Lu Chen knew He Xiaoyuan had a dinner engagement today. At first, he had been fairly relaxed, thinking He Xiaoyuan was clever enough to handle it alone, and Barre being a small company, he wouldn’t force anyone to drink excessively.
But he hadn’t accounted for the boy’s youth and lack of experience, nor that He Xiaoyuan would willingly drink for the sake of the project.
Now, seeing him like this, clearly tipsy, perhaps slightly drunk, Lu Chen regretted not giving him more advice earlier—or simply having Chang Bei accompany him.
The boy’s features were softened by the car lights, revealing his exhausted, slackened posture. Lu Chen knelt down on one knee, moved by the sight, saying nothing, just watching quietly.
He saw He Xiaoyuan’s chin resting on the suit in his arms, long lashes half-closed, eyes heavy with sleepiness, face flushed by the alcohol. He had behaved obediently, curling up quietly, waiting just as he had promised twenty minutes earlier.
“Xiao Yuan?” Lu Chen called.
“Mm,” came the soft reply.
He Xiaoyuan’s throat made a muffled sound; his half-lowered lashes trembled as he raised his eyes to meet Lu Chen’s gaze.
Lu Chen studied him carefully: “Are you uncomfortable?”
He Xiaoyuan obediently answered: “I’m okay.”
Lu Chen softly said: “Let’s go. I’ll take you home.”
“Mm, okay.”
He Xiaoyuan stayed obedient, responding to each question. Hearing they were going home, he immediately moved.
Seeing him move, Lu Chen reached out to grasp the boy’s arm: “Can you get up?”
“Mm,” he nodded again.
He tried to stand, but his body wouldn’t cooperate. Weak legs made it impossible, so with Lu Chen’s support, he wobbled upright, almost staggering, caught by Lu Chen’s arm.
Am I drunk? He wondered, still confused.
Lu Chen had already taken the suit from his hands. One arm held He Xiaoyuan’s arm, the other draped over his shoulder, guiding him toward the passenger side of the car.
He Xiaoyuan lifted his leg to sit, realizing how weak it was, finally accepting that he was a bit drunk.
He hesitated and turned to Lu Chen: “Maybe I should take a cab… don’t want to dirty your car.”
The X7 was quite expensive.
Lu Chen, knowing the boy was tipsy and might not listen to reason, calmly said: “If it gets dirty, it gets dirty. Cleaning costs can come out of your salary.”
He Xiaoyuan nodded: “Okay.”
He got into the car obediently.
Lu Chen closed the passenger door, tossed the suit into the back seat, and leaned toward him. Reaching across He Xiaoyuan’s face, he found the seatbelt, pulled it out, and guided it.
He Xiaoyuan muttered a soft “thanks” as he tried to find the buckle. Failing to locate it, he accidentally touched Lu Chen’s hand. Lu Chen fastened the buckle for him. He Xiaoyuan, still dazed, thought he was pressing the buckle himself, and instinctively pushed down—really just pressing on Lu Chen’s hand.
Lu Chen fastened the seatbelt buckle, then turned his hand to hold the restless hand that had been fidgeting on his own. The boy in the passenger seat murmured a confused “Hm?” and turned his head to look at him.
Lu Chen held the slightly warm, damp hand, a trace of alcohol lingering in it, and spoke softly: “I’ll be driving in a bit. You keep your hand to yourself for now, okay?”
He Xiaoyuan obediently nodded.
Lu Chen placed the boy’s hand back on his lap, and He Xiaoyuan settled properly into the passenger seat, hands resting on his legs.
The car started moving. Lu Chen turned the air conditioning slightly higher and cracked the window to prevent He Xiaoyuan from feeling stuffy.
For a while, the boy stayed quiet, leaning with the back of his head toward Lu Chen, who assumed he had dozed off.
After a while, He Xiaoyuan muttered in a low, drifting voice: “We’re just eating… why is there dancing?”
