Rong Xuanyu quickly took the bottle, but only managed to salvage a few mouthfuls at the bottom.
She held the child who had gotten drunk in seconds, inexplicably at a loss.
After standing there dumbly for a long while without coming up with any good way to discipline a drunk, Rong Xuanyu was simply laughed out of frustration. She poked his forehead and scolded, "And here I was just praising you for being a good kid."
The child in her arms heard her voice and looked up in a daze, his chin resting against her exposed collarbone, his pair of jade-green eyes staring at her with complete focus.
He blanked for a few seconds before seeming to register what was happening. Light flickered in his eyes, his brows relaxed, and he smiled at her all soft and warm, two little dimples sinking deep at the corners of his lips.
Rong Xuanyu couldn't help but cover his eyes with her hand: "…Alright, I forgive you."
That said, she still gave his cheeks a pinch.
Lu Lefeng saw the two of them embracing from afar: "…"
Stupid legs, why did you have to come looking for them?
Lu Lefeng coughed a few times for show, drifting over like a wandering ghost, interrupting at just the right moment:
"What a coincidence, running into you two here."
Unexpectedly, Rong Xuanyu didn't suspect his shoddy acting at all. Instead, she looked relieved, rubbing her brow as she leaned Jiang Buli in her arms toward him: "Good thing I ran into you."
"He's drunk, and it's not safe for him to be out alone. Aren't you his friend? Take him home, quick."
Drunk? What drunk? Lu Lefeng's brain short-circuited for a second. Then, seeing his brother's flushed face, he suddenly snapped to attention and shot several miles away in an instant.
Rong Xuanyu: "…?"
Lu Lefeng caught the suspicious look thrown his way, froze in embarrassment for two seconds, then suddenly started coughing his lungs out, rambling on about how his driver was on leave, the old estate was too far, the rain was heavy and dangerous, family would weep tears of sorrow, and so on.
Deflecting left and right, the gist of it all was just one thing: Going back is out of the question. I still have karaoke to do. Bye!
Rong Xuanyu could clearly see through his strange reaction, but given how unreliable Lu Lefeng looked, he really couldn't take good care of Jiang Buli anyway. She couldn't be bothered to make a fuss about it, so she simply took the room card and brought Jiang Buli up to the penthouse suite to settle him in.
Lu Lefeng watched the elevator doors slide shut, and the spring-breeze smile in his eyes instantly faded.
He bit down on a cigarette, pale blue-grey smoke dispersing in all directions, blurring that cold, sinister face. Against the flickering light and shadow, he looked terrifyingly like something between man and ghost.
The private room door slammed open. A drunk Omega with delicate features and heavy, glamorous makeup stumbled over and wrapped her arms around Lu Lefeng's waist from behind, her voice sweet as a pool of honey: "Young Master Feng, can I keep you company tonight?"
Lu Lefeng was too tall; the Omega couldn't see his face, and with her drunken, blurry vision, she could only vaguely make out the curve of his lifted lips:
"Sure."
The good-tempered young master smiled gently, and in the same motion pressed his cigarette out against the Omega's fair, jade-like arm. A scream rose from below, pitch after pitch climbing higher.
"Take her to 019." His voice was cold, steeped in bloodthirsty desire.
"Yes, Young Master." The Omega who had been so lively and lovely moments ago now trembled like a leaf in a storm, dragged out roughly like a dead dog.
In that instant, the entire hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Everyone stood frozen, silent as cicadas in winter.
Lu Lefeng walked straight to the booth, took the handkerchief from the attendant's hand, and scrubbed his palm viciously.
"Isn't it just the youngest finding himself a little plaything? Why get this angry?"
The attendant was startled by the sudden voice, trembling as he looked over in panic. There, in the booth hidden in shadow, sat a long-haired man in a trench coat with silver-wire glasses.
He was white all over, like fresh snow on the eaves, so pale and indifferent he hardly seemed alive—more like a venomous snake hidden in the dead of night.
The moment his gaze landed on the serpent insignia on the man's shoulder, the attendant jolted, so terrified that water splashed out of the basin he was holding.
Cold sweat broke out on the back of the coarse-clothed attendant. It's over. It's all over. To make such a low-level mistake.
The head waiter's vicious glare nearly carved a chunk of flesh off his back.
Just as he stood there sweating profusely, awaiting judgment, his stern master seemed distracted, not paying attention at all. He merely tossed the handkerchief into the bronze basin in irritation and waved everyone away.
He quickly withdrew, retreating respectfully. Before leaving, he only heard the master loudly call out the man's name: "Fan Nanyu!"
Only two people remained in the empty private room. Lu Lefeng paced back and forth in agitation.
The long-haired man in the booth straightened up, every move measured and graceful as if calibrated by a ruler. Instead of anger, he smiled:
"What, did I guess wrong?"
"Or could it be… that the little toy you had your eye on was taken by the youngest, and that's what's bothering you?"
