Chapter 24.1

“Ahhhh!!!”

Several club guests passing by the bathroom door heard a bloodcurdling scream coming from inside, scaring them so much that they almost sobered up. They exchanged frightened glances and hurried away.

Behind the door, Xiao Chi didn’t know whether he should grab his face or his nether regions. A moment ago, during the kiss, he instinctively reached for the buckle of Lin Jingzhe’s belt when suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his tongue, waking him up. Before he could withdraw, Lin Jingzhe’s knee arrived to finish him off.

Xiao Chi felt as if his body was struck by lightning. An overwhelming acute pain and unbearable dull ache were both concentrated in a certain vulnerable place… which was now completely soft.

He staggered from the impact and barely avoided falling down, then struggled to take a few steps back to lean against the wall, nearly doubling over. Never in his life had he ever made such a pathetic spectacle of himself.

He’d decided that his lower parts had higher priority, so his hands covered his crotch. Covered in sweat, as weak as a kitten, and finally free from the influence of the drug, what ran through his mind were only three words—

“Goddamn motherfucking sonovabitch…”

Lin Jingzhe, his face flushed and his legs weak from the kiss, supported himself against the opposite wall. Hearing his opponent’s weak expletive, he sneered, “At least you’re self-aware, fucktard!”

Xiao Chi was unable to speak from pain; he honestly thought he might die. In his head, ‘F’ish swam, ‘U’nicorns galloped around, ‘C’oyotes howled, and ‘K’oalas climbed the trees, as his mind fell into chaos.

It felt like someone was using a blunt saw to amputate his legs without anesthesia but didn’t really know how to do it, so they needed to take a break after every other move before pressing on.

Repeatedly knocking the back of his head against the wall, Xiao Chi made up his mind: after returning to Yan City, he would go to the family hall to worship Buddha and fast and pray for at least three days. What the hell did he do to be so unlucky today?

Seeing him so miserable, Lin Jingzhe finally felt a bit better. However, when he turned to wash his hands, he caught sight of his own face in the mirror and almost burst a blood vessel.

That damn bastard pinched his jaw so hard he left finger marks!

He washed his face with icy water several times until it looked more or less normal. Unwilling to stay in this bathroom for even a second longer than what was necessary, he wiped his hands as he walked towards the door. On his way out, he needed to pass by the man, who had squatted down and hadn’t moved for a while. At the sight of the curly hair on the man’s head, his anger spiked and he couldn’t help stepping forward to kick the asshole again before he crumpled the damp paper towel into a ball and threw it at the guy.

Curly Hair raised his head and glared at him. His nose was red.

Lin Jingzhe growled, “Listen, you stupid cunt. If I ever see you again, I’m gonna fucking punch your teeth out!”

As Lin Jingzhe walked back, the music grew loud again and the couple that had been kissing and groping each other in the corner were still inseparable. Nothing had changed—except for his state of mind. His eyes swept over their joined lips and he felt a shiver up his spine; his entire back tingled.

His lips were numb. He licked them instinctively and seemed to still taste a hint of red wine.

He suddenly remembered the feeling just now, being engulfed and invaded by another person, the man’s lips so hot that they burned, his tongue skillfully teasing his own. This temperature seemed to penetrate through his skin and infect his brain, leaving behind a deep, indelible mark.

Lin Jingzhe suddenly returned to his senses. He shuddered, thinking that he had really drunk too much, then realized he hadn’t rinsed his mouth!

Fuck!!!

He returned to their table. Gao Sheng and the others had finished their meal, and Tian Dahua was trying to persuade them to have some fruit too.

Lin Jingzhe grabbed a full untouched glass from the table and knocked it back, not caring what the contents were.

Voice a little hoarse from the burn, he said, “It’s getting late, Mr. Tian—why don’t we end the party here?”

Surprised, Tian Dahua looked at him and caught sight of his lips. “Mr. Lin…?”

He thought of something and began to open his mouth but in the end said nothing, only putting on a knowing expression. “Of course, of course, let us disperse! Don’t worry, Mr. Lin, I understand,” he nodded repeatedly.

Lin Jingzhe couldn’t be bothered to care about what Tian Dahua “understood.” He inwardly rolled his eyes, then raised his chin towards his friends, signaling them to leave.

There was a burst of laughter from the seats nearby. Lin Jingzhe turned to look, and he saw red.

The guy in the flower-print shirt turned out to be the same person he saw in the trading room this morning, Curly Hair’s companion!

Tian Dahua settled the bill and went forward to lead the way to the exit. Lin Jingzhe’s gaze swept over their table and grabbed a glass of whisky with ice that the man hadn’t had time to drink.

