Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Was Chen Zui in a bad mood?

Jiang Mo counted the bottles in the photo—twelve, not including the hard liquor.

He shouldn't be drinking like that.

But perhaps Chen Zui was drinking with others, and someone would naturally look after him.

As Jiang Mo thought this, he returned to the top of his WeChat Moments, refreshed it, and a new post from Chen Zui appeared.

Chen Zui: "A night alone."

Jiang Mo’s pupils silently widened as he stared at those five words. Chen Zui was drinking alone to drown his sorrows—that wouldn’t do; it could easily lead to trouble.

He couldn't untangle the mess in his mind anymore; Chen Zui’s safety was paramount. Jiang Mo threw on his clothes, slipped on his shoes, grabbed his keys, and hurried downstairs while hailing a ride-share. His place was quite remote, and at this hour, taxis were rarely seen.

"Last four digits 6503?" the ride-share driver asked.

"Yes, driver, please go faster."

The driver glanced at him in the rearview mirror. Though he acknowledged the request, he didn’t actually speed up—after all, safety comes first on any road.

Jiang Mo was anxious the entire way, but he only mentioned his urgency that one time when he got in the car.

Ao Tian: "A night alone~ where should my heart belong~" [Note 1]

Ao Tian singing was like Chen Zui’s head exploding.

But Ao Tian had been very helpful lately, so Chen Zui chose to indulge him this once.

As for Ao Tian’s singing, Chen Zui had only one comment: it was nothing short of a thorough noise harassment.

After finishing a song, Ao Tian asked, "Feeling any better, Melancholy Xiao Chen~"

Chen Zui: "Yeah, now I feel like scaling walls and leaping rooftops, all thanks to your singing."

Ao Tian: *(Proud face)*

Ao Tian: "Then stop drowning your sorrows here; let’s head back."

Chen Zui: "Wait."

Jiang Mo spent 86 yuan on the ride!

He went straight to the private room number displayed. Peering through the glass window on the door, he saw Chen Zui on the sofa inside.

It was a side of Chen Zui he had never seen before—slumped on the sofa, looking dejected and lonely. At least three buttons of his shirt were undone, revealing his chest muscles. He was less sitting and more sprawled out, a bottle of alcohol in his hand.

Just as he was raising the bottle to his mouth, Jiang Mo opened the door: "Chen Zui."

Chen Zui looked at him, his eyes taking a while to focus, then followed Jiang Mo as he approached: "Mr. Tasty Name."

"Why are you here?"

His words were slurred, accompanied by a baffling drunken smile.

Jiang Mo took the bottle from his hand: "Chen Zui, you've had too much to drink. Let me take you somewhere to rest."

Chen Zui stared at him, appearing to think for a moment: "Okay, I’ll listen to you."

Jiang Mo breathed a sigh of relief; he had expected to need more persuasion.

He helped Chen Zui up from the sofa, and the man immediately leaned against him; he was quite heavy. Jiang Mo glanced around the sofa to see if anything was left behind, then picked up the phone, cigarettes, and lighter from the table and stuffed them into Chen Zui’s pants pocket before supporting him out.

Chen Zui leaned against him like a large, fluffy animal, radiating heat: "Jiang Mo, why did you come?"

Jiang Mo didn’t know how to answer.

He took Chen Zui out of the KTV and to a nearby hotel: "Hello, I’d like to book a room."

He handed over his ID.

The front desk staff gestured to a stand on the table: "Scan the code to check in."

Jiang Mo sometimes felt that the more advanced things got, the more troublesome they became. He could only awkwardly pull out his phone with one hand and start scanning, while Chen Zui’s laughter sounded in his ear.

"Little Momo, are you getting a room with me~"

Chen Zui’s tone was lively, his sweet laugh almost teasing.

Jiang Mo clearly felt the front desk staff glance at them with gossipy interest, and he immediately turned bright red.

He entered an ID number wrong and had to start all over again.

He was so flustered he broke out in a sweat, and to make matters worse, the drunk Chen Zui was still messing around, poking his cheek with a finger: "Little Momo, you’re being naughty~"

The front desk staff was already trying hard not to laugh.

Jiang Mo turned his phone around: "Done, payment went through."

