C50

 Lu Yuxing really let go.

As soon as he loosened his grip on Shang Jue’s waist, Shang Jue, who was being held by him with his center of gravity almost entirely resting on Lu Yuxing, began to fall. In the blink of an eye, panic and disbelief surfaced in his bright eyes.

What the hell... This guy really dares to break the rules?

But the sensation of weightlessness lasted less than a second before Lu Yuxing yanked him back by the hem of his shirt.

The lingering feeling of anxiety remained in Shang Jue’s body as he briefly zoned out, then closed his eyes to calm himself down and avoid swearing.

When he opened his eyes, he narrowed them and said, “Are you messing with me?”

Lu Yuxing, holding onto his waist, retorted lightly, “Aren't you also trying to mess with me?”

“Is that even the same? I’m not trying to kill you! That was really dangerous. What if you hadn’t caught me?” Shang Jue felt a pang of heartache as he reminisced about the past. “Then I’d have to crawl back.”

Lu Yuxing showed Shang Jue the other hand that was holding onto his shirt corner. “I’ve got your right side too. You won’t fall.”

Shang Jue pulled his shirt out of Lu Yuxing’s grasp. “Haha, you’ve got my right side too? How considerate of you. Next time I go bungee jumping, why don’t you just tie the safety rope to my shirt corner? Let’s see if it’s me or my shirt that ends up hanging down there!”

“…”

Lu Yuxing replied, “I’m not going bungee jumping with you in the first place.”

Shang Jue had no rebuttal and certainly didn’t feel the need to be angry over such a minor incident.

He steadied himself, no longer needing Lu Yuxing’s support, and lifted his leg to step down one stair at a time.

He descended steadily, while Lu Yuxing followed slowly, finally confirming that Shang Jue showed no signs of drunkenness, even maintaining a dignified posture.

After half a bottle of liquor, Shang Jue had consumed more than expected, far beyond Lu Yuxing’s comprehension.

He could barely handle two drinks, and the last time he shared wine with Shang Jue on their anniversary, he didn’t dare to drink much for fear of embarrassing himself.

Just before they exited, Shang Jue suddenly halted.

Ge Zhicheng and the others were outside. He had pretended to be drunk, having even called Lu Yuxing “baby,” fully committing to the act.

Seeing him stop, Lu Yuxing instinctively pulled him close, wrapping Shang Jue's arm around the back of his neck.

Shang Jue said, “You’re a bit taller than me. This feels awkward.”

“Who told you to pretend to be drunk?”

Shang Jue tightened his hold around Lu Yuxing’s neck, letting his shoulders slump to act drunk, resting his chin on Lu Yuxing’s shoulder.

He smelled strongly of alcohol, and his face was flushed and warm. Lu Yuxing said, “Switch sides; hang on my right.”

His heart raced rapidly, pounding like it wanted to leap out of his chest. He feared that Shang Jue would hear it and mock him even more.

Upon hearing this, Shang Jue straightened up, examined Lu Yuxing's shoulders for a few seconds, and asked, “What’s wrong? Is one shoulder lower than the other? If your right shoulder is a bit lower, we don’t need to switch sides. I can’t really tell if it’s just a centimeter or two.”

“…”

Lu Yuxing took a deep breath. “Forget it, let’s go.”

Just as they were about to step out, Shang Jue let go of his hand.

“What’s wrong? Not pretending anymore?”

“I just realized that Zhicheng and the others haven’t seen me walk. Each person pretends to be drunk in their own way. I’ll just say a few nonsense things in the car later. It’s too tiring to pretend all the way; after acting for so long, I don’t have confidence in myself.”

As the scent of alcohol faded away, Lu Yuxing felt a sudden emptiness in his arms, and he shoved his hands into his coat pockets. “You can also just not say anything and pretend to be asleep.”

Shang Jue found that quite reasonable. “Alright.”

They walked together to meet the two outside.

Shang Jue walked calmly and said nothing, but the two who were calling for a car had no doubts about his current state of drunkenness. That one word “baby” was indeed deafening.

—

Not long after, a car pulled over; it was the one they had called.

The driver was quite particular; the car's interior was very clean, and it had a car air freshener.

However, the scent of the air freshener was too strong, a bit overwhelming. Although Shang Jue didn’t usually get carsick, he had drunk too much tonight, and his stomach felt uneasy. The bumpy ride, combined with the strong scent filling his nose, made him feel nauseous.

In A City, the nighttime temperatures were unbearable, and the car's heating was sufficient. He didn't want to open the window and let the cold air in, so he bore it all the way.

Thankfully, he didn’t vomit. As soon as he got out of the car, Shang Jue quickly stumbled to the side of the road, leaned against a tree, and retched a few times, taking deep breaths of fresh air.

Ge Zhi Cheng came over, thinking Shang Jue was drunk and patted his back, then, concerned, wrapped an arm around his shoulders to help him walk.

Before he could exert much strength, Shang Jue was pulled away by Lu Yuxing’s outstretched hand.

As Shang Jue got close to him, his vision blurred, and he remarked, "You smell like that air freshener too."

Lu Yuxing didn’t know whether to let go or not; being disliked by Shang Jue felt quite unpleasant.

