But recently, Xu Yun had changed.
After Su Mu got to know him again, she realized his circumstances weren't bad at all.
His previous poverty was all an act!
Perhaps the him she saw now was his true self.
But Su Mu could never understand why he had chosen to live such a difficult life when he clearly could have had it easy!
Thinking about the matter of Xu Yun's marriage...
An idea suddenly struck Su Mu.
'Could it be he was looking for a pure love, one that wasn't after his money?'
'How childish!'
Su Mu shook her head at the thought.
Without financial security, when you're busy struggling to survive every day, where would you find the time to feel love, to enjoy love!
All beautiful love stories are built on a material foundation!
Su Mu looked at Xu Yun. The man he was now was a perfect match for her.
But she, on the other hand, felt like she wasn't quite worthy of him now.
After all, a man with his kind of resources must come from a prominent family. How could they possibly allow him to be with an older, divorced woman?
But...
...to use Xu Yun's own words from earlier, why should she think so far ahead!
Live one happy day at a time. Why should she hold herself back?
'I'm a divorced woman. I don't need to care about that stuff anymore.'
Su Mu thought again of that cup of brown sugar fruit juice.
'I'll just consider it repaying a kindness.'
She casually found an excuse to convince herself.
And so...
Su Mu rolled over, and they were suddenly face to face, only a few centimeters apart.
Xu Yun's eyes widened in surprise.
He instantly felt a heavy, substantial pressure on his chest.
At the same time, the faint scent of her perfume wafted over him, refreshing and captivating.
Su Mu looked down, her breath carrying a hint of alcohol, and asked with a seductive smile, "If I'm willing, then it's not against a woman's will, is it?"
"Huh?!?"
Xu Yun was a little drunk, not dead.
His mind was still clear.
Even the things he'd just said to Su Mu were things he'd wanted to say.
That whole "drunk words are sober thoughts" thing was bullshit.
It was just people using alcohol as an excuse to say what they really wanted to say, to frantically test the other person's boundaries.
He never expected her to actually respond!
And so directly!
It caught him completely off guard!
Xu Yun swallowed hard and said, "Su Mu, if you keep this up, I might actually do something."
"Just kidding."
Su Mu suddenly stood up, straightened her clothes, and smiled. "Alright, it's getting late, and we've had enough to drink. You can finish the rest yourself. I'm heading back."
With that, she ignored Xu Yun's reaction, grabbed her bag, and prepared to leave.
"Seriously? You think this is okay?"
Xu Yun sat up, instantly dissatisfied. "You just flirt with me and then leave? What am I supposed to do now?"
"Do it yourself," Su Mu said with a triumphant smile.
"..." Xu Yun was speechless.
Before closing the door behind her, she didn't forget to add a "kind" reminder, "I've been drinking, so I can't drive. Remember to drive my car to the company for me tomorrow morning. Don't be late, or I might have to dock your pay."
"..." Xu Yun was speechless.
'She definitely did that on purpose!'
'Fine, fine, fine. You win!'
Even though he had the Do as You Please System, he didn't dare do anything illegal.
After all, without her consent, he couldn't make a single move. He could only let her leave.
...
After leaving Xu Yun's apartment, Su Mu stepped into the elevator and let out a long sigh of relief.
She wasn't nearly as calm and casual as she had appeared. Thinking back on how forward she had just been, her heart was now pounding a little fast.
'That was so close. So close. I almost acted on impulse, using the alcohol as an excuse to... with Xu Yun...'
'Good thing I slammed on the brakes.'
'And it's also a good thing Xu Yun didn't just go for it.'
'If he had been just a little more forceful back there, under those circumstances, she might have just closed her eyes and let it happen.'
'Worst case, when we woke up tomorrow, to avoid the awkwardness, we could just say we were drunk...'
'We're both adults, and we're both single. It's perfectly normal for something like this to happen once in a while.'
'That way, neither of us would have to be responsible for the other.'
Leaving the residential complex, Su Mu called a private car and headed home.
Li Jinshu was at home, still scantily clad. Seeing Su Mu walk in, she asked from the living room, "Where have you been? I sent you a message, but you didn't reply."
"Nowhere special, just went out to dinner with a friend."
Li Jinshu sniffed the smell of alcohol on her. "You were drinking?"
"Mmm, a little."
Su Mu said, "I'm going to take a shower first."
"A guy friend or a girl friend?" Li Jinshu asked, eager for gossip.
But Su Mu ignored her.
Li Jinshu pouted and went back to watching her TV drama, "With Phoenix." 'The Divine Monarch in this is so handsome,' she thought.
Half an hour later, Su Mu came out of the shower and went straight to her room.
Li Jinshu thought she must have had too much to drink. She got up and knocked on the door. "Are you drunk? Want me to make you some honey water?"
"No need, I'm fine. Just a little tired."
"Oh."
Su Mu lay on her bed, scrolling through her phone.
Then she saw a social media post Xu Yun had updated half an hour ago.
[Xu Yun: The loneliness of one person is the fault of two...]
Su Mu, of course, knew why he couldn't sleep. She couldn't help but smile, pursing her lips as she reached out a slender hand and silently gave his post a 'like'.
Meanwhile, in another apartment, Ning Qian also saw Xu Yun's post.
She immediately left a concerned comment below.
[What's wrong? Are you in a bad mood? Do you need me to come have a drink with you?]
But she waited for a long time without getting a reply.
...
A sleepless night.
He woke up the next morning, and it was already past 9:00. He was definitely going to be late for work.
Xu Yun didn't really care.
He opened his phone, saw the little red dot notification on his social media, and tapped it open.
He also saw Ning Qian's comment.
Too bad he'd gone straight to sleep after posting last night and hadn't seen it.
'It's all fate!'
'Otherwise, after being teased like that last night, there's no way he would have slept alone.'
There were also some less-than-serious comments from other friends.
[Lonely? Lonely my ass! Come work overtime with me!]
[Go to Crystal Palace, ask for number 88. Guaranteed to cure your loneliness tonight.]
[Listen to me, go to Magic Finger Impression. Number 33 is where you belong.]
[You guys upstairs have no class. Let me tell you a real place: Great Waves Washing the Sand, number 21. If it's no good, you can come curse me out!]
[What single man isn't lonely?]
[Bro, if you don't mind, I'm willing to sacrifice myself...]
[...]
Xu Yun scrolled through them all.
And then, there was even a heartwarming comment from his mom.
[Son, don't let work stress you out too much. Drink less alcohol, it's bad for your health.]
But the most infuriating thing was that Xu Yun discovered Su Mu, the culprit herself, had actually 'liked' his post!
'This is too much!'
'She's twisting the knife!'
'I'll get my revenge when I see her at the office today. A gentleman always settles his debts!'
...