Chapter 104: The Wrong Bed, The Right Problem
Chapter 104: The Wrong Bed, The Right Problem
Just then, Sofia stumbled over with a bottle of wine in one hand and several disposable cups in the other.
Her cheeks were flushed pink, and her steps were slightly unsteady. She had clearly drunk more than she usually did.
Even in her drunken state, she could feel it. Maya was becoming interested in Lucas. And deep down, Sofia knew she couldn’t compete with someone like her.
Maya was beautiful, capable, elegant, and came from a wealthy family. Compared to her, Sofia felt ordinary.
Still, she refused to do anything reckless that would ruin her birthday or embarrass herself.
So she forced a smile and stepped between them. "Why are you two hiding here?" Her voice was light and playful. "Everyone else is drinking and having fun."
Without waiting for an answer, she set several cups on the table and poured wine for both Lucas and Maya.
"Come on." She raised her own cup. "No one’s allowed to be sober tonight."
Lucas accepted the drink with a helpless smile. Maya glanced at Sofia for a moment before raising her cup as well. The three of them clinked glasses.
Meanwhile, several of the boys nearby noticed what was happening. More specifically, they noticed that both Sofia and Maya seemed unusually attentive toward Lucas.
Jealousy spread through the group almost instantly.
One of them grinned mischievously. "Lucas, you’ve been showing off all day."
"Let’s see how good you are at drinking." The others immediately joined in.
"That’s right!" "No backing out!" "Whoever gets drunk first loses!" Soon, what had started as casual drinking turned into an unofficial competition.
Bottle after bottle was opened. Fortunately for Lucas, his enhanced physical conditioning wasn’t just for show.
Ever since the system upgraded his body, his endurance and alcohol tolerance had increased significantly.
By now, he had already finished twelve bottles of red wine. Ordinary people would have collapsed long ago.
Red wine was dangerous that way. It didn’t hit immediately. The effects built up slowly, then crashed all at once.
Even Lucas could feel the warmth spreading through his body. His face was slightly flushed, but his eyes remained clear.
Seeing that the others were still trying to get him to drink more, Maya suddenly stood up.
"That’s enough." Her voice wasn’t loud, but it immediately drew everyone’s attention. "If you want another round, I’ll drink for him."
The room fell silent for a second. Several boys exchanged stunned looks. Even Sofia froze. Maya calmly picked up Lucas’s cup.
In her eyes, Lucas was no longer just a wealthy classmate. He was someone extraordinary. A self-made success. Someone who had built everything through his own ability.
Without realizing it, admiration had begun turning into something more. There was no way she was going to let everyone gang up on him.
Sofia’s grip tightened around her own cup. A wave of panic rose inside her. Why was Maya protecting him?
Before she could stop herself, she stepped forward and stood beside Maya. "Me too." Her voice was softer, but no less determined. "I’ll drink for Lucas too."
For a brief moment, the atmosphere became strangely tense. One on Lucas’s left. One on his right.
The two girls looked at each other. Both smiling. Neither backing down.
Lucas sat between them, holding his wine glass. The boys around them stared in disbelief. What the hell was going on?
Since when did drinking become this competitive? And more importantly... Why were two top-tier beauties fighting over who got to protect Lucas?
The party finally began winding down. After hours of food, drinks, games, and endless laughter, everyone was running out of energy.
Seeing Maya and Sofia join the drinking games only encouraged the others to drink even more enthusiastically.
One toast became three. Three became ten. By the end of the night, almost everyone was drunk. The only exception was Cardi.
It wasn’t because she could hold her liquor. Nobody was brave enough to challenge her.
Cardi’s fiery personality was legendary across campus. Most people had learned that lesson the hard way.
Lucas leaned back against the sofa, his face slightly flushed. He raised his wine glass unsteadily. "Tonight..." He pointed vaguely toward the staircase.
"Nobody’s leaving." "You all stay here." "I’ve got plenty of rooms upstairs."
He grinned drunkenly. "You can even sleep in my bedroom." "My bed is huge..."
The moment he finished speaking, he collapsed sideways onto the sofa and passed out. The room burst into laughter. Even so, the party was clearly over.
A few of the boys who were still conscious enough to function began helping their friends gather their belongings and call rides back to campus.
Although Lucas had invited everyone to stay, most of them felt uncomfortable imposing. After all, they had only met through Sofia’s birthday party.
Spending the night at someone’s home after knowing them for a single day felt a little inappropriate.
Meanwhile, Sofia, Maya, and Roxxy were completely out cold. No amount of shaking could wake them up.
Cardi waved her hand. "You guys head back." "I’ll take care of these idiots."
Seeing that she was still relatively sober, everyone relaxed. One by one, they left the villa. Soon, the noisy courtyard fell silent.