Lu Chen glanced at him. He Xiaoyuan leaned into the seat, long lashes drooping, and the shifting light from outside made it unclear whether his eyes were open or closed as he mumbled.
After a pause, he murmured again: “At first, I was so scared they’d… do something else while dancing.”
“Something else?”
Lu Chen understood—he had been anxious about ending up somewhere unsavory.
He Xiaoyuan spoke in fits and starts, then fell silent. A while later, he murmured again, more unsteady than before: “The white liquor… really tastes awful.”
A bit later: “It doesn’t taste good at all.”
And again: “But I still have to drink it.”
Lu Chen kept driving silently, listening to his quiet complaints. When he heard, “But I still have to drink it,” he finally spoke, calm and gentle: “Why do you feel you still have to drink? Didn’t I tell you, you didn’t have to go back in?”
He Xiaoyuan turned his head toward the driver, perhaps trying to process what Lu Chen had said through his slightly drunk brain, or organizing his words carefully. At first, he just looked at him in silence.
After a moment, he said: “Because… it’s a project I’m handling. It’s my work.”
Lu Chen nodded slightly, voice steady and soft: “So you think eating and drinking is part of your work?”
This time, He Xiaoyuan didn’t hesitate: “Maintaining good relations with partners… is part of my job.”
He continued, crystal clear: “Eating and drinking is just the form, a method, a way of social exchange.”
“Eating isn’t a problem. Drinking isn’t either—it’s just that I don’t like it, I’m not used to it, I don’t know how.”
Lu Chen focused on the road ahead without speaking, and He Xiaoyuan leaned into the seat, falling silent.
Soon, Lu Chen switched on the hazard lights and pulled over. He quietly watched the passenger; He Xiaoyuan seemed asleep, eyes closed.
The car was dim, with passing lights casting shadows across the boy’s serene face. Lu Chen thought the shifting light and the calm expression seemed to fall right into his chest, stirring a gentle ache and softness. His gaze on He Xiaoyuan grew ever more tender.
When the car finally stopped completely, He Xiaoyuan opened his eyes.
Already here?
His expression was dazed, eyes clear, giving the illusion that a nap had sobered him. In reality, it was just a short rest—the alcohol still lingered.
Where am I?
Not the dorm building.
He Xiaoyuan got out, taking in the brightly lit garage, still unsure where he was. Only when Lu Chen guided him by the shoulder into the elevator did he realize it was Lu Chen’s place, not the office dorms.
He blinked at Lu Chen, confused about why he had been brought here.
Lu Chen steadied him with an arm behind his back: “I didn’t want you to be alone if the alcohol hits again and you get sick.”
Oh.
Still a little drunk, He Xiaoyuan nodded dumbly.
Lu Chen finally asked: “How much did you drink?”
He raised his fingers like a schoolboy, counting: index and middle finger, paused, then added the ring finger.
Lu Chen: “Three cups? White liquor?”
He Xiaoyuan nodded.
The elevator moved steadily upward. Lu Chen asked again: “You said you refused… couldn’t refuse?”
He Xiaoyuan stared blankly, nodded, paused, then shook his head.
Lu Chen: “Hm?”
He Xiaoyuan lifted his small, bright, animal-like eyes and explained carefully, syllable by syllable: “The first cup… I drank myself. The third cup… I drank myself too.”
Lu Chen: “You drank it yourself?”
He Xiaoyuan blinked, silent, seemingly struggling to find the words to explain.
Lu Chen’s voice was gentle: “Next time, don’t drink it yourself. Especially white liquor.”
“Mm,” He Xiaoyuan nodded obediently again.
Back on the top floor, Lu Chen settled He Xiaoyuan on the sofa and went into the kitchen for the hangover medicine he had bought earlier.
Returning with the medicine, he found He Xiaoyuan standing by the floor-to-ceiling glass, hands raised and pressed against it.
