Being a Guest

The next morning.

Long Aotian stretched lazily in bed, shaking his head as a heavy sensation weighed on his mind.

Glancing around the unfamiliar room, he only vaguely remembered drinking too much, beating up Ye Liangchen and Xue Shaohua, and then... then his mind grew hazy from the alcohol, leaving him with no clear memory of what happened afterward.

"Could it have been fake liquor?"

Long Aotian knew his alcohol tolerance well. The amount he drank last night shouldn’t have left him so disoriented—unless it was counterfeit.

After lying in bed for a while, waiting for his mind to clear, he finally got up and grabbed his phone.

There were messages and missed calls from the three girls.

After freshening up, he hurried to head home, knowing the little ones must have been worried sick with him gone all night.

As he dressed, Long Aotian frowned at his clothes, feeling like he was missing a shirt.

Maybe he was just misremembering.

Too groggy to dwell on it, he finished dressing and left the room.

Checking the time, he called Hu Yuying.

The call connected almost instantly.

"Well, well, look who finally decided to call?" Li Qingxue’s voice rang through the line.

Long Aotian rubbed his forehead. "I meant to come home last night, but I drank too much and ended up crashing at a hotel near campus."

"Home? Oh, so you remember you have a home? I almost forgot you even had one."

Hearing Li Qingxue’s sarcastic tone, Long Aotian knew he was at fault. Even if he couldn’t make it back, he should’ve at least texted the girls.

He could easily imagine how worried they must have been, so their frustration was justified.

"Did you have fun last night, Long-ge?"

The little one’s voice was calm, but that very steadiness sent a chill down Long Aotian’s spine.

"Long-ge, hurry home. We’re swamped today," Lin Wanning chimed in.

After winning first place in the New Year’s Eve performance with her song, Lin Wanning had promoted their online store on stage. Now, their orders had exploded overnight.

The three were thrilled but buried in work.

"Alright, alright, I’m on my way."

Hanging up, Long Aotian sighed. "Fake liquor is the death of me."

Taking a taxi home, he opened the door to find the three girls in the sunroom, each glued to their phones, busy with orders.

"I brought something for you," Long Aotian announced, stepping inside.

"Breakfast! I figured you’d be too busy to eat, so I got you some."

The girls looked up at him.

Last night, they had waited for him for hours, eager to share the news of Lin Wanning’s victory.

But he never came home, ignored their calls and texts, and seemed to have forgotten all about them while out having fun.

At the very least, a reply would’ve spared them the anxiety.

Long Aotian recounted the previous night’s events.

When they heard he’d beaten up Ye Liangchen and Xue Shaohua again, they dropped their tasks, demanding details.

"I don’t know what their deal was. Ran into them in the KTV bathroom, and they tried to pull my pants down like a couple of creeps. So I taught them a lesson."

"Why won’t those pests just disappear?" Li Qingxue groaned.

What kind of idiots tried to pants Long Aotian?

"They’re like gum stuck to your shoe—impossible to shake off," Lin Wanning grumbled, equally annoyed.

"Who knows? But I made sure their faces were nice and swollen by the time I was done."

Hu Yuying fixed Long Aotian with a stern look. "No more staying out all night, Long-ge. We were really worried."

"What if you’d been drunk and run into Ye Liangchen and Xue Shaohua? Who knows what they’d have done to you?"

The thought of Long Aotian vulnerable in front of those two was terrifying.

Their concern was genuine, but so was their frustration.

Accustomed to having him around, Hu Yuying had felt an indescribable ache in his absence.

She’d barely slept, finally dozing off around 5 a.m.

"I’m sorry. I promise it won’t happen again."

Their care warmed Long Aotian’s heart.

Around noon, Huang Fei called.

His groggy voice suggested he’d just woken up.

"Ugh... my head’s killing me. No idea how I got so drunk last night. Where are you?"

"Back at my place," Long Aotian answered, glancing at the three girls in the sunroom.

"Want to come over tonight?"

He’d been meaning to invite Huang Fei and the others for a while, and with this being their last break before winter vacation, it was the perfect time.

"Sure. Just send us the address, and we’ll head over ourselves."

"Xu Shuai and Li Longlong are still asleep. I’ll drag them up soon so we can clean up."

After hanging up, Long Aotian returned to the sunroom and told the girls about his roommates coming over for dinner.

His "three sworn sons" had been pestering him for a gathering, and the holiday was a good excuse.

The girls were fully supportive of him inviting friends over.

"What should we make for dinner?" Hu Yuying asked.

She wanted to prepare something impressive, to give Long Aotian face in front of his buddies.

Long Aotian thought for a moment. "I’ll go buy a grill. How about barbecue?"

Hu Yuying nodded. "We’ll pick up ingredients later."

"Oh, and, Yuying... if it’s not too much trouble, could you make lamb soup?" Long Aotian grinned.

He’d bragged endlessly to his friends about Hu Yuying’s cooking, and they were dying to taste it.

Barbecue and lamb soup in this weather? Perfect.

Hu Yuying agreed. "But lamb soup needs time to simmer."

"Don’t worry, I’ll grab the meat and ribs when I buy the grill."

With that, Long Aotian hopped on his scooter and headed out.

Once he left, Li Qingxue and Lin Wanning turned to Hu Yuying. "What should we do now?"

"Tidy up the place, then go grocery shopping."

This was Long Aotian’s first time bringing friends home, and they wanted everything to be perfect.

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