The following morning, Wen Ci was awakened by her alarm.
She had slept too little and had also been drinking, so she could not immediately become fully alert.
Her eyes half-open, she stared blankly for a while at the narrow gap where the curtains had not been drawn properly.
Outside was pitch-black.
The sun had not yet risen.
A warm male arm rested across her waist, holding her with practised familiarity.
Wen Ci closed her eyes again.
Still submerged in heavy sleepiness, she hazily tried to remember.
Had she slept at Zhou Wu’s home last night?
They had clearly still been playing Truth or Dare. Then she had asked Zhou Wu to come to a private room and kiss her. Then Zhou Wu had taken her to book a hotel room, and then…
Wait.
A nerve twitched faintly.
Wen Ci’s eyes abruptly widened.
…
“What are you getting so excited about? Because you were my first?”
“Mm.”
“Ms Wen, you carry c*ndoms with you?”
“I always bring one when I’m meeting you.”
“Who do you like, Xiang Wenwen or Zhou Wu?”
“Zhou Wu.”
…
The final answer replayed several times in Wen Ci’s mind, each time in a different tone from Zhou Wu.
“…”
Her eyes glimmered faintly in the darkness.
She was awake now, but her mind had become even more numb.
The next second, the alarm rang again.
Wen Ci had been too sleepy to press the correct button earlier, so her phone had issued another reminder.
She silenced it almost instantly, her hand moving so quickly it nearly left an afterimage.
Her pale arm remained suspended outside the blanket for almost half a minute.
Only when it began to ache did Wen Ci recover and draw a sharp breath.
Her brain was overloaded.
She could not endure any of the information currently inside it.
After steadying herself, she decided to flee.
She turned and secretly glanced at Zhou Wu in the faint light from the corridor.
After confirming he was still asleep, she carefully tried to lift the arm around her waist.
It was too heavy.
It did not move.
Wen Ci persisted.
She caught his fingers and shifted his hand away little by little until she finally escaped.
She climbed silently out of bed and searched for her clothes in the dark.
Perhaps she was too anxious, because it took her ages to fasten her bra properly.
Once she had finally dressed completely, Wen Ci picked up her phone and prepared to leave.
As she passed the foot of the bed, she noticed two c*ndom wrappers Zhou Wu had missed when throwing them away the previous night.
They lay on the floor.
She paused, bent down and picked them up.
Just as she was about to place them in the bin—
Click.
The room suddenly flooded with light.
Wen Ci:
“…”
Zhou Wu turned over.
The arm she had just moved stretched out from beneath the blanket and rested bonelessly across the pillow.
His voice was slightly hoarse.
“Ms Wen.”
“…”
“What is the meaning of setting an alarm for five thirty?”
“……………”
Wen Ci remained bent over with two c*ndom wrappers in her hand.
Her body was technically still present, but her soul had departed some time ago.
“…I’m sorry.”
Zhou Wu had not slept enough.
His eyelids drooped as he looked at her lazily.
“Where are you going?”
“Home,” Wen Ci answered. “I have to return before my parents wake up, so before leaving last night… I set the alarm.”
Zhou Wu closed his eyes and hummed, still appearing half asleep.
Wen Ci threw the wrappers into the bin and said in a flustered voice, “Then—I’ll leave first…”
“What time do your parents wake up?” Zhou Wu asked without opening his eyes.
“…Around seven.”
“There’s enough time. Shall we have breakfast together?”
Zhou Wu slowly pushed himself upright and gestured towards the sofa with his chin.
He gave Wen Ci no opportunity to refuse.
“Throw me my clothes, Ms Wen.”
After washing briefly, the two went to wait for the lift.
Wen Ci stood perfectly straight and stared directly ahead.
From the moment Zhou Wu woke, she had not dared look towards him more than once.
The hotel was empty in the early morning.
The corridor was silent.
Wen Ci twisted her hands awkwardly in front of herself and felt like dying.
She was never drinking again.
Why did she behave like this after drinking?
Every time, she summoned Zhou Wu into some dark room and did things with him.
What was the difference between her and a female predator?
Her mouth had no lock either.
Whatever Zhou Wu asked, she answered.
And…
Why had Zhou Wu asked her that question?
Had she revealed something?
Yet after waking, Zhou Wu had not mentioned anything that happened last night.
Could he also have been drunk and forgotten?
It was possible.
Zhou Wu had drunk quite a lot too.
Perhaps he had only asked those things because he was intoxicated.
Maybe Zhou Wu was the type to black out and forget everything after sleeping.
Wen Ci remained tense, allowing her thoughts to spiral as she anxiously comforted herself.
