Qu Yanning nodded dazedly. His alcohol tolerance was average— beer was fine, but white spirits were too much.
Soon, the alcohol hit, and the buzz made him giggle goofily at Xie Qi, looking even cuter than when he was shy and silent.
The three ahead were still playing drinking games. Xie Qi and Qu Yanning walked in front. When no one was paying attention, Xie Qi couldn’t help but reach out and poke the dimple he’d coveted for so long.
Qu Yanning’s cheeks were soft and plump, with two dimples when he smiled. When Xie Qi poked his finger in, another dimple appeared. Xie Qi pressed his lips together, his eyes shining with amusement, and whispered, “Silly.”
“Huh?” Qu Yanning stared at him, slow to react, and covered his face with his hands. Xie Qi put his hand behind his back, rubbed his own face, and started laughing goofily again.
They ended up at a KTV for the afterparty. The five of them got a medium-sized room and two cases of beer, launching into another round of nighttime revelry.
Of course, the only ones truly partying were the three who’d drunk the most. Xie Qi sat at one end with his legs crossed, expression cool, watching the others play.
Qu Yanning sat beside him, dazedly watching the three have fun— when they laughed, he laughed too, just like a fool.
By the time the party finally ended, Wang Li and Chu Zhou were both sprawled out.
Zhang Ren, who held his liquor best, staggered to his feet. Though his head was a bit muddled, he was still clear-headed. When he saw Xie Qi in the corner, he unconsciously straightened up, “Master Xie.”
Xie Qi waved him off gently, “Don’t worry about me.”
Only then did Zhang Ren nod, picked up Chu Zhou, who was slumped among empty glasses, and set him on the sofa, covering him with a jacket. Then he finally had time to go wash his face and sober up.
Qu Yanning had already fallen asleep in a daze. He’d originally been leaning on the sofa, but as he slept, he slumped over— ending up resting against Xie Qi’s shoulder.
The warm breath carried a hint of drunkenness. Xie Qi leaned in, gently pinched his cheek. The flesh was soft and springy, smooth and bouncy, so pleasant to the touch.
Unable to resist, Xie Qi pinched him a couple more times, only stopping before Zhang Ren came out.
Zhang Ren pressed the call button, asking a server to help move them. There were rooms upstairs at the KTV, so they could rest.
“Let’s just stay here for the night, okay?” Zhang Ren asked Xie Qi.
Xie Qi nodded, patted Qu Yanning’s face to wake him. “Wake up? Go upstairs to sleep.”
Qu Yanning mumbled twice, opened his eyes, and followed Xie Qi upstairs in a daze.
The still-drunk Chu Zhou and Wang Li were left for Zhang Ren to arrange.
Their room was on the sixth floor. A server led them to the door, handed the room card to Xie Qi, and then left. Xie Qi opened the door, turned on the light, and pulled the dazed Qu Yanning inside.
Once inside, Qu Yanning finally snapped out of it a little. He looked at the two beds side by side, then at Xie Qi, then at the beds again, and asked slowly, “Are we going to sleep?”
“Mm,” Xie Qi undid his vest, took it off, and left the white shirt slightly open at the collar, revealing a delicate collarbone.
“Take a shower first, then sleep.”
“Oh.” Qu Yanning was a bit slow to react. Whatever Xie Qi said, he just did it, like an obedient child.
He took a bathrobe into the bathroom. The warm water hit his face, and his muddled mind finally realized— he was going to sleep in the same room as Master Xie tonight!
He scrubbed his face hard, thinking of all the foolish things he’d done earlier, wishing he could just stay in the bathroom forever.
But Xie Qi clearly didn’t see it that way. Noticing he’d been inside a long time, he knocked on the door, “Don’t stay in there too long, or you’ll run out of air.”
“Oh.” Qu Yanning slowly dried off, put on the bathrobe, opened the door and poked his head out, his face flushed from the steam.
“I’m done, you can go in.” Qu Yanning wrapped himself in the bathrobe and dove into the covers, leaving only his eyes and nose showing.
Xie Qi glanced at him, then turned to take his shower.
Once they’d both washed up, they turned off the lights and went to bed. Thanks to the alcohol, Qu Yanning fell asleep almost immediately, half his face buried in the covers, oblivious to everything.
On the neighboring bed, Xie Qi moved. A flash of white light, and the covers on Qu Yanning’s bed dipped down as a large, fluffy cat appeared at the foot.
The big cat leapt lightly onto the bed, curled up next to Qu Yanning, pulled him into his arms with a paw, and rubbed him with his chin. Only then, purring contentedly, did he fall asleep.
Half-awake, Qu Yanning felt the familiar fur, snuggled his face deeper into it, and slept even more soundly.
……
The next morning, the warm sunlight shone on his face. Qu Yanning frowned, groaning as he opened his eyes. With his hair a mess, he sat up, yawned, and slowly got out of bed.
