The moment Spades accepted the challenge, the roar inside the tavern nearly lifted the roof.
"Hey, take it easy—they're new recruits!" Alex tried to stop them helplessly. "Don't deliberately get them drunk!"
A meddlesome, half-drunk soldier beside him flashed an exaggerated "OK" gesture, nudged Alex aside with a grin, and turned to explain the rules to Bai Liu.
"Since Alex said that, how about we go with the simplest drinking method?"
Tang Erda tugged at Bai Liu's elbow, frowning and shaking his head to signal him not to drink.
He could tell Bai Liu wasn't good with alcohol. After that high-proof vodka earlier, a faint flush had already crept onto his face.
Spades' gaze dropped briefly to Tang Erda's hand gripping Bai Liu's elbow. He paused, then looked at the soldier explaining the rules.
"What's the most complicated version?"
"Wow! Now that's a brave soldier!" the man clapped excitedly. Then he turned back and shouted at Alex, "For your sake, I was going easy on them!"
Alex rubbed his temples in frustration. Realizing he couldn't stop Spades, he turned to Bai Liu instead.
"Don't just accept whatever they suggest. If you get drunk, you won't even make it back tonight…"
The soldier clicked his tongue. "Alex, you're such a buzzkill."
Spades looked straight at Bai Liu. "Do you want to drink?"
Bai Liu lifted his chin slightly and smiled. "I'll stay with you to the end."
"Alright then—this is the most complicated version." The soldier snapped his fingers, drawing everyone's attention.
He began pouring different liquors into a small iron ice bucket on the bar until it was completely full.
Holding it up proudly, he declared, "My masterpiece—Kiss of War. The last guy who drank this claimed he saw the God of Death."
Two soldiers handed Bai Liu and Spades tall, conical goblets—about fifteen centimeters high, holding roughly four hundred milliliters—and gestured for them to balance the glasses on their heads.
Spades took his without hesitation and placed it on his head, staring steadily at Bai Liu.
Bai Liu hesitated for only a fraction of a second before doing the same. Under Spades' unwavering gaze, he calmly met his eyes.
The sight of these two striking men balancing glasses on their heads made the soldier burst into laughter.
Still chuckling, he explained, "Here are the rules. You scoop alcohol from the bucket and pour it into the glass on your head. Don't spill a drop. If you spill, you have to drink everything you've poured so far."
"If you manage to fill the glass without spilling, your opponent has to drink what's on your head. And while drinking, neither of you can touch the glasses—yours or theirs. If a glass falls, you drink double."
"When neither of you can keep the glass balanced anymore, the game ends. Whoever has more broken glasses loses."
He spread his hands. "Got it?"
Bai Liu and Spades both nodded, glancing at the glasses balanced atop each other's heads.
The soldier whistled and tossed two small ladles into the bucket. "Begin!"
Bai Liu picked up a ladle between two fingers and smoothly poured a measured scoop into the glass on his head.
To everyone's shock, Spades ignored the ladle entirely.
He grabbed the bucket with both hands, lifted it high, and poured directly over his head, eyes locked on Bai Liu.
The bucket remained astonishingly steady. The stream of liquor formed a clear arc, flowing cleanly into the glass. It quickly passed the halfway mark.
Tang Erda: "!!!"
Alex: "!!!"
The onlookers were stunned.
You can do that?!
Without hesitation, Bai Liu reached up to grab the bucket and disrupt him.
But Spades was a full head taller. As Bai Liu stepped closer, Spades raised the bucket even higher, effortlessly keeping it out of reach.
Realizing Spades was deliberately using his height advantage, Bai Liu narrowed his eyes.
In one swift motion, he planted a hand on the bar and vaulted up without spilling a single drop from the glass on his head.
The crowd thought he was going to seize the height advantage.
Instead, Bai Liu's eyes turned cold as he swung his leg in a sharp sweep, aiming to kick the glass off Spades' head.
Spades instinctively leaned back to dodge.
At that exact moment, Bai Liu hooked his ankle and kicked the bucket out of Spades' hands.
The bucket flipped midair, alcohol scattering in a glittering spray.
Everyone's eyes followed it instinctively.
Spades' right hand moved instantly. He flicked the whip from his lower back, looped it around the base of the bucket, and snapped his wrist.
The bucket spun in midair like a slow-motion replay. The spilled alcohol gathered back into it as if drawn by gravity in reverse—without losing a single drop.
The soldiers stood frozen.
What kind of move was that?!
Some kind of mystical Eastern martial art?!
Just as the bucket was about to fall neatly back into Spades' open left hand—
Bai Liu's expression darkened.
He drew a gun from his waist in one fluid motion and aimed it at the back of Spades' head.
"!!!" Tang Erda instinctively reached for his skill gun—gone.
Alex's face went blank.
The soldiers' mouths fell open in collective shock.
Without hesitation, Bai Liu pulled the trigger.
Spades reacted instantly, shifting backward and grabbing Bai Liu's wrist to redirect the aim toward him—
But the muzzle had already tilted.
The bullet shot past Spades and struck the bottom of the bucket midair with perfect precision.
A clean hole tore through it.
Alcohol streamed through the leaking bottom, spilling into Spades' open left hand and flowing between his fingers.
"The bucket leaked in your hand," Bai Liu said calmly, lowering the gun. His eyes gleamed faintly, his breathing slightly uneven from the rapid movement. "I win."
Spades looked at him steadily. "You were aiming at the bucket from the start."
