DPT chapter 23

The few Alphas rarely cooked, bustling in the kitchen, washing vegetables, cutting, and plating, making clattering sounds.

Zhou Jing joked, “Can you guys handle it?”

There was no reason for Alphas to say they couldn’t. Xiang Yiqun answered loudly, “We can, absolutely! Piece of cake!”

The other three dismantled his boast. Xu Hui said, “The potatoes I sliced are like works of art. Xiang Yiqun, are you planning for us to scoop and eat the potatoes?”

Tai Xingyu added, “Xiang Yiqun, you splashed water all over me while washing the vegetables!”

Sheng Li remarked, “Xiang Yiqun, why are you using such a big plate to hold garlic?”

Xiang Yiqun grumbled, “Damn it. My omega’s here, can’t you guys give me some face?”

Zhou Jing said, “Come on, I know you inside out.”

While the Alphas were busy in the kitchen, Zhou Jing kindly reintroduced everyone to Bai Fan, mentioning their experiences from their student days, taking care to consider Zuo Chi’s feelings and guide the conversation to topics related to him.

Due to the earlier incident, Zuo Chi wasn’t in high spirits, but he appreciated the kindness and cooperated by joining the conversation.

They didn’t start eating hotpot until one in the afternoon. After the spicy broth bubbled up, they poured various meat and vegetables into the pot and started eating with their chopsticks.

Xu Hui brought two bottles of red wine. He opened them and poured, and everyone raised their glasses to celebrate “Happy New Year”. Then they chatted casually, discussing when Xu Hui and Bai Fan’s drama “Wind and Cloud Platform” would air, talking about Xiang Yiqun’s New Year’s Eve test at Zhou Jing’s house, chatting about how much money Tai Xingyu made from investments…

Xiang Yiqun was itching to talk about Sheng Li and Zuo Chi’s engagement, but he was afraid of stepping on a landmine. With a quick glance around, he suggested playing a finger-breaking game.

The rules were simple: each person had ten fingers. If someone said they had done something that “you” hadn’t done, “you” had to break a finger. The first one to run out of fingers would lose and be responsible for washing all the dishes and bowls.

No one objected, and the game began. Xiang Yiqun was the first to speak: “I’ve dyed my hair blue.”

Everyone broke a finger.

Zhou Jing was surprised. “You dyed your hair blue? How come I didn’t know?”

Tai Xingyu teased, “It was when you broke up with him in your first or second year of college. He said he wanted to dye his hair to say goodbye to that relationship. Oh, you don’t know, we went to the bar to get drunk and he cried miserably. We knew he was done for.”

Xiang Yiqun felt a bit embarrassed. “Alright, enough.”

Zhou Jing became interested. “Do you have any pictures?”

Tai Xingyu said, “Yes, let me find them and send them to you.”

Next was Zhou Jing. He said, “I’ve only been in one relationship, and it’s with my current partner.”

Everyone broke a finger, especially Xiang Yiqun, who felt particularly guilty. “Doesn’t the kind of make-believe relationships we had in middle school count as a relationship?”

Zhou Jing rolled his eyes. “Of course not.”

Then it was Tai Xingyu’s turn. He smirked maliciously, glancing between Bai Fan and Xu Hui, and Zuo Chi and Sheng Li, “I’m single right now.”

Xiang Yiqun and Zhou Jing willingly broke their fingers. To Zuo Chi’s surprise, neither Bai Fan nor Xu Hui moved.

Sheng Li didn’t move either.

Apparently, being engaged didn’t preclude one from being single. Zuo Chi’s heart ached slightly, but he resolutely broke a finger.

One side of the engagement considered themselves single while the other didn’t? The situation was somewhat awkward, but Sheng Li acted as if he hadn’t noticed anything amiss. “Who were you in a relationship with?” he asked.

Zuo Chi wouldn’t be so delusional as to think he was in a relationship with Sheng Li, but he felt a lump in his throat and decided to brazen it out. “You.”