Cardi rolled up her sleeves and started cleaning. She cleared the long tables, gathered empty bottles, and threw away the trash everyone had left behind.
Once everything looked decent again, she helped the three unconscious girls upstairs.
Sofia went into one guest room. Roxxy went into another. Maya took the room at the end of the hallway.
After covering each of them with blankets, Cardi returned downstairs. Only Lucas remained. She walked over to the sofa and grabbed his arm. "Come on." No response.
She pulled harder. Nothing. Lucas didn’t move an inch. "I swear, what are you made of?" She tried again. Still nothing.
After several failed attempts, Cardi gave up completely. "Forget it." "You’re sleeping here." She grabbed a blanket from the storage closet and carefully draped it over him.
Just as she straightened up, Lucas suddenly rolled over. His arm landed directly on top of hers.
"Hmm..."
He frowned slightly in his sleep. "Can’t drink anymore..."
Cardi froze.
"Seriously?"
She tried pulling her hand free. No luck. For someone who was unconscious, his grip was annoyingly strong.
"Drunk idiot."
Using her other hand, she pushed against his shoulder until she finally managed to slide her hand out.
Only then did she notice something. Lucas’s T-shirt had ridden up slightly. Her fingers had accidentally brushed against his chest. Firm.
Cardi blinked. Her heartbeat skipped. She immediately looked away. Then looked back. "Did I just..." Her cheeks slowly turned red.
"No." "That doesn’t count." "I was just trying to move him."
She nodded to herself. Completely reasonable.
Then her eyes drifted back toward his stomach. The blanket had shifted again. The outline beneath his shirt was impossible to miss.
Cardi swallowed. She had spent plenty of afternoons dragging Sofia to the basketball courts just to watch the athletic guys play.
She appreciated a good physique. But appreciating from a distance and seeing one up close were two very different things.
After a brief internal struggle, curiosity won. Just for one second. Her fingertips lightly brushed his abdomen. Her eyes widened.
"Oh my god."
"Those are actual abs."
Not the kind people edited into photos. Real ones. Clearly defined. Cardi quickly pulled her hand back as though she’d been burned.
Her face felt hot. Then she glanced at Lucas’s sleeping face. Sharp jawline. How was that fair?
Immediately, Sofia’s face appeared in her mind. Her best friend liked him. Everyone could see it. Cardi squeezed her eyes shut. "No." "Absolutely not." "You are not doing this."
She repeated it several times. It didn’t help. In fact, it somehow made things worse. Eventually, she gave up arguing with herself.
Just this once. Blaming the alcohol, she carefully rested her head against his chest.
His heartbeat was slow and steady. The warmth made her unexpectedly comfortable.
"Fine."
"I’ll be a terrible friend for five minutes."
She closed her eyes. For a brief moment, the world felt peaceful.
Then Lucas shifted again. Cardi shot upright. Her heart nearly exploded. She thought he had woken up.
Without waiting to confirm, she hurried upstairs as fast as she could. Only after closing her bedroom door did she realize how hard her heart was pounding.
She leaned against the door and took several deep breaths. "He didn’t notice." "There’s no way he noticed."
Downstairs, Lucas continued sleeping peacefully. Meanwhile, on the second floor, another guest room door quietly opened.
Maya stepped into the hallway. She had woken up at some point, but the alcohol still left her dizzy.
"Where am I...?" She rubbed her temples. The hallway was dark.
For several seconds, she stood there trying to remember which room was hers. Nothing. The wine had completely scrambled her memory.
Still half asleep, she wandered forward. Eventually, she noticed another staircase. Without thinking, she walked up.
A few moments later, she pushed open the master bedroom door. A massive bed sat in the center of the room.
Maya smiled sleepily. "There you are..." Without another thought, she collapsed onto the bed. Within seconds, she was asleep again.
Around three in the morning, Lucas woke up because he desperately needed the bathroom. Still half drunk, he stumbled to his feet and made his way upstairs.
After washing his face and using the bathroom, he felt slightly more awake.
"Why did I end up sleeping on the sofa again?" Shaking his head, he walked toward the master bedroom. The room was dark. Moonlight filtered through the windows.
He vaguely noticed a lump beneath the blanket but didn’t think much about it. Probably a pillow. Too tired to care, he climbed into bed. The mattress was unbelievably soft.
He let out a satisfied sigh.
"This bed really is amazing."
"And why does it smell so nice?"
He took a deep breath. The scent felt strangely familiar.
A little like Maya’s perfume.
Half asleep, Lucas reached out and pulled the soft "pillow" into his arms.
The warmth felt nice. Instinctively, Maya moved closer.
Curling up against him, she unconsciously wrapped an arm around his waist.
Neither of them woke up.