Chapter 42

The exams are finally over. To celebrate the upcoming summer vacation, Ren Qiao'an and his roommates went to a hot pot restaurant and ate and drank to their heart's content.

"Cheers! I wish you a passing grade in every exam!"

It was not until around nine o'clock, after they had finished their last sip of milk tea, that the four of them, with full stomachs, strolled back to school.

"Let's go this way."

"You don't want to eat anything else, do you?" Ren Qiao'an originally wanted to choose a quieter route to walk back to school, but unexpectedly Wu Nianzhi chose a route that passed through the snack street. The others also agreed, so Ren Qiao'an had no choice but to follow.

"Yan Yiyi, haven't you always wanted to eat Li Ji's cold dishes? There's a place just up the road."

"Ah? I can't eat today..." Yan Yiyi was pinched by Wu Nianzhi before she could finish her words, "What are you doing?"

Wu Nianzhi winked and said, "I think that place is delicious. You should want to try it!"

"......?" What the hell? What did Wu Nianzhi want to do? Yan Yiyi answered uncertainly: "Really?" Then she was dragged away by Wu Nianzhi.

The snack street was quite noisy, and Ren Qiao'an didn't pay much attention to Wu Nianzhi and Yan Yiyi, so he naturally didn't know that something was wrong with them. He and Qian Baoer followed their steps silently.

"Baoer, here!"

There were too many stalls, and Qian Baoer's attention was often on some small things. Qian Baoer pulled Ren Qiao'an and almost couldn't find Yan Yiyi and the others. "What are you buying?" Qian Baoer saw Yan Yiyi and the others stopped in front of a barbecue stall.

"I didn't buy anything." Yan Yiyi touched her head awkwardly. She finally understood what Wu Nianzhi was doing mysteriously.

"Oh, what a coincidence, you are all out playing." A familiar figure suddenly appeared next to the barbecue stall.

Ren Qiao'an was surprised. Looking around, he saw more familiar figures and some unpleasant people.

Tang Mu, the "culprit" who had been prepared for this, smiled awkwardly and said, "Would you like to have something to eat and drink together?"

"This..." Yan Yiyi and Wu Nianzhi looked at Ren Qiao'an in tacit understanding.

Oh……

Ren Qiao'an sneered in his heart. Someone was already drunk and passed out on the table. What else was there to drink?

Ren Qiaoan was displeased: "No need. We want to go back."

"Hey, classmates." Gao Yu called out to a few people. He remembered Ren Qiao'an. "Classmate, were you the one who sent Jin Xi home last time?"

It was obvious that Gao Yu was asking this to Ren Qiao'an. Ren Qiao'an frowned and said, "Hmm."

Gao Yu: "Then do you know where her home is?"

“…Hmm.” Ren Qiao’an was a little impatient.

Gao Yu continued: “Then can you tell me the address?”

"..." Ren Qiao'an looked Gao Yu up and down with cold eyes.

Gao Yu waved his hands innocently. It was obvious that his previous actions had been misunderstood. "Jin Xi was in a bad mood today. She drank a few glasses and got drunk."

Tang Mu on the side helped explain: "She doesn't want to be taken back to the dormitory. She keeps nagging about going home. The problem is, we don't know where her home is." Tang Mu was telling the truth. She had this consideration when she asked Wu Nianzhi to bring Ren Qiao'an over.

"..." Ren Qiao'an looked at someone lying motionless on the table, as if the surrounding commotion had nothing to do with her. Ren Qiao'an sighed silently, "I understand. I'll take you there."

Gao Yu took the initiative to ask: "You lead the way, I will take you there."

"Okay." Ren Qiao'an did not refuse. After all, she couldn't pull a drunk person away by herself.

The two got off the taxi at the entrance of the "Taohuayuan" residential complex. They were silent all the way. Gao Yu felt that he was "unwelcome" and asked in a cautious tone, "Are we there yet?"

Ren Qiao'an nodded. The last time she'd been here was over a month ago, when Jin Xi was drunk. She sighed helplessly. The ten minutes in the car were enough for her to gather her thoughts and calm down. She tried not to look at Jin Xi leaning against Gao Yu, putting herself in the shoes of an ordinary, "enthusiastic" classmate.

Gao Yu frantically helped Jin Xi out of the taxi. Meanwhile, Ren Qiaoyuan, quicker than anyone else, walked to the security office and asked, "Uncle, could you open the door? We're both taking a classmate home."

The uncle glanced at Gao Yu and the others, then looked at Ren Qiao'an, "I remember you, girl. Oh, how come that girl is drunk again? She's so young, this is not okay." The uncle nagging while opening the door, "Come in. Girl, you have to talk to this girl. Young people should take care of themselves."

"Okay, uncle, thank you." Ren Qiao'an didn't expect that she had only come once, but the security guard still remembered her.

On the other side, Gao Yu supported Jin Xi and walked over, letting Qiao Yuan lead the way with ease. Jin Xi's house number was very easy to remember: Building 6, Room 606.

The uncle behind me shouted, "By the way, girl, the elevator in Building 6 is under maintenance!"

