Chapter 53

Chapter 53

Shen Ju plopped down beside Guan Mulin.

He then leaned against Guan Mulin, declaring, "I want a drink."

"Drink up."

Guan Mulin handed Shen Ju a glass and raised his own. "I'm drinking too."

Shen Ju glanced around. "Where's Pei Haochuan?"

Guan Mulin scoffed, "Who knows?"

"Didn't Han Chengfeng say Brother Pei was here?"

"...Not sure, haven't seen him."

The two exchanged a look and fell silent.

Forget it. No more talk.

Drink!

With a clink, they dramatically touched glasses.

Shen Ju took a sip and wrinkled his nose. "Fruit wine?"

Guan Mulin replied, "What else did you think it was?"

"Then what are you drinking?"

"...A special cocktail."

"Low alcohol, right?"

"Not very high."

Shen Ju said, "That's no fun."

Guan Mulin agreed, "Yeah, pretty weak."

They exchanged another glance and decided to upgrade their drinks!

So by the time Han Chengfeng and the others arrived with a pile of snacks, Shen Ju and Guan Mulin had already each downed a glass of vodka mixed with orange juice.

"Holy crap!!"

Han Chengfeng stared, mouth agape. "Are you two going for the hard stuff right from the start?!"

Shen Ju and Guan Mulin leaned against each other, cheeks flushed, each clutching another glass of vodka with club soda.

Ke Cheng and Han Chengfeng exchanged a look, both wanting to snatch the drinks away from Shen Ju and Guan Mulin.

Shen Ju slapped Han Chengfeng's hand away, exclaiming urgently, "Hands off!"

Han Chengfeng's eyes instantly welled up.

Shen Ju hit hard!! His hand!!

Want a swollen hand? Just let Shen Ju hit it once!

On the other side, Guan Mulin dodged Ke Cheng's hand and glared at him. "What are you doing?"

Ke Cheng said, "...Honestly, you two are unbelievable. You haven't even had dinner yet, and you're already drinking this much?"

Shen Ju and Guan Mulin both let out a boozy belch.

"What's the big deal!"

Shen Ju snorted, wrinkling his nose. "I can hold my liquor—"

Guan Mulin nodded. "Exactly! We're heavy drinkers!"

Shen Ju cheered, "Whoo! Bottoms up!"

Guan Mulin echoed, "Whoo! Bottoms up!"

Han Chengfeng and Ke Cheng: "............"

Vodka mixed with orange juice and club soda—and they call that heavy drinking?!

If you're such big drinkers, drink it straight!

Let's see if you can still handle it then!

Before anyone could stop them, the two chugged down two more glasses.

Unbelievable.

Pei Yan and Pei Haochuan walked over together, their faces falling as soon as they arrived.

"What's going on?"

They stood on either side, looking at Shen Ju and Guan Mulin, who were clearly showing signs of drunkenness.

Pei Yan bent down and touched Shen Ju's face—it felt warm, a clear sign he was flushed from drinking. "Why did you drink so much?"

Pei Haochuan also looked down at Guan Mulin and frowned. "Even if you wanted to drink, did you have to drink this much?"

Guan Mulin tsked and drawled, "Nooot your business!"

Shen Ju nodded and echoed, "None of your business!"

Pei Yan and Pei Haochuan: "............"

"More drinks!"

Shen Ju smacked his lips and tipped his empty glass toward his mouth. "Aw, man, it's gone."

Guan Mulin said, "No worries, there's more on the table!"

"Drink!"

"Drink!"

The two made a grab for the alcohol on the table.

Pei Yan and Pei Haochuan quickly moved to block them.

Pei Haochuan warned, "Hey, that's enough, Guan Mulin."

Pei Yan also frowned as he pulled Shen Ju back. "Drinking on an empty stomach—isn't your stomach uncomfortable?"

Shen Ju: "I'm telling you, I don't want to eat! I just want to drink!"

Guan Mulin: "More drinks!"

"Ugh..."

Seeing the pained expressions on Pei Yan and Pei Haochuan's faces, Ke Cheng suggested, "How 'bout we take them back to their rooms first and order some hangover soup?"

Han Chengfeng nodded in agreement. "If they stay here, I don’t think these two are going to stop drinking anytime soon."

