To Get Married - Chapter 52

Chapter 52

Young girls who aren’t good with alcohol tend to get dazed when they drink too much. Ye Liujing, Chen Yang, and Tang Qian had somehow ended up sleeping the whole night at the bar in a blur. Before passing out, they had been talking nonsense, looking like their brains had completely short-circuited. Yet, remarkably, when they woke up at noon the next day, not a single one of them had a blackout.

As they recalled the events of the previous night, each one grew increasingly embarrassed.

Ye Liujing: “I don’t know who it was, but yesterday someone was clutching their phone and giggling like an idiot.”

Tang Qian: “My giggling didn’t bother anyone. I don’t know who it was, but someone was grabbing everyone they saw and calling them ‘demons’.”

Chen Yang: “I don’t think I did anything weird yesterday, did I?”

Ye Liujing thought for a moment. “You? Oh, you were shouting at the top of your lungs that you wanted to be Sister Manzhu’s hardcore fan.”

Chen Yang was embarrassed for a long time. “Did I look really stupid?”

Both Ye Liujing and Tang Qian nodded in unison.

After a brief review of their humiliating moments, the three lined up to wash up. Xiaozhi and Huanxi had been very thoughtful, leaving out new towels and disposable toothbrushes and toothpaste before they left last night.

Ye Liujing couldn’t help but marvel, saying her first bar experience was incredible. It was a bar, yet it provided the ultimate “three-in-one” experience of a hotpot restaurant, a bar, and a hotel. No one would believe her if she told them.

“They were only that nice to us because of Yudong. If a normal customer got drunk, they’d be kicked out at closing time. How could they stay the night?” Tang Qian said while combing her hair.

“I wonder if Yudong is awake yet,” Liujing said, sending a “Good morning” to the dorm group chat and a private message to Yudong.

After freshening up, they drank some warm water and tidied the room until it was spotless. Checking their phones again, ten minutes had passed.

Yudong hadn’t replied. Not to the group chat, and not to the private message. It seemed she was still asleep.

The three girls exchanged glances and, somewhat awkwardly, opened the door and tiptoed out.

At a bar, business hours end late. From the boss to the ordinary employees, almost everyone closes their eyes at three or four in the morning and wakes up at one or two in the afternoon. At this moment, it wasn’t even one o’clock yet. The entire bar, both the first and second floors, was deathly quiet.

The three students looked at the empty bar, unsure whether to just leave or wait for someone to wake up so they could say goodbye. Leaving directly felt rude, but waiting felt a bit awkward.

Just then, Gou Hongjie walked out of his room with messy hair, yawning. He bumped into the three girls standing in the second-floor hallway, looking lost. Seeing them staring at him expectantly, he scratched his head in embarrassment. “Do you guys… want to eat something before you go?”

He paused, then added, “I’m the cook here.”

“Is there a menu?” Chen Yang asked. Since they had already gotten free hotpot and lodging, she felt too embarrassed to let them waive the bill for lunch as well.

“Yes, I’ll get it for you,” Gou Hongjie said, thumping down the stairs.

The three girls followed him down. After looking at the menu, they each ordered a rice bowl and shared two snacks, then settled into a spot near the bar. To be honest, paying for the meal made them feel a bit more confident.

Chen Yang stood up and walked to the bar, looking around. First, she looked at the mixing station—where various tools, glasses, bottles, fruits, ice, and drinks were neatly organized. Then she looked up at the vast array of spirits on the back cabinet. Finally, her eyes landed on the sign in front of the bar advising customers not to attempt conversation with the bartender.

“Hey, tell me,” Chen Yang turned back to her roommates. “Why is Yudong’s Little Master so aloof? I really didn’t hear him say much yesterday. And every time he did, it was just one or two words.”

“Just high-and-mighty cool, I guess,” Ye Liujing said, letting out a giant yawn.

“I think it’s shyness. Didn’t you notice he gets embarrassed easily?” Tang Qian said. “Last night when we were ordering, if we teased him even a little, he’d look down and avoid our eyes.”

Ye Liujing asked, “What was his name again?”

“I heard other customers calling him Xiao-Yan-ge,” Chen Yang said.

“Boss Mu calls him Zhaomu, so it must be Yan Zhaomu,” Tang Qian said. Then, remembering something, she gasped. “Little Leaf, you didn’t actually get ‘lustful’ for him, did you? That’s not right!”

“No! I just think ‘Yudong’s Little Master’ is a mouthful,” Liujing said, shaking her head. “Besides, I don’t like older guys.”

“Although… he is older, his maintenance is really top-tier,” Chen Yang said, and Tang Qian nodded in agreement.

Ye Liujing pursed her lips. “Anyway, I’m not interested.”

Was age the issue? No. He was a two-thousand-year-old snake demon. How could she possibly have any “ideas” about him? Humans should stick to the practical—like that “Little Mystery.”

Wait! Little Mystery!

Ye Liujing suddenly clenched her fists and pounded the table. “I need to get back to school right after lunch!”

