Lin Nan was somewhat drunk.
He’d only been drunk twice in his life, and this was the second time.
The first time was when Chen Yao’s grandfather passed away in high school. He’d accompanied Chen Yao in drinking and ended up confused drunk. But that time, his drunken behavior hadn’t been too embarrassing—he’d just found a corner to squat in, not wanting to deal with Chen Yao.
And this was the second time.
His thoughts were drifting, his body feeling light and comfortable, his mind slightly clouded, his upper eyelids kept drooping uncontrollably, but he was still basically aware of what he was doing.
He put down his chopsticks and cupped his face in both hands, chin propped up, surveying the three at the table with hazy eyes.
Chen Yao was the first to notice something off about Lin Nan. Glancing at him, he found those eyes filled with bewilderment, and within that bewilderment was a strange allure. It was the first time he’d found Lin Nan’s eyes so beautiful.
“It’s a bit hot.” Lin Nan’s body was burning, face flushed red. He sat there dazed, hands propped on his chair, swaying uncertainly from side to side.
Tu Junhui beside him casually took away Lin Nan’s paper cup, drinking the remaining alcohol in one gulp before reassuring him: “Then stop drinking, eat more food.”
Chen Yao stood up to ask the server outside for hot water. Xiong Da, sitting opposite, remained silent, just quietly eating and occasionally glancing at Lin Nan.
“Junhui, don’t you think Lin Nan’s been kind of strange since coming back from summer break?” He turned to ask Tu Junhui.
Tu Junhui nodded in strong agreement: “He’s gotten bad at games, which shouldn’t happen, right?”
Hearing this, Lin Nan immediately became unhappy, blurting out his thoughts before he could stop himself: “Not bad, I’m super strong!”
The two looked at each other, Tu Junhui rubbing his temples in distress. He was the best drinker in the dorm and often attended club gatherings, seeing many drunk people, but he’d never imagined Lin Nan would get drunk so quickly.
“Shouldn’t have let you drink.”
He’d been excited about drinking heartily today, but seeing Lin Nan’s state, he knew the three dormmates wouldn’t just be unable to drink to their heart’s content—even eating would be troublesome. They could only carefully look after Lin Nan, afraid he’d act up while drunk.
Chen Yao brought a cup of warm water, placed it in front of Lin Nan, and said with furrowed brows: “Drink water.”
He looked down at the warm water and shook his head without hesitation: “Drink alcohol!”
“Drink water!” Chen Yao’s tone grew firmer.
Then they saw Lin Nan’s eyes quickly begin to mist over as he looked up pitifully: “You’re being mean to me...”
“Holy shit!” Chen Yao held his head. Though Lin Nan had gotten drunk with him before, that time they’d been at Lin Nan’s house and both just passed out on the floor after drinking. This was his first time witnessing Lin Nan’s drunk behavior in full force.
Tu Junhui’s face turned red from holding back. He’d already felt Lin Nan had become more feminine this semester, but now seeing him drunk—wasn’t this just like a drunk girl?
“I’m sorry, here, drink some water.” Chen Yao had to soften his tone, carefully coaxing him. “Drink some water, and I’ll let you have alcohol later.”
Seeing Chen Yao apologizing and coaxing while taking care of Lin Nan, Tu Junhui felt something wasn’t quite right. He shifted his butt closer to Xiong Da’s side.
Afraid of being overheard, he lowered his voice, watching Lin Nan while saying to Xiong Da: “Now I understand what you meant about Lin Nan being strange.”
“You hadn’t noticed these past few days?” Xiong Da was quite surprised. “I’ve seen you calling him feminine every day.”
“I was just joking!”
Xiong Da stroked his unshaven chin stubble and said deeply: “No wonder you don’t have a girlfriend, your head’s all in games, isn’t it?”
“What does this have to do with me not having a girlfriend?”
“Shouldn’t normal people have noticed?” Xiong Da shook his head, but suddenly turned serious and said, “I suspect Lin Nan... has a woman’s heart in a man’s body.”
“What?”
“You know, like in those novels,” he explained. “Boys’ love novels.”
“You read those kinds of novels?”
Yet Xiong Da’s expression remained unchanged as he nodded without hesitation: “I was curious in middle school, read some.”
“Actually, I’ve read them too.” Tu Junhui scratched his head awkwardly. “Couldn’t eat for a day after.”
Though looking at Lin Nan again, he surprisingly felt that if a BL novel’s “feminine” protagonist had Lin Nan’s image, it might be acceptable?
While they were discussing this, Chen Yao was nearly at his limit.
“Drink, drink, drink! I’m not drunk, I’m just a bit sleepy.” Lin Nan held a chopstick in each hand, tapping his bowl while muttering. He wasn’t aggressive, just sounding like a monk chanting sutras.
The feminine gestures he usually suppressed were now completely obvious. A moment later, he suddenly put down his chopsticks and tilted his head, propping his chin up with both hands.
He knew what he was doing in his heart, but it was as if he’d lost his usual sense of shame and bottom line. Whatever came to mind, his body immediately acted on it, leaving no room for thought.
If I don’t black out tomorrow, I’ll definitely be embarrassed remembering this.
This thought suddenly occurring to him, Lin Nan immediately sat up straight and downed the warm water on the table in one gulp.
Chen Yao’s eye twitched beside him, surprised to see Lin Nan—who wouldn’t drink water after all that coaxing—suddenly come to his senses. He had a bad feeling about this.
Sure enough, Lin Nan suddenly stood up unsteadily.
“Where are you going?” Chen Yao looked up to ask, only to see him staring straight into his eyes, who knew what he was thinking.
“I...” Lin Nan suddenly hesitated.
He’d thought since he’d already embarrassed himself enough, he might as well unlock the magic too. As soon as the thought appeared, his body started moving involuntarily, but this series of movements took some time, giving Lin Nan time to think.
If I really kiss him, would Chen Yao cut ties with me?
He was deeply conflicted inside, so he looked up at the two whispering opposite him.
Tu Junhui’s face was chubby, fun to pinch usually, but he had acne—would kissing him be contagious? Xiong Da always had that cold expression, if actually kissed he might flip out right there.
Lin Nan was caught in indecision, but having already stood up, it felt weird not to do something.
So he answered: “Bathroom, where’s the bathroom?”
“I’ll go with you.” Chen Yao quickly got up, meaning to support Lin Nan, but seeing that though his walking was slow, it was steady enough, he probably didn’t need to worry too much.
“No need, no need, just tell me where it is. I’m not drunk enough to get lost.”
“True... so you know you’re drunk?” Chen Yao didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but seeing him say this, he felt reassured. “Turn right when you leave, it’s at the end.”
“Okay.”
Watching Lin Nan’s slow steps toward the private room door, Chen Yao vaguely saw his silhouette as that of a graceful young woman.
He unconsciously patted his forehead, not knowing why, but ever since seeing Lin Nan crossdress that time, he sometimes unconsciously viewed Lin Nan as a girl.
Could it be because he’d been single for too many years?