The aroma of hot pot wafted through the air. Song Qiuyu glanced at the two cans of beer and thought for a moment.
Neither of them could hold their liquor well, and when they got drunk, neither of them behaved.
But if only Jiang Xiao drank, he’d just end up drinking alone in silence, and she couldn’t bear to see that. So, she took a can of beer from Jiang Xiao’s hand.
As long as they didn’t get drunk, it’d be fine.
She popped the tab.
“It’s not a bad idea to have a drink to warm up!” she said, then tipped her head back and took a sip.
The beer hit her stomach first, bringing a rush of warmth.
After a few breaths, her whole body felt as if she were soaking in a warm ocean; the chill was gone.
“So why did you suddenly want to drink? Is it because you two agreed to meet, but she couldn’t come today?”
She picked up a piece of tofu, chewed it slowly, swallowed, and then took another small sip of beer.
“It shouldn’t be because of that.”
Jiang Xiao also tipped his head back and drank, but his eyes never once left the person sitting across from him.
“What do you mean, ‘shouldn’t be’?”
After a few sips, Song Qiuyu’s cheeks flushed a lovely shade of red.
“But I suppose it’s part of it. Mainly, it’s because it’s snowing today, and you’re here with me. I’m happy,” Jiang Xiao said, holding the beer can and gazing deeply at her.
“Oh.”
Song Qiuyu only gave a perfunctory response.
She had a feeling that if she said anything more, the person across from her would get too smug.
But what started as just a few sips—
Maybe she was in a bad mood, maybe she was annoyed. Once she started drinking, she couldn’t stop.
In the blink of an eye, she’d already finished five or six cans.
Jiang Xiao looked at the girl across from him, who was close to drinking herself under the table, his feelings just as troubled as hers.
But deep inside, he couldn’t help but feel a little happy.
He thought he understood exactly why she was upset right now.
“Little Fallen Leaf, you can’t drink anymore.” Jiang Xiao reached out to take her beer can.
“Don’t take away my right to drink!” Song Qiuyu was quicker, tipping her head back and downing the whole can.
When she finished, she pinched the empty can and raised her brows at him in triumph, giving a couple of smug little hums.
“Hmph…”
Jiang Xiao snorted too, but then he noticed the little drunkard across from him was staring fixedly at the beer in his hand, as if she’d already finished hers and wanted his as well.
“If you can grab it, it’s yours?”
He met her stubborn gaze, calm on the surface, but with a hint of madness flickering in his eyes.
As soon as he finished speaking, Song Qiuyu set down her empty can, pressed both hands to the table, and stood up from her seat.
Leaning over the table, she stretched out her arms, her fair, delicate fingers reaching for the can in his hand.
“Jiang Xiao, give it to me, give it to me, I want more~” The girl, drunk and coquettish, sounded softer than ever before.
It was as if a hedgehog, always pointing its quills at predators, had carelessly revealed its soft underbelly now that it was drunk.
The warm indoor light shone on her dark hair, turning it a silvery white, like the veil on a bridal gown, reflecting in her beautiful eyes.
The boy in her gaze seemed gentler and more handsome than ever.
“I’m serious, you can’t drink anymore. You’re already drunk.”
Jiang Xiao looked at her firmly, then, right in front of her, tipped his head back to finish the beer himself.
“Don’t finish it! Leave me some!”
With a scrape, her chair slid back as Song Qiuyu left her seat and circled around to Jiang Xiao’s side.
Seeing this, Jiang Xiao drank even faster.
Song Qiuyu came over specifically to snatch the beer, but now she just looked at him, eyes wide, like a defeated chick—so pitiful it was almost funny.
Jiang Xiao really couldn’t keep drinking, but he pretended to finish it and got ready to toss the nearly empty can into the trash.
Before he could throw it away, the little drunkard beside him seemed to forget all about wanting more beer, just looking at him, clearly tempted.
“Hug?”
Jiang Xiao immediately guessed what she was thinking.
“Hehe…”
“Don’t just giggle! If you don’t say it clearly, I won’t get it.”
“Jiang Xiao, hug me!”
Jiang Xiao took a deep breath, turned around, and opened his arms to her.
A drunken Xi’er was always the clingiest and most genuine.
He often imagined that it would be nice if she were like this when sober, but then he’d get scared at the thought.
He was afraid that if she were always like this, he’d never be able to take it.
The next moment, her little head dove excitedly into his arms.
Song Qiuyu, tipsy, perched on his thigh, then sat facing him, wrapping her arms around his neck.
“There’s still a bit of beer left, want some?” Jiang Xiao’s heart pounded wildly.
Back when they were just friends, roommates, classmates, with a clean and simple relationship, he could hug her naturally.
But now, it made him a little nervous.
In the living room, where it was just the two of them, their hearts beat in sync, affecting each other.
“Yeah!”
Song Qiuyu giggled, hands outstretched, steadily catching the almost empty beer can.
Jiang Xiao looked down at her, watching as she drooped her eyes, pressed her lips to the rim, and tipped her head back, drinking the last drops.
When the beer was gone, she even licked the rim with her pink tongue, savoring the taste.
Jiang Xiao swallowed, his eyes darkening.
Even though she’d licked the can clean, the little drunkard acted as if she were still savoring the flavor, her tongue gently flicking the rim.
After a long while, she finally gave up the empty can and shifted her attention to the warm heater beside her: “Jiang Xiao~”
The suddenly-tight hug made the human heater stiffen a little. “Hmm?”
“Do you know about the Peach Garden Oath of Brotherhood?”
Song Qiuyu’s voice grew excited.
As she spoke, she looked up at the boy in the warm light, the soft glow illuminating his handsome young face.
She squinted at him, feeling like a moth drawn to a flame.
The more she looked, the more dazed she became.
“Three Kingdoms?” Jiang Xiao raised an eyebrow.
“That’s right! Don’t you think our dorm is a bit like that too?” Song Qiuyu grew even more excited.
Jiang Xiao had a bad feeling about this.
“We’re the Nanshi Fourfold Brotherhood!”
The bad feeling grew stronger.
“We’ll be brothers for life, filming together forever… doing… doing this forever…”
Song Qiuyu patted Jiang Xiao’s firm chest with her soft little hand.
“We’ll all be Directors for life! We’ll all shine bright together!”
Maybe he’d seen this coming, because even such heart-wrenching words didn’t ruffle Jiang Xiao’s expression much.
There was no doubt this was what Song Qiuyu truly felt inside.
All along, she wanted to keep things as they were; if there was a chance of change, she’d be scared and uneasy.
“So you can’t fall for me, okay…”
She said it, but, drunk, nuzzled her burning cheek into Jiang Xiao’s neck, rubbing against him.
Jiang Xiao’s breath caught.
Guh, Jiang Xiao, I’ll drink to you, , I believe you can make it through this brother!