Don't Bait Me Anymore! - Chapter 3

Gu Zhiyi set down his wine glass with a slightly louder clink, causing his roommates and Yan Han to fall silent for a moment. Both pairs of eyes instinctively turned to look over.

Sheng Yan keenly observed the faint blush on Gu Zhiyi’s ears deepen instantly.

He looks so cold and aloof, yet he’s completely unexpectedly innocent…

Sheng Yan couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly at the stark contrast, but he showed no outward reaction. He casually opened a bottle of purified water and prepared to pour it for Gu Zhiyi.

“I can do it myself,” Gu Zhiyi suddenly said, stopping him.

Sheng Yan’s wrist paused slightly.

Not wanting to make a fuss over such a minor issue, Sheng Yan readily handed the water bottle to Gu Zhiyi.

As Gu Zhiyi reached for the bottle, Sheng Yan’s fingertips brushed against his fingers in passing.

It was an extremely fleeting touch, yet it left behind a subtle, tingling sensation.

Gu Zhiyi’s fingers tightened around the bottle, and he abruptly raised his eyes to meet Sheng Yan’s gaze.

“I personally believe that the C2B model will gradually increase its market share and expand into more sectors. After all, more and more people are developing a demand for personalized customization…”

Sheng Yan had already seamlessly picked up the conversation Yan Han had been having with his roommate earlier. When he noticed Gu Zhiyi’s gaze, he even cast a slightly puzzled look his way.

Gu Zhiyi felt even more annoyed.

Why am I overreacting so much when they’re just chatting casually?

Gu Zhiyi berated himself, completely unaware of the mischievous glint that flashed in Sheng Yan’s eyes as he earnestly discussed business topics.

Their conversation was cut short by Yan Han.

“Come on, let’s drink! Stop just talking… This isn’t a business meeting!”

As he spoke, Yan Han leaned forward and poured more wine for Sheng Yan.

Mid-pour, he suddenly looked up at Sheng Yan.

Their eyes met, and a premonition surged through Sheng Yan’s mind.

Years of friendship had taught him that this look on Yan Han’s face meant trouble was brewing.

Sure enough, the premonition came true. Yan Han let out an exaggerated “Ah!” and the wine that should have gone into Sheng Yan’s glass spilled all over him.

“Oh no, oh no, I’m so sorry!” Yan Han put on an exaggeratedly apologetic face, fumbling for a napkin to hand to Sheng Yan while muttering nonstop. “I drank too much, my hand slipped, it really slipped! Boss Sheng, quickly wipe yourself off!”

Sheng Yan took the napkin and dabbed at himself casually, quietly watching Yan Han continue his performance.

He had already guessed Yan Han’s intentions and deliberately played along, standing up. “This is too much trouble. I’ll just go to the restroom to clean up.”

As expected, Yan Han immediately continued his act. “Oh, you’re going alone? Isn’t that a bit… risky? Tsk tsk, Boss Sheng, do you even realize how captivating you are? If you walk around in wet clothes, everyone will be swarming you! I can’t even bear to imagine…”

To be fair, while Yan Han’s tone was exaggerated, his words weren’t entirely untrue.

Sheng Yan was undeniably handsome.

Not in a stiff, pose-perfect way, but rather the opposite. Even casually lounging on the sofa, smoking a cigarette and sipping a drink, he was so striking that people couldn’t look away.

Every gesture and movement exuded a captivating charm. No wonder he’d already been approached by eleven people for conversations within half an hour of entering the room.

If a beautiful person’s allure is 100%, then a wet, beautiful person’s allure is absolutely 200% or even more.

Take the current moment, for example.

The wine-soaked shirt clung to Sheng Yan’s body, vaguely outlining his firm muscles from waist to chest. Yet the contours remained tantalizingly indistinct, only shimmering with a faint, dewy sheen when the light beam struck.

The semi-transparency was the epitome of seductive allure.

Yet the beauty himself seemed utterly unfazed by it all.

“Was it really necessary…” Sheng Yan raised an innocent eyebrow, his tone casual. “It’s just spilled wine. That happens all the time in bars.”

As he spoke, Sheng Yan rose from the booth and headed toward the restroom, not glancing at Gu Zhiyi once.

