The next day at noon, Ha Yue was awakened by the piercing sound of an electric drill.

The bed beneath her was soft, and the air was filled with the rich aroma of coffee. She slowly turned her bloodshot eyes, straining to open her swollen eyelids. This wasn't her home; it was Xue Jing's bedroom.

As for how she fell asleep here last night, Ha Yue had no recollection. She only vaguely felt that her limbs were sore and weak, her lower back was bruised, and when she touched it with her fingers, there seemed to be several scratch marks on her skin.

Everything looked like the result of excessive drinking.

With a dry throat, acid reflux, and a rash under her eyes, Ha Yue took a sip of the lemon water on her bedside table. She tried to get out of bed, propping herself up on her arms, to question Xue Jing about his lack of humanity, for being violent towards his drunken ex-girlfriend. But as soon as she managed to stand up, the hangover caused a sudden, sharp pain in her temples, and she collapsed back onto the bed as if she had been shot.

Xue Jing, who was cracking a boiled egg, wasn't in much better shape. His dark circles were almost reaching the corners of his mouth, his right leg was limping, and there was a very obvious wound on his lower lip. Hearing the noise in the bedroom, he put down the food he was holding, picked up the small thermos, and came in to pour a glass of warm water into the glass on the bedside table.

Xue Jing placed his right palm on Ha Yue's forehead, and with his left hand, he pinched two hangover pills and stuffed them into Ha Yue's mouth. Xue Jing's tone was not good.

"Headache? Take some hangover medicine, drink some water, eat something, and then go back to sleep. Does your stomach feel uncomfortable? You threw up so much yesterday."

"I've already spoken to your mom. The workers are replacing the windows at home. I'll go over and keep an eye on things in a bit."

Upon hearing that he had helped her find someone to fix her window, Ha Yue thanked him and naturally asked, "How much did it cost? Have you already paid? I'll transfer the money to you first."

Xue Jing glanced at her and muttered, "Why did you transfer the phone to me? You're so particular about who you are, as if you really want to be my neighbor."

"Let me tell you, I've decided to stop flirting with people. I'm not that kind of person."

What's this kid saying? When we went to the hotel together that day, he seemed pretty casual, but he was putting in an incredibly hard-working effort.

The senses that are clouded by alcohol are like rotten instant noodles that have missed their best flavor, not suitable for dealing with serious emotional issues. Ha Yue pursed her lips, pretended not to hear, and changed the subject by asking him, "I threw up? That's impossible. You don't know, I have a super high alcohol tolerance, I never throw up when I drink."

After last night, Xue Jing was still maintaining a magnanimous and high-minded attitude, waiting for Ha Yue to talk to him about getting back together as soon as she got up this morning. But when he heard Ha Yue ask him how much it would cost to replace the glass, it was obvious that she wanted to separate themselves from him and draw a line. He was quite unhappy about that. When he heard what she said next, his face immediately turned gloomy.

He was gloomy, but he couldn't really lash out, so he suppressed his anger and deliberately used honorifics.

"Oh right, I didn't throw up. Sister, you can drink so much, how could you be drunk? The one who got drunk and acted crazy yesterday, it must have been me."

Ha Yue rolled her eyes without any attempt to hide it, inwardly cursing, "This bastard's bad temper isn't even bothering to pretend anymore, is it?"

The way she calls me "sister" sounds like she's my father's killer. With a male model's face, can't she at least learn to say something nice?

What's the use of just being pretty? If she's constantly arguing with someone, she'll lose her temper.

Ha Yue opened her mouth, closed her eyes, and loudly chanted at him, "I don't listen, I don't listen to the yellow dog chanting scriptures." She took the water glass, swallowed the medicine, and then lifted her eyelids to notice the scab on Xue Jing's lip.

They were just bickering, not that she was really heartless, so she immediately grabbed his arm with her right hand and made him sit on the edge of the bed, leaning over to get closer. "Your mouth is sore? How old are you? How can you be so careless?"

