Chapter 14

“Roy!” someone called out to him, “Why are you playing with your phone? You’re the star tonight. Come over and join us for cards!”

Yang Yunran replied, “I used up all my energy this morning. I can’t play tonight. I’ll just watch you guys.”

He was afraid of losing all his savings, so he really didn’t play cards, nor did he drink alcohol. He only had some desserts and two drinks, behaving well throughout, even taking the leisure to walk the dog in the garden, count the number of people, and then continue chatting, “With me included, there are 27 people. There are twice as many boys as girls. You calculate the equation.”

Jiang Yi quickly responded, “Eighteen boys?”

Yang Yunran said, “Correct! You’re so smart. Do you want a reward?”

Seeing him like that, a group of people came over with drinks to pour on him: “What are you doing playing with your phone? Is it that fun? You haven’t said a word all night.”

Yang Yunran continued to smile, “No, I have a stomach ache today. I can’t drink alcohol.” He declined, but his phone screen was suddenly snatched away by one of the partygoers. “Isn’t this boring for you?”

Yang Yunran stood up and said, “Don’t… give me back my phone.”

“Drink, drink, pour it on him!” A group of rich kids, drunk or high, completely ignored Yang Yunran’s resistance, crowding around him, shouting and arguing. In a blink of an eye, Yang Yunran’s phone was nowhere to be found.

“Stop it, I’m not drinking! Don’t do this…” Yang Yunran’s attempts to refuse were unsuccessful, and he actually got angry, shouting, “I’m not playing anymore! Let go of me and give me back my phone.”

Seeing that he was really upset, someone said, “Forget it.”

“Whatever, it’s not fun…”

Jimmy, who was drunk, came out and said, “Stop messing with Roy. His stomach isn’t feeling well today, he can’t drink. Where’s his phone? Who took Roy’s phone? Give it back to him.”

Everyone began to help him search for his phone. Yang Yunran squatted down on the ground searching.

Someone picked up an ice bucket and asked, “Is this it?”

Yang Yunran looked up and saw his wet phone lying in the melting ice bucket.

His face turned ugly. Jimmy said unhappily, “Who the hell did this?”

No one admitted it, still chuckling, “It’s just a phone, Roy wouldn’t be so stingy.”

Someone pulled out a wad of cash and threw it on the table, “Roy, come on! Don’t be a killjoy, we’re all friends here.”

“We used to be, not anymore.” Yang Yunran lowered his head and wiped his phone dry with a tissue, his expression cold. “Sorry, I’m leaving early.”

Jimmy said, “Alright, stop making it hard for him. He’s upset now.”

After that, Jimmy put his arm around Yang Yunran’s shoulder and said, “I’ll take you home.”

Jimmy couldn’t drive because he had been drinking, so he went out and hailed a cab. Yang Yunran held the dog and tried to turn on his phone.

Jimmy leaned over, somewhat drunk, “Is your phone okay?”

Yang Yunran lowered his head and said, “It won’t turn on. I’ll blow dry it when I get home.”

Jimmy squatted down, rubbing his crew-cut head, “I didn’t mean to upset you. We used to have a great time, I just wanted to celebrate with you.”

Yes, the original owner used to attend these parties and had a blast, generously throwing money around. He was undoubtedly a party animal, the bigger the party, the happier he got.

But now Yang Yunran was different. He couldn’t fit into the original owner’s social circle anymore, and it wasn’t Jimmy’s fault.

Soon the taxi arrived. The driver was Indian. Jimmy got in with the dog, and the three squeezed into the back seat. Yang Yunran held his Samoyed dog and didn’t say a word. Neither did Jimmy, who closed his eyes to sleep off the alcohol.

However, the driver seemed very afraid that Jimmy would vomit in the car, so he drove as fast as he could, wishing he could teleport them to their destination in a second.

If nothing unexpected happened, Jimmy would indeed vomit.

He vomited on the car, which was originally lying on Yang Yunran’s legs. Harry suddenly raised his head and turned to stare at Jimmy.

“Shit…” Jimmy cursed, and the driver suddenly stopped the car, cursing loudly in curry-flavored swear words. Jimmy vomited again—

“Ugh—”

Yang Yunran was stunned, quickly took out three hundred yuan, “Cleaning fee, cleaning fee. I’m sorry, don’t be mad at him.”

Seeing the money, the driver reluctantly held back and quickly drove to their destination. After getting out of the car, the taxi sped away.

