Two people sharing one drink No One person having two drinks

Su Muxue remained silent, watching the elderly man’s exaggerated display of pitifulness and the ingratiating smile he wore as he handed over the milk tea vouchers.

No… perhaps it was just her imagination.

Right now, the most important thing was to leave this place.

The middle-aged man seemed to realize the same thing.

He glanced at the vouchers in Liu Yuan’s hand, then at the visibly nervous old man, his lips parting slightly before he ultimately said nothing.

In such a bizarre place, it was better to avoid unnecessary trouble.

A head full of unanswered questions was still preferable to losing one’s life.

...

“Grandpa, can we leave now?” Liu Yuan waved the vouchers in her hand, her tone cheerful.

“Yes, yes! Of course! Absolutely!”

The old man looked as if he’d been granted a pardon, nodding and bowing repeatedly. “This way, please! The emergency exit is just up ahead!”

Hunched over, the old man led the way, clutching his small broom like a spear…

His steps were unsteady, and he seemed even more nervous than before, as if the group behind him were some kind of deathly specters.

Su Muxue and the middle-aged man exchanged a silent glance.

They followed quietly at the back of the group.

Liu Yuan, meanwhile, trailed curiously about three meters behind the old man.

The surroundings didn’t seem to change much—still the same ancient-style buildings with a worn-out feel—except the lighting appeared slightly brighter.

“Grandpa, did your escape room use some special props? It feels so realistic.”

The old man stiffened noticeably. “Heh… right? Our boss… spent, spent a fortune on it…”

His voice trembled slightly.

After walking for about two and a half minutes, the scenery around them grew monotonous.

The buildings on either side disappeared, replaced by walls of rough, uneven gray stone.

Finally, a corner appeared ahead.

The old man stopped at the turn and pointed forward. “There! That’s the emergency exit!”

Liu Yuan followed his finger.

Beyond the corner stood a door.

An utterly ordinary one, like the kind of security door commonly found in residential buildings.

On the wall beside it, four crude characters were scrawled in red paint: 【Emergency Exit】.

The writing was messy, like a child’s scribble, with streaks of red paint dripping in places.

“Brother, let’s go!”

As the group walked away, the old man watched their retreating figures, his obsequious and fearful expression slowly fading.

...

The sunlight was harsh.

The clamor of voices, along with the slightly polluted yet fresh air of Jiangxia—it all rushed over them in an instant.

They were out.

Behind them, the security door closed without a sound.

The middle-aged man and Su Muxue both let out long sighs of relief, their bodies relaxing as fine beads of sweat dotted their foreheads.

Their faces bore the dazed relief of survivors, as if they’d narrowly escaped disaster.

Liu Yuan, however, remained completely unaffected.

Waving the vouchers in one hand, she tugged excitedly at Su Qi’s sleeve with the other. “Brother! Let’s go get milk tea!”

A cup of milk tea costing a little over ten yuan wasn’t unaffordable, but maybe the free ones tasted better?

To her, the experience had just been a slightly thrilling but ultimately underwhelming escape room—too big, and with teammates who kept spoiling the surprises.

Su Qi glanced at his sister’s eager expression, then at Su Muxue and the middle-aged man, who still seemed shaken.

Su Muxue looked like she wanted to approach, but the middle-aged man pulled her back.

Su Qi replied casually, “Sure, let’s find the milk tea shop.”

“There are only two vouchers,” he reminded her. “What flavor do you want?”

Liu Yuan paused mid-step, turning back to Su Qi and staring blankly at the two thin slips of paper in her hand. “Huh? Only two?”

Three people, two vouchers.

That… really wasn’t enough.

In her excitement earlier, she hadn’t noticed.

In her simple mind, an apology gift should’ve been one for each person.

Su Qi found her expression amusing and said gently, “It’s fine. You two use the vouchers. I’ll buy my own.”

“No way!”

Liu Yuan rejected the idea without hesitation, her tone stubborn.

How could she let her brother pay for his own drink when they’d gotten these for free?

That would ruin the fun.

Her eyes sparkled as an idea struck her, and her face lit up again.

“Brother, I know a milk tea shop up ahead!”

She pulled Su Qi’s arm closer, whispering conspiratorially.

