When YiHan and JingYuan finally extracted themselves from the crowd, they found YouRan slumped sideways on the couch, fast asleep with a flushed face. Yan and Pei sat beside him. They did not look happy.
YiHan glanced at Yan and whispered, "He saw him?"
Yan nodded, face stiff with anger. YiHan sighed.
"Only by letting him understand the truth can he better protect himself," JingYuan softly said. "The pain is unavoidable."
Yan turned to look at YouRan. "I hope this is the last time he'll be hurt." I'll protect him from now on.
Pei glanced at Yan, then at YouRan. Her mouth opened as if to speak but, in the end, she said nothing.
As He Yuan was mingling and talking with someone, his eyes absent-mindedly glanced to the side. That glance just so happened to be directed at YouRan's direction. He was so surprised at seeing the man that he nearly dropped his wineglass. Yan Miao shot a dissatisfied look at him. Hurriedly, he began to softly placate her. Thank goodness she was easy to calm down. It only took a few sentences before she was soothed.
He Yuan turned and look at the corner again. His heart shook, doubt in his mind. When did YouRan befriend YiHan and the rest? He's just a minor author with nothing. Not only was he invited, but he's also able to make Bai YiHan and Mu JingYuan both stay by his side!
There were also the two brats from the Yan family. The thought of it just made his jaw clench. Yan moved out but he just had to move right next to YouRan! That brat made him unable to show his face near there again for fear news of his relationship with YouRan would be leaked to Miao. If she ever knew of YouRan's existence, forget about what would happen to YouRan. By her personality, the entire He family would be thrown into chaos for sure!
Once Yan Miao and the Yan family started to despise him, the He family would never ever relish the glory they now enjoy. This was something he absolutely cannot allow to happen.
He Yuan hurriedly turned away, afraid of being recognised. No matter the reason, the man now looked like he was good friends with Bai YiHan and the rest. If the man saw him and kicked up a fuss from rage, this entire situation would be doomed beyond repair. Furthermore, causing a scene in Bai YiHan and Mu JingYuan's engagement party would mean offending the Bai and He families too. The He family might be powerful now but he could not afford to make an enemy of any of the Great Five.
Damn it. YouRan was someone who would never leave his house or interact with strangers. When did he get so cosy with these powerful men? It must be due to Yan Yan moving to the apartment next to his! With those people around YouRan, he didn't even dare stand close to YouRan, let alone try and discreetly get rid of this hidden threat!
Wineglass in hand, He Yuan stood stiffly next to his wife. Through the entire conversation, he felt piercing jabs pricking at his back. He was extremely uneasy. After a while, he pulled his wife over to the other side of the room. The hall was huge and YouRan was never one to roam around. Hopefully, the man won't discover he's there.
Of course, YouRan wouldn't roam around. He can't even take a single step out of his seat. Before the party even ended, Yan had already driven him home. The man collapsed due to the few drinks he had.
As the party wasn't over yet, YiHan and JingYuan couldn't leave. All they could do was walk them to their car.
"Will you be okay alone?" YiHan worriedly asked. "Look at how drunk YouRan is."
Yan clipped the seat belt over YouRan. "Don't worry. You'd best hurry back."
"I'll go with you," Pei said.
"It's fine," said Yan. "Go back. It's cold outside."
Yan then started the car. YiHan and Pei had to straighten up and step away from the car then. They watched as the car zoomed off in a cloud of dust.
"Ah," Pei sighed in a tragic, pitying manner. "Nan Shan's in danger."
"Huh? What?" asked YiHan.
Pei gave a mysterious smile but remained silent. Instead, she turned and jogged back into the hall.
"What was she saying?" YiHan said, confused. "How could Nan Shan be in danger when Yan is around?"
JingYuan gave YiHan a light squeeze on the back of his neck and led his lover back into the hall. "Nan Shan is in danger because Yan is around," JingYuan calmly stated.
"Then, we…!"
"Don't worry," interrupted JingYuan. "This danger isn't the danger you're thinking of. We can't step in on this."
YiHan: "…" What the hell?
***
With the car parked and turned off, Yan turned and gently patted the other man on the shoulder. "YouRan?"
There was no reaction from YouRan. His brows furrowed. He looked very uncomfortable.
Yan sighed and stepped out of the car. He walked over to the passenger side and opened the door. He then carefully helped YouRan out of his seat. However, YouRan was dead drunk. His legs wouldn't prop his body up at all. The man kept sliding down to the floor. Yan had to kneel down to get the other man on his back. He locked the car and walked up the stairwell.
Finally, after a lot of effort, they were in YouRan's apartment. They had just gotten through the front door when YouRan started dry heaving. YouRan had been out in the cold while waiting for the car and then he was placed in a warm car as it was driving. A wave of nausea caused by the alcohol had struck YouRan. Yan hurriedly carried the man over to the bathroom. He had just put the man down and, before Yan could adjust the man so he faced the toilet, YouRan began puking. The man hadn't had much food that evening. Thus, YouRan mostly threw up bile. The two men were facing each other. No one was spared from the mess.
