340. Drunk Aftermath
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Lin Nan used to be quite indifferent to crawfish.
The shells were too hard, and their heads were too big. Even if she tried her best, peeling one crawfish might take her a good couple of minutes. In her eyes, eating crawfish was way less appealing than shrimp.
But today, her impression of crawfish took a complete turn.
All she had to do was lounge comfortably on the couch sipping pineapple beer, and the crawfish magically peeled themselves, landing straight into her mouth. Free crawfish? How could that not be delicious?
Chen Yao’s gloves were already soaked with broth, and he barely had a bite; most of the peeled crawfish had been devoured by Lin Nan.
“Junhui ran into your bed last night, saying there was a draft from your fan.” Xiong Da started complaining about his recent life with Tu Junhui, “It’s only been a week since school started, and he’s already finished my shower gel! Back when you guys were around, at least he took turns using the stuff; now he’s hogging all of mine.”
“Hey, I haven’t bought mine yet!”
“Not buying it after a week? You just wanna mooch off me!”
“Relax, I’ll pay you back in a couple of years.”
The dorm still had some of Chen Yao’s and Lin Nan’s stuff lying around, especially Chen Yao’s quilt and bamboo mat still sprawled across the bed.
Seeing Xiong Da getting nowhere with the thick-skinned Tu Junhui, Chen Yao jumped into the fray.
It felt oddly nostalgic being back in the dorm, but now Lin Nan couldn’t confidently waltz up to the dorm manager and declare that she was a man. Sneaking into the boys’ dorm was like trying to pull off a heist!
Soon enough, the crawfish were all gone.
Shrimp shells piled up like a mountain on the coffee table. Lin Nan had downed three cans of pineapple beer and was starting to feel a bit fuzzy.
She was half leaning against Chen Yao, her gaze dreamy as she stared at the TV stand, where a movie was playing. After letting out a loud burp, she felt her cheeks heating up.
“Chen Yao, am I drunk from the pineapple beer?” Lin Nan whispered into his ear.
A faint scent of alcohol hit Chen Yao’s nose. He turned to look at his girlfriend: “You really thought it was just soda?”
Lin Nan nodded, picked up a can, and checked the label.
Eight percent…
This stuff was even more intoxicating than beer?
She thought it was just a lightly flavored drink; even if it had some alcohol, it couldn’t be stronger than beer. Turns out, it was actually double the alcohol content!
No wonder she was feeling tipsy after just three cans.
Tu Junhui and Chen Yao had also had their fair share of drinks, but both held their liquor well—now they just sported slightly flushed faces.
Seeing that they’d eaten enough, Xiong Da got up to tidy the coffee table and asked, “Class starts in ten minutes; are you two going?”
“No way, not going.” Lin Nan, feeling a bit dazed, leaned on Chen Yao’s shoulder while rubbing her slightly bloated belly, burping repeatedly.
Everything around her seemed to blur; her eyelids felt heavy. Her head didn’t hurt, but she was in a sleepy haze.
“Should we skip together?” Xiong Da asked while clearing the shrimp shells. “Where’s the rag?”
Lin Nan pointed towards a small drawer under the coffee table.
The table was quickly cleaned up, and Tu Junhui, while playfully teasing Lin Nan for being tipsy, followed Xiong Da out the door.
The room fell silent, leaving only the characters from the movie chattering away.
Chen Yao looked down at the rosy-cheeked, dazed Lin Nan, feeling a sudden urge to do something. But recalling their last encounter, he hesitated; “Want to go to the bedroom and sleep?”
“I’m not tired!”
Lin Nan yawned, hugging Chen Yao’s arm tightly, pressing her cheek against it, rubbing against his clothes like a cat.
She suddenly perked up and unsteadily stood up, wobbling towards the bedroom.
Chen Yao quickly got up to follow her, laughing as he said, “You’re way cuter when you’re drunk!”
“Stop flattering me, if you keep that up, I’m gonna float away.” Lin Nan sashayed into the bedroom, flopping onto the bed. “I’m already pretty adorable!”
She kicked off her shoes and bent down to take off her socks. Halfway through, she suddenly remembered yesterday’s outfit and looked up at Chen Yao, who was still standing near her, complaining, “Do you even know I tried on some clothes at Li Na’s yesterday?”
She blurted it out before her brain could catch up.
“Trying on clothes?”
Chen Yao sat beside Lin Nan and looked her up and down, contemplating the maybe not-so-respectful implications of what that could lead to.
But that direction seemed a bit disrespectful to Lin Nan’s wishes.
“Yeah! Those outfits were so embarrassing! The skirts were practically non-existent!” Lin Nan excitedly began recounting her afternoon at Li Na’s, “They even had Sailor Moon cosplay outfits—so weird!”
“Got any pictures?”
“At Li Na’s! I didn’t want any; too embarrassing.” Her cheeks flushed with excitement as she finally revealed the highlight of the day, “Then she gave me a gown! She said it’s worth thousands!”
Chen Yao recalled that indeed, Li Na had brought Lin Nan a big plastic bag when she visited yesterday evening.
Lin Nan, still in half-off socks, dashed to the corner of the bedroom to grab her suitcase, pulling out the gown. She ran back to Chen Yao and held the dress against herself, eagerly asking, “So? Pretty, right?”
At that moment, he couldn’t say anything else; Chen Yao hurriedly nodded, “Gorgeous! It suits you perfectly! Hurry and try it on for me!”
“No way! I plan to wear it when we get married, and it’ll definitely steal the show!” Lin Nan rolled the dress up smugly, “Just showing it off!”
Chen Yao was momentarily taken aback and teased, “So eager to get married, huh? Why not just get engaged when we head home on Friday?”
“Nope, too soon! I wouldn’t look good in it; my face is too childish,” Lin Nan shook her head, pondering for a while before concluding, “I’ll work for a couple of years, then when I’m more mature, I’ll look great in it!”
“Sure, when you grow a bit more up top, it’ll suit you even better. But black for a wedding?” Chen Yao thought Lin Nan looked adorably childlike at that moment.
“What? Isn’t black for weddings? Don’t grooms always wear black suits? What’s wrong with a black gown to match?”
Seeing Lin Nan tuck the dress back into her suitcase, Chen Yao seized the chance to tempt the tipsy Lin Nan: “How about we take a nap together?”
“As long as you don’t get handsy.” Lin Nan, not a fool, saw right through his intentions. She stepped forward and gave a playful smack, but Chen Yao swiftly blocked it.
Chen Yao’s heart nearly jumped out of his chest: “Are you trying to ruin our bliss?!”
“Pfft, not necessary!”
“Then what about me? I’d be all alone!” Chen Yao, shaken, could only manage a whimper.
Lin Nan froze for a moment and then seriously pondered, “Then you’d better find someone who can share a happy life with you.”
“No thanks, I’m not that kind of guy.” Chen Yao’s eyes sparkled as he modestly declined.
“And then I’ll catch you cheating in bed! I’ll storm over to your mama’s house and create a ruckus!”
Chen Yao plopped down in exasperation: “I shouldn’t have ever let my mom meet you!”
