WC ⋆ Chapter 49

Not too many people came to the gathering today. Quite a few had already gone home for the winter break, and those who remained huddled together to celebrate Laba, which still made for a lively scene.

Eight guys packed the table full, all familiar with each other. No need for icebreakers before the conversation was already roaring.

Xu Baili didn’t like cake, so once the birthday gifts were accepted the celebration was considered done. The dishes came out quickly, and right in the center of the table sat a big pot of Laba Porridge.

The thing everyone present was most curious about was Qi Lin and Jiang Yishen getting back together. This group got together every so often, and all the gossip worth discussing had long been exhausted. Qi Lin and Jiang Yishen were appearing together for the first time in over half a year, and everyone was itching to say something about it.

“You two are the worst friends, getting back together without giving anyone a single hint.” The tall guy with dyed yellow hair said as he picked up food with his chopsticks.

The short-sleeved muscle guy sitting next to him, the one Jiang Yishen had previously done the “snap! smack!” to, heard this and chimed in: “Had no idea when it even happened. And here we thought the commotion at New Year’s had put you two off each other. Was it Fan Zi hiding information in the middle?”

“Bullshit!” Fan Zi had just scooped up a spoonful of porridge and immediately flew into a rage. “We share a dorm room and even I didn’t know, not until this bastard showed up to his final exam wearing a ring!”

This set off a wave of excitement. Those who hadn’t been in the exam hall were thrilled, and those who had been there wished they could stand on the table and act the whole thing out in vivid detail.

Only the birthday boy himself kept his head down and ate. Xu Baili was probably the only one present who had known about the two of them getting back together in advance. Thinking back to the scene of Jiang Yishen cornering him at the classroom door to interrogate him, he felt so guilty he didn’t dare lift his head.

“That’s about enough!” Jiang Yishen couldn’t take it anymore and slapped the table. The ring on his finger struck the surface with a clear, bright sound.

Nobody paid him any attention. The guy in the plaid shirt next to Xu Baili, wearing thick-soled glasses with the look of a textbook overachiever, let out a long sigh: “It’s good though. Ever since New Year’s, Xiao Qi has put on weight.”

That’s because after each loop their sleep schedule is a mess and they end up eating an extra meal every day, Qi Lin thought to himself.

This remark became the emotional turning point of the discussion. The people at the table ended their lengthy string of accusations and began marveling at how hard it was to get back together.

Several classmates from the same major and their dormmates present all knew about Jiang Yishen’s family situation. He had been taking leave frequently in the second half of the year, had given the department a heads-up, and the course instructors never asked questions. Aside from Qi Lin, Jiang Yishen hadn’t hidden the matter about his dad from anyone.

Few people knew about Qi Lin’s cold war with his family, though. After graduation and leaving campus, “how are you doing” became something hard to ask out loud. Except for Glasses Guy, who had gotten a rough picture from Xu Baili, everyone else simply assumed he was living alone here to prepare for his future career.

The conversation moved on to the New Year, and the group chatted loosely about their own plans.

“I’ll grovel at my mentor’s feet for a bit, should be able to go home by next week.” Glasses Guy said, then asked in passing, “Xiao Qi, are you going home?”

Attentive eyes turned toward the table. Qi Lin scooped some braised eggplant, potato, and peppers onto his rice and felt a sudden darkness before his eyes.

“Where are you spending the New Year” was a question of hellish difficulty that had been haunting him all through the twelfth lunar month. His mom asked it, Xu Baili asked it, Jiang Yishen asked it. The whole world, down to the ants on the ground, was paying attention to where he was spending the New Year.

“Not decided yet.” Jiang Yishen suddenly spoke up for him. “Maybe we’ll travel somewhere.”

“Traveling is great! Traveling is great.” Xu Baili finally found an opening to jump in and smooth things over. “Flights on the first day of the New Year are cheaper.”

Qi Lin pressed the fragrant, oil-glistening eggplant and potato into the grains of rice with his spoon, then said: “I’m staying here.”

