Chapter 115 Getting Drunk

Before long, the two arrived at the so-called "Black Swan Lake".

Tourists gradually passed by the lake and took photos.

"Brother, look there!" Lu Yinzhao pointed to a lake area next to the reeds.

Two black swans were seen preening their feathers with their red beaks, their necks tracing smooth arcs, their webbed feet gently paddling in the water.

“These two black swans aren’t afraid of people. They even come ashore occasionally and stand boldly on the sidewalk. It looks quite comical,” Lu Yinzhao continued.

"You've only been enrolled for a short time, how do you know so much about this place?" Bian Ji asked.

“Whenever I don’t have classes, I ride my bike around the area. I’ve taken photos here several times already. The scenery here is beautiful, and you can take great photos anywhere without much editing.” Lu Yinzhao said with a hint of pride.

Looking at Lu Yinzhao at this moment, Bian Ji felt that the boy had finally regained some of his childhood appearance, telling him everything and introducing him to all sorts of things that interested him.

He really shouldn't have been gone for so long... Bian Ji felt a little regretful, but when he thought that they would have plenty of time to be together in the future, Bian Ji felt relieved.

"Brother, look! Look! The baby swans are swimming out!"

Lu Yinzhao excitedly pulled on Bian Ji's sleeve, his fingertips accidentally touching Bian Ji's hand. The warm touch stirred the young man's heart.

The warmth was fleeting. Bian Ji clenched his fingers, and when he looked up, his expression was as usual.

The lake water at this spot turned a translucent green under the sunlight, and a family of black swans swam happily in a line in the middle of the lake.

Behind the two large ones followed six smaller ones, each one occasionally nibbling into the water, shaking its head and wagging its tail—they were incredibly cute.

"I forgot my camera, otherwise I would have taken a lot more pictures to post on Weibo." Lu Yinzhao raised her phone to take pictures, just to make do.

Suddenly, he turned the camera towards Bian Ji, "Hey! Don't turn your head! Just like that, look at the lake, this angle is cool! Very nice!"

"..." Bian Ji obediently did as instructed, not daring to move.

Lu Yinzhao took photos from several different angles, repeatedly marveling at the pictures on his phone.

"Brother, your face is still too authoritative. No matter the scene, it gives me a lot of inspiration for shooting."

"You too..." gave me a lot of inspiration for composing.

Bian Ji whispered something.

"What did you just say? I didn't hear you clearly." Lu Yinzhao looked up and asked, not having heard what the other person mumbled.

"It's nothing, let's leave after we're done filming."

Seeing Bian Ji turn and leave, Lu Yinzhao quickly put away his phone.

"Oh, wait for me!"

The boy caught up with the young man and walked side by side, their steps filled with boundless joy.

Bian Ji's return to China was like a spring rain, bringing new life back to Lu Yinzhao's heart, which had been almost parched.

Over the years, Lu Yinzhao has also made some friends at different ages.

But none of his friends were like Bian Ji, to whom he could openly share his innermost thoughts.

Now that Bian Ji is finally back, can they be like before again?

Lu Yinzhao thought to himself with delight.

...

In the afternoon, Lu Yinzhao took Bian Ji to eat at a famous food street near their school.

"Brother, you've been in that food desert of Y country for so long, haven't you missed the food back home?"

"Actually, it's okay. I'm not that particular about food, as long as it fills my stomach."

Bian Ji's tone was indifferent, leaving Lu Yinzhao speechless.

"What are you doing! How am I supposed to respond to this? I finally wanted to treat you to a meal, and you say something so unpleasant." Lu Yinzhao turned her head and snorted.

Seeing that the other person's expression was exactly the same as he remembered, Bian Ji couldn't help but laugh and said, "If you invited me, it must be delicious, after all... you are a gourmet."

Bian Ji stroked Lu Yinzhao's fur, and Lu Yinzhao was immediately appeased again.

"Do you want to eat hot pot? I know which one around here tastes the best." Lu Yinzhao, acting like a know-it-all, was eager to start introducing the best options.

"Okay," Bian Ji nodded.

As the weather gradually cools down, having a hot pot for dinner is a great choice.

Lu Yinzhao led Bian Ji to a shop with a strong Chinese flavor, decorated with antique props.

"Let's eat here," Lu Yinzhao said, choosing a table behind a bamboo screen.

"Um."

After the two sat down, Lu Yinzhao directly ordered food by scanning a QR code on his mobile phone.

Bian Ji let the other party make arrangements, his gaze lingering on the boy's slender fingers.

What I'm thinking about is...

It really feels like just yesterday I was growing up.

He remembered that these hands used to be able to be completely enveloped in his palms, especially when he was a few years old, they were chubby and particularly cute.

Now, these hands resemble bamboo shoots, with fingers that are not thick but just right, possessing a unique beauty unique to youth, and rounded nails with a faint pink hue.

