Chapter 71: Anomalous Time 37

Yu Bai’s voice was light and airy, his tone rising slightly—he was clearly in a good mood.

But Xie Wufang paused for a moment upon hearing this before responding, “I know.”

Yu Bai nodded first, then let out an “oh.”

Yet he vaguely felt that Xie Wufang’s reaction was a bit off.

After thinking for a moment, he asked directly, “What do you know?”

Xie Wufang answered honestly, “That you’re drunk.”

“…” Yu Bai was caught off guard, thinking he’d missaid something, and quickly corrected himself. “No, that’s wrong. I’m not drunk!”

His tone was firm. The man beside him seemed hesitant to speak, and only after a long pause did he say, “Senior Yan Jing said that after you drink too much, you always insist you’re not drunk.”

At those words, Yu Bai shot a glare over Xie Wufang’s shoulder at the muscular man quietly eating behind him.

“Don’t listen to his nonsense,” Yu Bai protested vehemently. “Maybe that was true before, but I’m really not drunk right now.”

He was perfectly clear-headed at the moment!

“Really, really,” he emphasized repeatedly. “I’m not drunk. You have to believe me.”

The chatty drunk was proving Yan Jing right.

The god who hated to lie found himself in a dilemma because of it.

The human right in front of him gazed over with clear, shimmering eyes, waiting expectantly for his affirmation.

So the man hesitated for a moment before giving a very soft, “Mm.”

Yu Bai took that as a sign of belief.

Good.

Satisfied, he turned his gaze away and continued chatting with the old man seated on his other side until the topic wrapped up. With a smile, he said something to Zhang Yunjiang, then rose from his seat.

Just as Yu Bai was about to leave, he heard Xie Wufang beside him ask, “Where are you going?”

He’d drunk too many beverages and needed to use the restroom.

No need to tell the otherworldly non-human about something like that.

So Yu Bai leaned in close and whispered, “I’m going to wash my face. I’ll be right back—few minutes.”

But Xie Wufang stood up too. “I’ll go with you.”

He looked like he didn’t trust Yu Bai to go alone.

Surprised, Yu Bai raised an eyebrow. “No need to escort me. I’m not drunk—why so nervous?”

With Yu Bai putting it that way, Xie Wufang had no choice but to give up the idea, his expression complex and hard to read as he quietly watched him leave the restaurant.

The restaurant had its own restrooms, but to spare users any awkwardness, it thoughtfully featured a side door for entry and exit, completely separated from the dining area.

Once Yu Bai had taken care of business and splashed some water on his face at the sink, he pushed open the door into the chilly evening breeze. That’s when it finally clicked: the expression on Xie Wufang’s face earlier could probably be called helpless.

…Why would he look helpless?

Yu Bai couldn’t figure it out. He planned to ask when he got back. But as he was about to cross the corridor to return to the restaurant, a somewhat familiar female voice called out to him.

Under the dim eaves, where flickers of orange light danced, a stylishly dressed woman held a slim cigarette between her fingers. Her face was unpleasant as she stared at him and called, “Little Doctor Yu?”

Yu Bai stopped in his tracks, remembering that this was Zhang Yizhe’s mother.

He couldn’t recall the exact name, even though Zhang Yunjiang had introduced him at the table. With so many strangers, who could remember all their names?

Anyway, they were all unpleasant people.

The other clearly wasn’t here with good intentions, so Yu Bai saw no point in being polite. He responded coolly, “Something wrong?”

The woman blinked at the reaction, then sneered. “Not pretending anymore? You were all smiles in front of the old man, charming him so thoroughly…”

Her tone was biting, making Yu Bai frown with a surge of intense weariness.

Tonight, he actually felt like talking to people.

Just not ones he disliked.

And these remarks were so boring.

He could guess what came next even standing on his head.

It was nothing more than accusing them of coming prepared with ulterior motives, cozying up to the old man to snag his wealth and company.

First off, that was a deliberate misunderstanding.

Second, this whole pack of children was doing the exact same thing.

And they had the nerve to call others out!