But he’d taken only two steps when someone actually pressed close.

The man was taller and broader than Sheng Yan, his greasy smile leering as he reached out to grip Sheng Yan’s shoulder. His words were crude and brazen: “Spilled wine? Need Big Brother to help you clean it up?”

Sheng Yan deftly dodged the man’s hand, about to refuse, when another voice cut in first.

A voice as cold as ice, delivering four curt words: “No help needed.”

At some point, Gu Zhiyi had already moved to Sheng Yan’s side. He didn’t look at Sheng Yan, his dark eyes fixed solely on the man opposite Sheng Yan. Gu Zhiyi was a head taller than the man, and though clearly younger, the aura he exuded was no less imposing—in fact, it seemed to overwhelm the man.

After two seconds under Gu Zhiyi’s intense gaze, the man sobered up by at least two points. He glanced at Sheng Yan, then at Gu Zhiyi, and forced a sheepish grin. Turning quickly, he slipped away into the crowd.

Only after the man’s figure vanished did Sheng Yan finally look up at Gu Zhiyi.

His peach-shaped eyes blinked, mischievous and bright. “Thank you for helping me out again.”

Gu Zhiyi’s face remained stern. “You’re welcome,” he said. Sheng Yan turned and continued walking forward.

He hadn’t deliberately tried to walk with Gu Zhiyi, and Gu Zhiyi hadn’t caught up to walk alongside him. Instead, he maintained a distance of half a step behind Sheng Yan, his eyes constantly scanning for anyone who might try to approach and strike up a conversation.

In truth, whether Sheng Yan was approached or not was none of Gu Zhiyi’s business. He certainly didn’t consider himself the type to enjoy helping others out of the kindness of his heart.

But when he saw a man reaching out to put his arm around Sheng Yan’s shoulder, Gu Zhiyi moved with a rare, instinctive speed. Before his brain could even process the situation, his body had already carried him to Sheng Yan’s side.

Forget it, Gu Zhiyi thought, I’ll let it slide, just because Sheng Yan bought me a drink.

The drink was indeed quite good.

Sheng Yan, of course, remained oblivious to the inner turmoil of the pure-hearted college student. He only noticed from the corner of his eye that Gu Zhiyi was trailing half a step behind him.

Hmm… he really does look like a large dog.

Perhaps it was the presence of this “large dog” “watching him like a dog,” but Sheng Yan encountered no further attempts at conversation on his way to the restroom.

He still received plenty of lingering glances, but thankfully, no one dared to approach again.

The high-end nightclub’s restroom was impeccably clean and even provided specialized wet wipes for spills.

Sheng Yan casually leaned against the sink, pulled out a wipe, and began to wipe himself down.

In truth, he didn’t need to. He always kept a spare shirt in his car, but he didn’t want Gu Zhiyi to know that for now.

Though he appeared to be wiping himself seriously, Sheng Yan’s attention remained fixed on Gu Zhiyi.

Gu Zhiyi stood about a meter away, his gaze never leaving Sheng Yan.

Neither of them spoke. Sheng Yan had deliberately kept silent, sensing that the atmosphere between them wasn’t awkward at all. Instead, a silent, ambiguous tension was quietly flowing through the air.

The gaze fixed on him, growing increasingly sticky in a way even its owner might not have realized, was the best proof.

Finally, Sheng Yan wiped away all the wine stains he could see on the front of his shirt.

They looked clean, but the fabric, originally only half-damp, was now nearly completely soaked through.

At least the front was.

Sheng Yan looked up at Gu Zhiyi and spoke again, his tone natural: “Could you check the back for me?”

Gu Zhiyi nodded and took half a step forward.

Sheng Yan turned his back to him.

Soon, Gu Zhiyi’s voice came from behind: “There’s basically nothing, except for a little on your shoulder.”

As he spoke, he pointed at Sheng Yan’s left shoulder.

Of course, he didn’t touch him, just vaguely indicated the spot in the air.

Sheng Yan saw the location in the mirror and pulled out another wet wipe. This time, instead of doing it himself, he handed it back: “Could you help me again?”

The tone was identical to “Can I buy you a drink?”—slightly upward inflection, a lingering lilt at the end.