Ha Yue touched his lower lip with her thumb, then used her other hand to manipulate his chin. Her gaze shifted downwards as she lifted his collar, and she was surprised to find that Xue Jing not only had a cut on his lip, but also several strange red marks on the side of his neck closest to hers.

He looks even worse off than her.

She clearly remembered that he hadn't drunk much last night, and that he was carrying her on his back when she was crying so hard she was almost out of breath. Could it be that Xue Jing ran out of energy in the latter half of the journey and they both fell into the tree pit? A weak scholar wouldn't do; if they were to walk together until their hair turned gray, she would have a hard time.

Xue Jing's nose was very close to Ha Yue's forehead. Right now, she was looking down at his neck. Her eyelids were so swollen that you couldn't even see the double eyelid line. But even so, she still looked damn cute, especially her lips that were slightly pouting because of worry. His ears were a little hot, and his mouth was a little thirsty. He wanted to kiss her, but he had just said that he was not such a casual person.

So, despite his Adam's apple bobbing, he could only suppress the urge to kiss her. With a click of his tongue, Xue Jing casually remarked, "Got bitten by a dog, huh? I wonder which of us is the yellow dog. Don't you think you're more like one than me?"

With his fair skin, he must be a white dog, right?

"Huh?" Ha Yue frowned, her headache getting worse from his sarcastic tone. One second she was full of concern for him, the next she threw a punch at his back. "Can't you speak properly? Stop talking nonsense, okay? My head hurts. Ugh, so annoying."

"If you don't want to talk, get out. Close the door behind you. I'm going to sleep!"

Oh, you said you liked her a little yesterday, but now you find him annoying after just a few words?

This fickle woman.

Xue Jing gritted his teeth, put the water glass back on the bedside table, frowned, stood up, pulled down his waistband at Ha Yue, and before she could dodge, grabbed the back of her head with his right hand and pressed it down under his body, shoving the messy teeth marks on his thigh in front of her eyes, saying, "How am I not speaking properly? There really is a dog in this house, you see? Vicious dogs bite people, and they even bark when they bite me."

"Ha Yue, you've been messing around with me all night and now you're pretending to have amnesia, right?"

"Don't you think I'm really easy to bully?"

"Say it! Quickly say you're willing to get back together with me."

"Damn it, don't play dumb with me."

Before her eyes were a patch of purplish-blue teeth marks, and some subcutaneous bleeding from the sucking. Ha Yue was forced to look directly at the other person's boxer shorts in a very indecent position.

A wave of heat, carrying the scent of shower gel, wafted towards me.

However, this scene does seem somewhat familiar, except that last night it was Xue Jing lying down while she knelt beside his knees.

As soon as Xue Jing finished speaking, some blurry fragments flashed through Ha Yue's mind.

Rewind the memories.

Last night, after Xue Jing finished recounting the story of how he was about to go to the rooftop, Ha Yue burst into another round of wailing. This time, she actually jumped off Xue Jing's back, wiping her tears and snot all over his clothes as she cried. She kissed his lips, cheeks, nose, and eyes with her wet lips, shouting at him, "Of course you deserve it. You live, you fucking live a good life!"

"How old were you when it happened? What right did they have to tell you to die? I'll go and settle the score with them for you!"

But the drunkard's attempt to comfort Xue Jing lasted less than two minutes before he seamlessly transitioned into asking him for a drink.

Finally, a taxi came down the street, but Ha Yue refused to take it. She insisted on dragging him to buy alcohol, explaining that Xue Jing had promised to keep her company at the barbecue restaurant.

He keeps his word.

The grocery store, which was about to close, had no beer, so she shoveled some baijiu (Chinese liquor) into a plastic bag. The taxi driver was driving in front, and she was yelling at Xue Jing to tighten the cap on the baijiu for her. When Xue Jing slowed down, she cursed at the world.

Xue Jing was flustered, apologizing to the driver while covering her mouth.

But could he cover it up? Ha Yue seemed to have learned a contortionist technique; her whole body was covered in liquid, and she broke free from his arm in a few quick movements, laughing as she pried open the bottle of liquor.

