Chapter 10: Fellow Sufferers in the Same Boat

Chapter 10: Fellow Sufferers in the Same Boat

The destination was quickly reached, and after getting out of the car, the two immediately and simultaneously resumed their distant and cautious demeanor.

In front of them was a famous bar in X City. Wen Muyan gestured for Xiao Han to go first and then pushed the door open to enter.

The bar only gets lively at night, with few customers during the day. Wen Muyan took Xiao Han on a symbolic stroll around, then stopped in front of a door marked "Authorized Personnel Only" in the inner area. Two bodyguards at the door understood and opened the surprisingly heavy door, from which the noise inside instantly spilled out.

It turned out that the inner room of the bar was the true gem of this establishment. The hall was lavishly decorated, with several independent private rooms along the corridor, fully equipped with various gambling tools. The outer hall was relatively noisy, filled with desperate gamblers everywhere, with attentive yet discreet service. Two doors separated the noisy casino from the quiet bar, allowing only regulars and their trusted referrals to enter.

Xiao Han did not show any surprise and followed Wen Muyan around. A beautiful lady carrying drinks approached, poured a glass for each of them, then left without saying much. Xiao Han silently applauded the service here; a classy high-end casino is indeed a cut above the rest.

"Are you satisfied, Young Master Xiao?" Wen Muyan took a sip of his drink, smiling with confidence.

"Not bad, I hope the other spots won’t let me down either," Xiao Han nodded.

"Shouldn’t you fulfill your promise to me now?"

"Just meeting him is that simple?" Xiao Han mocked him, "You want to save him, but he might not even want to leave with you."

Wen Muyan frowned slightly, "That’s none of your concern, Young Master Xiao."

Seeing his serious demeanor, Xiao Han felt a bit amused inside. The plot is pretty much wrapped up here, so he immediately gave him a look, "Since this is a bar, you should at least buy me a drink."

"Of course," Wen Muyan smiled knowingly.

"I’m going to have a drink with Mr. Wen, you guys head back," Xiao Han turned to his subordinates and ordered, immediately encountering objections. They were not at ease with their young master being alone with a dangerous character like Wen Muyan.

"I’ll call you if anything happens," Xiao Han didn’t care at all, holding a glass in one hand and the other in his pocket, he walked straight towards the bar’s private room, completely acting like he was the owner of the bar.

"But, Young Master—"

"Exactly, are you worried I’ll devour your young master?" Wen Muyan chuckled, blocking the door with one hand, stopping several bodyguards who tried to follow. Without the constraints of the script, his smile was downright chilling.

Until the door of the private room slammed shut, several men in suits looked at each other, had no choice but to obey and leave, leaving only a few to guard the bar entrance awaiting orders.

The private room prioritized privacy, and generally, no one would disturb unless the bell was rung. An extremely long sectional sofa was placed against the wall, with drinks, dice, and poker cards fully prepared on the table. Opposite was a rear-projection TV and karaoke sound system.

"...Are they all gone?" Wen Muyan peeked through the glass on the door, confirmed there was no one, then sighed in relief. Turning around, he found Young Master Xiao sitting on the sofa taking off his clothes, which startled him greatly, and he stuttered, "What, what are you doing?"

"Taking off clothes," Xiao Han frowned, threw the trench coat aside, took off the vest, and finally only a white shirt remained, which he unbuttoned and opened, revealing a long stretch of firm chest and abdominal muscles, sleeves rolled up to the elbows, and used the hem of the shirt as a fan, "Wearing a trench coat in this heat, trying to act cool, the autumn heat can kill people, you know? Where’s the air conditioner?"

He looked at Wen Muyan in surprise for a while, "I find that not only are you a good actor, but your heat resistance skill is also maxed out? Truly an all-rounder..."

Although Xiao Han’s face and figure were exactly Wen Muyan’s type, there were more important things than flirting at the moment. So, Wen Muyan, with great willpower, ignored such "temptation." Just as Xiao Han was muttering and searching for the air conditioner remote, he sat down on the sofa, turned Xiao Han to face him, and asked seriously, "How did you become KFC, oh no, how did you become 'the scum gong Xiao Han'?"

Xiao Han stopped his movements, was silent for a moment, then shook his head heavily, "I don’t know either, and my first script wasn’t being an emperor, but a modern stand-in drama, and now it’s the third life."

"...I see," Wen Muyan looked at him sympathetically, poured a glass of wine for both, and complained bitterly while drinking, "I woke up to find myself wearing ancient clothes, surrounded by a bunch of servants and maids respectfully calling me 'Your Highness,' which almost scared the pee out of me!"

Xiao Han raised his glass and clinked it with him, patted his shoulder, and said sorrowfully, "I understand you!"

Wen Muyan once again shed tears of emotion.

"...Apart from the main plot, I often have a dream where we are wearing modern clothes, and I seem to have beaten you up," Wen Muyan frowned, recalling.