Pei Yan nodded. "Alright, you two go order the hangover soup and have it sent directly to the room. We'll take them back."

"Yeah."

Meanwhile, Pei Haochuan went to grab Guan Mulin.

That immediately set off a hornet's nest.

The two started yelling gibberish and clutching each other.

"Don't you dare separate us!"

"Little bro—"

"Brother!"

The other four people present: "............"

Seriously?

Enough is enough!

After finally managing to get the two staggering back to their room, Shen Ju and Guan Mulin pushed Pei Yan and Pei Haochuan away, refusing to let them enter.

"Shoo! Shoo!"

"Beat it!"

Each stood blocking half of the doorway.

"No Peis or dogs allowed!" Guan Mulin glared at Pei Haochuan.

Shen Ju mumbled, resting his chin on Guan Mulin’s shoulder. "Yeah!"

Pei Yan and Pei Haochuan were so pissed they could only laugh.

Pei Yan looked at Shen Ju. "JiuJiu, remember to drink the hangover soup."

Fine, they'd deal with this later, after he sobered up.

Pei Haochuan "tch"ed. "When the hangover soup arrives, you two remember to open the door, got it?"

Their answer came in the form of a loud BANG—

The door slammed shut.

Fine, just perfect.

Gritting their teeth, the two exchanged a look, both stomping off fuming.

Inside the room.

Shen Ju and Guan Mulin lurched toward the bed and collapsed onto it, both belching.

Oh right, they still remembered that hangover soup was on its way.

Thinking it was just something to drink, they drunkenly decided—drink it!

Soon enough, a knock came at the door.

The hangover soup had arrived.

One bowl for each.

That's it?

Shen Ju and Guan Mulin gulped down the soup right at the door, before the server finished speaking.

"Gentlemen, you can hand me the bowls after you finish—"

"SMACK!"

The door slammed shut again.

"............"

Shen Ju and Guan Mulin walked back holding their bowls. After finishing the soup, they set the bowls on the table, made faces, and thought that this crap they called "hangover soup" wasn’t very good—it didn’t taste nice at all.

Not only did it taste bad, but it also made them feel a bit uncomfortable.

They tried to bear with it at first.

But soon, the discomfort grew worse—a weird burning sensation buzzing through their bodies.

And something weird...

996 system suddenly blared, "Host! I’ve detected harmful substances in your body! What is this? Why is your whole body burning up?!"

As it spoke, 996 zapped Shen Ju.

And it was a high-voltage one at that, big-time.

Shen Ju: "............"

That jolted him halfway sober.

But the strange sensation in his body really kicked in.

And Guan Mulin was in the same boat.

No need to ask—just looking at Guan Mulin’s condition said it all.

His cheeks were bright red, and he was hunched over, curled up, clearly holding something back.

Shen Ju walked over and gave Guan Mulin a push.

Guan Mulin let out a low moan, his forehead creased in a deep frown, and he instinctively grabbed Shen Ju's hand, rubbing it against his face, as if he wanted to pull the arm closer.

Shen Ju flinched at Guan Mulin's touch.

His breathing grew rapid.

996 had to zap Shen Ju again.

"Host, I've got the analysis! It's that drug, highly potent and fast-acting. You need to find a way to relieve it, now!"

"Must be the same thing affecting Guan Mulin—"

Shen Ju's mind buzzed.

He wanted to tell 996 to shut up, but also wanted to open the door and call for help.

But just as he reached the door—

"Are you sure they both drank from those two bowls?"

"Positive, I saw them drink it myself. Yeah, but we couldn't get the bowls back. If drug residue is detected..."

"Don’t worry, we'll just snag the bowls on our way in later."

Shen Ju frowned, thinking the voice sounded familiar.

He tiptoed and pressed his ear against the door to listen carefully—

"Just a little longer. Once Guan Shenju and Guan Mulin are in bed together, ha!"

The voice was filled with uncontrollable, twisted excitement: "Turn on the camera. Also, did you have someone turn off the surveillance? I paid you a lot of money."

"It’s off, but we only have twenty minutes..."

"That’s enough."

"Luckily, Han Chengfeng booked the entire bar. Everyone’s partying downstairs now, and there’s hardly anyone upstairs, which made it easier for me to set things up beforehand..."

"Right, wait a little longer, then use the spare key card and open the door."

The voice rambled on.

