My head hurts.
Not only does it hurt, it’s ringing.
Waking up from a heavy hangover, Sang Nian lay in bed like a salted fish that had lost all its dreams and was about to be braised in soy sauce.
There was a whole string of unread system notifications waiting for her.
Unable to stand the sight of those continuously pulsing red dots, she clicked them open one by one.
【Xie Chenzhou favorability +100】
【Xie Chenzhou favorability +300】
【Xie Chenzhou favorability +1000】
“…”
Sang Nian repeatedly counted the zeros, double-checking to make sure the symbols indicated an increase rather than a drop, completely incredulous:
“Is Xie Chenzhou’s brain broken?”
Or did she pull off some major stunt after getting drunk yesterday?
The more she thought about it, the more unsettled she felt, so she shook Liu Liu, who was still reeking of alcohol, awake.
“What did I do yesterday?”
Dizzily, Liu Liu shook its head. > “Liu Liu didn’t steal your wine, really didn’t.”
Helpless, Sang Nian tucked it safely against the inside of the bed, slipped on her shoes, and stood up.
Chun’er hurried over. > “Thank the heavens, you’re finally awake.”
Rubbing her temples, Sang Nian asked, > “How long was I out?”
“A full day and night,” Chun’er replied. “The City Lord was worried sick, but thankfully the physician said you’re completely fine.”
Sang Nian offered a sheepish smile. > “How’s Chu Yao? She was drunk too.”
Chun’er answered, > “Miss Chu Yao is a disciple of an immortal sect, so her constitution is naturally different from yours. She woke up after just an hour or two.”
Hesitating for a moment, Sang Nian still forced herself to ask: > “What about Xie Chenzhou?”
Chun’er’s mouth twitched. > “After you got drunk, you refused to leave his room, insisting it was your own. You wouldn’t listen to anyone who tried to coax you out, and when people pushed you, you just grabbed him and cried.”
Sang Nian: “…”
We’re done for. Total humiliation.
She let out a wail. > “And then? How did I get back?”
“Who said you came back?”
“…I’m still in his room?”
“Yep.”
“Then where did he sleep last night?”
Chun’er pointed down at the floor.
The world went dark before Sang Nian’s eyes. > “With a place as huge as the City Lord’s Estate, couldn’t they find a single room for him to sleep in? Why did he have to sleep on the floor?”
“They could,” Chun’er said, “but you wouldn’t let them.”
Sang Nian: “?”
“You’d start crying the moment he tried to leave. Nobody knew what to do with you, so they had no choice but to let him stay and look after you.”
The heart that Sang Nian had been holding onto finally gave up and died.
Terrified that Xie Chenzhou might walk back in at any second, she snatched up Liu Liu and bolted.
The second she yanked the door open, Xie Chenzhou was standing right outside.
Her movements froze for two full seconds before she silently shut the door again.
Open it again. Shut it again.
Xie Chenzhou was still standing right there.
Finally coming to terms with reality, Sang Nian forced an awkward laugh:
“What a coincidence.”
“Not a coincidence. This is my room,” he stated.
“Hahaha, right, of course it’s your room. Sorry to intrude, I’ll be taking my leave now.” With that, she immediately prepared to make a run for it.
Xie Chenzhou asked: > “Where are you going?”
“I… I’m going to find Chu Yao and the others,” Sang Nian stammered.
Nodding, Xie Chenzhou stepped aside to clear the path.
After taking two steps, Sang Nian couldn’t help turning her head back: > “Um… last night… did I… do anything to you?”
Xie Chenzhou’s expression turned peculiar.
Her toes curled hard against the inside of her shoes. > “It… it wasn’t anything terrible, right?”
“Are you trying to ask if you took liberties with me?” he said.
Nervously, Sang Nian nodded.
Xie Chenzhou: “You forcefully took off my clothes.”
Sang Nian: “!!!”
Her breath caught in her throat, only for him to continue with a completely deadpan expression:
“And then used it to blow your nose.”
Sang Nian: “.”
Sang Nian: “Goodbye.”
She sprinted out of the String Sound Pavilion with the speed of a hundred-meter sprinter, her face a mask of utter despair.
If it were at all possible, she never wanted to lay eyes on Xie Chenzhou ever again for the rest of her life.
Forcefully stripping someone’s clothes off just to use them as a tissue—how should she put it? Was this peak her?
