Xie Quan had seen Lu Nanyang serious before, but now, the difference from his usual playful self was stark. His gaze was icy, radiating a dangerous edge.
That mouth, usually chattering endlessly, was now tight-lipped—because right now, his fists said everything.
The group of thugs, unsure of where this guy had come from, were visibly spooked by Lu Nanyang. Plus, causing trouble in this area wouldn’t end well for them. Their leader gave in quickly and left, cursing, with his gang in tow.
“Are you out of your damn mind?!” Lu Nanyang angrily grabbed Xie Quan’s collar, yanking it shut. “What the hell are you doing out here losing your mind at night instead of staying home?!”
Xie Quan reached out and grasped Lu Nanyang’s hand, his palm tightening around the other’s.
The warmth of that palm was dry and comforting. Even though it had only been a day, Xie Quan felt like it had been forever since he’d touched that familiar warmth he so craved.
“I’m not crazy, Lu Nanyang,” Xie Quan said hoarsely, resting his cheek against Lu Nanyang’s hand. “I have no home to go back to. You kicked me out.”
“Don’t give me that crap,” Lu Nanyang scoffed. “I didn’t burn your damn house down. Get up!”
Lu Nanyang yanked Xie Quan by the arm to get him on his feet, but his legs were still unsteady. He staggered and collapsed into Lu Nanyang’s arms.
An adult man over six feet tall wasn’t exactly light. If it weren’t for the wall behind him, Lu Nanyang would’ve been knocked right to the ground.
“Xie Quan!” Seeing him this drunk only made Lu Nanyang angrier—he wanted to throw him right onto the pavement.
Did he think it was cool to drink himself into oblivion in the middle of the night?
Just look at the state he was in now.
At that moment, Xie Quan’s expression suddenly changed. His head turned to the side, and he vomited.
“Hey!” Lu Nanyang quickly dodged, but still got splashed on his shoes.
Xie Quan held onto the wall and retched several times, so violently it seemed the world was spinning. Only when nothing more would come out did the vomiting finally stop.
Now he truly understood what it meant to reap what you sow. After vomiting, a wave of stomach pain followed, so intense it left him breathless. Sweat beaded on his forehead.
Just as he was about to collapse, Lu Nanyang caught him.
That familiar warmth enveloped him. In the midst of the chaos, he finally felt a little better.
“How much did you drink?” Lu Nanyang’s brows were furrowed tight.
“I don’t know…” Xie Quan muttered with difficulty, lips barely moving. “I started drinking when I saw you… kept drinking until just now.”
Saw him?
So before Lu Nanyang saw Xie Quan, Xie Quan had already seen him?
Lu Nanyang had been out for a while that day—he met up with Fu Qi at seven, wandered the shopping district a bit, spent over two hours at the arcade before stepping out again.
So when exactly had Xie Quan seen him? And how long had he been drinking alone?
A ridiculous answer started to form in Lu Nanyang’s mind.
Did Xie Quan go drinking because he saw him hanging out with Fu Qi?
Lu Nanyang pulled a tissue from his pocket and carefully wiped Xie Quan’s lips. When he got to the area where the thug had touched him, he scrubbed it extra hard.
The soft flesh was squeezed and released between his fingertips, becoming more swollen than usual, flushed and glistening.
“What did you see?” Lu Nanyang asked in a low voice.
Xie Quan’s mind, muddled into mush under the influence of alcohol, had lost the ability to think rationally or lie. Whatever Lu Nanyang asked, he answered without hesitation.
“I saw you with another man. You bought him milk tea,” Xie Quan murmured, his voice low and aggrieved, his eyes brimming with hurt. “Who is he to you? Lu Nanyang, are you really that lonely? I was only gone for one day, and you’re already hooking up with someone else!”
Lu Nanyang found it amusing, a dark satisfaction rising in his chest like vengeance.
He leaned down, his lips close to Xie Quan’s ear. “Yes. He’s gentler than you, more considerate, and better in bed. Most importantly, he respects me in bed.”
Xie Quan’s eyes instantly turned bloodshot. He jerked his head up, staring at Lu Nanyang in disbelief, his reddened eyes laced with veins.
Lu Nanyang hadn’t even reacted before he was shoved by Xie Quan, pressed by the shoulders into a nearby alley.
His shoulder slammed painfully against the cold, hard wall. Just a few meters away was a bustling commercial street full of lights and noise.
Outside the alley, it was bright and lively; inside, it was pitch dark.
The narrow, oppressive space could barely contain two adult men. They were practically chest to chest, and even the slightest movement made their clothes scrape against the wall.
“Xie Quan! Did you drink your brain away?” Lu Nanyang shouted. “This is the city center!”
But Xie Quan ignored him completely. Without a word, he crouched down in front of Lu Nanyang.
Lu Nanyang froze.