Like a crazy person.

As if unable to contain his excitement.

But it was clear: Shen Ju and Guan Mulin were trapped in the room.

He could call for help now.

But there was no guarantee Pei Yan and Pei Haochuan would get here in time.

And whoever was outside could barge in any second.

Guan Mulin was already barely conscious, and Shen Ju's strength was fading, staying alert only thanks to 996's jolts.

Shen Ju bit the tip of his tongue, made a quick decision, went back, scooped up Guan Mulin, and carried him to the bathroom. He then wrapped a towel around Guan Mulin’s hands to prevent him from crawling out.

996 popped out and attached itself to Guan Mulin.

*Zap—* a jolt of electricity.

"Snap out of it!"

Guan Mulin: "............"

Shen Ju put a finger to his lips, signaling Guan Mulin to be quiet. In just that short time, he was drenched in sweat, his body feeling even weaker.

The moment he stepped away, he heard movement at the door.

"Why is it so quiet inside?"

"Let’s go check—"

996 slipped back into Shen Ju’s body and zapped him again.

Shen Ju jolted, using the burst of energy to dash to the entrance—

*Click.*

The door opened.

The two people outside found themselves face-to-face with Shen Ju.

"............"

Wei Tianxi’s eyes widened instantly. "How did you—"

Before he could finish, Shen Ju raised his hand and struck Wei Tianxi’s neck with a chop.

—He didn’t actually know how to do it.

But his strength made up for it... Luckily, Wei Tianxi passed out.

The person behind Wei Tianxi, seeing the situation turn bad, immediately tried to turn and run.

*Thud!*

Shen Ju kicked out, sending the person crashing against the door.

996 watched in awe: "Sheer force triumphs over skill..."

The next moment, *thump*, Shen Ju collapsed to the ground, panting heavily, his limbs weak.

"Hey, host, moving around just speeds up the drug’s effects!"

"I can feel it..."

Shen Ju felt dizzy and saw stars—no exaggeration, his vision was filled with flickering sparkles.

But he knew he couldn’t let his guard down yet.

He had 996 zap him again, then dragged his aching body, crawling to find his phone, and directly called Pei Yan.

"Brother Pei, help..."

............

Pei Yan, Pei Haochuan, Han Chengfeng, and Ke Cheng all came rushing over together.

When Shen Ju made the call, he was already pretty out of it and wasn’t making much sense. His first words were, "Brother Pei, save me!" Pei Yan clutched his phone and immediately headed over. Knowing that Guan Mulin was with Shen Ju, Pei Haochuan quickly followed. Han Chengfeng and Ke Cheng noticed Pei Yan’s expression change after taking the call and immediately trailed behind the two.

They assumed something bad had gone down.

But when they arrived at the room—

Two people were lying on the floor, one of whom they recognized as Wei Tianxi.

Looking toward the bed, Shen Ju was slumped against it, his forehead drenched in sweat, his cheeks noticeably flushed.

It was clear at a glance that something was wrong.

Pei Yan immediately went over to help Shen Ju up, felt his forehead as he asked, "What happened?"

Shen Ju leaned against Pei Yan’s chest, instinctively pressing against him while struggling to stay conscious. "Those two bowls... send them for appraisal..."

"Where’s Mu Lin?!"

Pei Haochuan couldn’t see Guan Mulin anywhere and quickly turned to Shen Ju to ask.

Shen Ju mumbled, "...I was afraid I couldn’t handle them, so I moved him into the bathroom first..."

Pei Haochuan immediately rushed into the bathroom.

Guan Mulin’s condition was even worse off.

As soon as Pei Haochuan let go of him, Guan Mulin lunged at him.

"Guan Mulin! Look closely, it’s me!"

Pei Haochuan pulled Guan Mulin to the bathroom door and looked at Pei Yan. "Now what?"

In their current state, should they be sent to the hospital?

Could the drug still be metabolized?

Han Chengfeng and Ke Cheng used what they found and tied up Wei Tianxi and the other person. Without even asking, they could guess what kind of drug had been given to Shen Ju and Guan Mulin.

Damn, there was even a camera on the floor! It was obvious what they had intended to do.

Wei Tianxi really had some nerve.

Han Chengfeng and Ke Cheng cursed under their breath as they checked on Shen Ju and Guan Mulin.

