Drunk

Xu Zhitong took a taxi straight to the address Yu Yaojiao had sent her.

It was a dim little bar, with some unfamiliar jazz playing inside. The bartender was sitting at the counter by the window, absorbed in his phone. When he saw Xu Zhitong come in, he was just about to greet her.

Xu Zhitong pointed toward Lin Yang and the others.

There were only the two of them, seated far away on a sofa.

Yu Yaojiao saw her and immediately stood up.

When Xu Zhitong got closer, she saw that Lin Yang was actually lying there with her head on her arm, apparently asleep.

Xu Zhitong pointed at Lin Yang in disbelief. “You let her get this drunk?!”

Yu Yaojiao waved both hands frantically. “No, no, she wasn’t this drunk just now. She was only a little tipsy! She just got sleepy and fell asleep!”

Xu Zhitong asked, “How many did you have? What did she drink?”

Yu Yaojiao made up numbers on the spot. “Three? Four? Five? Just the whiskey here.”

Xu Zhitong said, “I’m going to kill you, Yu Duoduo!”

Yu Yaojiao wailed, “Have mercy, my lord, don’t kill me!”

She answered far too naturally, and Xu Zhitong even froze for a moment.

She swallowed the rest of her words and gave a light snort. “Forget it. Help me get a cab; I’ll take her back.”

Yu Yaojiao said, “My car’s in the parking lot next door. I’ll call a designated driver; just take mine.”

Xu Zhitong agreed.

Yu Yaojiao went to settle the bill with the owner, then went outside to get the car and call the driver.

The bartender was still sitting off to the side, busy with his phone. Inside the little bar, only that hazy jazz remained.

On the table sat a few empty glasses; a little liquor still gleamed at the bottom, and faint lipstick marks were left on the inner walls.

Xu Zhitong felt a little sour looking at them. She still hadn’t even had a chance to drink like this with Lin Yang, to hold hands and talk about life and everything else. Why was Yu Duoduo already drinking with her?

And who knew what they’d talked about.

Xu Zhitong sat down beside Lin Yang. Lin Yang was still turned inward, her head on her arm; her shawl had slipped down slightly, revealing half of her beautiful shoulder and the graceful line of her shoulder blades.

Her tea-brown hair was a little messy. After a full day of running around, the curls Xu Zhitong had done for her that morning had already loosened somewhat.

Xu Zhitong carefully swept the hair to one side with her fingers, revealing the reddened shell of her ear beneath it.

So cute. Her little drunk sheep.

Xu Zhitong leaned in and whispered by her ear, “Little Sheep Lin, time to get up and go home.”

Lin Yang gave a soft mm.

Disturbed, she hummed and shifted, turning her face toward Xu Zhitong.

She was still asleep; her curled lashes trembled faintly with her breathing, casting a light shadow beneath her eyes. Her cheeks, flushed from the alcohol, had turned a lovely pale red.

With her head resting on her arm, her cheek was pushed up into a soft little bulge, round and plump like a baby’s.

Xu Zhitong’s voice grew even gentler as she coaxed Lin Yang.

“Up you get, little baby.”

For some reason, even though her voice was softer than before, it roused Lin Yang awake.

Her drunken eyes seemed unable to focus. Her beautiful gaze, usually so clear and dark, was now veiled in a misty haze.

Xu Zhitong couldn’t help smiling. Too cute.

She leaned over and blew a small breath toward Lin Yang’s eyes.

Lin Yang was startled at once and blinked. After a long moment, she looked at Xu Zhitong in confusion and slowly furrowed her brows.

“Xiaotong?”

Xu Zhitong smiled, her eyes crinkling. “Mm.”

She waited for Lin Yang to catch up, then said, “Can you stand? Let’s go home.”

“...Okay.”

Xu Zhitong helped Lin Yang to her feet. But once Lin Yang was upright, the alcohol had left her unsteady; she couldn’t seem to stand properly and accidentally fell right back into Xu Zhitong’s arms.

Her chin bumped Xu Zhitong’s collarbone. Lin Yang winced and let out a soft sound, then looked up from Xu Zhitong’s arms with something like grievance in her eyes.