“They have a really special kind of straw!”

“Oh?” Su Qi played along, feigning curiosity.

“It’s like this—” Liu Yuan gestured. “One straw, but with two ends, bent like this, and they join into one tube!”

She formed a “Y” shape with her middle and index fingers, then mimed sipping from both.

Admittedly, the gesture was a little too cute.

“That way, we can share one cup!”

Liu Yuan’s tone was light, as if this were the most natural solution.

Su Qi blinked in surprise.

He looked at his sister’s bright, expectant face—her pure, uncomplicated desire.

With a soft laugh, he humored her. “Alright, then.”

“Yay!” Liu Yuan cheered, immediately tugging him forward.

Her memory was good, and the shop’s distinctive decor made it easy to find.

A pastel-pink signboard, cartoon mascots by the entrance—it was undeniably cute.

“This is the one!” Liu Yuan declared, pointing confidently.

She rushed to the counter with the vouchers, eager to order.

Su Qi and Yun Huang found seats nearby.

Yun Huang gazed at the couples laughing and the leisurely shoppers passing by, a sense of unreality washing over her again.

“Brother, Yun Huang, here’s the milk tea!”

One was a strawberry boba, pink and sweet-looking.

The other, a golden mango slush.

Liu Yuan handed the strawberry drink to Yun Huang.

Then, she placed the mango slush between herself and Su Qi.

Sure enough, the cup had that special straw.

A white plastic tube split into two curved ends at the top, like the entwined necks of swans.

“Brother, this is it!” Liu Yuan pointed proudly at the straw, her expression screaming, “Praise me!”

Her smugness practically spilled from her sparkling eyes.

She’d already imagined sipping from one side while Su Qi took the other, and then—

Su Qi’s gaze lingered on the straw.

Then, he looked at Liu Yuan.

The girl was practically vibrating with anticipation.

Su Qi leaned forward slightly.

Liu Yuan instinctively moved closer too, ready for his praise—or perhaps to share that first sweet sip of mango slush with him.

Then, she watched as Su Qi reached out and steadied the cup.

A perfectly normal action.

Then, Su Qi reached out and pulled the glass toward himself.

Still somewhat normal.

Liu Yuan blinked, her smile lingering as she waited for Su Qi to take a sip from one of the straws.

However, Su Qi didn’t choose to do that.

Instead, he also pulled Yun Huang’s strawberry boba drink toward himself.

Liu Yuan’s smile faltered slightly.

Huh?

What’s going on?

Did he not like the mango and decided to switch drinks?

That still seems somewhat nor—

The next second, Su Qi pulled the straw out of the mango slush.

Huh??

HUH???

Liu Yuan felt things were veering in a direction she absolutely did not want to see…

After removing the straw, Su Qi rotated it 180 degrees.

He positioned the double-ended side downward.

Then, he inserted both ends into the two drinks.

With the single opening on the other end in his mouth, he took one massive slurp.

The mango slush and strawberry boba visibly plummeted at an alarming rate!

The two different flavors of milk tea merged through the Y-shaped passage, forming a single stream before disappearing into Su Qi’s mouth.

"Gulp gulp—"

The not-so-loud slurping sound was unusually clear in the quiet corner of the milk tea shop.

In just a few seconds.

The cups were left with only a few half-melted ice cubes and a shallow layer of tea that the straw couldn’t reach.

Su Qi released the straw and looked up.

Even smacking his lips as if savoring the last drop.

The air…

Froze.

Liu Yuan remained leaning forward, her eyes wide with disbelief as she stared at the empty cups.

Her mind short-circuited for a moment.

This wasn’t how it was supposed to go!

That’s not how these straws are meant to be used!

What happened to sharing a drink together?!

Where was her carefully planned, heartwarming scene of "two people sipping from the same cup"?

After a few ‘gulp gulp’ sounds, how did it just… vanish?

Beside them, Yun Huang’s usually cool expression flickered with rare surprise before melting into barely suppressed amusement.

She glanced quickly at Su Qi, then at the fuming Liu Yuan.

"Su Qi!"

Liu Yuan finally snapped out of it, slamming her hands on the table as she shot to her feet. Her voice rose an octave, trembling with indignation.

[Joy +999]