DASFAM_20
"Hmm."
Bai Xu let out a muffled groan and opened his eyes, feeling somewhat hot.
The rising warmth from the alcohol in his body made him restless and uncomfortable.
Zhang Changxu heard the movement and immediately turned around to check, "Young Master Bai?"
Bai Xu vaguely heard the voice, and the lingering vigilance in his subconscious struggled to rise—
He suddenly opened his eyes and straightened his back, only to be immediately restrained by the seatbelt, forcing him back down.
The abrupt movement was too intense, making his temples throb painfully, “Hiss… hmm.”
Zhang Changxu noticed his instinctive defensiveness and furrowed his brows slightly, “Young Master Bai, are you awake? We've arrived at the entrance of the Shang family’s villa.”
"......"
Bai Xu pressed his lips together without answering, focusing instead on trying to recognize the scenery outside the car window.
Fortunately, the tightly shut villa gates soon opened.
Xie Qi, who had received the news from Shang Yanxiao, hurried out. With a glance from Zhang Changxu as a signal, he opened the car door.
The cool night breeze rushed in, slightly easing the stifling heat.
Bai Xu caught sight of Xie Qi and murmured, "Hmm? We're here?"
Xie Qi helped him out of the car, "Mr. Xiao Bai, are you alright?"
"I'm fine."
Even while drunk, Bai Xu remained stubborn to the core. He desperately shook off Xie Qi’s hand and staggered toward the villa.
Zhang Changxu watched his retreating figure and chuckled, "Even drunk, he still knows to head home. Seems like he trusts you all quite a bit."
Xie Qi adjusted his glasses, "Dr. Zhang, I'll have to trouble you."
Zhang Changxu looked back at him, his words carrying a deeper meaning, “Everything still okay?”
He was, of course, referring to how well Shang Yanxiao's disguise was holding up in this branch.
Xie Qi gave a knowing nod, “People have been coming by to ‘visit’, but so far, it's manageable."
Zhang Changxu ended the brief conversation, "Alright. I'll bring someone over in a couple of days for a ‘routine checkup’. It's too late tonight, so I'll take my leave."
"Understood. Take care, Dr. Zhang."
With that, Xie Qi quickly strode back inside, worried that Bai Xu, in his drunken state, might stumble and hurt himself.
The villa doors shut with a muffled thud, startling Zhang Changning, who had been dozing in the passenger seat. He let out a small whimper in protest.
Zhang Changxu couldn't help but lean over and ruffle his now-messy curls, "Ning Ning?"
Though intoxicated, Zhang Changning was sleeping soundly. He didn’t even lift an eyelid, simply turning over to face away from Zhang Changxu and mumbling petulantly, "Second Brother, you're so noisy."
"....."
Zhang Changxu chuckled helplessly. He adjusted the air conditioning for a more comfortable setting before restarting the car and driving off.
...
Xie Qi closed the door and turned around, only to see Shang Queyan sitting in his wheelchair.
"Fourth Young Master, you're still awake?"
"En."
Shang Queyan didn’t say much—
He knew that Bai Xu had attended tonight’s banquet in his place on behalf of the third branch. Guilt lingered within him, fueled by his own bouts of cowardice, while worry gnawed at him, fearing that Bai Xu might have been belittled or ridiculed at such an event.
After all, this was never something an outsider like Bai Xu should have had to bear.
The moment he heard movement at the door, Shang Queyan had tried to react. But his body failed him, by the time he had maneuvered from his bed to his wheelchair and struggled to open the door, Bai Xu was already stumbling his way upstairs.
Shang Queyan asked, "Bai Xu… is he drunk?"
"Yeah, looks like he’s pretty out of it," Xie Qi glanced toward the second floor, "Fourth Young Master, a lot happened at the banquet tonight. I'll tell you everything when I have time tomorrow. For now, I need to check on Mr. Xiao Bai."
Shang Queyan nodded, "Alright."
Instead of taking the elevator, Xie Qi hurried up the stairs.
Bai Xu, who had gone up earlier, stood at his bedroom door but showed no sign of going in, lost in thought.
Xie Qi frowned, "Mr. Xiao Bai? Aren't you going inside?"
Bai Xu didn’t answer. Instead, he suddenly turned and headed toward the master bedroom, his steps unsteady but unwavering.
Click.
Without hesitation, Bai Xu pressed down on the master bedroom’s door handle.
The guard inside, Xiao Deng, and Xie Qi, who was still by the staircase, were both startled. The latter quickly rushed forward to stop him, "Mr. Xiao Bai, you’re in the wrong room, this..."
