This time, Huo Shaoheng only filled half the cup for Gu Nianzhi.
Xue Jingjiang did not mind. Gu Nianzhi was a young girl—he did not expect her to be a heavy drinker.
Gu Nianzhi saw that Huo Shaoheng did not object to her drinking more alcohol, and clinked glasses with Xue Jingjiang. She downed her cup.
Cui Baifei saw what was going on, and walked over with his own cup to exclaim: “Wow, the girl can drink! Two cups in a row, and she’s still on her feet!”
“I know, right? She can really hold her alcohol.” Hong Ziqi gave a drunken burp. He was beginning to feel the effects of all the alcohol; he stood up and said, “You guys go ahead and drink. I’m going out for a walk.”
Hong Ziqi’s girlfriend, Guo Huining, was singing karaoke with Mrs. Cui and Xue Xinran on the other end of the private room, but she had been paying close attention to the dining table the entire time.
She saw that Hong Ziqi wanted to leave the room to walk off the alcohol. She followed after him to watch over and take care of him.
Cui Baifei grabbed the beer bottle and filled Gu Nianzhi’s cup to the brim. He said to Huo Shaoheng, who was sitting nearby with a faint smile on his face, “Huo Shao, it’s… it’s my turn to drink with Little Gu. Don’t try to stop me—I’m gonna down my whole cup, but you can stop whenever you like, Little Gu.” With that, he tilted his head back and downed his cup.
Gu Nianzhi did not wait for Huo Shaoheng to speak: she was already up on her feet, her cup in her hand. She toasted Cui Baifei. “Thank you for not looking down on me, Brother Cui. I won’t disappoint you.” With that, she downed the contents of her cup.
She had been a little hasty and careless with her drinking. She coughed, and her face slowly turned red, like spilled rouge spreading across the first snow of winter. Flushed with alcohol, she was now even more beautiful and attractive: her rosy cheeks and her shimmering, misty eyes stoked the flames of love in all who laid eyes upon her.
Huo Shaoheng gave a start. He got to his feet and led Gu Nianzhi by the hand to a sofa behind the wine table. He gently patted her back to ease her breathing.
Cui Baifei and Xue Jingjiang had seen many beautiful women, and considered themselves immune to them. Nevertheless, they stared openly at Gu Nianzhi’s flushed face, entranced, and only recollected themselves when Huo Shaoheng glared at them. They grinned cheekily, returned to their seats, and began to play a drinking game.
“Five!”
“Six!”
“Four! Four! No, eight! Eight!”
Bai Tianqun had bawled his eyes out, and downed another glass of alcohol. He was feeling a little nauseous, but could not get up from his chair. He squinted around the private room, and finally saw Xue Xinran sitting behind the screen, in the middle of a karaoke song. He shouted: “Xinran! Xinran!”
Xue Xinran turned to look at him, and knew at once that he was drunk and needed some fresh air. She said to Mrs. Cui, “I’ll be right back.”
Mrs. Cui was thinking of going out for a breather herself. She stood up and said, “Take care of Bai Tianqun. I’m going out, too.”
She and Xue Xinran stepped out from behind the screen and walked over to the dining table, where Xue Jingjiang and Cui Baifei were still engrossed in their drinking game. The two women did not bother the men.
Xue Xinran helped Bai Tianqun out the room. Mrs. Cui followed behind them, and parted ways with them at an intersection. Xue Xinran and Bai Tianqun went into the unisex family-size bathroom, while Mrs. Cui went to the ladies’ bathroom.
As soon as they had left, the private room seemed empty.
There was now only the boisterous shouting between the two men at the wine table as they continued their drinking game, underscored by the songs playing from the karaoke machine.
Gu Nianzhi was now feeling the full force of all the alcohol she had been drinking. Her eyes grew glazed and unresponsive while her mind alternated between sobriety and muddled confusion. Her courage, on the other hand, surged unchecked within her.
Huo Shaoheng continued patting her on her back until she had caught her breath and was done coughing. He removed his hand from her back, but left his arm draped across the back of the sofa, behind Gu Nianzhi.
His tall, muscled body was leaning every so slightly towards her. His legs were crossed, and his eyes stared straight ahead. His face was calm, and he seemed completely at ease, but Gu Nianzhi could feel his aura envelop her from head to toe.
Gu Nianzhi sat upright, still and motionless as she snuck a glance at Huo Shaoheng from the corner of her eye. She was brimming with Dutch courage; when she saw that Huo Shaoheng was not looking at her, she slowly—almost imperceptibly—began to lean backwards, towards the back of the sofa behind her.
