The Art Of Handling A Restless Drunk

The rest of the day passed with little conversation. Di Gaohun was watchful but not particularly interactive after their morning small talk.

The following night while everyone else was gone or sleeping, Xin Tuyong went to the kitchen to get a glass of water. As he closed the cupboard, he heard the front door knob jiggle.

He paused. Was there an intruder? He didn't know what to do, but he grabbed a small knife and hid it behind his back as he watched the door.

Some time later, the handle turned and the door opened with a jerk. Standing in the doorway was a wide-eyed and unsteady Huan Mao. Her hair messily covered most of her face.

"Oh, you're-" she hiccuped, "-awake. My bad."

"Are you... drunk?" If he had no clue what to do about an intruder, he had even less of a clue what to do about his inebriated boss.

"Noooononono nope, not me. I'm fine," she slurred, walking slowly to the stairwell. "I'm just going to sleep." She hiccuped and collapsed to the ground after taking a single step.

Obviously, she was not fine. Xin Tuyong rushed to her side and wrapped his arms around her to pull her up until she hissed in pain and fired off a round of slurred curses.

He apologized repeatedly, but explained that he needed to get her up. Despite acknowledging it, she was of no help other than kicking off her shoes.

When he finally got her up, her half-closed eyes stared deeply at him and she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, burying her face in his neck.

Xin Tuyong felt awkward, but let her do it because it made carrying her easier.

"Hey," he whispered. "I'm going to take you upstairs now."

She groaned as he slowly dragged her up the stairs. "Let's just stay here. It's warm."

"I'm sorry, but I have to get you up the stairs. Where's your room?"

"Mm... I don't know."

He sighed deeply. By the time he reached the top of the stairs, he was softly panting and starting to sweat.

He felt her bite his neck and that was the final straw. He pulled her away from him, yet still supported her weight.

"No, no, Huan Mao, let's not do this. I'm not Di Gaohun, so please stop."

"Why not?" she whined. "I want to."

Xin Tuyong rolled his eyes. She was so drunk that she couldn't remember her boyfriend? And you can't bite people just because you feel like it.

He explained, "Di Gaohun is your handsome boyfriend. Don't forget him, okay? You're just a little tired. Now where's your room?"

She lazily pointed to a room towards the end of the hall. He gulped. It was a room that he wasn't allowed in.

It was justifiable, in his defense. He brought her to the door and opened it, peeking in. There was no one there. He felt along the wall for a switch and flicked on the lights.

The sudden brightness elicited a groan from Huan Mao.

"Sorry- I'm sorry, but I had to. Go to bed." He laid her down on her side.

Arranging her hair nicely rather than in her face, he was shocked by the blood dripping from her cheek. It was swollen and lightly bruised.

He jumped from surprise. "Wh-what the hell, boss?! Did you get into a fight?"

Her eyes were closed as she flipped him off. "Obviously. Turn off the lights or you're next."

He turned on a small lamp and turned off the main lights. After tucking her in, he snuck out of the room and headed into the kitchen.

He tried to be quiet as he searched through each cabinet for bandages or medicine. There was none that he could find.

Stifling a yawn, he heated up some water and brought it up to her, waking her and forcing her to drink it.