GBROTAH CH39

“Come on, everyone, let’s all raise a glass first!”

“Quick, quick, fill ’em up, fill ’em up!”

“Let me see who hasn’t picked up their glass yet, everyone has to drink the first one!”

The extroverted students at the table started clamoring, urging everyone to clink glasses. The long table was huge, requiring them to lean forward and stretch their arms to reach. Many had already stood up.

Xie Yuanxing looked at the glass of wine in front of him and also stood up, holding it.

As he extended his glass, Shen Bianye glanced at him, then stood up to clink glasses with him. The glasses met, and the wine inside swirled.

Xie Yuanxing rarely drank alcohol. He frowned as he took a sip, then placed the glass aside after sitting down.

Shen Bianye’s eyes flickered. He beckoned to a waiter nearby and said, “A bottle of soy milk, hot.”

Someone chuckled, teasing him, “Senior Shen, that’s not cool. How can you drink soy milk at a mixer?”

Shen Bianye said blandly, “I have a cold, no alcohol.”

A girl sitting on the other side couldn’t help but say, “Is Senior Shen not feeling well? Do you want some hot water first?”

“This place isn’t well-chosen either. On such a cold day, sitting outside is just making us suffer.”

“Whose bad idea was this?”

Shi Tingting laughed awkwardly, “It’s because there’s a lawn next to it where we can play games, that’s why we chose this place. It might be a bit cold… I’m sorry.”

Xie Yuanxing tilted his head slightly to look at Shi Tingting, hesitated for a few seconds, then raised his gaze to the girl and said, “Wasn’t the location known before we came?”

“If you feel cold, you could actually not come.”

The girl immediately felt awkward and looked to Shen Bianye for help.

Shen Bianye’s face showed no expression, not like anger, but not like happiness either. Only when the waiter brought the hot soy milk did he tear it open, pour a cup, and push it in front of Xie Yuanxing.

“Speaking up for others is tiring, drink more.”

His words sounded a bit sour, somewhat sarcastic, yet also a little like approval of Xie Yuanxing’s actions.

His tone was so flat that any interpretation seemed possible.

Shi Tingting and Tangtang exchanged glances, both believing he was defending Xie Yuanxing. The other girl watching, however, felt he was helping her retort.

Not far away, Fang Zhi saw this scene and his eyes became thoughtful.

Only Xie Yuanxing thought nothing of it. He held the hot soy milk and sincerely said, “Thank you.”

Shen Bianye whispered, “I didn’t help you.”

He and Xie Yuanxing were sitting close, and his voice was lowered, so others couldn’t hear what he was saying.

Xie Yuanxing didn’t care. He shook his head. “No, thank you for the soy milk.”

“It wasn’t ordered for you,” Shen Bianye scoffed.

Xie Yuanxing: “Anyway, you can’t finish it.”

He poured a cup back for Shen Bianye, then handed the bottle to Tangtang, shaking it and asking, “Want some?”

Tangtang quickly nodded and handed over her cup.

Someone saw them sharing soy milk and felt a little tempted, jokingly saying, “Since Senior Shen is treating us today, we should order something good!”

“What’s the point of just drinking beer, right?”

One person spoke, and several others followed suit, egging them on.

Gao Yufei’s dorm was also cheering loudly. They were all quite familiar with Shen Bianye and knew he wouldn’t mind such things.

As expected, Shen Bianye waved his hand, telling them to order whatever they wanted.

Shi Tingting had chosen the restaurant, keeping in mind that they were all students, so she picked an affordable one. Even the best wine there was only a little over five hundred yuan.

The boy who initially suggested ordering more expensive things complained in a low voice, “What kind of place is this? There isn’t even any good wine, it’s too low.”

Shi Tingting suppressed her anger, and Xie Yuanxing also frowned. He still remembered Shi Tingting seeing his nervousness before going on stage, joking about buying him milk tea, and winking playfully at him.

So now, even if he wasn’t used to directly arguing with people, he still…

Shen Bianye, from the corner of his eye, saw Xie Yuanxing’s expression as he was about to speak. He preempted him, saying coldly, “Drink if you want, otherwise get out.”

“This place was chosen carefully by others. If you’re not doing anything, shut your mouth. If you think this place lowers your standards, you can also get out.”

“Or do you want to pay the bill and treat everyone to a better place?”