Even the corners of her eyes were red, glistening with a thin sheen of mist; she looked unbearably pitiful.

Xu Zhitong bit her lip and drew in a deep breath.

Her own cheeks were burning too.

How cute. Her wife.

After hesitating for a moment, Xu Zhitong kept one hand on Lin Yang’s shoulder blade, bent down, used her other hand to smooth down Lin Yang’s skirt first, then slid that arm beneath the bend of her knees.

With a little effort, she carefully avoided the edge of the table and lifted Lin Yang into her arms in a princess carry.

It wasn’t difficult. Looks like she’d been keeping up with her workouts before the memory loss.

The sudden loss of footing made Lin Yang let out a tiny ah. She seemed to come to a little, eyes widening as she clutched Xu Zhitong’s collar.

Xu Zhitong hissed, “Don’t grab my collar. Lift your hands a little and hold my neck. Hold my neck.”

Lin Yang did as told and wrapped her arms around Xu Zhitong’s neck. Because she’d been lifted so suddenly, her black-and-white eyes opened very wide.

Only after a while did she realize she’d been picked up. Her face grew even redder; after a long dazed pause, she said slowly, “I can walk by myself...”

Xu Zhitong muttered, “You couldn’t even stand just now. Who’s going to believe you?”

Lin Yang paused. Probably unable to argue, and already naturally gentle, made even more obedient by alcohol, she shrank a little deeper into Xu Zhitong’s arms.

Xu Zhitong carried Lin Yang outside. Just then, Yu Yaojiao also came back into the shop.

“The designated driver’s here, we—”

Seeing Xu Zhitong carrying Lin Yang princess-style, Yu Yaojiao broke off mid-sentence.

Then she gave a sharp whistle.

She said, “Nice.”

Xu Zhitong: “...”

She closed her eyes for a moment and said to Yu Yaojiao with complete righteousness, “Who told you to let her drink so much?”

“...” Yu Yaojiao laughed awkwardly. “We were just talking and happened to keep clinking glasses.”

Yu Yaojiao knew she was in the wrong, so she took the initiative to open the door for them.

After they got into the car, she sat in the front passenger seat and left the back for the little couple.

The car started up; faint rustling came from the back seat as their clothes shifted.

Yu Yaojiao glanced over and saw that Lin Yang had leaned against Xu Zhitong’s shoulder.

Xu Zhitong had tilted her head slightly; her expression was softer than Yu Yaojiao had ever seen it.

One shoulder had dropped a little, and her other hand was holding Lin Yang’s shoulder, trying to make her lean more comfortably.

She looked deeply in love, and very happy.

Watching them, Yu Yaojiao’s own heart warmed. Just then, her phone vibrated.

She lowered her head and saw a message from Lin Zhao, who still hadn’t been blocked.

[Juanjuan: Fine, I’ll let it go this once]

[Juanjuan: Go live soon; I’ll gift you a big one]

[Juanjuan: Hm?]

Yu Yaojiao: “...”

[Dudu the Great King: Are you insane]

Why was the one she ran into a lunatic?

Silently, Yu Yaojiao blocked Lin Zhao.

-

The car drove smoothly; Lin Yang rested lightly on her shoulder, her breathing gradually evening out.

She seemed to have fallen asleep again, and very quietly at that.

Her black hair spilled out, with a few strands slipping into Xu Zhitong’s collar, making both her neck and her heart itch.

Xu Zhitong felt herself sinking into an indescribable kind of happiness.

By the time they reached the hotel, Yu Yaojiao had the designated driver wait in the car and accompanied Xu Zhitong and the others upstairs.

Mainly to help Xu Zhitong, who was carrying Lin Yang, press the elevator button and swipe the room key to open the door.

It really did make things much easier.

After they got Lin Yang into the hotel room, Yu Yaojiao didn’t plan to go in. She stood at the door and waved. “Alright, see you tomorrow.”

Xu Zhitong said, “Thanks.”

Yu Yaojiao hummed, half smiling. “Why are you being so polite with me? You owe me plenty. Remember to get me a big birthday present.”

Xu Zhitong said she definitely would.

Yu Yaojiao closed the door and left. Without the hallway light, the room grew much dimmer at once.