It seems that people from Suicheng are not only good at drinking, but also particularly good at using their front teeth as bottle openers.

Ha Yue gulped down half a jin of baijiu (Chinese liquor). As soon as the car stopped, her face contorted in pain. She pushed open the door and rushed out, then leaned against the wall and vomited violently. Xue Jing went to help her by supporting her and patting her back, but she turned around and vomited all over him.

Next, Ha Yue cried and vomited, like a Trevi Fountain, spraying from outside Xue Jing's door all the way into Xue Jing's living room. Besides vomiting, she kept saying, "Life is meaningless," and then slapping the floor, saying, "No, I haven't lived enough yet."

Once she stopped vomiting and crying, Xue Jing hurriedly knelt on the ground to clean up the mess. She couldn't stay on the sofa any longer and started walking unsteadily on the ground. Her legs gave way and her lower back hit the coffee table, so she started covering her bottom and wailing pitifully.

While making strange noises, she still felt sorry for Xue Jing, telling him that his head actually resembled two boars. The pigs she raised weren't a couple at all. Xue Jing was so pitiful; even the animals bullied him. Tomorrow she would slaughter the pigs and roast them for him to eat with white sugar.

Xue Jing knew he couldn't possibly take her home with her rambling, drunken antics. He could only drag her to the bathroom to clean her up before throwing her onto the bed like a bomb disposal.

Even though she was exhausted, with a hoarse voice and eyes swollen like peaches, she still refused to sleep, constantly getting out of bed and muttering in her sleep to find some wine.

Xue Jing forcibly pulled her into his arms. Her eyes were blurry with tears as she gazed at his face with deep affection, as if possessed by a lovesick fool. She complimented, "Your face is really handsome." Then she hugged his face and pressed it against hers.

The problem is that other people's kisses are gentle and tender, like two fish sharing a deep, intimate bond, but she's like a raw, raw meat to devour him. What was supposed to be a passionate, tender kiss has turned into a bloody incident. Xue Jing hisses in pain, grabs her waist and asks her if she's a dog. She barks excitedly and pounces on him, tearing off his pajama bottoms with her teeth and leaving hickeys on his thighs.

Besides that, she also seemed to have used the time while Xue Jing was applying gentian violet to operate the computer, and then made a lot of phone calls. But she really couldn't remember who she called; all the numbers dialed on her phone were unknown.

Fifteen minutes later, Xue Jing sat down at the dining table in the living room, rubbing his temples as he drank coffee. After finishing his coffee, he glanced sideways at Ha Yue, who was writhing and groaning under his blanket in the bedroom, and sighed.

Dragging one leg back to the bedroom, Xue Jing heard the hungover person in the sheets earnestly apologizing in his direction, "I was wrong, I really won't drink anymore, never again. I'll never drink again in my life, drinking leads to trouble. Really, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I'll take you to get your rabies vaccine today. The pig also needs to be castrated, can you help me pull it in your pickup truck?"

The apology was supposed to be based on him, but the last two things sounded really off.

The rabies vaccination was just a pretext; they were really after her two pigs, weren't they? Once scammers get active again, they start doing what they used to do.

Xue Jing was both amused and exasperated. He had already calmed down and wasn't really angry. He leaned down and coaxed the bulging blankets gently, "Alright, come and eat. I'm not blaming you. You bit me, so be it."

"I didn't tell you to quit drinking, it's not necessary to go to such extremes. Taking care of a patient is so hard, you need to relieve your boredom, right? Just don't mix beer and baijiu next time."

"Health is important; a little wine is pleasant, but excessive drinking is harmful."

Lifting Ha Yue's blanket, Xue Jing admonished her, poking her forehead with his fingertip, "But you used pretty foul language in your emails and phone calls yesterday, why don't you apologize to a few people today?"

Ha Yue poked half her face out from under the covers with a worried expression, her voice trembling like that of an octogenarian, "Do you know who I've been calling?"