I'm afraid I'll have insomnia tonight.

Just as he was about to walk out the door, he suddenly heard the sound of Qin Su jumping out of bed behind him, followed by the patter of her footsteps.

Hearing the noise, he turned around and saw Qin Su holding her chest as she quickly ran toward the bathroom.

“Susu, are you alright?” Su Yang called out.

There was no answer. Su Yang followed her to the bathroom door and looked inside, only to see Qin Su hunched over the toilet, vomiting violently.

“I told you to drink less, but you wouldn’t listen,” Su Yang said as he walked in, crouching beside Qin Su and gently patting her on the back.

Qin Su continued vomiting for a full two minutes before she finally felt a little better.

The sound of flushing water rushed as she flushed the toilet. Only then did she lift her head.

Her face was streaked with tears—anyone who has ever thrown up knows the ordeal, how awful it feels, and how your eyes water uncontrollably.

Su Yang turned around, grabbed a few tissues from the counter, and handed them to Qin Su.

“Feeling better?”

Qin Su took the tissues, wiped her face, and nodded. “Better... a little better...”

“Here, wash your face.”

“Okay.”

Su Yang helped Qin Su over to the sink. She turned on the faucet, washed her face, and then picked up a toothbrush to brush her teeth.

Although she was indeed drunk, she wasn’t so far gone as to lose all awareness or start babbling nonsense. After throwing up, her mind was a bit clearer.

“Phew... sorry, Su Yang, for making you see me like this.”

Su Yang waved his hand. “No need to apologize. Who doesn’t throw up when they’re drunk?”

“Ugh, when I was throwing up just now, I almost couldn’t catch my breath. It was awful.”

“That’s why earlier I told you to take it easy and pace yourself. But you kept drinking faster and faster, totally out of control. Good thing I called it quits—otherwise you might’ve passed out at the bar.”

A bit embarrassed, Qin Su said, “When you drink too much, your brain doesn’t listen to you. Besides, it was my first time drinking with you, and I was having so much fun, I couldn’t help wanting a few more glasses.”

“Alright, you’ve thrown up now, so it should be fine. Get some rest. I’m leaving.”

“Okay, and thanks for just now.”

“No problem.”

“I think I’ll take a shower. I won’t feel comfortable otherwise.”

“You can barely stand. Maybe skip it and wash up tomorrow instead. You might faint in there.”

“No, I won’t. I’m pretty drunk, but I rarely black out completely. And I feel much better after throwing up.”

“Alright then, go ahead. I’ll head downstairs. Good night.”

“Good night. Oh, by the way, you can shower downstairs too if you want.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m off.”

Su Yang smiled, turned around, and left. He closed the door behind him and walked downstairs.

Downstairs, there were three guest rooms, but none of them had their own bathrooms—only the two bedrooms upstairs came with en-suite facilities. On the first floor, there were two shared bathrooms.

Instead of heading straight to his room, Su Yang went to the bathroom first to wash up.

He rummaged through the cabinet under the sink and found a disposable toothbrush. After brushing his teeth, he took off his clothes and walked over to the shower area in the back of the bathroom.

Guys shower quickly—it took him less than five minutes to finish.

He grabbed a towel from the rack and was drying himself off when he suddenly heard faint footsteps.

A few seconds later, the footsteps grew closer until they stopped right outside the door, followed by Qin Su’s voice: “Su Yang, are you in there?”

“Yeah, I’m here. What’s up?”

“I just realized you’d need to wash up, and I hadn’t left you a toothbrush or anything.”

“No worries, I found it myself.”

“Oh, good. Are you taking a shower?”

“Just finished.”

“Alright, there’s a towel on the rack—feel free to use it.”

“Got it. Don’t worry about me. Go get some rest.”

“Okay, I’m heading up then.”

“Cool.”

After Qin Su left, Su Yang got dressed, dried his hair, opened the bathroom door, and stepped out.

He picked one of the guest rooms at random, walked in, and lay down on the bed.

It was now 2:10 in the morning. After showering, he wasn’t sleepy yet, so he pulled out his phone and started scrolling.

Browsing on your phone before bed is a habit for most people these days.

Su Yang was no exception. Watching streamers dance and move around was a kind of enjoyment for him.

Just as he was getting into it, a WeChat message popped up at the top of his screen.

It was from Qin Su: “Su Yang... are you asleep yet?”

“Not yet. Still on my phone. Why aren’t you sleeping?”

“After drinking, I have trouble falling asleep. I’ll probably be up all night.”

“Shouldn’t being drunk make it easier to sleep?”

“Not for me. After I drink—especially after throwing up—my brain gets unusually wired.”

“So... what are you going to do if you don’t sleep?”

“Are you tired?” Qin Su asked.

“Not really.”

“Then how about we go chat on the balcony? Getting some fresh air might help me feel better.”

