PSE - 38

　　”Mm, I made a mistake,” Xue Jing admitted with a good attitude, but he felt a little bitter. Though his vision was blurry, he wasn’t blind—he noticed a glossy hint of lipstick on Ha Yue’s lips.

　　She even put on makeup to drink with these guys?

　　Didn’t she say before that she no longer cared about appearances that could be enhanced by makeup?

　　Why did she have to look so good! What did these people do to deserve it? They didn’t even deserve to ride in a tricycle with two pigs.

　　”But I didn’t throw up. I only had a little.” Xue Jing made a tiny gesture toward Ha Yue—it was true. He knew his limits and wouldn’t let himself black out.

　　Though it might sound distasteful, during a few rounds, while Director Zhao was in the restroom, Xue Jing used napkins to cover the mouths of his cups and dumped the contents into the trash bin.

　　Taking advantage of his hazy drunkenness, Xue Jing’s fingers brushed down and hooked Ha Yue’s wrist resting on her lap, attempting to hold her hand under the table.

　　Ha Yue gave him a sidelong glance and slapped his arm away. She moved his glass in front of her, poured him a large cup of hot tea to sober him up, and then picked up the 1.5-liter hero cup and drank it all in one go for the whole table.

　　When she set the cup down, her expression remained unchanged, drinking as if it were water. With a smile, she said to Director Zhao, “Director, I’ll drink for him. We’re both alumni; whether I drink or he drinks, it’s the same.”

　　”It’s the same if you drink with me.”

　　”And you guys, Jinzi’s friends, right? Tiedan, Datou, and Xiaojichai? Didn’t you three owe me drinks last time? Come on, fill them up. Let’s play a round. I’ll take his place—you, starting with you.”

　　”Play poker or bluff? If you’re men, stop dawdling.”

　　”Damn.” A chorus of groans erupted around them. Everyone knew Ha Yue was a thousand-cup wonder at drinking parties.

　　The circle in Suicheng was small, and the young people who liked to drink had more or less gathered together. At first, when Ha Yue newly joined the drinking sessions, many restless young men thought they could embarrass the top student by getting her drunk. But what happened? She was a heroine among women, able to drink more than any man—she came to break the scene.

　　Now seeing Xue Jing and Ha Yue together, a few fiery young men leading the group turned sourly to Jinzi. “What’s this? We’ve heard of men drinking for women, but how come there’s the reverse?”

　　”Sister, what’s your relationship? Why are you protecting him!”

　　Jinzi scratched his head and looked helplessly at Xiaoyu. Not far away, Xiaoyu, who was clearly showing signs of pregnancy, was munching on grilled starch sausages. Hearing this, instead of helping Ha Yue out, she got excited and immediately raised her skewer to join in the teasing: “Yeah, sister, what’s your relationship with Teacher Xue? If you don’t explain clearly, you can’t take his place.”

　　”There are rules at the drinking table.”

　　Xue Jing listened anxiously from across the table. Everyone knows that the most taboo question for adults engaging in flirtation is, “What exactly is our relationship?” Eighteen-year-olds asking their crush straightforwardly is called pure love, but at twenty-six, such questions are just considered tactless, with the destructive power comparable to a comet hitting Earth.

　　He himself didn’t dare to push Ha Yue for an explanation, let alone allow others to force her.

　　Before everyone finished speaking, Xue Jing reached for the glass in front of Ha Yue. Unfortunately, his words to relieve Ha Yue—”I’ll drink it myself”—hadn’t left his mouth yet when Ha Yue pressed her finger against the rim of the glass.

　　Her fingertip, slightly calloused, made a faint sound only Xue Jing could hear as it rubbed against the rim.

　　That fingertip seemed to rub against his heart.

　　Xue Jing saw Ha Yue frown pensively for a moment before suddenly brightening up. Her red lips parted, and her voice flowed like a mountain stream—direct yet clear. “As for us...”

　　As Ha Yue lightly tapped her teeth, Xue Jing held his breath, his heart seemingly squeezed tightly by an invisible hand.

　　After building up enough anticipation at the table, Ha Yue curled her lips and giggled lightly, her attitude relaxed.

　　”In the past, we were boyfriend and girlfriend, classmates, and also author and reader.”

