I Like Your Pheromones Ch. 19: Dinner
In the evening of that same day, Zhao Minjun applied for a leave from the school, and during the self-study period at night, he took the whole class of students out.
First Middle was located in a bustling area of Ningcheng City. There was a large shopping center only a few kilometers away from the school. Only when the students got there did they find out that Zhao Minjun had called into reserved seats at Haidilao last night, so no matter if they were able to win first place today, their Haidilao meal couldnât escape.
âDuan Jiayan,â Chen Yue saw Duan Jiayan and Song Yi looking for a seat and called them over, pointing to the two empty seats beside him: âCome, come, sit here.â
To the left of Chen Yue is Lu Xingci. After Duan Jiayan sat down, he and Song Yi will be to the right of Cheng Yue.
They just filled up the 12-person table. When it came time to order, Zhou Xingchen ordered six bottles of beer. The girl next to him asked in disapproval:
âDidnât Teacher Zhao forbid us from drinking?â
âShhââ Zhou Xingchen shook his head at her: âWeâll do it secretly. Weâll simply hide it when she comes over.â
âWhat are you ordering wine for? And six bottles?â Chen Yue casually: âConsidering how much you can drink, will you even be able to finish it?â
âIsnât Brother Lu here with us?â
Lu Xingci said with a smile: âIâm not going to drink. Since you ordered it, you should finish it yourself.â
Seeing that he really began to drink lemonade for self-cultivation, Zhou Xingchen glanced at the table. This table was evenly split, half-filled with boys and half girls; he didnât really have the nerve to ask to drink with girls. Zhou Xingchenâs eyes brightened: âDuan Jiayan, letâs drink together. You must be able to drink, right?â
Caught off guard, Duan Jiayan looked up. Besides him, Song Yi watched this scene and couldnât hold back his laughter: âYup, Xiao-duan can drink.â Heâll be out after only one bottle.
Without waiting for Duan Jiayan to reply, Zhou Xingchen regarded him as his only hope and took the initiative to offer Duan Jiayan a full cup.
âIâll toast you,â Zhou Xingchen held the glass: âI didnât know you well before and wondered why you were always bending over backward. Back then, because⊠Enough, enough. After this experience, Iâll gain a better understanding of you, so we will be friends from now on.â
âYouâre already starting to lay your heart bare before you even start drinking?â Duan Jiayan picked at his eyebrows. âI wonât be able to keep up with your rhythm.â
A burst of laughter came from the table.
ââŠâ âCanât you say something nice?â The corner of Zhou Xingchenâs mouth twitched.
âI canât,â Duan Jiayan sent the cup forward and actively clinked it against his: âItâs no big deal. I didnât like you either before.â
He has always sprouted an indifferent appearance. Those who donât know him might wonder how to beat him up, but at times, he has a kind of temperament that makes people want to approach him.
Zhou Xingchen couldnât help asking a follow-up: âHow about now?â
âYouâre now relying on me. How can I not like you?â
Duan Jiayan just placed down his glass and was about to sit down when Zhou Xingchen filled up his glass again.
âAs long as you like me, we can be brothers,â Zhou Xingchen, who let Duan Jiayanâs words go to his head a little: âCome, letâs drink on!â
He thought that after that glass, Zhou Xingchen would go find other people to drink with. He didnât expect that Zhou Xingchen regarded him as a Savior, expecting him to finish the six bottles of beer together.
Seeing how his words have come to this, Duan Jiayan couldnât really refuse directly. Moreover, if he canât admit that he blacks out after only one bottle, Duan Jiayan was more or less at a loss for words.
Zhou Xingchen was still looking at him eagerly. Duan Jiayan had no choice but to drink with him.
Zhou Xingchen drank while he said, âI used to think that you were quite good at working hard, knowing not to look for trouble in front of Brother Lu. Fortunately, you didnât offend Brother Lu, otherwise, you and I probably wonât have a chance to break the ice. â
ââŠâ Duan Jiayan couldnât help asking: âIs he already drunk? Canât he think before speaking? â
âThatâs just how he is,â said Lu Xingci, who was fishing for food with a strainer spoon. When he heard that, he continued, âhe wasnât very smart, to begin with.â
âIâm suddenly aware that what youâve lifted out is the last piece of fatty beef.â
Duan Jiayan pushed his bowl forward: âCan I be the lucky one to eat that last piece of fatty beef?â
Duan Jiayan looked at him with great expectation.
Meeting that pair of amber eyes for a few seconds, Lu Xingci placed the spoon in front of his eyes and let him choose.
âDonât you see? Your Brother Lu is much easier to talk to than you think,â Duan Jiayan got the food he wanted and was very satisfied: âHeâs not as terrible as you said.â
âBrother Lu!â Zhou Xingchen cried: âI want this service, too!â
Lu Xingci scoffed softly: âLooking for trouble?â
Duan Jiayan and Zhou Xingchen were drinking with noise and excitement. Chen Yue couldnât bear being so lonesome and followed them, drinking half a bottle of wine. There were girls from their table who drank a little too.
