He isn’t very familiar with the surroundings, so if he can’t find it, he will come back.
Qiu Shufeng nodded and said, “After class, I have to go ahead and go there. Come with me, so you won’t have to search for it yourself, which can be troublesome.”
Qiao Huaiyao wanted to refuse as soon as he opened his mouth, “It’s not troublesome…”
Qiu Shufeng kept saying, “It’s not troublesome, it’s not troublesome.”
He raised his eyebrows, wondering what could be troublesome for a younger brother.
Coincidentally, the professor turned around to write on the blackboard, and Qiu Shufeng quietly sneaked back.
The restaurant for the dinner was chosen at a place not very close to the school. Since there were many people in their class, mostly students, they had to consider the price. The places near the school were either small restaurants or expensive hotels. The front seats were unavailable, and the back ones were too costly. The essence of the gathering was to have fun, so it would be troublesome if someone spent a lot of money, causing complaints.
With one more seat added to the largest table, everyone finally sat down. The teachers and the class advisor didn’t come to the dinner, so it was all classmates of the same age, and with Qiu Shufeng actively engaging, the atmosphere was quite good.
The dishes were all served on the table, but no one started eating. The classmates were gathered together, playing the tabletop games provided by the restaurant. Qiao Huaiyao took a sip of warm water and checked the messages from Bai Jinyan on his phone.
Qiu Shufeng opened two cans of beer and turned his head to see the white lemon water prepared by the restaurant in Qiao Huaiyao’s hand. He immediately said, “Why are you drinking water? There are so many beverages on the table, and there’s this and that. Why don’t you try them?”
Qiao Huaiyao shook his head. He wouldn’t touch those beverages on the table; he only drank specific brands. Whether he drank or not during a meal wasn’t a big deal. He said, “My brother doesn’t allow me to drink.”
“What?” Qiu Shufeng was stunned. “You’re an adult now. Why does your brother still control this?”
As he spoke, he couldn’t help but scrutinize Qiao Huaiyao. It was hard to tell his age from his appearance; he looked quite young.
“It’s not exactly control,” Qiao Huaiyao thought about how to explain, “I can’t handle alcohol well. When I get drunk, I don’t remember anything. My brother is afraid that I might drink outside and get drunk without anyone taking care of me, so he doesn’t allow me to drink. If he’s around, then it’s okay.”
Bai Jinyan rarely controlled him; instead, most of the time, he went along with whatever Qiao Huaiyao wanted. Only on rare occasions would he try to oppose him, but after the opposition, he would usually go along with Qiao Huaiyao anyway. Perhaps because of opposing without any effect too many times, Bai Jinyan rarely opposed him on anything.
Qiu Shufeng finally understood, “It’s okay. With so many classmates here, there’s bound to be someone to take care of you. Don’t worry about it and drink.”
A nearby girl smiled and said, “You can try to persuade him, but when our classmates are all drunk, I wonder who will take care of the ten of us.”
Qiu Shufeng waved his hand, “No big deal.”
He said it with grandeur, but he didn’t really continue to persuade Qiao Huaiyao, just aiming for some fun.
The music in the private room had never stopped. In the latter half of the night, the lights were turned on, but not the big central light hanging in the room, only the side spotlights. The room now had areas of brightness and darkness, with red lines crossing some places, creating an atmosphere perfect for playing ghost games.
Most of the dishes on the table were still untouched; everyone was busy playing and didn’t eat much. Qiao Huaiyao sat behind Qiu Shufeng, and the three of them played a card game of Fight the Landlord. Since they had a large group, they played in pairs and analyzed the game.
The loser of the game had to choose truth or dare.
Qiu Shufeng held the remaining few cards in his hand; he called himself the landlord and now had a bomb (a pair of kings) and a K and a Q left.
Yuan Chengfan on the left played a 2, leaving him with only one card, but his farmer teammate still had several cards.
Qiu Shufeng hesitated and couldn’t make up his mind, “Should I play the bomb?”
Qiao Huaiyao typed on his phone, chatting with Bai Jinyan. Hearing the question, he nodded and said, “Play it.”
Qiu Shufeng threw the bomb into the pile of cards and then played a single K, saying, “Only one card left. Does anyone want it?”
Yuan Chengfan shook his head, “It’s too big; who can handle that?”
His teammate also nodded, “We lost, we lost.”
Qiu Shufeng laughed heartily, “It’s good, Qiao Huaiyao. You said you couldn’t play cards, but how did you know their cards were smaller than mine?”
Qiao Huaiyao didn’t act modestly; he really didn’t know how to play cards. He played his cards face down, not allowing others to see them, but his memory was excellent.
