Chapter 29
Taking advantage of the moment, Su Yue walked out without looking back.
Mike chased him all the way to the front yard, grabbing his shoulders with both hands: "I'm sorry, Thomas drank too much and wasn't thinking straight. I'll teach him a lesson, and I promise it won't happen again."
Su Yue coldly shook off his hand: "...Not just him. You're the same."
Mike grew anxious, unconsciously increasing the pressure on Su Yue's shoulder until it ached: "I'm different! I really like you!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, both of them froze. Mike regretted it a little, but he didn't let go of Su Yue's shoulder.
Su Yue took a deep breath and decided to be blunt: "Mike, I don't like you, and it's impossible for me to be with you. Please don't do this again."
Mike's eyes darkened, and he slowly released his grip, remaining silent for a long time. So long that Su Yue began to find it absurd—he was the one being harassed, so why was the other party acting like a victim?
He turned to leave, but Mike called him back, his voice lowered and pleading: "...At least, can we be friends?"
Su Yue frowned. He didn't want to get involved with the football team at all, but looking at Mike's dejected appearance—even in his dejection, his muscular physique still exuded an undeniable aura of power—he quickly weighed his options: ordinary friends, a nod when they met, was better than completely offending this popular figure on campus and having a difficult future.
He finally nodded, and under Mike's complicated gaze, turned and left.
A week later, Mike actually joined their gaming team as a "friend".
He approached the three men with a sincere attitude: "I heard you guys are really good at League of Legends. I'm new to the game and not very good at it. Could you teach me?"
Martin and John exchanged a glance, remembering that Mike had previously "invited" them to the party (and implied that Su Yue didn't have to come), and immediately felt that this guy was really generous. They patted their chests loudly and said, "No problem! We've got it covered!"
Su Yue: "..."
Since their last confrontation, whenever Mike ran into him at school, he would only greet him politely and never cross the line again, acting like a genuine, ordinary friend. It seemed... there was no reason to object to Mike joining the game.
Besides, Martin and John have already passed the vote, so does his opinion still matter?
The three-person team was thus expanded to four people.
After several activities, everyone found that Mike was very well-behaved, focused on learning and playing the game, and treated everyone equally. Moreover, he had a cheerful personality and was good at enlivening the atmosphere, often coming up with a few well-timed jokes during tense moments of the game, making everyone laugh.
Two months later, Su Yue gradually lowered his guard.
The three even gifted Mike some basic equipment, and the four-person team seemed to be getting along very well, with the potential to operate long-term.
Another weekend, and the gathering place changed to Mike's house. Apparently, his parents were away on a business trip, so everyone could have a great time.
Mike was great at creating a lively atmosphere. Although Thomas usually organized the big parties, he had picked up the skills and could also organize small gatherings very well: first, they played online games, then had some drinks and chatted, and then went to the basement home theater to watch a superhero movie. Without any girls around, the guys were more relaxed and had a great time.
Someone complained that the fruit wine wasn't strong enough and wanted to drink some "real wine."
Of the four, only Mike had just reached legal drinking age; the other three shouldn't even be allowed to drink fruit wine. But the more forbidden something is, the more tempting it becomes, especially since Mike's wine cabinet was overflowing with all sorts of liquors.
So, a bottle of XO was opened.
The result was predictable—the three who had been shouting the loudest earlier revealed their true colors after a few drinks. Su Yue, in particular, drank the most after being toasted by Mike, Martin, and John in turn.
"No, it's time to go home!" Fat Martin shouted, his tongue slurring.
John, feeling dizzy, calculated: "From here to my house... four streets, five hundred meters... that's so far."
Martin put his arm around him: "It's three blocks, more than 300 meters, to your house, which is... farther than you!"
John nodded solemnly: "Indeed."
Alcohol had completely taken over the two of them.
The two, however, still thought themselves sober, and looked at Mike with grins, "Mike, Mike, let's rest here for a while before we go, ha... It's too far, we have to rest before we can walk back..."
At the other end of the sofa, Su Yue's eyes were half-closed, unable to speak. Only Mike remained unfazed, helping Su Yue up and walking towards the bedroom upstairs, glancing back at the two men: "The living room sofa is yours, please make yourselves at home."
Only Martin and John remained in the living room.
Martin was hungry again and instinctively reached for the potato chips in his backpack. But no matter how much he touched, he only found a smooth, round bottle.
"Did I take the wrong one? Did I bring a bottle of yogurt?" He was a little annoyed, but something to eat was better than nothing. He took it out and saw that it wasn't yogurt.
It was a small, dark blue bottle, still unopened. The packaging looked like a face wash, with a bunch of tiny print printed on it.
Martin squinted, struggling to make out: "...lubricant...?" He glanced at the bag in his hand again, then said listlessly, "This...isn't my bag!"
"This is Mike's bag!" John, who had been slumped to the side, suddenly snapped out of his daze, snatched the bottle, examined it closely, and his face turned deathly pale. Trembling, he shoved the bottle back into his bag. "Fatty, if you don't want to be silenced... we'd better get out of here!"
Martin then realized what was happening and turned pale with fright: "Could it be... that lubricant?"
"Shh!" John quickly covered his mouth and nervously glanced towards the second floor.
Footsteps came from the second floor, and Mike came down.
The two of them jumped up as if they'd been electrocuted, sobering up considerably!
Before Mike could speak, they hurriedly said goodbye, explaining that they were too drunk and had to go home immediately.
Mike said "Oh," and glanced meaningfully at the second floor: "Su Yue just lay down. Should we wake him up and go together?"
The two shook their heads vigorously: "No need, no need! He's so heavy, we can't lift him!"
"Let him sleep here. He can go back by himself tomorrow morning."
"We're all brothers, there's nothing to worry about!"
Mike seemed to agree reluctantly.
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