Make Do

An unfamiliar room, an unfamiliar ceiling—even the bed felt foreign.

Cheng Jun ran her fingers over the stitched patterns on the thin blanket before suddenly realizing something. She lifted the covers and peered inside.

"Ugh."

She stared at herself, realizing she was down to just her underwear—her outerwear and skirt were nowhere to be seen.

Sitting up abruptly, she cautiously checked beneath herself, relieved when she didn’t sense anything unusual.

Wrapping the blanket tightly around her chest, she pressed a hand to her forehead, trying to recall last night.

Fragments came back—shopping with Nanzhi, then dinner and drinks.

The shopping part was clear, but her memories of the restaurant grew hazy.

Cheng Jun frowned, straining to remember.

At first, she’d felt a little awkward with three people at the table, but after a few drinks, she loosened up.

She and Fu Nanzhi had chatted about old times, laughing over shared memories.

Glass after glass, her mood grew lighter.

‘Later… later, Shen Yi went to the restroom…’

Cheng Jun remembered—after Shen Yi left the table, Fu Nanzhi picked up the decanter and said,

"He always fusses over us drinking. Come on, let’s finish this before he gets back."

"Save us the lecture."

"Women drinking—men shouldn’t butt in…"

Cheng Jun recalled laughing in a tipsy haze, nodding eagerly.

"Right, exactly!"

They split what was left in the decanter, each filling their glass to the brim.

"To friendship!"

"May we be sisters for life!"

They clinked glasses and downed the entire pour of red wine in one go.

Looking back, Cheng Jun realized she’d been swept up in the moment, not hesitating at all.

But her last memory stopped at the table—everything after was a blank.

"Drank too hard…"

Sitting on the bed, Cheng Jun groaned, rubbing her temples.

Despite the unfamiliar surroundings, she wasn’t panicked.

She had a guess where she was. After a moment, she secured the blanket around herself and stepped barefoot onto the floor.

The room was simple—just the bed, a TV mounted on the wall, and an open suitcase in the corner with some clothes inside.

Squinting, she recognized them as men’s.

"This is his room…"

She’d glanced in here once before, briefly complimenting its tidiness, so the memory lingered.

If she was here, where was Shen Yi?

Holding the blanket in place, she carefully made her way to the door and turned the handle, peeking out.

The living room was silent, empty.

After a brief hesitation, she stepped out, passing the sofa where her blazer and skirt lay neatly folded. Her stockings were draped over the back of a chair.

Cheng Jun’s face warmed. She had no recollection of how she’d gotten back, let alone undressed.

At the table, she spotted her phone and purse. Picking up the phone, she turned it on—plenty of notifications had piled up overnight.

She scrolled through them. The first was from Nanzhi, sent half an hour ago:

"Did you get home safe last night?"

Cheng Jun replied with an "OK" sticker, then blushed as she glanced down at her current state. Safe? Sure. But which home she was in remained uncertain.

Next were work messages, which she ignored for now, planning to check them once she got to the office.

Lastly, there was a text from Auntie Zhang sent last night, asking if she’d be coming home that evening.

Though late, Cheng Jun still replied, "Staying at a friend’s place," before locking her phone.

Ever since that incident, she hadn’t returned here—either crashing at her parents’ or retreating to her own place.

Her original plan was to be alone for a while, to clear her head.

But fate had other ideas. No matter how hard Cheng Jun tried to escape, she couldn’t even get past her own emotions, let alone find peace.

So when Fu Nanzhi extended the invitation, she’d agreed almost without hesitation.

Click.

Just as the thought crossed her mind, the lock turned, and Shen Yi walked in, breakfast in hand.

The moment he stepped inside, his eyes landed on Cheng Jun standing by the table. They locked gazes, and Shen Yi spoke first.

"You’re awake."

Cheng Jun tightened her grip on the edge of the bedsheet, nodding awkwardly.

"Yeah."

Holding a soy milk in one hand and steamed buns in the other, Shen Yi set the food on the table and launched into an explanation.

"Just so we’re clear, I did try to take you home last night."

"But I couldn’t find your keys at the door. I checked your entire bag, and you weren’t exactly responsive when I asked."

"So I had no choice but to bring you here."

"And yeah, I took off your clothes—you looked overheated."

"Plus, that outfit looked expensive. Would’ve been a shame to wrinkle it, so I just…"

His words tumbled out in a rush, as if rehearsed a dozen times.

Pfft—

Cheng Jun held it in for as long as she could before finally bursting into laughter.

Once she stopped, she realized she should probably act more serious. Clearing her throat, she found herself at a loss for words.

All the questions she’d been stewing over had just been answered before she could even ask them. Now she was stuck.

After a pause, she finally muttered,

"I wasn’t blaming you…"

Despite the lingering knots in her heart, she trusted Shen Yi on this.

In fact, if something had happened last night, she might’ve only been angry for a moment before quietly accepting it.

"Good."

Shen Yi eyed Cheng Jun, still wrapped in the sheet with her hair a mess, and added,

"You should go wash up. I only wiped your face last night since you were out cold."

Cheng Jun immediately covered her mouth, suddenly self-conscious about her breath.

"Come eat after you’re done."

"My place is small—no kitchen. Just store-bought buns and soy milk, hope you don’t mind."

Shen Yi had slept on the couch and woken up early.

After his usual morning run, he’d figured she’d be up soon, so he grabbed breakfast from downstairs on his way back.

"It’s fine. I’m not some delicate princess."

Her voice was muffled behind her hand, but the sulky undertone was unmistakable.

Clutching the thin sheet, she shuffled toward the door, saying,

"I’ll borrow this for now. I’ll return it later."

Shen Yi was gathering clothes from the balcony and waved dismissively.

"Sure, take it."

Just as Cheng Jun’s hand touched the doorknob, she froze.

A realization hit her.

Her keys had been tossed in the car ages ago. Since she’d been staying at her parents’, she hadn’t bothered carrying this place’s key.

Now she couldn’t even get into her own apartment across the hall.

So much for washing up.

Shen Yi brought in the laundry and noticed Cheng Jun turning around stiffly, asking with confusion,

"What's wrong?"

"I don’t have my keys either—left them in the car, which is parked downstairs at the office."

Cheng Jun gave an awkward chuckle.

Last night, Fu Nanzhi had dragged him out shopping, so he hadn’t driven at all.

Shen Yi scratched his head and asked again,

"Do you have a spare key?"

Cheng Jun thought for a moment before shaking his head.

"There were only two keys, and I put them both on the same ring..."

"Uh..."

Shen Yi sighed helplessly.

"Well, you can freshen up here for now. Make do with what you have."