chapter 52
“Little one, no…” Gu Che tried to stop it, but he was a step too late.
Looking at the now-empty teacup, Gu Zhao and Gu Che both felt their heads spin.
The two of them turned to Gu Qingning at the same time. Her fair little face showed not a trace of drunkenness.
“Ning’er, are you okay?” Gu Zhao raised two fingers tentatively, asking.
“How much is this?”
Gu Qingning cast him a sidelong glance, speaking in a tone neither warm nor cold, “Two hundred forty-eight.”
Gu Zhao froze.
Oh no, she’s totally wasted.
He glared at Gu Che and said irritably, “Second brother, look at what you’ve done. You only needed to pour half a cup, but you poured a full one and now Ning’er has drunk it all.”
“Pfft.”
Gu Che burst out laughing, teasing without restraint, “Your brain really reacts slowly. You didn’t even realize when the little one called you a fool.”
She could still mock people, so she clearly wasn’t drunk.
Finally catching up, Gu Zhao looked at Gu Qingning with a pitiful expression, “Ning’er, you can’t do this to me.”
Gu Qingning’s red lips curved slightly as she picked up her chopsticks, took a piece of fried chicken, and placed it in his bowl.
This rare act of initiative deeply moved Gu Zhao.
He laughed foolishly, the gloom on his face vanishing instantly.
“I knew Ning’er treats Third Brother the best.”
Beside them, Gu Che felt jealous.
He held out his bowl to Gu Qingning, asserting his presence, “Little one, you can’t show favoritism. I want some too.”
Gu Qingning glanced at him and picked up a crayfish, putting it into his bowl.
Gu Che looked at the crayfish in the bowl, smirked, and teased her deliberately, “Little one, playing favorites, huh? You gave fried chicken to Ah Zhao, but to me, you give crayfish that’s hard to peel.”
Gu Qingning’s fingers traced her teacup, her tone calm, “You don’t like fried chicken.”
She wasn’t blind. Out of all the food on the table, he only touched the crayfish and didn’t even glance at the fried chicken.
Gu Zhao chuckled softly. When it came to Ning’er, Second Brother was completely outmatched.
Gu Che raised an eyebrow. Their little one was not easily fooled—she was way too sharp.
After finishing the late-night snack, it was almost four in the morning.
Gu Qingning went back to her room first, leaving Gu Che and Gu Zhao behind.
Gu Che looked at the empty wine bottle, worry finally catching up, “Little one drank more than half a bottle… she’ll be fine, right?”
Gu Zhao noticed the bruise at the corner of his mouth and smiled with schadenfreude, “Why don’t you go check?”
“Yeah, right,” Gu Che shot him a look, then touched the bruise at his mouth corner. “Getting hit was worth it, at least she doesn’t reject me as her brother.”
A mischievous glint appeared in his eyes. “Third Brother, since we both got embarrassed in front of the little one, why don’t we play a little trick on Big Brother when he gets back?”
Brothers stick together in trouble.
Gu Zhao felt tempted for a moment, but then a vision of that icy face appeared in his mind and he immediately wilted.
“You deal with Big Brother yourself. Don’t drag me into it.”
He was still young and wanted to live a few more years.
Gu Che pouted. “Boring.”
Gu Zhao ignored him. Boring was still better than getting beaten.
…
The next day.
Gu Qingning woke up with a heavy, dizzy head, still feeling the lingering effects of alcohol.
After morning reading ended, she walked into the classroom right on time.
The noisy chatter abruptly quieted. Everyone in the class was staring at her.
“Qingning, good morning,” Sun Qiaoqiao greeted her, her round face showing a cheerful smile.
Gu Qingning nodded, “Morning.”
Sun Qiaoqiao was momentarily surprised, then smiled.
Her new deskmate didn’t seem so aloof after all.
Gu Qingning walked further in, pulled out a chair, sat down, and slowly twisted open a water bottle to drink.
She slightly tilted her head back, and the black collar of her shirt accentuated the slender whiteness of her neck.
Sun Qiaoqiao stared and finally understood the saying:
“When a woman looks sharp, men really don’t matter.”
After finishing half the bottle of water, her dry throat felt slightly better, and she finally stopped.
At that moment, the class bell rang.
All the eyes on her dispersed, and everyone hurried back to their seats.
The first class was math, which brought joy to some and sorrow to others, depending on their strengths.
Gu Qingning glanced sideways, then pulled out her math textbook from the drawer.
The book was brand new, with no signs of being opened.
She leaned forward slightly, elbows on the desk, her expression relaxed, carrying a hint of fatigue.
After trying alcohol for the first time, the aftereffects were indeed strong, and her head still felt fuzzy.
The teacher on stage spoke endlessly, but to her ears, it sounded like a lullaby.
She looked down at her desk and boldly took a nap.
Many around her noticed, not to mention the teacher on the podium.
Feng Mei glanced at the girl sleeping on her desk, a hint of contempt flashing in her eyes.
She curled her fingers to tap the podium, pointedly saying, “We’re already in senior year, and this is only the first class. Some students are already taking long naps, showing no sense of urgency for their studies.”
The students below stayed silent, their eyes naturally shifting to Gu Qingning.
Although the class had students with different strengths, there was an unwritten rule: no sleeping in class.
This rule existed because their homeroom teacher appeared like a phantom.
As soon as you nodded off, he’d appear at the back door the next second, staring at you until you woke up, and then hand you a pile of worksheets in your weakest subject.
But today, where was Old Xu?
The whole class looked over. Sun Qiaoqiao, sitting next to her, felt embarrassed under the attention.
She poked Gu Qingning’s elbow lightly.
The next moment, Gu Qingning tilted her head, her black eyes showing faint red veins.
She squinted slightly, looking at her, “Hm?”
Sun Qiaoqiao whispered, “The teacher was asking about you.”
Asking about her?
Gu Qingning lifted her gaze. Feng Mei’s look at her hadn’t softened; her eyes were full of disdain.
When she spoke, a sarcastic tone dripped from her words, “Gu Qingning, I heard you scored full marks in the grade-skipping exam. These problems should be very easy for you. You can do these two problems on the blackboard.”
Gu Qingning’s eyes darkened slightly. She stood up slowly.
Sun Qiaoqiao moved her chair to make way for her.
With each step, a wave of gazes followed Gu Qingning.
When she reached the podium, she looked at the teacher blocking her way, moved her lips, and said coldly, “Teacher, please step aside.”
Feng Mei felt a chill down her back, realizing she had been intimidated by a little girl. She looked slightly flustered.
She stepped aside. From an unseen angle, she secretly glared at Gu Qingning.
End of Chapter
