Qing'er's First Time

The next day.

Zeng Mo woke up with a splitting headache. He glanced around at the unfamiliar yet strangely familiar room and the empty bed beside him, feeling a little bewildered.

"Ah! This looks like the room I stayed in last night?"

Zeng Mo rubbed his temples, then got up and opened the door. He went out to get some water.

His body felt weak.

Then he remembered.

He felt as if his head were being squeezed, and his stomach was churning as though he were about to throw up.

He had no choice but to return to the room and lie back down.

As soon as he closed his eyes, last night's drunken memories surfaced. He remembered seeing Qing'er and Yu Lin at the doorway, then the three of them seeming to enter the room together. After that, he had lain on the bed, too dazed to think straight, and seemed to have experienced something wonderful.

It all felt like a dream, drifting past like water. It flashed through his mind, then became hazy again.

"Last night, I drank three bottles and actually slept in the same bed as them?"

Zeng Mo rubbed his aching temples, trying hard to recall what had happened after he got drunk. His memory was blurred, and he couldn't quite believe it.

"It seems I passed out, and they both went to sleep. Then, somehow, I woke up feeling... happy? Did something happen?"

Zeng Mo sat up again and leaned against the headboard. He looked down at his neatly dressed clothes, uncertain.

"Were those happy feelings just a dream?"

Knock, knock.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door.

Yu Lin came in wearing a bathrobe. Her beautiful face was bright with joy.

"Darling, you're awake! You know what? My movie broke a hundred thousand views, and my fan count went up by more than ten thousand. I think I can shoot a second short film now."

"Oh."

Zeng Mo rubbed his temples and looked at Yu Lin, who was grinning at him. He asked uncertainly, "Sorry, I was so drunk last night. We drank three bottles. Did we all fall asleep together? And then, while I was asleep, did you two..."

"Darling, what are you talking about? After we got back last night, Qing'er went straight to her room to sleep."

Yu Lin waved her hand, then sat down on the edge of the bed. Her bright eyes rested on Zeng Mo as she teased him with a smile. "Unless, darling, you were hoping to do something with Qing'er last night?"

"Ah." Zeng Mo sighed, rubbing his aching temples. "I think I drank too much and made a fool of myself."

Yu Lin nodded, as if she understood perfectly, and smiled. "Of course, darling. You were drunk. You might have dreamed about something."

"After you drink too much, you can get a little confused. You start imagining things, and everything around you seems familiar, but also strange. Then you can't tell whether you're dreaming or awake."

Zeng Mo described how he felt. His gaze fell on a red stain on the white bedsheet, and he asked doubtfully,

"Why is there blood on the bed?"

Yu Lin looked at him, then sighed and said helplessly, "You almost scared me to death, darling. You really went at it last night, and you got blood all over the sheets."

"Oh."

Zeng Mo's expression was full of doubt.

"Does your head hurt, darling? I'll rub it for you." Yu Lin reached out toward his temples and said softly, "I made you an extra breakfast: hangover soup and a bowl of egg-and-lean-pork congee. If you're feeling better, I'll help you wash up, and then you can eat something."

"Okay." Zeng Mo nodded. Yu Lin helped him out of the room, and he glanced toward Qing'er's room.

"Is Qing'er still sleeping?"

"She got up early, ate breakfast, took a shower, and went back to bed." Yu Lin answered.

"Breakfast? It's already noon." Zeng Mo was surprised.

"Aw, she ate early." Yu Lin replied.

"You two really have a good tolerance for alcohol. Last night you drank more than ten bottles of fruit wine, yet you sobered up even faster than I did." Zeng Mo glanced back at the room, then headed toward the living room with Yu Lin supporting him.

At the living room.

Zeng Mo sat on the sofa, clutching his head. He looked weak and exhausted.

He swallowed hard and said in disbelief, "Alcohol can really make a person feel this awful. From now on, I'm quitting."

Beside him, Yu Lin chuckled and said, "Darling, you can't blame everything on alcohol."

After eating the hangover soup and egg-and-lean-pork congee, Zeng Mo gradually felt his strength and energy returning.

But his head still felt a little heavy.

He didn't want to think about anything else. He went back to his room and slept for another half hour before he felt much better. Then he asked the butler to quickly use today's Survival Points.

"Sorry, I've got something to do. I'll be busy outside for a while," Zeng Mo said.

"Oh. Will you be back tonight?"

"I won't be back. The butler will take care of things at home."

"Okay, darling. Take your time."

After Zeng Mo left.

Yu Lin went to Qing'er's room and gently pushed the door open. Qing'er was lying on the bed, playing with her phone. Yu Lin picked up the white bedsheet and showed it to her.

"This is your mark."

Qing'er reached out and took the sheet. She glanced at it and said, "He's gone?"

"Yeah." Yu Lin nodded, then grumbled unhappily, "I told you not to steal my chance. We had such a great opportunity today. You could've teamed up with me and our husband, but you still ran back to your room early and didn't let me bring up what happened last night."

Qing'er leaned against the bed and said timidly, "If that had happened, I don't know whether Mo would have despised you. You should feel lucky I thought of you."

"You're the one imagining things."

[The host successfully eliminated three Level 3 infected creatures and their four Level 4 kin. Survival Points +400.]

Just as he left the gathering place.

Zeng Mo heard the notification in his ear and opened the status panel to check.

[Survival Points: 12190]

"12190 Survival Points."

Zeng Mo was a little confused.

He remembered having 11780 Survival Points yesterday.

If he added the 10 points he had just earned,

that should make 11790.

Why were there 400 more Survival Points?

"Could it be that Yu Lin and Qing'er killed infected creatures?"

Zeng Mo didn't understand. He quickly opened the system's daily report and looked it over.

[System Daily Report: At 4:15 a.m., the host killed three Level 3 infected creatures and four Level 4 infected creatures, then put their bodies away. Survival Points +400.]

Zeng Mo stared at the report. Once again, he recalled everything from last night when he was drunk, especially the moment he had closed his eyes and felt an intense, wonderful sensation surging through him.

In an instant, his eyes widened. He came to his senses.

"Last night, I was drunk and thought I was in a daze. I must have done something with them!"

"Then why didn't Yu Lin or Qing'er mention it?"

Zeng Mo was puzzled. He went into the room and started using today's Survival Points.

After using all of the Survival Points,

it was already four in the afternoon.

He checked the total—14760 Survival Points—and took a deep breath. He said under his breath,

"Ten draws."

The lottery screen in front of him began to move.

After a short while,

a beam of white light flashed across the screen. A notification quickly sounded in his ear.

[Congratulations, host. You drew one white card: Wild Explosion Card.]

[Congratulations, host. You drew one white card: Common Sunflower Seed Card.]

[Congratulations, host. You drew one white card: Small Irrigation Card.]

[Congratulations, host. You drew one white card: Small Gold Bar Card.]

[Congratulations, host. You drew one white card: Mental Recovery Potion Card.]

[Congratulations, host. You drew one white card: Physical Recovery Potion Card.]