"How are they doing?"

Not good.

The drug clearly kicked in fast and was really strong.

Pei Yan’s face darkened. "Slap him awake and ask him what drug he used!"

Han Chengfeng slapped Wei Tianxi a few times.

He didn’t wake up...

Scared, Han Chengfeng immediately felt for Wei Tianxi’s breath—thank God, he was still breathing.

The other guy, however, was slapped awake by Ke Cheng. Since he was the one who provided the drug, he tremblingly revealed the drug’s name, saying that if they didn’t have sex, the only option would be having their stomachs pumped.

"No..."

Guan Mulin was the one who spoke.

He had managed to clear his head a bit and knew exactly what state he was in. Being taken to the hospital in this condition, even if it was a private hospital, would be way too embarrassing.

There was no way he could face that humiliation!

Guan Mulin clutched Pei Haochuan’s arm tightly, gritting his teeth as he said, "Take me to another room. I can handle it myself..."

Pei Haochuan’s eyes flickered.

For a moment, his gaze toward Guan Mulin seemed to carry a predatory gleam.

"Are you sure?"

Guan Mulin felt like he was about to lose control and cursed under his breath, "Stop wasting time!!"

"Fine."

Pei Haochuan didn’t say another word. He took off his jacket, wrapped it around Guan Mulin, and practically carried him out of the room.

On the way, Guan Mulin suddenly remembered something. "Wait, JiuJiu—"

"He's not your problem."

Pei Haochuan gritted his teeth and whispered, "You should worry about yourself instead!"

If Shen Ju hadn’t dealt with those two, and if they hadn’t arrived in time, who knows what might have happened to Shen Ju and Guan Mulin!

Pei Haochuan felt a surge of anger boiling in his chest, unsure how to vent it.

Han Chengfeng and Ke Cheng didn’t dare get in their way.

Ke Cheng knocked out the guy he had just slapped awake again, and the two of them turned to look at Pei Yan.

Pei Yan had also picked up Shen Ju.

"You two, lock these two in this room for now. Investigate the situation and send the bowls for appraisal. Once Shen Ju and Guan Mulin have sobered up, we’ll call the police."

"Got it."

They didn’t dare ask any more questions and simply watched as Pei Yan carried Shen Ju away.

Afterward, Han Chengfeng and Ke Cheng exchanged glances.

Was this unexpected?

It seemed like they were.

But upon closer thought...

It all made sense...

Damn.

What a mess this was!

The two men glanced at the unconscious Wei Tianxi and the other person on the floor, each gave them another kick, especially Wei Tianxi. Just you wait, he's done for.

............

Pei Yan had actually hesitated.

He had considered whether to take Shen Ju to the hospital.

But 996 DM'd him, saying that Shen Ju, having carried Guan Mulin and dealt with the other two alone, had overexerted himself, causing the drug’s effects to intensify. Pumping his stomach at the hospital probably wouldn't help at this point.

At this, 996 muttered under his breath.

Thinking to himself, why's the host getting more protagonist treatment than the actual protagonist?

Pei Yan carried Shen Ju to his own room.

Actually, this room was originally Shen Ju's.

He knew—Han Chengfeng had told him when they arrived.

He wasn’t too surprised.

Because last time, he had told Shen Ju that he liked someone.

Given Shen Ju’s personality, he would definitely "avoid awkwardness" with him.

Or you could say, escape.

But Pei Yan hadn’t expected Shen Ju to get this drunk.

It pained him.

Whether it was because of him or not, it hurt to see him like this.

He shouldn't have given Shen Ju time to process things; he should have made things clear right then.

"Brother Pei, I feel awful..."

He had been more conscious than Guan Mulin earlier, only because 996 kept zapping him. Now, the drug was hitting him even harder than Guan Mulin, and the backlash was more intense. His legs were tangled up, and he had no idea what to do.

His body was also drenched in sweat.

"Just hang in there."

Pei Yan whispered. After carrying Shen Ju into the room, he headed toward the bathroom.

Then he suddenly paused: "Can you see everything that's about to happen too?"

Shen Ju blinked, confused: "Huh?"

Pei Yan pulled Shen Ju closer: "Wasn't talking to you."

996: "Me?"

"Who else?"

Pei Yan frowned: "Does your system respect privacy in these situations?"

