Chapter 293: The Love Guardian
After drinking some hangover soup, the two drunkards, Chen Ye Chu and Liu Yao, finally began to calm down.
Maybe they’d howled themselves out—because the two of them ended up hugging each other and falling asleep squatting in a corner.
Ning Xiyue couldn’t help but shake her head with a helpless smile.
People getting drunk wasn’t scary.
People getting drunk and acting crazy was scary.
But the scariest was when two drunks went crazy together—and somehow managed to match each other’s rhythm perfectly.
Was this what they called “order within chaos”?
Ning Xiyue and Yu Zhiyu walked over to separate the two, but they instinctively resisted.
If they tried to force them apart, it would hurt, so Ning Qingyuan came over to help. The three of them together finally managed to separate the drunk duo—who still didn’t wake up.
Ning Xiyue whispered, “Brother, clean up here. I’ll move these two drunks to bed. They can’t just stay squatting like this.”
“Got it. Go ahead, you two carry them inside. I’ll handle this place.”
Ning Qingyuan glanced at the two passed-out drunks and silently thanked heaven that his sister hadn’t drunk too much. If she’d been this drunk, getting up tomorrow would’ve been torture.
“Thanks, brother,” Yu Zhiyu said gratefully, propping Liu Yao up with one arm and patting Ning Qingyuan’s shoulder with the other. His eyes were full of gratitude.
The two of them—Ning Xiyue supporting Chen Ye Chu and Yu Zhiyu holding Liu Yao—headed toward the front courtyard.
Liu Yao shared a room with Wang Mengmeng. Even though Yu Zhiyu was her cousin, it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to go inside.
With good sense and boundaries, Yu Zhiyu stopped outside the room and turned to Ning Xiyue.
“Xiyue, can you help me get Yao Yao inside? I won’t go in.”
“Sure, I’ll put Ye Chu to bed first, then come back to help you.”
Ning Xiyue nodded and led Chen Ye Chu into the next room. After laying her down on the heated brick bed, she came back out to help Yu Zhiyu.
When she brought Liu Yao inside, Wang Mengmeng was spreading out her quilt, getting ready for bed. She looked up in surprise.
“What happened to Yao Yao? Is she drunk?”
As she spoke, she quickly lifted the mosquito net so Ning Xiyue could help her friend into bed.
“She’s drunk. She even mistook my baby chick for her mom just now. Only after drinking the hangover soup did she finally calm down.”
Ning Xiyue replied while taking off Liu Yao’s shoes and coat.
Wang Mengmeng helped her, and the two finally got Liu Yao settled on the bed.
Watching Liu Yao sleep peacefully, Wang Mengmeng sighed in relief.
“You should rest too. I’ll take care of Yao Yao—don’t worry.”
“Thanks, Mengmeng. I’ll head back—there’s still one more drunk to handle.”
Ning Xiyue smiled, waved, and left the room.
As she closed the door softly behind her and turned around—she froze.
Chen Ye Chu had somehow gotten up and come outside. She was standing just inside the doorway of her and Ning Xiyue’s room, face-to-face with Yu Zhiyu, who was standing just outside. Neither of them spoke.
Chen Ye Chu looked perfectly fine—standing straight, not swaying at all. But the flush on her face betrayed her drunkenness.
And Yu Zhiyu’s face was even redder—as red as a monkey’s butt!
His expression… was that shyness?
Ning Xiyue’s eyes widened.
Wait—what did she miss?
What happened while she was helping Liu Yao?
What kind of scene was unfolding here?
Should she walk forward—or retreat?
Oh my god, was she witnessing a live romantic breakthrough scene?
Ning Xiyue decisively took a step back and stopped near Liu Yao’s door. Since neither of them had noticed her, it would be totally inappropriate for her, a giant human lightbulb, to barge in now.
“Host, are you… eavesdropping?”
“Eavesdropping? No! I’m standing guard—preventing anyone from interrupting them.”
She wasn’t eavesdropping—she was being considerate!
If she walked over now, it would only make things awkward for three people. She’d be ruining a beautiful moment!
