Nightfall descended quietly, the dim yellow streetlights spilling onto the ground like water. The rich aroma of roasted meat wafted freely across the entire street, paving a warm path home for the students who had just finished their late-night study sessions.
The sign at the shop entrance flickered slightly in the night, those few large characters acting like a mysterious incantation, drawing in passersby.
The charcoal fire on the table burned fiercely, red flames dancing joyfully. On the grill, tender slices of meat gradually changed color under the heat of the coals, grease dripping down and making an inviting, sizzling sound.
“Don’t ask me what’s been going on lately, I can’t explain it. Don’t ask me what’s happened to my voice, I don’t know either. And definitely don’t ask me when I’m going back to school; only God knows that.”
Rose-red lips moved gently, releasing a pleasant, melodious female voice. Her ink-colored eyes would switch between staring intently at the barbecue in front of her and suddenly drifting off to gaze at the night sky, as if she were lost in deep thought.
At this moment, the four members of Dorm 802 were quietly watching Ji Yue-nian eat.
“Gulp, gulp~~” After a large swig of ice-cold beer, Ji Yue-nian was already a bit tipsy, a rosy flush blooming on her cheeks.
She drained the rest of the can, and catching the four of them staring out of the corner of her eye, her brow furrowed slightly in displeasure. “What are you all looking at me for? Eat! Why aren’t you eating! Not eating is the same as not giving me, Ji, any face!”
“I invited you out for barbecue this time just to accompany me in drinking and eating meat!!”
“I’ve been worried to death lately!!”
She wore an ordinary white shirt, yet it could not hide her graceful figure. Her short hair was tucked casually behind her ears, giving her a valiant and heroic look. Her small, oval face was especially pink and tender due to the alcohol.
With her movements, the entire table—piled high with beer cans and barbecue skewers—trembled slightly.
Seeing this, the four of them hurried to lower their heads to eat meat and drink beer.
“Old Ji, you…” After eating for a while, Hu Li mustered the courage to look up, seemingly wanting to ask something, but he was interrupted by Ji Yue-nian’s wave of a hand, her face full of intoxication.
“Don’t ask. Even if you ask, I won’t tell you. Anyway, I’m just really stressed. Right now, I just want to drown my sorrows in wine!” As she spoke, she took another massive gulp of beer.
The yellowish liquid, topped with a bit of white foam, flowed down her throat into her belly and then into her stomach, burning her body like fire.
Ji Yue-nian’s eyes gradually became glazed, her vision blurring more and more as her body swayed.
“By the way, brothers, I have a question to ask you.” Letting out a beer burp, she squinted at the group. “If the heavens were blind and placed a path you didn’t much like in front of you, and decreed that you must walk it, how would you choose?”
“What choice is there? You walk it, of course. After all, the heavens already decreed it.” Luo Yikang was the first to pick up the thread. He shrugged and cast a subtle glance at the person beside him.
“As the saying goes, life is like… well, since you can’t resist, you might as well enjoy it.”
At this point, he couldn’t help but be the first to burst into laughter. The others were also amused and laughed along, Ji Yue-nian included.
For a moment, happy laughter filled the entire private booth.
They laughed, laughed until they were tired, and laughed away the gloom in their hearts.
Ji Yue-nian no longer brooded over it. She slowly stood up, patted the dust off her backside, and turned to face her brothers, the corners of her mouth curling upward slightly. “Old Luo is right. Since I can’t resist, I might as well enjoy it.”
As she spoke, she raised her glass high, her expression spirited.
“Let’s be like we were before—eat big portions of meat and drink big gulps of wine!!”
“Haha, Brother Ji is right! Wine and meat are the greatest delicacies of life.”
“Cheers!”
“Cheers!!”
*****
“Hehehe, Hu Li, why are there two of you?”
“Gulp, gulp~ Old Luo, why do I feel like your good brother’s looking at you the wrong way? Old Liu wouldn’t happen to be from Chengdu, would he?”
“Gulp, gulp~~”
“And Old Yao, why do I always feel like you and Hu Li are inseparable, like a couple? Don’t you have a childhood friend fiancé?”
Ji Yue-nian had started drinking, drank too much, and was now wasted.
