YPSSS Chapter 38

The high-end cocktail bar served equally sophisticated sweet drinks.

Xia Shiruan held his glass and sipped slowly. The sweetness lingered on his tongue long after each sip.

Chen Rongxin looked at his own glass, then at Xia Shiruan’s. The same person who had been crying out about finally being of legal drinking age and wanting to drink until drunk now made Chen Rongxin feel like his five-figure cocktail wasn’t so appealing anymore.

Chen Rongxin felt something was off. Ever since he noticed something strange between Xie Ji and Xia Shiruan, he started viewing them through a different lens, and things just kept getting weirder.

Like just now, for something as simple as not being able to drink, why did Xie Ji have to take the drink first and smell it?

Chen Rongxin couldn’t make sense of this behavior.

Due to their biology, Alphas typically had higher alcohol tolerance. In the entire room, Xia Shiruan was the only one not drinking alcohol, yet no one seemed even slightly drunk.

Chen Rongxin’s birthdays were always lively affairs. Whatever was fun, they’d do it. Soon, the fairly spacious private room was filled with small groups playing cards.

Pei Hu immediately recruited Xia Shiruan as his teammate, saying, “Senior, you’re so smart, you must be great at playing cards.”

Xie Ji stared at Pei Hu’s hand gripping Xia Shiruan’s sleeve for a few moments before sneering, “You’re probably wrong about that. Get ready to lose.”

While Xia Shiruan was indeed intelligent, he never enjoyed games, especially not card games.

And Xie Ji wasn’t making baseless accusations. He had proof. The few times Xia Shiruan had been roped into multiplayer games, his gameplay had been… uniquely disastrous.

Twenty minutes later, Xie Ji held his cards after being crushed yet again by the opposite pair, his face almost as dark as the leather sofa.

“Pei Hu,” Xie Ji glared at him, his tone hostile. “Next round, we’re switching partners.”

“Huh?” Pei Hu looked up with a broad grin, still elated from winning two rounds in a row, and shook his head. “No way!”

Why would he switch when Senior Xia was such an amazing partner!

Plus, this was the first time Pei Hu had seen cards played with such strategy.

He shot Xie Ji a glance, then, as if suddenly realizing something, turned to Xia Shiruan with exaggerated praise. “Senior, you’re incredible! How are you so good at Flying Cards? Do you play often?”

“This is my first time playing,” Xia Shiruan smiled and said, “Once you fully understand the rules, it becomes quite straightforward, and you can think outside the box.”

Keyboard-based games weren’t Xia Shiruan’s forte.

But Flying Cards was essentially mathematics at its core. Math was a fundamental subject in the Department of Particle Physics, and Xia Shiruan had always scored perfect marks in it.

“Wow,” Pei Hu praised generously. “Then let’s play two more rounds together!”

Pei Hu seemed to be doing it on purpose, even exaggerating his compliments to a theatrical level. Watching Xie Ji’s face grow darker, he could barely contain his laughter.

How could someone be so petty?

After two more rounds, Pei Hu waved his hands with a smile. “I’m done. Any more, and Xie Ji might actually murder me.”

Xia Shiruan also stood up, planning to go to the restroom.

As he passed the opposite sofa, something quickly brushed against the back of his hand.

The touch was light, made with an index finger. Xia Shiruan could feel the soft, warm fingertip.

Xia Shiruan looked down, meeting Xie Ji’s upturned gaze.

“Xia Shiruan,” Xie Ji’s expression was still sour, as if still upset about losing, but his words suggested otherwise, “Play with me when you come back.”

Xia Shiruan looked at him for a few seconds and said “okay,” then quickly realized how childish their conversation sounded, like elementary school students.

Like kids arranging to play together after class. If their friend played with someone else, they’d get upset unless promised to be paired up next time.

Xia Shiruan left the private room with red ears.

Chen Rongxin had been playing frisbee wars with Shu Jian and others, losing all three hundred rounds in three hundred attempts. He declared he was done playing a minute ago and came over with a drink, sitting next to Pei Hu.

Chen Rongxin took a big gulp of juice, chewing as he asked unclearly, “What are you looking at? Why’d you stop playing?”

Pei Hu snapped back to reality, glanced at him, and said mysteriously, “Nothing, I just suddenly believed it.”

Chen Rongxin froze, “Believed what?”

“Want to know?” Pei Hu looked at him, showing no intention of keeping secrets, and blurted out, “That day at the basketball court, your Xie-ge told me he likes someone…”

Chen Rongxin’s eyes gradually widened, his chewing coming to a halt.

“I didn’t believe it then, but after observing these few days, I think it might be true,” Pei Hu said, fighting back a laugh. “Never thought Xie Ji would find someone before me.”

Chen Rongxin stayed frozen for a while before lunging forward to grab his neck, whispering, “What’s going on? Tell me everything!”

The restroom in Chen Rongxin’s bar was indeed as luxurious as rumored.

After washing his hands, Xia Shiruan stood at the sink, wetting a paper towel to wipe his face.

Footsteps approached, and Xia Shiruan looked up to see Su Mi entering through the mirror.

