After three rounds of drinks, alcohol had painted a faint red across both their cheeks.

Their moods turned heavy.

“Maybe... Miss Liana needs a trip once in a while. A chance to clear her head.”

Gu Qinghan suddenly spoke.

Liana froze for a moment. A glimmer flickered in her eyes.

“What do you mean?”

“In the Kingdom of Pure Love, it’s true that only love exists between men and women, but...”

Gu Qinghan paused, then continued with a smile, “In other countries, things might be different.”

“When you experience different kinds of feelings, Miss Liana, maybe you’ll finally be able to let go.”

Liana was stunned at first. Then she couldn’t help but smile.

“Mr. Richard really has a unique way of looking at things.”

After a brief pause, Liana tilted her head back and drank a glass of red wine in one go. The haze in her eyes deepened.

“But... which country would be better?” Liana swayed slightly as she asked in confusion.

“A place where men and women aren’t restricted from associating... yet most feelings between them still aren’t love. Does a country like that... really exist?”

She leaned against Gu Qinghan’s chest and stretched out one finger, lightly tracing circles over it.

“It does.”

Gu Qinghan nodded lightly. The alcohol had dulled him so much that he didn’t notice what she was doing at all.

“Oh?” Liana’s eyes widened, and she perked up at once.

“What country?”

“The Empire of Indulgence.”

Gu Qinghan answered with a faint smile.

Liana froze for a moment, then the corners of her lips lifted slightly. Their eyes met, and they shared a knowing smile.

The Empire of Indulgence was a sinful name that could not be spoken in the Kingdom of Pure Love.

Just saying those four words was, in itself, a mark of evil.

And yet, Gu Qinghan had still said them aloud.

Liana lightly brushed her hair aside. Then she leaned closer, bringing her upper body near his ear, her red lips parting slightly.

“Let this secret stay with just the two of us today, alright?”

Her soft voice was like a gentle melody, plucking at the heartstrings.

“Of course,” Gu Qinghan replied casually, not realizing how inappropriate the topic was.

Liana slipped both arms around Gu Qinghan’s back and gently hugged him, her face flushed red.

Who knew whether it was the fine wine that intoxicated, or whether the person had long been drunk without the wine’s help.

Before they knew it, the night had grown deep and still.

On the dining table, the leftovers had gradually gone cold, and the prepared red wine was nearly gone as well.

“Thank you very much, Mr. Richard.”

Murmuring softly, the girl let out a quiet, smiling whisper.

“I feel much better now.”

She nestled in Gu Qinghan’s arms, knowing this dinner was about to come to an end.

As for Gu Qinghan, the drunkenness had already begun to surge up. Fatigue made his eyelids grow heavy.

“Mr. Richard, your glass is empty. Let me pour you one last glass.”

“No, I’ve already...”

“One last glass?”

Liana giggled, her two dimples utterly charming.

Gu Qinghan paused. He had meant to refuse, but when the words reached his lips, they came out differently.

“Alright then. Last... hic, last glass.”

Smiling with narrowed eyes, Liana picked up the bottle and filled Gu Qinghan’s glass with one final serving of red wine, urging him to drink it quickly in one go.

As the wine went down, Gu Qinghan began to feel dizzy.

“Today feels just like a dream,” Liana said lightly, hugging his arm.

Gu Qinghan’s gaze drifted. He was already starting to lose his bearings.

“It really does...”

He gently set down the wineglass. The alcohol made his arms feel heavy, and his consciousness began to drift.

A crisp shattering sound rang out. It was the sound of a glass falling to the floor.

But neither of them heard it.

“To actually have a chance like this... to chat with you alone...” Liana propped up her forehead with one hand, her tongue already starting to trip over itself.

Gu Qinghan couldn’t help laughing along with her.

“If we treat it like a dream, isn’t that nice too?”

The alcohol rushed up. Before long, Gu Qinghan felt his vision darkening, and a buzzing started in his ears.

Damn. I drank too much.

That was his last thought before his consciousness faded.

His eyelids grew heavier and heavier. Gu Qinghan struggled symbolically for a moment, then darkness swallowed his vision.

Right after that, the world spun, and his consciousness vanished.

On the other side, however—

Liana still sat there blankly.

She looked at the sleeping Gu Qinghan. Her cheeks were slightly red, and struggle flickered in her eyes.

“If it wasn’t a dream... wouldn’t that be nice too?”

Liana bit her lip lightly and murmured to herself,

“I don’t want a dream to be the only place where I can face you honestly. Hohen... no, Mr. Richard.”

“Trying to forget you is really so hard for me.”

As she spoke to herself, the girl slowly closed her eyes.

A clear bell rang out, striking the deep note of midnight.

Some people heard it and fell asleep.

Some heard it and stayed awake.

And some were only pretending to sleep.

...

A rooster’s cry shattered the drunken, decadent silence.

When morning came, everything returned to how it had been before.

“My deepest apologies, Mr. Hohenheim!”

At that moment, Richard bent at a perfect ninety-degree angle in an extremely proper bow.

Gu Qinghan looked at Richard in front of him and waved both hands repeatedly.

What had happened last night surfaced vaguely in his mind, but the stabbing pain in his head made the memories blurry.

Why had he slept in someone else’s house?

What exactly happened last night?

The moment he woke up that morning, Gu Qinghan realized something had gone very wrong.

As he thought back carefully, his memories of last night slowly returned.

He had accepted Richard’s invitation, come to his house, and drunk himself senseless.

He probably... hadn’t done anything inappropriate to Liana, right?

Subconsciously, he stole a glance at Liana. He found that she too was bowing solemnly in apology, with nothing unusual about her.

Gu Qinghan quietly let out a sigh of relief.

“This banquet was meant to thank you, but I never expected it to end like this. If you’re still willing in the future, please do come visit my home again!”

Richard spoke with complete sincerity.

“That won’t be necessary,” Gu Qinghan said, waving his hands at once.

“I should apologize too. I stayed overnight in your home without permission...”

“Mr. Hohenheim, now you’re just being too distant. The friendship between us—”

“Stop. That’s enough!”

Gu Qinghan hurriedly cut off Richard’s cuckold-style declaration of friendship, the corner of his mouth twitching.

If this guy kept talking, something irreversible might actually happen.

Being friends with Richard was the last thing he wanted in this lifetime!

“I have something to take care of at home, so I’ll be leaving first!”

Speaking at lightning speed, Gu Qinghan decided to get away from this place of trouble as soon as possible.

Off to the side, Liana blinked, then looked toward Richard.

The two of them looked at each other and quickly realized something.

If Hohenheim left now, the two of them would once again be alone together.

That would violate the relevant regulations.

“Then I’ll head out for a bit too!”

Richard flashed a bright smile, waved at Liana, and followed Gu Qinghan out.

Gu Qinghan gave a light cough, then hurriedly shut his own door behind him and locked himself inside.

All in all, thanks to his clever planning, he had barely managed to dodge a disaster.

As for making the Hypnosis Nullifier, it was time to move that up the schedule.