Even without turning around, he met Gu Zhiyi’s gaze in the mirror, and his peach-blossom eyes curved into a beautiful arc again.

Gu Zhiyi didn’t respond immediately.

After a moment, Gu Zhiyi suddenly lowered his gaze and reached out to take the wet wipe from Sheng Yan’s hand, responding with a single, slightly hoarse word: “Okay.”

Sheng Yan remained silent, but his eyes stayed fixed on Gu Zhiyi’s reflection in the mirror.

The air grew quiet again, but this time, the silence was thick with unspoken tension.

Gu Zhiyi’s long fingers held the thin wet wipe, carefully dabbing at a small wine stain on Sheng Yan’s shoulder. Inevitably, his fingers brushed against Sheng Yan’s shoulder and back.

Even through the fabric of Sheng Yan’s shirt, the touch made Gu Zhiyi’s palm burn as if there were no barrier at all.

Moreover, the back of Sheng Yan’s neck, as fair and smooth as the finest jade, was now so close that Gu Zhiyi didn’t dare to lift his eyes. He forced himself to focus solely on the wine stain, unaware that every reaction was being laid bare before Sheng Yan through the honest mirror.

Noticing the fine sheen of sweat on the back of the person behind him and the increasingly scorching heat of their breath on his neck, Sheng Yan smirked. The moment felt right.

He suddenly turned around, snatched the crumpled wet wipe from Gu Zhiyi’s hand, and tossed it into the nearby trash can.

Meeting Gu Zhiyi’s stunned gaze, Sheng Yan raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Want me to tell you a secret?”

Gu Zhiyi instinctively asked, “What is it?”

“When I walked past you earlier, I could have easily avoided that drunkard myself. I deliberately didn’t.”

When an opportunity fell from the sky, Sheng Yan wouldn’t let it pass.

He deliberately lingered for an extra second, deliberately let himself be bumped into, which gave him a natural excuse to grab Gu Zhiyi’s arm.

This was indeed an unexpected confession. Gu Zhiyi frowned instinctively.

But Sheng Yan seemed oblivious, continuing, “I actually had a spare shirt in my car, but I deliberately didn’t mention it.”

After a brief pause, meeting Gu Zhiyi’s surprised gaze, Sheng Yan’s lips curved even higher. “Adults don’t do such pointless things without a reason. There’s always an agenda. You should know by now what my agenda is, right?”

The words were blunt enough.

Anyone but a fool would understand Sheng Yan’s unspoken meaning.

Gu Zhiyi was certainly no fool; on the contrary, he was widely recognized for his high intelligence.

But understanding the meaning didn’t mean he knew how to respond.

Gu Zhiyi had never realized he could be so hesitant, so unable to refuse.

He remained silent, but Sheng Yan didn’t mind. A glint of confident victory flickered in his eyes.

Sheng Yan was even more direct: “Consider it? Sharing a wonderful night with me?”

He knew exactly when to be ambiguous and when to be straightforward, striking the perfect balance and switching between the two with effortless grace.

His tone and gaze were gentle, tinged with a coaxing, almost guiding quality.

*

His mind raced, blood boiled, heart pounded, ears buzzed.

The “product of hormones” once again swept Gu Zhiyi away completely.

Through the parched dryness in his throat, Gu Zhiyi struggled to find his voice and managed to stammer out, “I’ve never…”

Perhaps he’d meant to say: I’ve never done this kind of thing, and I don’t intend to now.

But before he could finish the first four words, Sheng Yan interrupted.

It was hard to say whether Sheng Yan had deliberately cut him off at such a suggestive point, but in any case, he didn’t give Gu Zhiyi a chance to continue. Sheng Yan chuckled softly. “It doesn’t matter.”

As he spoke, he suddenly raised a hand, his index fingertip touching Gu Zhiyi’s chest. Then, through the fabric of the shirt, his fingertip slid slowly downward.

Like tracing a line, it glided all the way to the hem of the shirt.

Sensing the muscles beneath his fingertip instantly tense, Sheng Yan finally stopped. Meeting Gu Zhiyi’s rapid breathing, he whispered three seductive words: “I’ll teach you.”

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