“Who is this?” Chen Yuan was a little dazed. The call was from his girlfriend’s number, but the voice on the other end was a stranger’s.

“Hello, you must be Ningning’s boyfriend, right?”

The woman’s voice on the other end of the line clearly belonged to someone older, inexplicably reminding Chen Yuan of one of his elders.

“Yes… I am. Did something happen to her?”

“It’s nothing serious. After the New Year’s gala at your school today, Ningning, another friend, and I went out to celebrate and had dinner. She seems to have had a bit too much to drink. Could you come pick her up?”

“Okay, tell me the address. I’ll be right there.”

Chen Yuan scrambled out of bed. He was shirtless, having just showered and gotten ready for sleep. The bedroom light was still on.

He grabbed some clothes from his closet, hung up the phone, and glanced at the address sent via text. He called a taxi and hurried downstairs.

‘Good thing I played a couple of games just now instead of going straight to sleep.’

Downstairs, the cold wind hit him in the face, and Chen Yuan instinctively shrank his neck. He checked the distance on the map.

He opened Green Bubble and sent a message to Jiangg Yao: “I’m on my way to pick you up. Stay in the restaurant and don’t move. It might take me half an hour.” It was New Year’s Eve, and traffic was gridlocked everywhere. The cold winter night couldn’t dampen people’s enthusiasm for celebrating.

The restaurant shown at the address was not close by.

Chen Yuan was worried Jiangg Ning would get impatient and leave on her own. It was late, and it wasn’t safe for a woman to be out alone. He also wondered if her friends could take good care of her…

Streetlights cast a glow on the road as he got into the car.

The scenery flew backward on both sides. The taxi driver was an elderly man who struck up a conversation with him, intrigued.

“It’s fast for now, but once we get to the central district, we’ll be crawling. This damn New Year’s Eve is crowded as hell.”

“Can you take a detour, then, Driver? I’m in a hurry.”

“That urgent? Let me check the route.”

…

「Fengting District, Apartment 1301.」

Jiangg Yao GULPED down half a bottle of mineral water. Her throat was starting to hurt from singing.

She had no idea that Chen Yuan had left home just a few minutes ago. As a streamer, she could never take a break during the holidays. That was when her audience was on break—they were all hopeless shut-ins with no one to hold hands with on a cold winter day, so they could only lie in bed, eating chips, drinking soda, and watching streamers sing.

Her stats on New Year’s Day were always better than usual.

‘If she took a day off, who would be there to keep these poor shut-ins company?’

Jiangg Yao busily interacted with the live comments, not checking her phone for a good while.

When she finally picked up her phone, planning to look up the release date of a new game she’d seen at the last comic con for her viewers, she saw Chen Yuan’s message.

Jiangg Yao: ?

Her mind instantly filled with question marks, and her expression went blank.

‘Pick who up? Aren’t I at home?’

‘Did the little young master send the message to the wrong person? Was he planning to spend New Year’s Eve with his side piece, only to text the main girlfriend by mistake!?’

‘No, that’s impossible.’

Jiangg Yao thought about it for a moment and immediately dismissed the idea. She didn’t believe Chen Yuan was that kind of person. That left only one other possibility.

‘Something’s happened to my sister!’

Jiangg Yao tensed up instantly. She stared blankly, lost in thought for a long time, completely forgetting to interact with her stream. It wasn’t until her viewers started spamming “LAG LAG LAG LAG,” “Streamer, you’re frozen,” and “Why aren’t you talking?” that she snapped out of it.

“Everyone… maybe we should end the stream here for today. There’s something wrong with my equipment, and I’ve been on for eight hours already.”

The moment she said this, the chat exploded with “????” It was only thirty minutes until the New Year’s countdown, and everyone was waiting for it, but the streamer was bailing!

But Jiangg Yao couldn’t be bothered with that now. Her mind was in complete chaos.

…

The local Lanjing City driver may have been old, but he drove like a bat out of hell!

Chen Yuan had thought that arriving in half an hour would be fast, but when he reached his destination, he saw that only twenty-two minutes had passed.

He thanked the driver, quickly got out of the car, and rushed toward the top floor of the restaurant.

As soon as he entered.

A perceptive young waitress came up to greet him. “Hello, sir. Do you have a reservation?”

“No, I’m here to meet someone.”

“Oh, my apologies. Please, go ahead.”

Chen Yuan hurried up the wooden staircase to the fifth floor, panting by the time he got there. He went down a narrow corridor to the private room at the very end and knocked on the door labeled “Xiangshe.”

He could faintly hear the charming laughter of a woman from inside.

A few seconds later, the door opened.

The woman who appeared before him was full of mature charm. She had a round face, wore a cutout, mock-neck blouse through which the soft curves of her figure were faintly visible, and her short, permed hair rested just above her shoulders. Her lips were a vibrant red.

She also had a distinctive mole on her neck.

