After Unbinding the Simp System, I'm Targeted by the Villain - Chapter 46

Zhuang Yunfei, seeing Duan Huaijin’s indifferent attitude, was still fuming. “You just wait… we’ll see about this!”

Everyone else in the room looked at Zhuang Yunfei as if he were an idiot; they all thought he had gone mad.

Yu Chucheng’s appearance here tonight made it crystal clear: from now on, crossing Duan Huaijin was the same as crossing Yu Chucheng himself. Anyone with a shred of IQ wouldn’t dream of making things difficult for Duan Huaijin in the future—though it seemed like even if Yu Chucheng hadn’t shown up, they wouldn’t have been able to do much to Duan Huaijin anyway.

Xin Yihuan looked down at the broken bottle at his feet, his expression looking a bit grim. Others might not know what was in that bottle, but he did. Because he was the closest, and it takes time for liquid to evaporate, he was the only one who smelled that intense, high-purity Alpha pheromone.

This is pheromone extraction liquid!

Duan Huaijin actually called such a rare item “unimportant”—he was clearly lying to Yu Chucheng. Xin Yihuan looked up abruptly, seemingly wanting to call out to Yu Chucheng. But when he saw how close Duan Huaijin and Yu Chucheng were, the words died in his throat. Xin Yihuan swallowed hard, clutching his phone as he watched their retreating figures.

Outside the “Linshui Tingfeng” club, Yu Chucheng hailed a taxi.

The night wind was quite strong, feeling cold against his face. But Duan Huaijin was like a heat source; his whole body was warm, and by extension, Yu Chucheng felt warm too.

Are all Alphas like this, or is it because he drank tonight?

Yu Chucheng was just about to ask Duan Huaijin how he felt when he looked up, and his lips nearly brushed against the tip of Duan Huaijin’s nose. Duan Huaijin had lowered his head at some point, leaning lowly against Yu Chucheng’s shoulder, his eyes closed as if he were feeling unwell.

Yu Chucheng froze; he didn’t actually feel much weight. Though he hated to admit it, it was likely because his height wasn’t quite enough.

“…”

Yu Chucheng looked around like a thief, and after confirming no one was watching, he silently stood on his tiptoes to lift his shoulder a bit higher.

That should do it.

Yu Chucheng’s attention was entirely on Duan Huaijin, so much so that he didn’t even notice the ride-share car had arrived.

Beep—!

The driver, seeing the passengers hadn’t noticed him, honked the horn. Two of Yu Chucheng’s three souls were scared out of him, leaving only one to frantically stuff Duan Huaijin into the car.

Duan Huaijin leaned against the car window, half-opening his eyelids while Yu Chucheng spoke to the driver. While waiting for the car earlier, he had indeed closed his eyes out of exhaustion—after all, he was in his rut, had just undergone pheromone extraction, and had drunk some alcohol—but the moment Yu Chucheng looked up, he had snapped awake.

Yu Chucheng didn’t send Duan Huaijin home; instead, he took the taxi straight to his own apartment.

“Better not go back to that place in this state,” Yu Chucheng muttered under his breath while supporting Duan Huaijin out of the car.

Strangely, he felt like Duan Huaijin seemed even drunker than he was at the club. When they left the club, Duan Huaijin could at least walk steadily with help, but now he was listing to the side; if Yu Chucheng hadn’t been holding him up, he likely would have fallen.

Yu Chucheng was privately alarmed. What kind of alcohol was that? The aftereffects are huge. An Alpha of Duan Huaijin’s caliber—if he collapsed outside, Yu Chucheng definitely wouldn’t be able to move him alone.

To prevent Duan Huaijin from falling, Yu Chucheng had to grip his wrist tightly, staying on high alert.

However, the person involved was blinded while the bystander saw clearly. If a third person had been present, they would have easily seen that Duan Huaijin wasn’t drunk at all. A truly drunk person has a floating gait and wobbles aimlessly. Duan Huaijin only had his upper body leaning on Yu Chucheng; his lower half was steadier than a sober person’s. In fact, when Yu Chucheng veered off course, Duan Huaijin easily guided them back on track.

Yu Chucheng struggled to haul Duan Huaijin to the apartment door. When he couldn’t reach the keys in his pocket because he was supporting Duan Huaijin, he finally understood the convenience of smart locks and fingerprint scanners.

“Duan Huaijin, can you lean against the wall for a second? I need to get the keys.” Yu Chucheng’s breathing was a bit unsteady. As he let go to free a hand, Duan Huaijin’s whole body leaned forward.

Yu Chucheng gasped. Great. If he collapses at the front door, I’m not sure I can drag him in. Just as he was about to turn around to brace him—

Click.

Duan Huaijin reached out just in time to prop himself against the wall.

“Keys in your pocket?”

Whether it was the alcohol or not, Yu Chucheng felt Duan Huaijin’s voice was exceptionally deep tonight. The hot breath by his ear made his ear go numb. He froze in place, back turned to the other. “Yes, I—”

Yu Chucheng’s voice cut off abruptly because while Duan Huaijin propped himself against the wall with one hand, his other hand reached directly into Yu Chucheng’s right pants pocket.

A guy’s pocket isn’t something to be touched lightly, especially…

Yu Chucheng’s ears turned a violent red. He froze, not daring to move, while a metaphorical plume of smoke rose from the top of his head.

“Found them,” Duan Huaijin said suddenly.

Yu Chucheng stammered, “Wh-what’s found?”

Duan Huaijin held up the keychain. “The keys.”

Yu Chucheng felt like he was losing his mind. He snatched the keys, fumbling to shove them into the lock, feeling like he would explode if he stayed in the hallway for one more second.

“Just lie on the bed first, I’ll go get you some water.”

The second after pushing Duan Huaijin onto the bed, Yu Chucheng bolted out of the bedroom without looking back.

Where’s the kettle? Here! Should I order some hangover medicine? Is he far gone enough for that? Why is the kitchen so dark? Oh, I didn’t turn on the light.

…

Yu Chucheng spun in circles in the kitchen. People always pretend to be busy when they’re embarrassed.

After a long while, Yu Chucheng finally calmed down. He took a bottle of ice water from the fridge and pressed it against his face to bring down the temperature. Once he had fully gathered himself and his heart rate returned to normal, he realized the kitchen was a total mess.

He had somehow tossed a soup spoon into the sink; the plates had been standing vertically, but he had insisted on stacking them horizontally; orange peels were scattered everywhere; he’d even turned on the range hood, which was humming away with nothing to suck out.

Looking at his “masterpiece,” Yu Chucheng clutched his hair in despair. The only consolation was that the water had boiled. He turned off the range hood and poured the water into a clean cup.

“Ow, hot.” Just as he was about to take it to Duan Huaijin, the scalding glass stung his fingers. With no other choice, he turned on the AC and held the cup in front of the vent for a few minutes.

Back home, the auntie always took care of him; he never had to do a thing. This was his first time taking care of someone else. He tested the temperature with his hand again—now it was neither too hot nor too cold.

He carried the cup into the bedroom with confidence. “The water’s ready. Drinking some will make you feel better.”

Duan Huaijin, lying flat on the bed, didn’t respond.

Yu Chucheng approached carefully to look; he could hear the sound of steady breathing. He placed the cup gently on the nightstand and knelt down, staring at Duan Huaijin’s straight, handsome nose and sharp profile.

“Are… are you asleep?”