### Toward Becoming a Qualified Wife
Rarely does Ning Chu, who usually stays away from alcohol, get half-drunk.
She cupped her rosy cheeks with her hands, happily swaying her tail, her dazed and unfocused eyes fixed on Wen Yang.
Her peach blossom eyes were exaggeratedly wide, trying to clear the blurry images in front of her and making her expression adorably silly, almost like a goofy cat.
Perhaps Ning Yuan, her “old father,” wanted to vent his frustrations after losing his precious sister, and he kept finding excuses at the dining table to clink glasses with Wen Yang.
“Brother-in-law, may you both have a happy life together! Cheers!”
“Come on, here’s to having kids soon!”
“C’mon, you two are a match made in heaven, let’s do another round!”
Wen Yang didn’t think to refuse, and soon enough, he was as dizzy as a spinning top, but he still kept drinking.
Eventually, Ning Chu couldn’t take it anymore and cast a forlorn glance at her big brother.
“Bro, stop picking on Wen Yang.”
Her voice was raspy from the drinks, lazily melding into a whine: “Mom~ can’t you do something about him?”
Ning Yuan froze with his raised glass halfway to his lips, sheepishly lowering it, mumbling, “Married just recently, and already protecting your hubby.”
“Isn’t it because you’re bullying him…”
Ning Chu yawned repeatedly, the alcohol making her more sleepy. If she weren’t propping up her cheeks with her hands, she might have already rested her head on the table.
“Ning Chu.”
Lily poked her on the arm. Most people at the table were strangers, making her voice barely audible.
“When are you planning to have kids?”
“Maybe in a few years? You might still be single then?”
Lily with her poker face replied, “I’m not interested in men.”
“Wanna sleep with me tonight?” Ning Chu tilted her head, resting it on Lily’s shoulder. “It’s late, and it’s not good to stay alone in a hotel.”
“Wen Yang…”
“Let him sleep on the sofa!”
Lily’s eyebrows lifted, forming a crescent moon. “So, your wedding night is mine, then?”
“It’s not like it’s the wedding day, and considering how much Wen Yang drank, he won’t be waking up tonight anyway.”
“……”
With the alcohol flowing through her veins, Ning Chu seemed to have forgotten what shame was. She dared to tell Lily everything, and luckily their whispers went unheard by the others.
“You don’t know, as soon as we got our certificate, Wen Yang dragged me to the hotel and wore me out for half the day—I’m still sore now~”
Black Bean gulped down coconut juice, her cat ears perked up in curiosity.
“Oh~ I took him there… that hotel has those special chairs~ Super spicy! I’ve only ever seen them in those adult animations.”
Lily instantly perked up. “What are they like?”
The two succubi whispering animatedly was too entertaining, and Black Bean, eager to eavesdrop, perked up her ears until their mother slapped her head and pinned those ears flat against her scalp.
Black Bean innocently looked up. “Mom, what’s wrong?”
“Why are you listening to their secret conversation? Cover your ears.”
“But I don’t understand anyway~”
Seeing her flushed face, their mother shot her a glance but was quickly distracted by the white liquor in front of her. She sneakily extended a paw, dipped her fingertip in it, and immediately popped it in her mouth.
The spicy burn of the liquor burst on her tongue, causing Black Bean to freak out. She let out a yelp and gasped, grabbing the coconut juice box to gulp down several mouthfuls before she calmed down, two tears forming in her eyes.
“You wanted to drink; now you’re suffering.” Their mother sighed, “Curiosity killed the cat, you know.”
Black Bean’s antics disrupted Ning Chu and Lily’s conversation. Ning Chu looked up, gleefully saying, “Can’t handle white liquor, huh? Suffering a bit, are we?”
“Sis~” Black Bean gazed at her with puppy eyes.
Ning Chu couldn’t be bothered much with Black Bean’s theatrics and shifted her gaze to Wen Yang.
Wen Yang was nearly slumped over; his face was flushed, eyebrows furrowed, unable to sit straight as he moved stiffly and slowly, clearly out of it.
He probably wouldn’t even remember what happened by tomorrow.
Ning Chu felt a pang of sympathy: “Mom, should I take Wen Yang home?”
“Feels like we’re done eating anyway.” Their mother turned to the waitress at the door and waved. “Pack it up!”
In theory, this meal should’ve been paid for by the newlyweds, but seeing Wen Yang’s condition, Ning Chu wobbled over to him, propping herself up on the table, and hurried to his side.
“Wen Yang? Wen Yang?”
She gently patted his shoulder, but there was no response.
“Bro, why did you have to get Wen Yang so drunk!” She shot a glare at Ning Yuan. “Didn’t I tell you to stop drinking with him!”
Her little sister is scolding me…
Ning Yuan felt a twinge in his heart.
In his memory, unless they were little kids having misunderstandings, Ning Chu rarely got genuinely angry. Most of the time, they just squabbled, growing up sharing a bed and having a great relationship.
She really is someone else’s wife now.
“It was him who insisted on drinking with me…” Ning Yuan started to defend himself, but seeing the fury in his sister’s eyes, he reluctantly accepted the blame. “I’ll carry him back; once he sleeps, it’ll be fine.”
“You let him drink so much white liquor—are you not worried he’ll end up in the hospital?”
He bitterly nodded.
“Next time during the wedding, you better shield him from drink; a particular friend of his will definitely drown him in alcohol.”
“……”
Out of the group, only Lily hadn’t been drinking. Despite Uncle and Ning Yuan driving, they decided to leave the car behind and took a taxi home.
Ning Yuan supported nearly lifeless Wen Yang, while Ning Chu cautiously helped on the other side.
Taking the elevator back home, Black Bean raced ahead and opened the door with her fingerprint: “Sis, where’s brother-in-law sleeping tonight?”
“On the sofa, to avoid splattering the bed with vomit.”
Once inside, Ning Chu plopped down on the sofa, head in hands, battling nausea as she leaned sideways.
She’d never consumed so much in one day.
“Lily, that’s my room.” She remembered to host Lily, pointing toward the guest room. “You can wear my pajamas; there are towels and toothbrushes in the bathroom cabinet…”
“I’ll go get it for you, sis!” Black Bean enthusiastically dashed out. “I want to sleep with you both tonight!”
After leaning against the sofa for a moment, Ning Chu stood up with the trash bin and walked to the other side of the sofa to check on Wen Yang.
“Why drink so much? Tomorrow you’ll feel awful.”
Wen Yang, who had been quiet, suddenly heard her murmuring and opened his eyes, shifting weakly: “Just happy today…”
“Happy doesn’t mean you should drink like this.”
“Wifey, water.”
“I’ll get it for you.”
Ning Chu did a mini sprint towards the kitchen but nearly crashed into the wall with her dizziness.
Their mother helplessly restrained her: “Enough, go wash up and sleep; your brother will handle Wen Yang. They’re both sleeping in the living room tonight.”
“But… let me do it.”
Ignoring her mother, she steadied herself against the wall and carefully entered the kitchen, returning with a cup of hot water, then squatting beside Wen Yang, worry plastered across her face as she gently helped him take off his shoes.
Their mother crossed her arms, gazing at her daughter, whose face was similarly flushed from the alcohol, sighing.
Her daughter is capable of taking care of someone now, stepping into the role of a qualified wife.
Who would’ve thought she’d see such a scene before?