"Shut up."
Bai Xu shot him a glance, his alcohol-glazed eyes carrying a cold, noble detachment that made it impossible to question him further.
"......"
Xie Qi was momentarily at a loss for words.
Bai Xu stepped into the room and pointed at the dazed Xiao Deng inside, "You. Get out."
Xiao Deng was dumbfounded and instinctively looked to Xie Qi for help.
Bai Xu repeated impatiently, "Looking at him is useless. I said get out!"
Xie Qi couldn't gauge just how drunk Bai Xu truly was. He glanced at Shang Yanxiao, who was 'pretending to be unconscious' on the bed, then decided to trust his instincts and backed out of the room.
Matters between the boss and his arranged fiancé were best left alone.
Xiao Deng quickly caught on, shrinking back. "Mr. Xiao Bai, if you need anything, just call us…"
"Annoying."
Bai Xu kicked the door shut, blocking out the figures of his two subordinates.
In the spacious and quiet master bedroom, only the faint sounds of monitoring equipment remained.
The heat from the alcohol seemed to intensify, making him feel increasingly warm. He first took off his jacket, then yanked off his tie. Only after loosening the collar of his shirt did he finally feel like he could breathe a little easier.
By the time he finished these small actions, he had already stumbled to the bedside.
With drunken, hazy eyes, Bai Xu stared at Shang Yanxiao, who was sitting by the bed. A vague, inexplicable frustration flickered through his heart. He sat down on the edge of the bed and forcefully pushed the man in front of him.
"Hey!"
"Wake up!"
"......"
“I’m telling you, you… Shang, Third… Third Young Master…” Drunk as he was, Bai Xu nearly bit his tongue trying to say the awkward title. Irritated, his temper flared. “What kind of ridiculous title is that?”
“Your third branch really attracts a lot of attention. Do you even know how much trouble I covered for you today? You don’t, do you? Huh?”
That final dragged-out sound wavered through several twists and turns, carrying an unintentional hint of an endearing cuteness charm no outsider had ever witnessed before.
After speaking, Bai Xu couldn’t help himself to reached out and poked the man's cheek.
Shang Yanxiao’s slightly cool skin countered the heat in Bai Xu’s fingertips, making him even bolder. It was as if he had turned the man before him into some oversized toy, free to be prodded and squeezed at will—
He tapped his nose, rubbed his ears, pinched his lips, and even teasingly traced his Adam’s apple.
Fueled by alcohol, Bai Xu played to his heart’s content, completely oblivious to the way the man beneath him was gradually tensing up.
"You... you do look pretty good, but what a shame—"
"All looks! U~se~less! Tsk, not~ good~ at~ all~"
"......"
Shang Yanxiao remained 'unconscious', but it took everything in him to endure. When he heard that damning 'no good', his jaw clenched involuntarily.
Another wave of dizziness hit.
Instinctively, Bai Xu braced his hand against something for support. Through the fabric, his fingers unexpectedly pressed against the firm contours of abdominal muscles. He froze for a few beats, his expression shifting into one of pure astonishment, like he'd just discovered a new continent.
Huh?
Does he still have abs?
No way. He’s been lying around for this long, and they’re still there?
Bai Xu's gaze drifted downward, curiosity flaring wildly under the influence of alcohol, showing no signs of stopping.
He reached out again, tentatively poking once. Then poking again, "Hmm?"
The very next second, Shang Yanxiao could no longer hold back. His eyes snapped open, and he grabbed Bai Xu’s wrist in a firm grip.
In one swift motion, he flipped them over, pinning Bai Xu beneath him.
"Try poking again?"
His voice was hoarse and low, with every word squeezed out carrying a sense of helplessness.
The monitoring wires attached to his body fell to the ground, but Shang Yanxiao couldn’t spare them a glance. He hadn’t expected that after keeping up the act for so long, he would still end up losing to Bai Xu.
"......"
"......"
Bai Xu was hit by a wave of intense dizziness, leaving him completely disoriented. Even Shang Yanxiao’s face in front of him seemed to blur and double. In his dazed state, he caught a glimpse of those deep, ink-black eyes—
His already sluggish brain instantly short-circuited.
A mere few seconds of eye contact felt like an eternity.
Bai Xu’s long eyelashes trembled, his mind struggling to distinguish between reality and illusion.
Wait? Hold on?
Why were Shang Yanxiao’s eyes open?
Did he just… successfully 'wake him up' by accident?
Bai Xu’s muddled thoughts spun in confusion. The soft comfort of the pillow cradled his head, and before he could even process the mess of question marks in his mind, the drunken haze pulled him under.
