Chapter 672: The Terrible Badge

"Am I… back home?"

After rubbing his still-drowsy eyes, Li Ang glanced at the familiar ceiling above him and barely recognized his location—though the main reason wasn't the ceiling, but the burly old man outside the window, holding a large pair of garden shears and staring at him with unmistakable malice.

"…"

This is the sixth floor—you're really persistent…

Li Ang gave the burly old man clinging to the window a look of utter disbelief, shook his throbbing head, and barely dragged himself off the bed, striving to recall what had happened yesterday.

He remembered Lord Taurus bringing over the brewed liquor, then him opening every bottle, taking a sip from each—but later, as he drank, his awareness blurred, and he couldn't hold back anymore; each swallow grew larger than the last, and many bottles at the end were drained completely…

No more drinking! Since the badge is already in hand, I don't need to drink anymore—going forward, I'll avoid alcohol entirely unless absolutely necessary!

Rubbing his swollen temples, Li Ang tried hard to recall what came after, but no matter how hard he strained his memory, the only thing he could remember was stumbling out of the warehouse drunk after receiving the 【Immortal of Wine】 badge—after that, nothing.

Looking at the description of the 【Immortal of Wine】 badge—the phrase "unable to control one's behavior and speech"—Li Ang winced in guilt, then prayed silently that he hadn't done anything outrageous, before stumbling out of bed, slipping on his slippers, and stepping out of the room.

…

"You're finally awake!"

Seeing Li Ang stumble out, pale-faced but otherwise normal, Anna—who had been simmering red bean soup in the kitchen—let out a relieved breath, turned off the stove, wiped her hands, removed her apron, and carried over a hangover remedy, scolding him with mild irritation:

"Brother! What did you do yesterday? Why did you drink so much? And why did you sleep so soundly? Even Mei Lan Ni scratching your soles couldn't wake you up!"

No wonder—I thought it was strange I only had one sock on…

Looking down at his bare right foot inside the slipper, Li Ang laughed nervously twice and mumbled two flimsy excuses to dodge the question, then sipped the soup Anna brought while cautiously probing:

"So… yesterday…"

"You said a lot of drunk nonsense."

Without even needing to look at Li Ang's expression, Anna knew what he wanted to ask. She snorted, set down boiled eggs and toasted bread, and spoke with a stiff, expressionless face:

"After Sister Emma brought you home, reeking of alcohol, you grabbed her hand and wouldn't let her go—not just thanking her nonstop, but sighing deeply and lamenting how much better it would've been if you'd met her sooner.

I sensed something was off, so I secretly pinched you several times, but you acted like you felt nothing—you kept pulling Emma and confessing that compared to a drunken monkey, her gentle nature was exactly the type you loved.

Then you said age wasn't an issue; if Emma hadn't already married, you'd have pursued her relentlessly. Finally, you yanked up all the celery and herbs I kept on the windowsill, tied them into a bouquet, and insisted on giving them to her—I couldn't stop you—and then you dropped to one knee and demanded she…"

"Stop… stop talking…"

Hearing the absurd things he'd done in his "drunken dream" state, Li Ang's face turned as red as a monkey's rear. He quickly gulped down the perfectly warm red bean soup, then flushed and stammered:

"Yesterday… it was a special case. I won't get drunk again! Well… under normal circumstances, I won't…"

"You'd better not!"

Recalling how her brother had gone wild with alcohol, babbling nonstop to that poor woman, Anna's toes inside her slippers began twitching uncontrollably, making her feel uncomfortable all over.

After glaring at Li Ang—who'd made her suffer embarrassment—Anna, usually so mild-mannered, couldn't help snapping:

"Emma said that after hearing your evaluation, your boss laughed heartily and told you to watch yourself and not let her catch you alone. She didn't know when you'd wake up, so she took two days off for you—wait, by the way…"

Here, Anna paused slightly, then studied Li Ang with suspicion:

"Brother, I heard that when drunk, people lose self-control and do things they normally want to but dare not. So… do you actually have feelings for Emma?" "…"

Feelings… if I didn't lie, then yes, I've thought about it.

After all, Senior Emma is gentle and beautiful, and she's always been kind to me—and, cough, but it was just a passing thought. Who doesn't have a few fleeting, romantic, even slightly wicked little fantasies?

But those thoughts remain just thoughts—people aren't beasts driven purely by instinct; we can't indulge ourselves without restraint. So those little notions are merely brushed aside by reason.

Only when entering the "drunken dream" state did my reason and mental speed drop by over ninety percent—thoughts usually tightly bound now slipped slightly out of control, so…

It's not my fault! It's all the 【Immortal of Wine】's fault!

After convincing himself for a long time and shifting most of the blame onto the 【Immortal of Wine】, Li Ang finally felt a bit better, then looked Anna straight in the eye and said seriously:

"Don't say that—those drunk words mean nothing. Senior Emma has always taken care of me; I deeply respect her."

"…"

True, I remember how Emma refused your confession, blushing and trying to leave, but you clung to her, nagging her repeatedly, asking if you really had zero chance—you sure do respect her.

Anna clenched her lips, held back again and again, but ultimately couldn't bring herself to reveal everything Li Ang had done yesterday. She took a deep breath and changed the subject:

"What about Princess Veronika? When are you two getting married?"

"This… this is complicated…"

Recalling the clever, charming princess whose every quality made refusal nearly impossible, Li Ang hesitated inwardly.

Honestly, facing Princess Veronika's relentless pursuit, he truly couldn't hold out much longer—but… he still didn't want to give in so easily. After all, the princess was wonderful, but what she truly wanted was probably the Lai family's resources, not him.

Though it sounded pretentious, he still wanted a partner drawn to him—not his status. And right now, he wasn't ready for an early marriage. Hmm… something just felt off.

"Let's just keep delaying it…"

After uttering the classic scoundrel line, Li Ang, who had clashed with Princess Veronika several times yet failed to break off the engagement, sighed helplessly:

"Our relationship involves too many things—it's not as simple as it looks. I just can't sort it out right now."

"Fine! Take your time sorting it out!"

Glaring at Li Ang again, Anna took another deep breath and asked coldly:

"Tell me—what about Yisha, Olivia, Amy, Nicole… what's going on with them?"

"Huh? How do you know?"

"I heard you mumble their names last night while I wiped your face with a warm towel."

Glaring at Li Ang once more, Anna ground her teeth:

"If you hadn't been drunk, I'd never have known you were this… Spill it! What's the story with them? Which one do you actually like?"

"…"

Damn this 【Immortal of Wine】 badge! It's ruined me!!!

(End of Chapter)