Chapter 50
Lou Mi woke up on the floor of Chi Lin’s bedroom, her head pounding, her stomach churning.
Why am I here?
She stared at the ceiling, trying to remember.
Sleeping on the floor of someone else’s bedroom was bad enough, but her limbs were stiff and aching.
Something had happened last night.
She vaguely remembered playing games with Chi Lin and Lou Lixing, then Lou Lixing leaving, and she and Chi Lin continuing their game…
Then what?
She couldn’t remember.
But that was normal. Her memory was terrible, especially after drinking. Remembering this much was already an achievement.
She struggled to stand, noticing a blanket half on the floor, half on the bed.
She must have rolled off the bed during the night.
Chi Lin was still asleep, undisturbed.
They must have both been drunk, somehow managing to stumble back to Chi Lin’s room with Peng Ziyuan’s help, and Lou Mi, unable to walk any further, had collapsed onto the floor.
Her head and knees throbbed. Did she fall?
Chi Lin, her blanket half-off, slept soundly, her usually impeccable bun slightly disheveled, her collar askew, revealing her delicate collarbone.
She looks so small and fragile, yet so… powerful.
Lou Mi covered her with the blanket, took a painkiller, and went to take a shower.
When she emerged, Lou Lixing and Peng Ziyuan were awake, breakfast ready.
“Mimi, are you feeling better? Here, take some liver supplements,” Peng Ziyuan said, offering her a bottle of pills.
“I’m feeling a bit nauseous. I don’t want to eat right now.”
“You have to eat something, or your stomach will be upset.”
Lou Mi reluctantly sat down and ate a small bowl of porridge.
Lou Lixing also looked pale. Only Peng Ziyuan, who hadn’t drunk much, seemed energetic.
“Where’s Chi Lin?” Lou Mi asked after a few bites.
Peng Ziyuan, noticing Lou Mi’s concern, hesitated, then said, “She just woke up. She’s taking a shower. You can start without her.”
“Let’s wait for her. It’s just the four of us,” Lou Mi said, putting down her spoon and reaching for her phone.
“Mimi, can you come to the kitchen for a moment? I need to talk to you,” Peng Ziyuan said.
“Oh?”
They went to the kitchen, and Peng Ziyuan closed the door.
Lou Mi grabbed a peach from the fruit basket and took a bite.
“What did you want to talk about?”
“Mimi, are you… seeing anyone?” Peng Ziyuan asked, smiling.
Lou Mi, expecting a serious conversation, was surprised by the question. It was the same one her dad had asked.
Weren’t they convinced she and Chi Lin were just “sisters”?
She didn’t answer, her gaze questioning.
Peng Ziyuan, unfazed, continued, “Do you like boys or girls? Most of your friends seem to be girls.”
Lou Mi: “Ask our manager and the club executives why they only recruit female players.”
“So your teammates are just… friends? No romantic interests?”
“What? No! Why would I date my teammates?”
“Then… is there someone else?”
Lou Mi: “…”
Peng Ziyuan’s relentless probing was tiresome.
“Just say what you want to say, Auntie,” Lou Mi said.
“Okay, I will.”
Lou Mi gestured for her to continue.
“Are you sure?”
Lou Mi: “…If you don’t say it, I’m leaving.”
Peng Ziyuan, finally relenting, blurted out, “Be nice to Xiao Lin after you get married!”
Lou Mi: “??”
She was speechless.
“Married? To Chi Lin? Auntie, are you still drunk?”
“I only have one daughter… I know I’ve been neglecting her because of work. And she went through a rebellious phase. But she’s grown up now, so mature and well-behaved. I’m so proud of her.”
“Auntie, I appreciate your concern, but this is…”
“She’s so… perfect now. I’m worried something might happen and she’ll revert back to her old ways.”
“I haven’t done anything to her, Auntie. Listen…”
Peng Ziyuan closed her eyes, tears streaming down her face. “Xiao Lin is a good girl. She deserves the best. I don’t have any specific requirements for her partner, I just want someone who will love and cherish her…”
She continued her rambling monologue, her words a torrent of maternal love and anxiety.
Lou Mi had never met anyone who talked faster than she did. She couldn’t even interrupt.
Peng Ziyuan had apparently been holding back before, always deferring to Lou Mi.
She had gone from recounting her struggles as a single mother to envisioning Lou Mi and Chi Lin’s wedding, their future home, even their children…
Lou Mi, unable to stop her, finally slammed her hand on the counter, the loud bang silencing Peng Ziyuan.
“Can I say something now?”
“Yes,” Peng Ziyuan replied, opening her eyes.
“I’m not marrying Chi Lin! Are you crazy?!”
“Don’t you want to take responsibility?”
Lou Mi wanted to scream. “Responsibility? For what?!”
“You kissed her!”
“She kissed me!”