In the end, he released Shang Jue, letting him walk on his own.

Once back in the dormitory, Shang Jue's dizziness and nausea hadn’t improved. He wanted to go outside for some cold air to clear his head, but the weather was too cold. If he opened the balcony window in the dorm, the pipes might freeze in no time.

So, Shang Jue stepped outside the dormitory building by himself.

At this hour, A University's outdoor environment was very quiet; no one would venture out in such cold weather that could freeze your snot into icicles.

He found a small, tranquil path outside and sat down on the stone edge. For a few minutes, he didn’t see anyone pass by.

Shang Jue looked down, watching his shadow in the streetlight, his upper body blending into the faint shadows of the trees around him. Under the influence of alcohol, he stared for a long time, until someone stepped on the shadow of a tree right in front of him.

Shang Jue looked up and met Lu Yuxing's half-lidded gaze.

He noticed that Lu Yuxing had changed out of the jacket that had picked up the scent of the air freshener and was now wearing a long, light gray coat.

Shang Jue blinked and asked, “What are you doing out here?”

Lu Yuxing replied, “I was worried you might scare someone wandering around as a drunk.”

Shang Jue rolled his eyes, “I just felt nauseous from the bumpy ride; you know I’m not drunk.”

“I know, but others don’t. Ge Zhi Cheng thought you might be causing a scene in the street and wanted to come down to check on you, but I stopped him.” In the end, it was him who came down to look.

Shang Jue lowered his head, pressing his palm against his eyes with a bit of force, “Uh... I forgot to let you know.”

Having drunk, his brain's reaction speed was somewhat affected. In the past, he wouldn't have left without saying anything and causing trouble for others.

He stared at Lu Yuxing's coat; the gray cashmere fabric looked particularly warm and soft under the orange streetlight. It must feel nice to hug.

They had broken up for a month now, and it had been a month since they had embraced. Tonight, in the restaurant, when Lu Yuxing helped him walk down the stairs was the only physical contact they had shared during this time.

Shang Jue lowered his head wearily, keeping his lips tightly shut.

Lu Yuxing couldn’t decipher his thoughts, so he stood to the side, letting Shang Jue continue admiring the tree shadows.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Shang Jue’s fluffy hair whorl, feeling anxious and irritated.

Just an hour ago, they had been joking around in the restaurant; why was he suddenly acting mute now?

Lu Yuxing thought: he’s doing it on purpose.

Three months of playing games hadn’t satisfied him; he wanted to explore something new with him.

Looking down, he noticed Shang Jue's fingers and nose tip were red from the cold. He asked, “How long do you plan to stay out here?”

Shang Jue thought he sounded impatient and raised his face, softly saying, “You can go back first.”

“…” Lu Yuxing was about to explain that he wasn’t in a hurry to leave when Shang Jue coldly added, “Just say you can’t wait and want to leave a drunk person by the roadside.”

Lu Yuxing: “………………”

At this moment, he really felt like doing just that.

But after Shang Jue finished speaking, he pushed himself up from the stone edge and said to him, “Let’s go back.”

Lu Yuxing froze for a moment.

“I didn’t mean to say I didn’t want to wait for you; if you’re not feeling well, just stay a bit longer.”

Shang Jue stared at his face for a while, displaying an expression that seemed both conflicted and sullen. Lu Yuxing couldn’t understand what he was thinking.

“What scent is your laundry detergent?” Shang Jue asked him.

“...Why are you asking this?”

Before Lu Yuxing received an answer from Shang Jue, he obediently replied anyway.

“What about your shampoo?” Shang Jue pressed on.

“Mint.”

“And the body wash?”

“Also mint.”

Shang Jue sniffed a little and said, “Mint is good for motion sickness, right?”

“I don’t know... maybe.”

Shang Jue’s gaze drifted off into the distance for a moment before slowly returning, “So can I borrow your neck to sniff?”

Lu Yuxing: “...”

With a complex expression, he said, “I can lend you my body wash to wash your… brain.”

Shang Jue didn’t respond.

Lu Yuxing couldn’t help but ask again, “...Then why can’t it be my hair?”

Shang Jue raised an eyebrow, taking two slow steps closer to him, then reached out to wrap his arms around Lu Yuxing's neck.

He didn’t use much strength and didn’t dare hold him too tightly. Lu Yuxing’s breathing immediately became light and prolonged, cautiously slowing down.

Shang Jue buried his cold nose into Lu Yuxing's neck.

Lu Yuxing shivered from the cold, and his mind became incredibly clear. He knew he was falling into a premonition of infatuation, and his brain raised a warning flag, telling him to act decisively and stop before it was too late.

Did he really want to continue acting foolish?

Shang Jue inhaled the faint mint scent from Lu Yuxing's skin, feeling a pair of hands slip around his waist. They were in a position that made it easy to push him away. But instead, those hands briefly lingered at his side, then moved around to grasp his lower back, finally pulling him closer, tightening the distance Shang Jue had hesitated to close.

Lu Yuxing gently brushed his lips against the strand of hair that the wind had blown up, his heart racing desperately.

He hugged Shang Jue even tighter, thinking: I’m really going to be played to death by him.

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Next: Chapter 51