404. Playing with Fire 【32/99】
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When they finally stumbled out of the KTV, it was already eleven at night.
Zhu Yong Wen was hanging off Chen Yao like a lost backpack, completely plastered. Lin Nan was gingerly supporting him from the side, worried that Chen Yao, who had also had a few drinks, would buckle under the weight of this human bowling ball.
Chen Yao had built up quite the tolerance, though; he was a bit wobbly on his feet but still clear-headed compared to the snoring Zhu Yong Wen, who was setting up to audition for a role as a human-shaped puddle.
“Where’s he living?” He glanced down at Lin Nan.
Lin Nan shook her head in confusion. “How would I know?”
“Then how about we book him a room at an inn?” Chen Yao fished around in his pockets, realizing with a sinking feeling that, predictably, he had forgotten his ID.
Unfortunately, Lin Nan had a habit of leaving her ID at home too. If she wasn’t heading to an internet cafe or taking the train, that little card had no chance of making it into her pocket.
What are we going to do now?
Looking at Zhu Yong Wen, draped ungainly over Chen Yao, Lin Nan suggested with a headache, “How about we just toss him in a park on a bench?”
“Only you could think of something like that.” Chen Yao knew she was joking, but after a moment’s thought, he asked, “How about the rental apartment’s couch?”
“I guess that’s the only option we have?”
Lin Nan wasn’t thrilled about having someone crash at her place with Chen Yao, but there was no way they’d just leave Zhu Yong Wen laying around somewhere!
Fortunately, the KTV wasn’t far from their rental. Zhu Yong Wen, despite his blubbery appearance, only weighed about 170-180 pounds, mostly because he was short. A few hundred meters wasn’t a big deal for Chen Yao.
Once they got back to the apartment, Chen Yao unceremoniously plopped Zhu Yong Wen onto the couch—no shoe removal or any niceties—stretched his back, then turned to check on the increasingly worried Lin Nan.
“He better not puke all over the place,” she fretted, yawning. As soon as that thought crossed her mind, she grabbed a trash can and set it next to Zhu Yong Wen’s head.
She squatted down and gently shook his shoulder. “If you’re gonna vomit, at least aim for the trash can, got it?”
Zhu Yong Wen, however, was completely unresponsive, sprawled out with his legs dangling off the couch, radiating a powerful aura of alcohol.
“I’m going to take a shower,” Chen Yao announced, feeling sweaty and tired from the effort of hauling Zhu Yong Wen around.
“Yeah, make it quick; I need one too.”
Lin Nan dragged a small stool over and sat beside Zhu Yong Wen, keeping an eye on him in case he suddenly decided to play ‘barf the fountain.’
Chen Yao noticed her concern and felt a twinge of inexplicable jealousy.
Why is she being so nice to him?
He mumbled to himself and marched into the bedroom for a shower.
The sound of water turned on and filigreed the air as Lin Nan propped her chin on her hands, studying the unconscious Zhu Yong Wen.
Sure, he had changed a bunch since high school—he’d at least learned to groom himself a little—but deep down, he was still the same sensitive, fragile dude.
Was this a common ailment of introverts?
Even though Lin Nan never thought of him as overly shy when they interacted.
Zhu Yong Wen stirred a bit, possibly suffering from not enough couch real estate, and just as Chen Yao’s shower began to hum, he blearily opened his eyes.
“Is there water?” he croaked, clearly still half in dreamland.
Lin Nan scrambled to hand him a bottle of water.
“Where am I?” He squinted around at the strange surroundings.
“My rental apartment.”
Not bothering to ask more, he gulped down half the bottle and then flopped back down, mumbling, “Not comfy, is there no bed?”
“Uh, nope.” Lin Nan shook her head with a grin.
If they gave him the bed, where was she supposed to sleep? Plus, she wasn’t too keen on sharing her bed with a guy, any guy.
Grumpily sprawled on the couch, Zhu Yong Wen might’ve felt miserable, but within minutes, he was back to snoring like a chainsaw.
Chen Yao strolled out of the bathroom clad only in a pair of beach shorts, his upper body on display. He peeked at the sleeping Zhu Yong Wen and said, “You should go take a shower.”
“Why are you topless?” Lin Nan looked up, annoyance seeping through her tone.
“It’s hot! It’s over thirty degrees and there’s no air conditioning out there.” Chen Yao ambled over to the coffee table and grabbed a can of cola.
Actually, he used to run around half-n*ked in the dorm too—Tu Junhui took it to the next level, only wearing his boxers all over the place. After a shower, their roommates typically just wore their shorts, so Lin Nan had gotten used to it.
But now that she was a woman, being subjected to this view felt strangely embarrassing.
She retreated into the bedroom like a startled cat, but then she remembered that she had been sharing a bed with Chen Yao for months now. There wasn’t really anything to be shy about.
Ever since she had that little incident of being caught while showering, Lin Nan had made it a point to check and double-check if the bedroom door was locked each time.
Although she hadn’t forgotten the emergency magic that let her escape quickly.
While she generally wouldn’t break a sweat, she still took her time in the shower and after twenty minutes emerged feeling fresh, clad in comfy pajamas.
“Time for bed.” Lin Nan shook Chen Yao’s shoulder slightly to wake him from his slumber on the small stool.
Chen Yao stretched and glanced at Zhu Yong Wen, continuing the grumbling, “This guy is such a pain; crying and whining, and now he’s drunk and sleeping here.”
“He’s just an old classmate; he’ll head back tomorrow.”
Lin Nan tugged at Chen Yao, fully aware of his jealousy.
What a jealous guy.
As they exited, the living room fell into darkness, leaving only Zhu Yong Wen’s not-so-dignified snoring echoing in the void.
Inside the bedroom, Lin Nan was already fighting off fatigue. She activated the air conditioning and a small fan on the nightstand before leaping onto the bed.
“Time to sleep, I’m beat!” She wasn’t even bothered about covering up. Instead, she squirmed around to find a comfy position. “Two-hour bus ride to my part-time job this afternoon, and then KTV in the evening—what a tiring day!”
She lay back, lazily stretching, and even though she said she was tired, she grabbed her phone to watch a few videos.
“Zhu Yong Wen is out there sleeping, you know.” Lin Nan eyed Chen Yao’s hand reaching for her and frowned as she scolded him.
“Alright, alright.” Chen Yao sighed dramatically.
Zhu Yong Wen’s visit had been suffocating enough, but now it felt even worse knowing he was sprawled out sleeping, making them all the more uncomfortable in their own bedroom.
“Did you lock the door?” Lin Nan instinctively asked, then suddenly froze, realizing, “What if he wakes up in the middle of the night and needs the bathroom? The only toilet’s in the bedroom….”
“Should I prepare a nutrient shake for him?”
Lin Nan nodded, not thinking much about it, and turned to face away from Chen Yao, continuing to watch videos on her phone.
As the sounds from the video lulled her into a slumber, her surroundings began to blur more and more. When Chen Yao took a sip of water and turned to glance at Lin Nan again, he noticed his girlfriend had already drifted off to sleep.
He gently reached over and turned off the still-playing video on her phone, setting it to charge by the side. He murmured to himself with a hint of concern, “Looks like she’s really worn out.”