"Hey! Who do you think you're looking down on?"

996: "Of course we respect privacy! I'm about to be shut down any second now!"

"Good."

996: "............"

It tried to say more, but the moment Pei Yan pushed open the bathroom door, 996 was automatically forced into isolation.

"......"

This damn program has never worked this well before!

Pei Yan called out a few more times, but getting no response from 996, he figured it confirmed what 996 had just said, and he felt relieved.

He turned on the shower, and hot water came out quickly.

Pei Yan helped Shen Ju peel off his sweat-drenched clothes, glanced down at Shen Ju's body, then lifted Shen Ju's chin and asked in a low voice, "Do you know how?"

Do you know how to do what?

Shen Ju's mind was foggy, his body hot and weak, relying entirely on Pei Yan to stand. When Pei Yan told him to raise his arms, he—couldn't lift them. In the end, Pei Yan had to hold him and undress him himself. The same went for his pants.

The last layer of clothing was still on, but thankfully, he had already changed out of his thermal underwear earlier, so taking it off went relatively smoothly. The only issue was that Shen Ju kept pressing against Pei Yan's chest.

Since Shen Ju was slippery and unsteady, Pei Yan simply sat on the edge of the bathtub, settling Shen Ju on his lap.

His voice had grown hoarse at some point. With gentlemanly restraint, he bounced Shen Ju lightly on his lap and asked again in a low voice, "Do you know how?" What exactly do you mean "do I know how"?!

Shen Ju gasped for breath, feeling suffocated.

Pei Yan brought over the showerhead and sprayed Shen Ju down. Although the water was hot, it made Shen Ju feel much better; at least it washed the sweat away.

He’d also turned on the heating system when he entered the bathroom, so the temperature in the bathroom quickly rose, and there was no worry about Shen Ju catching a chill from the sweat.

Pei Yan was also sweating, his shirt clinging to his chest.

But he paid no mind, sweeping his damp hair back to reveal his defined brows and dark, intense eyes fixed on Shen Ju. His Adam's apple bobbed as if figuring out where to begin with his prey.

The shock of the hot water jolted Shen Ju back to his senses a bit.

It took him three seconds to just barely process his current situation, and then, the fear snapped him even more awake.

"Brother Pei......"

"Hmm."

Pei Yan spoke: "I asked if you could do it."

"If you can’t handle it yourself, I’ll help you."

"No......"

Without thinking, Shen Ju said "no" and even raised both hands to ward him off.

Pei Yan’s eyes darkened further: "Why?"

"You can handle it yourself?"

He spoke, putting on a gentlemanly act, yet as Shen Ju seemed to come to his senses a little, his hands were doing something else entirely. While asking, he reached down and effortlessly pushed Shen Ju’s hands away, then leaned in closer, feeling Shen Ju’s body tremble momentarily. He then murmured once more, "So you're saying it's okay?"

"No..."

"No" was all Shen Ju could say.

But it was faint and feeble, unable to change anything.

He felt that Pei Yan was bullying him.

After all, Pei Yan already had someone he liked...

Shen Ju stamped his feet in frustration, wanting to run away, but as he started to get up, he ended up sitting back down—coincidentally scooting even deeper into Pei Yan’s arms.

In that instant, he felt something.

Shen Ju’s eyes widened abruptly.

The next second, he blurted out, "Shameless—"

Pei Yan: "............"

"Shameless, waa..."

As Shen Ju cursed, the tears started falling of their own accord. He felt utterly aggrieved.

"You already have someone you like... You even talk to the class monitor..."

"An old cow eating young grass."

"Thinking with your lower half..."

"You pervert!"

"You're so hateful, waa—"

Pei Yan had had enough. He directly shut Shen Ju up with a kiss, holding the back of Shen Ju’s head and pressing him firmly against his chest.

Shen Ju’s breath was nearly swallowed by him.

Wide-eyed, he was shocked into sobering up a bit more.

After just a few seconds, Pei Yan loosened his hold slightly, resting his forehead against Shen Ju’s and whispering, "The one I like is you, baby."

-----------------------

Author’s note: Cursing and grumbling, Shen Jiujiu: If my limbs weren’t so weak, I’d hit you!

(Joking—at most, I’d just "carry" Brother Pei out of the bathroom.) [Cabbage Dog]