Chapter 38: Drugging the Wine

Lin Hexi quickly understood You Chong’s intention and didn’t move as he held him.

Sure enough, no one approached them again. After the music stopped, the two squeezed out of the crowded dance floor and returned to the booth area.

The champagne at their table hadn’t been delivered yet, but Lin Hexi already had a vague idea of what was going on, so he didn’t deliberately look for Ning Nan’s location and just sat on the sofa, playing with his phone.

About five minutes later, a waiter finally approached them with a tray.

As the person slowly approached, Lin Hexi immediately recognized the waiter delivering the drinks—it was the same one Ning Nan had called away earlier.

The waiter stopped in front of their table, his expression showing no signs of anything unusual, and he methodically placed the drinks in front of each person according to their seating positions. After that, he left with the tray in hand.

Lin Hexi’s gaze subtly swept across the table.

Although everyone at the table was a friend of You Chong, aside from You Chong and Zhou Xuan, Lin Hexi didn’t know anyone else.

Seizing a moment when the others weren’t paying attention, he quietly switched his drink with the one belonging to the person next to him.

Even though he didn’t plan on drinking, Lin Hexi wasn’t sure if You Chong would. To be safe, he decided to swap his own drink.

On the stage, a band started performing, and the dance floor became lively again.

Someone beside him drank the glass he had switched, showing no signs of being drugged. Instead, they seemed energized and pulled others to join them on the dance floor.

Lin Hexi’s gaze involuntarily fell on the glass of wine in front of You Chong.

He didn’t think about it for too long before noticing someone watching their table from a distance. Following that gaze, Lin Hexi looked up, scanning the crowd, and spotted the waiter who had delivered the drinks earlier.

Through the stream of people passing by, Lin Hexi curved his lips into a bright smile directed at the other person.

The young waiter looked momentarily startled and instinctively turned away, no longer looking at him.

Lin Hexi dropped his smile, pushed the drink in front of him toward You Chong, and then reached out for the glass in front of You Chong. Tilting his head with a smirk, he asked, “Shall we switch drinks?”

You Chong responded, “Why switch?”

Lin Hexi laughed, “I’d rather drink yours.”

You Chong raised his eyebrow almost imperceptibly and said, “What’s the difference between your glass and mine?”

“The difference is significant,” Lin Hexi teased, deliberately keeping the suspense.

You Chong chuckled noncommittally. “For example?”

Lin Hexi drew out his words, “For example—”

His dark eyes glinted mischievously as he lifted the glass in front of You Chong and brought it to his lips. He held the rim of the glass in his mouth for two seconds before moving it away. “For example, this glass has already been in my mouth. You might not want to switch with me unless—” He lowered his voice, smiling as he slowly enunciated each word, “you want to kiss me indirectly.”

You Chong gave him a steady, unreadable glance, and in the end, without saying another word, took the glass that had been in front of him.

The waiter who had brought the drinks didn’t see Lin Hexi and You Chong switch their glasses.

When Lin Hexi sensed someone watching them again, he didn’t let it distract him.

Ning Nan only appeared after You Chong had already drunk from that glass.

With a dark, sullen look, Ning Nan glanced at Lin Hexi before walking straight over to where You Chong and Zhou Xuan were sitting. In an odd tone, he said to You Chong, “The champagne you just drank was drugged.”

The table fell silent for a moment, and everyone turned their eyes to him with different expressions.

Zhou Xuan was the first to frown, “What do you mean?”

Ning Nan, with an unreadable expression, looked at You Chong and said, “If I’m not mistaken, you should be feeling warm by now, right?”

You Chong gave him a brief glance, then casually looked at the glass of champagne he had drunk, without saying a word.

Taking You Chong’s silence as confirmation, Ning Nan concealed the satisfaction in his eyes and turned to the others with a faint, mocking smile. “I saw with my own eyes that the waiter drugged the champagne. If you don’t believe me, you can call him over and ask.”

Zhou Xuan, furious, stood up and ordered someone to bring the waiter who served them over for questioning.

