Jiang Mo jumped up from the couch and quickly tidied up the mess she'd made of the sofa and coffee table, silently grumbling at her dad for not giving her a heads-up about bringing someone home.
"Come on, Gu Ye, have a seat. There's cola in the fridge," Li Daming gestured for him to sit down while pulling out cans of cola and various other drinks from the refrigerator. "The kids bought all these. You young folks love this stuff—take whatever you want."
"Thanks, then I won’t stand on ceremony," Gu Ye washed his hands in the bathroom, his gaze sweeping over Jiang Mo in the living room twice. "Want to join us for some late-night snacks?"
Jiang Mo sauntered over to the dining table, glanced at the food, pursed her lips, and then sat down. "Fine, I’ll keep you company for a bit."
Li Daming finally settled down after bustling around. "Sorry for the humble spread—just some casual home cooking."
"Uncle Li, this is quite a feast," Gu Ye said without hesitation, digging in happily.
Li Daming felt like having a drink but held back, remembering he’d need to drive Gu Ye home later.
Noticing Li Daming’s aborted reach for the beer, Gu Ye guessed he might be holding back because of him. So he took the initiative and grabbed the beer himself. "Uncle Li, let’s have a couple of drinks tonight."
Li Daming waved him off. "Nah, I shouldn’t. I’ve got to drive you back after this."
"Don’t worry about it. I’ll just take a cab," Gu Ye finally understood the hesitation.
Hearing this, Li Daming wavered. "Well… maybe just a little?"
Though phrased as a question, the beer was already cracked open.
"Gu Ye, can you even handle alcohol?" Jiang Mo eyed him skeptically. "Don’t push yourself if you can’t."
A man could never admit to weakness.
Especially in this situation. Gu Ye grinned nonchalantly. "I’ve had my share of drinks. No big deal."
Delighted to have a drinking companion, Li Daming chimed in, "We’re not going overboard. It’s fine."
Jiang Mo held up two fingers in a warning gesture. "We’ll see about that. But don’t worry—I’ll be keeping an eye on both of you."
Ignoring his daughter’s glare, Li Daming raised his glass and clinked it against Gu Ye’s. "Cheers!"
Gu Ye obliged and lifted his own glass.
Jiang Mo took a sip of cola. "Dad, I told you not to go fishing today. Came back empty-handed, didn’t you?"
Why bring up such an awkward topic now? Li Daming shot a side-eye at Gu Ye—clearly, he’d spilled the beans.
"Just bad luck today. The spot wasn’t great, and the bait we bought last minute was low quality."
Sure, typical excuses from someone who struck out.
Gu Ye nodded in agreement. "Yeah, the gear and skills were solid, though."
Jiang Mo didn’t call them out but clearly wasn’t buying it.
Gu Ye flashed her a smile—gotta save face for the elder, right?
Since she’d already eaten dinner, Jiang Mo just nibbled a bit before leaving the table to use the bathroom. She then went to her room to organize some clothes. When she returned to the dining area, she was met with the sight of Gu Ye’s flushed cheeks.
His fair skin made the redness even more obvious. A closer look revealed an unopened bottle of Maotai on the table that hadn’t been there before.
"Dad, you gave him baijiu?"
"I just brought out my good stuff. We each only had a small glass."
Jiang Mo pointed at Gu Ye. "Does that look like ‘just one glass’ to you?"
"It was just one!" Li Daming insisted. He wouldn’t dare overdo it.
But when he turned to look, he realized Gu Ye’s face had turned redder than a monkey’s backside.
"Gu Ye, are you okay?" Jiang Mo leaned in to ask.
Gu Ye felt like his face was on fire—so, so hot. His heartbeat raced as Jiang Mo’s face loomed closer. He grinned goofily. "I’m… I’m fine. You’re… really pretty."
Fine his foot!
He was clearly drunk, spouting nonsense already.
"You’re wasted," Jiang Mo sighed, shooting Li Daming a look.
Li Daming felt wronged. "I swear I didn’t force him! He poured it himself and ended up like this."
Now they had a problem. Jiang Mo scratched her head, unsure how to send a drunk Gu Ye back to his family.
"How about letting him stay here tonight? Li Zheng’s not home anyway."
"Good idea," Li Daming agreed. Sending a drunk Gu Ye back would raise eyebrows—especially if they found out he was the one who got him drunk.
Wang Xia would chew him out for sure.
Gu Ye was a bit too tall and sturdy for Jiang Mo to handle alone, so father and daughter worked together to haul him into the bedroom.
"Dad, stop drinking and go wash up. Get some rest."
Li Daming rubbed his nose. "Got it."
Jiang Mo looked at Gu Ye sprawled on the bed, turned on the AC, and decided against changing his clothes. She just took off his shoes and threw a thin blanket over him.
"Jiang Xiao Mo…" Gu Ye mumbled from the bed, his voice slurred, like he was floating in space.
"Right here. What do you need?" Jiang Mo bent down, leaning closer. "Water or something else?"
Gu Ye shook his head. "No… no water," then stared blankly at her.
Jiang Mo adjusted the blanket over him. "Alright, then sleep." She turned to leave.
But then a warm hand grabbed hers, fingers fidgeting against her palm.
A tingling sensation spread through her.
She turned back, only to find Gu Ye had already closed his eyes.
Ignoring the strange flutter in her chest, she pulled her hand free and shut the door behind her.
Li Daming saw his daughter emerge. "He asleep?"
"Yeah, out cold." Jiang Mo side-eyed her dad. "I’m heading to bed too."
Jiang Mo slept fitfully and woke up late, thanks to the holiday.
She tiptoed to her brother’s room to check—Gu Ye was still asleep.
Li Daming, an early riser, had already bought breakfast.
After eating, Jiang Mo started meticulously applying makeup. She’d recently splurged on cosmetics and learned techniques online, but work usually left her too lazy to bother.
Holidays were the perfect time to experiment.
Li Daming watched his daughter primp in front of the mirror. "Got plans today?"
Jiang Mo struggled with her eyelashes before giving up. "Yeah, meeting up with my senior to catch a concert."
He’d treated her to meals plenty of times—friendship should go both ways.
When she spotted tickets for the concert, she figured it’d be a nice way to return the favor.
"Oho, a concert? Fancy," Li Daming teased.
Meanwhile, Gu Ye woke up in the unfamiliar room, disoriented for a moment before recognizing Li Zheng’s belongings. He was in Li Zheng’s room.
Still in yesterday’s stale clothes.
Groggy, he stumbled out.
Li Daming greeted him. "You’re up, Gu Ye. Wash up and grab some breakfast."
