The time was midsummer, and the heat waves rolled off the star station's docking bay, making the air tremble. Everything the sunlight touched gleamed.
Jiang Ye stood by the car wearing sunglasses, waiting. The car door was open, and the air conditioning was blasting cold air outwards, making it feel like standing next to a giant ice block.
The guards behind him weren't so fortunate. They were drenched in sweat, their eyes squinting against the glare of the sun.
Finally, a pristine white spaceship descended slowly.
The ramp extended and touched the ground, the hatch opened, and a... little girl in ancient costume hopped out. She scampered down the ramp and stopped in front of Jiang Ye.
Hua Qing was short and petite, but her eyes were large and bright. Her fair skin shimmered under the scorching sun. She wore a white gauze dress in ancient style, with a red sash, reminiscent of the young maids from princely mansions in historical dramas.
"Greetings, Commander Jiang! I am Hua Qing, reporting for duty as ordered!" Hua Qing spoke, her eyes wide as she sized up Jiang Ye.
Jiang Ye took off his sunglasses and extended his large hand. "Hello, Hua Qing. Welcome to Jiang Ye Star. On behalf of Jiang Ye Star, I welcome you."
Hua Qing smiled and extended her small hand to clasp Jiang Ye's large one.
Jiang Ye felt like an elder meeting a niece or grandniece. Hua Qing's appearance was so childlike, so cute. He felt like he could put her in a school uniform and send her off to middle school.
"Please, get in the car," Jiang Ye said, holding his hand to the top of the car door.
Hua Qing lifted her skirt and hopped into the car. Jiang Ye followed, and the convoy immediately departed for the General's office.
Once inside, Hua Qing looked around like a child, then reached out and opened the beverage cabinet. She rummaged through it and pulled out a bottle of brandy.
"Commander, I'm thirsty. Can I have a drink?" Hua Qing asked, blinking with a slightly embarrassed expression.
Jiang Ye was surprised. "Yes, but that brandy is thirty-eight percent alcohol..."
Jiang Ye stopped mid-sentence. Hua Qing had already deftly unscrewed the cap, bit down on the bottle's opening like she was drinking soda, tilted her head back, and gulped it down!
Jiang Ye was dumbfounded. That brandy was potent; even he would have to endure the burn for a while after a sip. How could this little girl drink so much?
In less than a minute, the entire large bottle of brandy was gone, poured down Hua Qing's small throat, leaving only a crystal-clear empty bottle.
"Commander, you have good taste!" Hua Qing hiccuped, licking her lips. Her jade-like cheeks were slightly flushed. "This brandy from Salamango Star has a hint of tobacco aroma. It won a gold award at the Thousand Star Expo ten years ago!"
"I don't drink much. This was just something my subordinates casually prepared," Jiang Ye said with a strange expression. "You drank so much in one go..."
"It's fine, Commander. I have an incredible tolerance for alcohol! I've never lost a drinking contest! A few pounds of alcohol won't affect my work!"
As Hua Qing spoke, she crouched by the beverage cabinet again, rummaging through the glass bottles. Soon, she pulled out a bottle of wine. "Wow, the Royal Dry Red from Far End Star's Beautiful Rose! This is so precious. Can I drink it, Commander?"
"Drinking too much is bad for your health," Jiang Ye said, feeling a bit flustered. "You can have this bottle; drink it slowly later."
"Don't worry, Commander. I have an iron stomach!" Hua Qing pulled a corkscrew from her pocket and opened the wine bottle in less than five seconds. She held the wine bottle with her small hand and began to drink again. This time, she drank a bit slower, but it was still like drinking mineral water.
Jiang Ye felt a sense of dread.
What was going on?
Why did she carry a corkscrew with her?
Was Hua Qing a drunkard?
Why was such a cute little girl a drunkard!
