Chapter 6: Hero Saving the Beauty?
Jiang Qing picked up the dice cup, a flick of his wrist bringing a gust of wind. His eyes shone astonishingly bright:
“What are we betting? Just winning is boring.”
“The loser punishes themselves with three drinks, plus a game of Truth or Dare.” Shen Zhize’s gaze swept over Jiang Qing’s unbuttoned collar.
“Dare to accept?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” Jiang Qing let out a scoff. With a sudden downward thrust of his wrist, the dice cup slammed onto the table with a loud “Clang.” The people around immediately crowded in, the silver-haired boy slapping the table and jeering:
“Come on, come on! I bet on Young Master Shen winning!”
“I bet on Second Young Master Jiang! He won eight rounds in a row last time!” a girl immediately retorted, reaching out to pat Jiang Qing’s shoulder, only to be nonchalantly brushed away by him.
The moment the cup was opened, everyone held their breath.
The dice in front of Jiang Qing were impressively four sixes, while Shen Zhize’s were three sixes and a five.
“I won.” Jiang Qing raised an eyebrow. He picked up the wine glass on the table and handed it to Shen Zhize, his tone arrogant: “Young Master Shen, admit defeat and accept the consequences.”
He twirled the wine glass with his fingertips: “How about I choose ‘Truth’ for you?”
Shen Zhize leaned against the sofa.
“Ask away.”
“Young Master Shen, tell the truth. Have you been wanting to kiss me for a long time?”
The moment these words came out, the surroundings instantly exploded into roars of laughter. Someone whistled and jeered, their gazes darting back and forth between the two of their faces.
Shen Zhize’s movements paused, the amusement in his eyes deepening. He didn’t avoid Jiang Qing’s gaze: “What if I have?”
“Nothing, just wanted to confirm my own charm.”
The surrounding roars of laughter grew fiercer. The silver-haired boy slapped the table and shouted:
“Second Young Master Jiang is too good! Young Master Shen is admitting it directly!”
Jiang Qing smiled but didn’t speak. He knew the other party playing along and agreeing to his words was just a casual remark.
What he wanted was never some sincere response, but rather this moment of lively, hall-filling laughter, the thrill of seeing the other party hooked and playing along with his words.
Everyone came to “Cloud Night” just to have fun. Truths and lies were mixed into the alcohol and music; the speaker might not mean it, and the listener didn’t need to take it seriously. Pushing the atmosphere to its peak was the best result.
Jiang Qing picked up the dice cup on the table:
“Young Master Shen is quite honest.”
His fingertips sank, and the dice cup slammed onto the table with a “Clang”. He raised an eyebrow and said, “But jokes aside, next round, continue?”
Shen Zhize didn’t expose him. He let out a low chuckle, his fingertips rubbing the edge of the dice cup:
“Of course.”
As the few of them were playing around, the deafening electronic music was suddenly torn apart by a suppressed, muffled groan. Jiang Qing, who was toying with the dice, subconsciously raised his eyes toward the corner upon hearing the sound.
The lighting there was dim, only faintly revealing two silhouettes.
A drunken middle-aged man was slumped in the booth, one hand in a death grip around the wrist of the boy in front of him. The man was mumbling something, while his other hand restlessly groped toward the boy’s waist, his eyes murky and greedy.
The one being grabbed was a waiter. The white uniform shirt on his body was pulled slightly askew, the cuffs rolled up to his forearms, revealing slender but tense wrists. He had his head slightly lowered, his fingertips clenched into fists, his body stiffly shrinking back.
“Tsk, where did this drunkard come from, ruining the mood,” the silver-haired boy said, following Jiang Qing’s gaze and curling his lip.
Jiang Qing didn’t reply, the dice at his fingertips stopping their rotation.
He narrowed his eyes, finally seeing the boy’s face clearly under the stage lights—clean brow bone, slightly drooping outer corners of his eyes; even carrying panic and resistance at this moment, that face was still astonishingly delicate and handsome.
Jiang Qing vaguely felt this face was a bit familiar…
Holy crap!
