Xia Xi took a leave of absence and did not show up to school for several days. But the issue on the forum had become the biggest gossip as soon as it had been uncovered and everyone in the school knew about it.

These days, Xia Yao faintly felt that the people around her were looking at her strangely, with some sympathy, which couldn't help but baffle her. Did people who studied so well and fought so handsomely need sympathy?

The end of the mid-term exams ushered in a short period of relaxation and students were temporarily released from the shackles of the school, although Xia Yao's sister group had never really taken homework seriously.

Xia Yao used to follow them around to shop, fight, play around or sing karaoke, recklessly having fun like children their age should but because of her recent awakening, she had been buried into a pile of test papers every day, just like an immortal in closed-door cultivation.

But she had promised Sweet Sister she would join them to the karaoke after the exam and after completing a set of exercises in advance, Xia Yao kept her word and when Xu Yinuan got up early in the morning, she was dragged along to dress up.

"Yaoyao, you are in really good shape, with a big chest and long legs! You look good in everything you wear!" Xu Yinuan wiped the drool from her mouth, "Come on, try this one."

Xia Yao glanced at the thin fabric and rolled her eyes: "Sister, you let me show off my waist, shoulder, and legs, do you want me to get a cold?"

Xu Yinuan snorted and threw her the dress casually before continuing to flip through her closet: "A dress that barely covers anything is obviously the best."

After more than an hour of playing Nikki-Dress up Queen, Xia Yao finally walked out wearing a cropped top with a small fluffy cardigan of the same color and ripped jeans. And Xu Yinuan, adhering to her principle that a dress barely covering anything was the best, was wearing a tight-fitting short skirt and a pair of knee-length boots, and after eating some lunch, they went out in the afternoon.

They went to the most luxurious karaoke place in City T and the two of them took the elevator to the top floor. The space was dazzling and the soundproofing was excellent; they heard no one along the way and when they reached the box they had booked in advance, they opened the door.

Xia Yao was aware this was not an ordinary karaoke room and sure enough, the sound of the system came as soon as they went in.

[Please, show up outside the karaoke station before 21:12 and be sure to complete the plot of "The sweetheart of the three big bosses". The host must let her friends get her drunk before that.]

[You're even setting up a time for me to get drunk?] Xia Yao was shocked.

[Yes. The host must get drunk at a specific time to complete the plot. If the plot fails, your self-awareness will immediately be obliterated and your original character's setting will be restored.]

[...]

Let's get drunk then.

She knew the plot. That day when the heroine had been locked in the restrooms, the vicious Xia Yao had caught the attention of her third dog on the spot. While the other two male protagonists had still been racking their brains to get rid of her, Xu Shizhou had already begun to act.

Knowing that she had gone to the karaoke, Xu Shizhou had hired a group of gangsters to follow the drunk vicious female character in the dark, to rob and assault her. Fortunately, thanks to Xia Yao's ridiculous strength, she had managed to drunkenly punch the men and had knocked them out. The gangsters had been so frightened they had called the cops themselves and everybody had gone to the police station together.

The awakened Xia Yao recalled Xu Shizhou's every move that day; he had been so bewildered by her white lotus acting skills and she had even called him brother! She couldn't believe he would hire people to beat her up again.

She pulled on her small cardigan and entered the room. Boys and girls from the school were already there and looked at them.

"Sister Xu, Yaoyao, you're finally there!" Sweet Sister stood up and waved to them with bright eyes. She was wearing a snow-white tutu skirt with her pigtail signature hairstyle.

In addition to their group of sisters, there were also some boys from other classes, all of whom already knew Xia Yao.

"The beauty is late, the wine is the punishment~" A boy held up a glass of wine and leaned forward, his cheeks flushed and obviously already a little drunk.

Sweet Sister threw a pillow at him: "Go away, you're not worthy to have a drink with my woman. Come on, Sister Xu, Yaoyao, let's have a drink together~"

The girls were pulled by Sweet Sister and sat down next to her. Xia Yao had a good tolerance and did not feel anything after drinking some sake but she knew that she was bound to be drunk by the end of the evening.

Xia Yao was surrounded by her friends and Sweet Sister chose a few popular songs before saying: "Sister Xu, what do you want to sing, I will sing with you!"

Sweet Sister had been getting vocal and dancing lessons since she was a child. Her voice and body shape were all first-class and with her slender limbs in her tutu skirt, she looked like a little swan.

"Whatever you want!" Xu Yinuan took the microphone and the two girls started singing together. Xu Yinuan's voice was different from her usual once, sweeter and in turn, and accompanied by Sweet Sister, the two of them caught everyone's attention after only a few sentences, except a boy wearing glasses.

Xia Yao had forgotten his name and he sat next to her: "Xia Yao, do you remember me? I am Lu Jiu from Class B."

Lu Jiu was gentle-looking, with gold glasses, fair skin, and black hair meticulously combed. Xia Yao shook her head, she really didn't remember him and it didn't seem that he had been mentioned in the original novel.

