Chapter 22: Henceforth, Only Bunnies by My Side
Huh?
Su Yao stared blankly at the ceiling, then jolted upright, gasping lightly. Panicked, she glanced around and realized she was lying on the sofa.
The door was closed, the house wasn’t a mess, and her clothes were all intact, still neatly worn.
Brushing aside the hair stuck to her face, Su Yao felt uncomfortable—her body sticky, like she’d sweated profusely and let it dry, leaving her clothes clinging unpleasantly. She grabbed a tissue from the coffee table to blow her nose, but she used too much force, and a sharp pain shot through her temple. She quickly pressed and rubbed the spot.
“Hiss…”
Wincing and sucking in a breath, Su Yao kept massaging the left side of her head.
Her brain felt rusted, her thoughts sluggish.
The discomfort made her mutter to herself, “What’s wrong with me?”
She was deeply confused. Her memories were jumbled, fragmented, some moments reduced to fleeting images, others completely blank.
Closing her eyes, she tried to piece together a vague timeline.
She remembered accepting Yun Qing’s invitation yesterday, going to the KTV, seeing Wang Jing, Hua Mingye, and the others, and then being taken away by Mu-xuejie…
And then?
Her head felt leaden, faintly aching. Her whole body was sore, and she was slightly hungry.
Wanting to check the time, she realized her phone wasn’t on her. Standing up from the sofa, her foot knocked something, making a clattering sound. Looking down, she saw an empty can rolling on the floor.
Picking it up, she noticed it was an empty alcoholic beverage can. Turning it, she saw the 8% label.
Su Yao thought, *Is 8% considered high?*
Her phone was tucked in the corner of the sofa. She grabbed it and sat back down. Having just woken up, she felt awful all over and had no desire to move, but her stomach was growling fiercely.
Rubbing her sore eyes, she pressed the phone’s power button.
1:15 p.m.
Su Yao’s eyes widened, and she leaned closer to confirm the “p.m.” It was indeed afternoon, no matter how she looked at it.
She drank some water and rummaged through a corner to find a chocolate bar. Though she ate it, it would take time to convert into energy. And while chocolate was high in calories, it did little to fill her stomach.
Su Yao chugged water to ease the hunger. There were instant noodles at home, but she lacked the energy to even tear open the packet. Opening the chocolate wrapper had already drained her last reserves.
Lying back on the sofa, she closed her eyes. As the chocolate’s sugar kicked in, her body regained some strength, and her brain, fueled by glucose, finally started working again.
Su Yao was *smart* again!
In her recollection, she and Mu Nanqiu had carried the passed-out Wang Jing to the car. Mu Nanqiu insisted on driving her home. Su Yao didn’t want to trouble her and initially refused, but Mu Nanqiu was stubborn, and in the end, Su Yao gave in. Then…
*Then I sang “Two Tigers,” and Mu Nanqiu freaking recorded it?!*
Su Yao shot upright, but the thought of her drunken antics being caught on camera hit her like a bullet to the heart. Her body went limp, and she collapsed back onto the sofa.
She remembered now—Mu Nanqiu had told her to look at the phone camera while singing. Su Yao had grinned like an idiot, making cat-paw gestures as she sang and swayed.
Ugh! That wasn’t singing—it was straight-up acting cute!
She wanted to writhe in embarrassment but lacked the energy, so she just zoned out, pretending to be dead, muttering, “I wanna die, I *really* wanna die~”
In truth, from the moment she downed that first drink, she hadn’t been herself. The alcohol’s effects grew stronger, and Su Yao became a different person, doing things she’d never normally do.
She recalled that after Mu Nanqiu dropped her off at her apartment complex, Su Yao had bolted out of the car, only to double back to a convenience store and buy a can of alcoholic beverage.
“How could I think I wasn’t drunk?”
Su Yao barely understood herself anymore. Feeling a bit recovered, she mustered the energy to cook and eat some instant noodles. After resting for a few minutes, unable to stand the sticky feeling on her skin, she took a shower.
After changing, Su Yao sat in front of the mirror, drying her hair with a blow dryer.
Su Yao loved cleanliness. She tidied her home regularly—dusting, airing it out, mopping, never missing a task. Since becoming her current self, she’d grown even more fastidious, showering for over half an hour daily.
Before, she’d showered almost every day, but occasionally she’d get lazy. If she hadn’t sweated, she’d just wipe her face, wash her feet, and crawl into bed, done in ten minutes.
After drying her hair, her arms felt too tired to lift. Thankfully, the warmth of her blow-dried hair cascading over her shoulders offset the fatigue.
Looking at the girl in the mirror, Su Yao thought she still resembled her old self, though the long, dark hair gave her a softer, more ethereal charm.
She’d matured a bit from her initial innocence.
Pinching her bangs, which nearly reached her eyes, she wondered if she should trim them.
But if they grew back in a day, what was the point? Her hair had stopped growing longer at this length—maybe it was fixed now?
Haircuts weren’t free, after all.
After much thought, Su Yao decided to leave it as is.
With the hair issue settled, her attention shifted to her chest.
Staring at the prominent curves pushing against her cotton pajamas, she liked them but didn’t want them on herself. Noticing two small points, her face flushed.
She’d run out of adhesive bandages. Using four at a time, her box of fifty had depleted quickly. When she checked today, it was empty.
Cradling her “two big bunnies,” Su Yao wondered if it was time to give them a proper home.
The thought of wearing a bra felt so frustrating.
After so many days, the dream wasn’t a dream—it was real. Que’er was gone, leaving without a sound, without giving Su Yao a chance to hold on. From now on, it seemed her life would be accompanied only by these bunnies.
Sighing, Su Yao knew many things clearly but often pretended otherwise, just as Hua Mingye said—she lied to others and to herself.
Standing up, Su Yao decided to head out.