Yu Qingyu woke up to a sensation of something wet and warm on his face. His head felt like splitting, and his whole body was stiff and frozen to the bone. He groaned and slowly opened his eyes, momentarily squinting, blinded by the light.
What greeted him was the sight of a dog right in front of his face, licking his cheeks. Yu Qingyu blinked a few times in confusion. He had absolutely no idea what was going on.
Not much further, stood a young woman, dressed in bright leggings, a thin sport jacket, and a pair of running shoes. She was tugging on the dog's leash, casting nervous glances at Yu Qingyu, who was lying on the ground, blocking most of the narrow path.
The gray-blue sky, the chirping of the birds, and a night chill still hanging in the air indicated that it was early in the morning, barely after sunrise. A few sun rays shyly tore through the leaves of the tall trees surrounding them. Between the tree trunks, fragments of streets and buildings could be seen, making Yu Qingyu realize he was in some park in the middle of the city.
'What the…' He stared at his surroundings bewildered. He figured out more or less where he was, but he still had absolutely no clue how he ended up here.
Propelling himself on his elbow, he managed to sit up with some difficulty, making the woman flinch. "Sorry about that," Yu Qingyu tried to say, but his throat was so hoarse that he barely made any sound.
"…Are you alright?" the woman finally asked with visible hesitation.
Unable to speak properly, Yu Qingyu nodded his head, resulting in a sharp stab of pain in his neck. His whole body was sore from sleeping on the cold, hard ground. Massaging the back of his neck, Yu Qingyu slowly dragged himself to the side, opening the path for the woman.
However, she remained standing in place, biting her lip. Unsure what to do, she observed him carefully. "…Do you need any help?" she offered reluctantly after a while.
Yu Qingyu just shook his head in response. He could see how nervous she was, which was totally understandable. After all, who wouldn't be, stumbling upon a tall, grown-up man, sleeping in an empty park. Even though he actually could use some help, he should be able to manage on his own, somehow. It was better than bothering an unfortunate passerby.
Seeing his response, the woman exhaled with relief. Although she offered to help, she would have preferred not to get involved. Thus, she nodded lightly in Yu Qingyu's direction, and quickly walked away, taking one last anxious glance at the man.
Meanwhile, Yu Qingyu scooped his phone out of his pocket, only to find it out of battery. He sighed and scrambled himself up on his feet.
'520, are you there? What the hell happened?'
[You passed away from drinking too much at the party last night.]
Furrowing his brows, Yu Qingyu tried hard to recall the events. On shaking legs, he started walking toward the park's exit. 'I know that much… But what happened afterward?'
[I'm not sure either.]
'What?' 520's response made Yu Qingyu's head jerk right up. He immediately hissed from the pain caused by his throbbing headache.
[You should probably get home first. You might get sick from sleeping outside. We can talk about this later.] 520 suggested.
Yu Qingyu didn't bother arguing. Although he really wanted to know what was going on, at the moment, he couldn't even think clearly. Moreover, he was nauseous, and shaking from the cold. There was nothing he wanted more than a hot shower, a cup of hot chocolate or sweet coffee with milk, and a warm, comfortable bed.
Thankfully, at least his wallet was still in his pocket, allowing him to catch a taxi. Otherwise, he might have passed out again on his way back home.
***
Later in the day, when Yu Qingyu finally recovered a bit from his hangover and the night spent outside, he was finally in a good enough condition to discuss the events with the system.
'Alright then. 520, so what exactly happened after I passed out?'
[I don't know exactly. Sometime later, you woke up for a moment. By then, you were already lying on the ground in the park. There was someone else standing next to you, but it was too dark to see who was it. You passed out again right after, and were woken up around three hours later by the dog. That is all that I know.]
Wrapped in bedsheets with a warm cup of coffee in his hands Yu Qingyu frowned. 'That's all? How come? Did you go offline or something?'
[I am always online. However, I am only able to perceive the world through my host's senses. That's why when Host fell asleep, I had no way of knowing what was happening around you.]
Yu Qingyu's frown deepened. He has never heard of it before. That was… inconvenient to say the least.
[Next time, I would recommend Host to be more careful when drinking.] 520 suggested, ignoring Yu Qingyu's obvious disappointment.
Yu Qingyu clicked his tongue. 'I know! I have no idea why I passed out. I have always been lightheaded, but I know my limits! With this much, I should still have been fine!' he protested, slightly offended. Because of his lingering headache, he was far easier to irritate than usual.
[Host needs to remember that alcohol tolerance depends on the body, not the soul. When transmigrating, Host's limits might change. The same applies to allergies, physical fitness, and so on…] 520 quickly explained. It wasn't trying to offend its host on purpose, it was only giving helpful suggestions!
'Oh.' The realization suddenly dawned on Yu Qingyu. Of course… That was perfectly reasonable. However, he would have never expected that such a tall, well-built man like Fu Zhiren could have worse alcohol tolerance than Yu Qingyu in his real, much smaller body. An amused smile soon appeared on his face.
He reached for his now charged phone, and turned it on. Since the system couldn't tell him anything, he had no choice but to message his friends to find out. Jiang Lu seemed like the safest choice.
After a while, he finally got a response.
"Ye Chaodan volunteered to take you home. You should be grateful to him, 'cause I would have just left you there alone!" the message read.
Yu Qingyu gulped loudly. Ye Chaodan was supposed to take him home…?
Obviously, that never happened. Which meant that for some reason, Ye Chaodan must have taken him to the park instead, and dumped him there. That much was clear.
But why?