He had barely crawled a short distance when he felt a tightness around his ankle—the Proprietress had grabbed him. In the next instant, he was dragged back.
"Drink more!" The Proprietress pried open Yang Kai's mouth and poured the liquor straight down.
The world spun...
He had no idea how long had passed before Yang Kai slowly came to. His mouth felt bone-dry, his throat was on fire. He opened his eyes and gazed upward, seeing nothing but a canopy of pink gauze. He froze for a moment, staring blankly into space.
After a good while, fragmented and hazy memories gradually surfaced.
He had apparently come to check on the Proprietress after she drank herself into a stupor, only to get beaten up by her, then forcibly fed several jars of wine, after which he had lost consciousness entirely.
His memory stopped at the moment he was dragged back and force-fed the second jar. As for what happened after that, he had absolutely no recollection.
He had no idea what kind of liquor that was, but its potency was staggering—merely two jars had knocked him out cold.
Where am I? He stared at the pink gauze overhead for a long time before it finally dawned on him. Could he possibly be in the Proprietress's bed? That gauze was unmistakably from her own chamber.
His head throbbed viciously. He tried to raise a hand to rub it, only to discover that his arm was pinned under something. He turned his head to look and his eyes flew wide open. The last traces of his drunken haze vanished in an instant, and a profound sense of dread washed over him.
It wasn't some object resting on his arm—it was the Proprietress's head. At this very moment, she was lying curled up beside him on her side, sleeping peacefully. Whatever she was dreaming, a faint smile graced the corner of her lips. He had no idea how long she had been in this position, but his arm had gone thoroughly numb.
A wave of absolute terror!
The sight was genuinely horrifying—not because the Proprietress wasn't beautiful, but quite the opposite. She was a born stunner, blessed with both face and figure; any man who laid eyes on her would surely be moved, and anyone given the chance to share her bed would consider it a godsend.
The problem was that this was the Proprietress! Over the past few days, she had tormented him relentlessly. He had come to comfort her earlier and she had beaten him to a pulp. If she found out that he had not only ended up in her bed but had held her in his arms for who knew how long, Yang Kai estimated he wouldn't have enough lives to pay the price.
Fortunately, her clothes were still intact. He checked his own state—though disheveled, there were no signs of his clothes having been removed. In other words, nothing had happened while he was unconscious. Yang Kai let out a silent breath of relief.
This situation wasn't the worst-case scenario. If something really had happened, it would have been game over!
That said, this was still an impossibly compromising situation. If anyone happened to see them like this, the assumptions would be a done deal regardless of the truth. Best to retreat while he could!
Mind made up, Yang Kai held his breath and carefully withdrew his arm from beneath the Proprietress's graceful neck. Then, moving with painstaking caution, he climbed over her and slipped out of bed.
He glanced around. The floor was littered with wine jars, and the entire room reeked of alcohol. Yang Kai gritted his teeth. "Drinking leads to trouble"—he had only ever heard people say that before. He had always been disciplined, never drinking to excess, so he had never truly understood. Now, having been forcibly intoxicated for the first time, he had learned the lesson the hard way.
There was no time to clean up. Yang Kai turned to steal one last look at the Proprietress, still lying on the fragrant bed, and shook his fist at her in silent defiance before tiptoeing toward the door.
He opened it as quietly as he could, slipped out, and gently closed it behind him without so much as a sound.
The entire affair felt like breaking and entering. Had he not deliberately suppressed himself, his own heartbeat would have been deafening.
Only after finishing all of this did his racing heart begin to settle.
No point lingering in a place like this—better get back to his own room in a hurry. Yang Kai fumbled with his buttons while turning and leaping off the upper level, landing directly on the deck.
He looked up and came face-to-face with Bai Qi, who was standing right in front of him holding a bucket of hot water. Their eyes met. Bai Qi froze. "You..."
Yang Kai was equally stunned. Already riddled with guilt, the last thing he had expected was to run into this guy the moment he turned around. He hurriedly straightened his clothes. "Brother Bai, hard at work?"
"Mm!" Bai Qi nodded reflexively.
"Then don't let me keep you. I'll head back first." Yang Kai clasped his hands behind his back and walked toward the cabin with measured steps.
Bai Qi stared blankly at his retreating figure, then lifted his gaze to the private chambers on the top floor. The bucket slipped from his hands and crashed onto the deck, sending hot water splashing everywhere.
Back in his room, Yang Kai forced himself to appear calm and wiped the cold sweat from his brow. He had barely settled into his seat when a thunderous bang erupted at the door. In the next moment, three burly men charged in, their faces dark with menace and killing intent.
"What are you doing?" Yang Kai exclaimed in alarm, eyeing Bai Qi, the Accountant, and the Cook as they advanced on him while he backed away, step by step.
The three said nothing. They closed in with practiced coordination and, in a matter of seconds, had pinned Yang Kai down on the bed.
The Accountant brandished his golden abacus high overhead, poised to smash it down. The Cook pressed a gleaming cleaver against Yang Kai's forehead. Bai Qi wrapped a serving towel twice around Yang Kai's neck and yanked it tight!
Yang Kai rasped, "Can we talk this out like civilized people? There's no need for violence!"