Yang Yunran saw vomit all over his dog’s fur and couldn’t bear it.

Yang Yunran, with a gloomy face and a embarrassed Jimmy and an innocent Harry, went home.

He shouted at Jimmy, “Go take a shower, don’t sit on my couch.”

He took the dog into the bathroom, turned on the heater, and pushed Jimmy into the shower.

Jimmy apologized, “I’ll help you wash the dog. Harry isn’t mad, and you shouldn’t be mad either.”

Jimmy closed the door and washed it himself for two minutes, throwing all the clothes on the bathroom floor

Anyway, it’s a chance to draw a clear line with this group of friends.

Luckily, WeChat was still logged in on the computer. Jiang Yi sent him several messages, telling him not to reward bad behavior and to come home obediently. After ten minutes or so passed without a reply from Yang Yunran, Jiang Yi asked where he was and if he was busy, saying he would come to pick him up. Then he tried calling him, but Yang Yunran didn’t pick up. Just as he was about to reply to Jiang Yi’s messages, he heard a knock on the door—

“So late, could it be the building manager?”

“Zhao Yuomo?”

“Jiang Yi?”

He got up to open the door, and there stood Jiang Yi. Yang Yunran’s eyes lit up. “Jiang Yi! What are you doing here?”

His boyfriend’s tall figure had blocked the hallway’s motion sensor light, casting a dim yellow glow on his well-defined handsome face. He furrowed his brows and stared at Yang Yunran. “When did you come back? Why didn’t you reply to my messages?”

“I just got back…” Yang Yunran was about to explain when the bathroom door suddenly swung open. Jimmy was stark naked, his face red and covered in bubbles. “Yang Yunran, I used the wrong body wash! I used the one meant for your enema, not the dog’s. Can’t you read?”

OMG…

Yang Yunran found it incredibly difficult to explain this scene. He looked horrified. When he turned his head, he saw Jiang Yi standing expressionless, even gloomy, casting a glance at the naked Jimmy. Then Jiang Yi looked at Yang Yunran and spoke in a cold tone, “Am I interrupting something?”

Jimmy didn’t mind his own state and greeted Jiang Yi, “Hello, Roy’s new boyfriend~”

Yang Yunran urgently shook his head at Jiang Yi, grabbing his boyfriend’s hand as he turned to leave. He quickly explained, “No no no, he’s just my friend.”

“Jiang Yi!” Yang Yunran grabbed his boyfriend’s hand and hurriedly explained, “He drank too much and threw up. He threw up on my dog, so he came to my place to take a shower and help me wash the dog. Please don’t misunderstand…”

Jiang Yi’s expression remained indifferent as he pulled his hand away. “Is that so? Have fun, then.”

Yang Yunran reached out again to grab him, shouting behind him, “Jimmy, hurry up and put on some clothes. Leave my place immediately!”

Jimmy teased him about prioritizing romance over friendship, glancing down at the dirty clothes on the floor. “Damn it, where am I supposed to find clothes to wear?”

“Go to my closet and find something!” Yang Yunran saw Jimmy still naked and quickly covered Jiang Yi’s eyes. “Don’t look, don’t look, it’ll hurt your eyes!”

He held Jiang Yi’s hand with one hand and covered his eyes with the other. Jiang Yi’s eyelashes rested softly against his palm, and he didn’t understand why he was angry. The anger in his chest burned uncomfortably. It was as if he was watching his innocent younger brother getting involved with a guy with awful tattoos behind his back.

He always had good control over his emotions, so he appeared outwardly stable.

What’s this guy’s relationship with Yang Yunran?

Friends?

Friends with benefits?

Seems like it has nothing to do with me.

What does “new boyfriend” mean? Is he Yang Yunran’s ex-boyfriend?

Jiang Yi quietly breathed in the darkness beneath his palm for a few seconds, then pushed his hand away. Noticing Jimmy’s naked buttocks, Jiang Yi’s voice was cold as he said, “Yang Yunran, you’d better close your eyes too.”

Yang Yunran looked bewildered. “Huh?”

Jimmy shouted from behind, “Underwear! Roy, your underwear is too small!”

Yang Yunran blushed deeply. “You’re the one who’s small! Hurry up and leave!”

Just as Yang Yunran was about to turn his head to urge Jimmy, Jiang Yi forcefully turned him back. His warm palm firmly rested on Yang Yunran’s cheek, preventing him from turning to look, while he turned his head to stare coldly at Jimmy. “I suggest you leave as soon as possible.”