YPSSS Chapter 40

Su Mi’s face turned pale instantly.

Shu Jian also froze on the spot, at a loss for words.

Preferring to drink several bottles of alcohol rather than let someone kiss him. This attitude couldn’t have been more obvious. The atmosphere suddenly became awkward, and those who were cheering fell silent.

Before Shu Jian could speak, Xie Ji tapped the empty bottle and asked calmly, “How many bottles?”

Shu Jian looked at Su Mi, whose expression was so awful as if he was about to cry, then at Xie Ji’s expressionless face. He never imagined things would turn out this way.

In his opinion, even if Xie Ji didn’t like Su Mi, they were still friends. What harm could there be in a friendly kiss on the cheek?

Besides, one was an Alpha and one was an Omega. It’s not like Xie Ji would be at a disadvantage.

“…” It took Shu Jian a while to find his voice again. He stammered, “Forget it, let’s just call it off. Stop drinking. Is the alcohol really that good?”

He snatched the empty bottle from Xie Ji’s hand and tossed it aside.

The glass bottle made a dull thud as it hit the wooden side table. Xie Ji glanced up at Shu Jian, his eyes far from gentle.

Shu Jian scratched his head, feeling like he made a mistake, but at the same time completely confused about what he did wrong. No matter how he thought about it, he still felt it wasn’t that serious.

However, after one look at Xie Ji’s expression, he decided to keep quiet.

In all the years Shu Jian had known Xie Ji, he’d rarely seen this expression on his face.

Xie Ji was always casual and nonchalant, sometimes a bit mischievous, but never the type to show displeasure over small matters.

He must really be serious about something this time.

Xie Ji stared at the discarded bottle for a moment, then turned to look at Su Mi, who hadn’t spoken a word. Without any expression, he said to Shu Jian, “You caused this mess, you fix it.”

Without waiting for a response, he walked straight out the door.

Everyone left in the room looked at each other in confusion, with Shu Jian being the most bewildered.

Someone spoke up, “What’s going on…?”

Pei Hu finally couldn’t stand watching anymore. He walked over to hand Su Mi a tissue to “wipe his face,” then pulled aside Shu Jian, who hadn’t figured out the situation all evening.

Su Mi calmly accepted the tissue and pressed it around his eyes, his hands trembling slightly.

Actually, he didn’t cry.

Su Mi had always been someone who valued his image and composure. Crying in front of so many people wasn’t something he would do, even though he really wanted to.

But that tiny burst of alcohol-induced courage had already been spent the moment he asked “Okay?”

Xie Ji’s rejection, which left no room for imagination, was like a bucket of ice water poured over his head, freezing even his tears so they couldn’t fall.

Let it be like this, Su Mi thought. There was probably no need to test the waters anymore.

Then he stood up, said “Sorry,” and quickly left the private room.

With all the main parties gone, the spectators naturally didn’t need to hold back anymore. Chen Rongxin rushed over in a few steps, unleashing all the frustration he’d been holding back all evening at Shu Jian.

“Are you fucking brainless?!” Chen Rongxin cursed angrily, “It’s fine if you brought him here, but did you have to pull this kind of stunt? It’s my birthday today!”

Chen Rongxin was genuinely angry. Everyone hadn’t gathered for a long time, and the mood had been so good today. He was really happy about it.

Now look what happened. Both Xia Shiruan and Su Mi left upset, and then there was Xie Ji… Chen Rongxin recalled the scene while considering the gossip Pei Hu had just told him, and the more he thought about it, the more it seemed like a disaster.

He didn’t dare imagine what would have happened if Su Mi had actually gone ahead with the kiss, regardless of consequences.

…But thinking about his friend’s reaction just now, Chen Rongxin figured that wouldn’t have been possible anyway.

“What kind of stunt?” Shu Jian was even more confused after being scolded, and defended himself, “It was just a game, right? We used to kiss all the time playing this game before. I didn’t complain when you kissed me, did I?!”

Chen Rongxin was speechless. “How can you compare Su Mi and Xie-ge to you and me? Their relationship… Besides, you know Xie-ge doesn’t feel that way about him.”

“Fine, fine, I was wrong… but wait, I still don’t get it. So what if he rejected him before? Xie Ji doesn’t have a girlfriend now, and Su Mi is single too. Are people not allowed to have chances?” Shu Jian frowned. “You don’t know, but Su Mi knew it was your birthday and specially spent a whole day picking out a gift. If nothing else, that shows his sincerity, right? I understand his feelings, so since I brought him here, shouldn’t I help a bit?”

“…It’s not about helping or not helping. The main thing is,” Chen Rongxin didn’t know how to explain it to him. After struggling for a while, he blurted out, “The main thing is Xie-ge won’t be single much longer!”

This statement was even more explosive than what just happened, and the room fell silent after he said it.

After a long while, an Alpha asked, “Who did you say is getting together with someone? Xie-ge?”

“No way,” another person chimed in, face full of disbelief. “Xiao Xin, who told you that?”

Chen Rongxin’s friends all knew Xie Ji to some extent, or at least had some understanding of him.

It was precisely because they knew him that they thought it unlikely.

Chen Rongxin said, “It’s true, I’m not lying to you.”

“…”

If things were like this, then everything that just happened made perfect sense.

But this raised another question.