The front desk handed him the room key.

Jiang Mo took the key and practically fled into the elevator with Chen Zui.

The man leaning against him was already half-asleep.

Jiang Mo studied Chen Zui’s reflection in the elevator's polished surface. The drunk man’s face was flushed, giving him a somewhat adorable quality compared to usual. His features were striking without a single flaw, and his well-defined chest muscles were almost dazzling in the reflection.

Chen Zui was the most perfect person Jiang Mo had ever seen.

The elevator stopped and opened.

Jiang Mo glanced at the floor number—they hadn’t arrived yet. Three young people stepped in, heading upstairs to meet friends.

The three glanced at them.

Jiang Mo prayed inwardly that Chen Zui wouldn’t say anything.

Chen Zui: "Little Momo, what are you planning to do with me in this room~"

Jiang Mo immediately felt three pairs of eyes turn toward him. He lowered his head—this must be what social death felt like.

Chen Zui: "But I don’t have a condom on me."

Jiang Mo: ⊙▽⊙!

Jiang Mo lowered his head further, weighed down by the gazes and muffled laughter of the three people.

After finally reaching their floor, he steeled himself and, with great difficulty, supported the drunk, oblivious, and innocent Chen Zui as they squeezed past the three of them.

Chen Zui sneaked a glance at Jiang Mo: "I..."

Jiang Mo quickly covered his mouth: "Sorry, Chen Zui, but it’s best if you don’t speak right now."

This is also for the sake of your reputation, Chen Zui.

Chen Zui stared at his flushed, embarrassed face, then stuck out his tongue and licked his palm.

Jiang Mo visibly jolted and immediately jerked his hand back.

"Xiao Momo, you’re so sensitive~"

Chen Zui laughed.

Jiang Mo had never imagined that a drunk Chen Zui would be like this—it was too much for him to handle. After finally getting Chen Zui into the room, just as he inserted the keycard into the slot and the lights flickered on, he was forcefully pinned against the wall by Chen Zui.

Warm yellow light streamed down from above, casting a tender shadow from Chen Zui’s eyelashes under his eyes.

He gazed at the frozen Jiang Mo, gently stroking the bruise on his face.

No one could resist his gaze; Jiang Mo felt as if he were drowning in those abyss-like eyes.

"Jiang Mo."

Chen Zui spoke, his voice as light as a feather brushing against heartstrings.

Jiang Mo didn’t dare respond. The situation left him dazed—Chen Zui was touching his face.

Chen Zui, like an animal confirming a scent, nuzzled Jiang Mo’s nose with his own and said, "You know I’m gay, right?"

Jiang Mo knew. He’d found out when Chen Zui was on the phone in the car that one time. But why bring it up now?

He understood in the next second.

Because Chen Zui cupped his face and kissed him—so gently, as if Jiang Mo were a precious treasure. Jiang Mo felt a strong electric current surge through his body, leaving his head light and tingly.

His wolf cub-like eyes froze.

Chen Zui had kissed him.

And it was on the lips.

Chen Zui held his face gently with both hands, kissing his lips repeatedly—tender yet restrained, with restrained passion and desire pouring from his eyes, completely enveloping Jiang Mo, leaving him with no escape.

It felt like he was kissed once, ten times, a hundred times...

He had no idea when his tongue was drawn into his mouth. By the time he realized it, he was already swallowing thickly.

His tongue hung out like a puppy’s.

Chen Zui rubbed his cheek and chuckled affectionately, "You’re so adorable."

He nipped Jiang Mo’s tongue, slowly moving toward the base, while his mesmerizing eyes locked onto Jiang Mo’s, making him burn from the inside out.

"Chen Zui, I..."

His voice trembled, his body grew weak.

"Shh."

"Don’t say things I don’t want to hear."

Chen Zui continued kissing his lips: "I’ve wanted to do this for a long time."

Jiang Mo was losing his mind.

This was more than he could handle. He pushed Chen Zui away, blurted an apology, and bolted for the door without looking back, becoming a deserter.

Xiao Hang, who had just come out of the next room, stared after him: Was that Jiang Mo?

He glanced at the open door. Who did he come here with?

Jiang Mo actually got a room with someone!

