Don’t Smile at Anyone Else

Lu Chen helplessly put down his phone, feeling like he was about to be bled dry.

Those two definitely wouldn't care about draining his wallet. And don't think buying alcohol and light novels is cheap—he'd already learned that lesson the hard way not long ago.

That time when they went to pick up Yae Miko… Lu Chen and Ei had accidentally left Venti behind at the comic convention. When Venti returned, he wouldn't stop complaining and was so angry he almost blew Lu Chen off the roof.

In the end, Lu Chen had to promise him an "all-you-can-drink night at the bar" to appease him and barely escaped disaster...

The result?

Lu Chen's mind flashed back to that night.

The moment Venti entered a place with alcohol, it was like a fish returning to the sea—he instantly transformed into the prince of the nightclub. He dragged Lu Chen along, got him completely drunk, and had him staggering between dancing and throwing up...

But that wasn't even the worst part. When the atmosphere reached its peak, Venti grabbed the microphone and shouted to the whole crowd:

"Tonight's drinks are on Childe Lu!"

The laser lights immediately locked onto Lu Chen, and he was showered in cheers from the crowd.

His wallet, though, was thoroughly looted that night.

These painful memories made Lu Chen cover his forehead, and Ei, seeing his gloomy expression, couldn't help but laugh.

It was break time now. Ei leaned over curiously. "What's wrong?"

Lu Chen peeked at her with one eye. "Your husband's about to go bankrupt..."

Ei sighed. "Then why did you agree to fulfill their wishes? Why not just ask me to learn how to drive?"

"We've got training…" Lu Chen smiled bitterly. Don't think being an athlete means you can slack off. With him and Ei as the star players, the school leaders were taking them very seriously. Time off? At least for now, that wasn't happening at all...

Every day, he and Ei had to train alongside a bunch of lower-level teammates, and even with two experts like them around, the others didn't seem to be improving much.

Completely hopeless.

With nothing better to do during break, Lu Chen started telling Ei about what had happened at the nightclub.

When she heard about Venti's antics, Ei couldn't help but snort with laughter.

"Hey, hey! You sound really happy hearing about my misery!" Lu Chen shot her a look.

Getting forced to drink by that guy was pure torture! And the worst part was his poor, shrinking wallet. The thought of it still made Lu Chen wince.

"No, I'm not." Ei covered her mouth and tried to keep a straight face.

But she couldn't hold it in for long. Soon she was laughing so hard she was shaking, her hand still covering her mouth.

"..."

Lu Chen rolled his eyes but somehow found himself laughing along with her.

They laughed freely and openly, the warm summer sunlight streaming through the windows and lighting up their faces.

The scene was so striking that many of their classmates couldn't help but glance over.

The once-noisy classroom suddenly grew quieter. Lu Chen looked around in confusion and saw many girls sneaking glances at him.

Some blushed when caught, while others covered their mouths and giggled.

Ei stopped laughing.

Lu Chen quickly wiped the smile from his face too.

As soon as the two stopped laughing, a faint sigh of disappointment could be heard from somewhere.

"You promised me." Ei's voice was calm and expressionless, but there was a clear warning in her tone.

"Uh..."

Lu Chen held a sincere, obedient expression, forcing himself not to smile—his face was starting to go numb.

As the atmosphere settled, Ei looked at Lu Chen, then leaned in closer and closer.

Lu Chen blinked, feeling a little nervous.

What is she doing? In front of everyone…

While he was still wondering whether Ei was about to kiss him or stab him...

Ei simply reached out and carefully straightened his collar.

At Haizhou High, boys were allowed to wear ties with their uniforms, but no one actually wore them. In fact, some of the more rebellious students would deliberately leave two buttons undone.

It made them look "carefree" and cool.

Ei patiently buttoned Lu Chen's undone buttons, then straightened his crooked collar.

After that, Lu Chen found himself looking straight into her eyes, which were now very close.

"Don't smile at anyone outside."

"Okay, boss," Lu Chen replied.

Ei nodded slightly but still seemed a little dissatisfied. She turned her head slightly and casually glanced around the classroom.

In an instant, her expression changed.

Her gaze turned icy cold, exuding a chilling killing intent that even an ordinary person could feel. The summer warmth seemed to vanish, and the classroom felt like the depths of winter...

The other students quickly lowered their heads, falling silent.

Zhou Yang and his female desk mate covered their mouths, clearly wanting to laugh but too afraid to.

It seemed only those close to Lu Chen were exempt from Ei's glare—she ignored the two of them.

After memorizing the faces of a few of the girls, Ei turned back to Lu Chen, her expression back to normal.

"Chen, keep going."

"Okay, boss. What should I tell you?"

"Tell me about what happened at the nightclub."

"Uh... oh, okay."

...

That evening, Lu Chen and Ei returned to the seaside villa.

Since they had been taking taxis or hitching rides from Zen Zhang lately, Lu Chen figured it was time to move buying a car up the priority list.

For the trip to the neighboring province, they'd need space for six people. Plus, Lu Chen planned to visit several scenic spots, so a regular car wouldn't cut it.

He decided to buy an RV. It would have plenty of space and could carry lots of essential supplies.

In addition to the RV, he also planned to buy a smaller car for everyone to use for commuting. Once they had it, Venti and Miko could also practice driving on the mountain roads.

During dinner, the group started discussing getting their driver's licenses.

"Venti's going to quit drinking!" Yae Miko suddenly announced.

"Huh?"

Lu Chen and everyone else looked at Venti.

That was truly rare. "Quitting drinking" and Venti were such an odd match that Lu Chen thought Yae Miko was joking.

"Really? You're quitting drinking?" Lu Chen stared at Venti in disbelief.

"Yeah!" Venti put down his bowl and looked around at everyone.

"Why are you all looking at me like that? Can't I quit drinking? Do you all have to look so shocked?"

Ei said quietly, "I always thought not even the sky falling would make you put down that wine jug."

Zhongli agreed. "Indeed. I can't imagine a day when Barbatos wouldn't drink."

"So that's the impression you all have of me..."

Venti looked innocent. "I don't drink and drive, and I don't drive after drinking! I can be serious when I want to, okay?"

After a lot of questioning, they finally found out that Venti was only quitting drinking temporarily so he could learn to drive. Once they understood that he wasn't giving up alcohol for good, everyone was much more relieved.

"I knew it..."

Lu Chen let out a breath of relief, though he was still puzzled. "Are you really going to such lengths just to get me once? What wish are you trying to make happen?"

It's not just about drinking a lot, is it? Going so far as to quit drinking temporarily just to be able to drink more seemed impossible to understand...

Wait...

Something's not right!

Lu Chen suddenly realized that Venti's wish probably wasn't that simple.

...