Xie Qi was already up, dressed neatly and sitting by the window drinking tea. Seeing Qu Yanning awake, he greeted him, “Morning.”
“Good morning, Master Xie.” Qu Yanning ruffled his hair and went to wash up.
After washing, it was only eight o’clock. Qu Yanning dawdled over to Xie Qi, who soon lost patience and called out coldly, “Come sit.”
“…Oh.” Qu Yanning trotted over and sat down, head lowered nervously.
Xie Qi frowned in displeasure, asking coldly, “Are you afraid of me?”
Qu Yanning said, no, he wasn’t.
Xie Qi poured him a cup of tea and raised an eyebrow, “Then why won’t you even look at me?”
“……” Qu Yanning looked up, cheeks puffed, glaring at Xie Qi, trying hard to prove he really wasn’t afraid of the legendary Master Xie.
Xie Qi tapped the rim of his cup, feeling a bit itchy again.
“Since we have time, want to talk?” Xie Qi changed the subject.
Qu Yanning asked, “Talk about what?”
Xie Qi asked, “You still don’t want to learn?”
Qu Yanning froze, hesitantly gripping his teacup.
Xie Qi said, “You’re hesitating.”
“Yeah,” Qu Yanning unconsciously fiddled with his cup, looking confused. “Even if I don’t learn from you, will I still run into those things?”
Xie Qi said yes. “You were born with this constitution. You’re destined to be tied to these things. Sometimes, trouble finds you whether you want it or not.”
Qu Yanning said, “But I don’t know anything.”
Xie Qi looked up, his gaze gentle. “I can teach you.”
Qu Yanning hesitated for a while, then whispered, “Should I formally become your disciple then?”
“Disciple?” Xie Qi was briefly surprised, then looked at him meaningfully. “There’s no need for that. We’re not meant to be master and apprentice.”
Qu Yanning looked at him in confusion, thinking maybe he wasn’t qualified yet. He lowered his eyes, saying, then how should I thank you? I haven’t repaid the previous favors, and now I owe you another.
“Just help me take care of… the cat, and that’s enough,” Xie Qi curved his lips, his gaze gentle as he looked at him. “He’s very happy with you.”
At the mention of the cat, Qu Yanning broke into a smile. Halfway through, his smile froze. He hurriedly stood up and said, “Where’s the cat? I drank too much last night and forgot about him!”
Xie Qi calmly said the cat was with Zhang Ren, and Qu Yanning finally relaxed and sat back down.
“Here, keep this safe,” Xie Qi placed a small Jade Token in front of him. The milky white Jade Token felt warm to the touch, with a traditional “Xie” character engraved in the center.
Qu Yanning pushed the Jade Token back, “This is too valuable.”
Xie Qi simply hung the Jade Token around his neck and said lightly, “It’s nothing special. Every member of the Xie Family has one.”
Qu Yanning half-believed, half-doubted. He didn’t know much about jade, but it didn’t feel ordinary to him. Still, since Xie Qi said so, he figured he must be wrong and held the warm little Jade Token awkwardly.
Xie Qi smiled in satisfaction, stood up, and said, “I have things to do, so I’ll go first. Zhang Ren and the others are upstairs. Go back with them later.”
Qu Yanning agreed and saw him off to the elevator.
At half past nine, Zhang Ren finally came up carrying the cat. Qu Yanning took the cat, hugged and kissed him, then looked curiously at the listless Wang Li, “Captain Wang, didn’t sleep well last night?”
Wang Li rubbed his temples, giving Zhang Ren a resentful glance. “Yeah, drank too much and slept on the floor all night.”
Zhang Ren, face unchanged, said, “When I brought you back to your room, I put you on the bed.”
Wang Li glared, looked at the energetic Chu Zhou, and muttered, “Why do I feel like you’re playing favorites?”
Zhang Ren replied, serious and upright, “Of course not, you’re overthinking it.”
Wang Li: “……”
After checking out, the four said their goodbyes. Qu Yanning, hugging the cat, went with Chu Zhou to the shop. They opened at ten, so they had to get there early.
……
When the shop door opened, Qu Yanning counted yesterday’s receipts at the cashier.
None of the servers had arrived yet, so it was just him and the cat in the shop.
Chu Zhou, still hungover, had gone straight home to rest.
“Excuse me, does Chu Zhou work here?” A limping man came in.
His sallow face and murky, triangular eyes gave anyone who looked at him an uncomfortable feeling.
Qu Yanning was on guard and replied coolly, “Sorry, I don’t know him.”
The man stared at him for a while and said in a sinister tone, “I’m his family. His mother is sick and needs him to come home urgently.”
Qu Yanning shifted slightly, now certain this man meant no good, and replied even colder, “Sorry, I don’t know who you’re talking about.”
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.