Although she was drunk, she had not completely taken leave of her senses. She did not dare overdo it; all she wanted was to get a tiny bit closer to him, close enough for her to pretend he was holding her in his arms.
Huo Shaoheng smelled distinctly like alcohol, with a faint hint of tobacco. It was not at all repulsive—in fact, it was an attractive scent, one that was brimming with masculinity.
Gu Nianzhi closed her eyes and savored the intoxicating smell. She stealthily leaned backwards.
At that very moment, Huo Shaoheng leaned across her to get the ashtray on the small coffee table on the other side of the sofa.
The sofa immediately sank on one side.
Gu Nianzhi, who had been ever so slowly leaning backwards, was completely unprepared for this. She tumbled over, right into Huo Shaoheng’s arms.
Her eyes flew open in surprise. She did not know where to put her hands and feet.
Huo Shaoheng lowered his eyes and glanced at her. His deep, fathomless eyes were as dark as inkwell: it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.
“What are you doing? Can’t you even sit properly now?” Huo Shaoheng asked impassively. His body was still leaning towards her, but he kept his arms at a careful distance, as though he did not want to touch her.
Gu Nianzhi closed her eyes and boldly tilted her head backwards, leaning into Huo Shaoheng’s arm behind her. She shamelessly blurted out her excuse: “I’m dizzy.” So lend me your arm for a minute or two, her eyes seemed to implore of him
“Dizzy? Maybe you’ve had too much to drink?” Huo Shaoheng casually lifted the arm draped on the sofa behind Gu Nianzhi, and held her close to him. He set the ashtray in his other hand on the table, and touched her forehead.
Gu Nianzhi knew exactly what to do in this situation. She had stayed with Huo Shaoheng for many years, after all.
The alcohol in her system was in full effect. Her mind and body were alive with excitement; she grew increasingly bolder with every passing minute.
She reached out and latched onto Huo Shaoheng’s hand just as it detached itself from her forehead after taking her temperature. She said, in an irresistibly adorable manner, “Head hurts. Rub-rub.”
The Adam’s apple in Huo Shaoheng’s throat bobbed up and down as he swallowed heavily, but his face was still calm and composed.
His hand paused in mid-air, uncertain, but Gu Nianzhi tugged his hand to her temples. He began to massage them.
This was an effective treatment for a hangover.
Gu Nianzhi snuggled into Huo Shaoheng’s arms. She was so comfortable she could have purred like a small kitten.
The two men who had been playing drinking games at the wine table turned to look at Huo Shaoheng and Gu Nianzhi with unfocused, bleary eyes. They saw Huo Shaoheng massaging Gu Nianzhi’s temples, and noted the unnatural flush on Gu Nianzhi’s fair face.
“Little… Little Gu… What’s wrong?” Xue Jingjiang stood up. He slurred, unable to get his tongue to work properly in his drunken state. “Are you drunk?”
“Yeah, she’s drunk. I’m not surprised—she’s never had actual alcohol before this, and her first drink turned out to be Moutai, the best-quality baijiu.” Huo Shaoheng said lightly, “It’s nothing. All she needs is a little rest.”
“H-Huo Shao, why don’t you take her to the small resting room, further inside? She can rest there. That room is fully furnished, and all the sheets and towels are changed every day. It’s clean; it’s not that kind of room.” Xue Jingjiang gave another drunken burp. He was tipsy, but his concern was sincere: he pointed an unsteady finger at a small door in the south wall of the private room. “I-I-I… I only let my closest friends and family use that room. Don’t worry!”
Huo Shaoheng smiled. “That’s very kind of you. I’ll take her inside, and have her lie down and get some rest. I’ll be back in a minute—we’ll continue drinking, then.”
“Fantastic! We’ll get smashed today! You’re going to be drinking with us, for as long as the sun is out—don’t say we didn’t warn you!” This was the first time Xue Jingjiang and Cui Baifei had been able to get together with Huo Shaoheng in over a decade, and they did not want to waste a single minute of their reunion.
Xue Jingjiang walked out of the room, loudly barking orders to the kitchen as he instructed the chefs to make dinner.
Cui Baifei went to find his wife, Mrs. Cui.
The private room was now empty.
Huo Shaoheng carried Gu Nianzhi into the small resting room, and gently shut the door.
The light in the small resting room was soft and warm. There was a semi-transparent peony brocade screen standing in the middle of the room; Huo Shaoheng could see that there was an antique wooden bed behind it.
Huo Shaoheng smiled. He led Gu Nianzhi around the screen and lowered her onto the bed.
Just as he was about to leave, Gu Nianzhi suddenly extended her arms and hugged him around the neck. She opened her misty, dewy eyes, and looked at him without saying anything.