“Staying here is fine too, staying here is fine.” Xu Baili said it and then realized something was off, and confirmed again: “Really just by yourself?”

“Spending it at Jiang Yishen’s place.” Qi Lin said it without any hesitation, not caring who knew.

Everyone present kept their expressions neutral. Only Jiang Yishen choked on his food, gripping the table and coughing violently, a gut-wrenching sound. Fan Zi had to pat his back for a long time before the coughing settled.

He coughed until his eyes went red. He had just straightened up when a collection of bowls, cups, and ladles filled with water were thrust in front of him, including a bowl of Laba Porridge.

“Whose porridge is this! Are you trying to finish me off?” Jiang Yishen said furiously.

All the bowls and cups were pulled back. Muscle Guy retrieved the porridge he had shoved forward in a panic, took a sip himself, and seeing the atmosphere wasn’t too strained, said: “Xiao Qi, you’re not going home?”

“Yeah.” Qi Lin nodded. “I’ll figure it out in March.”

“Oh, that works too.” Yellow-haired Guy agreed. “Besides, Jiang-ge only has two people at home for the New Year anyway, having you there makes it livelier.”

If they kept talking it would get into private matters, so Fan Zi took the lead and steered the conversation elsewhere, sharing a few pieces of school gossip and quickly pulling everyone else’s attention away.

Jiang Yishen listened for a bit, then leaned close to Qi Lin’s ear and asked quietly: “Are you serious?”

Qi Lin was focused on picking out fish bones and felt a little puzzled when he heard this: “Of course.”

“Weren’t you unwilling to come before?” Jiang Yishen said. “And you didn’t give me any heads-up either.”

“Oh, I just decided.” Qi Lin said lightly, leaving Jiang Yishen’s head spinning with smoke.

“Why?” Jiang Yishen leaned in closer to him and kept pressing.

They were sitting so close their knees were touching. Qi Lin nudged his ankle with the tip of his foot and said casually: “If I spent it alone, you’d definitely be unhappy over the New Year.”

“Don’t think about things like that, it’s fine even if you don’t want to come.” Jiang Yishen felt ticklish from the nudge and shifted slightly to the side.

“I’m not unwilling. I didn’t agree before because I was worried it would put you in a difficult position.” Qi Lin turned his head to look at him.

Jiang Yishen was left speechless, his heart like a freshly steamed sponge cake just out of the pot, soft and sweetly warm.

He looked into Qi Lin’s eyes and, very quietly, dropped a bombshell: “I want to kiss you.”

Qi Lin was startled and quickly turned to glance at Xu Baili on his right, only to find that Xu Baili had been paying attention to their conversation the whole time. His bowl was already empty and he was still picking at the air with his chopsticks.

Qi Lin reported: “He wants to kiss me.”

Xu Baili looked at Jiang Yishen with an expression that said more than words ever could, and all those words collapsed into a single sigh.

Jiang Yishen was at a loss for words. He spun the lazy Susan in resentment, impartially making it impossible for everyone at the table to reach any dish.

Everyone there had a decent appetite, and the table of food was quickly cleared. Midway through the meal they had also goaded Xu Baili into opening his gifts, and the rowdy, playful mood was at its peak. Before long people started shouting that they were hungry again, so a few more dishes were added and the drinks came back out.

Their established custom for birthday gatherings was to split the bill, so nobody had to worry about sending something too expensive, and nobody had to hold back from eating their fill. By the time the porridge had mostly digested it was time for the alcohol. Someone started clamoring that there should be cake, and in the commotion someone placed a cake delivery order.

You couldn’t buy a large birthday cake at night, and the small cake that arrived, once sliced, only yielded a tiny piece each. It was gone before anyone could even taste it.

Outside the window there were scattered sounds of firecrackers. Once Laba passed, the New Year was near. The old rhyme trickled along to the year’s end, and from this day forward even the air was filled with the anticipation of the New Year.

“The ban on firecrackers is stricter than last year, you can’t find any at all.”

