Chapter 23: I’m Not Important, He Is…
Whether it was to spite Liang Sheng or because the image of his little wife hugging that wild man came to mind—so intimate yet sickening—Shen Xingyu poured glass after glass of liquor down his throat as if his life didn’t matter.
Liang Sheng is clearly my wife… but why? Why did he betray me?!
Shen Xingyu’s hand gripping the glass was using so much force that it seemed he would crush the glass into shards the next second.
Su Nian leaned his body against the man, his delicate fingers tracing the man’s chest. He asked coyly, “President Shen~ why do you look so unhappy?”
The two were pressed very close together. Su Nian could even feel his own chest pressing against Shen Xingyu’s firm chest, sending waves of excitement through him, making his heart flutter.
Liang Sheng’s face was dark. Seeing Su Nian shamelessly flirting with his husband in front of him, and occasionally provoking him with his eyes, the sensation was like being gnawed by ten thousand ants—itchy, painful, and infuriating.
And wronged… he wanted to cry.
“Aiyoh! What’s there to be unhappy about? A few drinks will solve everything! Come, come, come, fill it up!”
Jiang Chuzhou continued to add liquor to Shen Xingyu’s empty glass, then picked up a bottle of beer. With a clank, he popped the cap and guzzled it down, clearly having held back for a long time.
“You’re right. Drowning sorrows in wine…”
Shen Xingyu gently swirled the goblet in his hand. The amber liquid shimmered enticingly under the light. His eyes were half-squinted as he looked at the glass through his thin eyelids, his thoughts unknown.
Then, under Jiang Chuzhou’s urging, he slowly finished the wine in the glass.
His eyes were beginning to grow hazy.
His cheeks were slightly flushed.
Although Liang Sheng didn’t want to care about him, the man was his husband after all. He was truly terrified that Shen Xingyu would drink himself into an episode. After hesitating repeatedly, he finally stood up and stepped forward, advising anxiously:
“Enough, don’t drink anymore! You’ve already had a lot! What if your health fails if you drink more?!”
Shen Xingyu merely gave a snort of laughter, ignoring him as he continued to pour liquor into his mouth.
Seeing him about to pour again, Liang Sheng hurriedly snatched the bottle away. He supported him with one hand and said loudly:
“You aren’t allowed to drink anymore!!”
Shen Xingyu raised his head, his cold gaze sweeping over Liang Sheng. Liang Sheng met his gaze without fear. He knew that if he backed down now, his husband might truly drink his body into ruins!
“Give the liquor back to me.”
Shen Xingyu’s voice was hoarse. A flush appeared on his tipsy face; he was clearly drunk.
“No! You can’t drink anymore!”
Liang Sheng shook his head, clutching the bottle tightly. He refused to give it up no matter what. His eyes were full of worry, his chest heaving. Because he had just spoken loudly, he was now panting slightly.
Shen Xingyu rose unsteadily. Su Nian tried to support him, but his hand was swatted away.
He looked down at his trembling little wife, then snatched the bottle away. He leaned down slightly to get close to him, curling his lips into a cold sneer: “No one has ever been able to control me. You truly don’t know the meaning of death.”
A thick scent of alcohol blew into his face.
Liang Sheng frowned in distress. He was allergic to alcohol, and ever since his adoptive father became a chronic alcoholic, he had a subconscious fear of the stuff. Smelling it now made his stomach churn.
Shen Xingyu was about to drink from the bottle. Fearing he would become an alcoholic like his father, Liang Sheng reached out to grab it again, but he was shoved away by the man.
He staggered and nearly fell, only steadying himself when Qin Lou supported him.
“I… I’m going to go tell Grandpa!”
Liang Sheng’s eyes were red, and his words were tangled.
As a result, before he could take two steps, he was yanked back by Su Nian and viciously thrown at Shen Xingyu’s feet.
“President Shen, he actually wanted to go snitch to the Chairman!”
Su Nian said with an air of seeking credit.
This fall caused Liang Sheng great pain. Supporting himself on the ground, he could only shakily sit up.
Although Jiang Chuzhou had long known that Shen Xingyu loathed this arranged little wife, he hadn’t expected him to be this ruthless—even allowing a mere secretary to bully him at will.
He leaned back, drinking while enjoying the farce with great interest. It was quite entertaining.
“You’ve certainly found a good backer now.”
Shen Xingyu sat on the sofa, his face gloomy. He hated being threatened most of all.
Liang Sheng glared at him with grievance. He was clearly just worried that his husband’s drinking would harm his health, afraid he would turn into someone like his adoptive father, yet he was treated like this. Should he… have kept his mouth shut?
“But what use is that? Grandpa won’t know. Once that man falls asleep, it’s very hard to wake him. If you want to use him to pressure me, don’t even think about it.”
Shen Xingyu continued to speak to himself. He leaned down and pinched Liang Sheng’s chin, looking into those stubborn, clear eyes. These eyes had also looked at another man; anger couldn’t help but rise in his heart.
His fingers were very cold, like blocks of ice. Liang Sheng’s body couldn’t help but shudder.
Shen Xingyu pressed close to his face, his thin lips nearly touching his earlobe as he murmured with a low laugh:
“Besides, the person who should go snitch to Grandpa is me, isn’t it? About you and that Doctor Xie…”
Liang Sheng’s body trembled. Tears flowed from his eyes. He opened his mouth, wanting to clear his name, but he couldn’t utter a single word. His mouth was full of bitterness—he couldn’t swallow it, nor could he spit it out.
Shen Xingyu curled his lips and continued drinking.