“Really? Won’t the wind make you feel worse if you’re drunk?”

“No, I sober up pretty quickly. I’m already feeling a lot better. But... if you’re not up for it, that’s fine. I’ll go by myself.”

Late at night, sitting and chatting with a woman this gorgeous, feeling the evening breeze—how could Su Yang possibly say no?

“No problem. I’ll join you. First floor or second floor?”

“First floor. I’ll come down now.”

“Alright.”

Exiting the chat, he rolled his eyes and muttered to himself, “Could there be a surprise coming?”

From the very beginning, Su Yang hadn’t planned to do anything with Qin Su. Even though she was drunk, he didn’t take advantage of her.

Because he’d said it himself: you need different approaches with different women.

In his view, Qin Su wasn’t the type you could get too close to too quickly after just meeting. It needed time. So he hadn’t even thought about it progressing any further.

But now, things seemed to be taking a slightly different turn.

He got up, slipped on his sandals, opened the door, and walked out.

Two minutes later, Qin Su came down from the second floor. Su Yang sat on the couch and smiled. “I thought you’d be asleep by now. Turns out drinking keeps you awake instead.”

Qin Su had changed into her pajamas—a milky-white, polka-dot lace-trimmed camisole nightgown that was both cute and sexy.

Even without makeup, she looked almost the same as when she was wearing it. With a score of 90 out of 100 for looks, the foundation was solid.

She walked over and smiled. “That’s how I’ve always been. Other people pass out when they’re drunk. But for me, after drinking, my head just becomes a tangled mess that I can’t shake off.”

“Then let’s get some air.” Su Yang stood up and headed toward the balcony.

The balcony of this place was huge. Qin Su had decorated it beautifully, with special mood lights and lots of greenery scattered around.

On one side of the balcony was a wooden table with two double-seat sofas.

Su Yang glanced at the table and saw no ashtray. He went back into the living room, grabbed a disposable cup, filled it halfway with water, and used it as an ashtray.

When he returned to the balcony, Qin Su had already sat down, her eyes closed, soaking in the early morning breeze.

Su Yang walked over, sat opposite her, took out a cigarette, and lit it. “Hey, Susu, how old are you again?”

Qin Su opened her eyes and said, “Twenty-one.”

“Twenty-one... you should still be in university, right? Aren’t you attending?”

“I am. I’m a junior this year.”

“So you don’t have to go to campus?”

Qin Su smiled and said, “I’ve got special privileges. I don’t have to stay on campus all the time.”

“Oh, really? Which university do you go to?”

"I'm not that great of a student at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics."

"You call that not great? Getting into Shanghai University of Finance and Economics is already impressive as hell."

"I was aiming for Jiao Tong University, but my abilities just weren't up to it, haha."

"It doesn't matter; grades aren't everything."

"Yeah, you're right. That's why I started skipping school in my junior year—I wanted to get a head start and adapt to society."

"How's that going for you?"

Qin Su nodded. "Pretty good."

‘Pretty good indeed. A junior still in college, already living in a luxury apartment and driving a luxury car.’ Su Yang smiled to himself.

"Take your time."

"Just chatting with you and cooling off in the breeze makes me feel a lot better," Qin Su said with a laugh.

"That's good. By the way, what time exactly is the competition tomorrow?" Su Yang asked.

"Two in the afternoon."

"Okay."

"Do you really think you can beat He Peng?" Qin Su looked at Su Yang and asked again.

Su Yang nodded. "Yeah. I've never gone up against him before, but it shouldn't be a problem. Just get ready to celebrate tomorrow."

Qin Su smiled softly. "Alright, I believe you!"

Just as they were talking, Qin Su suddenly stood up and moved to sit next to Su Yang.

Su Yang was startled and laughed. "What's up with you moving over here?"

"The wind is blowing your smoke in my direction..."

"Oh, sorry about that. I figured since we're outside, it would be fine to light one up."

"It's okay. It's better if I sit next to you."

This sofa wasn't very big, and sitting side by side inevitably led to some physical contact.

Whenever they moved their arms a little during the conversation, they would brush against each other.

Normally, this wouldn't matter—when they had been drinking earlier, there had been even more physical contact, and at one point, Su Yang had even carried Qin Su upstairs.

Back then, though, the focus was on drinking, and no one really paid attention to such things. Plus, carrying Qin Su upstairs had had its reasons.

But this time, the physical contact felt drenched in a hint of ambiguity. A slight shift to the sides would have avoided the touches entirely.

Yet Qin Su didn't scoot away. Instead, she leaned in closer to Su Yang.

The breeze lifted her hair, and a faint, pleasant fragrance drifted into Su Yang's nose.

As they chatted on, Qin Su suddenly tilted her head and rested it on Su Yang's shoulder.

......