The alley was tight, and Xie Quan’s long legs made crouching look awkward. The denim of his jeans rubbed against the wall, picking up dust and grime.
The alcohol had clearly clouded his senses. His beautiful eyes were half-lidded in a dazed intoxication, glimmering under the artificial light.
His movements were startlingly practiced as he unzipped Lu Nanyang’s pants. Then, with only a layer of cotton fabric between them, he gently rested his cheek against it, his voice so hoarse Lu Nanyang had to strain to hear it.
“I can do everything he can, and I can do it even better…” Xie Quan whispered, the latter part of his words so soft they were barely audible. “So… don’t leave me.”
Lu Nanyang felt as if his heart had been struck hard, a dull ache spreading from his chest to every inch of his body, leaving him breathless.
Xie Quan closed his eyes and opened his mouth, crystal-clear saliva glistening between his flushed lips and tongue.
His body instinctively knew how to please a man—memories he once desperately avoided when sober now flowed naturally in his blood, as if etched into his very being.
But the expected invasion never came. Instead, a warm hand brushed over his lips, gently closing his mouth.
“Xie Quan, you’re drunk,” Lu Nanyang said quietly.
“I’m not,” Xie Quan murmured.
Lu Nanyang ignored his stubbornness, his arm wrapping around his body to support him as he walked him outside. He hailed a taxi by the roadside.
It wasn’t until he caught the strange look from the taxi driver that Lu Nanyang realized his pants were still unzipped.
…How much did he owe this bastard in his past life to endure such torment in this one?
“Where are you staying now?” Lu Nanyang patted Xie Quan’s cheek.
Xie Quan opened his eyes. Whether it was because of his eye shape or not, his gray eyes still looked clear, giving the illusion that he was still quite sober.
But the moment he spoke, it was clear he was far from sober.
“In your heart,” Xie Quan said steadily.
Lu Nanyang: “……”
Lu Nanyang told himself not to reason with a drunk.
“I’m asking where you sleep at night,” Lu Nanyang patiently rephrased the question.
Fortunately, this time Xie Quan tilted his head, thought for a moment, and named a hotel.
Once there, Lu Nanyang paid the driver, enduring the driver’s odd stare, and then carefully helped Xie Quan to his room.
At this point, Xie Quan had become very quiet. He didn’t speak or make noise, just curled up in the blanket, huddling into a ball.
At first, Lu Nanyang thought he had fallen asleep. But when he pulled back the blanket to check, he found that Xie Quan’s brows were tightly furrowed, beads of sweat beginning to form on his forehead.
He placed his hand on his forehead to check—cold as ice, but there was no fever.
“Where does it hurt?” Lu Nanyang squatted in front of him. “Your stomach?”
Xie Quan didn’t answer. After a moment, he slowly nodded.
Lu Nanyang suddenly realized—had he drunk on an empty stomach?
No wonder he got drunk so easily… It was no surprise his stomach hurt.
“Why didn’t you say your stomach hurts earlier?” Lu Nanyang raised his voice, feeling a bit angry.
Xie Quan’s gaze shifted away, and then his brow furrowed in pain, his voice barely above a whisper. “I can’t say… I’ll get hit.”
Lu Nanyang’s anger, which had flared up, deflated like a balloon with a puncture.
What could he do with a person like this?
He walked to the bedside, covered Xie Quan with the blanket, then turned to pick up his phone.
At that moment, the cuff of his sleeve was suddenly pulled.
“Don’t leave,” Xie Quan said.
Lu Nanyang took Xie Quan’s cold hand in his and gently placed it back on the bed. “I’ll be back in ten minutes.”
But Xie Quan, as if not believing him, stubbornly grasped his hand again.
Lu Nanyang sighed. “Really. I’m not like you. I don’t lie.”
At these words, Xie Quan’s hazy consciousness finally relaxed, and he released Lu Nanyang’s hand.
Right, it was Lu Nanyang.
He wouldn’t lie.
Afterward, Xie Quan drifted in and out of sleep a few more times. Eventually, after some unknown period of time, the door to the room opened again. Lu Nanyang walked in, holding a bag.
The fragrance of rice congee, the sound of foil being peeled back, and the sound of water being poured.
Xie Quan groggily followed Lu Nayang’s movements, drinking the congee, and then took the stomach medicine. His stomach, which had been aching to the point of numbness, finally started to ease, and sleepiness followed soon after.
He felt himself being gently placed back on the bed, with the blanket carefully tucked around him.
“Go to sleep,” Lu Nanyang said quietly, cleaning up the trash on the desk.
“You’re really leaving this time, aren’t you?” Xie Quan’s hoarse voice came from behind him.
“……”
Lu Nanyang turned around and looked at the wet eyes, softly saying, “If you didn’t want me to leave, you shouldn’t have been such an asshole from the start.”