Xu Yinuan had just finished her song and she sat down on her other side. Hearing their conversation, she leaned over and whispered in Xia Yao's ear: "That's the guy who wrote you a love letter when you transferred. You have such a bad memory."

Xia Yao was stunned; there indeed seemed to be such a person. When she had transferred to Williston Noble High School last year, her goal had only been to learn and be the pride of her newly found family; she had refused some boys' advances and it seemed that she had rejected a few of them.

Xia Yao smiled awkwardly yet politely and said: "I don't remember."

Sweet Sister squeezed next to Lu Jiu and joked: "Yaoyao doesn't engage in love, she only studies." Her eyes were bright and she looked at Xia Yao, "But seriously, are you really not dating Ji Huai? You never come to play with us anymore, you always have dinner with him at home."

"Yes, yes, I think that Ji Huai likes you! Ask him out!" Xu Yinuan poked Xia Yao with a smile.

"As you said, I don't engage in love, I only study." Xia Yao seriously replied.

Both of them were a little speechless; it was true that she only liked to learn, and they continued to sing instead.

After two hours of karaoke, everyone was tired. They all sat down lazily and started a game of Truth or Dare.

Xia Yao had good luck at the beginning and quietly ate melons but in the second half, perhaps because she was destined to be drunk, she often found herself subject to various questions.

"Truth or Dare?" Xu Yinuan raised her eyebrows.

"Truth."

Xu Yinuan was still obsessed with the gossip between her and Ji Huai and immediately asked: "Yaoyao, are you secretly dating Ji Huai?"

Xia Yao thought it was a waste of a question and honestly answered: "I am not."

"Hmph, I am a bit dissatisfied with this answer." Xu Yinuan muttered, "Drink."

"..." Fortunately, she needed to get drunk.

After a few rounds, Xia Yao had already drunk a lot. Her cheeks were flushed, her mind dizzy, and her eyes shining. She instinctively looked at the time on her phone and squinted for a while to see the number clearly; it was already 9 pm.

— Damn, she must be drunk.

Ten minutes later, the glass table in the private room was full of bottles of wine. Everyone was flushed and some people had already fallen to the ground, unable to stand up anymore.

Xu Yinuan deserved to be the big sister of the school; she had the best tolerance among them. Except for a slight redness on her cheeks, she wasn't particularly different and her expression was still bright and clear as she handed her black card to the staff to pay the bill.

"Yaoyao, are you drunk?" She patted her cheek lightly.

Xia Yao opened big and confused eyes and faintly spat out a word: "No."

"Ah." Yu Yinuan chuckled and pinched her red face, "If you said so, it means you are."

The drunk girl made a soft noise and looked away.

The sober students sent the tipsy ones away and Xu Yinuan looked at the obedient and a little lost girl next to her. She smiled and said: "I wanted to send you back but~"

"Isn't Ji Huai living with you? Let him take you back, okay?" She asked tentatively.

Xia Yao blinked her eyes twice and instinctively answered: "Okay."

Xu Yinuan grinned and immediately called the boy. After a while, only Xia Yao and the boy who had just arrived were left in front of the Karaoke.

Before she had left, Xu Yinuan had patted Ji Huai on the shoulder and said: "Everything is up to you now, it's up to you if you can live up to our expectations!"

The girl in front of him was wearing a small fluffy cardigan that exposed a beautiful collarbone and slender waist. Her eyes were dim and a little blurry and her face was flushed. The boy's gaze stayed on her for a while, before he took off his coat and wrapped it around her tightly.

Xia Yao was surrounded by a refreshing fragrance and was taken aback for a moment. She looked up at the teenager and asked: "What are you doing?"

Her voice was completely different from usual and she sounded sweet and delicate.

Ji Huai zipped the coat up and lowered his eyes: "I am taking you home."

Even if she was drunk and barely conscious, Xia Yao still thought that the boy in front of her was a good person. She smiled sweetly and shouted: "Then I will sing a song for you!"

"Okay."

—She had such a good voice, she must sing very well!

Xia Yao cleared her throat and started singing: "Jiangnan Tannery closed down, Jiangnan Tannery closed down, the boss ate, drank, gambled and ran away with his sister-in-law~"

***

The boy in black standing under the billboard not far away from the entrance of the building seemed lost in thoughts. In the shadows, he watched the boy and the girl walking away from the karaoke station holding hands. His expression was indifferent but the irritability in his eyes was clearly visible.

"Master Xu?" A cautious voice came from behind him.

—He didn't understand anything. Why was Xu Shizhou here at night yet not picking up girls or fighting?

There was a loud noise and a hole was punched in the huge billboard.

Little theater:

Ji Huai: She's so cute.

Xu Shizhou: I'm jealous.

Xia Yao: Jiangnan Tannery closed down, Jiangnan Tannery closed down, the boss ate, drank, gambled, and ran away with his sister-in-law~