　　The alcohol in Xue Jing’s blood seemed to evaporate through his pores because of Ha Yue’s words. His heart raced, his vision became crystal clear in an instant, and even his eardrums transmitted the beat of his pulse.

　　”And now?”

　　”We’re nothing. But I think I kind of like him.”

　　As she spoke, Ha Yue glanced back at Xue Jing. Her gaze was like the sea breeze, capable of stirring waves half a person high. Their eyes met for just a second before Ha Yue quickly scanned the opposite side and loudly declared, “Is this okay? I like him, so I’m drinking for him. Haven’t you grown up enough to have someone like you? Isn’t it natural to drink for someone you like?”

　　”What are you waiting for? Pour the wine!”

　　Glasses clinked, and after several rounds, only a third of the hot tea in front of Xue Jing had been consumed, while eight cases of empty beer bottles were already stacked high beside the table.

　　The eldest in seniority, Brother Zhao, was the first to fall. Just after Ha Yue finished a round for Xue Jing, his head fell heavily onto the table like a heavy weight, losing consciousness. No matter how much Jinzi shook his arm, he snored without any response.

　　Countless times Ha Yue’s glass was refilled. At first, Xue Jing sat upright next to Ha Yue, like a smiling lucky cat, respectfully pouring her drinks with both hands, his eyes full of affection, his face submissive.

　　But as Ha Yue drank more fiercely, eventually not even playing games anymore, insisting on clinking large glasses directly, Jinzi’s friends either disappeared under the pretext of buying cigarettes or collapsed in the restroom hugging the toilet to vomit. The last few stragglers, to avoid drinking, supported each other and ran upstairs to the KTV room, locking the door behind them.

　　Despite the clear state of battle, Ha Yue had become the biggest winner of the night. The little boozer glanced at the cleared bottles on the table and waved his hand again to call the boss to bring another dozen chilled beers.

　　Others didn’t notice, but Xue Jing saw clearly—before the new drinks were opened, Ha Yue secretly tipped the empty cup into her mouth several times.

　　She was already tipsy.

　　At the drinking table, only Jinzi and Ha Yue were still drinking. Xue Jing was never the type to interfere much in others’ affairs, but seeing Ha Yue drink at least thirty bottles of beer without even going to the restroom, he was genuinely afraid she would hurt herself. So he said to Jinzi, who still seemed relatively sober, “Jinzi, almost everyone has left. Let’s wrap it up too.”

As he spoke, his fingers gently touched Ha Yue’s forehead, which kept tilting outward. “It’s freezing outside. Take Xiaoyu home early to rest. I think she’s had enough to drink. I’ll take her to the restroom and then we’ll head back.”

Jinzi thought his words made perfect sense and was about to nod when Ha Yue suddenly slapped the dining table and turned around, pointing at Xue Jing’s chest with her index finger in a teasing manner: “You, stop talking! People who don’t drink at the drinking table, hmm, have no, what? Right, right to speak!”

“I haven’t had enough to drink. If you want to leave, you can... go ahead by yourself.”

“The door, the door is over there.”

The rosy lip gloss continuously made intimate contact with the transparent glass cup. Even though it was waterproof, it now showed signs of smudging from her lips.

Xue Jing held her slightly cold hand with his left hand and gently touched her chin with his right fingers, stabilizing her neck. Then, he wiped away a smudge of color from the corner of her mouth with his thumb. His voice was sweet and soothing, like哄a little girl who insisted on staying in the amusement park: “I didn’t say I wouldn’t let you drink. Jinzi needs to go home. Let’s go back and continue drinking, okay? You can drink as much as you want, and I’ll definitely keep you company.”

“It’s uncomfortable sitting here. You’ve drunk so much; aren’t your pants tight? Do you need to use the restroom?”

The table vibrated, and the colorful skewers momentarily escaped gravity before falling back into the plate.

Director Zhao, who had been sleeping on the table diagonally across, was startled awake by Ha Yue’s slap. Like a wobbly toy, he shot upright from the table. He adjusted his lopsided glasses, looked around in confusion, and, not finding his wife, remembered that he had fallen asleep at the drinking table.

