Li Qingci first saw Xu Jinghan at a party for rich second-generations, and it was love at first sight.
The scene was quite chaotic at the time. A group of people surrounded Xu Jinghan, who sat in the center of the sofa but lacked any semblance of authority. Everyone around him forced him to drink, and he had already been made to down several bottles. A flush had appeared on his face.
Seeing that he was showing signs of intoxication and his mind was becoming unclear, the others began to play even more outrageously.
Someone shouted, “Let’s play something more fun. Just drinking is boring. Let’s strip! We’ll play rock-paper-scissors. Whoever loses drinks a glass and takes off a piece of clothing.”
“Great!!!”
Surprisingly, everyone except him agreed to this blatantly ill-intentioned activity that bullied the weak. It was utterly absurd.
Li Qingci cast a pitying glance at Xu Jinghan, though he couldn’t see clearly since he’d forgotten his contact lenses today.
Li Qingci didn’t really want to participate, but the activity began irreversibly under the overwhelming majority vote.
Xu Jinghan lost, started drinking, and took off his jacket.
Xu Jinghan lost again, drank, and removed a brooch.
This time Xu Jinghan didn’t lose, and Li Qingci breathed a sigh of relief. But soon enough, that sigh was caught in his throat again. Back and forth it went, and Li Qingci felt like a balloon, alternately filled with air and deflated.
…
Perhaps to increase the excitement, they changed the rules so that each time Xu Jinghan lost, he had to unbutton one button.
Then Li Qingci watched as more and more of Xu Jinghan’s skin was gradually exposed.
As a newcomer who had just joined their circle of wealthy friends, Li Qingci shouldn’t have acted too improperly. He should have simply followed along with this group of rich second-generations, mimicking their actions and offering praise and flattery.
But when it came time for him to play rock-paper-scissors with Xu Jinghan, they were so close that he could smell the alcohol on Xu Jinghan’s breath, along with a faint, pleasant fragrance.
Not wanting Xu Jinghan to lose, he leaned in and whispered, “I’m going to throw rock. You throw paper.”
As he was about to pull away after speaking, he felt Xu Jinghan lightly scratch his palm. But when he looked at Xu Jinghan’s face, he saw no change in expression, so he thought nothing more of it.
He had a plan. He had to find a way to rescue Xu Jinghan from this group of rich second-generations, or his conscience wouldn’t let him rest. When you see injustice, you must draw your sword to help—this was a principle Li Qingci always kept in mind.
Being so close, Xu Jinghan’s face was fully visible to Li Qingci. His features looked pitiful and vulnerable, hitting Li Qingci’s weak spot. This was exactly the type of face Li Qingci liked, further strengthening his resolve to help Xu Jinghan.
How could such a beautiful person be mistreated by these trash!
Li Qingci lost the game. While drinking, he pretended to flirt with Xu Jinghan, making him feed him the alcohol, then deliberately spilled it all over himself.
Li Qingci was furious. He demanded an explanation, claiming this was his first time attending and he’d had a terrible party experience. Though he was just the son of a nouveau riche, he had been invited. If he didn’t enjoy himself, it would be a slap in the face to the host.
So the host, with a dark expression, told Xu Jinghan to take Li Qingci upstairs to change clothes. He instructed Xu Jinghan to attend to Li Qingci’s every need and ensure he had a good time.
Before they left, the host said, “Useless thing. Just stick with him from now on. We don’t need you anymore.”
After looking Li Qingci up and down, the host said ambiguously, “I suppose being the little lover of a nouveau riche’s son isn’t too bad.”
Li Qingci: ???
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