Ming carefully took a box out from beneath the table and opened it. There were several cups inside. When he drank with Bai Yu, he preferred using cups.
That was what Ming said.
Bai Yu had no idea whether it was true, but Ming generally never lied to him, so he supposed it was.
Ming set out the cups, rummaged through the crate of liquor, and took out a bottle of the kind Bai Yu had drunk before. He set the whole crate right beside Bai Yu's feet, making him swallow involuntarily.
Xiate, who was lounging like a total layabout in the reclining chair nearby, noticed Bai Yu's reaction and spoke blandly, her face expressionless.
"You must have said something in front of Ming, dear brother. You can't even drink that much, yet you still insist on showing off. If you drink yourself unconscious, nobody's going to look after you."
Ming simply shook his head gently.
"Bai Yu likes drinking with me, too."
Ming seemed to understand everything, and Bai Yu could not help reaching out to stroke his cheek, which felt like warm jade.
Mm, it still felt just as nice.
Only after a good while did he let go. Beside Ming was the strongest liquor they had bought at the liquor shop earlier. It was a little too much for Bai Yu.
Bai Yu opened a bottle, filled the cup in front of him, and took a small sip.
Mm, this one tasted just right. Pretty good.
Drinking with Ming was different from drinking with everyone in the Survey Corps. There was none of that noisy abandon. Ming liked drinking simply because he enjoyed it, while Bai Yu liked drinking with Ming simply because he liked drinking with Ming.
There was none of the venting or complaining about bad feelings that usually accompanied drinking, nor any grumbling about petty troubles. It was very, very quiet.
White clouds drifted lazily across the sky. It was a lovely blue that day, with only a few scattered clouds to keep it from looking monotonous.
Gentle sunlight spilled down. Perhaps it was because autumn was approaching, but although the sun shone brightly, it did not feel particularly hot. Its warmth was soft.
The faint light fell over Ming. Beneath it, his pearly white hair seemed to shimmer with white radiance, and a soft glow played over his already lovely skin.
His expression was very, very peaceful. His wine-red eyes gazed calmly into the distance, where rolling mountain ranges met the horizon. Those pure, ruby-like eyes were still as clear and serene as they had been when Bai Yu first met him. Looking into them, one could see straight into his heart.
It was like seeing the stones at the bottom of a crystal-clear lake.
The gentle sunlight lent their edges a dazzling gleam, gorgeous and so captivating that it was hard to look away. Ming had never changed. He had always been like this.
Bai Yu swirled the cup in his hand. Ming understood and lightly clinked his cup against it, then they both drained their drinks.
Watching the two of them drink, Xiate slowly closed her eyes and basked in the warmth of the sunlight. Then she remembered something, fetched a parasol from the corner to block out the sun, and went back to sleep.
Only Bai Yu and Ming never tanned, for some unknown reason.
The sun gradually sank. Neither knew how much they had drunk, though the empty bottles were neatly arranged in the crate. In truth, it had not been all that much. They had been drinking slowly.
By then, dusk had fallen. Crimson flames burned across half the sky, painting the whole world red.
Bai Yu's head was slightly bowed, his eyes a little unfocused. Still holding his cup, he quietly drained the liquor inside.
He was clearly a little drunk.
At some point, Ming had already removed all the liquor beside Bai Yu, though there had not been much left to begin with.
After a while, as the flames in the sky gradually faded, the once-bright world began to sink into darkness.
Xiate, who should have been beside them, was nowhere to be seen. When she woke that afternoon and found them still drinking, she had gone downstairs on her own without disturbing them.
Ming watched the slightly drunken Bai Yu in front of him. He was very quiet. Bai Yu hardly ever spoke after getting drunk, though his mind was probably still clear.
Ming stood up, took his liquor, and sat on the edge of the rooftop, his feet dangling in the air. He raised his cup, and clear liquor spilled from the corner of his mouth. The drops caught the last light as they fell through the air, then splashed into tiny droplets on the ground below.
Ming sat there alone, watching the last sliver of sun vanish beyond the horizon.
Night fell.
Bai Yu knew that whenever Ming wanted to drink with him, it was not because Ming wanted to drink with Bai Yu, but because Bai Yu wanted to drink with Ming.
And because Bai Yu wanted to drink with him, Ming had come to enjoy drinking with Bai Yu as well.
That was also why Bai Yu liked Ming.
Ming turned to look at Bai Yu, who was still sitting at the table. The cup in his hand had been set on the tabletop and had not moved.
Ming walked over and hoisted Bai Yu onto his back. Normally, he should have taken Bai Yu back to his own room, but the first time this happened, Ming had not had the key to Bai Yu's room, so he had taken him to his own room to rest instead. From then on, whenever Bai Yu got drunk while drinking with Ming, Ming always carried him back to his room.
Despite being two years older than both Bai Yu and Xiate, and already nearly fifteen, Ming was actually a little shorter than Bai Yu. He stood about a hundred and fifty-five centimeters tall and looked only twelve or thirteen.
Maybe he was just a late bloomer.
Bai Yu had once said as much, but Ming paid little attention to things like height. He felt it made no difference, and gradually, Bai Yu and Xiate stopped paying much attention to it as well.
Ming pushed open his bedroom door. It was a simple room: a desk, a chair, and a bed, with a bedside cabinet beside it where he kept his liquor.
The only unusual thing about Ming's room was the faint, lingering fragrance of liquor that greeted anyone who opened the door. It was not the smell of the liquor people usually drank, but the rich, mellow fragrance that wafted from Ming when he drank. Whether someone liked drinking or not, they all loved that scent.
Bai Yu was one of them.
Ming gently laid Bai Yu down, removed his outer clothes and shoes, tidied them up, and set them aside. He pulled the quilt over him, then found a chair, sat down, and rested his head by the bed, slowly closing his eyes.
Before you continue