Xiao Hai finally realized he had been tricked by Lin Lan. “Oh my God, isn’t there anyone to control Lin Lan? He’s too much!”
Lu Shi couldn’t stop laughing. “I knew he was making things up from the beginning, and you actually listened to his entire nonsense. It’s hilarious.”
“Hahaha…”
Just when everyone was having a lively time, the team leader brought another piece of good news, “Let’s pause the training. Brother Mu said we haven’t celebrated our promotion yet. Since we also have a new training base now, let’s celebrate together today. We can eat whatever we want and play however we want. Brother Mu is treating!”
“Yay!”
“That’s awesome!”
“Seafood buffet! Seafood buffet!”
“I want steak!”
Lin Lan could only say that being young is great; their voices were almost lifting the roof.
With the location set, everyone headed to the destination one by one. Since there was an extra person, they unanimously decided to let Lu Shi ride his electric bike by himself.
Lu Shi sat on the electric bike, sighing, “Did you guys just abandon me? Seriously, did you just leave me behind?”
He still wanted to negotiate, “Could someone accompany me? Lin Lan, we’re good buddies, right? Come down and ride the electric bike with me.”
Lin Lan, upon hearing this, ran even faster. Sitting down, he waved at him, “Take it slow, don’t crash into a pole.”
“Hey! Hey! You guys are so heartless. Can’t the driver slow down and wait for me? Ahhh!”
Arriving at the destination, they found a high-end seafood buffet restaurant with visibly fresh ingredients.
Lin Lan rolled up his sleeves, ready to treat himself. He loaded up a large plate, but every time he cooked something, Xiao Shengjing would snatch a piece away. Cook one piece, snatch one piece.
The seafood pot they were using was for two people. Others dared not sit at the same table as Xiao Shengjing, but Lin Lan willingly sat next to him. Little did he know that Xiao Shengjing would take his food instead of selecting his own.
“Captain, this is a bit unfair. If you take everything, what am I going to eat?”
Xiao Shengjing glanced at him, then mixed all the seafood in his bowl and placed it in front of Lin Lan. “Since you don’t know how to cook seafood, I’ve prepared it for you. They’re all overcooked now, and you still haven’t taken any.”
He calmly rolled up his sleeves and, based on the type of ingredients, precisely controlled the cooking time. The seafood he cooked was both fresh and tender, complemented by various sauces, giving each type of seafood its own unique flavor.
Lin Lan, who had always been cooking randomly, had to give Xiao Shengjing some credit. “Captain, your cooking is delicious.”
“Want something else?”
“I want to eat crab and prawns.”
Xiao Shengjing stood up. Every time he did something, he displayed calmness and composure, with a sense of propriety. He brought back pre-cooked crabs and meticulously peeled them with small tools. The crab meat and roe were neatly arranged, without a trace of disorder. The discarded shells even formed a complete crab. After watching, Lin Lan could only say, “Elegant, too elegant.”
After finishing the peeling, Xiao Shengjing placed the crab in front of Lin Lan. “Try mixing the roe with the noodles.”
Lin Lan followed suit, lifting the cooked noodles and mixing them with crab roe and meat. The sensation on his taste buds was incredibly refreshing.
What was even more astonishing was that Xiao Shengjing meticulously peeled the cooked prawns one by one for him, soaking them in the newly prepared sauce. Each bite was a pure delight.
Lin Lan couldn’t stop eating and could only keep praising, “Amazing, Captain, you’re incredible…”
Teammates who were unwilling to sit at the same table as Xiao Shengjing looked on with envy. “Captain, can we join your table?”
Xiao Shengjing calmly replied, “There’s no space.”
“We won’t sit; we’ll come over to accompany you for some drinks…”
After speaking, a lively group of people came over, employing various methods to encourage drinking. Lin Lan unconsciously drank a bottle of fruit wine. Initially, he felt fine, but after a while, he couldn’t walk in a straight line.
When he checked the alcohol content of the fruit wine, he was surprised to find it was nearly 20%. Lin Lan, who was not good at handling alcohol, suddenly felt that something was not right. “You all go ahead and drink. I need to, need to use the restroom…”
After using the restroom, he felt his body getting hotter and hotter. He stood outside the door to get some fresh air. Afterward, the heat subsided, but he felt even more dizzy.
In a daze, he heard someone calling him from above. Looking up, he saw Xiao Shengjing on the second floor, leaning against the window to catch his breath. When Lin Lan lowered his head, he happened to see him.
Lin Lan smiled at him, feeling a bit dizzy, “Captain, come down.”
Xiao Shengjing slightly turned his face and asked, “Why come down? Are you having a drunken outburst?”
“Just come down.”
Xiao Shengjing glanced behind him and decided to come down.
As soon as he reached the ground floor, he saw Lin Lan standing on the road, grinning foolishly. A passing bicycle almost collided with him.
Xiao Shengjing pulled him back. “Why should I come down?”
Lin Lan was still staring at him, grinning foolishly, his porcelain-white skin flushed like the shrimp just cooked in the pot, and his eyes couldn’t even open. Unable to stand steadily, he leaned towards Xiao Shengjing, pressing him against the wall. His words were sticky and slurred, “Come down, collect the heads…”
Although Lin Lan’s body was light and could be easily lifted, for some reason, Xiao Shengjing couldn’t summon the strength to do so.
He let the other’s scorching breath hit his neck, his heart pounding.
Reason told him to grab Lin Lan’s shoulders and push him away. However, seeing Lin Lan’s unconscious state, he softened inside. He held Lin Lan in his arms and sent a message to the group: Lin Lan got drunk. I’ll take him back first. You guys continue enjoying yourselves.
After sending the message, he picked up Lin Lan and, as he had imagined, he was indeed very light.
