015. Drunken Shenanigans
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Lin Nan was a bit tipsy.
In his entire life, he had only been drunk twice, and guess what? This was the second time.
The first time was at Chen Yao’s place when his grandfather passed away during high school. They drank together, and Lin Nan went all fuzzy in the head, but he didn’t embarrass himself too much; he just found a cozy corner to squat in, wanting nothing to do with Chen Yao.
And now, here we are—the second round.
His thoughts floated like feathers, his body felt lighter than air, blissfully comfortable. His head was a little cloudy, and his eyelids seemed to have developed a mind of their own, drooping dangerously, yet he was still aware enough to know what was happening.
He put down his chopsticks, cradled his face in his hands, and looked around the dinner table at the three companions with his dreamy eyes.
Chen Yao was the first to notice something was off with Lin Nan. A quick glance confirmed it; those eyes were lost, with a strange charm hidden in that daze. For the first time, he thought Lin Nan’s eyes looked so beautiful.
“It’s a bit hot,” Lin Nan muttered, his body a furnace and his cheeks resembling ripe tomatoes, swaying back and forth in a trance, with his hands propping him up on the chair.
Next to him, Tu Junhui casually snatched away Lin Nan’s paper cup and downed the leftover drink in one go, then offered some sage advice: “Then don’t drink anymore. Just eat your veggies.”
Chen Yao stood up, headed for the door to ask the waiter for hot water, while Xiong Da, sitting opposite, remained silent, quietly munching on his food and occasionally glancing at Lin Nan.
“Junhui, don’t you think Lin Nan’s acting a bit weird since he came back for the summer?” he finally asked, turning to Tu Junhui.
Tu Junhui wholeheartedly agreed, nodding vigorously: “He’s gotten bad at gaming. That can’t be right!”
As soon as he heard this, Lin Nan’s face fell. Before he could stop himself, he blurted out: “I’m not bad! I’m super strong!”
The two exchanged glances, and Tu Junhui groaned as he rubbed his temples. He was known as the best drinker in the dorm and had seen plenty of drunk people at club gatherings, but he never expected Lin Nan to get tipsy so quickly.
“Shouldn’t have let you drink.”
He had wanted to enjoy a night of fun, but now looking at Lin Nan’s state, he realized that the three of them would be lucky if they could even eat dinner in peace. It was a cautious operation now; he had to babysit Lin Nan to prevent this guy from going off the rails.
Chen Yao returned with a cup of warm water and placed it in front of Lin Nan, frowning. “Drink some water.”
Lin Nan stared at the warm water, unhesitatingly shook his head, and replied, “I want alcohol!”
“Drink water!” Chen Yao emphasized, raising his voice a little.
Suddenly, Lin Nan’s eyes began to glaze over, pitifully looking up at him, “You’re being mean to me…”
“Whoa!” Chen Yao buried his head in his hands. Sure, Lin Nan had gotten drunk last time they hung out, but that was at Lin Nan’s house, and they had just crashed on the floor together after. This was his first time witnessing the full force of Lin Nan’s drunken antics.
Tu Junhui’s face was flushed. This semester he felt Lin Nan had become a bit more feminine, but now that he was drunk, wasn’t he practically a tipsy girl?
“I was wrong. Here, drink some water.” Chen Yao’s tone softened as he cautiously coaxed him, “Just drink a bit, and I’ll let you have more alcohol later.”
Watching Chen Yao apologize and pamper Lin Nan, Tu Junhui felt something was off. He shuffled closer to Xiong Da, lowering his voice as he remarked, “Now I see why you said Lin Nan was acting weird.”
“You only just noticed?” Xiong Da was slightly surprised. “I thought you were just joking about his femininity all this time.”
“I was just kidding!”
Rubbing his chin, which was in need of a shave, Xiong Da replied thoughtfully, “No wonder you’re single; your brain is always stuck in gaming, huh?”
“How is that related to me being single?”
“A normal person should be able to notice these things, right?” Xiong Da shook his head before suddenly getting serious, saying, “I suspect Lin Nan… has a ‘female heart’ in a ‘male body.’”
“Huh?”
“You know, like those stories in novels.” He explained, “Yaoi novels.”
“You read stuff like that?”
Xiong Da nodded without hesitation, his expression unchanged. “I got curious in middle school and read a few.”
“Actually, I’ve read some too,” Tu Junhui scratched his head awkwardly. “Made me lose my appetite for a whole day.”
But looking over at Lin Nan, he surprisingly thought, if the ‘female’ protagonist in a yaoi story looked like Lin Nan, he could kind of accept it?
As this conversation unfolded, Chen Yao was starting to lose his patience.
“Drink! Drink! Drink! I’m not drunk! I’m just a bit sleepy,” Lin Nan rapped on the bowl with his chopsticks, chanting like a monk in a trance. It wasn’t aggressive, but it sounded oddly rhythmic.
All the feminine gestures he usually suppressed were now on full display. After a moment, he suddenly put down his chopsticks and leaned back, propping his chin in his hands.
Deep inside, he knew what he was doing, but it felt like his usual embarrassment and limits had evaporated. His body moved before he could even think of stopping it.
If I don’t black out tomorrow, I’m definitely going to be embarrassed if I remember this…
This thought jolted Lin Nan into straightening up, and he gulped down the warm water in one go.
Next to him, Chen Yao’s eyelids twitched, surprised to see Lin Nan, who had resisted water for so long, suddenly come to terms with it. He had a bad feeling about it.
Sure enough, Lin Nan staggered to his feet.
“What’re you doing?” Chen Yao asked as he lifted his head, only to find Lin Nan’s gaze locked on him, looking as if he were mulling over something.
“I…” Lin Nan hesitated suddenly.
His initial plan was to just let it all hang out and maybe even unlock some “magic” along the way. But as that thought crossed his mind, his body started to move on its own. Unfortunately, the whole sequence took a bit too long, and Lin Nan had time to think.
If I really kissed him, Chen Yao wouldn’t cut ties with me, right?
Conflicted, he glanced over at Tu Junhui and Xiong Da, who were whispering to each other.
Tu Junhui looked all squishy and adorable—he often played around with Lin Nan’s cheeks. But did he really want to take the risk? Xiong Da always had that cold demeanor; if things went south, he might retaliate right then and there.
Caught in this dilemma, Lin Nan had already stood up, and not doing anything felt just plain weird.
So he answered, “I’m going to the bathroom! Where’s the restroom?”
“I’ll go with you!” Chen Yao quickly jumped up, wanting to help steady Lin Nan. But seeing him walk slowly but steadily, he figured he didn’t need to worry too much.
“No need! Just tell me where it is! I’m not so drunk I’ll get lost!”
“Fair enough… So you do know you’re tipsy?” Chen Yao was both amused and exasperated, relieved to hear Lin Nan’s confident retort. “Just turn right when you step outside, and go straight.”
“Got it.”
As Lin Nan lumbered toward the door of the private room at a leisurely pace, Chen Yao couldn’t help but imagine him as a graceful young lady from behind.
He couldn’t help but smack his forehead. Ever since he saw Lin Nan in women’s clothes that one time, he often found himself unconsciously viewing him as a girl.
Could it be that being single for too long had warped his perception?
