Chapter 20: Alcohol Temptation, The Young Man’s Unease, “Do you… dislike me?…”

Fang Chuning squinted her eyes, feeling a bit speechless, but still took the water and helped him open it. After that, she asked concernedly, “Do you want to eat anything else? Is there anything else you need to get?”

It’s better to say everything at once, lest she couldn’t even sleep.

The young man lowered his eyes obediently, raised the water bottle, and took a small sip gracefully. A drop of water slid from his light red lips, and the young man’s pink tongue unconsciously licked the corner of his mouth. His thick eyelashes fluttered as he looked up at her gently, then pressed his rosy lips together, “I want to eat a piece of strawberry cake, but the cake is with Teacher Song.”

Fang Chuning’s gaze unconsciously glanced at his well-shaped lips, then she got up to help him get the cake from the teacher.

Sitting in the back row, Jiang Luoyu watched the girl’s busy figure with an unpleasant feeling in his heart. He lowered his eyelids, squeezing the well-wrapped sandwich until it was deformed.

“What a waste, don’t give it to me to eat,” the girl sitting next to him said regretfully, clicking her tongue.

Jiang Luoyu was stunned, a bit flustered, “If… if you want to eat, I have more……”

“No need, no need. It doesn’t matter if it looks a bit ugly as long as it’s edible. I woke up late this morning and didn’t have time to eat anything.”

Jiang Luoyu hesitated, then gave her the deformed sandwich. This was originally specially made for the young girl……

It was like eating a lemon, peel and all, with a bitter and sour taste in his throat.

The bus drove for about an hour. After arriving at their destination, the teacher led them off the bus. This place was decorated in full Japanese style, a property under the Qin family. Due to their arrival, it wasn’t open to other tourists today, supposedly to let them play more comfortably.

Here, the hot springs were separated for men and women. Due to his physical condition, Xu Muzhou was arranged in a first-class private room.

“Muzhou, what do you want to eat? The chef here is a famous Japanese chef, she can make any delicious food,” Qin Shaoqing, feeling sorry that his good friend couldn’t go to the hot springs, tried his best to cheer him up.

Xu Muzhou shook his head gently, “I don’t have much appetite right now.”

Qin Shaoqing thought he was sad because he couldn’t go to the hot springs and didn’t want to eat. “Then, if you don’t want to eat, do you want to drink something? Oh right, the plum wine here is very good, suitable for boys to drink. It’s good for beauty and can stimulate appetite. Maybe you’ll want to eat something after drinking a bit!”

Xu Muzhou remained silent. He could hear the girls’ laughter from the corridor. His eyes flickered slightly, and he said to the boy, “Really?”

“Yes! The plum wine here is very famous, you can’t find it anywhere else. Wait a moment, I’ll have someone bring it to you, along with some delicious snacks.”

After saying this, Qin Shaoqing bounced out, sliding open the shoji door. Soon after, servers entered in a line, carrying Japanese cuisine and neatly arranging it in front of the young man.

“These are the most delicious and famous dishes here. If you want to eat anything else later, you can order more. But remember not to drink too much. I’ll come back to keep you company after I finish bathing!”

After the boy left the room, Xu Muzhou didn’t touch anything on the table, but lowered his eyes to listen to the footsteps in the corridor.

Outside the room, Fang Chuning was unenthusiastically planning to find a place to eat. She wasn’t interested in hot springs, but she had heard that the cuisine here was very famous.

Fang Chuning followed the server, and as the server slid open the room door, she saw Xu Muzhou sitting alone at the low table in front of a table full of cuisine.

She had almost forgotten there was someone who couldn’t go to the hot springs.

Hearing the sound, the young man turned his head, seeming a bit surprised, “Classmate Fang, why are you here?”

Fang Chuning, without any hesitation, went in and sat directly next to him, “I don’t want to bathe.” She picked up the plum wine, poured it into a cup, and sniffed it, “What’s this, a drink?”

“It’s plum wine.”

“Wine?” Fang Chuning became more interested. That rebellious psychology of wanting to drink alcohol when parents don’t allow it kicked in, and she picked up the cup and drank it all in one go.

The sweet and sour flavor exploded on her tongue. She frowned, a bit dissatisfied, “This is a soft drink, right?”

She then poured him a cup too, “You try it.”

The young man’s delicate eyebrows and eyes were calm and obedient, “But this is alcohol…”

“I think it’s like a soft drink, but it tastes very good. Try a bit,” Fang Chuning said while picking up food to eat.

The young man seemed to believe her words. After hesitating for a moment, he reached out to take the cup and tentatively took a sip. He frowned slightly, then as if choking, he covered his mouth with his hand and coughed lightly a few times, his fair cheeks turning a light pink.

Fang Chuning was stunned by his fragile appearance, “Is it hard to drink?”

He shook his head while covering his mouth, his peach blossom eyes becoming moist from the stimulation.

“I think you’d better not drink anymore.”

Xu Muzhou lowered the hand covering his mouth, his lips becoming even more red and moist. His watery eyes looked at her as he slightly raised his lips, “It’s very good.”

Fang Chuning felt that something was a bit off, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

The young man took the initiative to pick up the wine bottle and pour her a cup, “Does Classmate Fang like to drink?”

“Mm, it’s okay.”