Yan: …
Eventually, the drunk man was done throwing up. Yan stripped the man out of his dirtied clothes and placed the man in the bathtub. As YouRan laid there, Yan started cleaning up the floor covered in vomit and packed their dirty clothes into a big bag. The bag was then tied up and placed outside the apartment. Yan planned on throwing them out later. Once the floor was clean. Yan began to fill the bathtub as he began to clean up YouRan who reeked of alcohol. Poor Yan. He was the second young master of the Yan family, he had never taken care of anyone else before. YouRan was also quite uncooperative. The task of showering YouRan kept Yan so busy, in a panicked way, that he was sweating by the end of it.
The violent bout of puking had woken up YouRan but the man still wasn't sober. Those glistening, half-lidded eyes blankly stared at the busy Yan.
Yan's heart skipped. Still, he calmly said, "Even if you act pitiful now, it can't conceal the fact that you threw up all over me."
No reaction from YouRan.
Yan chuckled. "Why am I saying this to someone drunk?"
Once YouRan was clean, Yan had a quick shower himself before he helped YouRan out of the bathtub. As YouRan exited the water with a loud splash, his fair body was exposed. Surrounded by wafts of steam, YouRan looked so very alluring. Yan gulped hard. Fighting against the lust rising in him, Yan pulled YouRan up into his arms and out of the bathtub. To his surprise, YouRan's face suddenly twisted into a fierce look as the man stepped out of the bathtub. Then, the man bit Yan on the shoulder.
Yan wasn't expecting it at all. In his pain, he took a step back but slipped. Fortunately, there was a wall right behind him. He didn't fall on the floor but he was unlucky enough that his shoulder blade landed on a protruding hook. A pained groan escaped his lips. But something even more tragic happened. When he slipped, a muscle in his thigh began cramping. It hurt so badly that he couldn't feel his leg at all. It took him a good while before he recovered. Even so, YouRan wasn't willing to just quietly lie in his arms.
"You lied to me!" YouRan slurred as he bared his white teeth. "I'll bite you to death!" Immediately, YouRan bit at the chest before his eyes.
Yan: "…" Dearest one, are you a dog? /(ToT)/~~
The drunk man had completely turned into a dog. He bit at wherever he could reach. Yan couldn't throw his idol on the floor. He tried to cover the man's mouth with a hand but then his palm was bit as well. It drove him to near tears.
At long last, through pain and agony, Yan settled YouRan into his bed. As Yan looked down at the calm man, for now, he wiped away the sweat from his brows and let out a long sigh of relief. Covered in bite marks with a leg still in agony over a cramp, the tiny piece of desire that was in him had been swept away by the struggle.
Yan's clothes had been covered in YouRan's vomit. Currently, all he had on was one of YouRan's towels. There was no other resident on this floor anyway. He decided to just walk back to his apartment and get dressed before returning to YouRan's side. He could throw out the bag of clothes along the way.
Just as he limped over to the front door, he heard YouRan shouting from the bedroom. He swiftly turned back to the bedroom. YouRan was in the bed. His eyes were closed but his hands wildly grabbed at everything around him.
The other man must be feeling extremely insecure at the moment. Yan couldn't bear to see him like this. He decided to take the risk of being bitten again and held the man's hands.
"It's fine. Sleep," Yan softly said. He chuckled. "Who knew you'd be like this when drunk, Nan Shan."
Having found someone, YouRan squirmed into Yan's embrace. All four of his limbs huddled closed to the other man. He was the exact opposite of the fearsome man from before.
"Don't go," the man pleaded. "Don't leave me. Stay with me, just once."
Yan's heart wasn't all that firm and unwavering in the first place. YouRan's pleas softened it once more. Yan just couldn't bring himself to say no. He let himself be pulled on the bed by YouRan and let the man wrap himself around him. He just had to let the man hug him for a while. Once the man was asleep, he could get dressed and throw out the trash.
Now that YouRan had someone in his embrace, he went quiet. Thinking the man was asleep, Yan made to rise but was dragged back to bed by YouRan's embrace. The other man's limbs wrapped tighter around Yan.
Helpless, Yan could only lie back down. He turned to look at YouRan's frowning face. The man just had his heart broken. Yan could let the man hug him for a while longer.
Yan had been through a lot that evening. He was thoroughly exhausted, mentally and physically. Now that it was quiet, his eyelids couldn't help but droop. Yan tried to resist the urge. He still had to get dressed and take out the trash. However, he was unable to fight the overwhelming urge to sleep. Gradually, he nodded off to sleep.
***
The next day, beams of morning sunlight shone into the apartment through the gaps of the window curtains. YouRan, who had slept fitfully through the night, slowly woke up. He left his eyes closed. His head was pounding. A soft moan rang from his throat. Wanting to turn to his other side, he shifted his legs but then…
"!!!"
YouRan was instantly wide awake. He opened his eyes. What he saw nearly made him faint.
He had a naked (the towel was flung away when they were asleep) Yan in his arms. YouRan's limbs clung to the other man as if YouRan was an octopus himself. These facts didn't matter much. What was more important was Yan's nude body was covered in fresh bite marks!
With Yan in his arms, Yan's visibly fatigued face (from overexertion). His face was pale and bloodless (not true). The smooth skin was marred by rows of teeth marks. He looked exceedingly pitiful.
What did this all mean? Dear Lord! What did YouRan do last night after he'd gotten drunk? Why can't he remember anything? (He blacked out.)