With her face flushed red and her body enveloped in the scent of alcohol, she looked at the people before her with glazed eyes. Her cherry-red lips opened and closed, uttering nothing but nonsense.
At this moment, she was like a rose with thorns; though adorable in her drunken state, she still radiated a unique charm. That tipsy look possessed a bit of delicate cuteness without losing her bold atmosphere, making one both love and pity her.
The others looked at each other, exchanging glances.
“Brother Ji, you’re drunk.”
“I’m not drunk.” The drunken beauty waved her hand and then fiercely brandished a small fist. “Whoever dares say I’m drunk, I’ll take them out with one punch!”
After saying that, she even threw a punch with her dainty fist with great seriousness. However, right at that moment, her legs suddenly went soft, and she began to collapse toward the ground. Fortunately, Hu Li, who was beside her, was quick and caught her; otherwise, she would have hit the floor.
“Hahaha, thanks, Old Yao, I just slipped.” Ji Yue-nian giggled and patted his shoulder, then stood up wobbling, still wanting to continue drinking.
“…Um, Brother Ji, it’s me, Hu Li.” Hu Li’s mouth twitched, seriously doubting that Ji Yue-nian had anything left in her brain but alcohol.
Just like that, after drinking for another half an hour, Ji Yue-nian stood up dizzily. Declining everyone’s kind offers to see her home, she walked back by herself.
Watching her swaying figure recede into the distance, the group all shook their heads helplessly and sighed. Hu Li and Liu Yao, in particular, felt the most empathetic.
The present moment was just like that past moment.
“By the way, what’s with Old Ji’s depressed look? Did the School Prince confess to her?” Luo Yikang asked doubtfully.
“If it were a confession, it might be like this. Besides, based on my understanding of Old Ji, if the School Prince really dared to confess, the response would definitely be a fist the size of a sandbag.” Hu Li gazed at the silhouette that had already disappeared into the vast dark night and let out a deep sigh.
“I understand Old Ji’s current mindset.”
“Suddenly finding out your true gender, knowing the truth, knowing that your future and the life experience of your first dozen or so years will be completely different—even diametrically opposed… it’s impossible to accept all at once.”
“I remember I saw several psychologists back-to-back. It wasn’t until I went to a clinic near the school during my freshman year that the knot in my heart finally loosened.”
“Shifting one’s gender identity and psychological state is indeed very difficult,” Liu Yao agreed deeply. “During those two years, in the hospital where I stayed, some fellow patients couldn’t accept it either, which led to a few incidents of people jumping from buildings.”
“Wait!” Yao Shiming, who had been drinking on the side, seemed to suddenly think of something. He slammed the table, his expression alert. “Old Ji is drunk right now, and the direction she just took looked like that small path near the school.”
Hearing this, everyone froze, and then chaos broke out.
“There are always punks and thugs looking to extort people on that path every night. With Old Ji looking like a total drunk, if she goes through there, isn’t she just giving herself away for free!”
“Can we make it there in time if we rush now?”
“Make it in time? My foot! Wait! I remember the School Prince seemed to be doing cleaning duty tonight.”
“Holy crap! Who has the School Prince’s number? Hurry up and call!!”
*****
The moonlight spilled onto the ground, looking as if it were covered in salt.
“I’ll take them out with one punch! One punch per thug!”
“Bring on the thugs, let me beat them up!”
“You punks, your daddy is back!!”
In the empty path, Ji Yue-nian’s melodious yet somewhat arrogant and loud voice echoed. Her face was incredibly red from the alcohol, and her entire being exuded a heavy scent of wine. Even her beautiful face possessed a misty allure at this moment, making it impossible to look away.
Suddenly, a rush of footsteps came from behind. The drunkenly dazed Ji Yue-nian swung a punch backward with force, hitting a solid chest dead-on.
The man let out a muffled groan, but he took the opportunity to wrap his arms around her waist, pulling her whole body into his embrace.
“It’s me.”
She looked up blankly.
She met those eyes, as blue as the deep sea. There seemed to be something indescribable flowing within them, carrying a trace of pampering and heartache.
“Jiang… Chi?”
She murmured softly, filled with doubt and pleasant surprise.
In the next moment, she could no longer resist the intoxication and collapsed into his arms in a muddle.
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