Xiao Han thought for a moment and said, "I guess that was my first life."

He roughly recounted the plot of the first script, then sighed in distress, "At that time, I didn’t know the consequences, went against the script’s arrangement, and unexpectedly traveled to the second script."

This time, it was Wen Muyan's turn to comfort him: "Actually, I roughly know the consequences of breaking the rules..."

"How do you know?" Xiao Han looked up in surprise.

The other man looked at him sympathetically: "The script showed me the scene of you being struck dead."

"..." Xiao Han said expressionlessly, "How is this supposed to comfort me?"

Though it was a tear-jerking tragedy, Wen Muyan couldn't help but chuckle, albeit a bit meanly.

Xiao Han downed the wine in his glass in one gulp, feeling a burning sensation in his throat. He poured another drink and asked, puzzled, "Since you know that breaking the rules leads to death, why throw it all away when we were so close to the end?"

"...Ah, you don't understand," Wen Muyan clinked his glass with Xiao Han's and said bitterly, "Like me, you can only see the next part of the plot, not the ending."

Seeing Xiao Han nod in agreement, he took a sip of wine and continued, "So it was only then that I realized the script made me agree to Zhuo Fan's request, to go to the battlefield with you, and finally take a fatal arrow for you, playing the sacrificial lamb before kicking the bucket!"

"..." Xiao Han was speechless.

Wen Muyan slammed the table angrily, "Dead is dead! Why must I always be the backup? Better to enjoy myself than be a pawn in the script's game!"

"Well said!" Xiao Han really felt that. He laughed heartily and reached out to hug Wen Muyan's neck, "Watching you chew out Zhuo Fan last life was a blast."

In a short while, several empty wine bottles had accumulated on the table. Wen Muyan's cheeks were flushed, maybe from the booze or the thrill. He leaned his head on Xiao Han's shoulder, hand on his back, chuckling at some memory, "Last life, your half-assed act had me in stitches. Who knew, behind that cool exterior, you're such a kid..."

Although Xiao Han was also quite drunk, his ears were still sharp. He kicked Wen Muyan and said angrily, "Who are you calling childish? You're the childish one!"

"Was it me who put undies on someone's head as a prank?" Wen Muyan poked his cheek repeatedly.

Xiao Han grabbed his hand and said disdainfully, "You're no saint either, Mr. Nice Guy with a closet full of schemes!"

Wen Muyan cursed, "You can't get pearls from a pig's snout!"

Xiao Han retorted, "Why don't you show me how it's done?"

"..."

They glared at each other, neither liking what they saw, but Wen Muyan was the first to back down, not stooping to his level: "Come on, let's drink."

Although Xiao Han was set by the script to have a good alcohol tolerance, even he was feeling the effects. Wen Muyan wasn't much better, but he talked more and drank less. He was sweating buckets, jacket off, but still somewhat coherent.

"By the way, you haven't told me how you bit the dust last time?" Xiao Han leaned drunkenly on the sofa.

Wen Muyan leaned against his shoulder, somewhat awkwardly, "Promise not to laugh, and I'll tell you."

"I won't laugh at you."

Wen Muyan paused for a moment and whispered, "...I was lost in thought, walked into a tree... and that was it..."

"..."

"Hey, you swore not to laugh, or I'll get mad!"

Xiao Han said expressionlessly, "I have something to take care of, I'll be right back."

"What is it?" Wen Muyan looked at him puzzled.

Xiao Han couldn't hold it in anymore, turned his head, "I gotta go laugh this off, hahaha..."

"Xiao Han! Get over here and take your beating!" Wen Muyan was stunned for a moment, then angrily pounced on him to beat him up.

After a brief tussle, the two of them stopped, panting heavily and feeling even dizzier. Wen Muyan, who had always been set up as not having much strength, lay on Xiao Han's chest, thinking why not take advantage of the opportunity. He couldn't resist touching Xiao Han's chest muscles, and seeing no reaction, he boldly slid his hand down to the abs, thinking to himself, the feel was just as good as he imagined.

Xiao Han arched his back, both laughing and panting from the touch, "Get your hand off, it's tickling me to death."

The alcohol's aftereffects seemed to be kicking in as Wen Muyan found lying there quite comfortable and didn't feel like moving, only lifting his head to say, "Just to be fair, you should tell me how you died in your previous life too."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Han immediately fell silent, turning his head away expressionlessly, thinking to himself: This is the one thing I can never tell, absolutely not!

So Xiao Han decided to change the subject, "Uh, seems like we've drunk too much, where's the bathroom? Don't you feel the urge to pee?"

The cunning Wen Muyan saw right through his act and let out a couple of cold laughs, mischievously pressing down on him and letting out a long whistle, "Shh—"

"..." Xiao Han, caught in his own trap, was instantly furious, "You bastard!"