Looking at the large A4 paper with the three big black characters "Maintenance" written on it, Gao Yu and Ren Qiao'an exchanged a glance, and in perfect tacit understanding, they moved from the elevator to the stairs. Helping a drunk man upstairs is not an easy task, and Ren Qiao'an couldn't let Gao Yu "fight alone", so he took the initiative to put his arm around Jin Xi's waist and put the arm that was leaning towards her on his shoulder. However, as soon as Ren Qiao'an got his hands on her, Jin Xi fell to Ren Qiao'an as if she had grabbed a life-saving straw. Her body, which had been standing upright, fell to one side. Ren Qiao'an was almost crushed by the sudden weight, and quickly stretched out his other hand to support the handrail.

"Oh, are you okay? Sorry, I can help you." Gao Yu was also frightened by Jin Xi's behavior.

Ren Qiao'an turned her head and saw Jin Xi's head drooping on her shoulder, her eyes closed, her cheeks flushed, and her nostrils rose and fell slightly with each breath. She seemed to be reeking of alcohol and looked really drunk.

"It's okay." Ren Qiao'an was still looking at Jin Xi.

Gao Yu thought of a better way, "How about I carry her up."

Ren Qiao'an didn't answer. She wanted to say no, but what reason did she have?

Gao Yu thought this would be easier than two people supporting one person, so he squatted down. Ren Qiao'an saw this and helped Jin Xi up. However, Jin Xi suddenly struggled. The more Ren Qiao'an pulled her, the tighter she held on. She even put her arms around Ren Qiao'an's neck and muttered, "No, no."

"..." Ren Qiao'an suddenly began to doubt whether Jin Xi was really drunk or just pretending to be drunk.

Gao Yu heard the noise and stood up to take a look. From his perspective, Jin Xi looked like a koala, clinging tightly to Ren Qiaoyuan. The more he looked, the more he saw something. If someone didn't know Jin Xi well, they might think she was simply drunk and crazy. But Gao Yu knew Jin Xi's personality and drinking habits. This didn't seem like Jin Xi's normal drunken state.

What else could Ren Qiao'an do? She glanced at the stairs and gritted her teeth, "I'll carry her on my back, and you help me support her from behind."

"..." Gao Yu should have refused. As a boy, how could he watch a girl do "physical work"? But Gao Yu thought about it and realized that he had no choice in this situation. "Okay."

Sure enough, when someone else changed, Jin Xi's reaction became more cooperative, forcing Gao Yu to guess in the direction of "magic". Gao Yu suddenly understood what Tang Mu had done, "It seems that you have a good relationship with Jin Xi."

"...No." Ren Qiao'an had just taken two steps when he felt like he was about to die. He had no time to pay attention to Gao Yu and naturally did not notice the inquiry in Gao Yu's tone.

This wasn't the first time Ren Qiao'an had carried Jin Xi on his back. Although Jin Xi wasn't heavy (relative to her height), climbing stairs was like walking! Ren Qiao'an now seriously suspected that Jin Xi was using her drunken madness to torture him!

"Do you like Jinxi?"

"..." Ren Qiao'an paused, but she didn't notice that the person on her back trembled synchronously. Ren Qiao'an didn't understand Gao Yu's intention and asked, "Don't you like it?"

"Haha~" Seeing that Ren Qiao'an did not give a direct answer, Gao Yu laughed awkwardly twice, "Don't get me wrong, we are not in that kind of relationship." Gao Yu thought, since someone is drunk and not "sober", he might as well say a few more words.

"What's the relationship?" Ren Qiao'an almost blurted out.

Gao Yu curled his lips and said, "The kind of relationship you were thinking of." There was no way he liked Jin Xi.

"..." Ren Qiaoan was silent. So what did it have to do with her? Why should he tell her?

"Jin Xi doesn't like me, so of course, I don't like her either." Gao Yu said bluntly. He was not a nosy person, but Jin Xi was one of his few female friends, so Gao Yu felt it necessary to play the role of a "friend".

For the rest of the journey, Ren Qiao'an remained silent. Gao Yu would occasionally mention Jin Xi, and Ren Qiao'an would listen silently. Except for every time Ren Qiao'an stopped to rest, Gao Yu would kindly offer to help her. Ren Qiao'an wanted to throw Jin Xi to him, but he also needed Jin Xi's consent. This guy was clinging to her like a sticky candy.

By the time Ren Qiaoyuan finally climbed to the sixth floor with great difficulty, he was almost half dead.

After Gao Yu helped open the door, he couldn't wait to say goodbye, "I won't go in. Please take good care of her for me. I'll treat you to dinner later."

"..." Watching Gao Yu's swift and decisive "escape", Ren Qiao'an was speechless. Who exactly is Jin Xi's "boyfriend"? From Gao Yu's statement tonight, it seems that he and Jin Xi are only "lovers" on the surface, but actually friends. Ren Qiao'an doesn't understand the twists and turns between the two. Perhaps she should ask the other party in person. But the person in question, Jin Xi, is lying unconscious on the sofa. Ren Qiao'an walked over to the sofa, bent down to look at her for a while, then reached out and patted Jin Xi's face.

Ren Qiao'an patted her softly. "Jinxi, Jinxi?" He called out softly a few times, but Jinxi's eyelashes fluttered slightly, but she showed no sign of waking up. Was she really that drunk? Unable to figure it out, Ren Qiao'an simply slumped down on the sofa, his back to Jinxi, staring blankly at the off-white floor, his thoughts a tangle.

"What am I supposed to do with you?"

Ren Qiao'an seemed to be asking Jin Xi, but it also seemed more like he was talking to himself.

After a long time, Ren Qiao'an, who had rested enough, stood up, picked up his mobile phone, and left Jinxi's house.

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