The speaker’s face turned green then white, and he chuckled awkwardly.

His roommate quickly tried to smooth things over. Shi Tingting gave Shen Bianye a grateful look, convinced that Senior Shen was defending her, a good person.

Shen Bianye noticed Shi Tingting’s gaze and then looked up at Xie Yuanxing.

Other times, letting Xie Yuanxing step forward would have been fine.

But now, at a mixer, Xie Yuanxing defending a girl like this would appear to others as if he was flirting.

Not good, very not good.

They were roommates, and their public image was influenced by each other. He couldn’t let Xie Yuanxing be misunderstood.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want Xie Yuanxing to defend others. It was just that, as a roommate, he felt it was necessary to help Xie Yuanxing establish a good public image.

There were many people present, and with others smoothing things over, the matter quickly passed.

Mixers are usually about chatting with people you’re interested in, seeing if you’re on the same wavelength and hit it off. With too many people, it’s impossible to discuss just one topic, so conversations soon broke into smaller groups.

Shen Bianye came here just to catch Xie Yuanxing. He couldn’t control Xie Yuanxing if he wanted to date, but since X and Xie Yuanxing hadn’t broken up, he had to keep an eye on Xie Yuanxing.

It wasn’t about controlling him, but simply preventing Xie Yuanxing from doing anything unethical.

For this, he didn’t hesitate to wait at the dorm gate for twenty minutes, until the guys from the next dorm came out, then “coincidentally” ran into them, making his presence at the mixer seem perfectly reasonable.

His purpose for coming wasn’t to participate in the mixer, so naturally, he had no interest in chatting with others. Therefore, the only person he could talk to was Xie Yuanxing.

Shen Bianye’s gaze was repeatedly drawn to the swaying ears on Xie Yuanxing’s head. Now, with no one else to disturb them, he said, “Your hat…”

Xie Yuanxing tilted his head to look at him, the round little bear ears on his head also tilting. “What’s wrong?”

Shen Bianye silently rubbed his fingertips together. He resisted, but couldn’t help reaching out to pinch them. “The ears are quite cute.”

Then, he lightly coughed twice, adding in an unnecessarily obvious manner, “But when you wear it, it’s just so-so.”

Xie Yuanxing: ?

“Are you sick?”

“Who asked you?”

Shen Bianye scoffed, “Can’t I say something if it’s ugly?”

He reached out to pinch those round ears again. Xie Yuanxing dodged backward, almost bumping into Tangtang. It was only because Shen Bianye reacted quickly and pulled him that Xie Yuanxing maintained his balance.

Shen Bianye frowned and said in a deep voice, “Why are you dodging?”

Xie Yuanxing ignored him, secretly rolled his eyes at Shen Bianye, and turned to Tangtang, “Did I not bump into you?”

Tangtang shook her head, looked at Shen Bianye, then at Xie Yuanxing, got up and found Shi Tingting. The two huddled together, forming a new pair of hamsters.

They occasionally glanced at Shen Bianye and Xie Yuanxing, whispering and discussing.

Occasionally, they would excitedly slap each other’s thighs, then lean their heads together to whisper again.

Shen Bianye didn’t know what they were saying, but for once, he felt a little uncomfortable under the gaze of others.

Tangtang left, and the seats beside the two of them became empty. The person who had just spoken to Shen Bianye came over with a wine glass.

“It’s Senior Shen’s first time attending such an event.”

Shen Bianye didn’t speak. She quickly smiled and said, “Senior Shen can call me Xiaohan.”

Xiaohan’s eyes darted around, trying to find a topic. “What kind of Omega girlfriends has Senior Shen had before?”

Shen Bianye might have ignored other topics, but when this came up, he instinctively sat up straighter and said, “None.”

Xiaohan’s face lit up, and she tentatively asked, “Does Senior not like Omegas? Actually, Alphas and Betas can be together too.”

“Those Omegas aren’t all that great anyway, too delicate and high-maintenance.”

She was a Beta herself and hadn’t had the courage to approach him initially. But as she sat there, the more she thought about it, the more she felt that his previous remark was defending her, and maybe Senior Shen also liked her.

Alphas and Betas can be together too?

Shen Bianye frowned. If he said yes, what would Xie Yuanxing, sitting next to him, think?

What if Xie Yuanxing used his current words to pester him later?