Isn’t this the protagonist shou, Su Lin???!!!!!!!
Shen Zhize noticed his distraction. Following his gaze, he rubbed the rim of his glass and asked with feigned nonchalance:
“What’s wrong? You know him?”
“Don’t know him.” Jiang Qing retracted his gaze and picked up the dice cup again, the dice clinking crisply inside. “Just watching the show.”
Wait a minute?
Why is the protagonist shou here?
When Jiang Qing awakened his consciousness previously, he only viewed the entire story’s progression from his own perspective. But in reality, he completely didn’t know about other events that occurred outside his point of view, so his impression of the protagonist shou was only—
A green tea, likes clinging to his older brother.
He saw Su Lin’s wrist being squeezed until red marks appeared. That section of pale skin looked as if it was about to seep beads of blood under the dim light.
“You really don’t know him?” Shen Zhize leaned closer, swirling his wine glass.
The dice cup suddenly slammed heavily onto the table. Jiang Qing pulled a smile, “I’m going to offer a toast to Boss Wang.”
As he stood up, he casually grabbed a bottle of wine from the ice bucket, water droplets dripping onto the carpet.
While passing through the partying crowd, Jiang Qing switched the wine bottle to his left hand. The moment he was about to approach the booth, he was “accidentally” bumped on the wrist by someone rushing out of the dance floor, and the entire bottle of champagne splashed precisely onto the drunkard—
The liquid poured down from the drunkard’s sparse crown, soaking his shirt thoroughly. Su Lin took the opportunity to break free from the restraint, staggering back into the shadows.
“Oops.” Jiang Qing slammed the empty wine bottle onto the table and pulled out a few banknotes, stuffing them into Boss Wang’s collar. “I’m truly sorry, Boss Wang. This is to compensate for your drinks.”
Just as the drunkard was about to erupt in anger, he forcibly choked his rage back down upon seeing it was Jiang Qing.
His face flushed beet-red. His slit-like eyes narrowed and widened, finally squeezing out a smile uglier than crying: “Second Young Master Jiang is too polite… It’s exactly a hot day, good to cool off.”
Jiang Qing absentmindedly toyed with the empty wine bottle. His gaze swept over Boss Wang’s constantly twitching cheek muscles, then landed on Su Lin in the corner. The other party was currently lowering his head to adjust his pulled-askew collar, revealing a section of his nape, dazzlingly white.
“Boss Wang, this shirt…” Jiang Qing suddenly tapped the other man’s chest lightly with the mouth of the bottle. “It’s last year’s out-of-season style, right? I’ll have someone send a new one to your residence tomorrow.”
Boss Wang’s expression froze instantly. A few rich second-generation kids watching the show nearby let out a few scoffs.
“As for this person…” Jiang Qing finally looked directly at Su Lin, his voice carrying a bit of feigned confusion.
“Is he a little friend Boss Wang brought along?”
Su Lin lifted his head, the mole at the corner of his mouth embedded on the left side of his pale pink lips. He opened his mouth, but before he could make a sound, Boss Wang hurriedly said: “I don’t know him! I drank too much and mistook him for someone else!”
Jiang Qing raised an eyebrow and placed the empty wine bottle upside down on the table: “That’s good then.” The clink of the bottle’s base colliding with the tabletop rang out crisply. The remaining liquor slowly dripped down the side of the bottle, blooming into a small wet patch on the table.
Earlier, when he rushed over holding the wine from the ice bucket, he had used too much force with his wrist and bumped into the metal trim on the edge of the booth. At the time, he only felt a dull ache and didn’t have the mind to look closely. Now, blown by the wind, the stinging pain on his knuckles grew much clearer.
Jiang Qing lowered his head and glanced at his own hand. The skin on his knuckle was sliced open with a thin cut. The seeping blood beads mixed with the wine stains he just caught, gleaming a dark, dull red under the light.
As he turned around, Su Lin’s gaze landed on his bleeding knuckle.
