Chapter 27 – Drink Wine
After winning the competition, they went to celebrate by having supper. Brother Feng happily held a glass and toasted everyone at the table. Lin Xingling mentioned that Cheng Che and the others were still too young to drink, but it didn’t stop Wu You from handing Cheng Che a cup of white wine.
“We’ve all grown up and can drink,” he said.
Phantom silently sipped his cup.
Liu Ying shook his head, but he was astonished to see Cheng Che pouring a full cup into a disposable cup for himself.
Cheng Che stood up with the wine in his hand and said, “Coach, this is for you.”
He tilted his head back and finished the drink, his face turning red.
“Refreshing, refreshing,” Brother Feng applauded, pouring another cup for Lin Xingling. “The kids have all had their share, how about you?”
Lin Xingling was busy helping Cheng Che sit down and handed him a tissue. Upon hearing Brother Feng’s unreliable proposal, he immediately refused, “I’ll be riding a bike later.”
Brother Feng pouted, “It’s an electric bike. They won’t revoke your license. What are you afraid of?”
Lin Xingling smiled and said, “Drinking and driving… no, not drinking and driving. Drink, don’t drive.”
“It’s better to have a long life than white wine or red wine. Toasting and drinking, we’re afraid of regret after causing an accident,” the well-behaved Liu Ying recited a familiar slogan about the prohibition of drunk driving.
“Ah…”
He couldn’t help but lecture Cheng Che, his head pounding. Lin Xingling lightly tapped his forehead with a clenched fist and started to educate him, “Drinking in moderation is fine, just one or two cups. You can’t…”
Before he could finish his sentence, Cheng Che drank another cup in front of him.
One drink dispels a thousand worries.
Although he didn’t know what he had to worry about… except for his father…
Family issues were a lifelong headache for him.
Lin Xingling:…
Rebellious and disobedient child, huh?
Wu You put a dish on his own plate and smiled as he advised Lin Xingling, “Dad Star, don’t worry too much. We’re really not kids anymore, we know our limits.”
Yeah, besides, he was only 21 years old in his real age, not much younger than Stars.
Cheng Che nodded in agreement.
“…” Lin Xingling glanced at him and sighed.
He was also busy and quietly threw away the disposable cup Cheng Che had used for drinking, replaced it with a new one, and poured a glass of warm water in front of him.
Cheng Che pretended not to notice and picked up a peanut to eat.
Headache…
…
After having eaten and drunk well, it was already past 1 a.m. Lin Xingling called a small bus online to take Brother Feng, Liu Ying, and the others back. He rode a small electric scooter from the parking lot.
He had originally asked Cheng Che to take the bus as well, but Cheng Che didn’t want to and insisted on going with him, so he had no choice but to bring him along on the electric scooter.
The night in early July was damp, and the dew felt cool on their arms… Cheng Che sat on the back seat and yawned.
Tired, even though he had already slept during the day, he was still very tired now.
Combined with drinking too much, his head was a bit dizzy.
“You played really well today, especially amazing,” Lin Xingling praised him with some idle conversation as he started the electric scooter with the key.
“Just… average.”
Cheng Che rested his forehead against
Lin Xingling’s back, too tired to keep his eyes open.
… After waiting for a while, the vehicle didn’t start. He dazedly raised his head and gently tapped Lin Xingling’s back with his hand, “Aren’t we… leaving?”
“It’s cool at night. I told you to wear a jacket, but you didn’t… If you’re tired, hold on to me tightly.” Lin Xingling took off his team jacket and put it on Cheng Che, making sure it was properly worn. Only then did he slowly ride the bike back with Cheng Che.
Cheng Che was too tired to respond and only used his arm to hold Lin Xingling’s waist, leaning against his back to catch up on some sleep.
At first, he wasn’t used to being in such close contact with him, but now he didn’t mind at all.
… He must stay by his side and not run away.
Possessiveness was a strange thing.
After riding for about twenty minutes, Cheng Che was about to fall asleep…
Lin Xingling was afraid that he wouldn’t hold on tight and fall, so he found a red rope from the front basket and tied Cheng Che’s wrists to himself.
He couldn’t help but recall in his mind the situation from a year ago when his father hadn’t remarried yet.
At that time, he was sixteen years old and had just started his second year of high school. Every Monday morning, his father would make time to drive him to school… until he met that woman.
