Tang Yu had originally been drinking soda, while Xie Tianyi had fruit liquor. But because they placed their bottles right next to each other, Tang Yu ended up grabbing the wrong one.
Tang Yu slammed his hand on the table and tried to stand up aggressively, but his tough front didn’t last three seconds before he went completely soft at the knees.
Xie Tianyi waved a hand in front of his face. “Hey, brother! Do you even know who I am right now?”
Tang Yu slammed his bottle onto the table with a loud thud. His grip was heavy and unsteady…it looked less like he was putting the bottle down and more like he was using it to prop himself up to stay balanced.
Bai Yuenian reached over to support the bottle, keeping it from tipping over and spilling liquor all over Tang Yu.
Xie Tianyi had opened a bottle of Rio. Old Feng checked the label and shrugged. “This is only 3% ABV! Why are you shouting so loud? Tang Yu should be fine, right?”
“Ah…” Xie Tianyi sighed. “You guys don’t get it. He’s crazy sensitive to alcohol. Just a tiny drop gets him wasted. Honestly, even smelling high-proof alcohol is enough to set him off…and he blacks out, too.”
“No way!”
“He looks pretty normal right now, though.”
“Not just normal…he actually looks kind of fierce.”
No sooner had the words left their mouths than Tang Yu…who had looked totally normal a second ago…started thumping his own chest as if something was blocked inside. His features crumpled into a pouting, deeply aggrieved expression, his lips pursed.
Just as everyone was starting to worry about what was wrong, he let out an insanely loud burp. Then, his lips tugged upward into a goofy, silly grin. “Ah, much better.”
The girls in the room burst out laughing. “Okay, yeah…he’s definitely drunk.”
“Oh my gosh! That contrast is so cute! My maternal instincts are kicking into overdrive.”
“I suddenly really want to hug him and squish his cheeks!”
“How is Tang Yu this adorable?!”
“Adorable?” Xie Tianyi shook his head and shoved Tang Yu straight into Bai Yuenian’s arms. “Nian-god, forgive me for being a bad friend, but he gets really clingy when he drinks. He’s your problem now!”
With that, Xie Tianyi bolted to the farthest corner of the room.
Unable to stand on his own, Tang Yu had no choice but to lean heavily on Bai Yuenian.
Following the force of Xie Tianyi’s shove, Bai Yuenian looked down at the boy in his arms, who was clinging to his shoulders like a helpless kitten. He froze for a moment.
Wu Jianqi, quick on his feet, didn’t waste a second. He rallied Old Feng to pack up both boys’ belongings, stuffed them into a backpack, and hung it over Bai Yuenian’s shoulder.
He finished off with a solemn pat on Bai Yuenian’s shoulder. “Since Tang Yu is like this, Nian-god, we have to trouble you to get him home safely.”
Bai Yuenian raised a brow almost imperceptibly, his tone laced with wry praise. “Look at you, being all clever.”
As Bai Yuenian half-supported, half-carried Tang Yu out of the private room, one of the girls watching them from the doorway sighed wistfully. “Why do I suddenly feel like a mother sending her son off to his in-laws?”
“Me too!”
At the very back of the room, Old Feng had originally been sitting next to Bai Yuenian. Now that the seat was empty, he called out to the classmates near the door to shift over so they wouldn’t have to squeeze, while he moved into Bai Yuenian’s vacant spot.
The velvet fabric on the chair was soft, topped with a comfortable cushion. But as he sat down, something felt off. Reaching a hand underneath the cushion… he pulled out a Jack of Spades.
Old Feng: “…”
He suddenly realized why Bai Yuenian had been so certain he would lose this round! It was all because a certain someone had mentioned wanting to see Bai Yuenian lose! So Bai Yuenian had secretly hidden a card all along.
Man, these two are actually kind of cute together. He had just been flexed on by a single Jack of Spades.
Once they stepped out of the barbecue joint, Tang Yu started getting restless…especially when Bai Yuenian accidentally tickled the sensitive spot on his waist again.
