Chapter 72: I Want to Eat You Up
An Yuan had never seen Chen Cheng get drunk like this before.
Even though they often drank together, Chen Cheng usually had only two drunken states. Either she’d get chatty and ramble on endlessly, or she’d just drop her head and fall asleep instantly.
Right now, she wasn’t exactly out of control, just overly excited from drinking too much, saying whatever came to mind without thinking.
"Ugh~ I had the chance back then! My ex-girlfriend wouldn’t let me go further, so I just held her all night. Now I totally regret it! Why didn’t I make a move? Who would’ve thought I’d turn into a girl myself? Now I have no chance at all!"
Chen Cheng angrily bit into her roasted chicken leg, slapping her thigh in frustration.
"Even if you had another chance, you still wouldn’t do it."
"That’s right! I believe in pure love!"
"You’re just a coward," An Yuan rolled his eyes at her.
"So what does it feel like?"
Chen Cheng tilted her head back to look at him, her unfocused eyes blinking drowsily as she swayed slightly like a dazed goose.
An Yuan sighed. Even though he was the one who had introduced her to those kinds of movies, and they often shared resources, he really didn’t want to talk dirty with her now, especially when she looked like an innocent, pretty girl.
"Just finish your drink and go to bed." He handed her a skewer. "Stop chewing on that. You’re about to gnaw the chicken bones into dust."
"Come on~ Just tell me~ What are you so shy about~"
"Cut it out."
He reached out and ruffled her hair. For some reason, her hair felt extra soft today, making it oddly satisfying to mess with.
"I told you not to touch my head."
She tried shaking him off, but after a few attempts, she gave up and went back to eating, a beer in one hand and a skewer in the other.
"Ugh, I’m getting full..."
"Then go use the bathroom and head to bed."
An Yuan was getting impatient, wanting her to stop acting crazy. "It’s almost midnight. We have class early tomorrow."
"It’s fine. I never sleep long after drinking anyway."
Chen Cheng frowned, stood up, and reached under her skirt, pulling down her white stockings.
"What are you doing?" An Yuan was startled by her actions.
"It’s too hot... These stockings are too thick..."
An Yuan’s eye twitched as he watched her slowly peel them off, revealing smooth, fair skin. Like peeling the skin off a juicy orange to expose the flesh inside.
His mouth felt a little dry. He took a sip of beer to suppress the heat rising inside him.
Once she threw the stockings aside, Chen Cheng sat back down, completely carefree, her skirt bunched up messily around her thighs as she sat cross-legged.
"I want some soda..." she mumbled, grabbing her ankles with both hands like a clueless kid.
An Yuan’s eyes briefly flicked toward her legs, smooth, fair, and dangerously close to revealing more than he should see.
"There should be some in your fridge. I brought a whole pack for you last weekend. Wait here."
He went to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of cola, but when he came back, he saw Chen Cheng lying on the couch, staring blankly at the ceiling lights.
"Do you still want it?"
"I want to sleep..."
"You’re so high-maintenance." An Yuan sighed, setting the soda down before grabbing her arm, trying to pull her up. "Then get up and go to bed."
But Chen Cheng didn’t budge. Instead, she slumped to the side, almost falling off the couch.
Her gaze drifted toward him, and the flush on her face, already red from drinking, deepened with a hint of shyness. She opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but even in her drunken state, she struggled to voice her thoughts.
After hesitating for a moment, she turned her head away, lifted both arms high, and waited.
"......"
Was she asking him to carry her?
An Yuan froze, unsure of what to do. Even though they’d had a close moment before, he still wanted to avoid crossing any lines.
Chen Cheng was definitely drunk, but not so much that she wouldn’t remember anything the next day. When she sobered up, she’d probably feel embarrassed and blame him for going along with her antics.
An Yuan scratched his head. She was still holding her arms up, refusing to give up. With no other choice, he sighed, stepped forward, and bent down.
He wrapped one arm around her legs and supported her head with the other. “Hold onto my neck.”
“Okay!”
Like a little koala, Chen Cheng clung to him, burying her face in his chest and taking a deep breath.
...Was she being weird, or was it just him?
An Yuan clearly heard her inhale, and in the next moment, he felt a bite on his shoulder. A shiver ran down his spine as he gritted his teeth and glared at her.
“What are you, a dog?”
Chen Cheng ignored him and rubbed her head against his chest like a clingy kitten.
“You’re such a weirdo.”
An Yuan’s ears turned a little red. He could feel his heartbeat quicken.
Chen Cheng smelled faintly sweet, like a soft, lingering scent unique to girls. She was light, probably barely 100 pounds, so carrying her wasn’t difficult. His hand rested on her thigh, and he could feel how smooth and soft her skin was. It was almost tempting to give it a squeeze.
The walk from the living room to the bedroom should’ve taken only a minute or two, but somehow, An Yuan took his time, dragging it out to five minutes before reaching the bed.
He gently set her down. Chen Cheng rolled onto her back, took off her glasses, and lazily stretched her arms over her head. The movement made her chest stand out more, and her hazy eyes locked onto him, as if silently asking him to stay.
Her gaze was mesmerizing, like rippling water under soft moonlight, inviting and hard to ignore.
“Alright, time to sleep. I’m leaving.”
“My bra is still on… it’s uncomfortable.”
She struggled to reach behind her back.
“Are you doing this on purpose?”
Without hesitation, she admitted, “Yep! I wanna see you get flustered and laugh at you!”
“You’re not worried I might lose control?” An Yuan raised an eyebrow. Without much thought, he reached over and unhooked her bra through her dress. “There, done. Anything else?”
“Nope…” Her voice grew softer, her eyelids fluttering shut.
“You really trust your half-baked flirting skills that much?”
“I trust you…”
An Yuan froze for a second, rubbing his nose awkwardly. “I am a man, you know.”
“…An Yuan…”
“What now?”
Chen Cheng forced her eyes open, trying not to let them close. Her voice was so quiet it was almost a whisper.
“Ever since I turned into a girl, I’ve felt really anxious. I can’t sleep at night. I keep trying to adapt, make new friends, dress up, act like a normal girl. But I’m scared. Scared of people looking at me weird, scared my parents will find out I’m not their daughter, scared that one day… you’ll leave too. But it’s so hard…”
An Yuan sat beside her in silence, gently patting her head.
This time, she didn’t protest. In fact, she even shifted closer, rubbing against his hand like she was seeking comfort.
“But when I’m with you, I feel safe. I just want to hold you, breathe in your scent… I want to eat you up.”
“…That last part’s a bit much.”
She grabbed his hand. “Can you… stay with me until I fall asleep?”
No wonder his eyelid had been twitching, this was bound to happen tonight.
“…Alright.”
“Phew—”
Before he even finished speaking, Chen Cheng had already drifted off, breathing steadily in her sleep.
An Yuan blinked, pinched her cheek lightly, and tucked her in. “Guess I’ll head out then?”
But as he looked at her sleeping face, soft and completely defenseless, something inside him wavered. Before he realized what he was doing, he leaned down and lightly pressed a kiss to her forehead.
The second he did, he snapped back to his senses. His heart skipped a beat, and he ran out of the room in a panic.