That woman…
Cheng Che was deeply immersed in the illusionary dream, his eyes filled with tears of anger. “You… You lied to me!”
You clearly said that we would live like this for the rest of our lives. I would grow up, work hard, earn money to support you, and we would visit Mom together. It was all a lie!
“Hmm? What’s wrong?”
What’s wrong… Cheng Che wanted to let go and leave, but he couldn’t move his wrists. “Let go… Let go of me!”
“We’re almost home. Hold on a little longer.”
“But… but that’s not… my… my home! Sob… let go of me!”
The icy sensation of tears sliding down his face constantly reminded him that this was just a dream, but his eyelids were too heavy to open.
“Hey… alright, um? Who sleeps and drools like this, haha.”
“Wuwuwu…”
His back suddenly felt a bit damp…
Lin Xingling initially thought it was drool from Cheng Che sleeping, so he stopped the bike and untied the rope around him. When he turned his head, he realized that Cheng Che was crying.
…He’s crying even before fully waking up.
Lin Xingling: ?
“What’s wrong? Don’t cry, don’t cry…”
“I… we agreed, agreed to be together forever, no lying, lying to me… sob…”
Cheng Che hiccuped, looking uncomfortable.
Not understanding what was going on, Lin Xingling could only get off the bike and hug him, “Ah, okay, okay, I won’t lie to you, I won’t lie to you… it’s the puppy who lied to you.”
“No marrying… marrying… a, a woman.”
Indulgence always favored the spoiled, making people feel invincible.
“…” Lin Xingling was taken aback for a moment, but he still agreed, “Okay, no marrying.”
No marrying… His father in the dream gave a satisfactory answer.
Cheng Che, drowsy, only heard someone calling his name and telling him to wake up, but he murmured that he was tired and asked not to be disturbed. After that, he didn’t hear any more voices.
His body was lifted up in the air by someone, took a few steps, and then was put down. His arms were maneuvered to wrap around the person’s neck, and he was lifted up again in a piggyback position…
The old apartment building had no elevator, so Lin Xingling carried Cheng Che up the stairs. Due to his injured hand, they had to rest for a few minutes on each floor.
Cheng Che huffed against his ear, still in a daze.
“Don’t make a fuss, we’ll be home soon.” Lin Xingling spoke softly to avoid disturbing the neighbors in the building, but his words didn’t carry much authority.
“Hu… hehe, hu hu…”
Cheng Che, drunk, remained unruly.
Who did he learn this from… Blushing, Lin Xingling let go of Cheng Che, lowered his head, and looked at him without saying a word.
He had to take it slowly.
However, Cheng Che, under the influence of alcohol, didn’t really want to give him a chance to ease the atmosphere. He grabbed Lin Xingling’s collar and forcefully pushed him against the wall.
His eyes gleamed with an unusual light, staring deeply into Lin Xingling’s eyes.
Unfortunately, his eyes were obstructed by foggy glasses, which annoyed Cheng Che. He raised his hand and directly took off the glasses, casually throwing them on the ground.
Luckily, they had resin lenses, so they wouldn’t break. The sound of the small object hitting the ground was soft.
Lin Xingling wanted to bend down and pick them up.
Cheng Che tightened his grip on his collar and pressed him harder against the wall, as if he wanted to pin him there.
Only two drinks… and it turned out like this.
Lin Xingling’s mind was racing: Two drinks were equivalent to almost half a bottle of Baijiu. Feng Ge ordered 68% alcohol Luzhou Laojiao… What did I do?!
A bottle of Luzhou Laojiao costs 1,086 yuan. Buying this stuff and drinking it like water was the behavior of a nouveau riche who had just won a game and made some money.
Apart from the fact that I shouldn’t be wasting money like this, it was really wrong of Liang Feng to let Cheng Che drink. Drinking alcohol not only harms the body, but also, when a young person like Cheng Che goes wild with alcohol, it’s impossible to stop him. He becomes uncontrollable even if he himself is weak, old, or sick.
Cheng Che, who was 1.7 meters tall, pinning Lin Xingling, who was 1.81 meters tall, against the wall, looked somewhat strange. Being half a head shorter in height, he didn’t have much dominance.
“Hmm?”
In the gaze of Lin Xingling’s incomprehension, Cheng Che stood on tiptoes and kissed the earring on his earlobe.
In an instant, Lin Xingling’s breath stopped, and his whole body froze.
