But the girl was confident about this latest concoction.
She, Yang Siqing, the top-tier bartender of the Drunken Study, qualified to run her own independent tavern within the Neon Veil, had repeatedly failed in attempts on this woman before her.
She clearly sensed no trace of magic on the other’s body, even after Su Ya drank those magically infused drinks each time. This was something she couldn’t explain no matter how hard she tried.
Yet this gave Yang Siqing the chance to experiment with those seemingly absurd fantasies, adding ingredients that a normal human body could never tolerate—in a way, this was more fitting for her identity as a Witch; what she brewed was no longer fine liquor, but a potion.
But Su Ya just casually downed each drink without a flicker of reaction, no matter how bizarre the concoctions appeared. She would drink them calmly, allowing the scorching waves to explode along her taste and pain nerves, spreading through every part of her body.
An ordinary person’s body would have long triggered self-protection mechanisms and fainted under such strain, but Yang Siqing never saw a single unnecessary expression cross Su Ya’s face.
At most, there was a slight blush, but that meant nothing.
The last time Yang Siqing had felt such frustration was with that elegant, noble-like Black-haired Sorceress—but that was in a dream. This time, it was reality.
Being repeatedly defeated by a woman as plain as could be naturally stoked Yang Siqing’s pride. Fortunately, in the dream’s tavern, there was a little girl who looked strikingly similar to this woman. That girl’s tolerance for alcohol was terrible… no, not just terrible—she basically lacked any ability to metabolize alcohol at all.
Yang Siqing had never before seen a Witch who would get drunk simply from sitting in a tavern for too long and inhaling some alcohol fumes.
So she firmly refused to sell any alcoholic drinks to that girl. If asked, she would say the girl was underage; if pressed, she would specifically mean Irina.
Come to think of it, that special little one—could she be related to Su Ya?
With many thoughts flickering in her mind, Yang Siqing kept her eyes locked on Su Ya’s every move, wanting to catch every reaction after she drank the latest drink.
Breath, heartbeat, expression—anything that showed even the slightest sign of intoxication would do. “Show me your wilder side.”
Su Ya stared blankly at her reflection in the glass, her gentle features rippling on the surface like waves. It made her look as if she was sometimes smiling, sometimes crying—as if she truly had emotions.
Before Yang Siqing could urge her, Su Ya lifted the rocks glass and downed it in one go, like a cow by the river lowering its head simply to drink water.
But after the liquid slid down her throat, things seemed to change.
“How do you feel? Any different?”
This time, no immediate reply came. The bar was still noisy, but the atmosphere in this corner grew eerie in the brief silence.
“…I feel great now. Absolutely wonderful.”
—
It drizzled lightly tonight; the soft patter was barely audible through the window pane, but Su Mu clearly sensed it.
It was stuffy.
The air felt like a thick glue, unmoving, without a trace of wind. Within minutes, Su Mu was already sweating lightly.
She had wanted to splurge and turn on the air conditioning, but just seconds after switching it on, there was a sudden click and the entire rental plunged into darkness. Next door, Ye Wanqing let out a startled cry.
“What’s going on? Why’s my screen black? Hey, don’t tell me it needs a double-tap to turn on.”
Ye Wanqing patted the table, folding her arms in frustration.
Though she didn’t know the cause, it was clear: a power outage.
With her computer down, Ye Wanqing was cut off and annoyed—already irritated by the stifling heat, now thoroughly vexed.
“Little Mouse Mu, what were you doing outside?”
Hearing the door open, Su Mu watched a blurry figure crawl out from the room. Her eyes hadn’t adjusted to the dark, so she couldn’t see Ye Wanqing’s face clearly, only her general position.
Su Mu still held the remote control, puzzled.
She knew the power had tripped, but she was helpless about it.
“Didn’t you test this air conditioner when you came to see the place? How come it trips the power as soon as you turn it on?”
Ye Wanqing’s nose wrinkled in irritation.
“Go away, I’ve used it so many times and it’s never had a problem before. You touch it once and it breaks…”
She quickly realized her mistake and bit back the rest of her angry words.
“You mean you secretly ran the air conditioner for a long time when I wasn’t here?”
Noticing Ye Wanqing’s guilt, Su Mu understood immediately. Raising a brow, she wanted to question her, but that wasn’t the main problem now.
“Forget it, do you know how to reset the breaker? Because I don’t.”
Ye Wanqing looked up quietly. She couldn’t see Su Mu’s expression clearly either, but from her words, she figured she’d been forgiven. She quickly adjusted her mood.
“Well, of course I know. When I was checking the place, I carefully inspected every corner for problems.”
The two groped through the dark toward the door. The breaker was above the doorframe. Though Ye Wanqing was tall, she still couldn’t reach it easily.
“Little Mouse Mu, bring me a stool.”
“Okay.”
Su Mu placed the stool by the door. Ye Wanqing stepped on it and easily opened the breaker cover. But it was so dark that, reluctantly, she had to light a small Fire Seed at her fingertip, trying to see by its glow.
As the spark lit up, Su Mu caught a reflected glimpse of Ye Wanqing—and instantly, the girl’s pretty face flushed deeply in the dim firelight.
“Hey, wh-why aren’t you wearing clothes?”
A patch of pale skin suddenly appeared in front of Su Mu’s eyes, barely covered by a thin camisole. This suggested Ye Wanqing hadn’t fully let herself go yet.
But this little amount of exposure wasn’t enough to shock Su Mu—it was quite common in girls’ dorms.
What was striking, however, was the scale. The single flame at Ye Wanqing’s fingertip cast shadows just right, outlining the astonishing curve and texture of her underarm area bit by bit.
“Stop jumping like that. Do you want to scare me to death? I’m trying to reset the breaker!”
Ye Wanqing was startled by Su Mu too, almost losing her footing and nearly falling forward. Luckily, she caught herself by pressing against the wall.
“Sorry, but you’re way too casual about this—we’re still in the same room, you know.”
Su Mu cleared her throat lightly and came back to herself. Honestly, she still habitually thought of herself as male, and her perspective hadn’t shifted much—except for certain parts developed by Luo Jialan, she was far from being a complete girl yet.
“It’s so hot, who can stand it? Not everyone can endure it like Little Mouse Mu, wrapping themselves up in fuzzy clothes.”
Ye Wanqing sighed helplessly. Because of the heat, she had pinned her hair up, but Su Mu was enduring having her hair down and wearing long-sleeved pajamas—if she wasn’t hot, that would be a miracle.
She continued fiddling with the breaker. The moment she flipped it, the surroundings immediately brightened, revealing parts of Ye Wanqing’s body that had been hidden in shadows.
Su Mu, who had been looking upward, suddenly lowered her head and twitched her nose involuntarily—because standing on the stool, Ye Wanqing was sticking out her equally voluptuous, perky rear right in front of her, making her cartoon yellow duck shorts look more like a bikini—decidedly alluring.
“Eh, Little Mouse Mu, what’s wrong? Why are you covering your nose?”
“Nothing, just a bit of heat. I’m going to wash up.”
Su Mu fled to the bathroom, pinching her slightly flushed nose in front of the mirror. Her mind was still full of those vivid images, which made her phantom limbs start reacting violently again.
This wasn’t good. Although the girl was dull, her figure was way too eye-catching. Continuing to live together like this… was it really going to be okay?