### 159. Truth or Dare
After singing a round of “Happy Birthday,” Xiong Da’s mood clearly improved.
He downed a bottle of alcohol; it quickly went to his face due to allergies, but it was just a mild allergic reaction. As long as he didn’t drink too much, he’d be fine. Sure, he turned red and itchy when he drank too much, but he wasn’t the type to drop dead after one sip.
Chen Yao noticed Xiong Da was in high spirits before shifting his gaze to Lin Nan in the corner, who was guzzling from a bottle like it was going out of style. In just the two songs that had passed, there were already three empty bottles on the coffee table in front of her!
Clearly, Lin Nan was feeling tipsy, hugging the bottle with her legs crossed, sitting straight yet swaying slightly. Her eyes were all misty, head tilted just enough to make her look adorably silly—just a pretty, cute silly girl.
Xiong Da joined the singing frenzy, and Chen Yao strode over to sit beside Lin Nan, deftly evading the bottle she was clutching.
“What are you doing?” Lin Nan’s nasally voice whipped around, and her eyes popped open, sending that misty layer swirling.
Chen Yao panicked for a split second, quickly shoving the bottle back into her arms, then earnestly counseled, “You can’t keep drinking like this. Stop!”
What if she got so drunk she’d smooch me out of nowhere? Although… that would feel kind of nice…
“It’s only the fourth bottle! I can drink a ton of rum!” Lin Nan wobbled her body, suddenly stripping off her outer jacket while mumbling, “So hot! Is there no air conditioning here?”
Normally, her figure in the dark, hidden under her jacket, wasn’t attention-grabbing, but now she had shed her outer layer. With a straight waist and a subtly swaying chest, she instantly caught Chen Yao’s eye.
That waist, that chest, mmm.
Even though he was aware of Lin Nan’s figure, she usually wrapped herself in jackets at the dorm, only shedding it when crawling into bed. So even though they spent day and night together, this kind of view was rare.
Moreover, with her cheeks aflame and her dazed eyes, she radiated an undeniable charm.
Over that month, Chen Yao thought he was already used to Lin Nan’s changes, but seeing her like this today made him realize he still appreciated beauty.
Meanwhile, Xiong Da and Tu Junhui were belting out tunes, each gripping a microphone and shimmying to their hearts’ content. Chen Yao, parched, instinctively grabbed a bottle of alcohol, took a couple swigs, and then cautiously looked up to see Xiong happily singing away, completely oblivious to the situation.
“Put your jacket back on; you’ll catch a cold.” He tried to drape Lin Nan’s jacket over her shoulders again, but she flinched away and shot him a glare.
But that glare was more alluring than intimidating, her misty eyes pooling again.
Chen Yao looked down and quickly apologized, “I’m sorry!”
Please, for the love of all that is holy, just stop drinking!
Even as he mouthed words of apology, Chen Yao’s head was spinning.
Xiong Da and Tu Junhui hadn’t noticed Lin Nan’s newfound charm yet, locked in their gaming world, oblivious. But if Lin Nan were to charm the two of them while tipsy…
I hope Xiong Da doesn’t think of falling for Lin Nan after that breakup…
And Tu Junhui’s a freak; he wouldn’t fall for Lin Nan, would he?
All I want is for Lin Nan to keep her identity under wraps until the semester ends. Seriously, no ulterior motives here.
“How about some cola?” Chen Yao suggested tentatively.
“Ugh, no way!”
That crisp, sweet reply, combined with the nasally tone, sounded just like a whiny girlfriend.
Chen Yao almost melted on the spot.
Over the month, Lin Nan’s voice had started leaning more toward the feminine side. Typically, she would suppress her pitch to maintain a gender-neutral sound, but now, half-drunk, she was letting her throat open up.
Amid the cacophony of music, the two singing not too far away were blissfully unaware of Lin Nan’s state. With a frown plastered on his face, Chen Yao was at a loss, turning once again to his persistent pleas.
“If you want to drink, at least munch on some snacks! Take it slow!”
“Don’t chug half the bottle in one go! You’re going to get so drunk!”
“NO! I’m not drunk!” Lin Nan was fully aware of what she was doing.
Chen Yao rolled his eyes; please, if you’re not drunk, then I must be!
It was just like last time at that dinner party when Lin Nan felt a bit hazy. The world seemed to twist a bit, but her ideas and thoughts were still crystal clear—time to unlock magic while tipsy!
She was acting cute and clueless, but really, she was just careful enough to control her actions, all to embrace the magic.
Being drunk meant she wouldn’t feel too embarrassed.
Even if something awkward happened, Chen Yao wouldn’t find it weird!
“Chen Yao, Lin Nan, wanna play dice?” Tu Junhui finished yet another song and turned to Lin Nan with a grin, “How about a game of Truth or Dare?”
“Not interested.” Chen Yao huffed, seeing Lin Nan was distracted, he quickly draped the jacket around her again.
But Lin Nan’s eyes lit up like a light bulb; she unhesitatingly raised her hand in agreement.
“Then it’s three against one! Chen Yao?”
“Fine, how do we play?” Chen Yao sighed, resigned to his fate.
Truth be told, Lin Nan had never actually played Truth or Dare, but she suddenly recalled that occasion when she dressed up in the dorm with Li Na and met Liu Xuefei for the first time.
If she combined Truth or Dare with her drunken charm, then it wouldn’t seem so awkward to unlock magic!
Though she’d still feel embarrassed, at least it could look like she had a “valid motive” in front of others, rather than it being obvious she liked the person confessing!
Yeah, Lin Nan still hadn’t figured out who she wanted to confess to face-to-face, let alone who to steal a kiss from.
Always targeting Chen Yao for those sweet benefits, it felt like there’d be trouble later on.
Tu Junhui bounced over in excitement but was suddenly hit with a chill, feeling as if something sinister was eyeing him, the next step seeming to lead straight to hell.
Xiong Da, too, felt an unexplainable chill creeping in. He glanced towards the door of the private room but saw it remained closed; technically, the room should’ve been warm and cozy.
It felt like this semester, random chills had become a common occurrence.
Paranoia set in as he glanced around, but he found nothing amiss and reluctantly joined Tu Junhui in a seat.
The four settled in a row, with Tu Junhui being the carefree one, quickly forgetting the earlier chill. He grabbed a couple of dice and an empty fruit platter, declaring, “Looks like Lin Nan hasn’t played this before! Let’s keep it simple—you roll, highest wins, lowest loses. Winner can make the loser do a Truth or Dare. The two in between drink a cup of alcohol. How about that?”
“Anything goes?” Lin Nan perked up, her face flushed and excited. “Like making Chen Yao do a strip dance?”
Tu Junhui nodded without hesitation, “But if it’s too hard or you just don’t want to, you can choose to drink a bottle instead.”
Isn’t that kinda lame?
Lin Nan didn’t think her luck would be so bad as to always end up last.
And then the first round of dice was rolled.
A two.
Lin Nan’s face fell dark as a thundercloud.