“Hah,” Sheng Li sneered. “I didn’t know that.”

Even though Zuo Chi had expected Sheng Li’s response, being rejected in front of friends still stung. He shrugged, pretending not to care.

Next was his turn. Zuo Chi placed his hands on the table, gripping tightly. “I’ve been in love with someone of the same gender.”

Sheng Li had just taken a sip of wine and exploded, “Are you proud of yourself?”

One round he said he was with him, the next he hinted that he actually liked Omegas. What was Zuo Chi trying to imply?

He must be proud. Whether Alpha or Omega, if he wanted, he could have them.

Zuo Chi deliberately provoked Sheng Li’s anger, but he felt Sheng Li didn’t need to be angry. After all, their engagement meant nothing. Whether he liked Omega or Alpha had nothing to do with Sheng Li.

He kept his composure. “It’s just a game. I’m just stating the facts. Don’t read too much into it.”

Sheng Li gritted his teeth. “Do all the Omegas you’ve dated know you’re now clinging to an Alpha for marriage?”

Zuo Chi suppressed the pain in his heart, smirked, and said, “I don’t mind if they know. I’ll send them our wedding invitations.”

Sheng Li was so angry his face turned red. He couldn’t wait to start the next round, with a clear target: “I’ve slept with an Omega.”

None of the Alphas present moved. Bai Fan and Zhou Jing broke a finger. Sheng Li stared at Zuo Chi’s every move like a beast chasing its prey.

He only knew that Zuo Chi had dated an Omega; he didn’t know what they had specifically done.

Zuo Chi hesitated for a moment and then broke a finger. “When I was dating my senior, I wasn’t of legal age.”

When Zuo Chi broke his third finger, Sheng Li inexplicably felt relieved. But Zuo Chi’s next words reignited his anger.

Not having slept together wasn’t because he didn’t want to, but because he wasn’t of legal age yet.

Who did Zuo Chi want to sleep with? Cheng Xiangwan? Or other Omegas he had dated before?

Sheng Li spoke without filter, “Since you are of legal age now, are you going to sleep with him? You’re also an Omega, can you satisfy him?”

Zuo Chi’s lips trembled, unable to speak.

Tai Xingyu frowned, nudged Sheng Li’s shoulder, and whispered, “Enough, you’re going too far.”

Sheng Li pushed the bowl forward, got up, and went to the balcony to smoke. “What a crappy game, I’m done playing.”

The air suddenly became quiet. Xiang Yiqun slapped himself in the face. “It’s my stupid idea.”

Zuo Chi hung his head, staring at the cold beef in his bowl. His current mood was exactly the same as when Sheng Li said he didn’t seem like an Omega back at the end of the year.

He felt embarrassed, humiliated, but unwilling to let go.

He deserved it.

Half an hour later, everyone left the table. The game didn’t end, so there was no loser.

Sheng Li smoked two cigarettes. Without paying attention, he shook the ash into the flowerpot, burning a hole in the rose petals. He suppressed his annoyance and displeasure, went to the kitchen, and took on the task of washing the dishes, feeling disappointed. After all, it was rare for everyone to get together, but he had ruined the mood.

The others sat on the sofa watching a comedy show. Xiang Yiqun had a low sense of humor, laughing incessantly as he leaned on Zhou Jing’s shoulder. Bai Fan went to the balcony to make a phone call, and Xu Hui followed. Tai Xingyu asked Zuo Chi if he wanted to play a game and took out the game console he had just bought.

Zuo Chi fiddled with the game console, playing absent-mindedly for two rounds and losing miserably.

Sheng Li, wearing an apron, came out of the kitchen, glanced at Zuo Chi, then turned to ask Tai Xingyu where to put the washed dishes.

“You washed them so quickly?” Tai Xingyu doubted, “Are they clean?”

“Whether it’s clean or not, ask the dishwasher,” Sheng Li said.