Hu Shaofeng was playing a little lip-feeding game with his new friends. The soft and charming beauty in his arms embraced his neck and kissed him coquettishly as the roaring music onstage made his blood boil. In short, he was feeling on top of the world right now.

Just as he was about to kiss the most flirtatious girl, the collar of his shirt suddenly tightened. Before he understood that somebody was grabbing it from behind, ice-cold liquid poured down his hot back!

Hu Shaofeng let out a shriek. While he was in a state of shock, something hard hit the back of his head. Furious, he let go of the girl, jumped to his feet, and spun around to see which bastard was so bold.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t see anyone suspicious nearby—in the dim light of the nightclub, everyone was chatting or dancing and no one paid any attention to him.

Cursing angrily under his breath, with no other choice than to accept this incident as a bout of bad luck, he cleaned up and returned to the sofa.

He must’ve fallen victim to some bored asshole’s prank!

However, his bad mood was soon scattered by the girls’ teasing and flirting. In high spirits again, he and the beauties began to enjoy themselves more and more.

Then, he felt another smack on the back of his head, this time so powerful that he fell forward and crashed onto the table.

Hu Shaofeng supported himself against the table, amazed by today’s misfortunes. Fuck, wasn’t it enough to be made a fool of once?!

What the hell is your problem, motherfucker?!

Hu Shaofeng finally couldn’t bear it. Outraged, he grabbed an unopened bottle next to him, got up and turned around, glaring fiercely—

Uh…

At the sight that greeted him, he deflated like a punctured balloon, his temper disappearing in a flash. Xiao Chi, who had been gone for so long, stood there with an expressionless face, his eyes gloomy and his whole body radiating a barely restrained threat of violence.

As soon as Hu Shaofeng saw him, he knew that his friend was really angry. He discreetly put the bottle down, let out a cough, and drew closer, cautiously asking, “Hey, what’s wrong? Who’s been suicidal enough to piss you off? Come on, tell me, I’ll get somebody to beat the bastard up!”

This fucking fool still dares to say it!

Xiao Chi hated that he couldn’t trash this idiot, but he couldn’t admit what had happened to him a moment ago. His eyes swept around, but he couldn’t find the arrogant, big-eyed jerk.

The unremitting, aching pain in his body and the anger roiling in his mind mingled with each other—in the end, the root cause of everything that happened was Hu Shaofeng! Xiao Chi raised a hand and pointed at him. “I’ll deal with you later,” he growled.

Then he turned around and slowly walked towards the exit.

“……”

Hu Shaofeng was scared but also baffled. He and the girls looked at each other, but no one knew where Xiao Chi’s anger came from.

This evening, he’d been splashed with cold whisky and hit on the head, then Xiao Chi gave him another whack, so strong that his ears were still ringing.

Hu Shaofeng reached behind him and felt around the table. His hand chanced upon a glass of beer, and he drank it in one gulp.

He wondered numbly, Was I cursed or something? Why the fuck am I so unlucky today?!

The young men from a backward town didn’t understand what Lin Jingzhe glazed eyes and slightly swollen lips represented. Although they were puzzled, Lin Jingzhe easily brushed them off by using an allergy as an excuse.

Tian Dahua thought that Lin Jingzhe was leaving early because he had found a suitable girl for an enjoyable evening. He couldn’t help feeling a little envious—good-looking people really had it easier. He himself had never gotten a date so effortlessly.

He didn’t dare tarry, for fear of delaying Lin Jingzhe’s fun, so he sent everyone back to their hotel and left in a hurry.

Lin Jingzhe handed the business card, which Tian Dahua gave him again, to Gao Sheng, signaling him to put it away. After returning to the room, he headed straight to the bathroom to brush his teeth and take a bath.

He still couldn’t believe this really happened. As expected, birds of a feather flock together—the damn Curly Hair and Flower-print Shirt were the same kind of people!

Lin Jingzhe regretted not throwing the glass harder. Soaking in the steaming hot bath made him recall the heat of that embrace. He couldn’t help but fall into a daze for a moment, as if that person’s mouth was still ravaging his own.

Oh for fuck’s sake!

He gave himself a slap to snap out of it and made up his mind to find out who the hell the curly-haired bastard was, then hire someone to beat the living daylights out of him. After quickly drying himself off, he put on his pajamas and got into bed.

Lin Jingzhe tossed and turned the whole night, his dreams turbulent. When the morning sun shone through the window, he sat up, eyes like a dead fish, and touched the wet stain on his pajama pants.

When the three youths woke up after a good night’s sleep, they saw Lin Jingzhe, neatly dressed as he sat by the window, looking into the distance with a deep expression on his face.

Deng Mai’s heart swelled with admiration. No one could ever be cooler than Big Bro Lin!