PSE - 43

The next day at noon, Ha Yue was awakened by the shrill sound of an electric drill.

The bed beneath her was soft, and the air carried the rich aroma of coffee. She slowly moved her bloodshot eyes, struggling to open her swollen eyelids. This wasn’t her home—it was Xue Jing’s bedroom.

As for how she ended up sleeping here last night, Ha Yue had no memory. She only vaguely felt that her limbs were sore, her lower back bruised, and her fingers traced over what seemed to be nail scratches on her skin.

Everything pointed to the aftermath of drunken indulgence.

Her throat was parched, her stomach sour, and there was a rash under her eyes. Ha Yue took a sip of the lemon water placed on the bedside table and propped herself up on her elbows, intending to confront Xue Jing about his lack of humanity for taking advantage of a drunk ex-girlfriend. But as soon as she sat up, a pounding headache from her hangover struck like a bullet, sending her collapsing back onto the bed.

Xue Jing, who had been boiling eggs, wasn’t faring much better. His dark circles were so severe they nearly touched his mouth, his right leg limped slightly, and his lower lip bore a noticeable wound. Hearing movement from the bedroom, he set down his food, picked up a thermos, and walked in to refill the glass on the bedside table with warm water.

Pressing his palm against Ha Yue’s forehead, he shoved two hangover pills into her mouth, his tone less than friendly.

“Headache? Take the pills, drink some water, eat something, then go back to sleep. Is your stomach upset? You threw up quite thoroughly last night.”

“My mom already called ahead. The workers are replacing the window glass—I’ll go supervise them later.”

Hearing that he’d arranged for someone to fix the window, Ha Yue muttered a “thank you” and naturally asked, “How much does it cost? Has it been paid already? I’ll transfer the money to you first.”

Xue Jing glanced at her and grumbled, “Why transfer it to me? Why be so clear-cut? Do you really think of me as just a neighbor?”

“Let me tell you, I’ve decided not to get involved in any ambiguous relationships anymore. I’m not that kind of person.”

What nonsense was this? When they went to the hotel together, he didn’t seem so principled—he’d been quite enthusiastic.

Her alcohol-addled brain was like instant noodles past their prime, unfit for handling serious emotional issues. Ha Yue pursed her lips, pretending not to hear, and changed the subject. “I threw up? That’s impossible. My tolerance is great—I never throw up when I drink.”

After last night, Xue Jing had been holding onto a mature, magnanimous attitude, expecting Ha Yue to bring up reconciliation as soon as she woke up. But hearing her ask about the cost of replacing the glass, clearly drawing a line between them, made him unhappy. And her comment about her drinking tolerance only darkened his mood further.

Though irritated, he couldn’t lash out, so he forced himself to use respectful language.

“Oh, right, right, right—you didn’t throw up. Sister, you’re such a great drinker, how could you possibly get drunk? The one who got drunk and caused trouble last night must’ve been me.”

Ha Yue rolled her eyes openly, inwardly cursing. This damn jerk wasn’t even pretending to be polite anymore, was he?

Calling her “sister” like she was his mortal enemy—what was the point of having a male model’s face if he couldn’t say something nice for once?

What good was being handsome if all he did was argue with her all day? She was starting to lose patience.

Ha Yue opened her mouth and loudly recited with her eyes closed: “Not listening, not listening, yellow dog chanting scriptures.” She took the glass of water, swallowed the pills, and only after lifting her eyelids did she notice the scabbed wound on Xue Jing’s lips.

Though they were bickering, she wasn’t heartless. Without hesitation, she grabbed his arm with her right hand and pulled him to sit on the edge of the bed, leaning closer to inspect his injury. “Your lip is busted? How old are you, being so careless?”

Her thumb gently brushed against his lower lip, while her other hand tilted his chin. Her gaze shifted downward as she lifted his collar, only to discover that not only was his lip injured, but there were also several irregular red marks on the side of his neck closest to her.