Peng Ziyuan froze. “Chi Lin kissed you? But I saw… you kissed her last night. So…”
Her eyes widened, her gossip-fueled brain reaching a shocking conclusion.
“So it wasn’t your first kiss? How many times have you kissed?”
Lou Mi’s mind reeled. “What do you mean, ‘how many times’? Just… once? Was there another time?”
“Where was your first kiss?!”
“Wait! This is getting confusing. It wasn’t a real kiss! It was CPR!”
“CPR?! So you… kissed and… breathed into her mouth?!”
“No! It was an accident! I fell into the pond and almost drowned! Chi Lin saved me! That doesn’t count!”
Peng Ziyuan’s face darkened. “But this time counts.”
Lou Mi’s head was spinning. “This time? Which time?”
Lou Lixing, appearing at the doorway, said gravely, “Mimi, Peng Ziyuan and I saw everything.”
Lou Mi: “?”
“You were drunk last night. You kissed Xiao Lin.”
Lou Mi: “??”
What is going on? Is this real life?
Chi Lin, emerging from the bathroom, didn’t go to the dining room.
She needed time to process… something.
She usually only dreamt of the Empress, reliving their shared memories, their conversations, the places they had visited, the mundane details of their lives together.
Her dreams, her thoughts, her entire being, belonged to the Empress.
But last night, someone else had entered her dreams.
She had kissed that person, not just without resistance, but with… pleasure.
And before waking up, she had seen their face.
Lou Mi.
Lou Mi’s dark eyes gazing at her, her hands cupping Chi Lin’s face, their lips meeting.
Even in the dream, she hadn’t resisted.
She woke up to the lingering scent of Lou Mi’s perfume.
Lou Mi had been in her room last night?
They had eaten lamb, drunk wine, played games… then what?
She couldn’t remember.
Being drunk to the point of unconsciousness was a new experience.
She had been known for her high tolerance for alcohol in Dayuan, but the alcohol of this era was much stronger.
Last night’s celebration had lowered her inhibitions.
And the dream…
Why had she dreamt of… intimacy with someone other than the Empress?
She felt a pang of guilt, bowing towards the east, then sitting on the bed, chanting the Heart Sutra.
“…Form is emptiness, emptiness is form…”
She continued chanting until Peng Ziyuan knocked on her door.
She opened her eyes, her mind clear, the lingering remnants of the dream fading.
“Zai Zai, want to go shopping today? We promised to get you a car,” Peng Ziyuan said softly, peering through the slightly open door.
“I’ll be there in a minute,” Chi Lin replied.
“Your Uncle Lou and Sister Mimi are coming too. Is that okay?”
“Of course,” Chi Lin said.
“Good. Come have breakfast first.”
“Okay.”
As Chi Lin changed her clothes, Peng Ziyuan closed the door and turned to Lou Mi and Lou Lixing, who had been anxiously waiting in the hallway, and gave them a thumbs-up, signaling that Chi Lin was in a good mood.
Lou Mi and Lou Lixing breathed a sigh of relief.
“Does she… remember last night?” Lou Mi whispered.
“I can’t tell,” Peng Ziyuan replied.
Lou Mi was facing an existential crisis.
Should she confess?
She had vehemently denied her parents’ accusations of kissing Chi Lin.
But memories, though sometimes forgotten, never truly disappeared.
They could resurface at any moment.
As she had argued with her parents, a sudden, vivid memory had flashed through her mind.
A soft, cool touch, Chi Lin’s eyes more intoxicating than any alcohol…
She had kissed Chi Lin, more than once.
She froze, stunned by the realization.
Lou Lixing and Peng Ziyuan, seeing her expression, knew she remembered.
Lou Mi, her back to them, her hands on the wall, her head lowered, said, “You were both drunk. You don’t remember.”
Lou Lixing, after a moment of awkward silence, asked cautiously, “So… Mimi, what exactly happened between you and Xiao Lin…?”
Lou Mi, turning around, her face grim, said, “This isn’t the time to discuss this. Auntie, can you… ask Chi Lin if she remembers anything?”
“Me?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll… explain everything later. Just… find out what she remembers so I can… plan my next move.”
Chi Lin, based on her initial assessment, didn’t seem to remember.
When she emerged from her room, they all greeted her cheerfully, inviting her to join them for breakfast.
Chi Lin sat down, sensing their unusual attentiveness. “What’s going on? You’re all acting strange.”
“We’re not!” they said in unison.
Chi Lin: “…”
“Just eat,” Lou Mi said. “We’re going car shopping after breakfast.”
Peng Ziyuan and Lou Lixing urged them to eat quickly. Chi Lin whispered to Lou Mi, “Did something happen?”
Lou Mi, avoiding eye contact, said, “Nope!”
Chi Lin, suspicious, sat up straight and ate her porridge quietly.