Lu Chen approached. He Xiaoyuan exclaimed softly: “Wow… the night view is so beautiful.”
Lu Chen stood aside, bottle in hand, tilting his head to watch the boy. His pupils sparkled, reflecting the neon city lights outside, his expression alive with awe. He pointed at a spot: “That bridge is lit up… it’s beautiful at night. Look, there’s even a boat.”
Lu Chen couldn’t help but smile.
Could it be that this was He Xiaoyuan’s first time standing here to see the night view? No, he must have seen it before when he stayed until dark. Yet the way he looked now was like the very first time.
Lu Chen realized the boy was thoroughly drunk; this kind of uninhibited, outward fascination was something he wouldn’t normally show.
Sure enough, He Xiaoyuan’s finger tapped on the glass again, pointing excitedly outside: “Look, the traffic… it’s so pretty!”
Lu Chen smiled quietly, not wanting to interrupt him.
And so a series of small moments unfolded—
He Xiaoyuan pressed his fingers to the glass, pointing at this and that outside, exclaiming over every sight.
Because his breath was so close to the glass, small patches of fog formed from his exhalation. He Xiaoyuan found it amusing, tracing shapes with his fingers, then exhaling on the fog and poking at it.
He even stretched his arms to hug the window, face pressed against the glass, and in a dragged-out voice exclaimed: “Wow… so fancy~~~ I’ve never seen a floor-to-ceiling window this big~~~”
…
Lu Chen watched the entire time, occasionally coaxing him to take the hangover medicine.
After the medicine, whether it worked or not, Lu Chen could already tell the alcohol was taking effect.
He Xiaoyuan’s face and neck flushed, the backs of his hands reddened, and he began to sway unsteadily, needing to sit back on the sofa. His eyes squinted against the light, arms raised to shield his eyes, but his energy and chatter didn’t wane. He refused to go upstairs, insisting on staying downstairs and talking non-stop:
“Why does the elevator not have buttons? I tried to come by myself that day, looked all over the frame for buttons, couldn’t find any, so I came back myself.”
“The king crab was really delicious.”
“This house is huge… I’ve never seen one this big. The decoration—I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“This week I need to go back and clean; the sheets haven’t been changed in half a month.”
“I wonder if the big cat downstairs got fed today since I didn’t go back.”
When Lu Chen turned off the lights and sat back down, he asked: “What cat?”
He Xiaoyuan, unaware the lights were off, the only light coming from the floor lamp by the sofa, arm still over his eyes, replied: “The cat under the dorm building.”
He mumbled: “At first I thought it was a stray. I was surprised its fur was so long. Later I learned it’s a Maine Coon. The property staff said it was probably abandoned by an employee living in the building.”
“One day I ran into it and wanted to take it home, but the property said dorms don’t allow pets.”
“Maybe that’s why it was abandoned.”
“Now I go back every day and give it some cat food. I bought the cat food specially.”
“There seem to be more than one stray cat in the staff area. The most I’ve seen at once is three or four.”
…
He Xiaoyuan muttered on like this for at least half an hour, and Lu Chen stayed patient the entire time.
Finally, he agreed to go upstairs. He still refused a shower, and upon entering the secondary bedroom, flopped straight onto the bed. He pulled the blanket over his lower back, a clear signal: “Okay, I’m sleeping now.”
Lu Chen knew he was drunk and couldn’t force him. Rest was the priority.
When He Xiaoyuan lay down, Lu Chen removed one of his slippers, adjusted him slightly under the covers, and ensured he wouldn’t roll off the bed. Before leaving, he bent down near the boy’s ear: “Do you feel like vomiting?” He got a firm “No” in reply, so he raised the room’s AC slightly, drew the curtains, and left the bedroom.
But Lu Chen remained cautious. He knew people reacted differently to alcohol, especially strong white liquor. Many would show effects hours later. He feared He Xiaoyuan might vomit or have other reactions, so throughout the night he checked the secondary bedroom every half hour. Even after he eventually slept, he would wake every couple of hours to check.
