Chapter 4
Lu Yao arrived at the hotel for the evening banquet right on time at 8 p.m.
Although it was called a banquet, it was more of a business networking event. People gathered to build connections, pull strings, and look for potential win-win opportunities in the future.
Fortunately, his presence this time was merely ceremonial.
The banquet was held in the hotel’s 15th-floor ballroom. The thought of the mingling and socializing inside made Lu Yao feel a bit of a headache. He closed his eyes and rested in the car for a while, and when it was time, he got out with his assistant and headed upstairs.
Each time the doors of the ballroom opened, the guests, who had honed their skills in observing and discerning people, would cast their scrutinizing gazes. As soon as Lu Yao entered, he immediately attracted a lot of attention.
Next came the endless rounds of greetings and conversations.
Lu Yao gave each guest who approached him seemingly casually his full patience, but his patience was, after all, limited.
After finishing a conversation with an elder who asked about his grandfather, Lu Yao took advantage of the moment before the next “acquaintance” arrived to subtly retreat to an unoccupied lounge area.
He sat down on a sofa in the corner, and the time on his phone showed 8:40 p.m. Lu Yao calculated and decided he could leave around 9:30 p.m., or maybe ten minutes earlier.
Just as he was about to put down his phone, a message from Mrs. Lu popped up on the screen:
[A Yao, are you busy?]
Lu Yao replied: [Not busy. What’s up?]
[Just letting you know, remember I mentioned introducing a boy to you? Today that boy’s mother contacted me and said he’s been busy working out of town recently. The meeting might need to be postponed.]
Lu Yao wasn’t surprised; in fact, these were already in his expectations when he learned the boy was only 24.
At that age, one’s emotional maturity was uncertain, and generally, both boys and girls were quite resistant to blind dates.
This “postponement” probably won’t have further developments.
Lu Yao, clear-headed and indifferent, didn’t have a strong desire for a blind date and didn’t want to disappoint his elders: [Okay, I understand.]
A waiter approached with a drink, politely addressing Lu Yao as “Sir,” and placed a brightly colored cocktail in front of him before turning and walking away.
The lounge area was in the least noticeable corner of the ballroom, with two large indoor plants providing cover. For the moment, no one had noticed Lu Yao there.
Lu Yao enjoyed a brief moment of peace, chatted with his mother, whom he hadn’t seen for weeks, and finished the cocktail slowly.
As he put down the glass for the last time, a young boy suddenly rushed over. Lu Yao looked up and recognized him.
He wasn’t very familiar, just someone he had met earlier in the afternoon during a meal with General Feng.
General Feng hadn’t introduced the boy’s name but had subtly hinted at his identity—his recent young lover.
Lu Yao turned off his phone and asked, “Is something wrong?”
The boy glanced at him and then at the empty glass on the coffee table, his eyes widening, “Mr. Lu, you, you’ve finished it all?”
Lu Yao didn’t understand. “What?”
The boy looked terrified and almost in tears, struggling to get out a coherent sentence, “That drink was originally for General Feng. I, I meant to use it to liven things up for tonight… He was waiting for me in the lounge, I didn’t know he left, and I didn’t know when you arrived…”
He was so scared he couldn’t speak properly.
Lu Yao closed his eyes and exhaled a breath of uncomfortably hot air.
“I see.”
The boy saw him stand up and trembled: “Mr. Lu, this was an accident. I really didn’t mean it…”
The man walked towards him, and the boy hurriedly raised his hands to shield his face, remembering General Feng had mentioned that Mr. Lu had been in the military before taking over the company. His heart sank, and he babbled apologies incoherently.
However, nothing happened.
The man did not linger before him and walked straight out with large strides.
“Mr. Lu.” The assistant, seeing Lu Yao from a distance, rushed over and followed him out of the ballroom, thinking the event had ended early. “Are we heading back now? I’ll call the driver to bring the car to the entrance right away—”
“No need.” Lu Yao interrupted him.
General Feng likely intended to use the substance to keep the party lively throughout the night. Given the amount and its quick effect, Lu Yao already knew he wouldn’t be going back tonight.
“I’ll stay at the hotel tonight. You all go back.”
The Chaoyu Hotel was one of the group’s properties. For convenience during social events, Lu Yao had a suite reserved on the top floor, and since it was close to the company, it was common for him to stay here after drinking too much. The assistant, understanding his instructions, turned and left.
Lu Yao walked towards the elevator. Along the way, some employees who recognized him greeted him, and he responded with a brief acknowledgment.
From the outside, Lu Yao maintained his usual composure, showing no sign of distress. No one could tell the excruciating reaction occurring within him.
His body temperature was rising rapidly, and an indescribable discomfort sparked like embers, spreading recklessly throughout his body, crashing through his senses, and seeking a breaking point to explode.
He pressed the elevator button, watching the numbers increment from 7. His expression was blank, but his tension leaked through as he tapped his fingers at his side.
The elevator doors soon opened, revealing an empty cabin except for a passenger standing in an inconspicuous corner.
Lu Yao clenched his fist tightly and stepped into the elevator. When he turned around, he saw that the lit button corresponded to his intended floor.
“What floor are you going to?”
As the elevator doors closed, a muffled voice came from the right side of the corner.
Lu Yao smelled a faint odor of alcohol and looked over, his gaze landing on the boy’s exposed nape due to his lowered head.
The slender, graceful neck should have been pale, but the effects of alcohol had given it a natural flush.
Yu Le pressed the buttons for the floors above 15. After waiting for a while without response, he squinted and turned his head. Everything appeared hazy, but he tried to focus and still couldn’t clearly see his face.
However, Lu Yao could clearly see his face.