Qin Lou knew he had a heart condition. Although it had been well-suppressed and hadn’t flared up in a long time, he was also worried about something happening after drinking so much. He couldn’t help but speak up:
“President Shen, you shouldn’t drink anymore.”
Shen Xingyu raised his hand, signaling him to shut up.
Qin Lou had no choice but to stop. However, he couldn’t help but feel confused. Shen Xingyu was usually very restrained and never had more than two glasses. What was wrong tonight?
After three rounds of drinks, several of them were drunk.
Su Nian leaned against Shen Xingyu’s chest, his small face flushed, sleeping very comfortably and whimpering occasionally.
Jiang Chuzhou had drunk the most, mumbling incoherent words. He stood up unsteadily and began to act out, hugging and clinging to the nearby Qin Lou:
“Young man~ hic~ you’re built very strong! Much more handsome than my family’s bodyguards. Let Grandpa give you a kiss~”
Qin Lou was startled and hurriedly pushed him away: “Young Master Jiang, please show some self-respect. You’ve had too much!”
“I… I’m not drunk~ this young master’s tolerance is excellent!”
Jiang Chuzhou lunged again. Qin Lou quickly dodged, but the other grabbed his arm and wouldn’t let go, shouting, “Don’t run! I like… strong men like you!”
As he spoke, he tried to feel Qin Lou’s waist. Qin Lou’s face changed dramatically. Enraged, he didn’t care if Jiang Chuzhou was a young master or a prince and pushed him down with force.
Jiang Chuzhou let out a groan and vomited up the liquor.
“You actually… dare to push this young master…”
Before he could finish, he passed out drunk.
Qin Lou breathed a sigh of relief. But fearing his palm had been too forceful and had killed the man, he hurriedly knelt down to check on him. As a result, just as he flipped the man over, his arm was tightly hugged by Jiang Chuzhou, who had been faking death.
“Hehehe, this young master fooled you, didn’t I?”
Jiang Chuzhou laughed drunkenly. He grabbed his arm and gave it a flurry of kisses, hanging onto Qin Lou’s body. The six-foot-one young man actually looked a bit small in front of the trained brute.
“Madman…”
Qin Lou was exasperated. He couldn’t push this fellow off no matter what.
On the other side, although Shen Xingyu was drunk, he still had a bit of blurred consciousness. His cheeks were flushed. He pushed Su Nian off him, tugged at the tie at his chest, and then stumbled toward the stairs. He felt very sleepy and wanted to go to bed.
Liang Sheng wanted to follow him, but the man’s excessive behavior earlier made him not want to meddle anymore.
By the time Shen Xingyu reached the stairs, his consciousness was no longer clear. His feet felt soft, and he suddenly missed a step, nearly falling down the stairs. Fortunately, his hand quickly caught the handrail.
This scene also gave Liang Sheng a fright.
He rushed over, his small body following behind his husband. He wanted to support him, but he was pushed away.
“Don’t… touch me… go find… your lover… I’m not important, he… is…”
Shen Xingyu was talking nonsense like a drunk madman, his eyes blurry yet full of resentment.
“Stop talking, I’ll support you!”
Liang Sheng didn’t hear the jealousy in his words. His only concern was that he would fall if he couldn’t stand steadily. He quickly reached out to support his arm.
“Get… get lost! He’s… so good, you might as well live with him… why waste time with me? I have Nian-nian… accompanying me. I don’t need you… you ungrateful… waste…”
His voice carried the muddiness of alcohol, and jealousy permeated the air.
A rare sense of grievance was masked by his forceful nature.
Under the numbing effect of alcohol, Shen Xingyu had completely lost his usual composure. He only wanted to find a place to vent the frustration in his heart. But the person before him was like taffy—he couldn’t shake him off no matter what.
In all these years, this was the first time Liang Sheng had seen him this drunk. But even knowing the other loathed him, as Shen Xingyu’s wife, he couldn’t leave this man alone. He could only pull the man’s arm over his shoulder and laboriously walk toward the room.
Shen Xingyu was too heavy, or perhaps his own strength was failing. They finally reached the bedside, but his feet suddenly stumbled. Both lost their balance and fell heavily onto the soft bed.
“Ah…”
Liang Sheng let out a cry of surprise. The bridge of his nose hit the man’s firm chest. A powerful heartbeat came through. His face turned slightly red, and he hurriedly got up from Shen Xingyu.
Shen Xingyu had already fallen asleep. His collar was open, his head tilted to one side, and his hair was messily draped over his forehead.
Liang Sheng panted and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Seeing his husband asleep, he also breathed a sigh of relief. He turned to leave, but his wrist was suddenly gripped with force.
Liang Sheng’s heart jumped. He hurriedly turned back, thinking Shen Xingyu had woken up to torment him again.
But he hadn’t. The other’s brow was tightly knit, and he kept calling out words like “don’t leave me.”
Liang Sheng felt a moment of joy, thinking the other was talking about him. But on second thought, he must be calling for Su Nian not to leave, right? Changing his heart was one thing, but to mistake him for someone else…
Another surge of deep sadness hit him.
Liang Sheng struggled a few times but couldn’t pull free.
He looked at Shen Xingyu’s uneasy sleeping face and choked out, “I’m almost dead. Can’t you… before I die, let me feel a bit better?”
Translator’s Note:
- Drowning sorrows in wine (借酒澆愁): A common saying for drinking to forget one’s problems.
- Ungrateful waste (吃裏扒外): Literally “eating from inside but looking outside.” It means being a traitor or unfaithful to one’s family/group. Shen thinks Liang Sheng is cheating on him with Xie Zhengran.
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