Xiao Shengjing carefully held him by the roadside and hailed a taxi with one hand. Lin Lan’s unconscious hand rested on Xiao Shengjing’s shoulder, gripping his neck tightly, resembling a drowning person clutching at a lifeline, the more desperate, the tighter the grip.
Xiao Shengjing was almost out of breath, warning him, “Lin Lan, loosen your grip; I’m getting angry.”
But Lin Lan just wouldn’t loosen his grip. He clung tighter, burying his face in Xiao Shengjing’s neck, bursting into a sobbing fit. Something, whether saliva or tears, smeared onto Xiao Shengjing’s collar.
Xiao Shengjing wanted to throw him out of the car. On one hand, he disdainfully peeled Lin Lan off; on the other hand, he couldn’t help but scoop him back into his arms when he saw Lin Lan crying with closed eyes, gasping for breath.
“Why are you crying?” Xiao Shengjing’s lips were almost against his ear as he spoke, gently stroking his hair to comfort him. “As long as I’m here, no one dares to bully you.”
Lin Lan didn’t know, and he didn’t know why he was crying. Under the influence of alcohol, he suddenly felt upset and couldn’t control the tears.
After crying, he didn’t even know that he had cried. With droplets hanging on his eyelashes, he lay on Xiao Shengjing’s chest and fell into a deep sleep with soft snores.
Xiao Shengjing quietly accompanied him all the way, placing his head on his lap and gently rubbing his hair.
It was strange—clearly, he didn’t like physical contact with people, but when it came to Lin Lan, he couldn’t help but want to be close.
Even the slight warmth and faint fragrance of sweat in Lin Lan’s hair gave him a peculiar sensation—subtle, fragrant, and soft…
Perhaps when something gets dirty to the extreme, it ceases to feel dirty. Xiao Shengjing even took the initiative to use his sleeve to wipe away the tears hanging on Lin Lan’s eyelashes.
Arriving at the base, Xiao Shengjing settled the bill, bent down, and lifted him from the back seat. This posture was unfriendly to his tall figure, and he accidentally knocked the back of his head hard when he looked up.
The person in his arms was oblivious to everything, sleeping soundly. His face was as red as a monkey’s buttocks, rubbing and snuggling against Xiao Shengjing’s body, even smacking his lips.
Xiao Shengjing tightly held him in his arms. At first, he could carry him, but when waiting for the elevator, he couldn’t hold on anymore. It turned into a half-carry, half-lift, and by the time they reached upstairs, it had become a full shoulder carry.
Lin Lan’s keys were in his pocket, so Xiao Shengjing had to reach in. After checking the left side and finding nothing, he moved to the right.
The person in his arms suddenly woke up for a moment and asked, “Captain, why are you touching me?”
“I’m looking for the keys.”
“After touching the left side, you touch the right side.”
“I already said, I’m looking for the keys. I’m not a pervert. How many times do I have to tell you?”
Xiao Shengjing found the keys, opened the door with one hand, and finally managed to carry Lin Lan to the bed. He looked light, but carrying him this far was a bit challenging.
He helped Lin Lan sit up and gave him some water to drink. After finishing, Lin Lan mumbled, “Captain, I need to use the bathroom.”
“Go by yourself.”
Lin Lan attempted but ended up lying flat. “I can’t get up. Can you help me?”
Xiao Shengjing had no choice but to assist him, helping him to the bathroom.
The entire process was truly indescribable.
When it came to removing his pants, it took ages. After relieving himself, it took another while to finish, and then the struggle to put on pants began, all while Xiao Shengjing had to assist with flushing the toilet.
Xiao Shengjing’s expression throughout the ordeal was one of contemplating death. If he had known Lin Lan’s alcohol tolerance was this poor, he wouldn’t have let him drink so much.
“Captain, I’m done peeing.”
Xiao Shengjing helped him back to bed, and in his semi-conscious state, Lin Lan mumbled again, “Captain, I want to take a bath.”
Xiao Shengjing, who had always been well-mannered, couldn’t help but curse, “What the hell are you thinking, taking a bath now?”
After scolding, he felt a bit sorry for the pitiful sight of Lin Lan huddled under the blanket. Resigned, he got up to help him undress. As he undressed him, he had to explain to the drunken mess, “Let’s be clear, I’m not a pervert. Given your condition, you can’t take a bath. I can only help you by taking off your clothes and wiping you down a bit.”
Lin Lan remained silent. After Xiao Shengjing finished undressing him, he suddenly asked, “Captain, why are you taking off my clothes?”
“I’m helping you wipe off the sweat.”
“Then why did you take off my pants…”
“I didn’t take off your pants.”
He removed Lin Lan’s clothes, wet a cloth with warm water, and began wiping his upper body. Inadvertently, he noticed various small and large wounds on his body.
Xiao Shengjing, originally emotionally detached, had lived alone since he became an adult and rarely cared about others. However, at this moment, he found himself somewhat moved.
On the bed, Lin Lan seemed to have emerged from the shadows. He lay on the pillow, peacefully asleep, with a serene flush on his face.
He really was different from that time, as if he had transformed inside out. Xiao Shengjing couldn’t help but cover his flushed face, gently pinching it. However, the person under the blanket didn’t like being pinched. He frowned, scratched Xiao Shengjing’s hand like a ferocious feline, and turned to sleep in another direction.
Xiao Shengjing smiled helplessly. He picked up the cloth and continued wiping Lin Lan’s body. The person lying on the bed asked him again, “Captain, why do you always touch me?”
“…”
Wasn’t this over yet?
Author’s note:
To explain, the captain’s concern for Lin Lan is entirely based on his affection for him. It has nothing to do with the original owner. Don’t misunderstand, the captain is just a pure and silly dog who has been completely smitten. Don’t jump to any wrong conclusions~
