Alcoholism

The silk nightgown completely concealed the allure of her chest, revealing only a stretch of fair neck.

Shu Yunyi rubbed her sleepy eyes, her messy hair sticking up in disarray.

"Shi Jing? You're here."

Her voice was hoarse, as if parched from a hangover.

After recognizing the visitor, she didn't pay much attention and instead reached under the bed to search around.

Her groping hands knocked over a few empty bottles, which clattered loudly on the floor.

Shu Yunyi found a few bottles with some liquid left, shook them, and tried to pour them into her mouth, but they were either empty or had too little to quench her thirst.

Seeing her rely on alcohol to quench her thirst right after waking up was truly an eye-opener for Shen Yi, who stood nearby.

"Teacher, here."

Shi Jing, seeing Shu Yunyi struggling to find something, quickly handed her a freshly bought can of beer.

Shu Yunyi took the beer, popped it open, and tilted her head back, gulping it down in one go until it was empty.

She drank so quickly that some of the liquid spilled from the corner of her mouth, trailing down her neck and soaking her collar.

The silk nightgown, now damp from the alcohol, became slightly transparent, revealing the soft curves of her skin. The weighty lines of her figure hung heavily, barely contained by the fabric.

Shen Yi quickly glanced at her, suddenly recalling the scattered undergarments on the floor earlier, and his eyes widened in surprise.

"This..."

Shu Yunyi, however, didn't seem to care at all. She let out a satisfied burp and casually wiped the droplets from her chin.

Tossing the empty can onto the floor, she clearly hadn't had enough and reached out for another.

This time, Shi Jing didn't oblige, stepping back with the bag in hand.

"Teacher, you can't drink any more."

The alcohol seemed to sober Shu Yunyi up a bit, and she frowned in dissatisfaction.

"I just woke up and I'm thirsty. Give me another can."

"If you're thirsty, I can pour you some water. You should drink less alcohol," Shi Jing insisted, shaking her head.

Shu Yunyi was visibly displeased, her eyes narrowing as if she wanted to snap, but when she met Shi Jing's stubborn gaze, her words softened.

"Just one more can, the last one. I'll drink it slowly this time."

With a mix of pleading and grabbing, she managed to snatch another can.

This time, she didn't gulp it down but sipped it slowly, as if it were a soft drink.

Shu Yunyi sat on the edge of the bed, one leg curled up under her arm, the other dangling off the side, swaying slightly. She mumbled to herself,

"Shi Jing, you've changed."

"Before, you'd bring at least a whole case when you visited. Now, not only have the bottles turned into cans, but..."

She shook the beer can in her hand and continued,

"You've started cutting corners, reducing the number from six to five, then five to four. This time, you only brought three."

Her complaints were more like idle chatter, devoid of much emotion.

Shi Jing ignored her, turning to close the open wardrobe door as she replied,

"Auntie has told me many times not to bring you alcohol. This is already an exception."

Shu Yunyi waved her hand dismissively,

"Why listen to her? She's not your mother."

"It's not about whether I listen or not. Drinking too much is bad for your health."

"Don't worry, I know my own body."

At the mention of being lectured, Shu Yunyi impatiently turned her head away, only then noticing that there was someone else in the room.

"Who are you?"

Before Shen Yi could answer, Shi Jing spoke up,

"He said he was your former student and wanted to visit you, so I brought him along."

Shen Yi took the opportunity to introduce himself,

"Hello, Teacher Shu. I'm Shen Yi, from the 21st graduating class of the Design Department. You taught me back then."

"Shen Yi?"

Shu Yunyi frowned, trying to recall, but nothing came to mind. However, she had indeed been a lecturer during that year.

"There was a small competition back then, and our group won first place. You were our advisor," Shen Yi added, hoping to jog her memory.

Back then, Shen Yi was a freshman who had teamed up with two classmates to enter the competition. Their advisor had been Shu Yunyi.

Young and eager to impress, perhaps wanting to prove himself in front of Shu Yunyi or simply not wanting to disappoint her, Shen Yi and his teammates worked hard and actually managed to win first place.

The day they received the award was a joyous occasion, one of the few highlights of Shen Yi's college life.

Hearing this, Shu Yunyi's face lit up with realization.

"Oh..."

...

"Still can't remember."

Shen Yi's hopeful expression froze in place.

Seeing that she had tricked him, Shu Yunyi pointed at Shen Yi and burst into laughter, her chest shaking uncontrollably.

"Just kidding! How could I forget Shen Yi? You teamed up with Gao Yuan and Zhao Chuang, right?"

She then took a closer look at Shen Yi, raising an eyebrow,

"Wow, you've really changed. So handsome now! Is this really the same guy who used to have acne back then?"

Her words left Shen Yi feeling a bit embarrassed.

But Shu Yunyi wasn't wrong. Back in his late teens and early twenties, he had indeed struggled with acne.

"Teacher Shu, you're really funny."

"Funny?"

Shu Yunyi's smile faded as she continued questioning Shen Yi,

"Are you in grad school now? Who's your advisor?"

Shen Yi shook his head,

"No, I've already graduated and started working. I came back to the university specifically to visit you."

"Visit me? What's there to see?"

"Have you seen enough? If so, you can go back where you came from."

Shu Yunyi sighed, her tone suddenly turning cold.

[The conversation came to an abrupt halt as Shu Yunyi made it clear she wanted him to leave.]

[Shi Jing led Shen Yi out of the apartment, taking the opportunity to clean up some of the empty bottles and other trash.]

[Shen Yi helped out as well, and Shi Jing's attitude toward him noticeably improved.]

[The brief visit ended with Shu Yunyi neither rejecting nor showing much enthusiasm for Shen Yi's presence.]

[Shi Jing told Shen Yi not to take it to heart, explaining that Teacher Shu's personality hadn't always been like this.]

[Shen Yi shook his head, indicating that he wasn't bothered.]

[The first encounter didn't yield much, so Shen Yi decided to leave it at that, planning to visit again another time.]

Shen Yi opened his eyes, the scene from earlier replaying in his mind. The situation hadn't been promising.

The Shu Yunyi he remembered was cheerful, approachable, and enjoyed mingling with students.

But the Shu Yunyi he saw now was eccentric, lazy, alcoholic, and unkempt.

If it weren't for her naturally good looks, most people wouldn't be able to withstand such self-neglect.

Seeing her like this filled Shen Yi with a mix of complexity and regret. He couldn't help but want to understand what had happened to her.

"Spend 1 strategy point to unlock character preferences?"

"Yes."

Name: Shu Yunyi

Character Preferences: Pessimistic, melancholic, lonely, indifferent, homebody, alcoholic, travel.

"Wow..."

Even though Shen Yi had anticipated it, seeing these traits still made him gasp.

Almost all of them were negative traits, with hardly any positive or even neutral ones.

No wonder Shu Yunyi seemed so listless and unmotivated. Her inner world was riddled with scars, and it was a miracle she hadn't fallen into depression.

She probably relied on alcohol to numb her mind every day.

Shen Yi felt uneasy but knew he could only take things one step at a time.