What My Girlfriend Drinks

"Are you okay? Maybe drink some water to settle your stomach? Stop eating for now."

"I can't eat anymore." Xu Zilin placed the half-eaten lamb skewer on the table, propped her elbows on her knees, and buried her face in her lap as she dozed off.

"Damn, don't fall asleep!"

Su Yang stood up and patted Xu Zilin's shoulder. When she didn’t react, he thought to himself, 'Crap, looks like she’s out cold.'

"Seriously, what now? Can’t take her to a hotel again, can I?"

He tried calling out to Xu Zilin, who was now completely unconscious.

"Hey, Xu Zilin, wake up! Let’s go home!"

Xu Zilin remained motionless.

"Damn, how’d she pass out just like that? She was fine a second ago."

Su Yang sighed and sat back down. After finishing the last few skewers on the table, he turned toward the shop and called out, "Boss, check please!"

"Coming right up!"

The same young waiter from earlier jogged over with a grin. "Huh? Your girlfriend drunk, man?"

Su Yang didn’t bother explaining and just nodded. "Yeah, had a bit too much. What’s the total?"

"Got it, one sec."

A few moments later, the waiter handed Su Yang a handwritten bill. "That’ll be 443, but you can just give me 440."

Su Yang nodded. "Sure, WeChat pay."

He pulled out his phone and saw several unread messages.

"Damn, forgot to check my phone!"

After settling the bill, he skimmed through the messages.

The unreads were from Pan Ning, Lu Yun, and Tang Ziyun—mostly just updates saying they’d gotten home, asking why he hadn’t replied, or wishing him goodnight.

He sent quick replies to each, then plopped back into his chair, lit a cigarette, and took a deep drag.

Staring at Xu Zilin, who was slumped over and completely unresponsive, he pondered for a couple of minutes before deciding, 'Screw it, I’ll just carry her.'

After finishing his smoke, he put on his jacket and walked over to Xu Zilin, giving her shoulder another light shake.

"Xu Zilin? Zilin? Hey, wake up."

No reaction.

"Waste of breath." Su Yang chuckled wryly, grabbed Xu Zilin’s small handbag from the chair, and hauled her up.

Xu Zilin was completely dead to the world—she wouldn’t have noticed if she’d been left on the sidewalk.

Su Yang muttered to himself, "This girl’s way too trusting. Getting this wasted with someone she’s only met twice? Lucky for her, she ran into a kind, honest, pure-hearted guy like me. Anyone else, and she’d be in for a rough night."

He hoisted Xu Zilin onto his back, adjusting his grip under her thighs to find a comfortable position before setting off.

The waiter spotted them leaving and called out, "Take care, man! Come back soon!"

Su Yang glanced back with a smile. "Will do!"

Then he carried Xu Zilin down the quiet streets.

It was already 1:30 a.m., and the roads were nearly empty. Despite lugging a completely unconscious person, he moved effortlessly, not the least bit tired.

In under ten minutes, he reached the street next to Qianxiang Mall.

When he got to his car, he hesitated. 'What now? Hotel or take her home?'

'Ah, screw it. Home it is.'

He circled to the passenger side, freed one hand to open the door, and effortlessly maneuvered Xu Zilin’s 100-pound frame into the seat.

As he leaned in, the sight of her long, black-clad legs right in front of him made him swallow hard.

Shaking off the thought, he buckled her seatbelt before sliding into the driver’s seat.

With a thud, he shut the door and glanced at Xu Zilin, who was still slumped over. He reclined the seat to let her lie flat, then started the engine.

Vroom!

The car roared to life, and Su Yang hit the gas, disappearing into the night.

Two blocks later, traffic suddenly slowed to a crawl.

Su Yang frowned. "Traffic at this hour?"

"Wait—probably a DUI checkpoint." He exhaled sharply.

"Damn, my breath might smell. Could there still be alcohol in my system?"

—System? You sure there’s no alcohol left in me after drinking?

[None.]

Reassured, Su Yang relaxed.

Inching forward with the line of cars, he soon spotted two police cars with flashing lights (but no sirens) at the intersection. Two uniformed officers were stopping drivers one by one for breath tests.

Two minutes later, it was Su Yang’s turn.

The officer signaled for the 911 to stop.

Su Yang rolled down the window and grinned. "Evening, officer!"

"Good evening." The cop’s expression tightened as a strong whiff of alcohol hit him.

He glared at Su Yang. "You been drinking?"

Su Yang shook his head. "Nope."

"Then why do you reek of booze?"

"My girlfriend’s the one who drank." Su Yang gestured to Xu Zilin in the passenger seat.

"You sure you didn’t drink?" The cop sounded skeptical.

"Blow into this. Hard, until I say stop."

"Sure thing." Su Yang complied, puffing forcefully into the breathalyzer.

"Okay, stop."

The officer checked the reading—0. His frown deepened. "Huh?"

"You really didn’t drink?"

"Swear I didn’t. I’m a law-abiding citizen—I’d never drive drunk!"

"But your breath smells like alcohol!"

"Honestly, I didn’t drink." Su Yang shrugged.

The cop, still doubtful, reset the device and held it out again. "One more time."

"Fine."

"Whoosh!"

Another forceful exhale. The display still read 0.

The officer, unconvinced, walked over to a recently caught drunk driver and had him blow. The device instantly registered a number.

"Huh? It’s working."

Finally convinced, the cop returned to Su Yang’s window. "Remember—don’t drink and drive."

"Got it!" Su Yang gave a playful salute.

"Move along."

"Will do."

Once he’d driven off, Su Yang muttered, "Thank god for that 'Alcohol Immunity' skill. Could’ve been screwed otherwise."

"Then again, without it, I’d never drive after drinking. Safety first!"

He chuckled to himself and sped off into the night.

Twenty minutes later, he carried the still-unconscious Xu Zilin into his apartment.

Pushing open the door to a guest room, he laid her down on the bed.

Gazing at her lifeless form, Su Yang sat on the edge and leaned close to her ear.

"Zilin?"

After shouting, he reached out and gently nudged Xu Zilin's shoulder. Seeing her still motionless, a sudden thought crossed his mind: "Damn, did she just kick the bucket?"

Just as he was about to check for a pulse, Xu Zilin's eyes snapped open without warning!

The two locked gazes instantly, Su Yang's hand frozen mid-air. "You—"

He had meant to ask if she was awake, but before he could finish the sentence, he noticed something off about her expression.

Her once clear, bright, and sunny eyes now gleamed with an unusually sharp intensity, as piercing as a blade.

But the shift lasted less than two seconds. Before Su Yang could react, Xu Zilin jerked backward abruptly, and a sudden gust of wind whipped toward his face.

...