Novel Bin Chapter 43: A Steady Gaze, No Expression
Thank you to Anon and another Anon for your kofis and sweet messages!
“I will never fall for anyone else, I only like Xiao Yuan—”
Song Xuanhe snatched Zhou Nan’s phone. When he saw that the voice message had already been sent, he didn’t even ask Zhou Nan when he had gotten Xiao Yuanmu’s WeChat information and instead quickly went to delete the message.
When he saw the “Your message has been deleted” notification, he sighed in relief. He then kicked Zhou Nan, who had on an innocent expression. Song Xuanhe threw the phone back at Zhou Nan and asked, “When did you even get his WeChat info?”
“At Song Jiabao’s reception last time.” Zhou Nan glanced at the glass of wine in Song Xuanhe’s hand. “That time you ended up drunk.”
Wasn’t that also the day he had called Xiao Yuanmu “Daddy?”
Zhou Nan had touched his sore spot. Song Xuanhe’s expression turned rigid. The glare he directed towards Zhou Nan was as sharp as a blade. However, by the time Zhou Nan looked over at him, his eyes had already curved into a friendly smile.
“Now that I think about it, I didn’t get to drink enough with you last time. You have to try my handiwork today.” Song Xuanhe beamed as he called a waiter over. He whispered into the waiter’s ears. The waiter hesitated for a moment before giving an affirmative answer and leaving.
Zhou Nan didn’t know why, but he felt like the occasional glances that Song Xuanhe—this handsome fellow with a deceiving face— was giving him felt a bit weird. Furthermore, when the other had said, “Taste my handiwork,” it felt like he had actually been saying “I’m going to kick your ass.”
However, these thoughts disappeared when he saw Song Xuanhe’s nimble and beautiful drink mixing skills and especially when he saw the end product. It was an ombre-coloured cocktail in a wine glass, the colour going from grey to blue. Zhou Nan’s eyes widened in amazement.
“A cocktail I have specifically made for you. Make sure to drink it all.” Song Xuanhe pushed the drink to Zhou Nan’s side, beaming.
“Of course I’ll finish it. But, when did you learn how to mix drinks? And, you’re so good at it too.” Zhou Nan was astonished. He raised the glass and looked at it from the bottom. Even though the cup had swayed, the drink still retained its ombre effect—the colours didn’t mix together.
The waiter who had brought the necessary mixing tools and alcohol to Song Xuanhe was shocked. Even the bartender, who had followed along to see which guest had wanted to mix drinks, was astonished. The fact that the bartender could mix drinks here was evidence of his skill. However, despite all the years he’d spent mixing drinks and participating in competitions, he had never seen a drink like this before.
The beautiful colours and that ombre effect…the alcohol used in it had been expensive too. If he could learn how to make that, it could become a signature drink.
The bartender looked at Song Xuanhe with an ardent gaze. However, when he remembered who Song Xuanhe was, he became dejected. The people who could come drink here were not people he could casually seek connections with. He was different from the waiters. He had only been hired to work.
While Zhou Nan was astonished, the young lady sitting next to Xiao Shenglin had also widened her eyes. She looked at the ombre colour in the glass with fondness on her face. The drink looked like a cloudy sky clearing up or a hazy morning. Her mood bettered as she looked at it.
“Xuanhe gege, how did you make this?” Xiao Ranyun thought it was stunning. Her favourite colours just so happened to be blue and grey. This cocktail made her eyes light up. If it weren’t for the fact that it would be rude, she would have already snatched the glass out of Zhou Nan’s hands to get a better look.
Xiao Ranyun’s question was exactly what the bartender had wanted to ask but couldn’t. Now that someone was asking this for him, he was ecstatic!
“I just mixed a few things together. It’s nothing amazing.”
Song Xuanhe said this in a casual tone, but the bartender didn’t believe him. Even Zhou Nan and the others, who didn’t know anything about mixing drinks, didn’t believe him. But since Song Xuanhe didn’t seem to want to say much about it, they couldn’t continue to ask him questions even if they wanted to know.
Even the youngest, Xiao Ranyun politely dropped the topic. She then turned to ask Song Xuanhe shyly, “Xuanhe gege, can you make me a glass too?”
When Song Xuanhe’s gaze fell on her, Xiao Ranyun, who had felt at ease up until now, felt a bit embarrassed. Her voice was melodious and lovable though. “My favourite colours are blue and grey. This drink is really too pretty.”
