Shi Yu ignored the inquisitive gazes of the bystanders and stepped straight into the room. His eyes swept across the corner of the sofa until they landed on Su Rong.
Su Rong was sleeping in a tangled mess, covered by a blanket. His usually fair face was flushed a deep crimson; he was clearly quite drunk.
“Shi Yu?” someone beside him suddenly called his name.
Shi Yu looked over. It was Luo An, one of Duan Jinghuai’s followers from high school. Looking back, his voice was indeed among those he had heard at the door earlier.
Shi Yu had no intention of reminiscing. He tilted his head arrogantly, his long lashes brushing against his eyelids, and said with a cool tone, “I am here to pick up Su Rong.”
He was wearing a thin white sweatshirt. His naturally translucent skin was as white as a snow-capped peak in the clear dawn. Standing there, cold and detached amidst the dim, hazy shadows of the lights, he looked like a trail of starlight that had fallen into the mortal world.
The surroundings fell silent for a moment.
Then, another voice rang out: “Oh? So you are Su Rong’s cousin? Why didn’t you say so sooner? We are all friends here.”
Xie Jiahao.
There were also some unfamiliar faces in the private booth, likely friends Duan Jinghuai had made in college.
“Hey, let me introduce everyone,” Xie Jiahao said, stepping forward with sudden enthusiasm. He clapped his hands and raised his voice to the others. “This guy right here was our high school Student Council President. He ranked first in the entire school and was our class monitor. He is a real big deal.”
With that hint, even the slowest person in the room understood that Shi Yu was the very person they had been gossiping about. One after another, they began to join in with hypocritical cheers.
Shi Yu did not bother acknowledging them. With his hands tucked into his sweatshirt pockets, he started walking toward Su Rong.
Suddenly, someone blocked his path, holding out a glass of wine toward him. “Hey, Class Monitor, since you are already here, have a drink before you go.”
Shi Yu looked up. The man’s face looked slightly familiar. Thinking back, they had met once at the Swan Bay press conference. He was likely the son of some corporate tycoon named Xu Hailin.
“No thanks,” Shi Yu replied flatly, pushing the glass back.
But the man had no intention of giving up. He persistently shoved the wine back in front of him. “Do not be like that. If you do not drink, you are not giving us face.”
Shi Yu pushed it back again.
He was certain he had not used much force, but the glass lost its balance. After the wine swirled around the rim a few times, it spilled over and splashed all over Xu Hailin’s expensive suit jacket.
A faint collective gasp filled the room. Xu Hailin looked down at the wine stain on his suit, and his expression twisted instantly.
He pointed at Shi Yu in a rage and roared, “What the hell is wrong with you? Do not push your luck when I am being nice.”
Shi Yu gave him a sidelong glance and tried to walk past him.
“I am talking to you! What is with that attitude?”
Xu Hailin swung a fist, but before it could connect, Shi Yu’s quick reflexes allowed him to grab the man’s wrist firmly.
Shi Yu could tell that Xu Hailin had come looking for trouble from the start. He had likely spilled the wine on himself on purpose, hoping to find an excuse to teach Shi Yu a lesson in front of Duan Jinghuai to gain some favor.
Seeing him grimacing in pain, Shi Yu snorted coldly and flung the man’s wrist aside, dusting off his hands as if he had touched something filthy.
His voice was icy. “President Duan, please keep your dog on a leash.”
“Huai-ge, look at him!” Xu Hailin wanted to say more, but Xie Jiahao quickly stepped in to stop him, signaling him frantically with his eyes.
Duan Jinghuai’s thin lips were slightly parted. His gaze silently followed Shi Yu as he walked straight toward the corner of the sofa.
Su Rong was still in a drunken haze. The moment Shi Yu touched his arm, he jerked back. He sat up abruptly, barking out a few words like a Samoyed before saying irritably, “Who is it?”
Shi Yu: “…”
Shi Yu stepped forward and patted his head expressionlessly. “Su Rong, it is Shi Yu. I am here to take you home.”