It looked like he was in worse shape than she was.

She clearly remembered that he hadn’t drunk much last night—he had even carried her when she was sobbing uncontrollably. Could it be that later on, Xue Jing lost his strength, and they both fell into a ditch or something? What a fragile scholar. If they were to grow old together, she’d have her hands full.

Xue Jing’s nose was close to Ha Yue’s forehead. She was currently looking down at his neck, her eyelids so swollen that her double eyelid crease was invisible. Even so, she still looked infuriatingly cute, especially with her slightly pouting lips showing concern. His ears felt warm, his throat dry. He wanted to kiss her, but he had just said he wasn’t the type to be so casual.

So, despite the rolling of his Adam’s apple, he suppressed the urge to kiss her and clicked his tongue, blurting out nonsense: “A dog bit me. Who knows which one of us is the yellow dog? Don’t you think you’re more like one than me?”

He was so pale—he should at least be a white dog.

“Huh?” Ha Yue frowned, her headache worsening from his sarcastic tone. One moment she was full of concern for him, and the next, she swung her fist and punched him in the back. “Can’t you talk properly? Stop messing around, my head hurts. Ugh, you’re really annoying.”

“If you don’t want to talk, get out and close the door. I’m going back to sleep!”

Oh, so yesterday he said he kind of liked her, and now after two sentences, he found her annoying?

What a fickle woman.

Xue Jing gritted his teeth audibly, placed the glass back on the bedside table, and stood up with a frown. Grabbing Ha Yue by the waistband of her pants, he didn’t give her time to dodge. With his right hand, he pushed her head down toward his lap, shoving the chaotic bite marks on his thigh right in front of her eyes. “How am I not talking properly? There really was a dog in this room. See? A vicious dog attacked me, and it even barked while biting.”

“Ha Yue, you threw a fit all night and now you’re pretending to have amnesia?”

“Don’t you think I’m easy to bully?”

“Go ahead, tell me you want to get back together.”

“Damn it, stop pretending to be stupid.”

Before her eyes was a patchwork of purple bruises and traces of subdermal bleeding from suction. In an awkward position, she was forced to stare directly at his boxers.

A wave of heat mixed with the scent of shower gel hit her face.

But this scene did feel somewhat familiar—only last night, it was Xue Jing lying down while she knelt beside him on his knees.

As soon as Xue Jing finished speaking, flashes of blurry memories suddenly replayed in Ha Yue’s mind.

Rewinding the memory:

Late last night, after Xue Jing recounted the story of how he had planned to go to the rooftop, Ha Yue burst into another round of uncontrollable sobbing. This time, she jumped off his back, crying and smearing her tears and snot all over his clothes. With wet lips, she kissed his lips, cheeks, nose, and eyes, shouting: “Of course you deserve to live! You better live well, damn it!”

“How old were you when it happened? How dare they tell you to die? I’ll go settle accounts with them for you!”

But the drunken comfort she offered lasted less than two minutes before she seamlessly transitioned to demanding more alcohol.

When a taxi finally arrived, Ha Yue refused to sit inside. Instead, she insisted on dragging Xue Jing to buy alcohol, claiming that earlier at the barbecue shop, he had promised to take care of her.

He had to keep his word.

The convenience store about to close didn’t have beer, so she grabbed some bottles of baijiu and stuffed them into a plastic bag. In the taxi, she shouted at Xue Jing to open the bottle caps for her. When he moved too slowly, she unleashed a torrent of curses at the world.

Xue Jing was flustered, apologizing to the driver while trying to cover her mouth.

But could he really restrain her? Ha Yue seemed to have mastered some bone-shrinking technique, slipping out of his grasp like liquid. Laughing mischievously, she used her teeth to pry open the bottles.

Turns out people from Suicheng weren’t just good at drinking—they were experts at using their teeth as bottle openers.