Suddenly, a girl said in a panic: âTeacher Zhao is here! Hide the wine!â
The boys first let out an unorganized âahhâ sound, then realized that it was not right, immediately putting the wine bottle under the table.
Zhao Minjun took in the whole scene of the chaos happening at this table. When she came over, her line of sight deliberately swept over each face.
Her stare made everyone feel diffident. Even Duan Jiayan sat straighter.
Zhao Minjun suddenly asked: âDuan Jiayan, whatâs by your feet?â
Duan Jiayan put up a last-ditch struggle: âTeacher, can I say that this is a bottle of mineral water packaged like beer?â
Zhao Minjun said softly, âNo.â
Zhou Xingchen sat forward in his seat, planning to own up to all his mistakes and face the storm. However, Zhao Minjun relaxed her tense expression and laughed:
âArenât you going to toast me?â
The atmosphere became warm again.
âTeacher Zhao, Iâll toast you.â
âHurry up. Which one of you can get a cup for herâ?â
âTeacher Zhao!â Duan Jiayan suddenly roared: âI like you!â
âHahahahahahaha!â Chen Yue almost died of laughter: âWell said, well said!â
âTeacher, I like you too!â One of the girls, whose alcohol was going to her head, boldly said: âYouâre too good to us. No teacher has ever written so many comments on my composition paper and also encouraged me⊠WuwuwuâŠâ
Seeing that she started crying, the other smiling girls beside her patted her arm.
âThis isnât fair,â Duan Jiayan blinked blankly: âWhy didnât I get any comments?â
âHave you ever handed in your compositions?â Zhao Minjun couldnât help but remark: âI want to write comments for you, but where can I write it?â
Duan Jiayan was stunned and let out an âohâ Because of the alcohol, his brain didnât react. Zhao Minjun touched his drinking glass: âYou made great progress in the last monthly exam. Continue to stay diligent in your studies in the future.â
Before leaving, Zhao Minjun looked at the table. Although no one was drunk, some people seemed a little agitated. Zhao Minjun whispered to Lu Xingci: âWatch them. Donât let them drink too much.â
Lu Xingci made a sound of acknowledgment.
Duan Jiayanâs drunkenness doesnât show on his face. Although he got a little drunk, others canât correctly judge his state by simply looking at his appearance.
Song Yi, a little worried, reminded him: âXiao-Duan, take it easy. Donât get drunk.â
Duan Jiayan had been drunk for a while already. At that moment, he heard the word âdrunkâ and suddenly placed his glass down: â Lao Zi* is drunk! No more!â
*T/N: The personal pronoun I typically used arrogantly or jocularly.
Zhou Xingchen: âWho are you coaxing? You appear so much soberer than me. Youâre even aware that youâre drunk. â
Duan Jiayan: âI blackout after a single bottle. So tell me, am I drunk or not?â
Zhou Xingchen: ââŠThen what were you pushing yourself back then for? Iâm about to vomit from drinking too! As a matter of fact, I was drinking because you were drinking!â
Duan Jiayan was more irritable than him: âIsnât it your fault for being so heartily with me? If I didnât drink with you, doesnât it make me look like a heartless person?â
Duan Jiayan said and suddenly slapped the table: âWhat kind of person am I?! Who am I looking down on?!â
ââŠâŠâ Zhou Xingchen was awed by his expressions: âAre you stupid?â
Duan Jiayan ignored him. Zhou Xingchen saw that his skin was as white as usual, and he didnât look drunk at all.
âAre you really drunk?â Zhou Xingchenâs hand shook tentatively in front of him: âDo you still recognize me?â
âYes, dumbass.â Duan Jiayan impatiently waved his hand away: âYouâre credulous. Also henpecked. How low will your family status be in the future?â
âHahahaha.â Chen Yue was really going to go crazy from laughter. He hadnât expected that Duan Jiayanâs comments would be so incisive. He promptly pointed to himself: âMe, me, me! Coach Duan, do you still recognize me?â
âYouâre the one whoâs good at talking,â Duan Jiayan narrowed his eyes: âYour eyesightâs not bad. Youâre also an expert in papering over issues. If you muddle through school a bit better, going to the foreign ministry wonât be just a dream.â
Chen Yue wasnât angry to be described this way. He looked around and signaled Duan Jiayan to look at Lu Xingci: âWhat about this? Who is this? â
âThat,â Duan Jiayan, a little confused, looked over there: âHeâs myâŠâ
Itâs unknown who said with a smile: âYours? How is he yours? â
Duan Jiayan let out a murmur with a vague voice.
