Chapter 50. [Second Update] He actually tightened his grip even more, no…
Around 9 p.m., Wu Yuejiang received a call and came downstairs to pick up He Yan, who was completely drunk.
Seeing his buddy almost completely out of it, reeking of alcohol, he was instantly enraged and yelled at his friend, "What the hell do you mean? You son of a bitch, getting him this drunk! No matter how much he can drink, you can't drink like this! Are you going to take responsibility if he gets sick?"
My friend protested his innocence, "I didn't make him drink!"
He explained helplessly, "We had dinner planned yesterday, and we had barely sat down when he received a message saying he had to leave and we would talk business again this afternoon. After we finished talking, he started drinking heavily. At first, I didn't stop him and drank with him, but he drank more and more heavily. When I asked him what was wrong, he wouldn't talk to me. How could I stop him? I couldn't stop him!"
"You're talking nonsense!"
Enraged, Wu Yuejiang raised his leg to kick him.
The other person nimbly dodged, raised their hands and backed away, then swiftly jumped into the back seat. "I've dropped the person off, and I should head back now. If I don't go back soon, my wife will make me kneel on a washboard. Please forgive me."
Wu Yuejiang raised his voice and cursed, "Get lost, you grandson!"
After he finished cursing, he looked down and cursed He Yan again, "You might as well drink yourself to death."
A drunk person is heavy and sluggish, not to mention He Yan is tall and strong. Wu Yuejiang was almost half dead by the time he helped him into the stairwell. The weather was hot, and he was drenched in sweat. He was panting and cursing intermittently, "You had a good time drinking... Ha, right? I've had the worst luck in the world..."
As he approached the second floor, he felt dizzy and wondered whether he should throw He Yan down the stairs and call Wang Yuan for help.
Wen Xue finished washing clothes in the washroom and was about to hang them to dry when she faintly heard Wu Yuejiang's voice. At first, she thought she had misheard, but after listening more carefully, she quickly put down the bucket and ran downstairs. Before she even reached the second floor, she saw Wu Yuejiang supporting He Yan. Her heart skipped a beat, and she rushed over in three steps, anxiously asking, "What happened to him!"
Wu Yuejiang gave a weak laugh.
Good news, someone's here.
The bad news is that the snow is so fine it could be blown away by a gust of wind.
"I was forced to drink it." Wu Yuejiang broke out in a cold sweat. "Sister, go and call—"
He paused here. Wan Nian was out on a long-distance trip and wouldn't be there tonight. It was already this late; a man like Wang Yuan was probably shirtless in his room, maybe even just wearing his underwear. It wouldn't be appropriate for Wen Xue to knock on their door.
Besides, if He Yan finds out about this, I'll have to settle accounts with him tomorrow.
"Never mind," he said.
Wen Xue pulled He Yan's arm and hoisted it onto her shoulder, then looked at Wu Yuejiang and said, "Brother Yuejiang, it's hot here, let's help him into the room quickly."
"This is the only way."
Wu Yuejiang hadn't held out much hope, but to his surprise, He Yan seemed to know who was cooler, and leaned to one side as if he had no bones, almost hanging on her, which relieved a lot of his pressure.
Turning her head to look, she saw He Yan with his head down, leaning on Wen Xue's shoulder, his breath spraying against her ear.
"...I give up."
The two helped He Yan to the end of the second floor, where Wu Yuejiang took the key from his pocket and opened the door.
The room was hot, and Wen Xue was worried that He Yan was uncomfortable, so she went to find the remote control to turn on the air conditioner. But just as she was about to back away, he came back to her.
Wu Yuejiang's temples throbbed. The last time He Yan had drunk this much was on the seventh day after He Heng's death. He had known He Yan for over twenty years, and this was only the second time.
He was so drunk he couldn't even remember his own name. If He Yan had even a sliver of lucidity, he wouldn't be like this. But here's the problem: He Yan wasn't sober, and didn't know who he was clinging to. Was he also sober? Wen Xue was a girl, not a boy.
I should have called him Wang Yuan.
Thinking of this, he slapped He Yan's hand away forcefully, "Little sister, go turn on the air conditioner, it's so hot it's killing me."
Wen Xue took the opportunity to break free, found the remote control on the table, and pressed the air conditioner with a ding. The machine started running and blew out cold air. When she looked back, she saw Wu Yuejiang put He Yan on the chair and made him stand still. He himself was pulling at his collar to catch his breath.
"Brother Yuejiang, what do we do next?"
She wanted to go forward and check on He Yan's condition, but Wu Yuejiang stopped her.
Wu Yuejiang laughed: "Don't go near him, or he might throw up all over you."
Wen Xue couldn't laugh. She still looked at He Yan with a worried expression, frowned, and pursed her lips. "He seems to be feeling very unwell."
“Anyone who drinks too much will feel unwell.” Wu Yuejiang thought for a moment. “Here’s what we’ll do: you go find him some hangover medicine, and I’ll pat him to help him catch his breath.”
"OK!"
She nodded, then asked, "But where can I get a hangover cure?"
Wu Yuejiang didn't even look up. "His bedside table wasn't locked."
Wen Xue turned and walked inside. He Yan's room was simply furnished, not exactly tidy but not messy either, and there was no strange smell. She stood by the bedside and hurriedly opened a drawer, accidentally knocking over the trash can.
She didn't have time to pay attention; she glanced at it and then looked away to find a hangover cure.
There were some things scattered in the drawer: a burn ointment box, a watch box, a household registration booklet, a stack of cash, and hangover medicine. Her brows relaxed, and she picked them up, but then she inadvertently glanced at a box containing women's perfume.
She was momentarily stunned.
"Little sister, have you found her yet?" Wu Yuejiang's voice came from behind.