Gazing up at the sky, Sang Nian’s eyes held three parts wistfulness, five parts sorrow, and eight parts deep regret.
Alcohol truly wasn’t a good thing; she was never drinking again as long as she lived! Anyone who drank again was a dog!
Abruptly, a voice chimed in beside her:
“You’re awake? Want to go grab a couple more drinks today?”
“Sure, let’s go,” Sang Nian blurted out.
Wait—realizing something was amiss, she snapped her head around to look.
A few steps away on the paved stone path, an energetic Chu Yao and a rather wilted-looking Su Xueyin were sheathing their swords.
A light film of sweat coated their foreheads and the tips of their noses, gleaming brilliantly in the morning sun.
Lifting a hand, Chu Yao offered a wave: > “Morning.”
Walking over to join them, Sang Nian asked: > “Out practicing your swords?”
“Mhm, mhm,” Su Xueyin perked up, asking, “Are you feeling better? Does your head hurt?”
“I’m completely fine now, thanks for asking,” Sang Nian replied. “How are you holding up, Chu Yao?”
“Don’t even ask,” Su Xueyin let out a long, heavy sigh. “I was practically driven half to death by her yesterday. If I hadn’t stepped in, your entire City Lord’s Estate would have been torn down brick by brick.”
With that, she let out a sound of relief:
“I’m just so glad I entrusted you to Young Master Xie, otherwise I really would have dropped dead from exhaustion.”
A thought flickered in Sang Nian’s mind.
According to the book, Xie Chenzhou was Su Xueyin’s white moonlight—she was instantly captivated the very moment she laid eyes on him, nursing a secret crush on him for a good half of the novel.
Yet…
Sang Nian studied Su Xueyin closely.
When the other girl mentioned Xie Chenzhou, her expression was completely natural and open, looking nothing whatsoever like someone suffering from love at first sight.
Coupled with the current, downright bizarre character settings of the protagonist squad…
As expected, this book had completely derailed.
Things had come to such a pass that she was apparently the only wicked female supporting character left struggling to hold the plot together.
Sang Nian couldn’t help shedding a mental tear.
“Oh right, we’re heading back to our sect tomorrow,” Chu Yao announced out of the blue. “Do you want to come with us?”
“Me?” Sang Nian asked in surprise.
In the original novel, Sang Yunling had indeed accompanied them back to the Xiaoyao Sect.
However, the person they had actually invited was Xie Chenzhou. As for Sang Yunling…
Sang Yunling had developed a wildly dramatic, melodramatic crush on the gentle and scholarly Wen Buyu, throwing screaming, crying fits and threatening all sorts of things just to force her way along, refusing to let them leave without her.
Having zero choice, the protagonist squad had ended up dragging her along with them.
“I think you’re a pretty cool person, you’d make a great disciple for our Xiaoyao Sect.”
Chu Yao patted her shoulder. > “Our sect’s once-every-thirty-years admissions trials are coming up soon, you should come try your hand at it.”
Pondering for a moment, Sang Nian asked: > “Can I bring someone else with me?”
Chu Yao frowned: > “The sect doesn’t allow bringing servants.”
“Not a servant,” Sang Nian said, looking slightly embarrassed. “I want to bring Xie Chenzhou along with me. Is that alright?”
Chu Yao: “Oh, you mean that pretty-boy friend of yours.”
Su Xueyin gave her arm a gentle shake: > “Senior Sister, don’t talk about him like that, it’s not polite.”
Placing her hands on her hips, Chu Yao argued: > “But his face is really pale—paler than mine, even.”
Pinching the bridge of her nose, Su Xueyin turned to Sang Nian:
“You can bring Young Master Xie along. Of course, we can’t guarantee he’ll pass the selection trials, though. As the number one sect in the cultivation world, the Xiaoyao Sect’s standards for taking in disciples are extremely strict and principled.”
Curious, Sang Nian asked: > “Aren’t you guys worried I’ll fail the trials?”
With complete and utter honesty, Su Xueyin replied: > “Your brother once donated two Scripture Pavilions to our sect.”
Sang Nian: “…”
No wonder the original owner had managed to smoothly enter the Xiaoyao Sect as an outer disciple without ever taking a single trial.
Turns out it was just a little touch of networking and human favors in the world of immortal cultivation.