Fang Chuning drank another cup. It really was different from a soft drink; it made her stomach feel warm, and she wanted to drink more after drinking. Before long, half the bottle of wine was gone. She burped, her ears feeling a bit hot.

“Classmate Fang’s ears are very red.”

The young man’s low, gentle voice was like a hook, making her eyes uncontrollably look at him.

She felt a bit defiant, “Your face is red too, and your mouth is very red.”

Xu Muzhou gently bit his crimson lips, his slightly upturned peach blossom eyes containing a thin layer of mist, his gaze seeming drunk yet not drunk, showing a slightly coquettish appearance. He leaned forward slightly, kneeling with one hand on the clean floor, raising his other hand to lightly touch her red earlobe.

He smiled innocently and brightly.

Fang Chuning shuddered, her eyes wide open as she stiffly looked at him.

The young man was originally wearing a casual, loose long-sleeved shirt. Now, his posture made the soft shirt cling to his slender waistline, and the collar was wide open, clearly revealing the beautiful scenery inside.

Fang Chuning took a deep breath and looked away, “I say, you’re not drunk, are you!?”

As soon as she finished speaking, her ear was touched again. She covered her ears and backed away a bit, “Sit properly first!”

Xu Muzhou lowered his eyes, straightened up and sat back on his calves. He raised his hand to touch his face, saying softly, “So hot……”

Fang Chuning relaxed a bit, “You really can’t drink, you’re like this after just two cups.”

The young man lowered his head, seeming a bit uncomfortable. His breathing was noticeably rapid. Fang Chuning was startled, thinking he was having another attack, and hurriedly leaned over to ask, “Are you okay? Where’s your medicine? Take it out and smell it!”

Seeing him not moving, she got a bit anxious and reached out to help him find it. Just as she touched his pocket, she heard the young man say softly, “I’m fine……”

He raised his head, his beautiful face flushed red. Suddenly, he reached out and grasped her clothes, his eyes staring straight at her.

He said, “Do you think I’m good-looking?”

“……Huh?”

“Am I more good-looking or is Classmate Jiang more good-looking?”

Fang Chuning doubted whether he was really drunk, asking such an obvious question. How was she supposed to answer? She forcefully pulled her clothes out of his hand and sat back down.

Xu Muzhou’s hand froze in mid-air, his gaze staring blankly at her. After a while, he seemed to become a bit uneasy, “Do you… dislike me?”

Just thinking about this possibility made him feel like his heart was being squeezed tightly, hurting so much he couldn’t breathe.

Fang Chuning didn’t answer him. She was really feeling a bit dizzy now, and hadn’t even paid much attention to what he was saying.

Xu Muzhou felt something stuck in his throat. His beautiful eyes were brimming with tears. He lowered his head, feeling so uncomfortable he couldn’t speak.

Outside the room came the sound of footsteps and boys laughing. Soon the door was pulled open, and seeing the two people in the room, they were all a bit surprised: “President, you finished bathing so quickly?”

Fang Chuning frowned, feeling more annoyed. Her head was dizzy and her ears were buzzing.

Qin Shaoqing glanced at her unhappily and sat down next to the young man, “Muzhou, are you full?”

Xu Muzhou bit his lip hard.

Qin Shaoqing noticed something was wrong with him. Bending down, he realized he was actually crying! And crying very sadly!

“Muzhou, what’s wrong?” His first thought was whether he had been bullied, and he immediately glared at who he thought was the culprit, “Did you bully him!”

Fang Chuning covered her forehead, feeling a bit unwell, “What?”

“Did you make Muzhou cry?!”

Only then did Fang Chuning shift her gaze to the young man, seeing his shoulders slightly trembling as he cried. She was even more confused, “Why are you crying?”

This incident even alarmed the teacher, but he wouldn’t say the reason even when the teacher came. In the end, they had no choice but to let him go back to his room to rest first.

Then Fang Chuning was called for questioning. Everyone thought she had made Xu Muzhou cry, and even wondered if she had done something excessive to Xu Muzhou, after all, they had both drunk some fruit wine at that time.

Fang Chuning felt extremely wronged, but fortunately, her usual character was well-known, and most people believed her.

In the room, Xu Muzhou, who had cried, stared blankly at the decorative plum blossom in the corner. Qin Shaoqing was still comforting him beside him. He slightly turned his eyes, “Aqing, can you call Classmate Jiang over for me?”

“What do you want to call him for?”

“I want to ask him some questions.”

Qin Shaoqing was unhappy inside but didn’t want to make him upset, so he nodded and went out to find the person.

About fifteen minutes later, there was a knock on the room door. There was no response from inside. Jiang Luoyu hesitated for a moment, then slowly pushed open the half-closed door. The young man was standing by the window with his back to him.

“You… wanted to see me about something?”

“Are you very pleased with yourself?” the young man said softly.

Jiang Luoyu’s eyes flickered slightly, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Xu Muzhou lowered his eyes, his fingers lightly pressing on the medicine bottle, “I clearly gave you a chance, why do you still keep clinging to her?”

Jiang Luoyu felt a bit guilty and looked away, but then he thought he hadn’t done anything wrong, “If you like the president, why can’t I like her? Can’t we compete fairly?”

A mocking light laugh escaped from the young man’s mouth. He turned his head, his expression gentle without any contempt, “Alright, let’s compete fairly.”