Contrary to his usual behavior, Brace woke up unusually early today.
He started brushing his teeth while humming a tune, his voice muffled and full of bubbles, earning him a roll of the eyes from Qiao Anni.
“Did you take the wrong pills? Or did you not kick the habit cleanly?”
Just as she was thinking that, Qiao Anni noticed the calendar on the wall and realized the truth.
It was the end of the month.
‘Hmph, so that’s it.’
This was a conclusion drawn from several months of observation.
First, Brace Enfield was a staunch user of traditional currency. Even if he got eye rolls from clients or young convenience store clerks when he was out, he didn’t care.
Second, he had a habit of going to the bank on a certain morning near the end of the month to withdraw all his earnings for the month, deriving some kind of satisfaction from it—even though his job didn’t actually pay on a monthly basis.
Third, he was always inexplicably excited on that day. Was this what they called “a man in high spirits feels refreshed”?
Well, it didn’t do her any harm anyway.
Watching Brace walk out cheerfully, Qiao Anni thought to herself.
Walking down the street, Brace felt the weather was exceptionally clear. Even the black smoke rising from a nearby factory seemed to be waving at him.
“What should I buy with the extra money…”
Just thinking about it made his footsteps lighter.
Passing by the market, Brace stopped. The promotional signs on the roadside and the gathered crowd caught his attention.
“A new product promotion?”
An unfamiliar brand.
Although he had always only drunk that particular brand of coffee…
Buying something else once in a while wouldn’t be bad.
Brace pushed open the door of the agency.
“Back already?”
“Yeah, I bought some drinks on the way back to celebrate.”
Brace lifted the white plastic bag covered with water droplets and shook it. He opened the fridge, and white vapor escaped, bringing a hint of coolness to the summer.
Qiao Anni was lying on the sofa, watching Brace put the cans one by one into the fridge, and suddenly found it a little strange.
“Mr. Brace, what drinks did you buy?”
“The green tea you wanted, right?”
Brace raised a drink bottle, shook it, and put it in the fridge.
“I’m not asking about the drink I wanted. I’m asking about what you bought for yourself.”
“What about my drink?”
“Don’t you usually only buy those sickly sweet, sugar-loaded coffees and energy drinks?”
Qiao Anni pointed at the plastic bag.
“Why did you suddenly buy a new one?”
“Oh, you mean this,” Brace took out a black can with a big letter “A” on it. “This is also an energy drink, a new one. I saw it was on promotion and bought it to try.”
With that, Brace tossed a bottle of green tea to Qiao Anni, then opened the metal ring of the drink can with a hiss, and took a tentative sip.
“How is it?”
“Hmm, not bad… for a new product.”
“Got any more? I want to try it too.”
“Here.”
Brace took out another can and tossed it to Qiao Anni. Qiao Anni imitated him and took a sip.
“Not bad, huh?”
“…”
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s a bit… weird. Not that it tastes bad, but… it’s just okay?”
“Tsk, our tastes have never matched.”
“If my tastes matched yours, I’d probably get diabetes.”
Ignoring Qiao Anni’s sarcasm, Brace picked up the drink can again and took a big gulp.
The next day, Brace bought the same drinks again.
“Buying again?”
“It’s pretty good. Buying another can to try won’t hurt. The promotion period isn’t over yet.”
“…Yeah, I guess.”
…
On the third day, Brace brought back a cardboard box with an “A” logo.
“Is it that good?”
“Hmm… I guess so?”
On the fifth day, Qiao Anni couldn’t hold it in anymore.
“Mr. Brace.”
“What is it?”
Brace put down the half-empty drink can.
“Don’t you think you’re drinking a bit too much?”
“No. What are you talking about?”
As he said that, there were already two empty cans beside him.
“Then how many cans have you had today?”
“Three… or four.”
“There’s definitely something wrong here, right?”
Qiao Anni said, “Let me see,” and snatched the drink can from the reluctant Brace’s hand, examining it closely.
The drink was called “A Can,” a brand she had never heard of. The ingredient list was a mess completely incomprehensible.
But at the very bottom of the bottle, Qiao Anni spotted a line of small text—so small it was hard to read without a prosthetic eye.
“This product has a certain degree of addictiveness. Please consume with caution.”
Qiao Anni read the text on the bottle word for word. The office fell silent.
Brace picked up the drink can and stared at it for a full five minutes.
Then he let out a long sigh and covered his face.
“How come you’re fine?”
Probably because of the implant.
Qiao Anni remembered that time at the bar when she downed glass after glass of high-proof liquor and felt nothing.
If it had been her body from her previous life, she would have been passed out long ago.
Qiao Anni patted him on the shoulder.
“You’d better stop drinking.”
“…You’re right.”
That night, the entire box of drinks was thrown into the trash.
But things never ended that simply.
This state was called “addiction” for a reason.
The day after throwing away the drinks, Brace was walking down the street when he suddenly felt a palpitation.
“Uh…”
‘It feels terrible.’
‘I’m feeling inexplicably irritated. Is it because of the weather?’
‘Maybe I should buy something to drink?’
Just then, a drink vending machine appeared at the street corner at the perfect moment.
Brace’s legs unconsciously walked toward the vending machine.
