DSYOM Chapter 34

When Wen Di’s lips touched the man’s, the man was only slightly surprised for a moment before he reached out, cupped the back of Wen Di’s head, and deepened the kiss.

The man’s mouth was warm and moist. Perhaps it was the effect of alcohol, but just a slight touch of the tip of his tongue made Wen Di feel an electric current running down his spine, tingling from head to toe.

The elderly ladies adjusted their clothes uncomfortably, while a middle-aged man who had lost despite having a strong trump card cursed under his breath.

In the man’s mouth, Wen Di could taste the cocktail he had just drunk. His head felt as if it had been filled with double the amount of alcohol, leaving him dizzy. When they finally pulled apart, he was still a bit disoriented and vaguely asked the man: “What’s next?”

The man glanced at the doubled chips. “Would you like to gamble with me again?”

The man’s scent was still lingering between his lips and teeth. His thoughts stopped and he nodded without realizing.

Since agreeing to marry him, life had already taken a sharp turn, hurtling toward an uncertain future shrouded in mist. His daily routine had long since gone off course—what was a little more risk now?

The man smiled, then told the dealer, “Deal the cards.”

Like being swept up in a whirlwind on the sea, Wen Di was pulled into the roaring, turbulent card game. He watched as each card was dealt and then turned over one by one. The odds rose and fell, the pot filled and emptied. By the end, the chips in front of the man were stacked almost into a small mountain.

A circle of curious tourists gathered around the poker table. After clearing the pot for the last time, the spectators let out envious exclamations. The man stood up, and Wen Di threw himself into his arms. After they hugged tightly, they kissed once more.

“Fifty cents!” Wen Di looked at the man, breathless. “I thought this was a novel!”

They had already won back the money the robbers had taken. In just one night, life took such a dramatic turn.

Wen Di placed his hand on the man’s waist. The movement was so natural that he didn’t even realize he was holding him.

“The marriage license bureau is already open,” he said. “Let’s go get married!”

The process was simple: fill out a form, pay the fee, and verify the documents. Since they knew they were going to a bar beforehand, Wen Di had brought his passport, and the man had brought his U.S. driver’s license. As they took out their documents, they glanced at each other.

“Since we are about to get married, shouldn’t we know each other’s real name?” Wen Di asked.

The man handed him his driver’s license, and he gave his passport. They each admired the other’s ID photo for a moment.

Wen Di read the English letters on the card and asked, “Which Cheng?”

“The ‘city’ Cheng,” the man asked, “Why isn’t your English name Wendy…”

“Sign!”

When they stepped out of the license bureau, Las Vegas had fully awakened. The streets were bustling with tourists, street performers, various cosplay characters, human statues, and endless magic shows—Wen Di even spotted three Elvis impersonators.

Despite being up all night and enduring a long journey, Wen Di should have been exhausted by now, but perhaps because of the wedding, because of the miracle, he was still exhilarated.

They went to the hotel next to the license bureau and found the wedding service area. The staff came up to them with a smile and introduced the wedding package to them.

As the man browsed through the dazzling array of packages, he suddenly said to Wen Di, “I have an idea, but you’ll strongly oppose it.”

“Let’s hear it,” Wen Di said. “I’m not thinking clearly right now, so I might just agree.”

“Can the money wait until tomorrow?” The man pointed to a section on the form. “Today is a miracle; let’s keep it a miracle.”

“What do you want to do?”

“Elopement.”

Wen Di stared at the man in astonishment.

“Aren’t we eloping?” the man said.

If this had been a day ago, a night ago, or even two hours ago, if someone had told Wen Di to give up the cash that was within his reach for a flashy but pointless wedding, he would have slapped them to the center of the Earth. But now, he said, “Okay ah.”

He might be crazy. But considering the entire universe had fallen into chaos, going crazy himself wasn’t much.

Without hesitation, the man took out the money they had won and bought the elopement package.

Wen Di surprisingly felt no pain at all.

On the hotel’s top floor, the helicopter roared to life. The deafening sound of the engines shook the air, and the pressure of the morning breeze pressed tightly against their clothes. Nervousness, excitement, and awe made every breath tremble. Outside the window, the neon lights of Las Vegas, like a daytime starry sky, merged into a vast cityscape.

The interior of the helicopter was cozy and delicate, with white flowers and green leaves decorating the cabin, attempting to create a relaxed and romantic atmosphere in the small space. The seats were arranged in two rows facing each other— the newlyweds on one side and the officiant on the other. Wen Di noticed a beautifully crafted booklet beside him, likely containing the vows for the ceremony. A paper rose rested on top of it.