Thinking this, Shen Bianye’s expression tightened. He said to Xiaohan without holding back, “How can Alphas and Betas be together?”

“Can a Beta soothe an Alpha in their susceptible period?”

“To let your partner suffer for your own selfish reasons, forcing them to stay by your side? Can you say such things so easily because you’re not in pain?”

Xiaohan grew a little anxious, no longer caring about Xie Yuanxing in between them, she leaned closer and said, “Senior, that’s not what I meant.”

“But now there are suppressants, aren’t there…”

Shen Bianye frowned at the person who was almost leaning on Xie Yuanxing. He raised a hand and pulled Xie Yuanxing’s chair backrest towards him.

Xie Yuanxing didn’t react in time, his body unbalanced, and he fell from the chair towards Shen Bianye.

“Throwing yourself at me?” Shen Bianye raised an eyebrow and said, “I remember I said I wouldn’t fancy a Beta, so what’s this?”

Xie Yuanxing: “…You pulled the chair, I wasn’t steady.”

Shen Bianye: “I just saw you were blocking Xiaohan, so I pulled the chair, but I didn’t pull you.”

Xie Yuanxing clenched his fists, holding back the curse words that were on the tip of his tongue. He got up and moved aside, saying, “Then you two chat.”

Xiaohan’s face lit up. She moved to Xie Yuanxing’s seat and had just opened her mouth to say, “Senior…”

When she saw Shen Bianye completely ignore her, getting up and leaving, leaving her alone occupying three seats.

Her face instantly turned pale, and she tried to cover her embarrassment with a laugh.

But in reality, no one even noticed her embarrassment.

Over there, Shi Tingting was already calling for games, lively and cheerful, a very likable personality. Xiaohan’s eyes flashed with a hint of resentment, feeling that it was only because Shi Tingting was an Omega that so many people gathered around her.

Shi Tingting was oblivious, still explaining the rules, “There’s a target over there, how about we play archery?”

“Six people shoot arrows at the same time. The person with the highest number of hits can make the person with the lowest number of hits do anything they want.”

“It can be truth or dare. If you want to escape the punishment, you have to drink.”

Her eyes sparkled with the light of a successful scheme. She thought happily, she had been here to play many times and was sure to be the winner.

People here had long grown tired of the usual spin-the-bottle truth or dare. Now, hearing of a new game, they instantly became interested.

“What if I can’t shoot a bow?”

“You can still play even if you can’t! Come on, come on, everyone has to participate!”

“Missing the target is zero points! Missing the target is zero points!”

A group of people happily gathered on the lawn, getting bows and arrows, chatting and making noise.

Shi Tingting even arranged a proper order and went first, hitting an eight-ring.

“Good job, Tingting, you deliberately chose this to wait for us here!”

“Eight rings! Not bad, so high on the first try.”

“Pressure’s on, brothers.”

Shi Tingting: “Good luck, hehe, good luck.”

She turned to Xie Yuanxing and said, “Xingxing, quick, it’s your turn.”

Xie Yuanxing took the bow from her hand, drew an arrow from the quiver, strung it, pulled back the string, and aimed at the distant target.

He was slender. Standing there, drawing the bow and nocking an arrow, his posture was as straight as a pine or bamboo. His fair, well-proportioned fingers pulled the bowstring, and when he squinted his eyes, intently focusing on the target, he somewhat resembled a character from a manga.

However…

With a whoosh, the arrow flew halfway then plop, fell down, not even touching the edge of the target.

The admiration in Shen Bianye’s eyes turned into laughter. He tutted, “Weak.”

From Xie Yuanxing’s posture of drawing the bow, he knew this arrow wouldn’t hit the mark. It was just that when the little roommate stood there and pulled the string, it was quite intimidating.

Everyone else started laughing too. Xie Yuanxing pouted, “You do it if you’re so good.”

“Senior Shen, please come, just in time.”

“It’s Senior Shen’s turn, come and show us how it’s done.”

“As long as you don’t miss the target, you won’t be the lowest in this group, hahaha!”

Under everyone’s gaze, the arrow Shen Bianye shot flew straight towards the bullseye of Xie Yuanxing’s target. With a thump, it hit the red center.

“Missed the target! Missed the target! Severely missed the target!”

“That’s way too off course, hahahahahaha!”

“Let’s congratulate Senior! He hit a ten-ring on someone else’s target!”

