Drunk

"You're an alpha, and I'm a beta. I don't have glands," Duan Xu snorted.

After saying that, Duan Xu suddenly paused. He saw Shen Yanlang put on blocker patches every day, but he had never smelled anything.

Then again, betas were insensitive to pheromones. They could only smell them if the other person deliberately released them and the concentration reached a certain level.

Shen Yanlang kept moving. He glanced at Duan Xu and keenly noticed that his earlobes were a little red, making his heart itch. "Everything else is the same."

His earlobes are red. Is he really that shy?

Duan Xu: "???"

Was something wrong with Shen Yanlang? Why was he looking at his earlobes?

Why are they even redder?

Duan Xu: "..."

*

Barbecue restaurants were always at their liveliest at night. The air was filled with the mouthwatering scent of grilled food, making people unable to resist swallowing.

Shen Yanlang and Duan Xu arrived at the barbecue restaurant one after the other. Zhou Zhou and Xiao Xu had already ordered plenty, so they did not order anything for the time being.

Once the barbecue arrived, each of them opened a can of beer. Zhou Zhou raised his and said, "Come on, let's have a toast! To Yan-ge and me performing successfully, and to our dorm's first group dinner!"

"Cheers!" Xiao Xu clinked his beer can against Zhou Zhou's.

Duan Xu and Shen Yanlang clinked cans as well and said together, "Cheers!"

After putting down his beer, Zhou Zhou took a bite of lamb skewer. Once he swallowed, he said, "It tastes pretty good."

"Mm, it's alright." Duan Xu nodded after trying some too.

"Yan-ge, you looked fucking handsome tonight. The forum's probably blowing up right now!" Zhou Zhou took out his phone and opened the forum as he spoke. "Damn, it really is blowing up!"

Xiao Xu leaned a little closer to Zhou Zhou. After seeing what was on the phone, he said, "Your performance last night was great too. I saw posts about it on the forum."

"That's different." Zhou Zhou said, "Yan-ge is the campus heartthrob!"

Xiao Xu pursed his lips. "..."

Shen Yanlang raised his brows slightly and said calmly, "Classical dance is our traditional dance. In my view, it deserves more promotion."

Duan Xu agreed. "That's what I think too."

Shen Yanlang glanced at Duan Xu and curled his lips into a smile.

Xiao Xu immediately smiled at that. "Exactly! We should promote our traditional culture!"

Zhou Zhou grinned. "Then shall we have another toast?"

"Sure! Cheers!"

Can after can, by the time they had finished the barbecue, they had also finished all the beer they ordered.

Duan Xu had never drunk alcohol before. Thinking beer would not get him drunk, he did not pay much attention to it. In the end, after three cans of beer, he was drunk.

When it was time to pay the bill, the other three stood up, but Duan Xu was still sitting there, his gaze unfocused and a little dazed.

"No way, he's drunk?" Zhou Zhou found it hard to believe. He waved a hand in front of Duan Xu's eyes. "Xuxu?"

Duan Xu looked up, glanced at him, then turned back and continued staring blankly.

"Pfft..." Zhou Zhou could not help laughing.

"He's really drunk, and it was only three cans of beer!" Xiao Xu scratched his head, unable to believe it either.

Shen Yanlang sat down and patted Duan Xu on the shoulder, his voice low. "Duan Xu? We should head back."

Duan Xu looked at Shen Yanlang again, slowly let out an "Oh," then stood up and swayed.

Zhou Zhou and Shen Yanlang supported him from either side. Then Shen Yanlang said, "I'll take him. You guys go ahead."

Shen Yanlang was an alpha. Even though he was not a sports student, his stamina far exceeded theirs. Supporting Duan Xu alone was no problem at all.

"Alright, then." Zhou Zhou and Xiao Xu had no objections, though they still watched as the two of them left the barbecue restaurant together.

The two of them left first, while Shen Yanlang slowly walked down the path back to the dorm with the drunk Duan Xu supporting himself against him.