The moment the words landed, Lu Lefeng flew into a rage, sweeping every bottle of liquor off the black jade tabletop. The precious vessels were destroyed in an instant.
"Nonsense! How could I…"
Lu Lefeng went mad, eyes bloodshot, volatile and explosive.
Then, abruptly, he met Fan Nanyu's inscrutable gaze. He fell silent at once, the heat in his blood cooling in an instant.
Seeing that he had finally calmed down, the man's pupils, which had shrunk to pinpricks, dilated once more, becoming harmless again.
He stubbed out the cigarette with force, speaking each word deliberately: "No. Rules."
Lu Lefeng swallowed his dry throat, hung his head, and called out:
"Brother."
"Mm," Fan Nanyu's gaze carried warmth. "Go play."
Lu Lefeng muttered an "okay," grabbed his jacket from the backrest, patted it, and strode directly toward the exit.
"Oh, right."
The white-haired man in the booth suddenly remembered something and reminded him: "Be careful—don't break my things again."
In the silent private room, no one turned back. The door blocked half of Lu Lefeng's face.
Hearing this, he curled his lips in a sneer, tossed his jacket over his shoulder, and said in a careless tone:
"Just lowlifes."
Rong Xuanyu had never truly known how much trouble a drunk person could be.
Take the present moment, for instance—the kid in her arms, seeing that Rong Xuanyu wouldn't bother with him, kept stealing hesitant glances at her every so often. His jewel-like emerald eyes were wet and aggrieved, as if being ignored by her were a crime of the highest order.
Rong Xuanyu squeezed her twitching fingers: "…"
Seeing that Rong Xuanyu remained unmoved, Jiang Buli stopped hiding it. He first stepped back, standing tall and straight, as if determined to resist this one-sided cold treatment to the bitter end.
The young man had a handsome, refined face. Under the direct lamplight, his emerald eyes were like a pool of crystal-clear mountain spring water.
What was most alluring was that youthful quality hovering between childishness and maturity—invisible and intangible, yet one could feel the vibrant life flowing beneath his supple skin.
Ding!
The elevator ascended.
Still far from the target floor, Rong Xuanyu crossed her legs, folded her arms, and leaned back. Just like every time a mission reached its end, she waited to see what earth-shattering move the "villain" would unleash next.
By all accounts, the kid counted as a villain of sorts, and she was genuinely a bit curious what he would do.
Would he fire back with sharp words and burn all bridges, or simply charge over and start a fight?
One was a mental attack, the other a physical one—which would he choose?
Rong Xuanyu was completely lost in her own fixed way of thinking, utterly forgetting that the person across from her was a genuine drunkard.
—And a drunkard's words and actions cannot be judged by common sense.
Even when Jiang Buli staggered and lunged at her, Rong Xuanyu maintained a calm, composed mindset, thinking: Oh, so it's a physical attack.
She nodded inwardly, believing this was the right call. How could a good kid be a villain? It'd be a miracle if they weren't bullied by others.
But soon, her effortlessly composed expression cracked bit by bit.
The kid wasn't small in stature. When he suddenly lunged like that, Rong Xuanyu was knocked backward by the momentum, then expertly absorbed the force and stabilized her core.
If he'd just hugged her, that would've been one thing—but Jiang Buli interlaced his fingers and wrapped his arms around her neck. Their breaths mingled, so close they could almost see their own reflections in each other's eyes.
Rong Xuanyu couldn't help but feel a flicker of doubt: Could anyone really get this intimate with a stranger they'd just met after getting drunk?
But that thought was quickly cast aside—the young master was simply too hard to handle.
Jiang Buli leaned bonelessly against Rong Xuanyu. If she was heartless enough to ignore him, he'd shamelessly slide down along her waist and back toward the floor.
For the umpteenth time, Rong Xuanyu hoisted up the kid who'd gone as limp as a noodle, took a deep breath, and rubbed her brow, lamenting her misfortune.
Please, she'd rather fight tooth and nail in a bloody battle in the Wuxianliu trial grounds for three days and three nights than endure another second of this.
The elevator finally let out a "ding" as it reached its destination. Rong Xuanyu swore she'd never heard a more pleasant sound in her life.
Meanwhile, the young man beside her was still tugging at his collar, asking why she wouldn't hold him when he could barely stand.
"…" Rong Xuanyu was going insane.
Fine, fine, fine—hold, hold, hold!
Rong Xuanyu gave up. She hoisted the relentless young man over her shoulder and walked out of the elevator, then reconsidered—this position probably wasn't comfortable—so she switched to a face-to-face hold.
Jiang Buli's legs wrapped around the girl's slender waist, his rear supported by her single hand. In such a dominant posture, he suddenly quieted down, becoming a harmless lamb.
Just as Rong Xuanyu thought he was finally tired and done causing trouble, the handsome young man tugged at her collar and whispered by her ear:
"Why are you holding me?"
"…" Rong Xuanyu was truly speechless. Why am I holding you? Don't you know perfectly well?
