The impact was indeed considerable. The other three exchanged glances.
Fu Xizhi’s expression turned cold. She raised her wine bottle in displeasure, taking a swig as she shot a sidelong glance at Rong Xue, her lips curving into a smirk.
She said nothing, but Rong Xue could feel it: Fu Xizhi was mentally bombarding her with a barrage of derogatory terms. After all, they had been in the car more than once.
Qiao Ye feigned a lack of pride, as if this weren’t something to brag about. “It’s just a car fuck.”
Fu Xizhi narrowed her eyes, searching for the right words. “Just? You’ve never even done it. A loss is a loss. The word for that is… Loser.”
Qiao Ye’s face tightened. “I’ll have it soon.”
Fu Xizhi’s tone was decisive. “Fine, but not now.”
Chen Zhaoli, who had remained silent, finally spoke. “I agree with Senior Qiao. I’ll have it soon.”
The ambiguous statement hung in the air. For a long moment, everyone fell silent, a fragile calm before the storm.
Suddenly, Fu Xizhi remembered something. “Since I’m the big winner, you all have to face the punishment.”
But before Rong Xue could ask for the details, Fu Xizhi grabbed her arm, her face flushed with restraint. She stammered, “I… I…” her cheeks puffing out.
Rong Xue caught her drift and suppressed a smile. “Can you make it to the restroom by yourself?”
Fu Xizhi frowned and forced herself to swallow. “No.”
“Wait here,” Rong Xue said.
Wait for what? For her to throw up on her shoes?!
Fu Xizhi’s dizziness suddenly intensified, though she also felt a strange surge of excitement. She widened her eyes, watching herself and the white dining table spin.
Her consciousness was barely holding on as she gripped Rong Xue’s wrist, trying to drag her toward the restroom. But Rong Xue was still sipping the leftover wine.
“What the hell are you doing?” Fu Xizhi slurred.
Rong Xue hooked an arm under her armpit and practically hoisted her up. “Save your strength. Hang in there,” she told Fu Xizhi, then turned to Qiao Ye. “Sorry about this.”
Qiao Ye nodded, looking pleased.
What’s there to be sorry for? Fu Xizhi wondered, her anger rising. “I’m gonna punish you, ah.”
Her words were cut short as her legs swung off the ground, and the noisy chatter of the crowd faded into the distance.
Okay, Rong Xue did have a heart. She placed Fu Xizhi on the cleanest toilet in the restroom for her convenience.
Rong Xue tied her long hair back with a scrunchie, letting a few loose strands fall. She wet some paper towels at the sink, returned to the stall, and patted Fu Xizhi’s back until she had thrown up enough. Then, she gently cupped Fu Xizhi’s face and wiped away the mess, providing top-tier service.
Fu Xizhi sat on the floor with her legs splayed out, tilting her head back. She wore a smile she thought was brimming with confidence, but in reality, it just looked silly. “You took such good care of me. I’ll pay you extra. I can even pay you back in bags and clothes.”
The smell of alcohol wafted over, and Rong Xue leaned back a few inches. “Don’t. You’ll pay me today, but tomorrow you’ll remember it and try to settle the score with me.”
I really regret not keeping a notebook of every single debt, Rong Xue thought. When I finally pay Fu Xizhi back, I can throw the notebook in her face to vent my frustration.
“Who’s going to settle a score with you?”
“You.”
“I’m not.”
“That drink at the bar, the one I pretended not to recognize at first- were you cursing me out ten thousand times in your head?”
Fu Xizhi’s mind raced. “Yes. I imagined myself as a dictionary, with a thousand words all boiling down to one sentence: You’re a coward, a liar, and a cheater who cheats at games. I can’t even imagine how much you’ll oppress me in the future.”
If she were sober, Rong Xue would have just wallowed in her own misery, adding to her psychological trauma. But if she didn’t vent now, when would she? Taking advantage of Fu Xizhi’s drunken state, Rong Xue pinched her soft cheek hard. “I drank it later.”
Fu Xizhi winced in pain, but her expression seemed to see right through her. “You’re just talking after the fact because you don’t want to be punished. You don’t even know what my punishment for you is. What’s the matter? Scared?”
“It’s still dirty here…” Rong Xue scrubbed hard with a tissue at a non-existent stain on Fu Xizhi’s lip. “Stop talking big. Scared? Scared you’ll make a fool of me in front of our friends?”
