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The man wore a simple yet sharp white shirt and suit pants. His short hair was slicked back, but a few rebellious strands escaped, disrupting his immaculate hairstyle.
His pale lips touched the alcohol, leaving a glossy sheen, and his deep-set eyes stared unblinkingly at the young man with a mix of accusation and grievance.
Where did the protagonist gong come from?
Xia Yan was internally shocked, but his acting remained flawless as always.
Under the dazzling lights, the young man propped his chin on one hand, his gaze indifferent and his expression playful, as if he had just discovered an amusing toy.
“You want me?”
Zhao Wenxiu was drunk, his mind working sluggishly, like a stuck tape. After a long pause, he slowly repeated, “I drank it. Come with me.”
Everyone was watching them.
This entire area, centered around the young man, was eerily quiet. Only the singer on stage remained immersed in their performance, singing a passionate love song.
The young man’s eyes swept across the room.
Not far away, two paparazzi who had been eagerly taking pictures seemed to notice his gaze. They quickly retracted their phones, pretending to be innocent bystanders.
Seeing the scene he wanted, the young man breathed a sigh of relief.
The paparazzi were already on the scene, and he couldn’t afford to miss the next part of the show.
Xia Yan pulled out his credit card and pushed it toward the bartender. “I was hoping someone would buy me a drink, but seeing how drunk he is, I doubt he’ll be able to settle the bill.”
“Your total is 169 yuan. Please sign.”
With a flourish, Xia Yan quickly scribbled his signature.
Seeing everything fall into place, the curly-haired young man finally came to his senses and lunged forward, only for the young man to dodge him. Left with no other choice, he slumped against the bar, looking up pitifully at the young man from below.
“Big brother!!! I’ll buy you a drink.”
The young man’s features were delicate, his droopy puppy eyes making him look adorably pitiful as he begged.
However, Xia Yan was naturally immune to good looks. “I’ve already found someone else.”
“That was my drink!!!” The boy was furious, his eyes turning red with anger, and a thin mist of tears began to pool in them. “Big brother, give me another chance, okay? Drunk people don’t know their limits, but my skills…”
He extended his flushed tongue, gently brushing it across his lips with a suggestive smile. “…are especially good. Satisfaction guaranteed.”
Having seen a few films, he was a theoretical giant in this area.
The boy was full of confidence.
Xia Yan: “…” There’s no need for this.
He had only promised to leave the bar with whoever had drunk with him, but that didn’t mean he agreed to do anything else after leaving. The reason he made them drink was to get them drunk and dump them at a hotel.
There was already one drunkard—no need for another.
As the boy looked at him expectantly, Xia Yan suddenly smiled. He gently rubbed a small curl of the boy’s hair between his fingers, bent down, and said with a teasing smile, “You make it sound very tempting.”
“Big brother!”
“But… I’m a man of my word.”
“…Big brother.” The light in the boy’s eyes slowly dimmed, but he stubbornly tugged on Xia Yan’s jacket. “Don’t do this! I want to go with you.”
“Can’t let go of this jacket?”
“You know I can’t let go of you.”
Xia Yan chuckled, seemingly amused by the boy. He tugged the last bit of the zipper down, slipped his arms out of the sleeves, and effortlessly took off the jacket. “Here, it’s yours.”
“?”
“Didn’t you say you wanted to wear matching outfits with me?”
The boy hugged the jacket, his cheeks flushing with a hint of red.
Underneath, Xia Yan wore a black T-shirt with a cool white design printed on the chest. His exposed arms were pale and luminous, with a faint pink tint at the elbows.
He casually waved goodbye and took a few steps forward, stopping in front of Zhao Wenxiu. The thick smell of alcohol hung in the air.
How much had he drunk?
Xia Yan wrinkled his nose slightly. “Can you walk on your own?”
Zhao Wenxiu dazed like an old-fashioned tape recorder, responded only after being prompted: “Come with me.”
“…”
“…”
“Walk, then.”
Zhao Wenxiu slowly responded with an “Oh” and finally lifted his leg, heading out of the bar. Xia Yan followed closely behind. Along the way, a sleazy man tried to take advantage of him, but Zhao Wenxiu grabbed his hand and forcefully twisted it.
At that moment, Zhao Wenxiu wasn’t dazed anymore. His eyes turned icy cold. “Keep your hands to yourself.”
“Ahhh!! My hand!!” The sleazy man cried out in pain, rolling on the ground as the surrounding people instinctively moved away from him.
Serves him right—scum like that deserved to have their hand broken.
Xia Yan rubbed his nose and cautiously asked, “You’re sober now?”
“Huh?” Zhao Wenxiu blinked and, after a long pause, replied, “I-I’m not drunk.”
Xia Yan: “…” He was stuttering and still claimed he wasn’t drunk?
Since Zhao Wenxiu was drunk, he couldn’t drive. Xia Yan pulled out the car keys, planning to take him to a hotel to get through the night. But just as they were about to leave, Zhao Wenxiu suddenly veered off course and stopped in front of a stranger. “Drive me home.”
“?”
One of Zhao Wenxiu’s college friends, who had been silently wishing him the best from the crowd, felt a pang of regret. “…” Brother, you were given a chance, but you blew it!
Xia Yan: “And you are?”
“Hi, I’m Wenxiu’s friend.” The man awkwardly scratched his head. “He’s probably drunk. You don’t know where he lives, do you? I can drive you both there.”
Damn it! Just this morning, he had become Xia Yan’s fanboy, and now he was sending him off to sleep with his best friend? This was pure NTR!
It was heartbreaking to witness.
Xia Yan declined, “No need, I’ll drive myself. Just send me the address.”