He said, “Remember the cards that have been played, and you can guess what cards they have left in their hands.” The natural winning probability is higher.
“I swear! Qiao Huaiyao, what kind of memory is this?” Qiu Shufeng played cards based on instinct, relying on reading people’s expressions and playing psychological games. He never bothered to memorize cards.
A girl next to them stepped forward and said, “Class monitor, class monitor, show some spirit and let me be in a team with Qiao Huaiyao. I want to see Yuan Chengfan’s daring adventure!”
“Uh… wait a minute, I’m lining up, come, come,” Qiao Huaiyao said.
“Don’t push, don’t push. We’re all classmates; everyone has a chance. Let us go last, and I’ll take my turn,” the girl replied.
Qiao Huaiyao raised an eyebrow and calmly looked at Yuan Chengfan. It was just the beginning of the school year, and he had already ‘offended’ so many classmates?
Yuan Chengfan shrugged, feeling helpless. He was too easy to provoke; there was nothing he could do.
After finally squeezing his way back from the crowd, the room was too dimly lit, making it hard to see clearly. Qiu Shufeng squinted and asked, “Hey, why is your face so red?”
“Me?” Qiao Huaiyao touched his cheek with the back of his hand, feeling a bit warm.
Not saying anything before, Qiao Huaiyao felt suffocated as soon as Qiu Shufeng mentioned it. He frowned and stood up, saying, “Maybe it’s too stuffy inside. I’ll go outside for some fresh air.”
As he walked out into the corridor, the temperature dropped. It seemed the room had warm air conditioning on, and the temperature change was quite noticeable once outside. However, he didn’t feel any more awake. His head felt heavy and he wasn’t tired; he just felt like he could fall asleep immediately if he lay down.
Qiao Huaiyao pinched his forehead, attributing it to staying in the room for too long. He walked to the window and tried to cool down with the cold breeze. But after standing there for a while, he felt even dizzier.
He felt like he was in a drunken state, not knowing if he was awake or not, not knowing who he was, staring blankly at the billboards outside.
After waiting for a while inside, Qiu Shufeng noticed that Qiao Huaiyao had been outside for a long time and didn’t return. He went out to find him.
Surprised, he asked, “What are you doing here? You didn’t even wear your coat. Don’t catch a cold. Let’s go back.”
Qiao Huaiyao took a step back, avoiding his hand. He was in a confused state of mind and blinked slowly, saying, “I think I’m drunk.”
“What?” Qiu Shufeng immediately said, “That’s impossible. You didn’t even drink much. Are you drunk from drinking lemon water?”
Yuan Chengfan, who had just come out, heard this, “What lemon water? Who ordered lemon water?”
Qiu Shufeng said, “The big glass of lemonade on the table, provided by the restaurant.”
“That’s Little Jiao’s lemonade. It doesn’t taste like anything; it’s sweet like fruit juice,” Yuan Chengfan said.
Qiu Shufeng: “…”
Qiao Huaiyao was not sensitive to alcohol, and the lemon taste was strong. He didn’t remember how much he drank. He shook his head, trying to clear his mind, “Let’s continue playing. I’ll go back.”
Seeing his state, Qiu Shufeng didn’t dare to let him go by himself. “I’ll escort you. Yuan Chengfan, can you grab both of our coats?”
Yuan Chengfan went to get the coats and said, “Take care.”
Qiu Shufeng made a gesture, but before he could say anything, Qiao Huaiyao had already left. He hurriedly put on his coat and followed.
The restaurant was next to a large mall. Qiu Shufeng stood downstairs to call a cab. Qiao Huaiyao was obviously already drunk. His eyes were hazy as he walked under the billboard and looked up, gazing at the familiar figure in the advertisement.
He whispered, “Brother.”
Seeing this, Qiu Shufeng quickly said, “Uh, no, you’re mistaken; this is Bai Jinyan. He’s not your brother.”
Qiao Huaiyao pursed his lips, seemingly dissatisfied with this statement. “He is my brother.”
After a moment of silence, Qiao Huaiyao took out his phone and called Bai Jinyan. The phone rang twice, and Bai Jinyan picked up, “Huaiyao?”
Qiao Huaiyao responded with an “Mm,” then repeated, “Brother.”
“Mm?” Bai Jinyan replied, then fell silent.
Qiao Huaiyao’s mind seemed unclear, not realizing what he was doing or what he wanted to say. He remained silent for a moment before repeating, “Brother.”
Sensing that something was off, Bai Jinyan said, “…”
“I want to see you again,” Qiao Huaiyao said. It was the seventh day since they reunited and parted.
I want to see you again.