CHAPTER 52: EXTRA 2
Tang Rou was questioning her choices in life that had led her into this mess, but who could blame her? This was something out of her expectation. She had agreed on joining her senior and Ye Xiu's twin brother to Happy Internet Café for the very reason of celebrating the Spring Festival with Chen Guo for even once. She felt guilty for the past years that she had not stayed with Chen Guo, knowing that the woman had no one to be with.
It was fine. Everything was perfect. She got to be with Chen Guo plus three more crazy people. She was able to witness how the immaculate prince acted like an immature child in the presence of his lazy-needs-a-beating twin brother. She was able to eat dog food in a quite unwilling yet amusing ways. She became part of the founding members of Team Happy. Most of all, she experienced an epic New Year's eve celebration, even though it was actually advanced.
As she had said earlier, everything was fine. Until she retired for the night, went to her familiar comforting bed, closed her eyes, and was rudely awakened by some evil spirits.
Tang Rou opened her heavy eyelids with so much difficulty; though, they were still repeatedly drooping even with her effort. She thought she was hallucinating, probably possible given that she was after all very very drunk. On her blurry vision was a pair of dandelion crystals akin to a twin of precious bright sun in a cold winter morning. Well, she might be really drunk to be this poetic.
Tang Rou harshly shook her head, hoping that her crazy hallucination will be gone with a poof. She regretted it; it just made her even dizzier. And no, the vision was still there. She tried to refocus her eyes and realized that it was not some dandelion crystals or twin suns, but a pair of golden eyes, staring at her like a puppy seeking for attention and warmth.
"Jiejie, Jiejie, you look so beautiful," the puppy could actually talk, and was it just her or the puppy's deep baritone voice was really pleasing to the ear, especially for a musician like her? Stop your drunken thoughts Tang Rou; this was so far from the normal you!
"Why you?" she was stumped for words when the puppy (no, he's a person), the very heavy person cut the remaining distance between them, launching himself towards her with a bear hug. This made her face to heated up despite it already being red because of the effect of alcohol.
The very awkward Tang Rou tried to pry him away from her, but to no avail, her efforts could not win against a matured man. Supporting her forehead to hopefully ease the dizziness, she said between her gritted teeth, "You! Let go!"
Wow! She could really speak straight for a drunk person, though quite slowly.
Puppy, "No Jiejie! Jiejie must not dismiss Qiuqiu; I will cry!"
"Q-qiuqiu?" registering the name that the man had said, Tang Rou stilled. She used all her energy to scan the face of the man. Those golden phoenix eyes, that high nose, that pinkish heart shaped thin lips, that manly jawline...right, this strange person is Ye Qiu. Ye Xiu had never came out as one of the choices; the one in front of her was too well-groomed to be him.
Tang Rou tried to calm herself. She could still think, not so straight but her brain could still work. Ye Qiu like Ye Xiu has a weak alcohol tolerance; he must be drunk. If he didn't know what he was doing, she had to manage him. Tang Rou had to throw the man outside of her room. But how? She was also drunk, was weakened, and her vision was definitely swirling. She really couldn't push Ye Qiu away. If force couldn't be used, then words might work. Tang Rou just need to talk things out with Ye Qiu, "W-why are you here?"
Qiuqiu, "Jiejie, Xiuxiu and A'Chun were sleeping in the other room."
"You...you said...urgh! My head," she hissed even before she could finish her sentence. "You will sleep on the couch..."
"Another Jiejie was sleeping there," Qiuqiu honestly told her.
So Guoguo was sleeping on the couch? This made sense; Ye Qiu earlier looked like he was grossed out with his brother's living space. The man might have some issues with dirt.
"Ye Xiu's room?" she tried in case.
"It's dirty! I will get rashes from the dust," he pouted. The back of Tang Rou's mind told her that it was too cute, that even if the puppy requested something unreasonable, she would willingly agree.
"Beautiful Jiejie, let me sleep with you," he unfairly requested.
"I...let go of me first." What the h*ll? How long did he want to remain hugging her?"
Little Qiuqiu reluctantly released her beautiful Jiejie and watched her stood up, clumsily swaying like some thin paper.
Tang Rou shakily fumbled over the cabinet, looking for extra comforters to make some temporary bed. It's winter and Ye Qiu might catch a cold, but whatever.
Throwing everything into a mess, she chanced to see what she was looking for. She would just arrange it tomorrow. She's too dizzy to act like the oh so graceful Tang Rou.
"Here, sleep on the floor," said Tang Rou to the poor puppy after arranging a makeshift bed.
"But Jiejie, it's cold!"
Tang Rou glared at the man who was so into acting like a puppy, "You don't have a say here."
His invisible puppy ears drooped down, "Jiejie..."
Repeatedly hearing this word, Tang Rou's fuse finally exploded, "Urgh! Why are you calling me Jiejie? I'm younger than you!"
Little Qiuqiu, "No!"
Tang Rou took a deep breath and slowly released it before calmly asking, "Then, how old are you?"
"Qiuqiu is five," he adorably answered while raising his right hand to emphasize it. Did she just say adorable? Tang Rou, you crazy drunkard!
Tang Rou coaxed, "Alright, alright, Qiuqiu is five, a well behaved child. You go sleep on the floor."
Little Qiuqiu pouted but surprisingly went to the crudely piled comforters, tucking himself.
Tang Rou heaved a sigh of relief that she didn't know she was holding all this time, lay on the bed, tucked herself inside the warm blanket, and peacefully closed her eyes.
In the middle of her sleep, Tang Rou once again opened her eyes, meeting with the same golden eyes. What a deja vu! This time she was really really too sleepy to even kick him away. Letting her eyelids to droop down slowly, she still heard him say, "Jiejie, you are so beautiful, when I grow up, would you marry me?" Then, she felt a warm and soft thing grazing her lips.
[HIATUS-WILL RESUME UPDATING BY APRIL]
I will be in a four-month-hiatus. I was supposed to take my board exam last year, but due to covid, it was cancelled. So here I am, going to review again. I'll be back. I promise!
I know I had been busy with my mdzs fic lately but it doesn't mean that I abandoned this fic. When I comeback I'll make sure to continue writing the extras. I will also publish a separate fic for qiu/rou where I will write many deleted scenes that I did not publish in this fic but was originally part of my draft.