The first half of the night went smoothly; He Xiaoyuan slept deeply, unmoving.
In the latter half, Lu Chen woke mid-sleep to check and found He Xiaoyuan had kicked off the blanket, possibly because he was hot. His pants were kicked to the foot of the bed, and all buttons of his shirt undone, collar wide open, revealing his neck and shoulders.
The room was dark, only the footboard light under the bedside cabinet illuminating him. Lu Chen sat at the edge of the bed, sensing something off. He touched the boy’s back of the head—sweaty. His neck, shoulders, and back were also damp, cool from the AC.
“Xiaoyuan.”
Lu Chen considered waking him for a shower; sweating in cool air could make him sick.
He Xiaoyuan didn’t move.
“Xiaoyuan?”
Still nothing; he slept deeply.
Lu Chen didn’t insist. He went into the bathroom and returned with two warm towels.
Without any other thought, purely to prevent him from catching a chill, Lu Chen undressed He Xiaoyuan’s shirt efficiently. He used one towel to wipe his neck, shoulders, back, and sides, then a dry towel for his hair, and finally his legs.
In the dim light, Lu Chen couldn’t see every detail, but he noticed how fair He Xiaoyuan’s skin was; even faint light revealed his tone. His figure was well-proportioned—slim where needed, firm where needed—and…
While wiping his legs, Lu Chen couldn’t help but chuckle slightly. It wasn’t intentional or inappropriate; it was just that because He Xiaoyuan was lying face down, his buttocks appeared especially perky. He was wearing tight black boxer briefs; the thin, elastic fabric clung to his shape completely, leaving nothing to the imagination.
Even if Lu Chen had no other thoughts, he was still a normal man. Seeing this scene, his expression betrayed him—he let out a quiet hum through his nose, the corners of his lips curling slightly.
When he swapped in another warm towel and carefully turned He Xiaoyuan onto his back, his gaze deepened instantly. He Xiaoyuan wasn’t skinny; quite the opposite. At his height of 1.8 meters, his frame was just right, shoulders straight, body proportionate—not as muscular as Lu Chen’s own, but with smooth, flowing lines.
Lu Chen didn’t miss a thing. A quick glance revealed the boy’s front: a thin layer of defined muscle on his chest with two faintly pink nipples, subtly outlined abs disappearing under the waistband of his black underwear.
And then, Lu Chen smiled slightly again—
Even in sleep, the young boy still had a little… reaction under the snug black fabric, impressively well-endowed.
Lu Chen: Truly, youth does not disappoint.
He didn’t stare. Seeing it, he merely stood straight by the bed, holding the towel, lips pressed together, stifling a chuckle.
After finishing wiping the remaining areas, he covered the boy back under the blanket.
By 7:30 a.m., Lu Chen, who typically slept little and had abundant energy, woke up.
He went to the secondary bedroom and immediately noticed a long, pale figure sprawled across the bed. He guessed someone had been tossing in their sleep—not sure if it was the alcohol causing discomfort or just restlessness.
Lu Chen picked up the blanket on the floor and draped it back over him. Since he wasn’t going back to sleep, he sat at the edge of the vacant side of the bed, legs bent on the frame, keeping an eye on the boy while scrolling on his phone.
By 8:30 a.m., He Xiaoyuan rolled over and gradually woke.
He thought he was in his dorm and instinctively leaned forward, head on the pillow, letting himself wake slowly.
When he opened his eyes, however, the first thing he saw wasn’t his dorm desk—it was Lu Chen, half-naked, without a shirt.
He Xiaoyuan instantly woke up fully. Somehow, his first reaction was to hunch over, supporting himself with his arms, and look down—only to see that he, too, was only in his underwear. Shock flared, and he abruptly looked up, eyes wide, staring at Lu Chen in disbelief.
Lu Chen met his gaze calmly. “What are you thinking?” he asked.