Yang Siguang wandered the streets for quite a while.
It was already getting late when he left home, and at this time, without an ID or wallet, there weren’t many places he could go. After all, he didn’t have many close friends, and certainly none who were close enough to let him stay the night.
Even his phone was nearly out of battery.
While Yang Siguang stared blankly at his phone screen, it suddenly lit up.
It was Xu Lu.
“Ahhh Siguang, I failed my English Level 6 exam again! What am I supposed to do, this is my last chance, I’m really screwed—”
As soon as he answered, Xu Lu’s exaggerated, frustrated voice came through the phone.
Yang Siguang rubbed his temples, silent for a moment, before hearing Xu Lu shout again on the other end—
“I’m so miserable, Siguang, let’s go grab a drink tonight, we’ll drown our sorrows in alcohol, or I really won’t be able to take it… And don’t refuse, think about it, I’ve never forced you to do anything, right? If you don’t come for my failure celebration drink, I’ll really be mad…”
Xu Lu’s family ran a company, so he was somewhat of a rich second-generation.
Yang Siguang had known for a long time that Xu Lu would likely join his family’s business as a manager right after graduation. Whether or not he passed the English exams wasn’t really important to him.
Xu Lu’s dramatic frustration over the phone was probably sincere to some extent, but the rest of it was clearly playful teasing.
Normally, Yang Siguang would have coldly rejected Xu Lu without hesitation, but this time…
“Fine.”
He stared at his own reflection in the glass window on the street, his lonely figure sending a chill down his spine, before softly replying.
__
As usual, Xu Lu’s drinking party had a lot of people.
By the time Yang Siguang arrived, the bar was already packed.
He glanced around, recognizing many familiar faces. They were probably people Xu Lu had befriended during their time at school. But even though they looked familiar, Yang Siguang was different from Xu Lu—these people were only “familiar” to him. If he had to start calling them by name or socialize, it would be an impossible task.
Not to mention the bar’s dim lights, with various colorful glows flashing across the faces of the crowd, making their features seem somewhat disoriented and blurry. It was impossible for Yang Siguang to match the few names he knew to the faces. So, he simply observed others from a distance and found a corner to sit down—he didn’t really intend to drink much, just needed a place to kill time.
At the same time, it was a chance to collect his thoughts in a more crowded place. But as soon as he sat down, a drink was shoved into his hand, and someone squeezed over, grinning and starting a conversation with him.
“Ah, a rare guest, Yang Siguang; Xu Lu said he could get you to come; I thought that guy was just bragging.”
The body leaning on his shoulder felt cold, and a strong, almost overwhelming perfume scent wafted into his nose.
Yang Siguang stiffened and looked toward the person speaking. Under the flashing lights, the guy’s features seemed both unfamiliar and familiar.
“Uh, that…”
Yang Siguang awkwardly responded, wracking his brain but unable to remember the person’s name.
But the guy, while speaking to Yang Siguang, acted unusually familiar, without any sense of distance.
“Hahaha, don’t be nervous; don’t be nervous. I’m just looking for a place to hide, not here to force you to drink,” the guy seemed to wink at Yang Siguang. “I’m just curious, so what’s your relationship with Xu Lu? I’ve noticed he’s always sticking to you; even now he hasn’t forgotten to invite you—”
The guy raised his glass to his lips, smiling as he asked.
Yang Siguang unconsciously followed his gaze toward the other end of the booth, where Xu Lu was surrounded by a group of people, being teased and not paying attention to him.
…
“Just an ordinary friend.”
Yang Siguang paused for a moment and answered calmly.
“Ah…”
The next second, he heard the guy beside him let out a long sigh of relief.
“That’s really good.”
The guy’s voice sounded strangely eerie at that moment.
Yang Siguang shivered and couldn’t help but look back at the guy. But the guy still appeared the same as before, no different. When he noticed Yang Siguang looking at him, he calmly met his gaze.
“What’s wrong?”
He asked.
Yang Siguang silently shook his head, about to say “nothing,” when suddenly, a loud cheer pierced his ears—
“Ahhh, it’s your turn! Yang Siguang! You’re so lucky!”
“Yeah, yeah, Yang Siguang, hurry up, get ready! Truth or dare?!”
“Dare or truth?! You better choose wisely!”
…
Yang Siguang looked around in confusion.
On the messy table, there was an empty wine bottle that had already been knocked over, with its mouth now pointing directly at him.
Clearly, this group had been playing a game, and by sheer coincidence, it was now Yang Siguang’s turn, though he was clearly not in the mood for it.
“Ah, I—”
I wasn’t prepared to play a game.
Yang Siguang’s lips moved but no sound came out.
In the dim lights, so many eyes seemed to gleam like those of animals, reflecting a faint glow. They stared at Yang Siguang so intensely that his back began to sweat.
“Yang Siguang, give us some face.”
“Yeah, you’ve already come…”
“It’s your turn!”
As if sensing Yang Siguang’s hesitation, more people crowded around, each face filled with smiles, their gazes focused and intense.
The smell of alcohol in the air grew heavier, so thick that it seemed to scatter Yang Siguang’s thoughts for a moment.
“…Dare.”
He heard himself mumble.
In an instant, cheers erupted from the booth.
Men, women, old people, children… countless voices rushed toward him.
So loud.
Yang Siguang thought.
Then, he heard the conditions for the dare shouted at him.
“Please kiss the person on your right for thirty seconds!”
The cheers grew louder and sharper, almost suffocating Yang Siguang. When he finally processed what the dare was, his eyes met the focused gaze of the guy who had been talking to him earlier.
The person sitting on his right… Ah, it really was him.
At that moment, the guy had already stood up.
It wasn’t until this moment that Yang Siguang realized the guy was actually very tall.
“Come on.”
The guy then took hold of his hand.
The guy’s hand was as cold as ice, and Yang Siguang thought his own body temperature was low, but the instant the guy touched him, he felt a shiver run through him.
“Sorry, I still—”
Yang Siguang struggled and took a step back, muttering a disjointed refusal.
Even he didn’t understand why he was so panicked and so resistant.
But the guy didn’t give him a chance to refuse, or rather, the people gathered around him wouldn’t allow him to escape.
“Kiss him!”
“Kiss him!”
“Kiss him!”
…
Before he knew it, the shouting around him grew deafening, and Yang Siguang felt his strength slowly draining away.
“Don’t be afraid.”
The guy pressed close to him and wrapped his arms around him tightly.
“I won’t bite you; don’t be so scared.”
As he spoke, the guy lowered his head toward Yang Siguang.
And at that moment, Yang Siguang saw his eyes.
They were a pair of eyes with unusually light-colored irises.
In the pupil of his left eye, there was a streak of pigment deposition.
