]
Old man: [Dad prepared a Mid-Autumn Festival gift for you.]
Fang Bai was stunned for a moment when he saw the words "reunion dinner," but he remembered that today was the Mid-Autumn Festival when he saw the words "Mid-Autumn Festival."