"You two really knocked back that much booze?" Zhong Chuxi plopped into a chair.
She gaped at Jiang Cheng and Zhou Zhiyun, curiosity and gossip sparkling in her eyes.
"He's like this because of Xu Ya, right?"
Jiang Cheng cocked an eyebrow. "Thought you already knew."
Zhong Chuxi's grin widened.
"I know it's about Xu Ya, but not the details. On the phone he kept yapping about paying her back. Don't tell me… it's that two-thousand-yuan thing from the other night?"
By now Zhou Zhiyun was wasted senseless.
Yet the second he heard "two thousand" he lifted his head, looked at Zhong Chuxi, and burst into tears again.
"Why are you doing this to me… can't you see my heart at all??"
Watching him sob all over her, Zhong Chuxi shot Jiang Cheng another glance.
She stamped her foot in exasperation: "Look properly! I'm Zhong Chuxi!"
Zhou Zhiyun braced both hands on the table, leaned forward, and stared straight at her.
Once recognition hit he wailed again: "Zhong Chuxi, why are you here?? I want Xu Ya."
Hearing that, Zhong Chuxi instantly exploded.
"The hell!" she cursed, smacking him hard between the shoulder blades.
"You're blind drunk and talking rubbish! Delete your moments post right now! It's just a break-up—big deal! Must you act like the world's ending? If you weren't heartbroken I'd beat you senseless today!"
Earlier he'd poured drink after drink into himself while pouring his heart out to Jiang Cheng.
Now the alcohol had well and truly kicked in.
"She hit me~~" Zhou Zhiyun spun and lunged at Jiang Cheng, smearing snot and tears all over his sleeve.
"Jiang Cheng, look at her..."
Seeing his best buddy reduced to this over a Girl, Jiang Cheng shook his head in disgust.
He privately vowed: never, ever become a simp—this is how they end up.
Jiang Cheng pinched Zhou Zhiyun's face away with two fingers. "simp gets no house, get it?"
"I'm not a simp!" Zhou Zhiyun suddenly protested. "I'm just... deeply devoted!"
Zhong Chuxi glanced at Jiang Cheng.
"I agree," she murmured. "He's actually pretty devoted—just aimed at the wrong person. Bad taste, huh? Kinda like when you fell for Zhao Jia..."
The moment the words left her mouth she realized she'd overstepped.
Hands flying to cover her mouth, she apologized: "Oops, sorry—shouldn't have said that."
That first love, Zhao Jia, felt to Jiang Cheng like a lifetime ago.
He let the topic drop.
Jiang Cheng picked up Zhou Zhiyun's phone.
Then aimed it at his face for a facial-unlock scan.
The phone pinged and unlocked.
Jiang Cheng clicked his tongue and shook his head.
Once again convinced that face-unlock was the bane of honest men.
"Facial recognition screws honest guys the most."
He handed the phone to Zhong Chuxi.
"Didn't you say you'd delete his moments? Here."
When she saw what he'd done, Zhong Chuxi's lips curved into a tiny, involuntary smile.
She took the phone gently and quickly turned away, as if afraid Jiang Cheng would notice her expression.
Yet as she opened Zhou Zhiyun's moments, she couldn't quite keep the corners of her mouth down.
"Hmph, so many people asking what happened to him?? What's with all the questions? They'll think I'm the heart-breaker."
Jiang Cheng teased: "Aren't you?"
Zhong Chuxi's face flamed red. She glared, deleted the post, and huffed: "I'm nothing like you!"
Then, as if remembering something, she snapped a photo of the drunk Zhou Zhiyun and posted it straight to the group chat.
"Zhong Chuxi here. Finally grabbed this idiot's phone and deleted that moments post—he was drunk and talking nonsense."
The move surprised everyone, but Jiang Yun quickly backed her up in the chat.
Jiang Yun: "Haha, he sent me weird messages too. I just ignored him."
Seeing that reply, Zhong Chuxi felt a weight lift.
With the crisis handled, her mood steadied a bit.
She turned to Jiang Cheng and asked, "So... what exactly are Zhou Zhiyun and Xu Ya to each other?"
Jiang Cheng swirled his glass, a playful smile on his lips: "Client and service-provider."
"Huh?" Zhong Chuxi's eyes went wide. "Classmates can be clients?"
"Money changed hands—what else would you call it?" he said casually.
Something flickered inside her.
She fell silent for a moment, thoughts churning.
Then her heart lurched and odd ideas flashed through her head.
Almost against her will she asked, "And... if no money's involved?"
"Friends with benefits."
"You!" Her face exploded crimson.
Embarrassment and fury tangled together; she didn't know whether to scream or hide.
She grabbed a straw and hurled it at him.
Jiang Cheng ducked; the straw landed in Zhou Zhiyun's beer mug.
Clearly the answer didn't satisfy her.
Seeing her fume, Jiang Cheng smirked.
"What do you think it means, then?"
Not wanting to play his game, Zhong Chuxi changed tack.
Their relationship was messy enough already—one wrong move and they'd be lucky to stay classmates, let alone anything more intimate.
She gave a non-committal hum and switched topics: "When are you heading back to Shanghai?"
Jiang Cheng shrugged: "In the next day or two. When do you start classes?"
"About the same—I'm leaving soon too."
"Oh..."
Before she could think of anything else, Bai Xiaoxiao appeared.
Bai Xiaoxiao had assumed Jiang Cheng's invitation meant just the two of them.
Seeing Zhou Zhiyun and Zhong Chuxi, she blinked in surprise.
From a quick read of the room, the sober Girl seemed to have nothing special going on with Jiang Cheng.
With Bai Xiaoxiao's arrival, Zhong Chuxi visibly relaxed.
Though she'd spent days mentally preparing, face-to-face chats with Jiang Cheng still felt awkward.
Jiang Cheng smoothly introduced them: "This is Bai Xiaoxiao, a Streamer signed with our company. She was nearby doing a Designated-Driving shift, so I invited her for a drink."
Bai Xiaoxiao smiled politely.
Inside, she was full of question marks.
"Nearby"? It had taken her over an hour by cab—yet he called her a Designated Driver?
She wasn't thrilled with the label, but she knew how to adjust her mindset.
She quietly replayed the generous tips she'd just received.
"These are my high-school classmates. Ignore the drunk one; this is Zhong Chuxi."
The two Girls greeted each other with smiles.
Unlike Bai Xiaoxiao's calm, Zhong Chuxi looked curious.
Mainly because Bai Xiaoxiao seemed even younger than herself.
"If you're a Designated Driver, you must be great at driving?"
Jiang Cheng answered for her: "Driving's her specialty. I was just watching her stream—she was explaining the difference between automatic and manual."