"It's all ordered! Bro, do you drink alcohol?" Lu Yinzhao had just asked the question when he remembered Bian Ji's job and immediately changed his mind, "Oh right, you'd better not drink, it's not good for your throat. I'll just give you some juice instead."

Bian Ji frowned slightly: "You're drinking now?"

Lu Yinzhao was startled by the other person's cold face. "W-what's wrong? I'm an adult! I've been able to drink for a long time, I'm an adult now... six months old!"

Lu Yinzhao counted on his fingers, even counting them carefully.

"..."

"Your return to the country is such a big deal, so I'm hosting a welcome dinner for you today. Even though it's just the two of us, I'm really happy and want to celebrate... It wouldn't be quite right if we didn't have a few drinks, would it?" Lu Yinzhao explained in a daze.

After saying that, I felt something was off.

Why does he need to explain?

Was he subconsciously worried that Bian Ji would blame him?

Bian Ji softened her tone: "I didn't mean to stop you from drinking. It's okay, you can order. I'll keep you company. Drinking a little won't be a problem."

Bian Ji has also drunk it with friends abroad, but not many times.

Drinking too much alcohol is indeed bad for your throat, so he always stops when he's done.

Upon hearing Bian Ji's words, Lu Yinzhao changed the juice to wine.

After the hot pot and alcohol were served, Bian Ji realized that Lu Yinzhao had actually ordered baijiu (Chinese liquor), and it wasn't low in alcohol content.

“We can’t finish these two bottles,” Bian Ji said.

Lu Yinzhao took a small cup, poured one for Bian Ji, and handed it to him.

He then grabbed the largest glass for himself, poured the remaining wine into it, and the bottle was already empty.

"What's there to not finish? This whole bottle will be gone in no time!"

"..." Bian Ji fell silent.

In the hot pot, the chili oil on the left was bubbling away.

Once the pot boiled, Lu Yinzhao started throwing all the vegetables into it.

"I'll be going to military training in a few days, and I'll definitely be too tired to come out and eat."

Lu Yinzhao finally grew up and could eat spicy food. Heaven knows how many years he had been craving this!

When he was a child, he couldn't eat spicy food like adults because of his health condition. Children's stomachs are fragile, so his family always prepared bland food suitable for children.

It was probably after he entered junior high or high school that he started to be able to eat spicy food properly. Now that he's in college, he can eat to his heart's content even more freely.

Bian Ji had just returned to China and was a little unaccustomed to eating spicy food all at once.

He'd only taken two bites when his face turned red from choking, "Cough cough..."

"Brother, if you can't handle spicy food, eat the clear broth side. Be careful with your throat." Lu Yinzhao thoughtfully scooped some non-spicy vegetables into Bian Ji's bowl.

Bian Ji waved his hand, indicating that that was enough.

His mouth felt spicy and numb, and he subconsciously reached for the cup and took a sip.

He forgot that the glass contained baijiu (Chinese liquor), and this sip made him choke on the spiciness.

"Cough cough cough! Cough cough...!"

Lu Yinzhao was flustered and hurriedly poured water for Bian Ji in another clean cup.

"Brother, this is water, slow down, don't drink so fast." Lu Yinzhao's tone was a little helpless.

Bian Ji: "..."

Is it really because I haven't been back to China for too long? Bian Ji felt like her brain wasn't working properly anymore.

After that, Bian Ji dared not touch the spicy hot pot again and silently ate boiled cabbage.

He only sipped his drinks in small sips.

When he thought this was the normal procedure...

Looking up and seeing Lu Yinzhao devouring beef balls from the spicy hot pot and drinking baijiu like water, I was quite shocked.

In these six years, it seems he has missed out on too much.

Bian Ji asked, somewhat incredulously, "You really never secretly drank alcohol before you were 18?"

Lu Yinzhao nodded as she ate: "Yeah, yeah! I only started drinking on my birthday this year. You know our family rules, right? No one is allowed to touch alcohol before they're adults."

"Doesn't your throat feel hot?" Bian Ji asked with some doubt.

"It's spicy, but it's so refreshing!" Lu Yinzhao said, taking another sip of wine. The large glass was almost empty.

The boy opened the second bottle.

Seeing that Bian Ji's face was slightly red, he knew that the other party had not yet recovered from being choked, so he only filled his own glass.

Lu Yinzhao raised his glass and said, "Come on, brother! Let's celebrate your return home! Cheers!"

Above the hot pot, large and small wine glasses gently clinked together, carrying the steam from the pot, reflecting the passionate hearts of the two people.

After a satisfying meal, we were full and had plenty of food and drink.

Lu Yinzhao couldn't help but burp.

He quickly covered his mouth and said somewhat embarrassedly, "Sorry, I ate too much."

Lu Yinzhao thought Bian Ji would say something joking, but instead saw the young man sitting motionless opposite him, his eyes even starting to look a little unfocused.