Su Rong shook his head, struggling to open his eyes. The scene before him looked like it was trapped inside a kaleidoscope, blurring into countless overlapping shadows.
He swallowed and said aggrievedly, “Brother Shi Yu, why are you shaking?”
Huo Chenzhou, who was sitting nearby, let out a short huff. With a dark expression, he picked up a bottle of chilled fruit wine from the table and pressed it against Su Rong’s face.
Only then did Shi Yu notice him.
A friend of Duan Jinghuai’s who was one year below them. Thinking back, he was the one who had called and told Shi Yu to come.
The coldness cleared Su Rong’s head slightly. He blinked and suddenly let out a boozy hiccup.
Huo Chenzhou’s face was weary and cold. Frowning, he said, “Hold it yourself.”
Su Rong: “Okay.” He took it obediently and hiccuped again.
Shi Yu glanced at Huo Chenzhou once more.
Huo Chenzhou: “Stand up.”
Su Rong shook his head and did as he was told. Shi Yu watched him wobble as he pressed down on the sofa armrest to slowly get up. His legs were so weak he was about to fall, so Shi Yu quickly stepped forward to support him.
But as soon as Su Rong stood steady, a splitting headache hit him, and his stomach began to churn. An uncontrollable surge of bitterness rose in his throat. With a loud retch, he threw up all over the sleeve of Shi Yu’s sweatshirt.
Su Rong began to slide downward, but Huo Chenzhou was quick enough to catch him.
“Hey, you!”
Before Huo Chenzhou could finish his sentence, Su Rong turned his head and threw up all over him as well.
The bar’s restroom was elegantly decorated. The marble walls and floors were polished to a high shine, and the air was filled with a faint, lingering scent of lemon incense.
In the sink area outside the stalls, a pair of well-defined hands moved under the motion-sensor faucet. The sound of running water filled the air as cool streams flowed over the back of his hands, his long fingers interlaced as he scrubbed them.
Shi Yu looked up, catching sight of Duan Jinghuai leaning against the corner through the mirror.
Su Rong could not stop vomiting. Huo Chenzhou had carried him from the booth to the restroom, and right now, Su Rong was still clutching Huo Chenzhou inside a stall while leaning over the toilet. Shi Yu had been pushed out to wash his sleeve, only to realize late that Duan Jinghuai had followed him.
The atmosphere was silent, save for the soft sound of running water.
Duan Jinghuai leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. His eyelids drooped lazily, and his narrow eyes held a hint of cold, distant arrogance.
His gaze fell on Shi Yu’s exquisite hands. Under the light, his long fingers looked like polished jade. The joints were well-proportioned, and the palms and fingertips were tinged with a delicate, pitiable red.
Duan Jinghuai narrowed his eyes slightly.
It was these beautiful hands that had once wrapped around his neck, circled his waist, and left row after row of red scratches across his back.
He shifted his eyes away surreptitiously.
The light was soft and bright, casting a moist glow over Shi Yu’s profile.
As Shi Yu leaned over slightly, the beautiful pair of butterfly bones on his back looked like they were about to take flight. Beneath his shorts, his long, well-proportioned legs were so white they made one want to take a bite.
Memories flooded back. Duan Jinghuai clenched his fingers, which were turning damp, and his throat went dry.
The sound of approaching footsteps broke the silence. The door opened, and a man in a suit and glasses walked out humming a tune. He placed his hands under the faucet.
His gaze lingered on Shi Yu’s face for a moment before slowly sliding down to stare at Shi Yu’s legs. The tune he was humming stopped abruptly.
That look, which started as mere observation, gradually turned into something suggestive.
Duan Jinghuai’s eyes darkened. With a cold face, he stepped forward to block the man’s view, his entire being radiating a chilling and dangerous aura.
Shi Yu did not realize what had happened. He only felt the light in his peripheral vision being completely obstructed. When he looked up again, there was only a fleeing silhouette in the mirror. Duan Jinghuai was leaning casually against the sink, a flicker of suppressed rage visible in his sharp, deep-set eyes.
“Can you not wear long pants when you come to a place like this?”