His eyes fluttered shut, and he slipped into sleep.
"......"
Shang Yanxiao watched as Bai Xu shamelessly closed his eyes, his expression shifting through layers of complexity.
Fell asleep?
After barging into his room drunk, acting completely unruly, and now, just like that, he fell asleep in a second?
For the first time, Shang Yanxiao felt truly at a loss. He let out a deep breath, “You’ve really got some nerve.”
Now that things had come to this, he had no choice but to figure out how to settle the person in front of him.
He got out of bed and straightened his clothes, which were now a complete mess from Bai Xu's antics, before he leaned back down towards the sleeping troublemaker.
"Bai Xu?"
“……”
This time, it was Bai Xu who gave no response.
Shang Yanxiao sighed, his brow furrowing in resignation. After a brief hesitation, he bent down and lifted Bai Xu into his arms.
“Mm.”
The sudden weightlessness made Bai Xu stir uneasily in his sleep. His soft hair brushed against Shang Yanxiao’s neck, their body heat bleeding through the thin fabric where they touched—
That strange sensation Shang Yanxiao had just managed to suppress surged up again, “Don’t move!”
“Why, should I listen to you?”
Clearly drunk, yet his stubborn nature refused to admit defeat.
Bai Xu frowned, ignoring Shang Yanxiao’s orders, and casually found a comfortable position to lean against, “I want it!”
Only after Bai Xu finally quieted down did Shang Yanxiao calmly carry him out of the master bedroom.
The tightly closed door reopened, and Xie Qi and Xiao Deng, who had been standing guard outside, widened their eyes in shock at the scene before them, “Third Young Master?”
“Mr. Xiao Bai, he…”
Shang Yanxiao interrupted their questions, “Enough, go back to your rooms and rest. You don’t need to stand guard tonight.”
Xie Qi and Xiao Deng exchanged looks, watching as Shang Yanxiao carried Bai Xu into the guest bedroom directly across the hall.
The door was left slightly ajar as it closed.
Shang Yanxiao had no time to turn on the lights. Using only the dim glow from the motion-sensor lamp, he carefully placed Bai Xu onto the bed. The moment Bai Xu’s body touched the mattress, he unexpectedly opened his eyes.
In the faint darkness, his intoxicated gaze appeared surprisingly focused, “Shang… Yanxiao?”
“…..”
Shang Yanxiao’s breath hitched slightly, a sudden unease creeping up on him, as if he was about to be exposed.
Before he could speak, Bai Xu drowsily lifted a hand, “So this is what you look like with your eyes open? Pretty good-looking.”
The next second, his soft fingertips pinched Shang Yanxiao’s earlobe, “Your ears… they’re so red?”
A muffled chuckle, laced with an unconscious teasing, sent ripples through his heart.
Unfortunately, a drunk person had no sense of reason. Even a momentary clarity was fleeting. Within seconds, Bai Xu collapsed onto the bed again.
He patted the mattress randomly, grumbling in dissatisfaction, “Why… why isn’t my bed this soft?”
Then, he called out in a muddled voice, “Shang Yanxiao!”
Shang Yanxiao's gaze turned subtle, "Hm?"
Bai Xu buried himself under the blanket and issued a command, “Change it for me!”
Shang Yanxiao, who had rarely—if ever—been ordered around, raised his eyebrows in surprise, “Bai Xu? What did you just say?”
“…...”
The culprit had fallen silent again.
Shang Yanxiao stared blankly at Bai Xu, who had only half his head exposed from the blanket. Thinking about all the absurd yet real events of the night, he suddenly let out a laugh, one even he couldn’t quite understand.
A marriage alliance?
No… it was more like he had invited an ancestor into his home.
...
Shang Yanxiao barely managed to settle Bai Xu before stepping out of the guest bedroom, the corners of his lips curving slightly, something he didn’t even realize himself.
He quietly made his way toward his master bedroom, but just as he passed by the long-unused elevator, a sudden 'ding' echoed as the doors slid open.
Shang Yanxiao’s heart clenched in shock, too late to hide now!
The elevator doors parted—
Shang Queyan, maneuvering his wheelchair, was just about to exit when he looked up and locked eyes with his older brother.
His eyes widened in disbelief, his breath shaky as he stammered, “Brother? You… you, how…”
“Shh.”
Shang Yanxiao quickly made a 'silence' gesture, his peripheral vision unconsciously glancing toward the guest bedroom, though he wasn’t sure who in the house he was afraid of disturbing.
“Keep it down, everyone’s sleeping.”
Comments
Post a Comment