His hand unconsciously reached for his wallet and tremblingly inserted coins.
As the coins fell, the vending machine played an energetic jingle.
“Haha, yes, I’ll buy a can of iced coffee. This weather is perfect for that…”
Though he said that, his hand honestly reached for the button for “A Can.”
Just as his finger was about to press the button, Brace snapped back to reality.
“No!!!”
thud His head smacked hard against the vending machine. Pedestrians on the street turned to look, then quickened their steps, getting away from the lunatic shouting at the vending machine.
“Haah… haah…”
Brace desperately tried to reach the coffee button, but an invisible force held him back.
clatter
hiss!
“Pfft!”
When he came to his senses, the can in his hand was already empty.
“Haha, this weather is perfect for a can of iced coffee…”
Staring at the “A Can” in his hand, Brace had already entered a state of self-denial.
“Are you planning not to go out for a while?”
Qiao Anni looked at Brace with confusion.
“Yes,”
Brace collapsed on the sofa.
“Temptation is everywhere…”
Looking at the defeated Brace, Qiao Anni could only shake her head.
On the third day after throwing away the drinks, Brace’s mental state was sluggish but he could barely hold on.
“Come on~ Come on~”
Qiao Anni crouched nearby, drinking iced green tea while cheering for Brace.
On the fifth day, things got serious.
“Qiao Anni, my legs don’t seem to listen to me anymore…”
Brace’s eyes turned red, and he desperately rushed out time and again, only to be dragged back by Qiao Anni each time.
“I feel so thirsty, and my whole body is itching…”
Brace’s words were almost pleading.
“No, you have to persevere.”
But that trick didn’t work on Qiao Anni.
On the seventh day, Qiao Anni also found it tricky.
It wasn’t that she couldn’t stop Brace, but she couldn’t monitor his movements 24/7.
He kept trying to slip away when she wasn’t paying attention or was busy, heading for the nearest vending machine.
When she went to the bathroom.
When she answered the phone.
When she was sleeping.
After several repetitions of this ridiculous escape and capture, Brace finally showed signs of exhaustion and obediently lay on the desk.
“Finally settled down…”
Qiao Anni’s anxious heart finally relaxed.
Then fatigue also washed over her, not physical but mainly mental.
She looked out the window. It was getting late.
‘I need to take a shower.’
The moment this thought appeared in her mind, Qiao Anni locked eyes with Brace, who had lifted his head to sneak a peek at her.
“…”
“…”
“Don’t run off, Mr. Brace, okay? Otherwise, I’ll have to use force.”
“…”
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
When Qiao Anni turned around to rummage through the wardrobe for clothes, she suddenly heard a noise behind her.
“Huh?”
Qiao Anni looked back. Brace was still lying on the desk dozing, not meeting her eyes.
Qiao Anni grabbed her clothes and walked toward the bathroom.
click The bathroom door closed. The office fell silent.
The bathroom door quietly opened.
Qiao Anni poked her head out. Brace was still lying on the desk.
“…”
Qiao Anni closed the bathroom door.
She began carefully taking off her clothes one by one, making no sound.
The silence outside continued.
Qiao Anni sighed in relief and turned on the shower nozzle.
splash—
Just as Qiao Anni put her head under the water, she heard a sound of something heavy hitting the floor outside.
“Damn! That fish tank again!”
What a huge help, the previous tenant.
Qiao Anni grabbed a towel and rushed out of the bathroom.
“I knew you’d try to run! Stop right there! Come back!”
Brace had already overcome countless obstacles. Half his body was out the door, his hand reaching toward the freedom beyond.
smack A hand grabbed Brace, stopping him inside the door.
Unfortunately, the road to freedom was blocked by unreasonable brute force.
“Get back here!”
“Aaaaargh!”
Qiao Anni sat on the sofa, her hair still dripping wet, wrapped in a towel. It wasn’t that she wasn’t embarrassed, but at that moment Brace’s eyes were only looking toward some distant place.
“I have a solution that will settle this once and for all.”
Qiao Anni sat on the sofa, looking at the haggard Brace.
“Have you finally agreed to let me go buy ‘A’ to drink?”
The life returned to Brace’s dead eyes.
“Wrong answer, Mr. Brace.”
Qiao Anni pulled out a newly found rope from behind the sofa.
“It’s just an emergency measure so I can take a shower in peace.”
“This is illegal imprisonment!”
“Who’s imprisoning you illegally? Stop right there!”
Just as the two were wrestling fiercely—mostly Qiao Anni unilaterally suppressing Brace—the office door suddenly opened silently.
“Brace? Qiao Anni? Why didn’t you lock the door—”
And then Olivia, who walked in carrying a bag of snacks, saw Qiao Anni, who was only wrapped in a towel, in the process of tying up a disheveled Brace with ropes.
On the tenth day after throwing away the drinks, Brace successfully quit “A Can” with the help of Olivia and Qiao Anni. The drink was quickly banned from sale for various reasons.
However, none of the three were willing to mention what happened during that period.
The wind blowing in through the window already carried a hint of coolness. The hot summer seemed to be nearing its end.
It had been a tumultuous summer, but overall one with more good than bad.