*T/N: PUN TIME. DJY is saying âmedicineâ [èŻ] (Yao) which sounds exactly the same as [èŠ] (Yao) which means âwantâ.
âYour want?â Song Yi also got involved in the noise: âWhat do you want? Xiao-Duan, speak clearly or youâll be in an unclear relationship with the class president tomorrow.â
â Heâs just medicine?* â Duan Jiayan was baffled: âOtherwise, what else can he be?â
*T/N: The second punchline, what DJY says is what I wrote in my translation, but the others hear âitâs just that I want [him]?â
âMy god hahahahahahaha!â
âLu-dawg, what do you think of this? He said that he just wants you hahahahaha!â
âNo, Brother Duan, we canât want this one. Itâs not even clear which one of you two wants the otherââ
âHave you all,â said Lu Xingci, suddenly raising his eyes, giving a casual smile, âsaid enough?â
He was clearly smiling when he was talking, however, no one dared to continue making a scene.
Chen Yue coughed: âThere are girls here. Letâs exercise a bit of restraint.â
The several girls who heard the conversation were both glad, yet a bit embarrassed. They were called out all of a sudden. One of them shook her head excitedly: âItâs alright. We know that you boys are all like this.â
They were quiet for a while. The other tables were more or less also finished eating.
Zhao Minjun paid for the bill and called for everyone to line up to leave.
Chen Yue supported Zhou Xingchen, who was finally feeling the slow-acting effects of the alcohol. Chen Yue was almost not able to hold up Zhou Xingchen by himself. Worried that Zhao Minjun would catch sight of them, they were walking at the end of the group.
Song Yi originally wanted to pull Duan Jiayan along, but he didnât expect that just tapping his shoulder made Duan Jiayan grab Song Yiâs hand in response, twisting it so far that it almost snapped.
Song Yi let out a miserable shriek. Upon seeing this, the boy beside him wanted to lend a hand but was also pulled and twisted by Duan Jiayan.
âWhat the fuck!â The stunned boy almost let a curse slip out: âHow does he have such a fast reaction speed even though heâs drunk? W-What do we do?â
âWhat else?â Lu Xingci said softly: âTie him up to bring back.â
âDuan Jiayan,â he stood up. Before touching Duan Jiayan, he threatened with a vivid figure: âIf you pull me, I will press your head into the Haidilao* .â
*T/N: Into the hotpot o-o;
This threat seemed to have no effect. As soon as Lu Xingci voiced the last word, Duan Jiayan already reached out and was about to pull him.
Lu Xing stopped his hand. Just when Song Yi thought he would see the bloody scene the class president warned ofâ Duan Jiayan ending up in the Haidilaoâ the tall boy âtskâed and lifted the hand he was holding up, putting it around his own shoulder.
At the same time, the other arm wounded around Duan Jiayanâs lower back, grabbing his other hand, completely putting an end to the possibility of Duan Jiayan continuing to run amok.
Looking at Duan Jiayan completely shackled in Lu Xingciâs embrace with his caught hand still struggling unyieldingly, Song Yi was worried: âCan this work?â
Lu Xingci didnât know whether this would work either, so he asked the person in question bluntly: âWhat are you squirming around for?â
Duan Jiayan sidestepped the question: âLet go.â
Lu Xingci also felt that struggling like this wouldnât work so he hesitantly released his hand. Unexpectedly, right after releasing his hand, Duan Jiayan suddenly put his own arm around his shoulder and rubbed his arm against Lu Xingci with great satisfaction.
âAre we heading back?â he asked as he rubbed.
In front of Song Yi and the otherâs dumbstruck expressions, Lu Xingci suddenly realized why his Dian Jiayan was behaving like this. Henodded: âYes, weâre going back.â
âAlright, letâs go back,â Duan Jiayan said. Probably with that last fragment of shame left, he whispered in his ear: âDonât run, I want to hold you on the way back.â
âI wonât run,â Lu Xingci paused for a moment and whispered: âBehave a little.â
They headed out of the shopping mall and walked at the end of the class.
It was already past nine oâclock. The autumn moonlight melted in the night win and the streets were full of lights.
Lu Xingci was worried that he couldnât walk steadily, so he occasionally stretched out his hand to offer support.
But the thing that was hung on Lu Xingci was not ungrateful in the least. Duan Jiayanâs breath was directed too towards the side of his neck. Duan Jiayan was a little confused, pausing, and then mentioning the previous topic: âWhat is considered behaved?â
âWalking peacefully is considered behaved.â
âThen itâs impossible for me to be behaved in this lifetime,â Duan Jiayan knows himself well: âI just like to rattle on and on* .â
*T/N: [éŒéŒéŒ] (Bi Bi Bi) Slang for talking nonsense.