So Yu Bai, with no patience to listen further, cut her off coldly. “At least Uncle Zhang was genuinely happy tonight. Have you ever seen him like that before?”

The question came abruptly, with an aggressive edge. The woman was momentarily stunned. “I—”

Yu Bai didn’t need an answer and pressed on. “You think it’s because we schemed to flatter him, because we played Go with him, because we went to all that trouble…”

“But no,” he said with a light laugh, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. “It’s because we never brought up property or anything like that. We just spent time with him as a person, purely.”

“But you?” he countered coldly. “All these years, Uncle Zhang has been good to you. Was that for the money too?”

The young man with brown hair made no effort to hide his disgust as he pushed through the hazy smoke and walked straight away, tossing back over his shoulder, “Disgusting. Leave me alone.”

Left standing there alone, the woman stared blankly at his retreating back for a long time, unable to collect herself.

Until the cigarette burned down to her fingers, scattering gray-white ash in the cold night.

Back in the warm restaurant, just one door away, Yu Bai had just sat down.

The man beside him seemed relieved to see him return safely, but then surprise rippled through those gray-blue eyes like a lake.

He said, “You have a new scent on you.”

Startled, Yu Bai immediately lifted his sleeve to sniff. “Smoke? …Yeah, a little.”

It must have clung to him from talking to the smoking man earlier.

The smell was faint—he hadn’t even noticed it himself—but Xie Wufang had picked it up.

Worried about setting a bad example for the non-human, Yu Bai quickly explained, “I didn’t sneak out for a smoke. I just got it from someone else. It’ll fade soon.”

Having spent these days among humans, Xie Wufang had certainly seen people smoking.

He didn’t press further, just gave a soft acknowledgment.

But the chatty drunk fell quiet for only a couple of seconds before leaning in again to whisper, “I don’t like the smell of smoke. I won’t sneak off to smoke.”

“…” Xie Wufang paused, then said sincerely from the heart, “I believe you.”

“Oh, good then.”

The drunk seemed thrilled at those words of belief, his eyes sparkling brightly.

Distracted by the interruptions, he’d completely forgotten to ask why Xie Wufang had looked helpless earlier. Instead, he chattered on.

“Tian Ge and Uncle Li both smoke, but they’ve never done it in front of me.”

Oblivious, Yu Bai brought up others. The man beside him was just about to suppress the instinctive chill rising in his eyes when Yu Bai continued, “One time… I forget how old I was, teens maybe. I snuck a cigarette from Uncle Li’s pocket to try it.”

“—Don’t tell him!” Yu Bai cautioned alertly, then shook his head himself. “Though Uncle Li probably knew all along. You can smell smoke on me, so the criminal investigation captain surely can too.”

“Anyway, he didn’t notice at the time—or pretended not to. And I never tried smoking again after that. It was so harsh, bitter and spicy.”

“I remember coughing so hard my lungs nearly came up, face all red. I regretted it so much—why even try when it smells so choking?”

“Then I bought two cans of ice cola. Gave one to Uncle Li to make up for his cigarette, and chugged the other myself.”

By this point, Yu Bai sighed with genuine feeling. “Ice cola is so good. Always has been, from kid days to now.”

It was rare for him to share such distant, scattered memories of his own life, his tone bright and lively, shining with brilliant gold.

So the cold glint in Xie Wufang’s eyes gradually faded, a faint smile rippling across the gray-blue lake.

Yu Bai, lost in gazing intently at him, caught the sight and smiled too, stars twinkling in his eyes.

Whether it was the god earnestly listening to a human praise ice cola that amused him, or his own teenage self chugging cola after a secret smoke, who could say.

In that quietly spreading haze of brilliant gold, the lavish banquet drew to a close.

Everyone familiar with Yu Bai could tell he’d had too much to drink—Zhang Yunjiang especially, who chuckled and urged him and Xie Wufang. “You two head back to your room and rest. Sleep it off tonight, and you’ll be fine come morning!”

Yu Bai vaguely recalled that Teacher Xie had just gotten over a fever, so he nodded earnestly. “Don’t worry, Uncle Zhang. I’ll take good care of him.”