Targeting him had only been a distraction.
Bai Liu shrugged lightly. "It's just a drinking game. I'm not bored enough to shoot you over something like this."
Tang Erda: "…"
Alex: "..."
The onlookers: "…"
You do realize this is just a drinking game?!
If Spades hadn't reacted fast enough, you would have shot him in the head!
Bai Liu lifted his gaze. "You lost."
Spades hummed softly. "I lost. So I drink."
He stepped forward and stood directly in front of Bai Liu, placing his hands naturally on Bai Liu's shoulders.
"Lower your head."
Bai Liu fell silent for a moment, then slowly lowered his head.
Spades didn't even need to rise onto his toes. He easily reached the glass balanced atop Bai Liu's head.
From Bai Liu's lowered position, he faced Spades' chest and the prominent line of his Adam's apple.
They were very close.
Close enough that Bai Liu's steady breathing grew uneven again.
—It looked almost as if he had willingly bowed his head to let Spades kiss his forehead.
Bai Liu's eyes lifted slightly.
He watched Spades' Adam's apple move as he swallowed the liquor from above his head.
He could feel Spades' heartbeat.
For some reason, it was beating unusually fast, too.
Spades drank both his own and Bai Liu's wine, wiped the corner of his mouth with his thumb, and said indifferently, "Again."
Bai Liu lost the second round.
Spades launched what could only be called a suicidal tactic. He ignored the glass balanced on his own head and immediately snatched the one off Bai Liu's head instead, causing his own glass to slip and shatter.
Both of them ended up drinking two large glasses.
Afterward, Spades sat down obediently and let Bai Liu drink from the glass balanced on his head. But for some reason, Bai Liu would rather grip the rim of the glass with his teeth and turn his head awkwardly to drink than lean forward and drink directly from Spades' head.
In the third round, they tied. The spare bucket was also ruined in the chaos. The furious bartender scolded them loudly and forced both of them to down three more large glasses as compensation.
…
At first, Tang Erda had been tense. Now he sat off to the side with Alex, helplessly watching the spectacle.
"I really thought something serious was going to happen," Tang Erda sighed in lingering fear. "Thankfully, nothing did."
Alex shook his head with a smile. "I thought Bai Liu was genuinely angry at Spades. Turns out it's just lovers' quarrels."
"Guy and I used to be like that, too. It's actually nice, being able to fool around like this."
He watched Bai Liu lean down to drink from the glass on Spades' head and sighed enviously.
"—It's wonderful. Only when you're certain the other person will love you no matter what can you dare to point a gun at them… and play so intimately."
Bai Liu lowered his eyes to the glass balanced on Spades' head.
He tried his best to keep both his body and his head steady as he bent down, drinking at a slow, even pace.
But after who knew how much alcohol, Bai Liu might no longer have been aware of the difference between his sense of balance and the world's actual stability.
In his own perception, he was perfectly steady.
To everyone else, he simply tilted too far—and the glass slid off.
Spades reacted instinctively, reaching out to catch the falling glass. He lifted his head, about to tell Bai Liu they had lost another round—
Only to see that Bai Liu's eyes were unfocused.
He didn't even seem aware that he had dropped the glass. He was still lowering his head, leaning closer.
Their lips met.
At the same moment, the glass on Spades' head fell and shattered on the floor.
Neither of them reacted.
Both had drunk roughly the same amount. They remained close, unmoving, eyes still open.
Someone nearby burst into laughter, mistaking it for two drunk men making fools of themselves. Whistles and teasing cheers erupted.
Bai Liu blinked slowly.
Only then did he realize that his hands were no longer resting on Spades' shoulders. At some point, they had slid up to cradle Spades' face.
He pulled back slightly. His lips parted as if to explain.
What came out instead was:
"I didn't mean to kiss you."
"Oh." Spades looked up at him carefully. "You're red again, Bai Liu."
Bai Liu wanted to say it was because he was drunk. But admitting that during a drinking game irritated him for no clear reason.
So he said instead, "—I just flush sometimes."
Spades studied him. "When?"
"Is it when you kiss me? When you get close to me? Or when I tell other people we have a special relationship?"
He was simply listing observations. But after finishing, he added belatedly,
"Bai Liu, you only turn red when you're with me."
"Why?" Spades stepped closer. His breath was warm, tinged faintly with alcohol. He persisted. "—Is it because we have a special relationship?"
"No." Bai Liu paused, then answered calmly. "It's because I hate you."
"I turn red when I'm around people I hate."
Spades fell silent for a moment, processing that.
"You only turn red when you're close to me."
"Do you only hate me?"
He asked it almost stubbornly.
The Reverse God had once told him that people's feelings of liking and disliking were limited and complicated.
Most people dislike many people at once, and like many people at once. But those feelings are fleeting. When someone only hates one person—or only likes one person—for a long time, they exhaust their emotional reserve.
At that point, liking becomes love.
Dislike becomes hatred.
The Reverse God had said that love and hate are the most extreme, most obsessive desires humans possess—deep-rooted and difficult to change.
Spades didn't understand why Bai Liu hated him.
But he believed Bai Liu couldn't possibly hate only him.
And if that were true, then this "hate" could be changed.
Bai Liu lowered his eyelids, concealing the emotion in his eyes.
His fingers brushed lightly against Spades' eyelashes. His voice was soft, slightly hoarse from alcohol.
"Yes. Of all people, I only hate you."
But of all the monsters—
I only love you.