Dating should happen after get off work.

"Okay, those of you who have time to go to Jiang Sheng's house for team building this weekend, please raise your hands and call out your numbers. I'm number one!"

After Xia Xiaoman finished speaking, she was the first to raise her hand.

"Two." Jiang Sheng followed behind her.

"Three." Next was Li Youhe.

Then, the three of them looked at Lu Sanqian, who was huddled in his seat, hugging his knees and trembling.

"Me...can I go too...?"

Jiang Sheng rested his chin on his hand, looking at Lu Sanqian with great interest.

This "after-get off work buddy" is quite eccentric.

Despite being incredibly introverted, timid, and sensitive, she possesses a surprisingly strong inner strength—for example, she doesn't drink alcohol, yet she comes to "After get off work" to build her courage.

That's how I met Jiang Sheng and his friends, and joined the "After-get off work Buddies" team.

And naturally attracted by Xia Xiaoman's energy, he became her apprentice and learned how to overcome his own cowardly personality.

Lu Sanqian wore a matte black lightweight trench coat, her hair in pigtails, and a black baseball cap. Her signature accessory was a purple backpack with "Kuromi" printed on it, which she carried everywhere she went.

In her words, "I feel insecure if I don't carry it."

Lu Sanqian is an extremely cute girl. She is petite, only about 1.6 meters tall, but has very striking features, with big eyes, a high nose, and a pair of incredibly sexy breasts. She is definitely a virgin with huge breasts.

"Of course we're going!" Xia Xiaoman said, hands on her hips. "This is our team's first team-building activity!"

After saying that, Xia Xiaoman took out her phone, scrolling through her contacts as she excitedly said:

"I'll call Xiaobai again to ask if she has time!"

She held the phone close to her ear, and after a long while, the call was connected.

"Hey, Little Whitey! We're planning a team-building trip to Jiang Sheng's house this weekend! Do you want to come?"

"Okay, sure."

The phone hangs up.

Xia Xiaoman met Jiang Sheng's questioning gaze and blinked: "She told me to die."

"?"

"I remember Bai Jiazhen said the day before yesterday that she would be working overtime for the next two weeks," Li Youhe chuckled. "Don't contact me for the next two weeks, I'm working overtime"—that was her exact words.

Jiang Sheng looked at her curiously: "Did you say that? I don't remember."

"You drank a lot that day, you got drunk very quickly."

"Oh, it was that day."

"Um..." Lu Sanqian weakly raised his hand and interjected, "I think I'll pass..."

"No!" x2

QAQ

Xia Xiaoman adopted a master's posture, tapped the table, and glanced at Lu Sanqian.

Little Deer immediately understood her intention; she was about to "teach," so she took out her tablet from her bag and prepared to take notes seriously.

"Little Deer, the most basic lesson in 'Acting Studies' is 'Liberating Your Nature,' which gradually helps you overcome your fear of performing by allowing you to present yourself in front of others."

"The weekend is a great opportunity. Jiang Sheng's mother is a very beautiful and easy-going person. As for the others..."

Xia Xiaoman turned to look at Jiang Sheng as she spoke.

"Jiang Sheng, what kind of person is your father?"

"My dad?" Jiang Sheng recalled for a moment, "He's about four meters tall, has two heads, eight arms, and his weapon is a Tang-style horizontal sword. He usually likes to eat timid girls."

Lu Sanqian's eyes were trembling as he typed shakily on the tablet, then closed his eyes and held the tablet up for Jiang Sheng to see.

"Can you please not eat me...?"

—She is the kind of person who occasionally loses her ability to speak when under extreme stress.

"Don't joke like that," Li Youhe rolled her eyes at Jiang Sheng.

He then took Lu Sanqian's hand to comfort her.

"My dad is just an ordinary person," Jiang Sheng said with a smile, waving his hand. "At home, he's no different from everyone else's parents."

"Really?! My parents are currently planning for their third child!" Xia Xiaoman raised her hand with a smile. "That's why I really want to visit my friends' houses! To see if everyone's parents are all the same!"

A family that can raise someone as extraordinary as Xia Xiaoman shouldn't be considered an "ordinary family."

Lu Sanqian lowered his head and said weakly.

"My parents are quite traditional..."

"There's no other way; to prevent Xiao Lu from letting us down, we have to put her through special training!"

Xia Xiaoman slammed her hand on the table.

The so-called special training was—drinking.

There are three reactions a person will have after drinking alcohol.

First, deepen the existing personality.

Second, it evolved a completely different personality.

Third, remain silent.

Xia Xiaoman belongs to the first category, while Jiang Sheng belongs to the second category.

Lu Sanqian had never touched a drop of alcohol at previous gatherings, so her behavior when drunk was still unknown.

Although I knew Xia Xiaoman's idea could basically be categorized as "nonsense," watching my new friend, who never drinks, do it for the first time... was really interesting.

And putting everything else aside, drinking does give people the courage to do things they wouldn't normally dare to do.

Riding the wave of excitement, Jiang Sheng ran over to Lao Zhou and asked him to mix some drinks suitable for Lu Sanqian. Lao Zhou said expressionlessly, "For a man, mixing drinks is like mixing his heart; the important thing is the intention," but his hands were moving quickly.