Jiang Ye recalled the process of allocating residences for the experts. Each expert had submitted their housing requirements. Hua Qing's request was for "a basement wine cellar and a wall of wine cabinets, capable of holding thirty thousand bottles." At the time, Jiang Ye hadn't thought much of it, assuming she was buying wine for decoration or perhaps had a boyfriend who liked to drink. It turned out it was for herself.
"This is delicious." Hua Qing finished the wine and reached into the beverage cabinet again.
"Wait a moment," Jiang Ye said.
Hua Qing's little face was flushed red. She turned back.
"Why did you drink so much alcohol in one go?" Jiang Ye asked.
"Commander, I have a special ability. I really love drinking, and it doesn't harm my body or affect my work," Hua Qing said with a smile. "I don't drink water at all. In the morning, I start with a small bottle of beer to help my digestion, then I drink while I work, and before I go to bed at night, I can drink over ten bottles."
Jiang Ye's jaw nearly dropped. "You do this every day?"
"I do this on weekdays. I drink even more when I'm on vacation," Hua Qing thought for a moment.
Jiang Ye was stunned, his worldview completely shattered. "This drinking habit would burn through even an iron stomach! How is your liver?"
"My family has a genetic mutation that gives us an incredibly strong ability to metabolize alcohol. When I was six, I drank a case of Tsingtao beer for the first time, and then I went to take my final exam, scoring first in the class," Hua Qing said, her expression a mix of shyness and pride. "In middle school, while other students had novels, snacks, and textbooks in their desk drawers, mine were filled with baijiu and whiskey. I also had canned beer in my backpack and would secretly drink it with a straw during class. If I couldn't solve a problem during evening study, I'd chug a couple of mouthfuls of Wuliangye, and then I could solve the problems."
"You're sweating on your forehead," Jiang Ye said, his eyes wide.
A layer of dewy sweat had appeared on Hua Qing's forehead. Her already red little face began to sweat, and her neck looked as if it had been washed. Within half a minute, the white gauze at her neckline was soaked with sweat, clinging tightly to her.
A scent of alcohol permeated the car, clearly emanating from her sweat. It seemed that half of the two bottles she had just drunk had already come out as sweat.
"After drinking, I sweat. I'm covered in sweat all year round," Hua Qing smiled. "My family is all like this. My mother says my father is like a dolphin that swam out of a wine pool. But our sweat doesn't smell bad; it smells like alcohol."
"Amazing," Jiang Ye couldn't help but exclaim. "How much can you drink?"
"I only get drunk when I'm sick. Otherwise, I never get drunk," Hua Qing said, her eyes sparkling, her expression slightly tipsy. "When I was in my first year of university, there was a drinking competition. In a few hours, I drank 6 bottles of soy-aroma baijiu, 1 bottle of vodka, 12 bottles of beer, and 9 bottles of wine. I consecutively defeated 6 male contestants who challenged me and won the drinking competition gold medal. This record is still held at my alma mater. But at that time, I only felt a little dizzy, not drunk."
Hua Qing was sweating even more. Her dark braids were soaked through with sweat, and her white gauze dress, now wet, clung tightly to her legs. Her two slender white legs looked like she had just emerged from swimming. She reached out to wipe the sweat from her face, while sweat dripped from her forehead.
Jiang Ye was inwardly amazed.
Liu Ling was nothing compared to this. A true immortal of wine was Hua Qing!
Hua Qing still seemed not to have had enough and turned to rummage in the beverage cabinet again.
There was a bottle of yellow wine, a bottle of fruit wine, and two bottles of beer left. She took them all out, lined them up, and pulled out her corkscrew from her pocket, opening each one and drinking. After drinking, she tilted her little face up, her satisfied sweat flowing profusely, as if enjoying a sauna.
Amidst the strong smell of alcohol, the car finally arrived at Jiang Ye's office building.
As soon as Hua Qing got out of the car, she hurriedly lifted her skirt and ran, faster than a rabbit, into the building.
The guards were bewildered. Why did she run off as soon as she got out of the car?
Jiang Ye waved to the female guard beside him and whispered, "Take her to the restroom."