“Bright… bright and beautiful… Good… hiccup… looking…”
Cheng Che stumbled and slid down to the ground, holding onto Lin Xingling’s leg, giggling foolishly.
Good-looking, good-looking…
He’s drunk, right? Doesn’t know who is who? Feeling on top of the world?
Lin Xingling looked at him with eyes like he was looking at a little fool. “Cheng… Cheng Che?”
“No, don’t… don’t call me that… call me a good kid.” Cheng Che held onto his leg tighter, muttering that his mom used to call him that.
“Tsk…” Lin Xingling patted his head and smoothed his hair. “Good kid, good, you’re the best, right?”
Though young, he was already an expert at comforting children.
“Yeah…” The child finally smiled in satisfaction.
Taking advantage of the situation, Lin Xingling continued, “Then, how about we get up, good kid?”
“No, not getting up… hiccup.”
Lin Xingling:…
His fist clenched. What kind of little brat, what kind of good kid… not good at all. I feel like punching him right here and now.
Thank you, I’m already getting angry.
“Want a hug… then, get up.”
Lin Xingling: Forget what I just said.
…What kind of sin have I committed? You’re too cute, you’re going to kill me. Come here, Uncle… no, brother will carry you.
Swiftly lifting him up by his arms, Lin Xingling brought him up to the fifth floor. Knocking on the door–
Liu Ying opened it: “…”
I’ve never seen this side of Brother Che before.
“Now that Dad Star and Brother Che are back, I can sleep peacefully… huh? What’s going on here?” Wu You was in the middle of speaking when he saw Lin Xingling standing motionless at the door, with Cheng Che hanging on him like a koala, looking extremely surprised.
Phantom: “Drunk?”
Lin Xingling nodded.
Cheng Che: “Hehe! Hiccup~”
Can’t you tell that he’s in such an embarrassing state from being drunk?
Brorther Feng: “My bad, my bad.”
But it’s not really my fault, right? We all had a few drinks, and your kid insisted on having two glasses. There’s nothing I could do.
“It’s fine, all of you go to sleep. I’ll take care of it.” Lin Xingling waved his hand, signaling everyone to go to sleep, his old injury on his hand throbbing in pain.
“Tsk…” Liu Ying noticed this and asked, “Is your hand hurting? Do you need some medicine?”
It’s so thoughtful of you… Lin Xingling shook his head. “I’m really fine. You all go to sleep quickly. I’ll take Clear back.”
After saying that, he continued to ‘drag‘ Cheng Che and headed back to the room.
Leaving everyone in the living room looking at each other.
Wu You: “I guess… it’s fine?”
Phantom: “…”
Brother Feng: “Alright, let’s all go back to sleep. It’s just a drunken state. Our captain will handle it.”
Liu Ying looked at Room 308 and then at everyone. “You all go back first. I’ll go to the kitchen and make a cup of orange juice for Brother Che to help him sober up.”
“Okay.”
Just as Lin Xingling brought Cheng Che back to the room, he didn’t notice and sat back on the floor.
Cheng Che blinked his eyes and winked at him.
“…”
He couldn’t care less about his own hand. He thought of pulling the child up first.
Cheng Che, who was clearly drunk, stuck to Lin Xingling like a sticky maltose candy, as if he was glued to the ground. He stubbornly clung to Lin Xingling, even though he moved, he remained on the floor.
Lin Xingling’s arms were sore from being pulled… his wrist hurt too.
“Gulu gulu… hiccup…” Even when drunk, Cheng Che could sense the change in the emotions of the people around him. He saw a displeased expression on Lin Xingling’s face and timidly let go of his hand.
“Good kid, the floor is cold, get up quickly.”
Lin Xingling endured the pain and coaxed him gently.
Cheng Che shook his head.
“Get up quickly, I’ll pour you a glass of warm water.” (Lin Xingling)
“No, I don’t want to.” (Cheng Che)
Lin Xingling, being patient, asked, “Then what should we do?”
“I… I want… um… hiccup… to take a bath.”
Take a bath? It was like a bolt from the blue for Lin Xingling.
Why take a bath? How can you take a bath when you’re this drunk? I can’t trust you to do it yourself… How can I give you a bath?
But Cheng Che had indeed said so, and he wouldn’t take no for an answer.
…He wouldn’t get up unless he got a bath.
Lin Xingling was in a dilemma.