Chapter 72
Although Lin Xiaoran had punched Gu Yang earlier that day due to the way Chen Hongqiang and the others had addressed him, he still gave Gu Yang face by joining him and his friends for barbecue in the evening.
The night study session ended at 10 PM, and at that hour, the food street behind the school was bustling with activity.
At the far end of the food street was an open-air barbecue stall that had especially good food.
In the past, when Gu Yang was still struggling in school, he used to come here at night with a few of his friends for barbecue and drinks.
Now, with his focus on dating and preparing for the college entrance exams, it had been a while since he had visited.
However, he was still very familiar with the place, and when the owner saw him, he came over to greet him personally.
Lin Xiaoran, on the other hand, had never been to this spot. Firstly, it was located far at the end of the street, requiring a long walk from the entrance. For someone like Lin Xiaoran, who only came to eat, it seemed unnecessary to go all that way. Secondly, barbecue felt more like a late-night food, but by the time late-night cravings hit, Lin Xiaoran was already at home.
“What do you want to eat?” After greeting the owner, Gu Yang let Chen Hongqiang and the others order on their own while sitting next to Lin Xiaoran with a menu in hand.
Lin Xiaoran glanced at the menu but didn’t have a particular craving. “You order,” he said.
Since Gu Yang knew his tastes well and visited here often, Lin Xiaoran was confident that Gu Yang would know what was good.
Gu Yang didn’t ask further. After ordering according to Lin Xiaoran’s preferences, Chen Hongqiang and the others also finished ordering. After giving their orders to the owner, Chen Hongqiang ran to grab a bucket of draft beer and brought it over, distributing cups to everyone.
When he placed the drink in front of Lin Xiaoran, Gu Yang stopped him. “He doesn’t drink. Go grab him a can of Coke.”
Chen Hongqiang was visibly surprised. He stared at Lin Xiaoran for a moment before quickly responding, “Alright, I’ll go get it.”
It wasn’t surprising that Chen Hongqiang was taken aback. Even though he knew Lin Xiaoran was an Omega, the image of Lin Xiaoran single-handedly defeating three Alphas had left a deep impression on him. He couldn’t quite bring himself to accept Lin Xiaoran as a typical Omega. Sometimes, he even doubted if Lin Xiaoran really was one.
Now, seeing that Lin Xiaoran wasn’t drinking, especially compared to their group of rough-and-tumble guys, it made him feel a little out of place.
Lin Xiaoran didn’t mind, though. He really couldn’t drink. The last time he had a bit of cocktail, he got so drunk he blacked out. He didn’t think this had much to do with being Alpha or Omega; it was more about his personal constitution.
Rather than worrying about whether he could drink, he was more curious about Gu Yang’s drinking habits.
He had never seen Gu Yang drink, or at least, aside from occasionally seeing him chatting with Chen Hongqiang and the others at school, Lin Xiaoran hadn’t seen Gu Yang interact with his friends outside of school.
Besides Chen Hongqiang and Jiang Tao, a few new faces had joined them tonight—two girls, who seemed to be someone’s girlfriends. They all seemed very familiar with Gu Yang.
As they sat together, eating skewers and drinking, someone suggested playing a drinking game. Gu Yang easily followed along, fitting in with the group.
This side of Gu Yang was hard to imagine for someone like Lin Xiaoran, who knew him as the heir to a wealthy family.
But Gu Yang had the ability to blend into any environment. Although he might stand out from the crowd because of his appearance, he could easily fit in with anyone.
Lin Xiaoran thought back to when Gu Yang had run away from home and worked night shifts as a network administrator at an internet cafe.
In that chaotic world of mixed people, Gu Yang, a wealthy young master, had managed to handle things effortlessly.
Under the dim light of the barbecue stall, Lin Xiaoran couldn’t help but smile slightly as he looked at Gu Yang’s side profile. He suddenly felt that this version of Gu Yang was very charming.
Gu Yang, who had been chatting and drinking with Chen Hongqiang, noticed Lin Xiaoran’s gaze and moved closer to his ear. He whispered, “Don’t look, I’m losing control.”
Though Gu Yang was busy with drinks and skewers, he noticed the gaze that Lin Xiaoran had fixed on him.
Lin Xiaoran didn’t feel guilty for being caught staring. He directly ignored the implied meaning in Gu Yang’s words and asked, “Are you good at drinking?”
Although Gu Yang had won every round of the drinking game, he had already drunk quite a bit while toasting with his friends. He appeared unaffected, his expression unchanged.
Gu Yang winked at him. “Your boyfriend is the school bully. Have you ever seen a school bully who can’t drink?”
While they were speaking, Chen Hongqiang and the others gathered in a corner, whispering to each other. After a moment, Chen Hongqiang stood up, slamming his hand on the table. “Yang Ge, I think we can’t just drink and play drinking games. We should…”
He started to say “sister-in-law,” but the word got stuck on his tongue when Gu Yang shot him a glare. Quickly, he changed his words, “I mean, Lin Study God, can’t drink or play drinking games. Watching us from the side must be boring and feels like he’s not part of it. We should play a game. What do you think?”
