The hostesses in the room barely dared to breathe. They could see that Young Master He was messing with this man on purpose. He had generously poured the Plum Fragrance 59 into a large wine glass, and from the way things were going, he seemed to be planning on having this man drain the entire bottle.
Two women standing near the back of the room trembled in fright, tugging at the hems of each other’s miniskirts. One whispered to the other, “What should we do?”
“What else can we do? Stand here and keep them company.”
“I’m so worried something will happen. The last time a big shot drank a bit too much, he nearly tormented the mistress he brought with him to death. What if Young Master He makes us help him later…”
“Don’t worry, don’t worry, w-we can still refuse. We’re only here to serve drinks. Everything else is personal business where all parties have to be willing… Even Young Master He can’t force us…”
“But…”
Their voices were a bit loud. The lead hostess standing in front overheard them and turned back to give them a warning glare. Afraid to make another sound, the two girls looked down, their hearts pounding in their chests.
The third glass was downed.
A light flush appeared on Xie Qingcheng’s face, and his eyes began to lose focus. But he had yet to notice anything wrong with the liquor. He only looked at the young man in front of him.
He reached up and pressed a hand to his forehead. With a drunken and slightly nasal tone, he said, “He Yu, that’s enough. Stop this and come home with me.”
He Yu poured Xie Qingcheng another full glass of the liquor and pushed it over. In a voice that had become soft and was no longer as icy-cold as it was when Xie Qingcheng first arrived, he enticed him, “All right, of course I’ll go back with you. You’re such a prestigious person. I’ll listen to everything you say… Come, Xie-ge, have another glass. After this, the whole bottle will be pretty much gone, so don’t waste any of it now.”
Xie Qingcheng leaned back against the sofa. Those peach-blossom eyes of his were already bloodshot and a little misty under the influence of the alcohol. His face had also become rather flushed. But he was still neatly dressed, his shirt securely buttoned up, not showing the slightest inclination of breaching decorum.
He downed the fourth glass of liquor.
The bottle was almost empty, yet Xie Qingcheng was still in full control of his faculties and did not take even the slightest glances at the beautiful women surrounding him.
If someone had faked it for long enough, part of their act would become fused to their true self, wasn’t that right?
He Yu fell silent. He was a little displeased, a little irritated. He thought that perhaps because Xie Qingcheng had been single for too long, he needed some egging on. He looked up, shooting a glance at the two women standing next to Xie Qingcheng.
The two quick-witted jiejies immediately realized what they needed to do. One of them picked up the glass with a smile, while the other walked around the back of the sofa and sat down coyly, leaning into Xie Qingcheng.
“Hey, handsome…”
“I heard Young Master He call you Xie-ge, so I’ll call you that too, all right?” The girl’s body bent in a supple arc as she looked up coquettishly and exhaled a fragrant breath into Xie Qingcheng’s ear. Her manicured hand drew closer to Xie Qingcheng’s broad chest, and she slid her fingertips over the rigidly fastened collar of his ascetic dress shirt. After all, men’s collars were designed to be undone by others.
Xie Qingcheng was handsome and brimming with masculinity, so genuine interest bled into the girl’s provocative teasing. “Xie-ge, why don’t I drink another glass with you…?”
A slap rang through the room as Xie Qingcheng grabbed the woman’s slender wrist in a vice grip, making her flinch.
He closed his eyes for a beat, and some lucidity returned to his gaze. He shook her off. “Get off me.”
The woman was speechless.
“Get off. Stop acting so shamelessly.”
The woman turned pale before flushing red. Finally, she looked awkwardly toward He Yu, unsure how Young Master He would react.
And then she saw He Yu’s downright terrifying expression as he stared fixedly at the man sitting across from him. He Yu was leaning back against the sofa, one elbow extending across the back of it and his other hand holding his wine glass. His slender legs were crossed, and his eyes were icy-cold, overflowing with frost. Since his plan had failed, he had finally stopped pretending.
“You…” Xie Qingcheng’s head throbbed as a terrible fever flashed through him again and again. “Are you leaving or not…?”
He Yu sighed. “You can’t even utter two words of sweet talk without reverting to bossing people around. Xie-ge, you are such a heartless bastard.” He paused, and a dark, dangerous smile bloomed at the corners of his mouth. “Mm. I’m willing to go with you now. But at this point, can you even leave?”
Xie Qingcheng’s gaze inched up slowly. Even the rims of his eyes seemed to be burning.
He finally realized that something was wrong. The effects of Plum Fragrance 59 had begun to rush madly through his entire body. Xie Qingcheng gasped for air as his body’s visibly adverse reaction to the alcohol manifested right before He Yu’s eyes. Xie Qingcheng’s originally pale skin flushed an unnatural shade of pink, like a spot of rouge frozen within a slab of ice. It was as though the liquor had soaked into his very bones.
“This liquor…”
“It’s a little expensive,” He Yu crooned. “But it’s a good vintage.”
“You…!”
“Doctor Xie treated me so well; of course I have to return the favor. Isn’t that right?”
Xie Qingcheng jerked to his feet. He never could’ve imagined that He Yu would go this far. Flames of fury burned directly into his suppressed inner heart as he swept everything off the tea table, shattering the wine glasses and liquor bottles and sending shards across the floor.
He stepped over the tea table and grabbed He Yu by the lapels. “Are you fucking insane?! You… He Yu… You actually…”
“Yes?”
Xie Qingcheng’s voice was shaking with fury. No matter how guilty he felt, his eyes still reddened with rage at what this lunatic had done. “You drugged me!”