“Then… can we exchange WeChat?” The man hesitantly pulled out his phone.
Xia Yan had a lot of contacts on WeChat. When he played the role of a flirtatious scumbag, he never refused anyone, so he didn’t mind adding another person.
Just as they were about to exchange WeChat IDs, Zhao Wenxiu, as if sensing something, suddenly snatched his friend’s phone away. “No adding.”
The friend: “…”
“We’re leaving.” Zhao Wenxiu turned to Xia Yan.
Despite being the one who approached his friend for help, Zhao Wenxiu now looked aggrieved, like a man who had just caught his partner cheating but was powerless to do anything about it.
Xia Yan couldn’t wait to drag Zhao Wenxiu to a hotel and have the paparazzi capture some high-resolution ‘cheating’ photos.
Wait… he suddenly remembered something.
Zhao Wenxiu was the protagonist gong, standing at 1.89 meters tall; he himself, as the scumbag character, was only 1.81 meters. If they ended up in a hotel together, would he still be able to maintain his scumbag gong reputation?
No way! He needed a replacement.
Xia Yan quickly made his decision.
“You’re so annoying! Drunk people are such a hassle. I don’t want you anymore. You two go home together.” Xia Yan righteously changed his mind and casually pointed at the curly-haired boy.
“You, come here. I’ve changed my mind.”
The curly-haired boy, who had been plotting to fake a car accident: “!!!”
A blessing from the heavens!!!
He darted over like an eager puppy, his emerald-green eyes brimming with affection as he spoke softly, pleading, “Big brother, I knew you wouldn’t abandon me.”
They had both been sitting earlier, and the curly-haired boy’s penchant for acting cute had made him seem small and adorable.
But now that he was standing close by, Xia Yan realized this guy was a large dog!
He was half a head taller than Xia Yan!!!
Damn it! Where was his scumbag gong dignity?
Xia Yan, feeling dazed, asked the system: [Why am I so short?]
999 quietly responded: [Maybe… just maybe, they’re taller than average.] Being over 1.80 meters wasn’t considered short, whether in the north or the south.
Zhao Wenxiu, as the protagonist gong, was supposed to be taller than the supporting characters.
And the curly-haired boy… well, being a mixed-race character, it wasn’t unusual for him to be taller… This was a huge problem! Now, no matter who he chose, it didn’t feel right.
Xia Yan rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.
His phone buzzed, and he glanced at the screen. It was Wang Dazhuang, probably calling to inform him that the bar incident had already made it online. Feeling apologetic, Xia Yan hung up the call and turned on Do Not Disturb mode.
“Big brother, let’s go.” The curly-haired boy urged.
“Come with me,” Zhao Wenxiu said, still remembering Xia Yan’s words even in his drunken state. He glanced at the curly-haired boy and then at Xia Yan, looking even more aggrieved.
Xia Yan: “…”
What if he didn’t want to choose either of them?
If he had to choose… the curly-haired boy seemed the weaker option. Xia Yan’s gaze slowly shifted as if he had decided.
The boy’s smile grew wider, full of confidence that he had won.
“Wait! It’s already very late.” Sensing the situation turning sour, Zhao Wenxiu’s friend quickly interjected. “Everyone’s tired. How about I drive you all home?”
The curly-haired boy replied, “I’m not tired. You can just take Zhao Wenxiu.”
But the friend ignored him and focused on Xia Yan. “Xia Yan, Wenxiu got drunk because of you. You can’t just leave him alone.”
“?” Xia Yan tilted his head, silently asking, “Why not?”
“Sleeping while drunk can be dangerous. If he vomits in his sleep, it could lead to suffocation. If something happens in the middle of the night…”
The curly-haired boy impatiently said, “Then just watch him.”
“My girlfriend has already called me ten times, asking me to come home.” The friend invented a girlfriend out of thin air. “If I don’t go back soon, I won’t be allowed home ever again.”
Xia Yan hadn’t considered that possibility, and now he hesitated.
The friend fueled the fire: “The three of you can just sleep together, right?”
“…”
“…”
“L-Let’s go home.”
–
Xia Yan couldn’t understand how things had spiraled into this situation.
He had wanted to go to the bar, create negative publicity, and then quietly slip away. Now, instead, he found himself forced to share a room with two unfamiliar men.
Zhao Wenxiu had an expansive apartment nearby, convenient for work. After dropping them off, their friend, though a bit worried, had no choice but to stick to the story they had concocted and leave.
The apartment had many rooms, but Zhao Wenxiu needed someone to watch over him so Xia Yan couldn’t leave. And since Xia Yan was staying, the curly-haired boy naturally refused to let the two of them be alone together.
In the end, Xia Yan took the bed, while Zhao Wenxiu and the curly-haired boy made do with sleeping on the floor. Honestly, it felt a bit strange having the owner of the apartment sleep on the floor.
It was already late, and Xia Yan was so tired that he could barely keep his eyes open. On top of that, despite all four of them crammed into the same car earlier, nothing remotely romantic had occurred. His attempt at self-sabotage had failed, leaving him with only a few photos from the bar. He couldn’t even be bothered to check the online buzz anymore.
With a yawn, the young man drifted off to sleep.
Meanwhile, in his dreams, the progress bar for Task 6 suddenly jumped forward significantly. It continued to extend as time passed, eventually pausing at 99% for an hour or two before finally hitting 100%.
[Task 6: Be Hated by the Entire Internet. Completed.]
The final main task blinked twice before it refreshed and appeared on the screen.
[Task 7: Be Abandoned by Tu Xi and Quit the Entertainment Industry.]