“Sure.” Gu Yang agreed, worried that Lin Xiaoran might get bored.
However, Lin Xiaoran himself wasn’t bored. He thought sitting aside and watching was quite interesting. As for the game, he wasn’t particularly keen, but he didn’t want to spoil the fun, so he nodded along.
Chen Hongqiang continued, “Let’s play a simple game: Truth or Dare. We’ll use this bottle to spin, and whoever the bottle points to has to choose between Truth or Dare. But if they can’t do what they choose, they’ll have to drink three shots of alcohol. Since Study God can’t drink, if it’s him, then Yang Ge will take the penalty instead, okay?”
“Sounds fair,” Gu Yang replied, nodding, and no one had any objections. So the game began.
The first round was Gu Yang’s turn.
Chen Hongqiang and Jiang Tao’s eyes instantly lit up as they eagerly asked, “Yang Ge, Truth or Dare?”
Seeing the excited expressions on their faces, Gu Yang suddenly felt like he might be walking into a trap. He immediately ruled out Truth and said, “Dare.”
“Hehe!” But to his surprise, Chen Hongqiang and the others grinned even more mischievously. “Yang Ge, except for Lin Study God, pick someone and give them a kiss.”
“Ha ha ha ha…”
As soon as Chen Hongqiang finished speaking, everyone burst into laughter, clearly eager to watch the drama unfold.
Gu Yang rubbed his forehead and laughed helplessly. “You guys really want to make sure I won’t get any sleep tonight, huh?”
“Yang Ge, don’t blame us for this deadly mission. The opportunity is rare! We’ve been waiting to get back at you tonight. You have to get drunk. Just accept your fate, we know you’ll never do it, so just drink up,” Chen Hongqiang said, as Jiang Tao and the others placed three glasses of alcohol in front of Gu Yang.
Gu Yang had no choice but to drink. There was no way he was going to kiss anyone in front of Lin Xiaoran. Even if Lin Xiaoran weren’t here, he still wouldn’t be able to do it.
After drinking the three shots, the second round began, and once again, it was his turn.
As expected, Chen Hongqiang and the others came up with another impossible challenge. Another three shots of alcohol downed.
And it seemed like tonight, luck was not on his side—the bottle seemed to point to him more than anyone else.
After several rounds, Gu Yang was starting to get fed up. “No way, I think you guys are cheating,” he said, turning the bottle over to Lin Xiaoran. “Ranran, you do it now. I only trust you at this table.”
Lin Xiaoran looked at him and was surprised to see that Gu Yang didn’t seem drunk at all, his demeanor unchanged.
He himself was already out of it after one drink, so how could Gu Yang drink so much?
While thinking about this, he didn’t hesitate to take the bottle. After spinning it a few times, it came to a slow stop, the neck pointing squarely at Gu Yang.
Gu Yang: “…”
Everyone: “Hahahaha, Yang Ge, you might as well give in now.”
Lin Xiaoran couldn’t help but laugh either, winking at Gu Yang. “Yang Ge, good luck!”
At this point, Chen Hongqiang and the others were slightly tipsy, and they didn’t feel the usual distance from Lin Xiaoran anymore. They all laughed and said, “Study God really is one of us.”
Gu Yang didn’t expect to be so unlucky tonight. He realized that if he picked Dare, he’d just get another impossible task, so after some thought, he gritted his teeth and said, “Truth.”
Chen Hongqiang and the others immediately became excited. “Yang Ge finally picked Truth! We’ve been waiting for this. Come on, Yang Ge, tell us, how did you fall for Lin Study God? Didn’t you used to hate him? I remember how you always said this about him…”
As he spoke, Chen Hongqiang put his hands in his pockets and tried to mimic Gu Yang’s usual manner, lowering his voice and saying, “Lin Xiaoran? A bookworm. Such a waste of that pretty face.”
Gu Yang: “…”
Who’s going to shut this guy up?
Although Gu Yang had once disliked Lin Xiaoran, Lin Xiaoran already knew that. But now, bringing it up in front of everyone was still awkward.
Unable to resist, he turned to glance at Lin Xiaoran, only to see Lin Xiaoran’s bright, clear eyes gazing at him, his expression completely calm. Lin Xiaoran then looked at Chen Hongqiang and asked, “What else? What else did he say about me?”
Gu Yang quickly shot Chen Hongqiang a glance, signaling him to stop talking nonsense. Unfortunately, Chen Hongqiang was already a bit tipsy and didn’t notice. As soon as Lin Xiaoran asked, he immediately became excited. “Actually, Yang Ge is not the type to talk bad about others behind their backs. He only ever complains that Lin Study God is so good-looking but never smiles and only focuses on studying. Oh, and I think he once said that Lin Study God is the most handsome person at school. Also, last summer when you were doing remedial classes, Lin Study God, you were stopped by Guan Jun and his people in the alley on the east side of the school. Yang Ge was so excited, like he really wanted to see you get beaten up. Too bad you’re so strong. You took down all three of them on your own. Yang Ge was disappointed.”