Arguing with a drunkard was the least wise choice. Having learned her lesson, the Female Alpha refused to utter another word.
She swiftly opened the door, stripped off Jiang Buli's jacket and shoes with military efficiency, then went straight to fetch a basin of warm water to wipe his face and hands. Finally, she clumsily fed him a glass of water, told him to lie down, and tucked the blanket around him.
From start to finish, Jiang Buli was surprisingly cooperative. His gaze followed the Female Alpha's movements back and forth, his expression unchanging throughout—so calm it made one feel this was the real him.
After finishing her tasks, Rong Xuanyu thought it over and found nothing overlooked. She approached the bed one last time, ruffled the kid's hair, and said gently:
"Sleep early."
As she finished speaking and was about to leave, she heard a crisp sound of something falling to the floor.
"?" Rong Xuanyu followed the sound and saw a gilded black card lying on the ground not far away.
She glanced at the child lying obediently on the bed, only to find him staring right back at her.
With good grace, Rong Xuanyu picked it up and placed it on the nightstand. "I'll leave it here for you."
She pulled her jacket tighter around herself and turned to leave, but her wrist was suddenly seized.
Turning back, she saw the child kneeling on the bed, leaning forward with bright eyes and two small dimples forming at the corners of his lips.
He clung tightly to Rong Xuanyu's forearm, refusing to let her go, dragging her forward a few steps before pulling out over a dozen gilded cards from somewhere and offering them to her:
"Do you like these? How about I give you all of mine?"
Before Jiang Buli's words even fully left his mouth, he was cut off by the Female Alpha's actions.
Without a second thought, Rong Xuanyu snatched every card from the young man's hands, pressed him down onto the bed, and ordered him to go to sleep at once.
Her movements were urgent and hasty, as if she had been waiting for this moment for a long time.
The bedside lamp was switched off with a sharp click, and the Female Alpha's footsteps grew increasingly distant, disappearing entirely along with the sound of the front door closing.
Her steps were light, unaware that in the room behind her, the drunken young man slowly sat up, his brows dark and fists clenched, before violently sweeping the glass lamp to the floor.
It wasn't until Rong Xuanyu stepped out of the hotel's main entrance that she realized it was still raining. The late autumn night had already turned quite cold, and she waited a long time before finally flagging down a taxi willing to go to the north gate of Lianbang Junxiao.
Carrying a damp chill into the back seat, 008, who had been silent all evening, finally couldn't hold it in any longer and asked:
[Host, do you like the villain?]
Rong Xuanyu rubbed her stiff, cold fingers and asked in confusion, "Hm? Why do you ask?"
[You don't? Then… why did Host accept his cards?]
Rong Xuanyu let out a snort of laughter and explained, "Having crossed through Weimian, why would I care about those?"
"It's just that I don't want to create unnecessary trouble."
The child had finally calmed down. If she got him excited again, she couldn't imagine how difficult tonight would become. Better to cut through the knot with a swift blade and retreat by advancing.
Only then did 008 understand. It silently chided itself for forgetting that, for a Weimian traveler, currency was the least valuable thing of all.
Earned on one side, useless on the other.
Outside the window, the wind surged and clouds churned, with searing white lightning slithering like serpents.
The entrance door on the top floor clicked open, and a dark figure strode straight in, brazenly turning on all the chandeliers before pushing open the master bedroom door.
The bedding in this bedroom was steeped in somber tones—gaze at it for a few moments, and you'd feel as if you were being dragged into an abyss of utter darkness.
A young man with a grim expression lay on the bed, not even lifting his eyelids at the sound of the newcomer's approach.
The 'dark figure's' satin shirt hung wide open, stained with splattered traces of fresh blood-red. He leaned against the doorframe and said flippantly:
"What's the matter? Little one not satisfied with her?"
"Then there's no need for her to exist."
The 'dark figure'—Lu Lefeng—saw that he wasn't reacting, and was just about to close the door to let the young man rest, when he heard a hoarse yet resolute voice from behind.
"Her. I'll handle it myself."
"What? Didn't you always—" Lu Lefeng's eyes darkened, and he stopped mid-sentence, because he knew that once Jiang Buli decided something, it never changed. So he changed his tune: "Fine, fine, fine. You handle it, you handle it."
The young man on the bed closed his eyes again. Lu Lefeng knew he was tired and didn't want to talk. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly noticed a strange object in the center of the living room.
"What's that?"
Lu Lefeng strode over quickly. Moments later, he appeared at the door of Jiang Buli's room holding an unidentified object in his hands, the corner of his mouth twitching:
"Never thought you'd have this kind of hobby, little one."
Jiang Buli frowned and looked over.
There, in Lu Lefeng's palm, sat a round green apple, stabbed full of all kinds of gilded black cards. The cards overlapped into the shape of a flower, and by rough count, there were at least a dozen of them.
So extravagantly wasteful that even Lu Lefeng couldn't help but tease: "This really is the most luxurious apple I've ever seen."