Xu Zhitong stood in the entryway, holding Lin Yang. For some reason, she stood quietly for a while and listened to both their heartbeats; hers went thump-thump-thump, Lin Yang’s thump, thump, thump.

Only after a long time did she turn around and set Lin Yang down on the bed in the bedroom.

She switched on the bedside lamp. Lying on the bed with her eyes closed, Lin Yang’s face was red, the color seeming to have seeped into her skin; her neck and collarbones were also tinted pink.

Probably because of the light, Lin Yang rolled over after not lying there long, hugged the soft pillow beside her, squeezed it a few times, and kept sleeping.

Her movements were cute, but the pose was unexpectedly seductive.

The fitted long dress had ridden up a little with her movement, stopping around her knees. One leg bent to press down on the pillow, making the curve of her backside look rounder and more enticing; her waist also looked even slimmer.

Xu Zhitong pulled her gaze away, feeling a little at a loss.

She was drunk... Should she change Lin Yang’s clothes? Was it okay to just let her sleep like this?

Sleeping in underwear might not be very comfortable, but...

Xu Zhitong glanced over twice, her face hot.

It didn’t seem obvious whether she was wearing adhesive cups or a strapless bra...

And there was quite a bit of alcohol on her body. Lin Yang didn’t have a cleanliness obsession, but she did like to keep things neat; if she slept like this, she’d definitely feel awful when she woke up.

But, but... she was very conservative.

Although before the memory loss, she must have done everything with Lin Yang; that was why Lin Yang didn’t guard against her even when drunk.

But right now, this amnesiac version of her hadn’t even watched any explicit videos yet...

Just thinking about changing Lin Yang’s clothes made her heart race.

What if the drunk Lin Yang wanted her to soothe her a little... She hadn’t learned how yet.

These past few days, when she’d been searching for material to study kissing, what she’d watched were all those educational videos that looked like science experiments.

She’d also casually saved some other tutorial videos to her cloud drive; from the titles alone, she could tell they were the more in-depth kind, but she still hadn’t worked up the courage to study them.

Xu Zhitong stood by the bed, working herself into a state of stiffness and nervousness.

Her mom, every time she came home from entertaining clients drunk out of her mind, would cling especially hard to mommy; she’d even start right there in the living room... It got so bad that Xu Zhitong would always hide in her own room and not even dare come out to use the bathroom.

If she changed Lin Yang’s clothes and Lin Yang grabbed her and wanted to touch somewhere...

She had to wash her hands first.

Xu Zhitong’s heart thumped like a drum as she practically stepped into the bathroom with her left foot and right foot out of sync.

She washed her hands carefully, including the spaces under every fingernail.

After drying them, she stared at her nails in a daze.

Were they a little long? The nail clippers seemed to be with Lin Yang; she didn’t know where they were.

Actually, the length seemed fine. She’d trimmed them before going out.

She pressed the tip of her index finger against the back of her other hand.

It didn’t hurt.

But she’d heard that sensation varied from person to person.

Judging by Lin Yang’s reaction when she’d been kissed for a while and her mouth had gone red, she should be fairly sensitive.

Then what should she do? Use finger cots?

Xu Zhitong stared at herself in the mirror, frowning as she drifted into troubled silence.

There were little boxes in the bottom drawer of her mom and mommy’s bedside table; she roughly knew what those things were.

But should she buy some too?

Except she didn’t know how to do it...

If she didn’t buy them, she still wouldn’t know how to use her mouth... She’d heard that required practice. Xu Zhitong didn’t know whether her vague subconscious memory and muscle memory would kick in when the time came.

What if Lin Yang found it unsatisfying?

And she still hadn’t had her fang teeth filed down at the dental hospital yet.

She had no experience; what if she bit her?

In fact, Xu Zhitong vaguely felt that she and Lin Yang probably hadn’t done it for a long time before the memory loss, or maybe they hadn’t done it very often.

So her first time was very important.

Xu Zhitong paced twice, growing even more conflicted.

But it was better to be prepared for anything, so Xu Zhitong solemnly opened her phone and looked through the convenience store delivery section.

There were so many styles to choose from.

Xu Zhitong was rich and generous; she ordered one box of every style.