“You can find them. Did you join the group chat? There’s someone selling in the group, they said they’d set them all off together in the square.”

“Holy shit, that’s how it works? Add me, add me.”

Listening to the others chat away, Jiang Yishen sipped off the foam from his drink and said quietly to Qi Lin: “I’m planning to tell my dad in the next couple of days.”

Qi Lin was focused on pouring a drink and laughed when he heard this: “Why are you still thinking about that? Just say we’re friends, the rest can wait until after the New Year.”

“That won’t work. Didn’t you say so yourself? If we say friends first and then change our story later, my dad will feel deceived.” Jiang Yishen spoke with great conviction, but his eyes kept drifting to the glass in Qi Lin’s hand. “Why are you drinking so much?”

“This isn’t a lot. I just ate, I can’t drink much right now.” Qi Lin swirled his glass, then looked at the tiny little amount in Jiang Yishen’s glass in front of him, the kind a cat could lick dry in a second, and considered whether to spare his feelings before ultimately telling the truth: “Drink less. If you pass out I’ll have to haul you back.”

Jiang Yishen looked at the comparison between the two glasses and had the instinct that he was being mocked: “Are you insulting me?”

“Give it a rest.” Fan Zi chimed in from the side. “You’re comparing yourself to Xiao Qi? He could drink this whole room under the table by himself! With that tolerance of yours, even my little nephew can outdrink you.”

Jiang Yishen refused to accept this and was determined to prove himself.

Three rounds of drinks in, at eleven o’clock at night, the only ones passed out in the whole room were the force-fed Xu Baili and the indignant Jiang Yishen.

Of the six who were still sober, everyone except Qi Lin had to get back to school, so they volunteered to carry Xu Baili back. That left Jiang Yishen, tall and broad-shouldered but drunk into a heap, and Qi Lin couldn’t move him no matter how he tried.

They called a car to go home. Jiang Yishen was stuffed into the vehicle by all six of them. The driver watched from the rearview mirror with his heart in his throat, confirming over and over that Jiang Yishen wasn’t going to suddenly lash out or throw up in the back seat before he finally started the car and drove off.

Jiang Yishen’s reputation as a drunk was well-earned. He clung to Qi Lin’s arm and refused to let go, and whenever anyone came near he would try to kiss them. Qi Lin didn’t bother worrying about whether the driver would suffer any psychological damage from watching. He could only steel himself and lean down to give Jiang Yishen a kiss whenever Jiang Yishen called for him.

Arriving at the front door of the building, getting him upstairs was even more of a challenge. Qi Lin tried countless positions and couldn’t manage to haul Jiang Yishen up in any comfortable way. He felt like he was competing in a triathlon, and his fate seemed terribly hard.

The residential complex was quiet and still at night. Qi Lin pinched Jiang Yishen’s face with hands that had gone cold in the wind, then kissed him hard, and that managed to jar the man into a brief moment of clarity.

Jiang Yishen looked at him, his gaze a little dazed.

“Are you awake?” Qi Lin shook his head.

Jiang Yishen nodded.

“Can you walk up by yourself?” Qi Lin’s heart softened at those watery eyes of his, and his voice came out sticky and gentle.

Jiang Yishen shook his head.

Qi Lin tried to support him up the stairs and found it wasn’t quite as difficult this time. Jiang Yishen still couldn’t find his way and bumped into things every two or three steps, but at least he was actively moving his legs.

“Good boy, once we’re upstairs I’ll let you sleep.” Qi Lin said this without batting an eye.

Jiang Yishen’s sluggish brain processed this sentence for a moment, and with a thud he nearly fell over, but valiantly grabbed the railing and climbed up on his own.

Qi Lin stayed close beside him and heard him ask, in a dazed tone, slowly and haltingly, a question that he probably didn’t even understand himself: “For real or not?”

Qi Lin answered him in his heart: of course not. In this state he probably couldn’t even get it up. He had told him to drink less, drink less, but only Jiang Yishen thought it was an insult to his tolerance.

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