“Zero points, zero points.”

Shen Bianye casually handed it to the next person, laughing, “I don’t know how to play this.”

Xie Yuanxing beside him snorted softly, the bear ears on his head shaking. “Weak.”

Shen Bianye glared at him, feeling his hands itch.

After one round, Shi Tingting held back her laughter and came out. “So, this round, I have the highest score!”

“For the lowest score’s punishment, how about we play Card Kiss?”

She and Tangtang both felt that the atmosphere between Senior Shen and Xingxing was strange. As soon as Senior Shen arrived, he seemed to want to shout into a megaphone that Xingxing had a boyfriend, as if he himself was the boyfriend.

First, he insisted on sitting next to Xingxing, then said he had a cold and couldn’t drink, so he ordered soy milk, but the first cup he poured for Xingxing, not drinking a sip himself.

His attitude towards Xingxing was also different from others.

Although he was retorting, he was retorting… it felt like flirting.

Trying Card Kiss seemed just right. It wasn’t likely to lead to an actual kiss, and it could satisfy their curious gossipy hearts.

Such games were normal at mixers, no one would find it strange.

Upon hearing “Card Kiss,” Shen Bianye raised an eyebrow, while Xie Yuanxing looked quite bewildered.

Xie Yuanxing: “Card Kiss? What’s that?”

Shi Tingting somehow pulled out a deck of playing cards, drew one out, and explained, “You two stand facing each other.”

“I’ll drop this playing card between you two, and you have to time its fall and catch it with your mouths.”

There was only a split second of opportunity. If they didn’t catch it, the two people leaning forward would kiss.

Xie Yuanxing only had to think for a moment to understand what would happen if they didn’t catch it. He shook his head, “I’ll just drink instead.”

He refused directly, without even a hint of hesitation.

Shi Tingting was surprised, “Xingxing, just try it! Want to have a practice run first?”

“No.” Xie Yuanxing picked up the ready-poured wine glass on the table. “Can’t I choose to drink? I’ll drink.”

Shi Tingting then looked at Shen Bianye, “Then Senior Shen can choose someone from those present who is willing to play this game with you?”

As soon as she said this, half of the people present secretly anticipated it.

Shen Bianye’s previously half-smiling expression faded, and he said blandly, “I’ll also choose to drink.”

Those playing the game aimed for intense punishments, so to make people hesitate to choose drinking, the cups were filled to the brim, almost overflowing.

He picked up his glass, watching Xie Yuanxing struggle to gulp down the wine, a hint of annoyance flashing in his eyes.

They wouldn’t actually kiss anyway.

So scared.

Does he think someone really wants to?

Both punished individuals in the first round chose to drink. The atmosphere had somewhat dampened, but thankfully, in the next round, the two penalized individuals failed to catch the card, brushing lips as they kissed, which significantly heated up the atmosphere.

Cheers and laughter were constant, and soon it was the next round.

Shen Bianye and Xie Yuanxing were in the same group. As long as the six-person group wasn’t shuffled, it would still be the same people for the second round.

Before Shen Bianye, Shi Tingting still had the highest target score.

When her nine-ring shot was announced, everyone was stunned and started urging her to just decide on a punishment.

Xie Yuanxing’s head was already a bit dizzy. He tried his best to keep his eyes wide open, and by sheer accident, he hit the outermost ring.

He breathed a sigh of relief. As long as someone missed the target completely, he wouldn’t be the lowest score.

The dizzy person turned his head, pointing his little bear ears towards Shen Bianye, hoping for another missed shot.

Shen Bianye lowered his gaze, his well-defined knuckles pinching the fletching of the arrow. He drew an arrow from the quiver and placed it on the bowstring.

The next second, the arrow left the string, flying directly into the red bullseye in front of him.

Ten rings.

“Holy crap! So cool!”

“Ten rings!! Senior got the highest score!”

“Cool, cool, cool! First ten rings of the whole event.”

“Senior, you can play! You were messing with us last time.”

Shen Bianye: “Just luck.”

In this round, Shen Bianye had the highest score, and Xie Yuanxing had the lowest.

People around them were clamoring with various ideas for punishing the loser. Shen Bianye’s gaze fell on Xie Yuanxing.

Before he could even speak, Xie Yuanxing had already picked up his wine glass. “I’ll drink.”