"elder brother?"

Lu Yinzhao waved his hand in front of Bian Ji's eyes. The other person seemed not to react and his gaze was somewhat unfocused.

Seriously? This is just one glass of wine...

He got drunk?

Lu Yinzhao searched through his past memories, but he really didn't know how much Bian Ji could drink.

After all, Bian Ji went abroad when he was 18, and when they met very rarely afterward, Bian Ji was never seen drinking alcohol.

Today, I accidentally found out the other person's alcohol tolerance...

On the table, both bottles of baijiu were empty.

Aside from the small glass of wine poured for Bian Ji at the beginning, Lu Yinzhao drank the rest.

He didn't feel dizzy at all; apart from feeling a little hot, he even felt like he could drink another bottle.

But he also knew the dangers of excessive drinking, and he wouldn't usually drink like that unless he was in a good mood today.

Lu Yinzhao rarely saw Bian Ji drunk, so he took out his phone and took a few pictures of him.

Tsk tsk...

This man truly lives up to his reputation as someone who has spent six years in Country Y; even when drunk, he can maintain his elegance and composure.

If you ignore Bian Ji's obviously dazed look, no one would think that Bian Ji was drunk.

Lu Yinzhao wiped his mouth, got up and went over to help Bian Ji.

Fortunately, even though the other person was drunk, they could still walk, though their steps were a little unsteady.

Worried that Bian Ji might fall, Lu Yinzhao helped him step by step out of the hot pot restaurant.

As soon as he stepped outside, he vaguely heard several girls behind him covering their mouths and whispering.

"Ahhh! A handsome couple!"

"So affectionate, they're even holding hands!"

"Wait, are there that many gay people in our school? I saw several couples the other day, but none of them were as handsome as this one."

"You just found out? The rate of same-sex marriage is constantly increasing. People can date if they want, which is great. Handsome guys are pleasing to the eye, I love watching them, hehe!"

"..."

The sounds behind faded into the distance.

Lu Yinzhao blushed deeply. He couldn't just rush up to people and say that they weren't in that kind of relationship because of the misunderstanding.

Since they were strangers anyway, he couldn't be bothered to explain.

Although his family lived locally, Huaxing University was still quite far from his and Bian Ji's villa.

Normally, if Lu Yinzhao wants to go back, it takes him an hour to drive there.

He was now considering whether to call a taxi to take Bian Ji back to the villa, or to book a hotel nearby for him to stay in temporarily.

As I hesitated, a familiar person walked towards me from not far down the street.

"Lu Yinzhao? What are you doing here? Didn't you say at noon... that there was an emergency at your home?"

Song Shuye went to karaoke alone in the afternoon and had a great time. He even met students from other majors at the karaoke bar and was in a good mood.

He was on his way back to his dorm when he unexpectedly ran into his roommate on this street.

He always felt that the most mysterious person in the dormitory was Lu Yinzhao, who was not very sociable.

But it didn't matter. Song Shuye knew that Lu Yinzhao was a photography major, and it was none of their business if an artistic young man wanted to go out and take photos.

He couldn't help but ask a couple more questions.

"This, this is the urgent matter I was talking about!" Lu Yinzhao forced a fabrication.

Song Shuye looked at the tall man being linked with by Lu Yinzhao, his eyes darting back and forth between the two.

He was somewhat unsure about the relationship between the two and asked again, "Lu Yinzhao, who is...?"

Seeing that her roommate was about to misunderstand, Lu Yinzhao quickly said, "He's my brother. He just came back from abroad and accidentally got drunk. I'm going to take him somewhere to rest."

“There are hotels nearby, why don’t you take your brother to get a room?” Song Shuye said matter-of-factly.

What Lu Yinzhao was hesitating about was unexpectedly decided decisively by her roommate.

He smiled gratefully at the other person and said, "Okay, I'll take my brother there right away."

Seeing Lu Yinzhao helping the young man to leave, Song Shuye turned around and asked, "Should I leave the door open for you tonight?"

Lu Yinzhao was confused: "What do you mean?"

Song Shuye said, "Didn't you say your brother just came back from abroad? Aren't you going to keep him company tonight? If I had a good brother who came back from abroad, I would definitely go to the internet cafe with him all night to play games. The dorm checks haven't been strict lately, so I can cover for you."

After hearing what Song Shuye said, Lu Yinzhao's mind softened a bit.

Bian Ji is drunk and needs someone to take care of him. What if he just leaves him at the hotel and goes to the bathroom and falls down and hits his head?

No, no, he should stay with me.

Lu Yinzhao knew that their dormitory 506 had a habit of locking the door before going to bed.

After thinking for a moment, he finally said, "Don't leave the door open for me. I'm not going back tonight."

-----------------------

Author's Note: Zhao Zhao: I already told you, the "ability to drink" in the Lu family is hereditary! [Sigh]