Chapter 146: Chapter 146: After Getting Drunk, ... To Her

The surroundings fell silent for a moment. The music in the private room switched from an explosive DJ set to a soft, slow love song.

A low, gentle voice began to sing, the words intimate and tender.

But the boy’s heartbeat felt out of place, racing uncontrollably.

At the table, Ai Li found a deck of cards and asked if they wanted to play.

Yuan Shimo heard Jiang Qingli agree.

In his peripheral vision, she straightened up.

Her warmth and fragrance pulled away. Before Yuan Shimo could think, he instinctively raised his fingertips and placed them on the back of her hand, which was still braced by her side.

The air conditioning in the room was strong, making the skin on the back of her hand slightly cool. When the boy’s warm touch covered it, it felt as if she had been scalded.

Jiang Qingli looked up. A blue pinpoint of light happened to fall, illuminating the boy’s handsome, refined face.

He stared at her, his eyes glinting with a fragmented, restrained light.

A thought occurred to Jiang Qingli, and she leaned in again, asking in a low voice, "Do you want to play?"

Yuan Shimo lowered his gaze, his Adam’s apple bobbing slightly. "I’ll play," he said in a low voice.

Jiang Qingli let out a soft laugh.

Her breath fell on the base of his ear. The spot on his cheek she had accidentally kissed earlier felt like it had been set on fire.

His Adam’s apple bobbed again. Yuan Shimo asked in the calmest tone he could manage, "What are you laughing at, female master?"

Jiang Qingli said, "I thought good students like you wouldn’t like these kinds of games."

The door opened, and a server in a black uniform placed expensive drinks on the table.

Ai Li urged them, "Stop being all lovey-dovey, come on and play!"

Jiang Qingli stood up and gave Yuan Shimo a pull. Seeing that he was still looking at her, seeming a bit dazed, she said in a low voice, "You don’t have to force yourself if you don’t like it. You can go home first."

"I don’t."

The instant her words fell, Yuan Shimo answered, taking her hand and sitting down at the table.

Ai Li teased, "Whispering secrets, how sweet~"

Worried Yuan Shimo would be upset by the comment, Jiang Qingli picked up the cards to hurry things along.

She didn’t notice the boy beside her resting his chin on one hand, his gaze fixed on her, the corner of his lips slightly curved. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

On the other side, Baili Jing lowered his eyes in disappointment and took a sip of his drink.

The card game was simple. Jiang Qingli had played it with them a few times before, but her skill level was too low, and she was usually the loser.

They were just playing for fun. There were no stakes; the loser had to drink.

When the cards were dealt, Jiang Qingli took one look at her hand and despaired.

’How could anyone have such rotten luck!’

’Looks like I can’t avoid the penalty drinks today...’

Jiang Qingli was initially nervous, but after a few rounds, she somehow gained the upper hand.

The reason was simple: Baili Jing, who played before her, always gave her an opportunity to play a card, while Yuan Shimo, who played after her, would never play on a card that put her in a difficult spot.

And so, with a terrible hand, Jiang Qingli managed to snatch a victory.

And the biggest loser was Yuan Shimo, the player after her.

The two males’ actions were too obvious. Ai Li teased, "Cheating means double the penalty drinks~"

"My apologies for ruining everyone’s game experience."

Baili Jing apologized with a smile, picked up a glass of alcohol, and drained it without spilling a drop, his every move elegant.

Jiang Qingli’s face grew warm. She picked up her glass, but Baili Jing took it from her after she’d had only one sip.

"Xiao Li can’t hold her liquor. May I take the penalty for her?" the young man asked candidly.

Ai Li had just been teasing and didn’t really care, so she quickly stopped him.

Lin Xiyue’s Beast Husband scratched his head. "Actually, I was feeding Xiyue cards just now, too, just not as obviously as you guys..."

Ai Li glared at her own Beast Husband. "Why can’t you learn from them!"

Her Beast Husband sounded aggrieved. "I wanted to! I was just thinking about how to let you win when you yelled at me for being so slow..."

Everyone looked at each other and burst into laughter.

To prevent the Beast Husbands from causing any more trouble, they shuffled the seating order for the second round.

As Jiang Qingli stood up, she noticed the cup by Yuan Shimo’s hand was empty.

She reached out and tugged his sleeve, blinking in surprise. "You drank?"

"Mhm, the penalty," Yuan Shimo replied, his gaze lingering on her lips for a few seconds before he sat down.

Over the next few hands, Jiang Qingli won some and lost some, but she didn’t touch a drop of alcohol.

Every time, before she could even touch her glass, Baili Jing had already finished it.

The young man seemed completely at ease, the corners of his eyes holding an unshakeable smile as he looked only at her.

SCRAPE—

The game ended. Yuan Shimo suddenly stood up and said expressionlessly, "I’m going to the restroom."

The boy’s brows were slightly furrowed, his lips pressed into a tight line. The tips of his ears and his cheeks were flushed, and he looked uncomfortable.