Tang Yu dissolved into a fit of giggles, squirming continuously to get away from Bai Yuenian. But the second Bai Yuenian let go, Tang Yu lost his balance and threatened to slide straight onto the pavement. Bai Yuenian had no choice but to wrap his arm tighter around his waist to hold him up.
They hadn’t walked very far before Bai Yuenian found himself hitting his limit.
He held Tang Yu by both shoulders to steady him and let out a long sigh. “How are you like this when you’re drunk?”
Tang Yu nodded woozily. “How am I?”
“Nothing… just that I have a little nuisance in my arms.” His voice carried a trace of helplessness, mixed with a gentle, coaxing tone.
Yet in Tang Yu’s intoxicated brain, it sounded like a direct challenge. His teenage competitive streak flared up…he had to match whatever the other person had.
“What’s the big deal?” Tang Yu argued stubbornly. “You have a little nuisance in your arms, too!”
Bai Yuenian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. The guy’s competitive drive was certainly strong, but his drunk logic was an absolute mess.
He couldn’t resist teasing him further. “The nuisance in my arms is very cute.”
Tang Yu countered immediately: “The nuisance in your arms is pretty, too!”
“Yeah. He is very pretty. And the one in my arms is also…” Bai Yuenian paused. Remembering what Xie Tianyi had said about Tang Yu blacking out, he weighed the chances of this moment being completely forgotten tomorrow.
In the end, the young man’s eyes deepened, deciding to indulge himself just this once.
“The one in my arms is also… my absolute favorite.”
Refusing to lose, Tang Yu blurted out, “The one in your arms is my absolute favorite, too!”
Bai Yuenian: “…”
What kind of confusing yet strangely pure relationship is this?
Bai Yuenian added, “The one in my arms is also a total narcissist!”
Sure enough, Tang Yu followed right along: “The one in your arms is a narcissist, too!”
Bai Yuenian breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Adding that last line meant that even if Tang Yu somehow remembered this tomorrow, it wouldn’t count as a real confession. At most, it would just sound like two classmates bantering back and forth.
Thank goodness. A certain drunk little guy who swore he was straight had said he disliked gay guys…so this shouldn’t count as exposing his feelings.
On the way home, they passed two pharmacies.
Bai Yuenian briefly considered whether he should buy Tang Yu some sobriety medicine, but then he thought about the guy’s nonexistent alcohol tolerance…
Freeing up a hand, Bai Yuenian gently stroked Tang Yu’s hair. He had seen Zhou Fangmin do it this morning, and his palm had been itching to try it all day.
It had lingered for an entire day. He… had wanted to do this, too.
Tang Yu’s hair was light in color, a warm chestnut shade. Bai Yuenian’s long fingers ran through the soft strands, sliding down along the part as if he were simply smoothing down the wind-blown hair at his temples.
Tang Yu’s hair was remarkably soft. The delicate, sweet scent of his shampoo drifted into Bai Yuenian’s nose, making him want to lean closer and take a deeper breath.
His fingertips finally rested near Tang Yu’s temples. “Does your head hurt?”
Tang Yu shook his head, wrapping himself around Bai Yuenian’s shoulders again like a human backpack.
Medicine does more harm than good anyway. If his head doesn’t hurt, he can just sleep it off.
Aside from that initial ticklish moment, Tang Yu had been remarkably well-behaved.
After walking another two blocks, they reached a small park, and Tang Yu started acting up again. Spotting a little kid eating cotton candy, he immediately demanded some for himself.
The cotton candy vendor was inside the park. Having no choice, Bai Yuenian guided Tang Yu over to a nearby bench where he could keep an eye on him.
He positioned Tang Yu like a primary school student in class, folding his hands neatly behind his back. “If you want cotton candy, stay put and wait for me to come back, okay?”
Tang Yu nodded obediently.
A guy as good-looking as Bai Yuenian stepping into the park naturally drew glances from passersby.
Even the vendor couldn’t help striking up a conversation while spinning the sugar. “Buying cotton candy for your little brother or sister?”