“Did you get the wrong room, kid?”

To his great surprise, the woman actually asked this with a puzzled expression.

She looked Chen Yuan up and down, her gaze not offensive, but it lingered on his face with a hint of interest.

It seemed she was captivated by his looks, as her voice even softened intentionally when she spoke.

“Sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if Jiangg Ning is here…”

“She is, she’s right—”

Qin Ting turned around, about to say Jiangg Ning was there, when she suddenly realized something. Her eyes went wide, and she whipped her head back to stare at Chen Yuan in disbelief.

After a long moment, she asked in astonishment, “Don’t tell me you’re Ningning’s boyfriend!?”

“That’s right. I’m here to pick her up.”

Chen Yuan felt a little embarrassed. He knew he looked a bit too young. An eight-year age gap wasn’t so easily bridged, and this friend of Jiangg’s looked to be at least in her thirties or forties.

‘So calling him a kid isn’t exactly… offensive.’

“Oh my god…”

Qin Ting managed to get the words out. Her expression was a sight to behold, shifting constantly—first a mix of confusion and surprise, then a frown that gave way to a curl of her lips.

It was an indescribably suggestive smile.

“So this is what Ningning’s into…” she muttered, her eyes fixed on Chen Yuan for another ten-odd seconds.

Finally, he took the initiative and asked, “Um, can I come in now?”

“Yes, yes, of course! I’m so sorry, I forgot you were still standing outside.” Qin Ting hurriedly stepped aside, biting her lip.

‘This is some next-level gossip!’

‘She’d never imagined that Ningning, the most youthful of their friend group, would find such a young boyfriend… Jiangg Ning, you really know what you’re doing!’

‘Even at their wildest, none of them had ever dared to go for someone this young.’

‘And besides, this kid is actually pretty handsome…’

From her angle, Qin Ting had a perfect view of Chen Yuan’s side profile. Perhaps it was the alcohol, but she felt a slight thrill. As she stared, she subconsciously swallowed.

Under the soft lights.

Jiangg Ning was completely wasted. She was sprawled out on the table, sleeping comfortably. A glistening trail of drool trickled from the corner of her mouth, her exquisite cheeks were flushed crimson, and her eyelashes trembled ceaselessly.

“I’ll… help you get her up.”

“Okay, thank you.”

“Don’t be so formal, little brother-in-law.”

“…”

Chen Yuan’s eyes narrowed slightly. He steeled himself and accepted the title, in no mood to banter with this coquettish older woman.

Seeing Jiangg Ning in this state made his heart ache.

He just wanted to get her home so she could rest properly.

“What are you doing… Don’t touch me. I was sleeping so… so soundly… HIC!”

As the two of them helped her up, Jiangg Ning was completely unaware that Chen Yuan was beside her. In her muddled mind, she mistakenly thought Ya and Ms. Qin were just playing around with her.

So, Jiangg Ning wrinkled her small nose and pouted in protest.

A wine glass on the table tipped over, and the crimson liquid flowed down the checkered tablecloth, wetting the top of Jiangg Ning’s delicate foot.

The completely empty wine bottle made Chen Yuan realize just how much she had drunk.

“How did you get here?”

“By taxi. I called another one, it’s waiting downstairs now.”

“Alright then, I’ll help you get her downstairs.”

Qin Ting and Chen Yuan worked together to support Jiangg Ning. As for Cheng Ya, who was sleeping soundly nearby, no one paid her any mind.

They painstakingly made their way downstairs.

On the bustling, noisy street, Jiangg Ning stood unsteadily. A blast of cold wind made her shiver.

“Alright, you two be safe on your way home. I’ve still got another one upstairs,” Qin Ting said, letting go and giving her hand a little shake.

“You can go. I can take care of her.”

“Not bad… Hold her tight now, don’t let her fall.”

“No problem.”

Chen Yuan was at least 1.8 meters tall, and Jiangg Ning wasn’t heavy, so he had no trouble supporting her.

However, the position was a little awkward.

Jiangg Ning furrowed her pretty brow and instinctively draped her arms over his shoulders, leaning against him.

Perhaps because it was too cold outside, she forced her eyes open and studied Chen Yuan with great effort for a long time. “It’s you…”

She mumbled softly.

“It’s me. I’m here to take you home,” Chen Yuan said, stroking her head.

“Thankshh you~” Jiangg Ning flashed her pearly white teeth in a brilliant smile. She rested her head on Chen Yuan’s neck, feeling an inexplicable sense of security. She twitched her nose and sniffed. “You shmell so good~”

“Mhm,” Chen Yuan nodded, waving for the driver to pull up a little closer.

“I’m dreaming… right? HIC!” Jiangg Ning’s words were choppy. She then planted a kiss on his neck.

Goosebumps instantly erupted all over Chen Yuan’s body.

“Don’t mess around. We’ll talk when we get home,” he said, lowering his voice.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep