Chapter 422: Xu Yi, You Masochist
Xu Yi closed his eyes, took the bottle from Lu Weiyi’s hand, gulped down two mouthfuls, then forcefully threw the bottle to the ground.
Clenching the crystal core tightly in his hand, just as Xu Yi resolved himself to continue, someone suddenly turned his head to the side.
A lazy, teasing voice sounded, “You probably won’t get the chance.”
The next second, warm lips pressed against his with such intensity it felt like he was going to be devoured.
“Absorb the core,” Li Zhuang commanded firmly against his lips.
Xu Yi’s eyes went wide in a daze, his first instinct was to obey.
The crystal cores in his hands disappeared one after another as he lost himself in the kiss. He didn’t know how much time had passed—only that, suddenly, his brain went boom, like fireworks exploding, and a surge of gentle yet fierce energy rippled out from his body.
A soft chuckle echoed beside his ear. Li Zhuang leaned his forehead against Xu Yi’s and, in an unusually tender voice, said, “Congratulations, Mr. Xu Yi—A-rank healer.”
A chorus of shocked gasps rang out from those around, followed by sighs of relief. The heavy pressure lingering in everyone’s hearts vanished in that instant, replaced with clarity and lightness.
Xu Yi looked down at himself in disbelief. Tears streamed down his face as he burst out laughing, grabbing Lu Weiyi’s arm and bouncing excitedly.
“Ha! I did it! Did you see that?”
“I leveled up! Hahahaha!”
Lu Weiyi let him pull and bounce around as he glanced over at Li Zhuang—who was casually licking his lips—and thought he might develop a sty. He seriously needed to wash his eyes.
“Congrats, congrats,” Lu Weiyi said perfunctorily.
At the doorway, a tear-streaked face appeared. Gu Qingyue was crouched in front of the wheelchair, burying his head on Gu Qingzhi’s knees, choking out, “You finally woke up.”
*
The sun set, and the evening glow spread across half the sky.
A gentle breeze stirred ripples along the coastline.
It was a good day—perfect for reunions, perfect for celebrations.
Barbecue grills stretched across half the beach. The entire team had gathered for once.
Xu Yi, holding the pack of cookies he’d snatched from Dean, stuffed them all in his mouth, which led to Dean—barefoot—chasing him up and down the sand.
Eventually, Zhuang Aiyi lured him away with a bag of chips. But no sooner had that happened than Xu Yi took a huge bite out of the sausage in Xu Sa’s hand, leaving only the stub. He choked and rolled his eyes dramatically, laughing all the while.
“Bear with him. Life and death, he just made it through,” Lu Weiyi patted his shoulder. But when he turned around, he saw that the honey-roasted wings Zhuang Mingxu had just prepared were picked up and licked by Xu Yi.
He licked it.
“Xu Yi! You’re being outrageously annoying today!” Lu Weiyi got up to grab him, but tripped over a bump in the sand—only to be caught and pushed straight into Zhuang Mingxu’s arms by Li Zhuang.
Zhuang Mingxu caught him. “Forget him. I’ll make you a new one. Someone will deal with him.”
He nodded toward Li Zhuang.
Lu Weiyi looked up to see Li Zhuang walking slowly toward Xu Yi. Xu Yi, spotting him like a mouse spotting a cat, casually circled around and returned to the grill like nothing had happened.
“Brother Xu Yi, you want some grilled squid?” Bai Miao noticed him eyeing her squid skewer and kindly offered him one. “Special dipping sauce by Xi-ge, it’s amazing.”
“Thanks.” Xu Yi took a bite, then noticed someone sitting beside him. He turned his head and saw Li Zhuang smirking at him while handing over a beer.
Xu Yi immediately shrank like a timid quail.
“Xu, I saw you two smooching,” Dean held up two fingers and mimed a microphone with his fist, leaning across the grill. “Interview time! Are you two officially a couple?”
Xu Yi stayed silent. When Li Zhuang didn’t answer either, he finally said, “You saw wrong.”
The gossip radar in Dean lit up instantly. His eyes sparkled as he turned to Li Zhuang, urging him to speak with a nudge of the “mic.”
“Kid, your arm’s about to catch fire,” Li Zhuang remarked.
Antonio quickly yanked Dean back and raised an eyebrow at Li Zhuang in Xu Yi’s direction.
The formerly chaotic Xu Yi now looked calm. He spoke to Bai Miao for a moment, then stood with his beer and squeezed himself between Lu Weiyi and Xu Sa.
“Lu Weiyi, I want to thank you. You were right. I need to live for myself. If it weren’t for your advice, I would’ve given up.” Xu Yi clinked his can with Lu Weiyi’s and downed it in one go.
Lu Weiyi blinked, not quite expecting this emotional moment, but still raised his cup.
Xu Yi then grabbed a bottle of baijiu from in front of Xu Sa, poured half a glass, and topped off Lu Weiyi’s. “I also owe you an apology. Everything from the past is in this glass.”
Feeling it would be rude not to drink, Lu Weiyi took a small sip. Seeing Xu Yi down his, he forced himself to finish the whole thing—immediately feeling his head spin.
“And thanks again. I’ve had a great time here at this base. Everyone’s been so kind and taken good care of me. Thank you for bringing me here,” Xu Yi said and poured another glass.
Lu Weiyi, holding his glass, began sensing something was off. He turned to Zhuang Mingxu and asked, “Is he trying to get me drunk?”
Zhuang Mingxu glanced at Li Zhuang, who was sitting at a nearby table watching with a raised brow, and whispered, “Let him drink it himself. Just follow his lead.”
Lu Weiyi nodded. Just as he was about to take a tiny sip, Xu Yi looked at him, eyes brimming with tears. “Do you still resent me for kidnapping you in high school?”
“No—no, of course not,” Lu Weiyi stammered. After all, Xu Yi had paid a heavy price for that.
“Then why won’t you drink? Are you planning to get back at me someday?”
“No…”
“You must be. You won’t even drink my apology toast…”
Lu Weiyi started feeling things weren’t right. Unfortunately, he’d taken that earlier drink on an empty stomach, and now he was slightly tipsy—unable to react properly. Under Xu Yi’s accusations, he got coaxed into drinking another one.
And then things spiraled out of control.
If Zhuang Mingxu hadn’t sensed something wrong, pushed Xu Yi over to Xu Sa, and handed Lu Weiyi a cup of hangover tea, he probably would’ve been knocked flat out by now.
Even so, Xu Yi still ended up sleeping sprawled out on Zhuang Mingxu for a while.
What was horrifying was that by the time he woke up, night had fully fallen. Several bonfires were lit around them, and the entire team was still eating and drinking. What left him even more speechless was the sight of Xu Yi—having already drunk Gu Qingyue, Liu Rui, Xu Sa, and even Dean under the table—now heading toward Ning Yuan with a drink in hand. But the moment he looked up and saw Lu Weiyi awake, he gleefully bounced over, holding his glass.
He literally bounced over.
“Lu Weiyi!” Xu Yi, who’d been frequenting nightclubs since his teens, obviously had a high alcohol tolerance. Though his cheeks were flushed, he was clearly still sober, his voice full of joy.
In contrast, Lu Weiyi’s head began to ache the moment he saw the drink. He quickly stood up, dragged Xu Yi over to Li Zhuang, and shoved him into the man’s arms.
“If you let him out again to cause trouble, I’ll arrange a blind date for him tomorrow—with the entire base if I have to,” Lu Weiyi said bluntly.
“Pfft.” Li Zhuang laughed as he watched Xu Yi wriggle like a twisted pretzel, trying to break free but failing. Then, sensing something, Xu Yi suddenly froze.
“Keep squirming,” Li Zhuang said. He’d had a fair bit to drink himself, his voice now low and sexy, tinged with danger.
Xu Yi didn’t dare move. But Li Zhuang didn’t care about appearances—right there in front of everyone, he pulled Xu Yi’s waist closer against his own.
The contact became unmistakably clear. Just as Xu Yi was about to struggle again, Li Zhuang picked him up by the waist with one hand and delivered a loud smack to his butt with the other.
Smack!
If most of the people around weren’t already drunk, that sound alone would’ve drawn every eye in the camp.
“Keep it down,” Li Zhuang murmured, carrying the stiffened Xu Yi straight toward the villa.
Out of the corner of his eye, Lu Weiyi watched the whole scene unfold and rolled his eyes. He took the cold porridge Zhuang Mingxu handed him and took a sip, just in time to see the drunken Gu Qingyue lying on Gu Qingzhi’s legs, tearfully pouring out his feelings.
Beside them, Liu Rui had already passed out cold. Xu Sa wobbled to his feet and started dragging him toward the villa like a dead pig, but after a few steps, he collapsed on top of him and fell asleep too.
Dean, meanwhile, was curled up snugly in Antonio’s arms, who gently rocked him like a human cradle. You could even hear his soft snores.
Xiong Jie, Li Dongsheng, and Bai Miao were shouting over drinking games, not far from Xi Shi, who sat watching them warmly, occasionally handing over freshly grilled skewers.
On a rocky outcrop in the corner, Lu Qing had arrived at some point. He was talking animatedly with Lin Yimu, laughing so hard he doubled over before the other could even respond. The firelight illuminated his face—no longer the mentally broken man they’d once rescued.
Ning Yuan and Wu Yue were speaking quietly, occasionally clinking glasses or taking a drag from a cigarette.
Zhuang Aiyi and Taotao each held a piece of fruit, encouraging Qin Nian to stand up and walk. Yin Jin was looking after the three kids with a rare gentleness softening her otherwise stern features.
Everyone who had once fled together was still alive. They were doing well—and that gave Lu Weiyi a deep sense of accomplishment.
“I hope days like this never end,” he said, leaning on Zhuang Mingxu’s shoulder.
“Then let’s make it happen together,” Zhuang Mingxu replied, kissing his cheek and tapping his glass against Lu Weiyi’s.
*
When life goes well, everything goes smoothly.
The next morning, the group of drunks all got up early and gathered in the villa’s living room to clear their heads.
Zhuang Mingxu returned from his morning workout full of energy and brought Lu Weiyi great news—Shen Xiuyin had developed a device to control zombie abilities.
Upon hearing this, Lu Weiyi didn’t even bother finishing breakfast. He followed Zhuang Mingxu straight to the underground lab.
Days and nights of nonstop work had left Shen Xiuyin looking nothing like his former charming self. His hair was a mess, his appearance unkempt—like a mad scientist. If not for his still-youthful face, one might think he was decades older.
Seeing them enter, he glanced over, then led them directly to one of the labs.
The entire fifth floor had now been cleared out and given to him, even forcing Zhuang Mobai to move to the fourth.