Bai Yuenian glanced back at the boy sitting on the bench. “No. It’s for my older brother.”
The vendor: “…”
“Well… your brother must be very young at heart.”
When Bai Yuenian walked back, Tang Yu was still sitting obediently in the exact same spot. But his state was… a bit strange.
Tang Yu was curled up on the bench, holding two leaves he had plucked from a bush right in front of his eyes.
Bai Yuenian asked, “What are you doing?”
“Shh!” Tang Yu whispered fiercely. “All these people keep staring at me. I don’t want them looking at me.”
So you’re hiding behind two leaves?!
Bai Yuenian never knew that the idiom “a single leaf blocks the view” could be used to describe something so utterly adorable.
Yep, there’s no way he’s going to remember this tomorrow. If he does, he’ll die of embarrassment. Who would have thought the school bully would be afraid of people looking at him on the street?
The boy’s side profile was handsome yet dusted with a touch of youthful innocence. Combined with the two flush spots on his cheeks from the alcohol, his lingering baby fat looked exceptionally endearing. It was no wonder he was turning heads.
Seeing that the guy was currently acting like a shy snail, Bai Yuenian resorted to a bit of coaxing. “Don’t want the cotton candy you just asked for?”
“I want it! I want it!” Tang Yu instantly tossed the leaves aside.
He looked up at Bai Yuenian, waving him over. “Piggyback me. I’ll focus on eating.”
Bai Yuenian chuckled. “Are you sobering up or what? You’re getting pretty bossy.”
“Are you gonna refuse me?”
Tang Yu looked down at the guy squatting in front of him and decided to deploy his “school bully” skills to force compliance.
He wrapped his arms tightly around Bai Yuenian’s neck, bared his teeth, and lightly grazed Bai Yuenian’s Adam’s apple with his fangs in a mock threat. “Hurry up! If you don’t carry me, I’ll bite you!”
Bai Yuenian: “…”
Okay, he’s definitely still drunk. A sober Tang Yu would never do something like this.
And with a threat like that, it was hard to say who was actually in danger here!
Besides… did Tang Yu always bite people when he was drunk?! And on such a sensitive spot, no less!
To humor the drunk little guy, Bai Yuenian turned around and let Tang Yu climb onto his back.
Relieved from walking and now happily eating his treat, Tang Yu wiggled triumphantly on Bai Yuenian’s back.
A second later, he marveled out loud, “Wow, you’ve got a really perky butt~”
Bai Yuenian: “…”
Had he spoiled this little nuisance a bit too much?
Deciding it was time to draw the line, Bai Yuenian turned his head toward the drunk boy on his back. “Besides me, who else have you bitten like that when you were drunk?”
However, the moment the question left his mouth, he froze.
From his turned angle, he happened to see Tang Yu extend the tip of his tongue, curling a small clump of cotton candy into his mouth.
The pure white sugar and the vivid red tongue formed an intensely striking contrast. The cotton candy melted the second it hit his mouth, shrinking and vanishing right before Bai Yuenian’s eyes… melting into a sweet trace that wrapped around the tip of Tang Yu’s tongue.
Bai Yuenian quickly snapped his gaze away, his mind echoing with a single thought: It must be so sweet.
Yet the words that tumbled out of Tang Yu’s mouth weren’t sweet at all…in fact, they were a bit of a slap in the face.
Tang Yu gave a bright, innocent smile. “Oh, tons of people!”
Bai Yuenian’s hands supporting his knees suddenly loosened for a fraction of a second before catching him again. “Liar.”
Startled by the sudden dip, Tang Yu hugged Bai Yuenian’s neck even tighter. “What are you doing?! You asked me something I don’t know, and when I answer, you call me a liar?!”
Bai Yuenian asked, “You really don’t remember?”
Tang Yu: “Cross my heart, hope to die, I’m a puppy if I’m lying.”
Bai Yuenian sighed. “Puppies don’t lie.”
Tang Yu retorted, “Puppies lie to me.”
Bai Yuenian: “…”
Right. His logic is still completely fried.