Gu Yang: “…”
Can someone please stop him?
But before he could speak, Lin Xiaoran had already shifted his gaze from Chen Hongqiang to Gu Yang, looking at him with a half-smile. “Really?”
“Really!” Chen Hongqiang jumped in before Gu Yang could respond. “I was there with Yang Ge, how could I not know? I bet he was secretly cursing Guan Jun and the others for being useless. Three of them couldn’t even beat a bookworm. Maybe he was even thinking he should have stepped in himself…”
“Alright, enough of that. It’s getting late, and we still have class tomorrow. Let’s call it a night.”
Gu Yang couldn’t take it anymore and quickly interrupted Chen Hongqiang. He grabbed Lin Xiaoran’s hand and pulled him away.
Lin Xiaoran didn’t object. He waved goodbye to Gu Yang’s friends and left with him.
Gu Yang seemed genuinely scared of Chen Hongqiang, walking quickly through the food street. After turning into an alley on the east side, he slowed down, still holding Lin Xiaoran’s hand, their fingers interlaced. They arrived at the place where Gu Yang had witnessed Lin Xiaoran being stopped by Guan Jun. He pointed to the wall behind a streetlamp. “That day, I came out of here and saw you being stopped by them.”
“And then?” Lin Xiaoran asked, his voice carrying a hint of amusement. “Were you just waiting to see me get beaten up?”
Gu Yang turned around, wrapping his arms around him and burying his face in Lin Xiaoran’s neck. “No, don’t listen to what Hongqiang said. I just wanted to see if you’d be scared. I was thinking, if you cried, maybe I’d go help you, and you might have a different opinion of me. But who knew you didn’t even need help, and you took them all down by yourself.”
Looking back on that day, Gu Yang’s feelings had completely changed. At the time, he was simply shocked by Lin Xiaoran’s strength. Now, thinking about it, his heart swelled with pride.
He nuzzled Lin Xiaoran’s neck and smiled. “My boyfriend is so handsome!”
Lin Xiaoran didn’t actually mind the things Chen Hongqiang had said. First, he didn’t fully believe them. Second, even if they were true, it didn’t bother him. After all, at that time, they both had mutual disdain for each other. If it had been Gu Yang being blocked by others, he probably would have just watched from the sidelines as well.
What did surprise Lin Xiaoran was that Gu Yang suddenly clung to him and nuzzled his neck, making it ticklish. He lightly pushed Gu Yang away. “Let go.”
“No… you smell so good,” Gu Yang responded, suddenly acting childish. He didn’t loosen his hold but instead tightened his arm around Lin Xiaoran’s waist, his voice sounding a little strange—more lazy than usual.
Lin Xiaoran blinked, confused, wondering what had gotten into Gu Yang. Then, he caught a faint smell of alcohol coming from Gu Yang.
He’s drunk?
Lin Xiaoran was surprised. Just earlier, Gu Yang had seemed perfectly fine, showing no signs of being affected by the alcohol. He had even been wondering just how good Gu Yang’s tolerance was, considering how much he had drunk and still appeared unaffected.
Could it be that he was pretending earlier?
He gently patted Gu Yang’s back and asked softly, “Gu Yang, what’s one plus one?”
“Hehe…”
Gu Yang chuckled, amused, and released him, pinching his cheek. “Ranran, do you think I’m like you last time, so drunk I don’t know anything?”
“Huh? Not drunk?” Lin Xiaoran stared at him, blinking his thick eyelashes.
Gu Yang poked Lin Xiaoran’s eyelashes lightly. “A little tipsy, but not drunk.”
Having drunk so much, his throat felt dry, and his voice sounded a bit hoarse.
“Can you get home by yourself?” Lin Xiaoran asked.
Gu Yang immediately pulled him in again, lazily saying, “I can, but I don’t want to go home alone.”
Lin Xiaoran: “…”
What could he do? He couldn’t just leave Gu Yang here alone.
So, he decided to take him in a taxi back to Tian Jun Feng.
Lin Lan happened to come back early that night. Knowing Lin Xiaoran would be out eating late and coming back afterward, she hadn’t prepared anything extra for him and had gone to bed first since she needed to leave early the next day for a business trip.
By the time Lin Xiaoran returned, she was already asleep.
The two of them didn’t want to wake Lin Lan up, so they quietly entered Lin Xiaoran’s room and closed the door behind them.
Gu Yang seemed quieter than usual, sitting down on the side as Lin Xiaoran rummaged through the wardrobe for some clothes for him. After finding a change of clothes for Gu Yang, he walked over, pulling him up and trying to push him into the bathroom. However, Gu Yang grabbed his wrist and forcefully pulled him in, closing the door behind them. He pinned Lin Xiaoran to the door and lowered his head to bite his ear. “I’m drunk, Ranran, can you help me get cleaned up?”