"Found it." She immediately closed the drawer with a heavy thud, then staggered out, handing the hangover medicine to Wu Yuejiang. "Is this it?"
"yes."
Wu Yuejiang broke off a piece of fruit and put it in He Yan's mouth, then picked up a cup to feed him water.
Wen Xue couldn't bear to see He Yan's disheveled appearance. Remembering the trash can she had bumped into, she went to the door to get a broom and returned to the bedside. It wasn't very dirty trash; when she swept it up, it was mostly torn pieces of paper, and she stepped on one of them.
She glanced down casually; the crumpled piece of paper probably had a person's name on it.
Zhou Xian.
Who is it?
The thought flashed through her mind. She guessed it must have been one of the company's clients who swept it up and took it into the trash can along with other pieces of paper.
When Wen Xue came out again, He Yan had gone from lying on his back to slumped over the table. She walked to his side and leaned down slightly to observe his expression. His brows were furrowed, as if he was enduring something. She felt uneasy and asked with concern, "Will he be alright after taking the medicine?"
Wu Yuejiang stood under the air conditioner vent and said, "Let him rest for two hours first."
"Does it have to take this long?" Wen Xue asked softly. "Why are you drinking so much?"
The next sentence was said to He Yan, who was drunk.
Whether it was because the room had cooled down and she felt more comfortable, or because the effects of the alcohol had worn off, He Yan opened his eyes without warning. When their eyes met, Wen Xue was surprised and opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, he suddenly grabbed her wrist, which was resting on the edge of the table, and gripped it so tightly that the veins on it bulged.
Wen Xue frowned, her body behaving more honestly than her mind, trying to pull away, but he only held her tighter, not allowing her to escape.
She blurted out, "It hurts—"
Wu Yuejiang turned around, and He Yan seemed to hear that word. He immediately let go of her hand, his eyes were glazed over, and he was still not clear-headed.
"Little sister, what's wrong?"
"No." Wen Xue unconsciously hid He Yan's hand behind her back. "He just opened his eyes."
"Oh, it's nothing."
Wu Yuejiang was amused by her surprised expression. She was drunk, but not dead, so of course she would react in various ways because she was uncomfortable.
"Alright, it's getting late." Wu Yuejiang raised his hand and glanced at his watch. "You go up first, I'll stay here."
"Don't you need my help?" Wen Xue asked.
“You’re a girl,” Wu Yuejiang genuinely treated her like a younger sister, even if she wasn’t his biological sister, she was practically like a cousin. “Why are you bothering with a drunk man? Stay away from him, he’s got your breath smelling of alcohol on him. Take a shower and go back to your room to rest. He won’t die.”
Wen Xue was both amused and exasperated.
After Wu Yuejiang's repeated persuasion, she left the room, turning back every few steps, saying, "Brother Yuejiang, call me if you need anything."
"Go to sleep."
"oh."
Wen Xue was indeed sweating. She went back to the third floor, grabbed a change of clothes, and went into the bathroom. As the sunlight streamed in, she belatedly noticed finger marks on her wrists when she reached for the showerhead. They didn't hurt, though...
She was reminded of the look in his eyes when he opened them, a look that seemed to have seen a lot of things, because of this fingerprint.
She always felt that he actually knew who she was, and that he seemed to have a lot to say to her, a lot to tell her.
Is it just my imagination?
-
The next morning, when Wen Xue knocked on He Yan's door with breakfast, he had already recovered and looked much better. He had just shaved and looked refreshed. When he saw her, he smiled and said, "Did I scare you yesterday?"
“A little.” She gave him breakfast. “It’s not fried dough sticks and soy milk, it’s porridge.”
He Yan hummed in agreement. "That's good."
She looked like she wanted to say something but hesitated.
"explain."
"Drinking too much is bad," she said in a muffled voice.
"I know." He nodded. "It won't happen again next time."
"Is something bothering you?"
Normally, He Yan would have said "no," but he knew he couldn't fool her this time, so he said half-truthfully, "It's been resolved."
"Will drinking solve it?" she asked, her doubts genuine.
"It can't be solved."
"Then... you still say it's resolved?"
"Things should be resolved when you're sober, but when you're agitated, you need alcohol." He paused, "or something else."
For example, he used to smoke, but he quit, so I won't mention it.
"What else?"
He Yan got annoyed: "Why are you asking me a million questions?"
Wen Xue glanced at him. "I only asked four questions."
"Four isn't enough? You're giving me a headache." He shooed her upstairs.
She took a few steps, then mustered her courage and turned back. Sure enough, he was leaning against the door watching her. She said, "It wasn't me who made the noise, it's just that you drank too much and have a headache."
He Yan: "..."
She left as soon as she finished speaking. He felt helpless yet wanted to laugh. He lifted the lid, too lazy to use a spoon, and simply tilted his head back to drink the porridge. The noise they made woke up Wu Yuejiang, who had been up until the early hours of the morning. Wu Yuejiang opened the door irritably and got angry when he saw He Yan. "Where did you go yesterday?"
"I went to the temple."
He Yan didn't like porridge, so he held out the half-eaten porridge, saying, "Thank you for your hard work."
Wu Yuejiang rolled her eyes, but still took it. "What are you going to the temple for again? I've told you so many times, those monks are all talking nonsense."
He Yan remained noncommittal, saying that any talk of fate was utter nonsense.
What does it prove that she and Lin Baizhou met two years earlier? It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter at all. He knows very well that Lin Baizhou has never been someone he should be wary of.
After finishing the rest of the porridge, Wu Yuejiang remained silent for a while. Turning her head, she saw an unyielding resentment between He Yan's brows and laughed angrily, "What's wrong with me saying a few words to him? Who are you giving me attitude for? Who served you yesterday?"
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