Going home for Chinese New Year, I squeezed onto a bus with three energetic young women.

When Bai Li pushed open the door of Yu Man Lou, the interior had already changed.

Tao Hua slumped on the sofa, her face as red as a boiled shrimp, half-closing her eyes and grinning foolishly.

Wen Yiming's gold-rimmed glasses were askew on his nose, one hand was on Tao Hua's shoulder, and he was muttering something unintelligible.

Xie Lingmo was curled up in her seat, her two white-stockinged legs stretched out on the sofa, her short pink hair disheveled, and she looked dizzy, like a cat that had drunk too much.

The only sober one, Wang Yiqing, sat next to Xie Lingmo, looking at the three drunkards with a helpless expression.

Bai Li pulled out a chair and sat down.

"I ordered a hangover soup, it will be served in a bit, we'll leave after we finish it."

Wang Yiqing had just opened his mouth to say "okay".

Xie Lingmo tilted her head and leaned against Bai Li in a daze.

Her hand groped for Bai Li's sleeve, her voice as soft as melted cotton candy.

"good friend……"

Xie Lingmo squinted, pouted, and rubbed her head against Bai Li's shoulder.

"I want more kisses..."

A line appeared on Bai Li's forehead.

Tao Hua raised her head, her eyes blurry with drunkenness, her tongue tied in knots, but her eloquence remained undiminished.

"Wh...what good friend?"

Wen Yiming joined in the commotion, pushing up his crooked glasses and slurring his words to correct him.

"That's...that's your husband!"

Xie Lingmo flinched at the title, but her body, under the influence of alcohol, was far more honest than her mind.

She buried her face in Bai Li's arms and murmured an "Mmm".

Bai Li glanced at Wang Yiqing.

Wang Yiqing shrugged, indicating that it had nothing to do with her.

Just then, there was a knock on the door of the private room.

The waiter brought in a bowl of hangover soup.

Several bowls of steaming soup were placed on the table. As she bent down, her gaze swept over Bai Li.

To be precise, it was the two lipstick marks on Bai Li's lips and Xie Lingmo, who was nestled in his arms.

The waiter straightened up and his lips moved slightly.

The sound was neither too loud nor too soft.

"Scumbag."

Bai Li's ears twitched.

He did hear it.

Tao Hua and Wen Yiming were so drunk that they were a beat slow to react.

After the waiter left, Tao Hua shook her head and came closer.

"Brother..." Tao Hua patted Bai Li on the shoulder, squinting at him, "Did you offend the waiter?"

Wen Yiming also tilted his head, his drunkenness tinged with confusion:

"Why do I feel like... the way she looks at you is like you owe her money?"

"No, that's not true." Bai Li picked up a bowl of hangover soup and handed it to Xie Lingmo: "Drink it quickly."

Xie Lingmo held the bowl, blew on it twice, and sipped it slowly.

After drinking the hot soup, her eyes cleared up a little, but the blush on her face wouldn't fade.

Bai Li urged, "You guys drink too. I'll take Ling Mo away after we're done."

"Wait a minute!"

Tao Hua suddenly sat up from the sofa, her drunkenness barely concealing the smug, smug grin on her face.

"Brother, don't rush off."

Tao Hua took out her phone from her pocket, swiped the screen twice, and then held the phone up to Bai Li's face.

"When you went out just now, I booked a hotel for you and Lingmo."

Bai Li was stunned.

Tao Hua squinted and winked, lowering her voice, her tone full of the sleazy air of someone who'd been there all along.

"A waterbed. And some fun props."

He reached out and patted Bai Li on the shoulder: "You don't even need to do anything."

When she said "you don't need to do anything," Tao Hua emphasized the words and gave a knowing look.

Xie Lingmo's hand trembled as she held the hangover soup, and the hot soup almost spilled.

Bai Li turned to look at her.

Xie Lingmo placed the bowl on the table, twisted her hands together, and lowered her head so low it almost touched the tabletop.

Her ears were red from the base to the tip, and even her neck was pink.

Her lips moved slightly, but her voice was very soft:

"Quickly... send me the room number."

Bai Li: "?"

The next private room.

The sound of two young women scratching at the wall could be heard clearly.

The screeching sound of fingernails scraping against the wall sounded like two trapped beasts going mad in a cage.

Bai Li's mind went blank for a moment.

Today... could it be that this fake relationship is going to become real?

Tao Hua thought the two of them were just shy.

He slapped his thigh and patted his chest, guaranteeing:

"Don't worry, this is a hotel owned by my brother, it's absolutely clean."

Tao Hua raised three fingers, making a solemn vow:

"If there were security cameras, you could just call the police station and shoot me!"

After saying that, he looked down and tapped his phone a couple of times, sending the hotel room number to Bai Li on WeChat.

Tao Hua put her phone back in her pocket, put her hands behind her head, and leaned back on the sofa.

His face was full of anticipation for praise.

Three seconds passed.

Five seconds passed.

Bai Li didn't say a word.

Tao Hua's expression changed from smug to aggrieved.

"Huh?"

Tao Hua tilted her head and pointed to her nose:

Why isn't Brother Bai Li praising me?