The boy had a small face, very pale skin, and a red tint on his nose and eyes. His features were so delicately refined under the bright white light in the elevator that they resembled a piece of white porcelain, making him exceptionally pretty.
An unusually pretty little drunk.
“What floor are you going to?”
The drunk boy asked again with patience, stubbornly insisting on helping press the elevator buttons.
“Twenty.” After a while, the man finally spoke.
A very pleasant voice.
And it seemed somewhat familiar.
Lu Yao blinked in surprise and, after a moment, responded with a delayed “Oh,” and pressed the 20th-floor button again.
His eyelashes cast a soft, smoky shadow on his cheeks, creating a misleadingly gentle appearance.
The lit button was pressed out.
Lu Yao vaguely felt something was off but couldn’t pinpoint what happened until a hand reached out from the side and pressed the 20th-floor button again.
“?”
Back and forth, Lu Yao stared at the buttons, his mind growing more muddled.
Fortunately, the elevator soon reached the 20th floor, and the doors opened.
Lu Yao retracted his gaze and exited the elevator first.
The boy, still dazed, followed him out after a moment. The corridor was lined with thick carpet, and their footsteps made no sound as they walked.
From the 15th to the 20th floor, the elevator ride took less than half a minute. Although Lu Yao’s expression remained unchanged, a closer look revealed that his steps had become noticeably slower compared to downstairs.
His room was at the far end of the corridor on the right. It didn’t require a room card; his fingerprint could unlock the door.
After entering, he quickly tried to close the door, but unexpectedly, someone followed him in silently and nearly got caught in the door.
“Why are you following me?”
He said in a deep voice, stopping at the doorway without entering and not pushing the person out. The room was pitch black, illuminated only by the corridor’s light.
The boy couldn’t understand the query and didn’t have an answer. Instead, he threw the question back, “Why can’t I follow you?”
Meanwhile, Lu Yao was sweating lightly, with visible veins on his forehead.
The dosage of the drug had been excessive, and its effects were multiplying every second within his body. Remaining calm and collected at this point was nearly impossible, and he couldn’t hold out much longer.
He was like a clay Buddha crossing a river, with no time to comfort a drunken child, “Go back to your own room.”
The boy remained silent.
Lu Yao pressed his throbbing temple, “Be obedient.”
“I don’t feel well.”
The boy furrowed his brows.
He wasn’t lying; he had been feeling unwell all along. The strange, burning sensation was climbing so high it almost reached his fingernails.
Unfortunately, it seemed the man didn’t want to listen to the drunk’s complaints and grabbed his arm, trying to force him out of the room.
With his sleeve rolled up at his elbow, the boy’s wrist was easily encircled by Lu Yao’s hand. He froze, looked down, and held Lu Yao’s hand.
Yu Le’s motion paused, and his hand moved up, tracing along the arm to the shoulder, collar, and then, noticing something, he hooked around the boy’s neck, leaned in, and boldly pressed his cheek against the boy’s neck.
He hadn’t noticed that the hand gripping his arm suddenly tightened.
Immersed in his new discovery, Yu Le squinted his eyes and murmured, “It feels so good to be close to you.”
The strange burning sensation seemed to find a release, or perhaps it was doused with boiling oil—whether it was the former or the latter, Yu Le couldn’t tell. He just followed his instincts to do what felt good.
The heavy, hot breath in his ear, combined with his drunken state, made him unaware of the danger. When Lu Yao loosened his grip, the boy wrapped his other arm around him, rubbing his neck, and tiptoed to nuzzle his face, mumbling, “Let’s cuddle.”
The darkness perfectly concealed the ambiguous look in Lu Yao’s eyes at that moment.
The surging waves of desire crashed powerfully, swallowing his rationality. He lifted his hand and pressed his palm against the young man’s waist. Tiny, weak currents of electricity flowed back and forth between his palm and the thin layer of fabric.
He squeezed his eyes shut, and in the next moment, suddenly grasped the thin waist beneath him, unceremoniously pushing the person away from his embrace.
Caught off guard, Yu Le stumbled back and accidentally braced himself with his elbow.
With a click, the door closed behind him. However, instead of being pushed out, he ended up with his back against the door, his head colliding with someone’s palm, narrowly escaping.
He was a bit dazed but quickly decided he didn’t care.
Having just tasted the sweetness, he easily hooked back onto the person in front of him, even unreasonably pulling him down to be closer, “Why are you pushing me away? I’m not a bad person.”
He closed his eyes, pressing his nose against the man’s chin, “I really don’t feel well, I’m so hot. Please let me hug you.”
With the door shut, the room fell into complete darkness, and every word and action was magnified by senses other than sight.
The two breaths collided and fermented, friction heating up the air, and scorching flames kindled on the surface of their skin.
His rationality, controlled by the drug, was on the brink of collapse.
Yu Le was suddenly bitten hard on the neck, followed immediately by a tightening around his waist.
The difference in strength was too great, and with no way to retreat, he was helplessly trapped in the hot, crowded embrace.
Heavy, hot breaths lingered by his ear: “Are you an adult now?”
The man’s voice was hoarse and suppressed, brushing against every tiny hair in his ear and pounding against his eardrum.
To Yu Le, this voice was irresistibly seductive.
Before Yu Le could recover from his blank state, he felt his earlobe lightly nibbled.
The skin around his neck and ears was unbearably sensitive, sending a tingling sensation from his spine to his tailbone, making his waist go soft.
“Y-Yes.”
He was utterly defeated, exhaling sharply and hunching his shoulders as he leaned on the man’s shoulder, “I graduated a long time ago, mmm—”
Breathing was obstructed, his feet lifted off the ground, and his body was suspended. His back sank into a soft embrace, and he was held up by the broad palm at his waist, pressed tightly against the other person.
“I’m sorry.”
“I’ll take responsibility.”