Director Zhao’s stomach growled—he was hungry from sleeping. The disposable bamboo chopsticks had long fallen underfoot and been trampled into charcoal by everyone. He tore off a large piece of lamb from the grilled lamb chops, stuffed it into a grilled flatbread, rolled it up, and shoved it into his mouth. In a daze, he echoed Ha Yue: “Right, Xiao Xue, be quiet. Those who don’t drink should listen to the adults and not interrupt. Let me tell you, with your limited capacity, how can you properly accompany my junior? I’ll do it. If you can’t, just sit at the next table and wait.”

With that, Director Zhao directly picked up a beer bottle, didn’t even use a bottle opener, but bit the cap with his teeth, making a “snap” sound as he opened the beer. He spat out the golden cap onto the ground and reached out to pour beer into Ha Yue’s glass.

“Hiss.”

Xue Jing still wore a benevolent expression on his face, but his tone had turned icy. He thought, what adults? We are all adults. You’re just a few years older than me, at most an old thing. Not drinking makes one inferior? Didn’t you hear Ha Yue publicly announce that she likes me?

He could patiently coax the drunken Ha Yue, but that was the only exception. He really had nothing to say to other drunks besides Ha Yue.

A real man should quit drinking and go home to cook for his wife, showing a virtuous, gentle, and considerate demeanor.

Director Zhao, using the excuse of a gathering, doesn’t go home to fulfill his husbandly duties at night. Has he helped with the children’s homework? Has he mopped the floor at home? Didn’t he just say that his second child recently had enteritis and vomited everything they ate?

Moreover, Ha Yue drinking from his cup signifies mutual affection, dry wood meeting fire, romance blossoming, and an indirect kiss. But what does it mean for Director Zhao, an old lamp with two kids, to pour her wine after taking a sip from the bottle?

He definitely wouldn’t let the other party take advantage of this.

Just as Director Zhao’s beer bottle was about to align with Ha Yue’s glass, Xue Jing pressed down on the rim of the glass. Not only did he press down, but he also harshly flicked Director Zhao’s wrist with his other hand.

Two fingers together immediately left a red mark on Director Zhao’s wrist. Receiving the disrespectful signal, Director Zhao immediately blew up, puffing out his cheeks and glaring: “Hey? What do you mean, kid?”

No one said we were playing the whipping game now? When did the game change?

“Don’t you know what I’m doing?”

Seeing the two about to bite each other, Jinzi, who had been silently sitting opposite, suddenly burst into tears with a loud “Wah.”

Big tears fell from his wheat-colored face, hitting the table straight and hard. As he cried “plop plop,” he pulled out the ultrasound report from his pocket and waved it in the air like a captive waving a white flag. With a wagging head and tail, he said to Ha Yue and Director Zhao: “Sister, Director, please don’t scold my brother anymore. Although you are my sister and my director, my brother is still my brother.”

“Huh?” Director Zhao heard it囫囵吞枣, not understanding a bit. Ha Yue shook her head fuzzily, also unknowingly asking him: “Who is this person you’re talking about? Whose brother?”

Jinzi threw the report on the table, pointing at Cao Xiaoyu’s name on it, still crying and accusing: “You don’t know, my brother Xue Jing is such a good person. He not only prepaid my medical expenses but also helped me hire a lawyer for free consultation.”

“I’m not stupid. Lawyers are so cunning, earning their living by talking. How can they be free? It must be because my brother Xue Jing saw how pitiful I was and secretly helped me behind my back!”

“The reason the baby is healthy and Xiaoyu can become a mother is all because of him! So, can you two treat my brother better? Stop scolding my brother all the time. My brother is so pitiful, so thin that he looks like a ghost. How old is my brother now? Still unmarried. In Suicheng, isn’t he just an old bachelor? I’m really afraid he’ll end up lonely and uncared for!”

One can eat carelessly, but one must never speak carelessly.

Xue Jing was startled by Jinzi’s passionate gratitude. He forgot about Director Zhao’s challenge and, of course, being called an “old bachelor.” He immediately waved his hands and said seriously: “No, no, no, good brother, don’t say that. The reason the baby is healthy and Xiaoyu can become a mother is definitely your merit. It has nothing to do with me.”

As he spoke, he turned his head towards Ha Yue, speaking clearly and distinctly, like a war correspondent looking for the camera.

“Really, Ha Yue! Don’t misunderstand. I didn’t even know them two months ago. You should know that, right?”