Song Xuanhe paused slightly at her words. As he looked at the girl’s shy expression, he found himself losing himself in his thoughts. In his original world, these two colours had been precisely the favourite colours of his only friend. Back then, he had learned to make this cocktail to prank him.
Seeing Song Xuanhe fall silent, Xiao Ranyun realized that her request had been a bit rude. She had already felt embarrassed, but now, her face heated up even more with this realization. She clenched the hand on her knee and had been about to apologize when she saw Song Xuanhe smile. “Okay, but wait until Zhou Nan finishes it. If you still want to drink it after you hear what he has to say, I’ll make you a glass.”
Xiao Ranyun’s eyes lit up, and she thanked him, a grin on her face. She looked particularly sweet when she smiled like a younger girl-next-door. She seemed sincere and adorable.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Nan thought that something seemed fishy. Why had Song Xuanhe said that he’d only make the drink for her if she still wanted it after he drank it? No matter how he looked at it, it all pointed to the drink tasting bad.
However, looking at the cocktail’s beautiful colour, Zhou Nan also thought hesitantly, How bad could a beautiful drink like this be?
Song Xuanhe smiled as he watched Zhou Nan hesitate. “Didn’t you say you’d finish it? Why aren’t you drinking?”
Zhou Nan gazed at Song Xuanhe’s smiling face. His suspicion only grew. However, he had already promised to finish the drink. Furthermore, even if it did taste bad, alcohol was alcohol, how bad could it actually be? He was probably just overthinking things.
“It’s so pretty. Of course I have to look at it a bit more.” Zhou Nan picked the glass up and sniffed it slightly. It didn’t smell bad at all. He then brought the glass to his lips to drink.
Before he could take a sip, Song Xuanhe stopped him. He picked up the lime on the edge of the glass and squeezed two drops into the drink. The transparent lime juice caused a line to appear in the middle of the two colours, separating them briefly before the colours mixed together. After a few seconds, the ombre effect returned. But this time, the grey had lightened up a lot. It was now an ash blue.
Xiao Ranyun’s eyes had widened again as she watched the cocktail change before her eyes. It was like she had been watching an interesting chemistry experiment. The light in her eyes was especially noticeable in the dark bar, and it was really obvious that she liked it.
After this beautiful spectacle, Zhou Nan had further solidified his belief that this drink wouldn’t taste bad.
In front of everyone, he downed the glass with a smile on his face. But as soon as the cocktail had touched his tongue, his taste buds exploded. He didn’t even have time to carefully taste the drink. His face flushed, and he started coughing.
“There’s…p-poison in this!”
Zhou Nan then clutched at his neck with one hand, dry-heaving. With the other hand, he searched for some other drink to cover up the taste in his mouth.
Everyone who had seen this unforeseen event was startled. They all looked like they had no idea what to do. After all, Zhou Nan’s actions and words sounded really exaggerated. It seemed like he was acting on purpose and playing it up.
But, you couldn’t fake a face that red or fake coughing to the point where tears would form in your eyes. After the shock had passed, they all turned to look at the culprit—Song Xuanhe.
Song Xuanhe had a faint smile on his lips. He passed the watermelon juice on the table to Zhou Nan. “He just thinks it doesn’t taste too good, so he wants to wash it down with something else. He’s fine.”
Zhou Nan had finally recovered after finishing the watermelon juice. He glared at Song Xuanhe, tears still falling from his eyes. He complained in a raspy voice, “That is just ‘doesn’t taste good?’ Can you say that with a clear conscience? ‘Doesn’t taste good’ is too much of a f*cking understatement!”
Zhou Nan didn’t even want to think about that seemingly stunning drink that had such a frightening taste!
There had been a bitter taste that had seemed to stick to his tongue…following the bitterness had been this spiciness that had irritated his throat. There had also been a tart, sour taste that had made him feel like his teeth would fall out. The moment he had tasted the drink, goosebumps had broken out all over. This drink was a lethal weapon!
If he hadn’t personally tried that drink, Zhou Nan would never have believed that there could be any drink that could taste as bad as that!
Not even Chinese medicine could compare! If you drank the cocktail Song Xuanhe had concocted, you’d have no problem drinking Chinese medicine!
Probably because he was shocked by Zhou Nan’s overly indignant expression, even Xiao Shenglin couldn’t help but ask, “Is it really that hard to drink?”
“It’s not just hard to drink!” Zhou Nan downed all the other drinks on the table, but he could still feel that bitterness sitting on his tongue. He bared his aching teeth and said, “Let me tell you, as long as you take a sip of this, no matter what you drink in the future, it will taste delicious! This isn’t a drink, it’s a chemical weapon!”
“Little sister, let me tell you,” Zhou Nan shook his head like he had gone through rough times in life. “Listen to me. Don’t drink it, no matter what. You’ll die. For real.”
Song Xuanhe had been watching the show with his arms folded. When he had heard Zhou Nan say this, he couldn’t help but laugh. “But, you’re not dead, are you?”
“What grudge do you have against me?” Zhou Nan stuck out his index finger and trembled as he pointed at Song Xuanhe. “What did I do to offend you? Tell me, why did you want to hurt me like this?”
Song Xuanhe didn’t feel guilty at all. He even quirked his brow and asked, “What do you think?”
Zhou Nan didn’t know what he had done. He only glared at Song Xuanhe… and then glared at him again. In the end, he gave Song Xuanhe a stern expression. “I want to end our friendship for one minute.”
Xiao Shenglin raised his hand and looked at his watch. His smile was gentle. “I’ll keep track of the time.”
Zhou Nan gave Xiao Shenglin a similar bitter and hateful look. “You’ve changed, Lin zi,
you’ve changed. You’re as heartless and unreasonably troublesome as Song Er now.”Song Xuanhe turned to look at the girl who’d been looking at him the whole time. He smiled. “Do you still want me to make you a glass?”
Xiao Ranyun hesitated and then asked in a quiet voice, “Can I just have one to look at and not drink it?”
“Yeah, but you’ll have to give it back to me when you’re done with it.” Song Xuanhe picked up the cocktail shaker. Eyelashes slightly lowered, his smile seemed to fade slightly. Eventually, a serious expression replaced his smile.
Shortly after, a cocktail just like the previous one once again emerged on the table. Xiao Ranyun couldn’t hide her astonishment. She carefully lifted it up to look at it.
Song Xuanhe had a faint smile on his lips. “The cocktail will only stay like that for ten minutes. The colours will mix together after that.”
Xiao Ranyun made a sound of acknowledgement. She nodded and thanked him before earnestly studying the drink. She couldn’t help herself and pulled out her phone to take a few pictures. Upon noticing that the lighting wasn’t good in the bar, she asked Song Xuanhe, “Xuanhe gege, can I take it to the deck? The lighting isn’t good here. I’ll bring it back. Please?”
Song Xuanhe smiled and nodded. “Go ahead.”
When Xiao Ranyun had disappeared with the drink, Zhou Nan then said, “You b*stard, you did that on purpose.”
Song Xuanhe had a fake smile plastered on his face. “Aren’t you Nobleman Nan? Both the Emperor’s punishments and rewards are your blessings. You naturally have to drink what the Emperor bestows upon you.”
Zhou Nan choked. He only now realized that Song Xuanhe had been taking revenge on him for that court drama he had made up previously. Nobleman Nan inwardly cursed Song Xuanhe for being petty. He then took another sip of watermelon juice before changing the subject.
The atmosphere in the bar was joyous and harmonious. Meanwhile, things were more volatile on the deck.
After a calm young man with astonishing looks had appeared, many people had started to talk about him. From what he was wearing, they could tell that he didn’t work here. Therefore, people had started guessing at his identity. In an instant, the deck had turned raucous.
After Xiao Yuanmu had impatiently rejected another wave of people trying to initiate conversation, his gaze fell on his target. However, before he could get near, he saw a greasy, fat body suddenly approach.
The owner of said fat body raised his head. His eyes were hard to make out as the surrounding fat squished them into narrow slits. He looked at Xiao Yuanmu with a lecherous gaze. “Buddy, which family are you from? Do you want to be Uncle’s? I’ll give you anything you want, how about it?”
The spectators all broke out into a hubbub. Anyone would find it difficult to bear, seeing a nauseating creature stand in front of someone who looked like an immortal. However, they didn’t know who either Xiao Yuanmu or that man were. Therefore, they would not do anything rashly.
Based on his aura, Xiao Yuanmu didn’t seem like the type to be kept. However, based on his looks, it was definitely a possibility. In contrast, the fat man didn’t seem like he’d be any person’s kept lover.
Since they didn’t know anything about the situation, even if they found this scene searing to their eyes, most people would only watch from afar.
Xiao Yuanmu’s field of sight was completely taken up by this man, whose facial features were all distorted by fat. Digging through years of his memories, he finally figured out who this person was. When he thought of this person’s ending in his last life, a sinister smile appeared on his lips. However, it had only lasted a second. Almost no one had noticed.
This “almost no one” did not include Boss Sun who had been standing in front of Xiao Yuanmu this whole time, gaze fixed on the other.
After he saw Xiao Yuanmu smile, he had felt his back go cold and his hairs stand up on end. But after the initial shock, his heart also started racing. He couldn’t help but smile, drooling over the other.
This man was the most beautiful prey he had ever laid eyes on.
Boss Sun stuck out his belly and exerted all his strength to raise his head towards Xiao Yuanmu. He beamed, “I know that you’re with a young man right now, but how can he have as much experience as me? Since I’m more experienced, I can make you feel even better. Trust me, after one night with me, you’ll never want to leave. How about it?”
The other people on the deck were shocked by Boss Sun’s words. Originally, they had also thought that Xiao Yuanmu was an unfamiliar face and that he may have been brought in by someone. However, after having taken in his strong and calm aura, most people had dismissed that idea. They had thought that he had to be the successor to some family that rarely made public appearances.
They hadn’t expected that Boss Sun would be able to so confidently insinuate that he was being kept by some young man. Unless he was confident in that information, there was no way he would have dared to risk purposefully slandering some family’s young master.
Instantly, everyone’s gazes changed.
Some people disdained Xiao Yuanmu’s lowly status underneath his good appearance. Some people regretted not having snatched this ridiculously good-looking man first.
When he felt the surrounding gazes change, Boss Sun stuck his belly out more. Influential bigwigs have all gathered together on this cruise ship. How could he be so stupid as to hit on someone if he didn’t know who they were? He had already found out who this good-looking man was. That young master of the Song Family had said that he was nothing but a plaything his cousin was keeping. Furthermore, he was an orphan, and no one in the Song Family approved of their relationship.
Sun Jinren would never miss out on such a good opportunity.
Boss Sun took Xiao Yuanmu’s silence as fear. He laughed and took half a step towards him. He said, “Be good. Come with gege. In the future, you’ll live a life of luxury. Anything you want—”
“You’ll have” didn’t get to leave his mouth before he had ended up taking a foot in the chest and flew through the air.
“Flew” wasn’t an exaggeration. Boss Sun weighed at least three hundred and thirty pounds. Xiao Yuanmu’s kick had sent him crashing against the long table in the back. The fruit, wine, and pastries were all knocked onto the ground. Screams filled the deck.
Amidst them came an angry, beautiful voice that attracted people’s attention. “Mister! You nearly destroyed my drink!”
Xiao Ranyun held onto the drink, which contents had already begun to mix together. Although she had managed to avoid losing it entirely just now, because of the intense movement, some of the liquid had still ended up spilling out. The contents had also ended up mixed, causing what was once ombre to become a solid hazy ash blue.
Sun Jinren crawled up with much difficulty, supporting his belly. When he had heard the girl denounce him indignantly, he was about to curse at her. However, when he had noticed her expensive clothes and her bodyguards, he eased his expression and smiled apologetically. “Uncle didn’t mean to. It’s all because that person kicked me. How much does this drink cost? Uncle will compensate you, okay?”
Xiao Ranyun had also seen what had been happening when she had arrived. However, she had grown up in these circles. She’d seen things like these before. Although she loathed it, she didn’t meddle. Furthermore, all her attention had been on her beloved cocktail. She hadn’t expected that it would end up all mixed together after just two minutes though. Because of him, everything had ended up all mixed together.
“Miss.” One of the bodyguards, dressed in black, walked over to Xiao Ranyun. He asked worriedly, “Are you okay? Should we go get Young Master Xiao?”
“I’m fine.” Xiao Ranyun pouted and shook her head. She glared at Boss Sun, but her tone was courteous. “Mister, this drink cannot be bought. My cousin’s friend helped me make it. Even if you want to pay for it, I won’t be able to get another glass. Furthermore, I had promised Xuanhe gege to bring it back in tact. It’s your fault that I have to go back on my word.”
Boss Sun knew that Xiao Ranyun was no ordinary person when he saw her attitude. His anger and lust from earlier had completely vanished. He apologized again and again. “It’s all because I didn’t make sure to fall in a different direction that I ended up destroying your drink. How about calling your cousin’s friend and I’ll personally apologize?”
When Xiao Yuanmu heard this familiar voice and those familiar words, he looked up. His gaze swept over Xiao Ranyun’s pretty face for a moment and then shifted to the glass in her hand.
It was a dusky colour like that of a gloomy rainstorm.
His gaze then moved to Sun Jinren, who was trying to persuade her.
When Sun Jinren heard that Xiao Ranyun’s cousin was surnamed Xiao, he had broken out into a cold sweat. There was only one Xiao Family that could appear in a place like this with so many bodyguards.
They were an entity that he absolutely could not afford to offend.
Sun Jinren wiped the sweat from his forehead. He then apologized again. He was clever this time and shifted the blame onto Xiao Yuanmu. He said, “It’s all because of that pretty boy. I had just been trying to talk to him, but he suddenly kicked me. If it hadn’t been for this, I would never have alarmed Miss Xiao. How about I contact the security department and have them throw him off this cruise? We’ll punish him when we get back to shore.”
Xiao Ranyun frowned. She actually disliked this greasy man, who kept spouting nonsense. However, her upbringing made it difficult for her to say anything rude. She could only say, “It’s not his fault. It’s not like you meant to knock into that table either. As long as you can get Xuanhe gege to forgive me, I won’t hold this against you.”
Even if she had a good upbringing and was gentle by nature, because of her education and family’s influence on her, she wasn’t someone who would be softened by a few nice words. She was someone who abided by the rules and would naturally not let him off so easily.
Sun Jinren nodded. “Of course, of course. It’s my fault, so I ought to apologize to the owner of this drink.”
Xiao Ranyun took a step back, drink in hand. She ordered one of her bodyguards to call Xiao Shenglin and co. over. She then looked at her ash blue drink, disappointed. She was rather unhappy.
Sun Jinren cautiously glanced at Xiao Ranyun’s expression. Seeing that she wasn’t going to bicker about this, he sighed in relief. Indeed, people were more soft-hearted when young. Otherwise, if a lady of her status were to really hold this against him, it would be impossible for him to enter the higher stratums of society.
When he thought this, Sun Jinren’s gaze towards Xiao Yuanmu grew resentful.
If it hadn’t been for this youngster, he would never have offended someone from the Xiao Family. After showing his ugly side in front of the Xiao Family’s young miss, even if she wasn’t going to hold this against him, he had failed to make a good impression. Even though this matter would pass, this meant that it would be a lot harder for him to climb his way up in the future.
Xiao Yuanmu noticed Sun Jinren’s gaze. He glanced at the other indifferently and saw the ruthlessness and lust in his eyes. There was not a single ripple in his own eyes. He then looked away.
Although he would need to expend a bit of effort to get rid of the Song Family, destroying Sun Jinren would require no effort at all.
Sun Jinren also looked away. A poor kid like Xiao Yuanmu, Sun Jinren naturally had a myriad of ways to make him suffer until he had no choice but to beg to be with him. Right now, his top priority was getting the young Miss Xiao’s forgiveness.
When Xiao Ranyun noticed that Xiao Shenglin and them still hadn’t come, her expression turned even more nervous. She quietly said to her personal assistant, “It’s a pity that no one’s going to drink such a pretty drink. I was originally going to take a little sip, but Xuanhe gege said that I had to return it. What if he gets angry?”
The assistant hadn’t had the time to persuade Xiao Ranyun out of it when they heard Sun Jinren say, “It’s fine. Miss Xiao, I can drink it. Let me help you drink it.”
As soon as he had spoken, he heard a clear and sonorous male voice say in a furious tone, “Does someone like you have the right to drink this?”
The author has something to say:
Zhou Nan: Emperor, your heart is so ruthless. I, your servant, have served you for so many years but you actually made me drink poisoned wine. How malicious!
Eve: Eve: Gotta say, I did not have a good time doing Sun Jinren’s parts. It made me…feel so grossed out. Brb need a shower.
Kara: Sun Jinren is a disgusting and sad excuse of a human being. Excuse me while I vomit.