“So you specifically wasted a day off just to find me and ask how to win over my little brother?”

At seven in the evening, Bai Liu looked at the dejected young girl across the hot pot table, and even without the girl saying anything, she could guess what had happened during the day.

She helplessly poured a cup of alcohol for her: “Yang Zi told me he went home with you today… No matter what, because of all the hard work I did before, at least your parents should have a decent impression of him.”

“Your work was in the wrong direction.”

Han Sha said coolly: “The one who really needs your work is the boss’s blockhead… You need to drill it open with an electric drill, so he won’t promise salary and benefits when someone else’s parents are enthusiastically introducing their daughter.”

“How could I have known that this kid’s entrepreneurship would make him forget how to date.”

Bai Liu clutched her head and downed the beer in her glass: “He clearly had endless girlfriends in college, but after becoming a corporate slave, his nightlife suddenly became whipping cream and sneaking chocolate… I was wondering about that.”

“Wait… the boss used to date so many girlfriends?”

Not only did Song Nanshi look up with a hurt expression, even Lei Hong was somewhat surprised: “He doesn’t look like someone who’s that popular.”

Bai Liu sighed and consolingly put some duck blood in Song Nanshi’s bowl: “Don’t overthink it, Xiao Song. Yang Zi isn’t that kind of person. You’ve all seen his personality—he’s already considered tough now. Back in school he hadn’t experienced society’s harsh lessons, was afraid of hurting girls’ feelings, and didn’t know how to reject people at all. Those five or six girlfriends all pursued him, then later felt he had nothing but desserts and cakes in his head, no masculinity, and dumped him… He spent many nights crying to me and binge-eating cream cakes because of this.”

Song Nanshi: “…”

“Thinking of it as the boss’s romantic history, it’s not strange.”

Han Sha rolled his eyes, adhering to the principle that not spending Bai Liu’s money was a loss, and added more meatballs to the pot: “This shows Xiao Song’s medicine wasn’t strong enough. Dealing with the boss through roundabout methods won’t work… How about just getting him drunk.”

“Regardless of gender, forced behavior against someone’s will after drinking is illegal.”

Lei Hong crossed her arms and said coolly: “Besides, Xiao Song’s main problem now is that she doesn’t know how the boss sees her… Before this can be verified, doing anything is premature.”

Suddenly, the table fell quiet, with only the sound of the butter pot bubbling.

Although the person holding them back wasn’t there today, clearly his presence at this table hadn’t diminished in the slightest.

After a while, Bai Liu said helplessly: “Xiao Song, what do you think? Although I’m his biological sister, I can’t arrange a marriage for him. I can only give you advice. The good news is my brother isn’t made of wood, but the bad news is he’s never pursued anyone, so this isn’t a problem that enlightenment can solve. If you want to pursue him, you’d better find an area you’re good at, then imagine he’s the beautiful girl you need to win over. When the atmosphere is right, just tell him directly.”

After she finished, three pairs of eyes all turned to Song Nanshi in unison.

Silent all evening, if not for Song Nanshi’s overly pained expression, people might almost forget she was the main character of this dinner gathering.

They waited for a while, until the meatballs all floated up, before Song Nanshi finally slowly raised her head.

“Sister Bai.”

Song Nanshi’s expression was resolute: “Could you… have them bring me two bottles of baijiu… I’m afraid one won’t be enough.”

Two hours later, when Bai Yang returned from the supermarket, the lights at No. 29 were still off.

“Come on, even Xiao Song isn’t back… How are we going to stock up tonight.”

Bai Yang struggled to fish out his keys, but before he could free his hands, suddenly, through the glass door, a crisp sound of a chair falling came from the dark first-floor hall of No. 29, nearly scaring Bai Yang into dropping his milk tea.

…Again?

Given No. 29’s track record, Bai Yang’s PTSD couldn’t help but kick in.

He tremblingly tried to call Song Nanshi, but just then, from the corner of his eye, Bai Yang glimpsed a pale face slowly emerging from the dark interior of No. 29…

“Boss?”

A melodious tune accompanied the girl’s confused voice.

“…Xiao Song?”

Bai Yang recognized it as “Lemon,” Song Nanshi’s ringtone, and let out a trembling breath he’d been holding: “Xiao Song… when you came back, why didn’t you even turn on a light? We don’t need to save money to that extent.”

