The dormitory after closing was exceptionally quiet, with only Ling Xiaoxiao’s even breathing and the faint sound of the digital pen gliding across the screen. I focused on sketching the lines, the tip of my tail unconsciously swaying gently behind me.
Halfway through the drawing, I felt a bit hungry and instinctively pricked up my ears to listen to the hallway.
Strange… Usually at this time, Sister Yueran would have brought over some snacks or hot milk?
But today, it had been quiet outside the whole time.
I suppose she was just too tired today.
I didn’t think much of it, shook my slightly sore neck, and prepared to keep grinding away at the draft.
Just then, a burst of stumbling footsteps came from the hallway, along with some slurred mumbling.
This sound was completely different from Sister Yueran’s usual light and steady footsteps. Something seemed a bit off?
My heart tightened, and I immediately put down the digital pen, tiptoed to the door, and quietly cracked it open.
The cold moonlight spilled through the hallway window, outlining Yueran’s figure leaning against the wall. Her head was down, her long hair draped messily over her shoulders, and she was clutching… a wine bottle?
Meow?! Sister Yueran drank alcohol?!
I was startled and quickly opened the door to run over. As soon as I got close, a mixture of fruity and alcoholic scents hit me.
“Sister Yueran? Why… why did you drink?” I approached cautiously, wanting to take the bottle from her hand.
Hearing the voice, Yueran lifted her head dizzily. Her face had an unnatural flush, and her gaze was unfocused. Her eyes, usually sharp yet gentle, were now clouded with a layer of mist, looking a bit… aggrieved?
Seeing me, she tilted her head, suddenly broke into a silly grin, and said slurringly, “Mm… it’s… it’s Little Guiyun… you’re here…”
As she spoke, her body swayed, nearly losing her balance. I quickly reached out to support her. Her body leaned against mine, heavier than usual, and her temperature was higher.
“Sister Yueran, don’t drink anymore. I’ll help you back to rest…” I tried to take the bottle from her hand, but she hugged it even tighter.
“No… I don’t want to…” She pouted like a spoiled child, hiding the bottle behind her back, then looked at me with watery eyes, her tone suddenly becoming very sad, “Why… why… clearly… clearly I was the one who knew you first…”
My heart skipped a beat.
“On what grounds… on what grounds can she just so naturally… take you away…” Her voice carried a hint of crying, her head leaning weakly on my shoulder, her warm breath mixed with the smell of alcohol puffing against the crook of my neck, “I… I like you a lot, too… you dummy… you big dummy…”
Her words exploded in my ears like a thunderclap.
“Back then… if I… if I had been a little braver… would… would the result have been different…” Her voice grew smaller, turning into slurred whimpering, “What’s so good about Ning Dongya… she’s so cold… all she does… all she does is bully people…”
She leaned against me, speaking in fragments, as if talking to me, but also as if talking to the “him” from her student days that she had failed to grasp.
I froze in place, supporting her burning body, listening to her drunken, long-suppressed honest feelings. I felt as if my heart was being tightly gripped by an invisible hand, feeling both sour and stinging.
The moonlight silently spilled over us, illuminating the moisture at the corners of her eyes, and also illuminating my current flustered helplessness.
Although I already knew before, hearing it again still made my heart tremble involuntarily.
Is she so drunk that she’s treating me—who should be two different roles in her perception—as one person?
She leaned against me, speaking in fragments, as if talking to me, but also as if talking to the “him” from her student days that she had failed to grasp.
“I… I like you a lot, too… you dummy… you big dummy…”
“Back then… if I… if I had been a little braver… would… would the result have been different…”
“What’s so good about Ning Dongya… she’s so cold… all she does… all she does is bully people…”
I froze in place, supporting her burning body, listening to her drunken and long-suppressed honest feelings. I felt as if my heart was being tightly gripped by an invisible hand, feeling both sour and stinging.
They say truth comes out after drinking.
So… Sister Yueran… she always…
The moonlight silently spilled over us, illuminating the moisture at the corners of her eyes, and also illuminating my current flustered helplessness.
“Sister Yueran, you’re drunk…” I tried to help her stand more steadily, my voice unconsciously becoming very soft. “Let’s go back first, okay?”
“I’m not drunk…” she slurred in protest, but grabbed my sleeve even tighter. She looked up, her moist eyes staring straight at me, a gaze so fragile it seemed like it would shatter at a touch. “Little Guiyun… don’t… don’t go with her too… okay? Stay here… I… I’ll be very good to you… better than anyone else…”
Her voice carried a humble plea, every word like a small hammer striking my conscience. I knew these words weren’t meant for “Cat-girl Guiyun,” but were being said through me to the “him” she had missed.
No wonder she wanted me to leave Ning Dongya’s company so badly before.
What should I do…
Seeing this fragility, so completely different from her usual strong appearance, a strong sense of guilt and heartache welled up. Even though I knew she had mistaken me for someone else, I couldn’t bring myself to point it out.
“Okay… okay… I’m not going, I’ll stay right here.” I clumsily patted her back, like comforting a wounded little animal. “Sister Yueran, let’s go back and rest, alright?”
She seemed to have taken some of it in, obediently letting me support her as she moved with unsteady steps toward her room. But she still kept murmuring:
“I’m sorry… back then… I didn’t protect you well…”
“If… if only I could have told you sooner…”
“That bastard Guiyun… making me so sad…”
Every word of her drunken sleep-talk revealed that long-suppressed secret crush and regret I had never known about. I supported her, feeling the weight and temperature of her body, my heart complicated to the extreme.
Finally helping her sit down on the bench again, I turned to go get her a glass of water, but my wrist was suddenly grabbed by her.
“Don’t go…” She closed her eyes, her brow furrowed as if caught in a restless dream, her voice raspy from crying. “Don’t… leave me alone again…”
Looking at her tightly gripping my hand and hearing her unconscious plea for me to stay, I stood there in a dilemma.
Ugh… what on earth should I do in this situation…
I tried hard to help her up from the floor, but her whole body was limp and she didn’t cooperate at all. Instead, she wrapped herself even more tightly around my arm like a vine.
“Sister Yueran, please get up, okay? Let’s go back to the room and sleep…” My tone was pleading, and I felt like my small frame was about to give out.
“Mmm… no…” She buried her face in my arm and shook her head vigorously, her hair tickling me. “Unless… you kiss me…” She lifted her misty eyes, her cheeks flushed, speaking in a drunken, coquettish tone, yet saying words that made my heart stop.
Meow?! K-Kiss?!
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