Having a Good-Looking Face is Too Troublesome

Chapter 5: Dragon Ball Lotto (2)

Three days later, half of S City's military base was crowding around in the mess hall after dinner with a couple of laptops displayed near the back of the room. A lot of the lottery participants were huddled near the laptops, discussing about what they were going to do with the money if they actually won some, and though Zhang Jian tried to escape to a less crowded area, Lu Hui, who was directly sitting on the table, caught the stone-faced man and forced him to sit on the seat in between his legs.

With Lu Hui's thighs pressed against his biceps and an arm wrapped around shoulders, there was barely room for Zhang Jian to even squirm, but since the familiar warmth was comforting, he didn't complain much. Over the past few days, he had tried to not let his anxiety over crowds show, but everyone else was a little too observant over his behavior.

Despite being pulled into the middle of all the commotion, there was a noticeable space in between Zhang Jian and Lu Hui and all the other people around them. Though the number of people in one room still made him tense, he appreciated their thoughtfulness. At the very least, he wouldn't end up accidentally striking someone out of reflex.

At around 10:30 pm, the live lottery draw would start so since it was only 10:20, everyone was just idling around so that they wouldn't get bored waiting. Out of everyone else, Jin Lin Ling was the noisiest of the bunch, worshiping his ticket as if it was some kind of holy object and Zhang Jian was starting to feel bad for what was about to come. While he did not felt guilty about getting the grand prize, he knew that Jin Lin Ling was completely devastated after the results. Last time, there was this nearly-permanent, depressed expression on Jin Lin Ling's face that had persisted for nearly two weeks.

Either way, Zhang Jian sat quietly in between Lu Hui's legs as he waited for the drawing time, sometimes participating in some conversations with curt answers of his own.

Around twenty minutes ago, someone had sneaked in with some beer and wine. There was even a small bottle of sake being passed around and the scent of alcohol in the air had become heavy by the time the live drawing program came on. Zhang Jian couldn't help but crinkle his nose at the smell, the extra wrinkles on his brow making his face particularly angry looking, but everyone was used to Zhang Jian's unintentionally aggressive expressions.

With a laugh, Lu Hui, playfully waved the bottle in his hand in front of his stone-faced junior, asking the reserved man if he had wanted a sip. Zhang Jian didn't like the general taste of alcohol so he had refused the other's offer, but after being pestered several more time, he finally allowed Lu Hui to bring the bottle to his mouth. When he took the quick sip, just enough to blanket his tongue, Zhang Jian grimaced at the taste.

While the beer itself wasn't bad, it was the alcohol aftertaste that he couldn't stand. He also wasn't fond of the burning feel of alcohol going down his throat either. In both lives, it seemed that he would avoid this stuff once again, regardless of the fact that alcohol was basically a rare and exquisite commodity during the late-apocalypse era.

Some of the surrounding guys, seeing his sour face, laughed and made comments saying 'what kind of man doesn't like beer?' and other half-hearted, merry things, but no one pushed him to try again. After all, Zhang Jian wasn't the only soldier on the base that didn't drink and though a lot of them would tease these guys from time to time, they didn't really pressure them to drink either.

By the time the broadcast appeared on the laptop screens, Jin Lin Ling had been basically bouncing off the walls in excitement. When the host, a suave, handsome man that was good-looking enough for Zhang Jian to avert his eyes from, and the hostess, a young beauty whose face was smooth and white as jade, started to announce and explain the game and the prizes, everyone in the room had nearly quieted down.