Fu Xizhi yelped, “You’re going to make my gums bleed! If my face is dirty, wash it with water!”
When Rong Xue finally relented and let go, Fu Xizhi belatedly realized it was deliberate retaliation. “I was just going to make you do 100 push-ups right here,” she explained.
“…”
What a difficult challenge, Rong Xue thought. “You underestimate me,” she said coolly. “I can do 1,000.”
“Really?” Fu Xizhi asked.
“Really. I’ll show you at home. I’m sure I’ll drop dead from exhaustion.”
Afterward, Fu Xizhi leaned against the bathroom stall partition, laughing. Rong Xue watched her, clutching her stomach as she laughed, and reached out a hand.
Fu Xizhi took it and pulled herself up, though she was still unsteady on her feet. Her stomach was empty, but her intellect had finally returned. She walked to the sink and looked in the mirror.
Her face was flushed, and there was a red, swollen mark the size of a one-yuan coin on the left side of her lip.
Fu Xizhi splashed water on her face and rinsed her mouth. The heat subsided. She dried her face and tucked a wet strand of hair behind her ear.
She glanced at Rong Xue’s reflection in the mirror. Her hair was a bit disheveled, but she still looked like an elegant white swan.
Fu Xizhi turned and stepped closer, rising on her tiptoes, her nose twitching like an animal’s.
Fu Xizhi smelled of alcohol, mixed with the lingering scent of a woody perfume.
Rong Xue instinctively looked away. First, this was no place for kissing. Second, Fu Xizhi hadn’t even rinsed her mouth thoroughly…
In all honesty, she was willing to sleep with Fu Xizhi. Her face was exactly her type, and more importantly, her body was. Holding her while they did it felt like the ferret plushie she’d bought as a child. The only difference was the fur, and her plushie didn’t have a terrifying snake tattoo.
Rong Xue took a step back, her gaze dropping. “You can’t kiss me.”
Fu Xizhi tapped her shoulder, then raised her hand to pull the hair tie from Rong Xue’s wrist. She pressed it against the sore spot on her own face, frowning with a playful smile. “I came to congratulate you. You finally got a chance to get even with me. Hey, can’t you go easier on me? I’m not a masochist.”
Rong Xue remained as cool and detached as ever, smoothing her cascading hair as she turned her toes toward the exit. “I don’t understand.”
Fu Xizhi followed her. “Aren’t you even a little curious about what I’ve been doing these past few days?”
Not interested, but I have to play along. Rong Xue’s long legs covered a step and a half for every one of Fu Xizhi’s. She slowed her pace. “I am curious. But you never told me, and it would seem a bit intrusive for me to ask.”
That’s true, Fu Xizhi thought. She never volunteered the fact that she’d been spending time with her mother.
“I don’t have a reverse scale. As long as you don’t cheat on me behind my back, I’m the easiest person to get along with.”
“I’m not cheating on you.”
“Do you think I believe that?”
“Believe it or not.”
“This isn’t out of thin air. I saw you adding a stranger’s contact at the entrance of that Japanese restaurant. You’re such a man-eater.”
“He’s from the Student Council. I need to contact him for work; he’s not a stranger.”
“Oh, anyway, you added him.”
“You’re being completely unreasonable.”
After Rong Xue finished speaking, she couldn’t bear to see Fu Xizhi’s unsteady gait. She slipped her arm under Fu Xizhi’s armpit again, helping her walk straight.
Fu Xizhi didn’t say thank you. “It’s a hangover. My legs feel light, like that time you tossed me around all night… I’ve realized you have amazing stamina. Your fingers are still intact, but I’m practically drained.”
If this person didn’t bring up something dirty once a day, the world would probably turn gray. Hearing this, Rong Xue’s heart skipped a beat. She encouraged Fu Xizhi:
“You’ll have to explain it clearly to Qiao Ye later.”
Fu Xizhi replied, “You’ve got me figured out. I don’t want to go public so soon.”
Qiao Ye wasn’t surprised to see the two of them emerge together. Rong Xue was just being kind, taking care of someone who wasn’t feeling well.
The air was hot and humid. Fu Xizhi glanced at the sky; the neon-lit city blurred the line between day and night, and the world still felt a bit tilted, though not as dizzying as before.
She slumped back into her seat, her fingers swiping through a ride-hailing app.
“What’s your address? I’ll call a car.”