Zhou Wu walked half a step behind her with both hands in his pockets.
He lowered his gaze towards the guilty yet stubborn back of her head.
“Wen Ci.”
Wen Ci immediately blurted, “Mm? What is it? I drank too much last night and don’t remember anything.”
“Your bra isn’t on properly.”
“…”
Wen Ci stiffly reached beneath her clothes and straightened the strap.
She wanted to go downstairs, but she no longer wanted to take either the stairs or the lift.
The lift was nearly there.
Wen Ci had not yet managed to breathe a sigh of relief when two familiar voices came from the other end of the corridor.
“Dou Yiqing, are you insane? Setting an alarm for five thirty? Do you know how many years it’s been since I woke up this early?”
“I wake up at five thirty for school.”
“School hasn’t f*cking started yet!”
“It’s about to. Can’t I get used to the schedule in advance?”
“Then go back to sleep. Why do you insist on leaving at six?”
“Am I ill? I have a home. Why would I sleep squeezed into one hotel bed with you?”
“…By the way, did Zhou Wu take Wen Ci home last night?”
“Of course. Where else would he take her? Zhou Wu messaged me and said so.”
“I was worried because she was so drunk. What if her parents noticed? Wen Ci talks a lot when she drinks.”
“Speaking of which, didn’t you think Wen Ci and Zhou Wu seemed slightly strange last night?”
“No. Did they?”
Two seconds later, the voice spoke again, lowered this time.
Unfortunately, the hotel corridor was empty and quiet, so the other guests could still vaguely hear it.
“All right, Dou Yiqing, stop changing the subject. Ahem. So… how was I last night?”
“Terrible.”
“? You’re only pretending to be tough. If I was terrible, why were you making those sounds? I—”
Qin Yun turned the corner and saw the two people standing before the lift.
His voice abruptly stopped.
Eight eyes met.
The corridor fell into complete silence.
With a ding, the lift doors opened.
Since no one entered, they slowly closed again.
The four stared at one another for an unknown length of time.
Finally, someone broke the deadlock.
Eight hundred questions flashed through Qin Yun’s mind.
He remembered the vague things Zhou Wu had previously said to him, connected them to Wen Ci and silently cursed himself for being an idiot.
Thousands of words condensed into one sentence.
“Morning.”
Zhou Wu responded coldly, “Morning.”
Wen Ci:
“…”
Dou Yiqing:
“…”
Qin Yun coughed.
“Where are you going?”
“Breakfast,” Zhou Wu said.
“Oh. We’re getting breakfast too. Shall we go together?”
“Fine.”
…
Across from the hotel was a Cantonese dim sum restaurant.
It was partly self-service, so diners had to collect some dishes from the counter themselves.
The two men took the order sheet and went to select food.
Only Wen Ci and Dou Yiqing remained at the table.
“Stop covering yourself,” Dou Yiqing said with her arms folded.
“…”
Wen Ci accepted her fate and lowered her hand.
Seeing the familiar cluster of kiss marks around Wen Ci’s collarbone, Dou Yiqing closed her eyes.
Her entire worldview felt as though it were collapsing.
Regarding Wen Ci’s casual s*xual partner, she had suspected countless former male classmates.
She had even considered Xiang Wenwen.
She had never once suspected Zhou Wu.
They simply did not seem to belong to the same world.
On the way to the restaurant, Dou Yiqing had tried hard to remember how much the two had interacted during high school.
She could barely think of anything.
After graduation, Zhou Wu went to America, making it even less likely they would meet.
That was why, when she saw Zhou Wu holding Wen Ci last night, she had only thought it was somewhat strange.
Now that the truth was revealed, Dou Yiqing could not help thinking about the two days she had been absent in Bincheng recently…
She could not think too deeply.
“Last night…”
Dou Yiqing paused to confirm something.
“He didn’t take advantage of you while you were drunk, did he?”
Wen Ci had been sitting with her head lowered like a quail.
Hearing this, she immediately straightened and defended Zhou Wu.
“No, no! I took advantage of being drunk and asked him to come over!”
Dou Yiqing remained silent for several seconds.
“You sound rather proud.”
“…Sorry.”
Wen Ci asked, “Then you and Qin Yun…?”
“It isn’t important. We got drunk and slept together.”
Dou Yiqing frowned, still deeply astonished.
She rested an elbow against the back of Wen Ci’s chair and stared at her in wonder.
“The person you like is actually Zhou Wu?!”
Wen Ci’s heart jolted.
She denied it immediately.
“No! We’re only… friends with benefits.”
The final words were extremely quiet.
“You think I don’t know you?”
Dou Yiqing looked incredulous.
