My Enemy Became My Cultivation Companion

"I'm not drunk, let me go, stop taking advantage of me," Min Ning said.

Chen Yi supported her, holding one of her arms, and spoke gently:

"You're drunk. You can't even speak clearly. You clearly can't handle alcohol, so why drink so much?"

His tone was soft, but Min Ning found it irritating:

"Who says I can't handle it? Who says... was it you?"

"Yes, yes, it was me," Chen Yi responded promptly.

"What you say doesn't count!" Min Ning exclaimed loudly.

Chen Yi suppressed the urge to laugh and tried his best to steady her, but Min Ning continued to seem like she wanted to struggle.

She grabbed Chen Yi's collar with one hand, sighed, and said:

"Look at yourself, you're the one who's drunk."

Chen Yi didn't argue. His face was indeed a bit flushed, so he asked:

"Are you really not drunk?"

Min Ning raised an eyebrow, gave him a glance, and sneered, "If I got drunk so easily, wouldn't that just fulfill your wishes?"

Chen Yi paused and gave her a surprised look.

Was she really not drunk?

Min Ning, annoyed, said, "I've been pretending to be drunk all along. You couldn't tell?"

"Why pretend to be drunk?" Chen Yi asked, puzzled.

Min Ning replied plainly, "It was so awkward at the banquet. If I didn't pretend to be drunk, wouldn't I have died of embarrassment?"

What she said made perfect sense, and Chen Yi was half-convinced.

After a moment, Chen Yi asked, "Do you like Chen Zunming?"

Min Ning said, "I do."

Chen Yi: "..."

Realizing something a bit belatedly, Min Ning's heart skipped a beat. Her already flushed cheeks turned even redder, and she felt a bit dizzy.

Chen Yi, on the other hand, showed a triumphant smile, holding her arm firmly as he said:

"See, you're really drunk, aren't you?"

If Min Ning hadn't been drunk, she would never have admitted to liking him outright, not even to an old subordinate.

All this time, she had never verbally admitted to liking him, even though she had endured quite a bit because of him.

Min Ning, flustered and exasperated, glared at Chen Yi's flushed face and slapped his back hard, shouting:

"Let go of me, let go! How can a dignified man toy with a woman like this?!"

Then, she felt Chen Yi's body freeze for a moment.

Min Ning raised her face, realizing something, and saw him turning his face away stiffly.

She instinctively panicked a little, but emboldened by the alcohol, her flushed face fueled her confidence. She straightened herself and said:

"I don't have anything! See how foolish you are, letting me trick you for so long?"

In the dim night, Chen Yi's face wasn't clearly visible, but Min Ning could guess in her drunken haze that it must be a mixture of shock and disbelief.

Min Ning snorted and said:

"I've always seen you as a brother. Originally, I wouldn't have ruined your beautiful fantasies, but who told you to insist that I was drunk?"

Chen Yi said nothing. In the silhouette of the evening, it seemed as though his lips were pressed together.

Seeing this, Min Ning leaned forward slightly, muttering:

"Are you crying?... Do you still want your sister-brother relationship?"

Chen Yi didn't answer, simply staring at her intently.

Min Ning's heart suddenly felt empty for no reason. A heaviness settled in her chest, and her eyes burned with unbidden tears.

In the silent night, streaks of tears inexplicably appeared at the corners of her eyes.

She reached out, grabbed Chen Yi's collar firmly, and asked in a trembling voice:

"Chen Zunming,

do you… no longer like me?"

Seeing her nervous and anxious expression, Chen Yi finally couldn't hold back any longer. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and said:

"I like you, I like you. A sister-brother relationship is the best—you can hang out shoulder to shoulder and… hang out shoulder to shoulder."

Min Ning felt a wave of dizziness. Chen Yi's response wasn't what she expected.

But what was different from her expectations, she couldn't quite figure out. All she knew was that Chen Yi was holding her, holding her tightly, making her feel terribly uncomfortable.

Uncomfortably fast—her heart was beating way too fast.

The breeze brushed her face, clearing her head slightly. She pushed Chen Yi away forcefully and said:

"Don't, don't take advantage of me… you drunkard!"

"I'm a drunkard. I'm a drunkard," Chen Yi said with a laugh.

Min Ning wobbled as she walked, almost entirely disoriented. She didn't even know where she was going; she just kept moving.

Then, something tripped her underfoot. With a thud, Min Ning fell to the ground.

Chen Yi rushed over and saw Min Ning lifting her face and murmuring:

"Damn it, I fell."

Chen Yi stifled a laugh and hurriedly helped the stubborn woman up, speaking softly:

"You're really drunk."

"Not drunk, not drunk. You're the drunk one."

"Then who just fell?"

Min Ning hesitated for a while, then turned her face away and said, "You."

"Alright, alright, it was me who fell, me who's drunk."

Chen Yi coaxed her softly, supporting her step by step as they headed toward the tent.

Pulling back the curtain, Chen Yi brought Min Ning to the bed, gently laying her down. Her slightly frail back bounced up the moment it touched the bedding, and she grabbed Chen Yi's collar directly.

Min Ning, seeming a bit more sober, said instead:

"You didn't actually fall—you're lying!"

Chen Yi was momentarily speechless, only managing to hold back his laughter with great effort.

Even if the woman he liked was being unreasonable, it only made her more endearing.

"Why are you lying?" Min Ning, her face flushed, pressed on relentlessly. "Clearly, I was the one who fell."

Chen Yi said earnestly, "I wasn't lying. You didn't fall."

"Why didn't I fall?" Seeing his confident expression, Min Ning looked more confused.

Looking at her, Chen Yi's gaze softened as he said, "Because in my eyes, you never fell."

"Hmph, love makes even the plainest girl beautiful!"

Min Ning, for once, looked half-pouting and half-shy—a rare sight for someone as bold and forthright as her. Chen Yi's heart skipped a beat, a feeling swelling within him.

In the dark, Min Ning sensed something, and with irritation, she shouted:

"You shameless fool! … Are you going to mess with the Prince and Princess again?"

Chen Yi gently patted her back and said softly:

"No, I'll stay with you. Just you."

"Stay with me…" Min Ning repeated softly.

She slowly lay down, utterly exhausted after a long day. Her eyes fluttered closed as she murmured: