Chen Yu had danced through what felt like half the club's playlist with Nil and was finally beginning to slow down.
Nil looked at him, then shook his head, he had seen this coming from far away.
"Would you like a glass of water?" he asked.
Chen Yu bent slightly, trying to catch his breath.
"No," he said at once. "I want to keep dancing. I haven't had this much fun with you in over a month."
Nil frowned.
No one knew Chen Yu better than he did, and his silly boyfriend was exactly the type to dance himself into the afterlife if left unattended for too long.
"Chen Yu…" Nil said softly.
Chen Yu paused.
Then, with deep reluctance he sighed "Fine. Water then."
Nil smiled faintly. He leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to Chen Yu's forehead. "I'll be right back."
That one simple kiss nearly killed Chen Yu, he froze and then blushed so hard he looked like a schoolboy who had just been handed a love letter in public.
"Yes, yes, off you go!" he said quickly, pushing Nil away before he completely short-circuited. "Go!"
Nil gave him one last amused look and headed toward the bar.
Chen Yu stood there for a moment, fanning his own face dramatically like a maiden in a historical drama, then suddenly remembered something.
Mo Fei.
He turned his head to where Mo Fei should have been.
The space was empty.
Chen Yu blinked. Where did he go?
All traces of romantic dizziness vanished instantly.
Chen Yu darted off at once, weaving through the crowd with growing worry. As he scanned the club, he found Sima Li, sprawled very comfortably in the middle of temptation itself.
He was Surrounded by five women. Not one. Not two. Five.
Each one leaning in, laughing, touching his arm, like he was public luxury amenity.
Chen Yu stopped dead and frowned so hard his soul frowned with him.
"Sima Li," he said in disgust, "do you have no shame?"
Sima Li looked up lazily from where one woman had him half-pinned by the arm. "Eh?" he said. "What are you doing here? Come to join me?" He spread one hand presenting the scene proudly. "What would Nil say if he saw you?" Then his face brightened. "But it doesn't matter. There's space here, come!"
Chen Yu saw visions of himself strangling Sima Li with a silk tie.
He pointed at Sima Li and the entire surrounding him. "I am not here to join you in your…" he searched for the most polite word possible and found it, "…debauchery."
Sima Li blinked. "You just gestured to all of me."
Chen Yu ignored him. "I'm looking for Mo Fei. Have you seen him?"
Then, without waiting for an answer, he stepped closer and clapped his hands at the women like an overworked teacher dismissing students after class.
"Pack it up, ladies. Time's up. Move, move."
The women stared.
Then one by one, clearly more amused than offended, they rose to leave.
Sima Li watched in horror. "No... wait! Don't go! Hold on!"
He reached toward each woman mournfully as they abandoned him.
Then he turned to Chen Yu with betrayal written all over his face.
"Why would you do that?"
Chen Yu felt slightly nauseous just looking at him.
He grabbed Sima Li by the arm and hauled him to his feet.
"Because I need you to help me find Feifei."
"Why should I?" Sima Li cried, stumbling after him. "He's a grown man. He can take care of himself."
Chen Yu didn't even slow down. "Just shut up and follow me!"
He dragged Sima Li through the club with grim focus, he was searching for his lost child.
His anxiety was growing.
Mo Fei wasn't the party type. He didn't like crowds. He hated noisy gatherings like this. What if something had happened, What if he'd left? What if he was quietly suffering alone somewhere while Chen Yu had been busy dancing and having a romantic crisis?
No, no, Mo Fei would be fine. He had to be fine.
They just needed to find him.
"Alright, alright, hold on!" Sima Li protested, trying to yank his arm free. "I'll help you find him, just let go!"
"You'll run straight back to those women," Chen Yu snapped, not loosening his grip even a little. "Not a chance."
"I won't! I swear on Yichen's life!"
Chen Yu stopped abruptly making Sima Li crash into him. "Why not swear on your own life?"
Sima Li looked offended, what a stupid question. "Because it's more valuable. Duh."
Chen Yu stared at him for one beat. Then resumed dragging him.
"Help me find him and I'll let you go. If you don't…" His voice dropped. "…I'll post that video of you getting chased around by a mother duck."