Duan Xu was conscious. He knew he was drunk, his head felt dizzy, and his reactions had slowed considerably.

"You have the worst alcohol tolerance of anyone I've ever met." Shen Yanlang supported him as they walked. "Have you never drunk before?"

It took Duan Xu quite a while to react before he gave a quiet "Mm."

Shen Yanlang chuckled. He's pretty cute when he's drunk.

Hearing Shen Yanlang's inner thoughts, Duan Xu thought Shen Yanlang had spoken aloud and refuted him. "No!"

"No what?" Shen Yanlang found it amusing. They happened to pass by the pavilion, which was empty, so he helped Duan Xu over. "Sit for a while and sober up first."

As Shen Yanlang helped him sit down, his arm was around Duan Xu's waist.

His waist is so slim. I can wrap one hand around it.

"Go away!" Duan Xu was unhappy about being called slim-waisted and pushed Shen Yanlang with one hand.

Unfortunately, his strength could not compare with an alpha's, especially when he was drunk. That push was like a tickle.

Shen Yanlang sat beside him, the smile never leaving his lips. "If I leave, who'll help you back?"

"I... can... go back... myself." Duan Xu leaned against the pillar and spoke slowly, smacking his lips afterward.

"Heh..." Shen Yanlang was practically dying from how cute Duan Xu was. He bent closer and said softly, "You can barely speak properly. Can you really make it back?"

There were no lights in the pavilion, only faint moonlight. In the darkness, Duan Xu's fair cheeks were exceptionally eye-catching, while those clear almond-shaped eyes blinked like stars.

Shen Yanlang had originally wanted to check on Duan Xu's condition, but as he watched, his thoughts drifted elsewhere.

His skin really is so fair.

His eyes are pretty too. I want to keep looking at them.

Tsk, he closed his eyes.

"Duan Xu? Did you fall asleep?" Shen Yanlang called out.

Duan Xu had just closed his eyes when he said impatiently, "You're so noisy!"

Shen Yanlang raised his brows. He had only said one sentence, and Duan Xu already thought he was noisy. "Fine, then I won't talk. Let's go back."

Duan Xu did not move. He looked sleepy, and Shen Yanlang had no choice but to tug at him, intending to pull him to his feet.

But Duan Xu was like a boneless body. With that tug, he fell straight into Shen Yanlang's arms.

Shen Yanlang caught him and held him tightly in his embrace.

Duan Xu's head happened to rest on Shen Yanlang's shoulder, his breath brushing against Shen Yanlang's neck with every exhale.

Shen Yanlang's breathing hitched slightly. He subconsciously rolled his Adam's apple and, for some reason, remained still in that position.

"Duan Xu?" After an unknown amount of time, Shen Yanlang called out, but Duan Xu had fallen asleep and did not respond.

Shen Yanlang tilted his head slightly to stare at Duan Xu. He said nothing, but his thoughts began flooding in again. Duan Xu simply could not hear them.

He's so soft, not at all like a boy.

He feels so comfortable to hold.

He even has a faint fragrance on him... a fragrance?

Shen Yanlang suddenly froze. He sniffed deeply and caught the scent of jasmine. It was so faint that only an alpha's sense of smell could detect it.

He frowned slightly. That scent was clearly pheromones. He looked around. Which young couple was fooling around outside? Couldn't they show some restraint?

To avoid being affected, Shen Yanlang simply scooped Duan Xu into his arms and strode toward the dormitory.

Under normal circumstances, Duan Xu would definitely have woken up. But he was drunk, and the movement did not wake him at all. He even slept soundly, so much so that when Zhou Zhou told him to look at a forum post the next day, he was completely confused.

#Shocking! The campus heartthrob has someone in his arms!#

The moment he opened it, he saw a photo. At the end of a tree-lined path late at night, Shen Yanlang had just emerged while carrying Duan Xu. Beneath the streetlamp, one half of him was lit while the other was shrouded in darkness.

Duan Xu happened to be in the shadows, so the photo showed only Shen Yanlang's face and not the person in his arms.