So really, she was doing a good deed.
She was a love guardian.
Ning Xiyue slowly crouched down to make herself less noticeable.
The two people ahead of her were so focused on each other they still hadn’t noticed her. With a bit of the doorframe blocking her, she was mostly hidden—barely.
Her system, System, even helped by reducing her presence level further so they wouldn’t sense her there.
After about half a minute of silence, someone finally broke it.
Chen Ye Chu spoke first.
In a dazed, sleepy voice, she mumbled, “Yu… Yu Zhiyu, are… are you… qi… do you like me?”
Her words were slurred, but clear enough to understand.
Yu Zhiyu heard it perfectly. So did Ning Xiyue, crouching in the corner.
Inside, Ning Xiyue was screaming like a gopher.
Ahhh! Front-row seat to a real-life confession—this was thrilling!
Drunk Chen Ye Chu was this straightforward?!
She looked toward Yu Zhiyu, whose ears were beet red. His hands trembled slightly, clenching into fists. When Chen Ye Chu’s head tilted sideways, he quickly reached out to steady her.
Her head leaned against his arm for support. Then, like a teasing drunk, she tapped his shoulder and pouted.
“Why aren’t you saying anything? Do you not like me?”
“I—I do,” Yu Zhiyu stammered out, then sighed in relief. His voice steadied, though it carried a trace of sadness.
“How could I not like you? From the moment I first saw you, I thought you were special. I’ve liked you ever since. I just didn’t dare to say it—I was afraid you wouldn’t like me back.”
Whoa.
Yu Zhiyu just confessed!
And it was love at first sight—straight out of a drama!
Too bad Chen Ye Chu was drunk. Would she even remember this tomorrow?
Ning Xiyue’s eyes sparkled. She looked at Chen Ye Chu eagerly, wondering how she’d respond.
This was better than any TV show—her heart was pounding harder than theirs!
Chen Ye Chu wobbled slightly, poked Yu Zhiyu’s arm, and muttered,
“You have to be more proactive… I think you’ve got potential. Come on, you can do it.”
Ning Xiyue: “???”
What kind of answer was that?
Did she like him or not? Why was she being so vague now after being so bold a moment ago?
Oh—maybe she was teaching him how to pursue her? Did she think he was too shy?
Ning Xiyue chuckled quietly. This was getting interesting.
Yu Zhiyu, unsatisfied with that vague answer, asked gently,
“Ye Chu, do you like me too? If there’s something you don’t like about me, tell me—I can change.”
“System, did you hear that? So sneaky! Taking advantage of her drunkenness to get her to admit it. We’ve got to record this for the romance observation log—this is drama gold.”
“Mhm, you’re right, Host.” System leaned against her knee, eyes sparkling with gossip.
Ning Xiyue rubbed her sore legs and pulled a brick out of her system space, activating its sofa mode to sit comfortably.
When it came to eavesdroa—uh, love guarding—nothing beat a trusty brick. Saved her from numb legs.
Front-row seat secured.
She refocused on the two leads.
Chen Ye Chu hiccupped, lowered her head, and mumbled something that sounded like a spell—unclear words that even Yu Zhiyu couldn’t catch.
He leaned closer and softly asked, “What?”
After a long pause, Chen Ye Chu lifted her head and muttered, “Not… not annoying. Kind of like you.”
This time, it was clear enough. Ning Xiyue heard it.
Yes! That’s it! Mutual love confirmed!
Ning Xiyue nearly clapped in celebration. If she had fireworks, she’d have set them off.
Yu Zhiyu also heard it.
He froze, then his whole face lit up, glowing with happiness.
“Really? Ye Chu, you like me too?” he asked, smiling uncontrollably.
He didn’t even know what to do with his hands—he rubbed them nervously on his pants, half reaching out to hold her hand, then hesitating and pulling back.
After pacing in place twice, he stopped and said seriously,
“Ye Chu, thank you for liking me. Tomorrow, when you’re sober, I want to officially ask you to be my girlfriend. I’ll wait until you wake up to do it properly.”