Shen Zhize watched Jiang Qing walk over, smiling meaningfully: “A hero saving the beauty?”
Jiang Qing tugged at his champagne-splattered cuff. The cotton fabric stuck to his wrist, carrying an ice-chilled coldness.
He leaned back into the sofa.
“Hero saving the beauty? Since when does Young Master Shen enjoy those kinds of theatrical cliches?”
Shen Zhize didn’t reply. Leaning in, he suddenly grabbed his wrist.
Jiang Qing subconsciously wanted to break free, but was held firmly by the other—Shen Zhize’s thumb was pressing right on his bleeding knuckle, the pressure not heavy.
“How can making up theatrical cliches be as interesting as watching the real deal?” Shen Zhize’s gaze fell on that wound, the amusement in his eyes fading a bit.
Jiang Qing raised an eyebrow.
“What? Now you want to take some actual action to prove you’ve been wanting to kiss me for a long time?”
A low chuckle escaped Shen Zhize’s throat. His thumb gently rubbed the edge of that wound:
“What kind of actual action is this?”
He pulled a Band-Aid out of his pocket. The little yellow duck on the packaging reflected the neon lights.
Catching a glimpse of it, Jiang Qing scoffed: “Since when did Young Master Shen start taking the cute route?”
“It’s still better than someone taking the crippled route.” Shen Zhize tore open the packaging and tried to grab Jiang Qing’s wrist again, but was nimbly dodged by the other party.
Jiang Qing casually rested his injured hand on his knee, the bead of blood sliding down his knuckle:
“This tiny injury will heal by tomorrow.”
“Is that so?” Shen Zhize suddenly leaned in, precisely pressing the Band-Aid onto the wound. “But it’s an eyesore to me.”
Jiang Qing frowned and wanted to tear it off, but found the edges of the Band-Aid carefully smoothed out, perfectly avoiding the moving parts of the joint. When he lifted his eyes, Shen Zhize was stuffing a box of Band-Aids into his pocket.
“Keep it for next time.” Shen Zhize swirled his wine glass. “After all, Second Young Master Jiang’s frequency of playing hero saving the beauty is quite high.”
Bullshit.
I’ve only saved someone this one time.
Jiang Qing rolled his eyes.
In the distance, Su Lin silently watched this scene. He gently tucked the Band-Aid he had taken out of his pocket back in.
Just as Jiang Qing was looking down and playing with the dice cup, the silver-haired boy suddenly squeezed into the booth with his arm wrapped around Su Lin’s shoulders:
“Second Young Master Jiang, the little beauty you just saved has been brought to you!”
Su Lin stumbled and fell into the seat beside Jiang Qing, brushing against his clothes.
“Meddlesome.” Jiang Qing cast a sidelong glance at the silver-haired boy, yet shifted to the side to make some space.
Shen Zhize smiled and pushed over a fruit platter:
“Repaying a kindness, after all.”
Under the crystal chandelier, the mole at the corner of Su Lin’s mouth was exceptionally clear, and exceptionally alluring.
Jiang Qing side-eyed the person sitting beside him, unable to help but sigh with emotion.
He truly couldn’t blame his older brother for falling at the hurdle of this beauty. But compared to him, he was still lacking a bit of flavor.
Jiang Qing thought with great self-awareness.
He actually really wanted to see what kind of person this guy was, so he uncharacteristically acquiesced to the surrounding people’s overstepping behavior.
“Do you know how to play dice?” Jiang Qing pushed the dice cup over.
Su Lin hesitated and shook his head. Ambiguous jeers erupted around them.
“I’ll teach you.” Jiang Qing grabbed his wrist, guiding him to shake the dice cup.
When the dice cup slammed onto the table, he deliberately leaned in close to Su Lin’s ear:
“Guess big or small?”
The tips of Su Lin’s ears turned red at a visible rate, but his voice was steady: “Big.”
Jiang Qing smiled and lifted the dice cup—three dice sat quietly there: two, three, four.
He feigned pity and sighed: “What a shame, it’s a small number.”
