Sis, Do You Need a Dog? - Chapter 9

Chapter 9: The Drinking Session

“Speak up.”

Meng Ningjiu approached step by step, saying coldly: “What exactly is your purpose?”

The voice dragged Si Tingbai back to the confrontation at hand. The relentless Meng Ningjiu was still pressing for an answer.

“Heh.”

Si Tingbai gave an extremely soft laugh. “I don’t think we are close enough for that.”

The subtext was clear: Why on earth should I tell you?

Having said her piece, Si Tingbai stood up abruptly, shot a disdainful glance at Meng Ningjiu, and walked straight out.

Meng Ningjiu was choked by the retort, her eyes darkening as she watched Si Tingbai leave.

The drinking session was at 8:00 PM.

By the time Si Tingbai returned to the dormitory, took a shower, and changed her clothes, it was just past 6:00 PM.

Shao Su had sent a message in the interim, reminding Si Tingbai that she must notify Meng Ningjiu about tonight’s gathering. It was important; she absolutely could not be absent. Looking at the string of exclamation marks and the repeated time and location, the importance was evident.

What kind of people will be there drinking?

Will Sister have to drink too?

If she drinks, will Sister take Meng Ningjiu home with her afterward?

The trainees in the training building were all desperately trying to get ahead, soaking in the practice rooms day and night. They never carried their phones, effectively cutting off all contact with the outside world. An undebuted trainee was, in reality, no different from an ordinary person.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Si Tingbai dried her hair with rhythmic movements, once again recalling the scene she saw that morning. In the practice rooms, trainees danced the same routine over and over. Every movement was pushed to the degree of perfection; the people no longer seemed like people, but rather like precisely calibrated instruments. The glass dance rooms were like snow globes that never snowed, trapping beautiful, exquisite porcelain dolls inside.

And this was the new life she was about to embrace.

From the moment she escaped the Capital, it meant severing all ties with the past. The name “Si Tingbai” no longer represented the third young lady of the Si family, but an empty answer sheet waiting to be graded. The road ahead was unknown and the end was out of sight; Si Tingbai only felt a sense of novelty mixed with expectation.

After perfunctorily replying to Shao Su’s text, Si Tingbai typed out a string of phone numbers from memory.

“Big Sister, I have arrived safely in Jiangcheng. Once you see this message, please report my safety to Mom and Second Sister—Your Niannian, who misses you.”

Only after the message status turned to “Sent” did Si Tingbai stand up to change clothes and head out.

Whether it was staying here as a trainee or being locked in a glass house as a training machine in the future—as long as she could stay by Cheng Shuyi’s side and have the chance to see her every day, any decision was worth it.

Heshe was located in a prime area. The direct result was that the evening rush hour had completely paralyzed the roads.

Cheng Shuyi looked at the sea of red taillights in front of her, while her phone vibrated incessantly. A text every three seconds, a call every minute. The disturbance made Cheng Shuyi click her tongue in irritation.

The driver, sensing the low pressure in the car, silently turned up the car stereo a notch, trying to use music to distract the passenger from her impatience. It was a rare song with no instrumental intro; it began with a husky, slightly melancholic female voice singing softly. The lyrics and melody were moving, filled with a heart full of love; sung this way, it sounded as if a lover were whispering in one’s ear. The unique voice echoed in the cabin like a gentle breeze.

This was a romantic anthem that had once taken the world by storm, becoming an instant viral hit upon release. The singer had stated publicly more than once that the song was written for someone she loved.

The driver hoped the sweet love song would soothe the person behind him, but he didn’t realize he had backfired.

“Turn it off,” Cheng Shuyi’s voice rang out. Just three words, but they were heavy with pressure.

“Ah… okay, okay.”

The confused driver hurriedly switched the track, only to hear the person behind him say: “Don’t play her songs ever again.”

Switching songs and blocking a singer were simple tasks. The driver took a moment to drag the singer into the blacklist. As he pressed the confirm button, he noted the name: Tan Moli.

Silence returned to the car. The driver, focusing on driving, stopped pondering the playlist. Thus, he couldn’t have imagined that the singer he just blacklisted was currently harassing Cheng Shuyi with non-stop texts and calls. Nor could he have known that the very first listener of this song, from its lyrics to its melody, was the person sitting behind him.

Unread messages quickly piled up to 999+. After blacklisting what felt like the hundredth number, Cheng Shuyi chose to power off her phone.

She’s back.

So what?

Artists are like flowers; every artist has their own blooming period. And this particular Jasmine’s bloom had stopped seven years ago. Now that she was back, the flowerpot already contained new seeds.

Cheng Shuyi lowered the window slightly. June in Jiangcheng was already summer; waves of heat wrapped in the evening breeze blew in, making one feel inexplicably restless. It was a precursor to rain.

The stop-and-go headlights converged into a river of red, and human patience slowly drowned within it. Just as Cheng Shuyi was closing the window, a flash of white zoomed past in the bicycle lane.

Before the heavy rain and lightning arrived, thick clouds rolled across the sky first. Si Tingbai accelerated her pedaling, the wind carrying the dry heat billowing her short sleeves into a bulging bag.

Red light.

Si Tingbai squeezed the brakes and waited by the roadside. From a distance, the logo of Heshe was already visible. She had been in Jiangcheng for only a month, but she had already experienced the terror of the evening rush hour. Therefore, when she left, she didn’t choose a taxi or the subway.

The girl seemed to have inexhaustible energy within her. Driven by the longing for the person she liked, her bicycle could turn into a Wind-Fire Wheel.

Finally arriving before the appointed time, Si Tingbai locked her bike and leaned against the roadside, gasping for air. The cars parked at the entrance of Heshe had unfamiliar license plates; Si Tingbai estimated that Cheng Shuyi had not yet arrived. Her mind couldn’t help but start guessing what kind of gathering tonight would be.

Is Meng Ningjiu’s position in Sister’s heart very important?

Why would she bring Meng Ningjiu to a drinking session instead of me?

Amidst her tangled thoughts, a familiar license plate finally drove up from the road. The driver stopped and hurried to pull the door open. The person who stepped out was on the phone, her expression somewhat unpleasant.

Her red dress was like fire, outlining the woman’s perfect figure. Her ink-black hair was curled into just the right waves; even the strands of hair exuded sophistication. Si Tingbai’s gaze froze for a moment, her footsteps instinctively following.

“Is Meng Ningjiu still refusing to come?” Cheng Shuyi’s voice carried a hint of anger. “Or did you tell her in advance who organized tonight’s session?”

The person on the other end of the phone seemed to be apologizing repeatedly.

Cheng Shuyi’s voice did not soften because of this: “If you don’t want to work anymore, you can resign your—”

Her voice paused abruptly. The woman, who was about to enter the door, suddenly turned her head and saw the person waiting by the roadside.

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