Lu Weizhu slammed the door shut, but before she could see who it was, the shadowy figure had already squeezed half their body inside. The act of closing the door met resistance; Lu Weizhu hesitated for a moment, and then the visitor forced the door fully open, their silhouette tumbling toward her—so very much like her own.
The scent of alcohol hit her straight in the face. In the dim Living Room, Lu Weizhu still couldn’t make out the intruder’s features.
She hurriedly stepped back, unable to figure out where this drunkard had come from.
She switched on the Living Room light, and under its bright glow, Lu Weizhu finally saw the irritating culprit before her.
“Ning… Ning Wan!? Ugh… hiss, my hand!”
Frightened and stunned in that split second, she found herself unable to dodge.
The thoroughly intoxicated Ning Wan pressed both hands on Lu Weizhu’s shoulders, shoving her forcefully to the ground.
Her back hit the hard floor, a dull pain radiating up. Worse, her right hand slammed down too, a sharp agony from deep within the bone draining all color from her face.
“…Ugh… you… wait… what was I trying to do?”
Pinning Lu Weizhu beneath her, Ning Wan stared at the girl’s pain-twisted face, suddenly bewildered.
Drunkenness muddled her thoughts into scattered fragments.
White strands of hair slipped from the side of her face, falling onto Lu Weizhu’s cheek.
Ning Wan’s eyes, the same pale blue as her own, stared down in utter confusion.
“…”
Lu Weizhu was at a complete loss for words.
“…Why are you here, Miss Ning…”
A mix of fear and confusion, Lu Weizhu pushed Ning Wan’s shoulder with her left hand.
The woman on top didn’t react at all, not moving an inch.
With no choice, Lu Weizhu tried to wriggle out from under her instead of shoving her off.
Fortunately, she succeeded.
“…”
Cradling her injured right arm, Lu Weizhu gazed at the sprawled-out Ning Wan, momentarily at a loss about what to do with this infuriating drunkard.
“Didn’t Bai Lu say she’d take her home? Why did she end up coming to find me instead…”
Her head throbbed; Lu Weizhu pressed her lips together.
With no phone for the time being, she couldn’t contact Bai Lu. But if she just left Ning Wan lying there on the floor, she’d probably get punished once Ning Wan sobered up…
“Miss Ning, get up. The floor’s cold.”
She tried calling out to Ning Wan.
“Mm? Hehe…”
Ning Wan let out a meaningless sound, then collapsed completely, arms flung wide as she lay on the floor without a shred of dignity.
“…So annoying.”
Biting her lower lip, Lu Weizhu shook her head.
She mustered up her courage and walked over to Ning Wan’s side. The woman lying on the ground swung her hand at the air twice, sending Lu Weizhu shrinking back in fright.
“Are you okay?”
Shielding her injured right hand, Lu Weizhu watched Ning Wan warily.
“…Ugh… mm.”
The answer was still just nonsensical mumbling.
“…Come on, get up, don’t stay on the floor.”
After a long hesitation, Lu Weizhu crouched down and grabbed Ning Wan’s arm, tugging twice.
“Ah… Little Bai, don’t fuss~”
Ning Wan didn’t even lift her head.
“……”
Lu Weizhu propped Ning Wan up, barely managing to get her to her feet and leaning against her own shoulder.
Since she could only use one hand, it took all of Lu Weizhu’s strength.
Supporting Ning Wan toward the Sofa, she kept pitching to the side, almost collapsing at any moment.
Gritting her teeth, Lu Weizhu, exhausted and staggering, finally got Ning Wan to the Sofa.
She propped Ning Wan against the Sofa, then wiped her left hand on her own skirt as she eyed the disheveled Sponsor slumped there.
“That should do it, right?”
Perched on the edge of the Teatable, Lu Weizhu wiped the sweat from her brow.
The pervasive smell of alcohol in the air made her uncomfortable.
Lu Weizhu hated alcohol.
“…Ai…”
She sighed again.
There were no ingredients at home for making hangover soup. Even if there were, Lu Weizhu’s current condition wouldn’t allow her to cook it.
“Forget it… I’ll just get her some Hot Water and make do… Who knows how much she drank.”
Lu Weizhu went into the Kitchen, boiled some Hot Water in the kettle, and after letting it cool a bit, she carried out a Bowl of Hot Water with one hand.
On the Sofa, Ning Wan sat with her head cocked, still wearing that bewildered look in her eyes.
Lu Weizhu brought the Bowl to Ning Wan’s lips and managed to get her to drink more than half.
“Who knows if this will help at all…”
After finishing, Lu Weizhu planned to leave—she needed rest.
“Ah, thank you~”
Words she’d never expected came from the Sponsor’s lips.
“Little Bai~ you’re so good to me.”
That fleeting sense of relief that had just begun to rise was immediately dashed.
Ning Wan grasped Lu Weizhu’s left hand, the one holding the Bowl, with both hands.
“I’m not Little Bai…”
Lu Weizhu pouted—drunk as she was, Ning Wan could only think of Bai Lu… How enviable.
Drooping her head, Lu Weizhu tried to break free from Ning Wan’s grip.
“Not… Little Bai?”
Ning Wan tilted her head, studying Lu Weizhu’s face.
Through her blurry vision, the person before her gradually came into focus.
Ning Wan? No, no, no. If the person before her was Ning Wan, then who was she?
Ning Wan’s gaze slowly turned cold.
“You’re… Lu Weizhu!?”
Ning Wan recognized Lu Weizhu.
“Yes, I am… Can you let me go? Miss Ning, you’re drunk, get some rest.”
Lu Weizhu regretted it a little.
She shouldn’t have given her any water. After all, what did it matter to her if Ning Wan had a headache after drinking? Helping her to the Sofa was already more than enough, wasn’t it?
Lost in thought, Lu Weizhu spaced out, and Ning Wan shakily got to her feet.
“Found you, found you.”
Murmuring, Ning Wan suddenly shoved Lu Weizhu again.
Her body tipped backward, upper half landing on the Teatable, her lower back bumping hard against its edge.
Lu Weizhu never saw the attack coming.
Firmly pinned underneath, her waist felt as if it would snap against the Teatable. Her left hand was trapped between their chests, the Bowl slipped from her grasp, rolled across the Teatable, and fell to the floor with a crash—shattering to pieces.
The sound of breaking porcelain jolted her hazy mind. Hot Water soaked her chest, and Lu Weizhu’s eyes widened.
Before she could react, Ning Wan seized her by the throat.
“Uh… ngh… mm…”
Slender fingers squeezing her neck, Lu Weizhu couldn’t speak. Her legs thrashed desperately, but it was useless.
In her field of vision were Ning Wan’s beautiful face and the ceiling lamp, half-broken.
Lu Weizhu hammered at Ning Wan’s chest with her hand.
“Let… go… mm… please…”
She could barely get the words out, not understanding, not at all. Why did these things keep happening to her? What had she done wrong? She hadn’t done anything…
If last time was because she foolishly tried to please Bai Lu, what about now?
The edges of her sight grew dark, her consciousness slowly blurring.
So painful, so painful—not just her body, but her heart too.
“……”
The girl’s struggles gradually weakened. Ning Wan’s mind cleared a little.
She gazed quietly at the girl beneath her, dazed for a moment, then slowly loosened her grip from the girl’s neck.
“Cough, cough… cough…”
Lu Weizhu coughed violently, vision still blurry, tears filling her eyes as she shielded her neck with her left hand.
“…Hiss…”
Still straddling Lu Weizhu, Ning Wan patted her own head.
After a while, she finally recalled what had just happened. Staring at the girl’s pale face, she began to gather her words in her heart.