Shen Bianye’s face immediately became incredibly grim. His gaze fixed darkly on Xie Yuanxing, the veins on his hand holding the bow bulged, and his knuckles turned white from clenching too hard.

Xie Yuanxing didn’t notice. He lowered his head and gulped down the wine. When he drank the last sip, he couldn’t help but burp.

So full.

And so dizzy.

He deeply felt that with his terrible archery skills, he would only lose at this game. The other groups were all a bunch of amateurs, playing with wins and losses, but their group had a Shi Tingting, and a Shen Bianye who was either good or not.

While they were playing enthusiastically, Xie Yuanxing quietly wobbled with his little bear hat to the front hall.

The front hall was indoors, so it wasn’t as cold sitting there.

Xie Yuanxing had also drunk alcohol. After sitting for a while, his mind started to get a little fuzzy, and he propped his head up, feeling drowsy.

When Shen Bianye found him, Xie Yuanxing was趴 on the table, his face flushed and tender, a little soft flesh pressed out by his hand. He seemed to be asleep, or perhaps had passed out from drunkenness.

“Xie Yuanxing.” Shen Bianye stood beside him and called his name.

Shen Bianye’s handsome face wore a cold expression, his brows and eyes carrying a hint of hostility. His complexion was very poor, and he felt a strong urge to pick up the prone person and spank their butt while questioning them.

He wasn’t X, so Xie Yuanxing wouldn’t need to take off his pants in front of him. As a fallback, he guaranteed that even through pants, he could make Xie Yuanxing hurt.

A fire burned in his chest, so infuriated that Shen Bianye could barely control the impulse.

He hadn’t even said a word, and Xie Yuanxing had already chosen to drink directly.

What did that mean?

Did he think he would intentionally make things difficult? So he just decided to drink a glass of wine to get it over with?

In Xie Yuanxing’s heart, was he that kind of person?

Or was it that he didn’t want to play games with him, couldn’t be bothered to listen, and just drank and left before he could even speak?

No matter which of these two reasons it was, Shen Bianye found it unbearable.

If it were X here, if X were playing…

The man standing in front of the table suddenly clenched his fists, thinking darkly: Xie Yuanxing probably wouldn’t have refused the first round’s card punishment.

In the second round, he wouldn’t have left X without a chance to say a word, disinterestedly drinking and walking away.

For a moment, Shen Bianye felt: They’re clearly the same person, how can Xie Yuanxing treat them so differently?

As soon as this thought appeared, Shen Bianye’s heart sank.

He was crazy to think that way, too deeply affected by pheromones, his mind wasn’t clear.

He didn’t like Xie Yuanxing anyway; he didn’t need Xie Yuanxing’s favoritism.

What angered Shen Bianye was that even as just roommates, Xie Yuanxing’s actions were too much.

He hadn’t said a word, not a single word!

And Xie Yuanxing just poured himself wine!

Did Xie Yuanxing really think of him as the kind of person who would intentionally make things difficult for his roommate?!

He thought too poorly of him!

Shen Bianye had hit the target because he realized Xie Yuanxing wasn’t good at drinking and didn’t like playing such games.

Although Xie Yuanxing’s blunt refusal in the first round had annoyed him a bit, in the second round, he aimed for a ten-ring precisely with the intention of letting Xie Yuanxing off easy.

Yet, Xie Yuanxing didn’t give him a chance to say a word, his good intentions were directly ignored and misinterpreted. How could Shen Bianye not be fuming?

Shen Bianye’s earlier call received no answer. He looked down at the person who had fallen asleep on the table, and thought with a cold laugh:

Serves him right, being drunk serves him right too.

The light from above spilled onto Xie Yuanxing’s face, making him look soft and warm. His thick, curled eyelashes cast small, fan-like shadows, and his mouth was pushed into a pout, rosy and glistening with alcohol.

Shen Bianye was very angry. The moment Xie Yuanxing drank directly, he was so annoyed he wanted to hit someone, and now he was still angry, itching to act.

He reached out, his thumb tracing Xie Yuanxing’s lips, taking away the sparkling alcohol.

Looking at the alcohol on his hand, he, on a whim, tasted it.

Wheat-flavored, with a slightly sweet aftertaste.

Never mind.

He was a man of great generosity; he wouldn’t hold it against Xie Yuanxing.