Shu Jian sat there with his mouth open, his mind repeatedly bouncing between “Who the hell is Xie-ge getting together with, I’m so damn curious” and “Oh shit, this can’t reach that person’s ears, now I understand why Xie Ji looked like he wanted to kill someone just now.”

A few seconds later.

“Why didn’t you say so earlier?” Shu Jian had guessed a little, but clinging to his last hope, he still asked, “So, um, who is it… that person shouldn’t be here today, right?”

Pei Hu, who had been quietly watching from the side, sighed and delivered the final blow. “He was here today too, he just left.”

Shu Jian: “…”

When Xia Shiruan left the private room, he wasn’t very angry, just a bit hurt.

The level of hurt might seem insignificant to ordinary people, but for Xia Shiruan, it was enough that he needed to make an effort to process it.

Xia Shiruan thought back to the start of the semester, at the lab gathering, when he got drunk and Xie Ji carried him back.

Maybe Xie Ji only appeared childish on the surface, and his temper wasn’t the best, but he was actually a very gentle and gentlemanly person.

After all, he could send Su Mi home, and he could send Xia Shiruan home too.

Xie Ji’s gentleness wasn’t reserved for just one person, so naturally more than one person would like him.

This was such a normal thing, as normal as the most basic photon reaction formula. It was perfectly logical, and Xia Shiruan should accept its existence.

He kept working on his emotions with countless similar analogies, his face expressionless. Five minutes later, Xia Shiruan caught a familiar scent.

Since he didn’t want to see his face right now, Xia Shiruan almost instinctively quickened his pace, walking forward with his head down. The person behind him also started walking faster, as if they were playing a game of chase.

But the pursuer quickly lost patience. In a few steps, he caught up and grabbed Xia Shiruan’s arm, asking, “What are you doing?”

Xia Shiruan tried to shake off his arm, but Xie Ji wouldn’t let go. His hand gripped like iron, pulling Xia Shiruan towards him. Seeing him still trying to struggle, Xie Ji simply picked him up.

Xie Ji was very strong, and Xia Shiruan was no match for him.

He was practically carried into an empty private room next door, then tossed onto the sofa.

The sofa was soft, so Xia Shiruan wasn’t hurt, but he was still startled. He hurriedly sat up, only to see Xie Ji’s face, his features sharp in the dim light.

“Why are you running away when you see me?” Xie Ji glared down at him. “Am I going to eat you?”

“I wasn’t running,” Xia Shiruan said. “I was going to the bathroom.”

Xie Ji mercilessly exposed his lie, “The Omega bathroom is this way? Xia Shiruan, since when did you learn to lie?”

For privacy and convenience, the Omega bathrooms in this bar were far from the Alpha and Beta ones. Xia Shiruan was obviously not walking in that direction.

Xia Shiruan blinked, quickly searching his mind for a way to cover up the lie.

But then he realized he hadn’t done anything wrong. Shouldn’t he be free to go wherever he wanted? Why did Xie Ji come running after him to interrogate him? So he quickly countered, “Then why did you come here? This isn’t the way to the Alpha bathroom either. Besides, weren’t you… playing a game?”

The last line was added pointlessly, but he couldn’t control it. It just slipped out.

Xie Ji’s movements paused, his eyes flickering.

Xia Shiruan lowered his eyes in frustration.

“Yes, I was playing a game. Why did you leave?” Xie Ji stared at him and asked.

Xia Shiruan stayed silent.

“Say something.” Xie Ji had no intention of letting him off, asking, “What did you mean by leaving?”

Xia Shiruan didn’t answer, so Xie Ji asked several more times. By the third time, Xia Shiruan could hear obvious amusement in his voice.

What little gloom remained in Xia Shiruan was transformed into mortified anger by that laughter.

Xia Shiruan glared up at him. “What are you laughing at?”

He thought his look would be intimidating, but his eyes and nose were red. In the dim light, his eyes gleamed with moisture, half-hidden by thick black lashes, looking as if he might cry from being bullied.

Xie Ji looked down at him, still smirking, feeling an indescribable pleasure in his heart.

After laughing silently for a while, seeing that Xia Shiruan was really getting upset, he finally cleared his throat, stopped laughing, and said seriously, “I didn’t let him kiss me.”

Xia Shiruan froze for a few seconds, then said, “That has nothing to do with me.”

“Well, I’m telling you now, so it does have something to do with you.” Xie Ji smiled again, suddenly leaning forward to look at his face up close. “Xia Shiruan, you haven’t been crying, have you?”

“…No.” Xia Shiruan said.

“But your eyes are a bit red.”

“They’re not.”

They actually did feel a bit hot, probably from being angry at him earlier, but Xia Shiruan didn’t want to touch them in front of Xie Ji.

“Oh,” Xie Ji raised his eyebrows as he looked at him, his eyes gleaming with mischief as he drawled, “Then do you know your face is also very red?”

Xia Shiruan opened his mouth, about to say “no” for the third time, but before the first syllable could escape, Xie Ji suddenly bent down and caught his lips precisely, pushing all his words back down his throat.

Xia Shiruan’s eyes widened in surprise.

Xie Ji’s movements were a bit forceful, yet didn’t seem particularly clumsy, as if he had planned this for a long time. However, Xia Shiruan had no other experience to compare it to.

He only knew that as Xie Ji pressed hard against his lips, their breaths mingling, he said something in a very certain tone.

“Xia Shiruan, you’re jealous.”