“Beginner’s luck is usually not very good.” Shen Zhize pushed a bottle of hard liquor in front of Su Lin.
“But the loser has to drink.”
Su Lin looked blankly at that glass of liquor.
Before he could reach out, Jiang Qing suddenly picked up the glass and downed it in one gulp.
“I’m naturally responsible for the student I teach.” Jiang Qing placed the empty glass back on the table. He turned to Su Lin: “Continue?”
When the dice settled in the second round, Jiang Qing held Su Lin’s hand, delaying lifting the cup. “Wanna bet something special this time?”
“If you win, I’ll tell you a secret.”
Su Lin suddenly withdrew his hand and revealed the dice cup himself—three sixes gleamed dazzlingly red under the lights.
The surroundings erupted in exclamations.
Jiang Qing froze for a moment, then suddenly laughed out loud. He leaned in close to Su Lin’s ear, whispering softly:
“Did you know? You’re just like my younger brother, you both have a mole right here.” His fingertip hovered over the corner of his own mouth.
Su Lin’s pupils contracted minutely for a second.
“Seems like this secret is very shocking?” Jiang Qing leaned back lazily against the sofa.
Shen Zhize looked thoughtfully at Su Lin’s face, suddenly laughing: “No wonder he looked familiar, he does look a bit like that kid Jiang Linmu.”
Su Lin kept his eyes downcast and didn’t speak, his fingertips tracing the wine glass in front of him.
Just then, Jiang Qing’s phone rang untimely, shattering this delicate silence.
When he saw the caller ID clearly, alarm bells instantly blared.
Crap!
His older brother is calling to check up on him!!!!!
The fingers holding the dice cup suddenly stiffened, the corners of his eyes drooping instantly, looking like a cat being pinched by the scruff of its neck.
Jiang Qing made a hand gesture to the surroundings, and the noisy jeering instantly muted. From the corner of his eye, he caught Shen Zhize holding a wine glass and looking at him with a half-smile. He immediately glared over, warning him by mouthing: Dare to laugh and see what happens?
“Hey, Brother.” The moment he answered the call, a well-behaved smile instantly bloomed on Jiang Qing’s face, his voice even softening by three degrees, looking like a completely different person from his previous self.
To isolate the residual electronic music in the background, he deliberately retreated two steps into the corridor outside the booth. With his back pressed against the cold wall, he didn’t forget to look back and shoot Shen Zhize a “don’t cause trouble” glare, not forgetting to point at his phone, signaling him to behave.
Shen Zhize raised an eyebrow, put down his wine glass, and leisurely followed, making it clear he intended to watch the show.
“Why did you go out again?” Jiang Yu asked on the other end of the line.
“Just… hanging out with Shen Zhize and the others.”
He deliberately emphasized the words “Shen Zhize,” knowing his brother always trusted Shen Zhize’s sense of propriety. Sure enough, the tone on the other end of the phone loosened a bit.
“Where are you hanging out?” Jiang Yu’s voice betrayed no emotion.
“Just… the usual place.” Hearing the sound of pages turning on the other end, he had a stroke of genius, “Shen Zhize’s dad didn’t just start a new project, right? We’re taking this chance to chat about it…”
Shen Zhize suddenly leaned in from behind, raising his volume towards the mouthpiece:
“Don’t worry, Brother Yu. I guarantee to send the person back to the Jiang residence before twelve!”
Jiang Qing jumped in fright, his hand trembling, and elbowed the other’s ribs. A muffled groan rang out simultaneously with Jiang Yu’s questioning: “What’s that sound on your end?”
“A waiter!” Jiang Qing lied without changing his expression, taking the opportunity to push Shen Zhize away.
Jiang Yu fell silent for a moment.
“Come back before twelve, don’t stay out all night.”
“…Don’t make me worry.”
Translator’s Note:
- Truth or Dare (真心話大冒險): Literally “True Words, Great Adventure.” A classic party game played around the world.
- President/Boss Wang (王總): The suffix 總 (Zong) is a title of respect used for a company boss, manager, or president.
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