Illness

Not long after, Long Aotian returned riding his electric scooter. On the footrest in front was a modest-sized grill, along with the lamb, lamb bones, and ribs he had bought.

When he got home, he didn’t see the three girls come out to greet him. He called out tentatively, but there was no response—they must have gone out.

He unloaded everything, set up the grill, then used a broom to sweep the snow in the yard to one side. After lighting the fire and setting up the pot, he finished the prep work.

Just as he finished, he heard the voices of the three girls from a distance.

"You’re back."

Seeing Hu Yuying, Li Qingxue, and Lin Wanning carrying all sorts of ingredients, Long Aotian stepped forward and took everything from them, bringing it all into the sunroom.

"We got two cases of beer from the store at the end of the alley. Can you go pick them up with your scooter?" Li Qingxue said.

Hearing this, Long Aotian’s eyes lit up. "You’re letting me drink beer?"

"Not us. If it were up to us, we definitely wouldn’t let you!" Li Qingxue rolled her eyes at him.

After how much he drank last night, she wouldn’t have allowed it—if it were her call.

"It was Sister who bought it for you," Lin Wanning explained.

"But take it easy. If friends are coming over, drink just enough so everyone can leave sober," Hu Yuying added softly.

When friends gathered, not drinking at all would feel off. They didn’t have to finish both cases, and she’d keep an eye on things.

"Honestly, I feel like the luckiest guy right now," Long Aotian said, spreading his arms for a group hug.

The three girls dodged him instantly.

"You reek of alcohol! Don’t touch us!" With that, they went into the sunroom to start skewering the meat.

After the girls entered the room, Long Aotian sniffed his own clothes, then turned and went to change.

Meanwhile, elsewhere—

Huang Fei, Xu Shuai, and Li Longlong were crouched by the roadside discussing their plans.

"It’s our first time visiting Old Ao’s place. Wouldn’t it be rude to show up empty-handed?"

"Let’s stop by the supermarket. As the Three Fathers, we should bring something."

"I’m wondering—if the three of us guys go, will Old Ao’s girlfriend feel awkward?" Xu Shuai said.

He could already picture it: the four of them chatting away while Long Aotian’s girlfriend sat off to the side, unable to join in. Wouldn’t that be awkward?

"Then why not invite Senior Su, Wang Lijuan, and Shen Mengjie too?" Li Longlong suggested.

"Let me call Old Ao first," Huang Fei said. Since it was his place, they had to consider space and whether too many people would disturb the neighbors. As the leader of the Four Heavenly Kings, he had to think things through.

After hanging up, Xu Shuai and Li Longlong looked at him. "Well?"

Huang Fei gave them a thumbs-up.

Xu Shuai and Li Longlong immediately started calling their girlfriends.

Seeing this, Huang Fei also dialed Shen Mengjie.

When the call connected, Shen Mengjie’s voice sounded weak, almost frail.

Huang Fei grew concerned. "Mengjie, what’s wrong?"

"I’m not feeling well. What’s up?"

"I was going to invite you to Old Ao’s place, but if you’re sick, just rest in the dorm. I’ll bring you food later."

Shen Mengjie lay in bed, her whole body aching. She glanced at the meal Han Xiaojing had brought her. "No need. Xiaojing already got me food. You guys go ahead. I’ll be fine after resting."

She hung up.

Almost immediately, Wang Lijuan’s phone rang—no doubt from Xu Shuai.

Wang Lijuan glanced at Shen Mengjie. "She really isn’t feeling well."

"And whose fault is that? You guys can’t hold your liquor, yet we had to drag you back."

After drinking a little last night, Wang Lijuan and Han Xiaojing had gone to bed early, not knowing when Shen Mengjie had returned.

This morning, they noticed something was off—Shen Mengjie complained of pain in her lower abdomen.

Thankfully, neither Wang Lijuan nor Han Xiaojing planned to go home for the short break. With winter vacation just two weeks away, it wasn’t worth the trip.

Xu Shuai nodded, then shrugged helplessly at Huang Fei.

Once they set a time, Xu Shuai hung up.

Li Longlong, meanwhile, had successfully invited Senior Su.

She said she’d had a great time with everyone last night and was happy to hang out again.

Huang Fei waved it off. "Let’s just go buy stuff first."

Noticing his gloom, Xu Shuai and Li Longlong tried to cheer him up.

"Mengjie’s just sick. Don’t look so down."

"Yeah, remember yesterday? She was having a blast with us."

"Once Lijuan gets here, I’ll ask what happened."

After shopping, they waited at the university gate.

Soon, Wang Lijuan and Su Ting arrived together.

"We ran into each other on the way," Wang Lijuan explained, more familiar with the group than Su Ting was.

"How’s Mengjie?" Huang Fei asked worriedly.

Wang Lijuan rolled her eyes. "You have the nerve to ask."

"Ask Senior Su—last night, you guys were wasted. It took forever to get you to the hotel. Especially you—you were dead asleep. We had to get a staff member to carry you!"

Su Ting nodded emphatically in agreement.

Huang Fei scratched his head awkwardly.

"You think that’s it?"

"We were almost back to the dorm when we remembered—Long Aotian had gone to the bathroom alone. For all we knew, he passed out in there. Mengjie had to go back to check."

"That’s probably why she’s sick now."

The three guys concluded that the drinks from last night’s server must have been spiked.

Otherwise, there was no way all four of them would’ve been that drunk.

Come to think of it—Xu Shuai frowned. "Hey, wasn’t that chubby server the same guy from the restaurant?"

There’d been two servers—one skinny and funny, the other chubby. At the time, Xu Shuai had only noticed the skinny one.

But now, he wondered if the chubby one from the restaurant was the same guy who brought drinks at the KTV.

"Whatever. Next time, let’s skip the free drinks."

"Let’s just head to Old Ao’s place. Carrying this stuff is tiring..."