The old man couldn’t help laughing. “Good, good. Teacher Xie, you take care of him too!”

Yu Bai corrected him right away. “I’m not sick. No need to take care of me.”

Xie Wufang didn’t argue, simply going along with the drunk’s words as he quietly accompanied him into the deepening night.

The courtyard was beautiful and serene. Just before they reached their room and opened the door, Yu Bai suddenly turned, his gaze fixed straight on the man beside him.

Xie Wufang stopped too, asking softly, “What’s wrong?”

Yu Bai looked at him, as if he wanted to say something.

Xie Wufang gazed at him intently, a hint of nervousness in his voice as he asked, “Are you feeling unwell?”

“No.” After denying it, Yu Bai blurted out, “I want to drink hot chocolate!”

“…” Xie Wufang was momentarily stunned, clearly not expecting such an answer. “Hot chocolate?”

“Yeah.” Yu Bai sounded a bit resentful. “I wanted hot chocolate tonight anyway, but Uncle Yuan made me switch to alcohol instead. Alcohol’s nowhere near as good as chocolate…”

If he couldn’t have that cup of hot chocolate today, he felt like he might not be able to sleep.

This had to be the fault of that ice cola.

With the drunkard beside him fixated on hot chocolate, Xie Wufang said, “You go back to your room first. I’ll get some from the kitchen for you.”

But Yu Bai shook his head. “They’re probably already cleaning up the kitchen. I don’t want to bother them.”

He tilted his face up slightly, looking expectantly at the man who was a little taller than him. “I remember there’s an induction cooker in the house. Make me a cup of hot chocolate, okay?”

Surprised, Xie Wufang instinctively wanted to agree.

But then he hesitated, his tone apologetic. “I don’t know if I know how to make hot chocolate.”

A god who had only recently encountered human food still lacked familiarity with the various cooking basics known to mortals.

That was why he’d nearly blown up the kitchen over a pot of fried chicken.

Seeing that Xie Wufang hadn’t agreed right away, Yu Bai grumbled unhappily, “You made me Beef Wellington before! Hot chocolate is way simpler than that.”

Xie Wufang felt lost at the unfamiliar term. “…Beef Wellington?”

“It’s a filet steak wrapped in puff pastry and baked. The steps are super complicated—you made it for me, didn’t you?”

After instinctively explaining, Yu Bai realized his slip and murmured to himself, “Oh, wait, you didn’t make that one. It was you from another timespace.”

It had happened in one of the loops where he’d directed Xie Wufang in the kitchen. They’d spent a whole day there together. He’d meticulously taught this non-human all sorts of human cooking knowledge not found in recipes, along with a bunch of dishes he wanted to eat.

And then he’d tasted food that perfectly replicated those recipes. To this day, he still missed the incredible cooking skills of his neighbor, whose learning ability was off the charts.

At this moment, Yu Bai had accidentally let it slip. Normally, he might have gotten nervous and tried to cover it up, pretending nothing had happened.

But right now…

What was nervousness?

Yu Bai stated it all with perfect composure. Seeing the look on Xie Wufang’s face—like he wanted to ask something—Yu Bai frowned slightly and urged him on. “Never mind that. I want hot chocolate made by you!”

Buoyed by the constant indulgence and compliance from the man beside him, he didn’t care whether this Xie Wufang even knew how to use the kitchen. He just selfishly made his demand, his beautiful light-colored eyes sparkling brightly with a touch of spoiled amusement.

Tonight, without his glasses and with his usual mature restraint melted away by the alcohol, he seemed like a completely different person—utterly unlike his sober self.

Yet it suited his innate, radiant beauty all the more.

As if this was how he was meant to be.

Untouched by the grind of worldly affairs, brimming only with overflowing joy.

Even the brilliantly lit, opulent night seemed to pale in comparison.

After a brief moment of daze, the man who had been watching him intently the whole time stopped pressing.

He nodded gently. “Alright.”

The winter night’s chill wind carried a tender response.

“I’ll make you hot chocolate.”