“Is it the boss? Or a new corpse?”

Song Nanshi pushed the door three times before getting it open, then she hiccupped and swayed over—based on past experience dealing with Bai Liu, Bai Yang figured she’d drunk at least a jin.

“Xiao Song, didn’t you stay home for dinner? Are Uncle and Auntie’s family customs so bold as to let you drink this much?”

Recalling the elderly couple he’d met during the day, who clearly weren’t drinkers, Bai Yang was puzzled when Song Nanshi suddenly cupped his chin with both hands, scanning his face with unfocused eyes, and said drunkenly: “Not bad… no corpse spots, probably won’t need much covering to look very handsome.”

“…Xiao Song, I’m saying, can we think of something good next time…”

Bai Yang sighed. He’d heard Bai Liu say before that people with real alcohol tolerance get paler the more they drink, and Song Nanshi now looked practically colorless—she might have drunk more than a jin.

“Mm… you look like the boss, nose, eyes, bones all similar.”

Song Nanshi still wouldn’t let him go, her hands even starting to feel down from his neck, grinning drunkenly: “Boss… I can’t touch him when he’s alive and well, so I’ll just touch you instead. Don’t worry, I won’t take advantage for nothing. I’ll definitely make you up prettier later.”

Song Nanshi’s efficiency while drunk was as high as usual. The next second, Bai Yang felt something cold at his collarbone. He shivered and quickly grabbed Song Nanshi’s hand: “Xiao Song, you’ve had too much to drink. Let me take you back?”

Saying this, Bai Yang pulled her toward the interior, and as soon as he moved, Song Nanshi’s expression became even more confused: “You… how can you still move? Did you thaw out?”

Compared to Bai Liu, drunk Song Nanshi wasn’t very aggressive, but her clinginess was obviously extraordinary.

Bai Yang barely managed to drag her inside the doorway and was about to go back for the groceries when the girl wrapped around his arm like an octopus.

“You can move… could you be the living boss?”

The room had no lights on. Song Nanshi’s beautiful eyes reflected the streetlights from outside No. 29, flickering with a layer of hazy, broken light.

She hiccupped again and suddenly leaned close to Bai Yang: “Boss, if you’re a living person, then… let me test your breathing.”

Although phrased as a request, Song Nanshi didn’t wait even a second. Before Bai Yang could even say “no,” her cold fingers had already poked straight at his philtrum.

“Xiao Song… you didn’t drink this much at home, did you? Won’t your parents really think you learned bad habits at my place?”

Seeing he couldn’t fight back, Bai Yang could only choose to lie flat with worry. He let the girl touch him for a while, until finally, her slender white fingers stopped at his lips.

Song Nanshi gently caressed the corners of his mouth, giggling: “It really is the boss… This cat-like mouth looks good when smiling. Boss, if I did your makeup, I’d paint you this smile, embed it in my DNA.”

“…Xiao Song, don’t put weird things in your DNA.”

“Oh right, boss, wait… I have something for you.”

As if confirming the identity of this “living corpse” before her, Song Nanshi suddenly swayed and let go of him. She walked into the dark kitchen, then brought out something.

It was a crooked bean paste red rose piped on a piping nail, looking quite wild. You could tell that when piping the flower, the decorator had been drunk to the point of zero IQ.

“Boss, for you.”

Song Nanshi shoved the rose into Bai Yang’s hands without question—even though she was too drunk to tell north from south, dimly, that romantic notion still lingered in Song Nanshi’s head.

“Boss, I… I just have something I want to ask you.”

After giving the flower, Song Nanshi looked up at him. She vaguely remembered what Bai Liu had said… she needed to find an area she was good at and treat the boss as the girl she needed to pursue.

Good at, romantic, good atmosphere, suitable for pursuing someone.

This combination left only one result.

“Xiao Song, what do you want to say?”

Perhaps due to the alcohol, Bai Yang’s voice in the darkness seemed to have become gentler, which was like covering Song Nanshi’s brain with another layer of soft gauze. Her tongue, which she’d finally managed to straighten, became a soft mess again.

“Beautiful… beauty.”

Song Nanshi took a deep breath and slammed her palm on the table with a “smack,” trapping Bai Yang in a small corner.

“Will you come with me… come with me to visit my grandparents’ grave!”