âYou were a paging machine* in your last life?â
*T/N: [éŒéŒæș] (Bi Bi Ji) = bb Machine = Paging Machine
âHow did you know?!â Duan Jiayan hit him with great delight: âYouâre so clever, Lu Xingci!â
Duan Jiayan completely leaned onto Lu Xingciâs back. Both his arms wrapped around his neck. Lu Xingci was half a head taller than him. When they walked, Duan Jiayan couldnât help but stand on his tiptoes. He sniffed softly, âWhy are you so fragrant?â
Duan Jiayan asked while trying to get closer to Lu Xingciâs neck.
Where the Alpha glands were located. The closer he got, the heavier the weak smell of grass.
He was so drunk that he almost lost his rationality. He only felt that he was incomparably fond of this smell. The person who is associated with this flavor made the dependence in his heart grow.
He wanted to approach the other, wanted to embrace him.
Itâs as if he fell ill.
Obviously, for him, this person was simply his antidote.
Duan Jiayan stared at that section of skin and raved: âIt smells stronger hereâŠâ
Lu Xingci could faintly discern the feel of his strands of hair flitting across his neck. Duan Jiayanâs hair was very soft and light in color, not at all resembling the temper of its host.
At that moment, the soft-haired head lightheartedly bounced around behind him and was about to rub against his glands.
Lu Xingci couldnât endure it anymore. He tilted his head, reached out his hand, grabbed Duan Jiayanâs head and turned it, forcing it to his sideâ
The two pairs of eyes met.
The male studentâs voice was clear and light: âHas no one ever taught you not to sniff at other peopleâs necks like a dog?â
âI have only been taught that if I take a fancy to someoneâs neck, I should bite it like a man.â
âYou can bite your own tongue and kill yourself* .â
*T/N: [ćŹèèȘć°œ] (Yao She Zi Jin) Idiom that means to commit suicide by biting off oneâs tongue. (Fits this situation nicely.)
Seeing that Duan Jiayan was obedient for a bit, which was hard to come by, Lu Xingci paused, asking: âWhen you sober up, will you remember what you did?â
âI wonât,â Duan Jiayan scoffed, âWhy should I remember the times I was humiliated?â
ââŠâ Lu Xingci was silent for a moment and suddenly laughed: âYouâre pretty good at self diversion* .â
*T/N: [èȘææéŁ] (Zi Wu Pai Qian) = Diverting oneself from negative thoughts.
He was too tired to carry this thing on his back. After Chen Yue and Zhou Xingchen, Lu Xingci didnât want to say hello.
This thing on his back was too troublesome. Passing by Chen Yue and Zhou Xingchen, Lu Xingci didnât even bother waving to greet them.
Zhou Xingchen, who was close to passing away, was startled upright. He saw Duan Jiayan hanging on the back of Lu Xingci. For a moment, he didnât understand the situation, subconsciously thinking that something bad happened to Duan Jiayan: âMy brother got kidnapped! Iâm going to save him!â
âOh, save him,â Chen Yue said with a completely flat tone: âDonât run back crying in a bit when you clearly see who is supporting him.â
ââŠI vaguely feel that the person holding him seems to be my father.â
ââŠIs that all you can do when youâre drunk? â
As soon as the class approached First Middle, Duan Jiayan, who had been quiet for a long time, began to toss and turn again. He muttered âI know what it is nowâ while recklessly flopping around on Lu Xingciâs back.
Lu Xingci was helpless: âWhatâs the matter this time?â
âGet your hand over here.â
Lu Xingci couldnât do anything about it because of Duan Jiayanâs torment, so he could only extend his left hand casually.
âNot this one. The other one.â
When Lu Xingci put his right hand behind him, Duan Jiayan suddenly pulled his arm back with great strength.
He frowned and looked back to ask why he was pulling his right hand like a hungry ghost.
He was met with Duan Jiayan who drooped his eyes downwards, leaning close to the place where he was injured before.
The wound there had already begun to heal and it didnât bleed again. There was only a shallow red mark left.
The pheromone in his blood is very rich. The closer he got to the place where Lu Xingci was injured, Duan Jiayanâs expression became more and more trance. He couldnât help swallowing.
Pheromones are very rich in blood. The closer Duan Jiayan got to the place where Lu Xingci was injured, the more and more dazzled his expression became. His Adamâs apple bobbed, swallowing involuntarily.
When Lu Xingci reacted, Duan Jiayanâs lips had already covered his wounds.
The lips on his arm were inconceivably soft. Lu Xingci was stunned. Duan Jiayan, who had not been stopped in time, unscrupulously stuck out the tip of his tongue.
The tip of the tongue swept across the wound and the boy who was stuck to him gave him an unconscious smile.
âThis⊠Itâs delicious.â
âBut itâs just too little. Boss, can you add some more?â
âCrazy drunkard.â Lu Xingci cursed under his breath.