“You would never sleep with someone you didn’t like.”
“When did you start liking him? How did I never notice? You and Zhou Wu—”
Wen Ci covered Dou Yiqing’s mouth with both hands.
Zhou Wu placed a bowl of rice congee before Wen Ci.
“Me and what?”
Wen Ci desperately signalled towards Dou Yiqing with her eyes.
Dou Yiqing rolled her eyes and answered indistinctly through Wen Ci’s hands.
“Nothing.”
Wen Ci was in a hurry to return home.
The four finished breakfast quickly and left the restaurant.
Qin Yun’s car had been borrowed by a friend the previous night, so all four had to squeeze into Zhou Wu’s car.
Zhou Wu drove.
Wen Ci sat in the front passenger seat.
The remaining two sat in the back and had not stopped speaking since entering.
“Qin Yun, was the alcohol in your bar fake?”
Dou Yiqing rubbed her temple.
“Why does my head hurt so much?”
Qin Yun was horrified.
“Who are you trying to frame, Dou Yiqing? The alcohol in my bar is more genuine than your teaching qualification.”
“The final bottle of whisky you drank last night cost one hundred and eighty thousand yuan.”
“I gave it to you for free, and now you’re attacking me for it.”
“Oh.”
Dou Yiqing spoke calmly.
“Sleeping with me for one night also costs one hundred and eighty thousand. We’re even.”
“???”
Qin Yun found it outrageous yet also wanted to laugh.
“Dou Yiqing, have you no shame? You’re supposed to be a teacher!”
“In any case, I’m not acknowledging that one hundred and eighty thousand.”
Dou Yiqing said, “You were the one who poured the drink.”
Wen Ci had been tense the entire morning.
Their conversation made her laugh after only a few sentences.
After laughing, she thought it might be inappropriate and tried to suppress it, making her cheeks ache.
Something brushed the back of her hand.
Wen Ci looked up and saw Zhou Wu holding out a plaster.
He steered with one hand.
His mood appeared average, and his voice was lazy.
“Cover your neck.”
Wen Ci looked at him.
“Oh, right.”
She accepted the plaster.
While they were stopped at a red light, she leaned towards Zhou Wu.
Before he could react, she carefully placed the plaster on the right side of his neck.
Near the back of his ear was a long red scratch she had left the previous night.
Wen Ci carefully touched it with her thumb.
Her voice was guilty.
“Are there any more? One plaster doesn’t cover all of it. Does it hurt?”
“It doesn’t.”
Zhou Wu raised an eyebrow.
“But I was telling you to cover your own neck.”
“Aren’t you afraid your parents will see?”
“…”
The marks on her chest could be hidden beneath her collar.
The ones on her neck were more difficult.
Wen Ci murmured, “It’s fine. My parents won’t be awake yet. I’ll use concealer when I get home.”
The traffic light turned green.
Zhou Wu looked away and suddenly wanted to laugh.
He had originally been irritated and intended to use breakfast to properly untangle everything with Wen Ci.
Then two people had suddenly appeared and were now still arguing noisily in the back seat.
Now he thought he might as well forget it.
She was a habitual little liar.
Even if he tried to untangle things, he might not succeed.
Earlier, outside the lift, he had only called her name and she had immediately issued three consecutive denials.
When she recognised the familiar street, Wen Ci released her seat belt.
“You can drop me here. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Zhou Wu slowly pulled over.
His eyes moved towards her as he casually asked, “By the way, do you prefer dogs or cats?”
With a clatter, Wen Ci’s phone fell inside the car.
Her thoughts became chaotic.
She bent to pick it up while telling herself internally:
*Say the opposite.*
*Then Zhou Wu won’t take what you said last night seriously.*
*When lying, you must remain calm, composed and natural.*
When she raised her head, she met Zhou Wu’s dark eyes.
His gaze was identical to the previous night, when he had held her chin, kissed her and asked whether she preferred Zhou Wu or Xiang Wenwen.
It contained undisguised intimacy and probing.
Every time she answered, Zhou Wu had lowered his head and kissed her once, as though satisfied, as though rewarding her.
Qin Yun heard the question from the back and was about to ask why his friend had brought up something so random.
Then Wen Ci answered, “Dogs.”
It was nearly the morning rush hour.
A vehicle behind them sounded its horn.
Wen Ci gripped her phone tightly.
She realised what she had said but could no longer take it back.
That would be too obvious.
Zhou Wu would call her a liar again.
Her ears turned red.
Giving up completely, she added quietly,
“…I like Samoyeds.”
“All right.”
Those eyes curved into a smile.
Zhou Wu said, “Now I know.”
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