Perhaps due to drinking, Su Mi’s face was slightly redder than before, but it was barely noticeable unless you looked closely.

Their eyes met in the mirror, and both were startled.

This was Xia Shiruan’s first time meeting Su Mi. He only knew this Omega was a former classmate of Chen Rongxin and Xie Ji.

Anyone who could be classmates with Xie Ji and the others must be either wealthy or noble. They would certainly be no ordinary person.

But the two of them hadn’t exchanged a single word all night. Now, running into each other in the restroom, Xia Shiruan wasn’t sure what to say, so he simply nodded at Su Mi’s reflection in the mirror.

Su Mi smiled faintly without speaking and walked straight into a stall.

Xia Shiruan lowered his head, pulling out a paper towel to dry his fingers, when his movements suddenly paused.

After a while, he frowned and glanced toward the stall Su Mi had entered.

Ten minutes later, Su Mi came out from the stall and immediately noticed Xia Shiruan sitting on the sofa behind the washing area.

His back was straight, his posture proper, black hair falling obediently – like a good student sitting in the first row of a classroom.

Su Mi stared at that figure for quite a while.

“You…” Su Mi asked, “Why are you still here?”

Xia Shiruan turned around, his eye scanning Su Mi’s face before slightly nodding, carefully choosing his words. “Well. I wasn’t sure if you might need my help.”

A flash of surprise crossed Su Mi’s face. His eyes flickered as if not understanding the meaning.

Xia Shiruan quickly explained, “I smelled your pheromones.”

In fact, from the moment Su Mi entered, Xia Shiruan noticed a strong alcohol scent.

At first, Xia Shiruan thought it was just the smell of alcohol Su Mi drank, but he quickly realized it was Su Mi’s pheromones.

Whether Alpha or Omega, during exercise, heat, or when severely stimulated by external factors, pheromones could temporarily intensify and leak out.

For Alphas and Omegas, this was a very common physiological phenomenon that, under the control of suppressants, usually wouldn’t affect normal life.

But Xia Shiruan wasn’t sure how much Su Mi had drunk, so he wasn’t certain whether any accidents might occur.

Su Mi froze for a moment, then understood his meaning.

He looked at Xia Shiruan for a while, then laughed, “I see.”

He walked to the sink and turned on the tap. He spoke over the running water, “Thank you, but it’s fine. I can handle my alcohol well.”

Xia Shiruan nodded, saying “Alright.”

He had only wanted to make sure Su Mi was okay, and having confirmed that, there was no need to stay.

Just as Xia Shiruan was about to stand up, he heard Su Mi say, “But I wasn’t always this good with alcohol.”

Xia Shiruan’s movement stopped.

“I learned it through practice,” Su Mi said, his voice light but gentle, as if recalling something pleasant. “The first time I drank, I got really drunk that I almost passed out. I even threw up on someone.”

The statement came somewhat abruptly, more like talking to himself.

Xia Shiruan didn’t understand why Su Mi was suddenly telling him this, but out of politeness, he stopped to listen attentively.

“He was so angry at the time, looked like he was about to explode, but he didn’t scold me.” Su Mi smiled, “Instead, he carried me and took me home.”

“After that, when drinking, I wasn’t so scared anymore, and even wanted to get drunk.” He pulled out a paper towel to dry his hands, shrugging, “Too bad my alcohol tolerance improved after that. With low-alcohol drinks, I can’t get drunk anymore.”

He sighed. “I’m still a coward. I don’t dare try stronger drinks. I’m afraid something might actually go wrong.”

Su Mi told Xia Shiruan a story about someone but never mentioned the name, only using “he” throughout, as if certain the other person would know who he meant.

Xia Shiruan felt Su Mi wanted him to hear this story, but didn’t understand why.

All he knew was that his mood had become somewhat heavy and uncomfortable.

Because of someone whose name wasn’t mentioned, and because of Su Mi’s obvious smile. It was the kind people only show when talking about someone they like.

Xia Shiruan searched his memory for similar emotions, quickly finding the scene from a few days ago at the basketball court, when those two Omegas asked him for Xie Ji’s contact information.

But this time, the discomfort was worse. So much so that he didn’t even want to keep talking to Su Mi.

After a moment of silence, Xia Shiruan said, “It’s better to drink less.”

Su Mi nodded, smiling, “Of course.”

Xia Shiruan didn’t respond further and stood up from the sofa, saying softly “I’ll head back first,” and pushed open the door to leave.

His steps were a bit quick, the earlier warmth in his ears completely gone, replaced by a dull, lingering ache.

His emotions were constantly pulled back and forth. Happiness came easily, but so did dejection, in just an instant.

Xia Shiruan’s emotional threshold had always been stable, like an equilateral triangle wrapped in an impenetrable protective shield.

But someone had easily opened this protective layer, which frightened him.

Then that same person quickly started toying with it, making it sway, forcing Xia Shiruan to expend far too much energy just to keep it steady.

But Xia Shiruan gradually realized this wasn’t something easily resolved.

Like a headless fly crashing around aimlessly, it seemed to only make things worse.