Thinking of the drink he’d had earlier, Jiang Qingli felt uneasy. "I’ll go check on him. You guys play on."

She stood up and started to walk out. As she passed Baili Jing, her fingers were gently taken.

Jiang Qingli was confused. "What is it?"

"Nothing." Baili Jing smiled, his eyes glinting with complex emotions. "No need to rush. I’ll be waiting right here."

His fingers loosened their grip on hers.

-

In the corridor outside the private room, ear-splitting music blared. The pathways were a complex maze, and the lights flickered between bright and dim, dazzling the eyes.

Her mind on Yuan Shimo, Jiang Qingli didn’t slow down as she rounded a corner and nearly crashed into someone.

She took a step back, about to apologize, when she suddenly heard someone call out to her. "Hey? Jiang, you’re here too?"

Jiang Qingli turned toward the voice and met a girl’s gaze. She had to squint before recognizing her as Ke An.

Standing behind her were four or five other people, all high-ranking members of the student council, a few of whom looked familiar.

’If they were all here, then...’

Jiang Qingli looked at the person she had almost run into.

Yuan Shiyao, who was closest to her, was the quietest of the group this time. He only spoke when she looked over, his voice low. "Here to have fun?"

The music was too loud; she couldn’t hear clearly.

In the dim light, Jiang Qingli was a bit dazed. She could only think how similar the twins were; it was hard to tell them apart without a close look.

Composing herself, Jiang Qingli stood on her tiptoes, leaned her ear closer to hear him again, and then replied, "Mhm, with friends."

After her rank was announced that morning, the student council had been eager to recruit Jiang Qingli.

Now, Ke An was keen to build a connection with her. "Hey, which room are you in? Want to join us?"

Jiang Qingli was in a hurry to find Yuan Shimo, so she exchanged a few casual words and left.

Ke An watched her run off. Just as she was about to comment to the others, she turned and found Yuan Shiyao still staring blankly in the direction she had gone.

"Still looking?" Ke An urged. "Stop staring and go after her!"

"Go after her for what?" Yuan Shiyao retracted his gaze and asked coolly.

"Go after Jiang Qingli, of course!" Ke An said. "With her current rank, she might even become the acting president of the Melt Star Association after a while. I doubt she’ll join the student council, so you should hurry up and get on her good side. Invite her to our room for a drink. You two will have to work together for the Moon Festival, after all."

Yuan Shiyao coldly refused. "Not going."

But the fingers that had steadied her just moments ago tightened, inch by inch.

...

Jiang Qingli reached the restroom door just as it opened from the inside.

But a closer look revealed it wasn’t Yuan Shimo.

She frowned, a little worried.

’Yuan Shimo has never drunk before. Could he have gotten drunk and lost his way?’

The hallways were decorated with mirrors on both sides. If he was drunk, finding his way back would be a bit difficult.

’What if Yuan Shimo got anxious and used his Shadow Ability to teleport, only to end up in someone else’s private room? That would be a disaster-level embarrassment...’

Jiang Qingli searched around the restroom but couldn’t find him. As she was heading back, she saw the boy leaning against the wall at a corner.

His head was lowered, his back slightly arched.

’Did he just flash here? He wasn’t here a moment ago...’

Jiang Qingli walked over and waved her hand in front of his face. "Hey, hey, hey? Still awake?"

The boy’s lips moved.

Jiang Qingli leaned closer. "What are you saying..."

The next second, long, slender fingers landed on her waist.

The boy suddenly pulled her close, enveloping her in his arms.

Caught off guard by the embrace, Jiang Qingli smelled the faint scent on him.

It was a mix of the slight bitterness of medicine, a faint, clean fragrance, and a hint of alcohol.

’It smelled really good.’

Perhaps it was the alcohol, but Jiang Qingli acted on her impulse and, very directly, sniffed at his shoulder.

Realizing what she was doing...

The boy’s back stiffened, and the fingers resting on her waist tightened their grip.

His back arched slightly, pressing his entire body more tightly against her.

His heart pounded in his chest at her closeness, his blood boiling. He even had the urge to do something reckless, something improper, right here and now.

Suddenly, footsteps echoed.

Yuan Shimo looked up.

In the mirror hanging in the corridor, Yuan Shimo clearly saw a boy with black hair and green eyes, his body rigid, who had appeared behind them at some unknown point.

Two identical pairs of green eyes met through the mirror’s reflection.

But their expressions were not at all the same.

Jiang Qingli seemed to feel the gaze. She struggled a little and warily turned toward the corner.

Yuan Shiyao noticed the girl’s subtle movement and subconsciously took a step in her direction, but in the next second, he was frozen to the spot—

Under the watchful eyes of his twin brother.

Yuan Shimo cupped the girl’s face, not allowing her to look around.

At the same time, he lowered his gaze, drawing close to her lips...