Rong Xue recited the address of Hyde Apartments as a formality, while also operating her own ride-hailing app. She was looking for a valet to drive her car back.
Chen Zhaoli, who looked slightly tipsy, said, “I just notified my driver. He can take four people.”
Fu Xizhi tapped her heavy head, closed the app, and turned off the screen. “Thanks in advance.”
As the valet for the 911 arrived to take the keys, Qiao Ye suddenly remarked, “If I can afford to drive a car like this in my lifetime, my life will be complete.”
Her desire to snatch the car was so obvious she couldn’t hide it, but Fu Xizhi didn’t call her out. She would have normally thrown a few sharp remarks, but her body was too exhausted, causing even her speech to falter.
Chen Zhaoli’s family driver arrived in a sedan. Since he couldn’t wait long, Fu Xizhi announced she would sit in the back.
Qiao Ye had been reluctant to share the back seat with her. Given their terrible first impressions of each other, she would have preferred to sit alone in the passenger seat.
As luck would have it, this suited Fu Xizhi’s plans perfectly. She claimed the middle spot, flanked by Rong Xue and Chen Zhaoli.
The car glided smoothly, its blue ambient lighting inducing a drowsy calm. Fu Xizhi naturally leaned her head against Chen Zhaoli’s shoulder and closed her eyes.
Chen Zhaoli glanced at Fu Xizhi but didn’t move, letting her rest.
Rong Xue was left with nothing to do. Qiao Ye’s sharp, knife-like gaze had already pierced Fu Xizhi’s side countless times.
Twenty minutes later, Rong Xue got out at the subway station nearest to the apartment, using the excuse of walking to digest her food.
When they reached the school gate, Qiao Ye turned her head. “Hi, I’m leaving.”
Chen Zhaoli smiled. “Okay. Get some rest early, Senior. I won’t see you out. I’ll wait for Senior Fu.”
Qiao Ye glanced at them, pushed open the car door, and walked through the school gate.
Once Qiao Ye had left the car, Fu Xizhi slowly opened her eyes. She shifted to lean against the seat, stretched her neck, and said in a slow, steady tone, “Aren’t you going to see your ‘Chosen One’ out?”
Chen Zhaoli was surprised. “You were awake?”
Fu Xizhi replied, “More or less.” In truth, she hadn’t slept at all.
“Who’s my ‘Chosen One’?”
“Qiao Ye, of course. You stared at her 800 times during that barbecue. It’s hard not to notice.”
Hearing this, Chen Zhaoli felt the alcohol rush to her head again. Her face flushed, and she fanned herself with her hand. “I was just talking to her normally. It’s not like anything’s even started yet.”
Fu Xizhi’s tone was melodious. “Is that so?”
Chen Zhaoli declared righteously, “Exactly! Senior Rong glances at you eight hundred times every time she asks a question. That means she’s crushing on you, and you’re her chosen one.”
As an outsider, Chen Zhaoli could see that Fu Xizhi liked Rong Xue, but Rong Xue’s attitude was ambiguous, refusing to reject her when she should have, almost as if she were playing hard to get.
Fu Xizhi found Chen Zhaoli a lot more tolerable now and felt a sudden wave of sympathy. She opened a bottle of pure water, took a few sips, and asked, “Is this your first time liking someone?”
“Are you going to teach me some dating skills, Senior?”
“No skills,” Fu Xizhi teased her naive junior. “Just rely on the two words ‘sincerity’ to win her over.”
“That’s like saying nothing at all.”
“Alright, alright. There’s one more point: she’s made it clear. If you can get into Rong Xue’s car, your life will be complete. Help her complete it.”
Chen Zhaoli couldn’t agree. She said awkwardly, “…Isn’t that too utilitarian? Defining a person’s value with money.”
Fu Xizhi cut her losses immediately. She didn’t have the time to deeply discuss values and beliefs with someone. “To each their own. Could you please ask your driver to take me back?”
Hearing the destination Fu Xizhi gave, Chen Zhaoli asked curiously, “That’s so close to Senior Rong’s place. Senior, you’ve pursued her all the way to this point; that’s truly sincere.”
Fu Xizhi just smiled and said nothing. For the rest of the trip, the two didn’t start any other conversation.
When the car stopped, Fu Xizhi got out without closing the door. She stood straight, made a gesture as if she were a sniper, and slightly raised her hand in a blessing for Chen Zhaoli.
“Happy hunting!”