There was still plenty of time in the afternoon, so they continued to play Murder Mystery. Tai Xingyu deliberately sat between Sheng Li and Zuo Chi, separating the two to prevent any further conflicts.

After three rounds, Xiang Yiqun complained that Murder Mystery required too much brainpower and demanded something simpler. So, the scene shifted to four people playing Ludo and three playing Monopoly.

Zuo Chi said he wanted to play Ludo, and Sheng Li immediately joined the Monopoly team.

In the evening, nobody wanted to deal with the leftover hotpot from lunch, so they ordered takeout instead—sushi, barbecue, seafood hotpot… They laid out a whole table, eating and drinking while boasting. In the latter part of the evening, they started playing dice, and in such an atmosphere, most of them got tipsy.

Xiang Yiqun had a low alcohol tolerance. After drinking too much, he clung to Zhou Jing, asking for hugs and calling him “baby.” Zhou Jing, feeling helpless, asked Tai Xingyu to help him escort Xiang Yiqun to the second-floor room to sleep.

“He’s a lightweight,” Sheng Li commented on Xiang Yiqun, but within minutes, he himself ran to the bathroom to vomit.

Zuo Chi also began to feel intoxicated. The alcohol blurred his consciousness, and he got up to leave, saying he wanted to go home.

Tai Xingyu persuaded him, “Don’t go back. It’s hard to find a cab at this time.”

Zuo Chi stumbled, opening a door, thinking it was the main entrance, only to find it was a utility room.

“You went the wrong way,” Tai Xingyu sighed, helping him, “Go to the guest room and rest.”

When Sheng Li came out of the bathroom, he saw Zuo Chi and Tai Xingyu standing close together. Hurriedly, he walked over, “What are you two doing?”

“Zuo Chi’s drunk, I’m getting him to the guest room to rest,” Tai Xingyu raised an eyebrow, “What else would it be?”

“Drunk…” Sheng Li said, “His tolerance isn’t that bad, he must be faking it.”

Zuo Chi squinted, seeing double. He couldn’t make out Sheng Li’s expression, but that didn’t stop him from speaking his mind, “Idiot.”

Sheng Li was furious, “What did you say?”

Zuo Chi pushed Tai Xingyu away. There was something urgent within him that needed release. His index finger jabbed into Sheng Li’s chest. “I said you’re an idiot.”

When someone’s drunk, they often speak without reason. There’s a fifty-fifty chance they’ll speak nonsense, with no coherence between words and actions, and a fifty-fifty chance they’ll speak the truth, saying what they normally wouldn’t.

Tai Xingyu rubbed his temples, “Don’t argue with a drunkard…”

Sheng Li felt Zuo Chi belonged to the latter category. He gripped Zuo Chi’s finger. Perhaps because of the alcohol, a fire burned in his heart, “Yes, I’m an idiot, and you’re smart. I can’t do without the Sheng family, what about you? You, Zuo Chi, with all your intelligence, don’t you still rely on the Zuo family?”

Zuo Chi furrowed his brow, cheeks flushed, “What do I rely on the Zuo family for?”

“If you didn’t need to rely on the Zuo family, would you have agreed to our engagement? If you didn’t agree to our engagement, we wouldn’t be like this now… Wouldn’t it be better if we remained best friends like before? Isn’t that better?” Sheng Li’s facial muscles twisted, how much he hated the situation he and Zuo Chi had reached was directly proportional to how much he hated Zuo Chi’s decision, “If you were smart, you would have cut your losses in time and canceled our engagement.”

As if digesting Sheng Li’s words, after a while, Zuo Chi smiled, “So you’re really an idiot.”

“Do you think I agreed to our engagement because I needed to rely on the Zuo family?”

“No?” Sheng Li asked.

“I just… wanted to be with you, that’s all,” Zuo Chi’s eyes welled up with a tear. “Is it that hard to understand?”