He leaned to the side and gazed out the window. The helicopter soared over the crisscrossing city streets, leaving the last few houses behind as the view suddenly opened up. Below, the rushing waters of Hoover Dam swirled with white foam, roaring along the Colorado River. In the distance, the Grand Canyon sprawled with its vast chasms, resembling cracks across the earth’s surface. The cliffs were stacked layer by layer, outlining the geological traces of hundreds of thousands of years, while the turbulent river echoed through the canyon.

The voice of the pilot from the front row came into the cabin, “We’ve arrived.”

The helicopter hovered above the dam as the officiant smiled at them, picked up the booklet, and began the ceremony. Wen Di’s mind was still buzzing. The officiant spoke of ‘the power of love’, ‘each other’s company’, and ‘finding the meaning of life’. He understood each word, but completely failing to grasp their significance.

Then the officiant asked them for their wedding vows.

Wen Di looked at the man.

“I will definitely return the seven hundred dollars to you,” the man said.

“And the phone,” Wen Di corrected.

They were speaking in Chinese, so the officiant kept smiling and asked them to exchange rings.

The man looked at Wen Di.

“Can we have this?” Wen Di asked, pointing at the paper rose.

The officiant nodded. Wen Di took apart the rose petals, folded them into a strip, bent it into a circle, and handed it to the man. As he placed the ring, Wen Di noticed how beautiful the man’s hands were.

“I now pronounce you husband and husband,”[footnote]in English[/footnote] the officiant said.

Before Wen Di could react, the man leaned over and kissed him. It wasn’t a torrent-like kiss but more like the gentle flow of a stream. Yet, Wen Di still trembled slightly, probably because of the helicopter.

The man pulled back a little, and sunlight streaming in from the window behind him, casting a dazzling halo that made him look especially radiant. He looked at Wen Di, slowly revealing a smile: “Happy wedding.”

Wen Di gazed at him, his chest roaring, even louder than the helicopter engines and the wind howling through the canyon. A foreign land, a bar, a robbery, a casino, a wedding—so many unexpected, crazy things had happened today, but none compared to this moment. This one smile.

Adrenaline and hormones were about to drown him, his mind galloping wildly like a runaway horse. He urgently needed something to calm himself down. He was so excited that he even had the urge to jump into the abyss of the canyon. Maybe extreme joy also carried the feeling of weightlessness and fall.

The officiant took out the champagne and glasses prepared under the seat and handed them to them. Wen Di grabbed it and drank it straight to the bottom.

Yes, this was what he needed—alcohol.

The man had intended to toast with him, but his hand holding the glass paused in mid-air. After Wen Di noticed, he poured another glass, leaned over, and gently clinked their glasses. The crisp clinking sound was drowned out by the wind of the canyon.

“Drink slowly,” the man said. “If you puke in the helicopter…”

Before the last word left his mouth, Wen Di drank it all again. The man tried to take the champagne, but Wen Di playfully hugged the bottle to his chest. “Don’t worry about me.”

The man hesitated for a moment, then withdrew his hand.

The helicopter began its return, leaving the waters of the Colorado River behind. The man looked at him and said, “Not going to shout a bit?”

Wen Di raised an eyebrow.

“This is the perfect place to yell,” the man pointed at the canyon below, “aren’t you going to curse a few more times?”

Wen Di looked down as the shimmering water winding its way. “No,” he gave up the glass and took a swig straight from the bottle, “I’m really happy right now.”

The alcohol didn’t bring the expected numbness—it just sent his runaway mind into a different kind of frenzy. His racing blood gradually calmed down, his heartbeat slowed, but this fleeting peace felt like the calm sea before a storm, with hidden currents beneath, ready to unleash massive waves when the time was right.

The helicopter returned to the rooftop of the hotel, and Wen Di pressed down his wind-blown hair, looking at the man, feeling the storm inside growing even stronger.

The man gazed deeply at him and asked, “Consummate our marriage?”[footnote]In English[/footnote]

The man held two bills between his fingers, just enough for the taxi fare. Wen Di snatched the notes from him: “Of course.”

They hailed a taxi on the main street and gave the name of the hotel.

Sitting side by side in the backseat, there was just the right amount of space between them. Wen Di’s hand rested by his thigh, and his pinky barely touched the back of the man’s hand. That slight touch felt like an electric charge, causing that small patch of skin to tremble continuously. He felt like he was going to burst into flames.

He didn’t turn to look at the man’s expression, his eyes fixed on the window. As the car turned down a street, he suddenly grabbed the man’s hand.

“Stop,” he said to the driver.

It turned out where he lived was on the way to the man’s hotel. So close—luckily. If they had waited any longer, he might not have been able to breathe.