Lou Lixing and Peng Ziyuan, having promised to buy cars for each other’s daughters, were finally fulfilling their promise.
Lou Mi’s car had already been pre-ordered. They just had to finalize the purchase.
But Chi Lin, unfamiliar with cars, needed to browse and test-drive a few before making a decision.
Chi Lin didn’t actually want a car. She was still uncomfortable with modern technology, especially self-driving cars, despite having used them frequently.
She wasn’t sure she could handle driving one herself.
“It’s no different from taking a taxi,” Lou Mi reassured her, as they drove to the car dealership in Lou Lixing’s car, Chi Lin and Lou Mi in the back.
“Just set the navigation, and the car will take you wherever you want. I’ll program your home and school addresses. Just press a button, and you’re good to go.”
“But what if the car breaks down? Or I need insurance? I don’t know anything about cars,” Chi Lin said.
“I’ll take care of it,” Lou Mi said. “Just message or call me if you have any problems. I’m always available.”
Chi Lin, surprised by her openly affectionate words in front of her parents, glanced at them.
Lou Lixing and Peng Ziyuan were pretending to be busy with their phones, their ears clearly perked up.
They quickly finalized the purchase of Lou Mi’s car, the system scanning her face and registering the vehicle to her. They continued browsing.
Chi Lin told Lou Mi to choose a car for her, anything that could get her from point A to point B.
Lou Mi chose a smaller, cuter version of her own car, in pink.
Chi Lin: “…Why pink?”
“Isn’t it cute? It suits you.”
“I think black would be better.”
Lou Mi, instead of arguing, considered this for a moment.
“You’re right. Black would suit you too. Actually, any color would suit you.”
Chi Lin: “…Are you trying to be… creepy?”
Lou Mi: “You’re always right.”
Chi Lin: “??”
After finalizing the car purchase and wandering around the mall, Lou Mi, sensing her presence was hindering Chi Lin’s enjoyment, said to her parents, “Didn’t you say you had some unfinished work? You’ve already given her your gifts. Go finish your work. It’s important.”
They immediately took the hint and disappeared.
Chi Lin, seeing how easily they were manipulated by Lou Mi, smiled to herself.
She pointed at an ice cream shop in the distance.
“I want ice cream,” she said.
“That one?” Lou Mi asked.
“Yes. Can you buy it for me?”
It was a popular shop selling cat paw-shaped ice cream, the servers dressed in cute maid outfits with cat ears.
For some reason, the shop required customers to pose with their fists under their chins, like a cat, before receiving their ice cream.
Most of the customers were mothers with young children, the children happily posing for pictures.
Lou Mi: “…You want me to do that?”
Chi Lin nodded firmly.
Even with a mask and sunglasses, she would die of embarrassment!
But for Chi Lin…
Lou Mi, after a brief hesitation, agreed, performing the ridiculous pose and returning with the ice cream.
“Eat it. Don’t waste it,” she said seriously. “This ice cream represents my… dignity.”
“I don’t really like sweets,” Chi Lin said.
Lou Mi: “…”
If this were the old Chi Lin, Lou Mi would have exploded.
But the new Chi Lin… she couldn’t be angry at her.
Lou Mi, pulling down her mask, said, “I’ll eat it then. I like sweets.”
Chi Lin, after this series of tests, was certain Lou Mi had done something… wrong.
“Tell me,” she said.
Lou Mi: “?”
“About last night… it’s not a big deal. You don’t have to worry about it.”
Lou Mi, about to take a bite of the ice cream, froze.
So Chi Lin did remember?
“Chi Lin…”
“Just tell me the truth,” Chi Lin said.
Her tone was so certain, as if she knew exactly what had happened.
She didn’t. But Lou Mi’s behavior was a clear sign of guilt, just like the Empress’s whenever she had done something wrong.
Chi Lin, experienced in dealing with the Empress’s antics, was more than a match for the romantically inexperienced Lou Mi.
Lou Mi, staring at the ice cream, hesitated, then said, “What do you want me to say? I’m not good at this…”
“Just tell me what you’re thinking.”
“I’m thinking…” Lou Mi, holding the ice cream, finally looked at Chi Lin, “I was drunk. I don’t remember much. It was the alcohol… but I’m not making excuses. If you… Chi Lin, are you okay?”
Chi Lin’s face had turned pale, her body stiff.
Lou Mi, seeing her reaction, realized she had been tricked.
“You little brat! You were setting me up!”
Chi Lin, clinging to a sliver of hope, asked, “You mean… that kind of kiss?”
Lou Mi: “…Yes, that kind of kiss.”
Haven’t we had this conversation before?
Chi Lin, her mind reeling, bowed slightly.
“Excuse me,” she said, and walked away.
Lou Mi: “…”
Back home, Chi Lin locked herself in her room and copied the Heart Sutra a hundred times.