Before long, the wine was placed in front of Lu Sanqian.

The fawn shrank its neck, its face filled with fear of the unknown.

"No, can I not drink it...?"

"Drinking in moderation is good for your health. Maybe a little bit will solve your problem!" Xia Xiaoman said, hands on her hips. "You've seen 'Drunken Master,' right? You have to control your intake."

Lu Sanqian bit her lower lip, going through a considerable period of internal struggle.

When he looked up again, his eyes were filled with determination.

Then... Lu Sanqian picked up his wine glass and downed it in one gulp!

"Well done!" Xia Xiaoman clapped and laughed from the side.

Then... Lu Sanqian TAT downed another cup in one gulp!

"Great!" Xia Xiaoman smiled especially happily.

Then... Lu Sanqian downed another cup in one gulp!

The other three began to realize that something seemed amiss and quickly tried to snatch the wine glass from her hand.

Who drinks like that?

Fortunately, the wine glasses were small, and Lao Zhou's wines were relatively easy to drink.

"Little deer, how are you feeling now?"

"I...I feel?" she slurred, "I feel like I saw my grandma..."

Don't let yourself see anything strange!

Lu Sanqian's eyes were glazed over, and her face was flushed. She looked up blankly and met Jiang Sheng's gaze.

one second.

two seconds.

As if it had readjusted to this body, its eyes quickly regained their normal expression and then turned into... dissatisfaction?

"Snap—"

Lu Sanqian slammed his hand on the table, startling the cat so much that it fell to the ground.

"Jiang Sheng." Her voice was sticky and drawn out as she tapped the table with an empty wine glass while speaking in a cute, childlike voice, "Jiang Sheng, Jiang Sheng."

"I'm here," Jiang Sheng quickly replied.

"Do you really think the wine will magically appear in my glass?"

"?"

Does this mean that the second stage of the drunken reaction has been unlocked, awakening a personality completely opposite to the original one?

But... these are just three basic cocktails!

"You guys are really being ridiculous," Li Youhe complained from the side. "This is the first time Sanqian has ever drunk alcohol."

After saying that, she got up and prepared to go to the bar to ask Old Zhou for some hot water.

Jiang Sheng quickly glared at Xia Xiaoman, indicating that she should deal with the trouble she had caused herself.

"master!"

"Here!" Xia Xiaoman answered, raising her hand.

"Are you dating Jiang Sheng?!"

"Huh?!"

Xia Xiaoman turned into a fossil.

Jiang Sheng opened his mouth wide.

Li Youhe, who hadn't gone far, immediately stopped and pricked up her little ears like a rabbit.

"Why do you ask that?" Xia Xiaoman tilted her head, looking puzzled.

"Because you two have been exchanging glances all day! You weren't like this before!"

"No way! How could Jiang Sheng and I be dating..." Xia Xiaoman stopped mid-sentence.

He frowned, staring at Jiang Sheng, then asked, "Have we been exchanging glances?"

Jiang Sheng was sweating profusely.

Is this a question a normal person should ask?

He secretly turned his head to try and see Li Youhe's expression... Hmm?

Li Youhe's expression was somewhat unpleasant.

But it wasn't because of the current topic; rather, it was because of an incoming phone call, where he wore a pale, powerless yet unbearable expression.

Then, she lowered her head and quietly walked quickly outside the tavern.

Jiang Sheng saw everything.

Not right.

He immediately abandoned his playful mood and, taking advantage of Xia Xiaoman's argument with the drunken Lu Sanqian, got up and followed them.

The night was enchanting, and the wind rustled the branches of the old locust tree by the door.

Li Youhe was not outside the door.

Just as Jiang Sheng was about to search around, a voice came from the alley to the left of the main entrance of "After get off work": "Please don't call me again."

His voice trembled.

It is Li Youhe.

Jiang Sheng walked to the alley entrance and came face to face with Li Youhe, who had just hung up the phone and whose eyes were red.

The sour, rotten smell of garbage cans at the end of the alley mingled with the dampness.

The girl stood there, stunned. She didn't want to see Jiang Sheng right now because she didn't want to cry in front of him.

But now, more than ever, she wants to see Jiang Sheng.

"Can you open your arms and hold them out straight?" she asked.

"Like this?" Jiang Sheng did as instructed.

The next second, Li Youhe pressed her head against his chest, curled up in his arms, and trembled slightly.

"It was my dad's daughter calling. She's been calling me a lot lately, but I didn't want to bother you, so I didn't tell you."

That was the most somber and complex sentence Jiang Sheng had ever heard.

Jiang Sheng put his arm around Li Youhe's shoulder, gently patted her back, and sighed silently.

No wonder.

No wonder that when they were talking about their parents, even Lu Sanqian, who wasn't good at talking to people, was able to chime in with a few words, while Li Youhe remained silent.

"Hit her back, and I'll yell at her for you!"

Li Youhe didn't reply, but instead asked a question softly.

Can I come to your place tonight?

"Every night is fine."

"Tonight." She said to Jiang Sheng, then repeated it as if she were talking to herself, "Tonight."