The waiter, visibly nervous and trembling, quickly confessed to having drugged You Chong’s drink.

Zhou Xuan grabbed the waiter by the collar and demanded, “Who gave you the nerve to drug the wine?”

The waiter stammered, “Someone paid me to do it.”

Zhou Xuan tightened his grip on the waiter’s collar, his gaze turning cold as he glanced at Ning Nan while questioning, “Who was it?”

The waiter hesitated, remaining silent, but his eyes repeatedly darted towards Lin Hexi, who was sitting next to You Chong, carrying a strong implication.

Following the waiter’s gaze to Lin Hexi, Zhou Xuan’s anger flared even more as if something had clicked in his mind. “If you don’t tell me, I have plenty of ways to make you talk.”

The waiter, now visibly terrified, lowered his head and slowly raised his hand, pointing directly in Lin Hexi’s direction with unsettling precision.

Ning Nan, who had been coldly observing the situation unfold, curled his lips into a strange smile.

Without noticing the change in Ning Nan’s expression, Zhou Xuan pushed the waiter aside and fixed his sharp gaze on Lin Hexi. “Do you have anything to say for yourself?”

“Of course, I have something to say,” Lin Hexi replied, standing up from the sofa, his expression remaining calm. “If he says it’s me and you believe him, then if he said it was you, would you believe that too?”

Zhou Xuan almost laughed in anger. “You have a motive to drug him; I don’t.”

Lin Hexi, unfazed, nodded slightly toward the waiter’s position and continued, “But I haven’t had any private contact with him.”

Someone immediately chimed in with a subtle tone, “Didn’t you just leave for quite a while? Who knows if you went to find him during that time?”

Lin Hexi responded with a faint smile, “If you want to know whether I went to find him, you can just ask You Chong.”

To Zhou Xuan, Lin Hexi’s expression seemed nothing but evasive and irresponsible, which only fueled his anger further. In a fit of impulsiveness, he raised his fist to strike Lin Hexi, even with You Chong between them.

Suddenly, a hand firmly caught Zhou Xuan’s fist. You Chong, frowning, stood up and positioned himself in front of Lin Hexi.

Zhou Xuan, slightly more composed now, looked at him with a mix of surprise and shock.

Ignoring Zhou Xuan’s gaze, You Chong pushed his arm away and said calmly, “It wasn’t him.”

Zhou Xuan raised his eyebrow, scrutinizing him. “Are you okay?”

“I didn’t drink it,” You Chong said as he took two steps forward, his gaze sharp and cold as he looked at the astonished Ning Nan. “I haven’t even confronted you about taking my dog last time, and now you’ve come to me on your own.”

He picked up the glass in front of Lin Hexi and held it out to Ning Nan, his expression icy. “Drink it, or you won’t be leaving here today.”

Anger flickered in Ning Nan’s eyes as he pointed at the waiter and raised his voice. “Didn’t you hear what he said? Lin Hexi drugged it, not me.”

You Chong’s gaze bore down on him with a menacing intensity. “Wasn’t it you who took my dog?”

Ning Nan’s face twisted with anger, his resentful eyes locking onto Lin Hexi over You Chong’s shoulder. Still trying to drag Lin Hexi down with him, he spat out through gritted teeth, “If I drink it, so does he.”

Hearing this, Lin Hexi slowly walked forward, casually patting the waiter who stood frozen with a stiff expression, and with a faint smile still on his face, he said, “Tell the truth, who instructed you to drug the wine? If you don’t make it clear, you’ll have to drink that drugged wine yourself today.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, the waiter pointed directly at Ning Nan, his face ashen. “It was him.”

Zhou Xuan, who had stepped back to observe, let out a cold laugh. “So you were playing me, huh?”

He summoned two more waiters and had them tightly restrain the now pale-faced Ning Nan. Zhou Xuan, clearly displeased, said, “Why waste time talking to him?”

Taking the glass of wine from You Chong’s hand, Zhou Xuan walked over to Ning Nan, bent down, and forcefully gripped his jaw, pouring the entire glass of wine down his throat without spilling a drop.