After chugging half a liter of baijiu, the car had barely stopped when Ha Yue’s face scrunched up in agony. She flung the door open, rushed out, and collapsed by the wall, vomiting violently. Xue Jing hurried to help her, patting her back, but she turned around and vomited all over him.

From there, Ha Yue alternated between crying and vomiting, like the Trevi Fountain, spewing from outside Xue Jing’s door all the way into his living room. Between bouts of vomiting, she muttered incessantly: “Life is meaningless,” then slapped the floor, declaring, “No, I haven’t lived enough yet.”

By the time she stopped throwing up and crying, Xue Jing was on his knees cleaning up the mess. But she couldn’t stay still on the sofa. Stumbling around like a catwalk model, she tripped, her lower back hitting the coffee table. She began wailing pitifully, clutching her butt.

Even amidst her strange noises, she somehow remembered to pity Xue Jing. “You know, your profile picture looks like two boars. The pigs I raise aren’t a couple at all. Poor you, even animals bully you. Tomorrow I’ll slaughter them and roast them with sugar for you.”

There was no way Xue Jing could send her home in this state. He dragged her to the bathroom to clean her up, then carried her, limp as a sack of explosives, and dumped her onto the bed.

But even exhausted, her voice hoarse and her eyes swollen like peaches, she still refused to sleep. Over and over, she climbed out of bed, muttering incoherently, searching for more alcohol.

Xue Jing forcibly pulled her into his arms. Her tear-filled eyes gazed at him affectionately, as if possessed by a lovesick fool. She complimented him, “Your face is really handsome,” and then pressed her face against his.

The problem was, while normal kisses were soft and tender, hers was more like a raw, aggressive gnawing. What should have been a passionate, lingering kiss turned into a bloody mess. Xue Jing winced in pain, pinching her waist and asking, “Are you a dog?” To which she responded with a “woof woof,” excitedly pouncing on him, using her teeth to tear off his pajama pants and leaving hickeys on the skin near his thighs.

On top of that, it seemed she had somehow managed to operate his computer while he was applying purple medicine, and she made several phone calls. But who exactly she called? She couldn’t remember. The numbers dialed from her phone were all unfamiliar.

Fifteen minutes later, Xue Jing sat at the dining table in the living room, massaging his temples as he sipped coffee. After finishing his cup, he glanced at the bedroom where Ha Yue was writhing under the covers, moaning pitifully, and sighed deeply.

Dragging his leg back into the bedroom, Xue Jing heard the hungover figure in the blankets apologizing sincerely in his direction: “I was wrong. I won’t drink anymore, ever again. I’ll never touch alcohol for the rest of my life—it only causes trouble. Really, I’m sorry. Please forgive me. Let’s go get a rabies vaccine today. Oh, and while we’re at it, can you help me castrate the pigs? Could you use your pickup truck?”

Her apology followed his pattern, but those last two things sounded… off.

The rabies vaccine was just an excuse—she was clearly still obsessed with her pigs, wasn’t she? Once a scammer, always a scammer; she’d gone right back to her old tricks.

Xue Jing found it both amusing and exasperating, though his anger had long since dissipated. Leaning over the lump in the blanket, he coaxed her gently, “It’s fine. Come eat something. I’m not mad. If you bit me, so be it.”

“And I didn’t tell you to quit drinking altogether—that’s too extreme. Taking care of someone who’s drunk is hard work; you need some fun too. Just don’t mix beer and baijiu next time, okay?”

“Your health comes first. A little drink cheers the heart, but too much harms the body.”

Pulling back the covers, Xue Jing gave her a paternal lecture, poking her forehead with his fingertip. “But yesterday, when you sent emails and made calls, your language was pretty colorful. Maybe you should apologize to a few people today?”

Ha Yue peeked out from under the blanket, her face wrinkled with worry, her voice trembling like an eighty-year-old woman’s. “Do you even know who I called?”