The man didn’t ask any questions. He simply opened the car door, followed him out, and held his hand tightly the whole way.

The elevator was agonizingly slow, as if it would take ten thousand years to reach the fifth floor. Wen Di almost thought he might die waiting.

They stumbled into the room. He slid the key card in, turned around, and wrapped his arms around the man. The man stepped forward, pressing him against the wall and began kissing him. He slid his hand under the man’s shirt, rolling it up to reveal tight muscle lines.

As the shirt bunched up at his shoulders, they briefly pulled apart. The man’s breath brushed Wen Di’s forehead, “After drinking that much, can you still get hard?”

Wen Di’s fingers rested on the man’s chest muscles. His body fat must be very low, as the muscles felt firm and elastic under his touch. With each breath, the muscles slowly contracted and rose. Pressed against them, he could feel the strength hidden behind.

His fingers glided over the chest muscles and wrapped around the man’s waist: “Looking at this, I can get hard anytime.”

Even though it was noon, the curtains of the floor-to-ceiling windows were tightly drawn, leaving the room dim, with only the faint outlines of the furniture visible. “Go to bed.”

Wen Di shrugged off his shirt, pulling the man along, walking backward into the room on the left. “This is the suite my classmate booked. It has two bedrooms.”

The man glanced toward the other room but was quickly pulled back by Wen Di, their lips meeting again. “No one’s there. He’s probably still busy with that Nordic guy in bed.”

The man lowered his head to kiss him and slammed the bedroom door shut.

What followed was a blur of chaos and madness, with only vague memories of the torn foil packet, dull pain, intense thrusts, and countless kisses. Alcohol, sex, and nearly 30 hours of sleeplessness—all of it caught up to him quickly, and before long, Wen Di drifted into sleep.

In the depths of darkness, his consciousness floated in and out of his mind. Moonlight spilled through the window, and the shadow of the bedside lamp skewed, shortened, then stretched.

Suddenly, someone shook him hard, shaking his sleepiness into pieces. His consciousness was like a buoy, pushed down and floated up again, finally reaching the point where he had to wake up.

Wen Di swung his arm, irritably closing his eyes and shouting, “Stop bothering me!”

“You’re yelling at me?” came a familiar, exasperated voice. “Who were you with yesterday? You didn’t even answer your phone! I’ve been looking everywhere for you; I was about to go crazy! I was about to call the cops if you didn’t show up!”

“Wha…” Wen Di turned over, and a sudden wave of soreness hit him from below the waist, “What day is it today?”
Jiang Nanze glanced at his phone. “It’s the 7th, right?”

Wen Di suddenly opened his eyes wide: “The 7th? Wasn’t it the 6th?”

“What nonsense are you talking about?” Jiang Nanze patted him. “Get up! We have a flight to catch! Are you dropping out of school?”

Wen Di rubbed his face with his hands, frowning in bewilderment, still in a daze from the shock. His completely clear memory stopped at taking the plane to Las Vegas. After that, everything felt tangled, like a ball of thread. It seemed that he went into a bar? It seemed that he met someone?

“By the way, how was that handsome guy you hooked up with the night before? How’s his technique? Is he good?”

Wen Di looked at him blankly: “Handsome guy? What handsome guy?”

“The guy we met at the bar,” Jiang Nanze’s eyes darted to the foil packet on the bedside table, and his eyebrows shot up. “Damn, did you two go at it for a full day and night? Now at his place, later at my place?[footnote]现在他那，后在我这. Basically a casual, teasing comment about Wen Di’s supposed overnight activities. [/footnote] You sure know how to have fun.”

Wen Di sat up, his head feeling like it had been struck with a blunt object, along with every muscle and bone in his body seemed to scream in protest. He saw Jiang Nanze standing there, arms crossed, watching him with amused curiosity. Glancing down, Wen Di hissed and immediately pulled the blanket up higher. After a moment, he peeked under it and frowned. “Where are my clothes?”

Jiang Nanze clicked his tongue, shook his head, and walked to the living room, tossing Wen Di’s clothes from the floor back to him. Wen Di lethargically picked them up, feeling the fabric. Suddenly, his breath caught.

He quickly put on his alcohol-scented clothes, ignoring the soreness all over his body, and ran barefoot to the living room, frantically searching under the sofa cushions. Then he lifted the rug, picked up the table lamp, and searched around on the floor.

Jiang Nanze leaned against the door, utterly confused: “What now?”

Wen Di slowly stopped moving, stood up straight, and looked incredulous: “The money…”

“What?”

“My money is gone!” Wen Di said, “It must have been that guy from the bar. I got robbed!”

 

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