Sima Li slapped a hand over his mouth with a gasp, his soul nearly came out.
"You wouldn't." His eyes widened in pure horror. "You promised me you deleted it!"
Chen Yu turned and gave him an eerie smile that came with a background thunder.
Sima Li shivered.
"Mo Fei!" Sima Li immediately shouted at the top of his lungs. "Where are you? Feifei!"
Smack.
Chen Yu hit him on the head.
"Ow!" Sima Li clutched his skull dramatically. "What was that for? You said to find him! That's what I'm doing!"
A few passersby turned to stare at them.
Their expressions clearly said the same thing:
Were these two drunk?
Who let psychopaths into the club?
Chen Yu's face changed instantly. He offered the strangers an awkward smile and a quick little bow.
"Sorry, sorry," he said. "My friend is really drunk."
Then he straightened and glared at Sima Li.
"Just follow my lead and don't do anything stupid."
Sima Li nodded, utterly obedient because if that duck video ever got out, he would trend for months.
The thought alone terrified him so deeply that for once in his life, Sima Li chose silence.
"But what would he even be doing in the VIP section?" Sima Li asked as Chen Yu dragged him toward the stairs. "Does he know someone up there?"
Chen Yu shook his head immediately.
"No. Mo Fei doesn't talk to many people. Aria and I are basically his only friends."
That truth made him frown even harder. If Mo Fei really had wandered off upstairs, then something strange must have happened.
And just then...
"Chen Yu!"
Nil's voice came from behind them.
Both men turned.
Nil was hurrying toward them through the crowd, still holding the bottle of water he had gone to get earlier. He had been searching for Chen Yu for some time and was only just restraining himself from scolding him in public.
"Where are you going?" Nil asked as soon as he reached them. "I've been looking everywhere for you."
"We can't find Mo Fei," Chen Yu said at once, stopping just long enough to answer before moving again.
Beside him, Sima Li muttered under his breath, "You can't find Mo Fei…"
Chen Yu's head snapped toward him. "Did you say something?"
Sima Li nearly jumped. "No, no! How dare I?" he said with a nervous laugh, waving both hands in surrender. "Hehehe."
Chen Yu narrowed his eyes.
Sima Li immediately straightened, Chen Yu was frightening.
"Oh," Nil said quickly, already catching up to the situation. "Then I'll help you look." He lifted the water bottle slightly, intending to hand it over, but Chen Yu shook his head.
"Forget it. Let's check upstairs. He might be there." At the moment, Chen Yu had no use for water. Not until he found Mo Fei.
And so the three of them headed for the staircase leading to the VIP section.
The higher they climbed, the more Chen Yu's anxiety sharpened. Mo Fei hated complicated gatherings, If he had somehow ended up upstairs with people he didn't know…
Chen Yu's expression darkened.
Whoever had picked on his Feifei would regret it.
The second they stepped into the VIP section, all three of them instinctively began scanning the room.
Lights. Faces. Private tables.
Then...
"There!"
Chen Yu spotted him first.
Mo Fei sat among a group of unfamiliar faces.
And from a distance, the scene looked wrong.
He was surrounded and the atmosphere was strange.
There was tension at the table so thick it might as well have been served in a glass.
Mo Fei was in trouble.
"Let's go!" Chen Yu hissed, already marching forward.
Sima Li and Nil hurried after him.
By the time they reached the table, Chen Yu didn't even pause. He grabbed Mo Fei by the arm at once.
"Feifei, are you alright? Why did you leave by yourself? You're okay right?" he asked quickly.
Then he lifted his head and looked around at the people seated there.
His face hardened.
"How dare you pick on him? What is your probl... "
The rest of the sentence died in his throat.
Sima Li blinked. Nil raised a brow.
The mood at the table was not what any of them had expected. Everyone looked… solemn and quiet.
Chen Yu's anger stuttered. He looked around again, confused. What's going on? Wasn't Mo Fei in trouble?
A woman at the table was holding a handkerchief to her face.
Was she… crying? Chen Yu nearly choked.
Eh?
He slowly turned back to Mo Fei.
Then to the others.
Then back to the girl with the handkerchief.
What exactly had happened here?