Chapter 90: Singing
The colorful lights in the karaoke room were flashing, and under the dim light, the half-drunk people were letting out all their usual stress without holding back.
Chen Junjie stood alone in front of the TV, holding a microphone and shouting out the song “Brother, Give Me a Hug.” With the speakers blasting his voice, it sounded as loud as thunder.
An Han leaned against the sofa with a bottle of beer in his arms. His cheeks were red, his eyes were hazy, and he looked at Chen Junjie, who was singing and swaying, occasionally hiccuping and yawning.
It seemed he had drunk too fast and without eating any snacks to help soak up the alcohol.
He glanced at the messy table full of bottles but couldn’t figure out how many he had actually drunk. His mind was too slow to count.
“An Han, maybe you should stop drinking?” Su Peng, who was sitting beside him, said with worry. “You don’t look good today, your face is really red.”
“It’s fine! Today is Brother Long’s birthday! I’m happy!”
An Han waved his arm with excitement, sat up, and reached for another drink, but his body suddenly swayed and fell straight into Su Peng’s arms.
Oh no, I think I really got drunk this time!
That thought flashed through his mind. He tried to open his tired eyes and looked toward Long Xing. Only to see that guy still full of energy, fighting Chen Junjie for the microphone.
Damn it, when did your drinking get so good?!
Usually, An Han pretended to have a high alcohol tolerance in front of his roommates, so if he pretended to pass out after just a few bottles, they would notice something was wrong. His plan had been to stay just tipsy enough to act a little drunk and fool around a bit. But somehow, he had actually overdone it.
“Him!” An Han lay sideways on Su Peng’s lap, angrily pointing at Long Xing. “I’m drunk already, but he’s still fine~”
His voice unconsciously turned soft and weak, like a small kitten mewing.
“Long Xing isn’t like you,” Su Peng sighed, looking helplessly at An Han on his lap. “You grab a bottle and just start pouring it down.”
“Did I drink a lot…? I’m so sleepy… no strength…”
“Judging from all these empty bottles, at least half are yours.”
As far as he could remember, this was probably the first time An Han had gotten this drunk.
Sleepiness pulled at his eyelids, and within seconds of not thinking, his mind went blank. His whole body felt weak, as if all his energy had drained out.
But his brain hadn’t completely shut down yet. After a few moments, he sluggishly tried to sit up.
Can’t stay this close to Su Peng. This guy’s affection level toward me is over 90, lying on his lap is like resting on a time bomb.
He forced his mind to stay awake, afraid that if he zoned out for even a few seconds, he’d totally pass out. Random thoughts filled his head as his hand started searching for something firm to help him push himself up.
He hadn’t meant to drink that much, maybe it was just that the system had been pushing him too hard lately, and drinking was his way of letting out all that frustration.
Su Peng’s body felt so warm… and his thigh was soft yet firm, like the perfect pillow.
An Han pressed his hand on the edge of the sofa and pushed hard, but as soon as he lifted himself, his hand slipped and he fell back down heavily.
“Stop messing around, are you hurt?” Su Peng asked with a laugh, half worried and half amused. “Don’t tell me you still want to drink? Come on, just lie down and sleep.”
Meanwhile, Long Xing finally managed to grab the microphone and used his special weak-lunged singing style to perform ‘A Freely Walking Flower’.
It was supposed to be a famous, beautiful song… but from his mouth, not a single line was in tune. Combined with his painful, breathless voice and the way he sang with way too much emotion, Long Xing’s singing was absolutely deadly to the ears.
An Han leaned against Su Peng’s leg, covering his ears with both hands, trying to block out Long Xing’s singing, but the speakers didn’t give him a chance. No matter how tightly he covered his ears, he still couldn’t shut out the sound completely.
“Long Xing’s music germs are too strong!” he groaned.
Su Peng laughed, then looked down at An Han, who was pressing his hands to his ears with a pained expression. After hesitating for a moment, he also reached out, placing his palms over the backs of An Han’s hands to help him block the noise.
An Han’s hands were cold, like a drink just taken out of the fridge, the kind of cold that makes you feel sorry for him.
His hands were also small. Su Peng’s palms could easily cover them completely, and the soft, smooth feeling against his skin was like holding a piece of tofu, so delicate that he was afraid pressing too hard would break it.
Lowering his head, Su Peng looked at An Han’s upturned face just inches away. His bangs had fallen to the sides, revealing a fair but slightly wide forehead, with a few faint pimples on it. His eyes were tightly shut, and his long eyelashes trembled slightly, sometimes revealing a flash of black pupils. His brows were furrowed, his nose wrinkled, and his face was full of annoyance.
Clearly, even Su Peng’s help couldn’t completely block out the awful sound.
“This is so bad!” Suddenly, An Han shouted at the top of his lungs, “Shut up!”
Long Xing froze mid-song, his mouth hanging open in shock. He turned around in confusion and saw An Han lying on Su Peng’s lap, hands pressed tightly over his ears.
“Am I really that bad…?” Long Xing scratched his head awkwardly.
Su Peng quietly nodded. Chen Junjie was also stunned, he hadn’t expected An Han to be so blunt.
“Hey, come on, it’s Brother Long’s birthday! What’s wrong with him singing a song?” Chen Junjie quickly tried to smooth things over. “Don’t mind him, Brother Long, An Han must be drunk. He’s just being sensitive to noise.”
An Han opened his eyes angrily. Suddenly, some strength returned to his body. He pushed himself up using Su Peng’s leg and glared at Long Xing. “It’s awful! You’re too loud!”
But the next second, his expression froze. A wave of doubt and shock flashed through his face as he looked down at his hand.
Wait… did I just push on something I shouldn’t have?
He turned to look at Su Peng, who was now pale, curled up, and grimacing in pain.
His drunk mind was too foggy to think straight, so he quickly forgot the awkward moment. He stood up, thinking he looked full of confidence (even though he was actually staggering), walked up to Long Xing, looked up at him defiantly with hands on his hips, and said, “Give me the microphone! I’ll sing!”
[Long Xing’s favorability toward you -3]
Long Xing looked a little annoyed but couldn’t help laughing at how serious and fierce An Han looked. “You’re drunk.”
“I’m not! How could I be drunk?”
Nice! It worked! That should cancel out the points I just lost earlier!
As expected, Long Xing, who cares the most about face, would lose favor when I interrupt him in front of everyone.
“If you weren’t drunk, you wouldn’t be saying you want to sing.”
“I’m not drunk!” An Han insisted stubbornly, even more proud and provocative. “Let me teach you what real singing is! No, I’ll teach all of you!”
He snatched the microphone, looked around the room, ignored Su Peng (who was still in pain and clutching his pants), and huffed proudly, “Everyone here is trash!”
“Oh please, we haven’t heard you sing in over two years,” Chen Junjie said, sitting beside Wang Sheng and crossing his legs while drinking. “Don’t try to act tough when you’re drunk.”
Then he turned to Su Peng. “Hey, why aren’t you stopping him? Wait— what’s wrong with you? Stomach ache? Why are you curled up like that?”
The next moment, a voice, soft and smooth like the wind brushing through willows, graceful and full of emotion, interrupted Chen Junjie mid-sentence.
He turned his head in a daze, staring at An Han, who was now swaying gently with the rhythm as he sang.
It was the second half of “A Freely Walking Flower.”
Completely drunk, An Han had finally let go of all his restraints.