Chapter Eighteen: Behave

Chapter Eighteen: Behave

In all of Yun Zi'an's memories, Rong Xiao had never sworn or used foul language; his emotions had never erupted. Even in anger, his silence only became more sharply intimidating.

But what had Rong Xiao just said?

Yun Zi'an leaned against the edge of the bar, pressing his long fingers against his lower lip, slightly deforming it. His gaze towards Rong Xiao was mixed with unexpected surprise and wonder, but coupled with the light smile on his lips, he appeared somewhat mad.

"Heh..." Unable to contain himself, Yun Zi'an let out a chuckle, running his hand back through his hair, "Rong Xiao..."

All of this was just too amusing.

"What position or authority do you have to control me?" Yun Zi'an asked with a smile, though they had just kissed passionately, now his look seemed to radiate a chill, "Or is it? You love me?"

His hair was still dripping water, falling perfectly along his jawline to his pale collarbone, where a distinct red mole, set against skin as exquisite as a pearl, made the name "Rong Xiao" on his chest seem like bold ink on white paper.

Rong Xiao's grey-black eyes intensely observed Yun Zi'an's chest, his lips unconsciously pressing together.

It turned out this possession was merely his one-sided assumption.

.

Faced with Rong Xiao's silence, Yun Zi'an's sarcasm grew deeper. Crossing his arms, he raised his slender neck towards the dazzling lights above, a smile on his lips, sighing lightly, "Rong Xiao, it was you who left, you who said you wouldn't love. Even though you stayed abroad for three years, there's a phrase you should understand, 'time changes everything'. No one waits forever..."

"Ah..." Yun Zi'an seemed troubled as he ruffled his hair, "I really wanted to enjoy tonight."

"I'm leaving." He turned to go, waving dismissively at Rong Xiao, "We can talk tomorrow. I'm going to find someone to sleep with..."

His wrist was suddenly grasped tightly from behind, the hand almost scalding. Rong Xiao, with an almost forceful attitude, pulled his arm, "You're not allowed to go."

"Please..." Yun Zi'an sighed again in resignation, "We're only in a marriage of convenience. You're acting as if..."

He turned his head to meet Rong Xiao's grey-black eyes, his smile filled with mockery, "As if you really are my husband."

Rong Xiao's Adam's apple moved up and down under his gaze.

"I can stay in this room obediently tonight," Yun Zi'an suddenly changed his tone, his eyes as cunning as a fox, "But I have a condition."

Hearing that Yun Zi'an wouldn't spend the night in another man's bed, Rong Xiao's muscles relaxed slightly, his voice deep, "Say it."

Yun Zi'an turned and walked behind the bar, taking out a large ice bucket from the freezer. He selected a variety of spirits from the dazzling array of bottles - tequila, whiskey, vodka, an assortment of distilled strong liquors.

He deftly rotated the bottle opener in his hand, popping open the bottles with a few clicks, and then poured all the liquor into the ice bucket.

The room was immediately filled with the strong, crisp scent of alcohol as Yun Zi'an pushed the bucket of high-proof liquor mixture towards Rong Xiao, tilting his chin up, "Drink it."

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A slight smile played on his lips, knowing the answer even as he spoke.

Rong Xiao got drunk easily, even low-alcohol sweet wines could affect him, which is why he always abstained from alcohol.

The mouthful of liquor they had swallowed during their kiss earlier must have already made him slightly tipsy.

Such a bucket of mixed strong liquor, even for someone with Yun Zi'an's tolerance, was too dangerous to drink – the evaporating alcohol could ignite with just a spark. Drinking it would surely land them in the hospital.

He had come to provoke Rong Xiao deliberately.

Since stepping into the room and seeing Rong Xiao tonight, he had been venting his mood in a roundabout way.

Surprisingly, Rong Xiao didn’t show any difficulty in the face of such a bucket of strong alcohol. He simply rolled up the sleeves of his robe, revealing his muscular forearms, then looked up at Yun Zi'an, "Do you keep your word?"

This response caught Yun Zi'an off guard, his pupils dilating slightly, "You..."

"If you don’t keep your word, be careful on your own," Rong Xiao warned, not as a threat but as a matter of fact, gripping the edge of the ice bucket with one hand, "My maximum sniping range is 800 meters."

He extended a finger, as if it were a bullet leaving the barrel, its heat aimed at Yun Zi'an's chest. His grey-black eyes were deep, "Within 800 meters, I never miss."

He added a fact well-known to everyone, "And I always—"

"Always seek revenge."

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Yun Zi'an's light-colored pupils trembled slightly. At the moment Rong Xiao's finger touched his chest, his heart felt as if it were pierced by a pure silver bullet. He seemed like a creature of darkness that couldn't bear the light, hardly able to meet Rong Xiao's gaze.

The next second, Rong Xiao lifted the ice bucket of swirling liquor single-handedly, tilted his head back, and began drinking unflinchingly. The moment the strong liquor hit his throat, his swallowing hesitated, but he didn't stop.

"Rong..." Yun Zi'an was frozen on the spot, events veering off the course he had set. He just wanted Rong Xiao to yield to him, but as Rong Xiao really started to swallow the knife-like liquor, panic set in, "Rong Xiao..."

"Stop drinking..." Yun Zi'an rushed forward, trying to snatch the ice bucket, no longer in control of the situation, "Stop damn it—!"

.

Rong Xiao's free hand firmly gripped Yun Zi'an's neck, pressing him against the wall. With the other hand holding the bucket, his Adam's apple rolled with each swallow. His grey-black eyes were completely reddened by alcohol, the high-proof mixed liquor dissecting his internal organs like blades.

With the last drop of cold liquor flowing into his mouth, Rong Xiao turned the bucket over to show Yun Zi'an it was empty, his lips wet with traces of alcohol, his breath heavy with the fierce scent of liquor.

Yun Zi'an's pupils quivered, rendered speechless.

After less than three seconds of silence, Rong Xiao suddenly exerted force in his arm, throwing the ice bucket away with a loud clang, the stainless-steel bucket deforming under the immense force.

The hand that had gripped Yun Zi'an's neck softened to a caress at the back of his neck. Rong Xiao's chest heaved, his bronze skin burning with the wild fire of intoxication, the gentlemanly facade stripped away to reveal a side even he didn't know.

Rong Xiao pressed his sweat-drenched forehead against Yun Zi'an, his drunken eyes gazing at him, his speech thick with the pungent smell of alcohol, as if he wanted to bite him to death, "Yun Zi'an..."

"When will you stop infuriating me so much?"