“What’s the rush?” Chen Yang asked blankly.

“It’s the weekend! Maybe Little Mystery is free and went to the piano building!”

For a moment, her two roommates gave her a look usually reserved for the mentally impaired.

By the time Lu Yudong woke up, her roommates were already on the express bus back to campus. The house was empty. There was nothing in the fridge, so Manzhu must have gone down to buy lunch.

Yudong reluctantly crawled out of her warm blankets, put on her cotton pajamas, and ran to the bathroom. After washing up, she tied her hair in front of the mirror, but then paused and stepped back.

She stared at her reflection for a while, letting her hair down. she checked the length against her chest and judged if she looked more mature with it down. Just then, she heard the sound of a key in the lock.

Yudong quickly tied her hair back up and poked her head out of the bathroom, smiling at Manzhu as she entered.

“You’re awake? Just in time. I bought red-oil dumplings,” Manzhu said, stepping into her fluffy cotton slippers. She walked to the coffee table and set down the boxes. “It’s from that place you loved in middle school. You haven’t had it in ages, right?”

Manzhu was still wearing the same outfit as yesterday. Yudong felt a secret surge of joy. Normally, Manzhu changed every day; she rarely wore the same thing twice. Because Yudong had complimented it yesterday, Manzhu hadn’t been in a rush to change.

Tang Qian was right—when you like someone, small behavioral details can’t be hidden. Yudong thought that Manzhu must like her, she just hadn’t realized it yet.

Thinking this, Yudong hopped over to the coffee table, sat on a small stool, and took a sniff. “Smells so good! It’s been over a year!”

“I was afraid you wouldn’t be full, so I bought three portions,” Manzhu said, pulling up another small stool to sit beside Yudong.

Yudong nodded. “Yesterday, it seemed like Chen Yang requested songs all night.”

“Your classmate is very enthusiastic. I made an extra six hundred yuan last night,” Manzhu noted.

“I think she’s about to fall in love with you,” Yudong teased.

Manzhu didn’t know how to respond to that, so she abruptly changed the subject. “By the way, what did your classmates say? Did they all leave?”

“They messaged me on Q.Q. They’re on their way back.”

“That’s good. They had a good time last night, right?”

“Very happy. Chen Yang said the drinks were great and your singing was beautiful. They’ll come back when they’re free.”

Manzhu nodded. “If she comes a few more times, I can pay back my debt to Zhaomu sooner.”

Yudong was confused. “Sister, when did you start owing Little Master money again?”

“When we came back from the trip, I didn’t have enough for your tuition. I didn’t want to hear your Uncle nag, so I borrowed it from Zhaomu.”

“But… the money I earned last week…”

Manzhu interrupted her. “Keep that for yourself. Tell me if you don’t have enough.”

“But—”

“Even if I take it to pay the debt, if you run out of money later, won’t I be the one giving it to you anyway?”

Manzhu’s logic was flawless. Yudong couldn’t argue, so she buried her head in her dumplings. She ate several in silence. Manzhu, finding the silence a bit heavy, used the remote to turn on the TV.

On the screen, an ad for baby formula was playing. Yudong suddenly looked up and whispered, “Last night, my roommate said… since you’re so beautiful, you must have many pursuers.”

“Hmm?”

“I know many customers at the bar have chased you, but surely you wouldn’t be interested in an ordinary human?” Yudong looked at Manzhu seriously. “But… what about before? Back in the mountains? Did any demons ever pursue you?”

“In the past…”

Manzhu felt a bit sheepish. Back in the mountains, most demons took a detour when they saw her. The only two who didn’t take a detour didn’t exactly prize her as a female python… it seemed she hadn’t been very popular back then.

“I feel like you’re so wonderful that no matter where you are, many people should like you,” Yudong said.

“Actually, no,” Manzhu said truthfully. “No demon ever pursued me.”

“Then… if one did, would you consider it?”

“No.”

“What if it was a very excellent, very powerful demon?”

“Still no,” Manzhu said firmly. “I don’t like it, and I’ve never thought about it.”

Yudong put down her chopsticks, her eyes wide with curiosity. “Why? Do you really not have a ‘type’ that you like?”

“I don’t really understand these things…” Manzhu lowered her eyes and thought for a long time before looking up. “What counts as ‘liking’ someone?”

“Liking is probably… when you’re in front of a person, and because of something they say or do, you suddenly feel a certain…”

“A certain?”

“It should be a kind of…” Yudong thought for a moment, then suddenly reached out and placed her hand over Manzhu’s heart. Under Manzhu’s startled gaze, she said seriously, “This uncontrolled feeling here.”

The metaphorical “deer” in Manzhu’s heart went completely wild at that moment. Manzhu didn’t know where her reaction speed came from, but she instinctively activated her spiritual power to suppress the feeling.

Yudong let out a confused “Eh?” and, with an expression of disbelief, moved her hand around Manzhu’s chest for a long time.

The two stared at each other in shock for what felt like forever.

“Sister… for you snake demons… is your heart not in this position?”

“…”