Who could be so desperate? He was beyond curious.

He walked toward the open door.

Ao Tian: "Yikes! Your wifey ran off! Quick, go after him!"

Chen Zui staggered slightly: "How can I chase him when I’m drunk?"

Ao Tian: "Host, don’t lie to yourself. You only had one beer."

Chen Zui went to close the door: "What’s the favorability level now?"

Ao Tian: "The target’s emotions are too chaotic. Can’t measure it right now."

Xiao Hang, pressed flat against the wall, looked incredulous. It was actually Chen Zui!

A pretty boy emerged from the room he had just left and, seeing Xiao Hang still in the hallway, hopped over like a little rabbit, linking arms with him: "Xiao Hang, were you waiting for me?"

Xiao Hang pushed him away: "Don’t cling to me in public."

The boy smiled: "Got it. When will you see me next, Xiao Hang?"

He winked playfully.

Xiao Hang thought of Chen Xiu, who was probably already home cooking dinner for him. He suddenly regretted giving in to temptation tonight—mainly because there were things he couldn’t bring himself to do with Chen Xiu. It was for Chen Xiu’s own good, after all.

Xiao Hang: "We’ll see."

He glanced once more at Chen Zui’s room. Out of curiosity, he lingered for a while but didn’t see Jiang Mo return. His curiosity about their relationship grew even stronger.

Chen Zui licked his lips, relishing the moment. For someone who only moved forward when pushed, sometimes a harsh approach was necessary.

He went to wash up and prepared to sleep.

Jiang Mo had no idea where he had run to. He crouched by the roadside like a mindless mushroom.

In reality, his brain had short-circuited—all because of what Chen Zui had done and said.

He touched his flushed face, unable to believe that Chen Zui had kissed him, said he was cute, and even said he had wanted to kiss him for a long time.

He decided: alcohol is truly terrifying.

He patted his cheeks, thinking, yes, it must be the alcohol. Otherwise, why would Chen Zui kiss him... I mean, Chen Zui's so amazing and I'm so average, Chen Zui has such a good character and mine is so poor, he's a big boss and I'm just a small employee...

Nobody would want a block of wood.

A worthless block of wood.

He, Jiang Mo, is exactly that kind of wood. The night breeze helped him cool off considerably.

Chen Zui was just drunk. Probably Chen Zui himself didn’t know what he was doing. Yes, that must be it!

He stood up, planning to head to the subway station and go home, but he was walking all stiff and awkward.

Ao Tian checked the favorability meter the next morning: "63."

By noon: "66."

Chen Zui texted Jiang Mo: "Thank you for taking me back to the hotel last night."

Less than a minute after the message was sent:

Ao Tian: "70!"

But Jiang Mo did not reply to the message, and Chen Zui didn’t send anything else.

While Chen Zui was enjoying his dinner, Jiang Mo, who hadn’t responded on the other side, his favorability quietly rose toward him to 80.

Chen Zui rested for an hour and a half, then did some laps in his home pool.

During this time, Ao Tian kept calling out:

"82."

"83."

"84."

He wasn't timing his laps, but rather reporting that Jiang Mo’s favorability was still rising, even though Chen Zui had done nothing that day.

Before going to bed, the favorability had risen to 90.

Ao Tian: "If you go find him now and firmly tell him you want to hook up with him, I think he’ll definitely agree."

Chen Zui: "Not yet."

His dark eyes were unreadable, but Ao Tian went along with it.

Jiang Mo hadn’t slept at all the previous night, and tonight he still couldn't sleep. As soon as he closed his eyes, the image of Chen Zui kissing him would appear, making his heart pound unbearably.

He felt like he had developed heart disease.

With dark circles under his eyes, he thought this to himself, a sweet smile tugging at his lips.

He opened his phone and stared at the message Chen Zui had sent, reading it again and again.

He said thank you.

He’s so polite.

But he probably forgot what happened last night, which was a relief. That thought made Jiang Mo feel relaxed—it’s better if he’s the only one who remembers.

His fingers pressed against his lips, and Jiang Mo, usually so straight-laced, looked totally lovesick. Chen Zui’s lips were very soft.

Author's Note:

Note 1: "Suddenly Thinking of You"