After getting drunk
Chapter 21: After Getting Drunk
The fluorescent lights in the infirmary cast a cold, white glow. Bai Ke leaned against the bedside, lost in thought as he gazed out the window at the sinking sun. The door gently opened, and Li Meng and Lin Xiaoyu walked in, hand in hand.
"I heard that you fainted. Are you okay?" Lin Xiaoyu asked with concern, sitting naturally on the edge of the bed.
Bai Ke's gaze lingered on their clasped hands for a moment, and he smiled slightly: "You... are finally together."
Li Meng scratched his head a little embarrassedly, while Lin Xiaoyu leaned happily on his shoulder: "He finally got it. After pursuing him for so many years, I almost gave up."
Seeing her friend finally get what she wanted, Bai Ke felt a complicated sense of relief. At least, their love for each other was clear and firm, while she and Chen Yiyu were always wandering in the midst of missed opportunities and misunderstandings.
Li Meng hesitated for a moment and said, "Bai Ke, there's something I've always wanted to tell you. The reason Chen Yiyu missed the spring outing was because Qiu Luodi's old injury relapsed and he fell down the stairs. He was in a very dangerous situation at the time."
Bai Ke lowered his eyes and hummed softly.
"He wanted to go back to see you after Qiu Luodi's condition stabilized, but by the time he got back to the resort, it was already the next morning." Li Meng continued, "He saw you and Lu Zihan..."
"It doesn't matter." Bai Ke interrupted him softly, a bitter arc curling up at the corner of her lips, "Missed it is missed, and there is no point in talking about it now."
She didn't notice that the familiar figure outside the ward was frozen in place. He stood there, listening to Bai Ke's calm voice inside the ward, and finally turned and left.
At the beginning of summer vacation, the high school reunion was held as scheduled. To everyone's surprise, Chen Yiyu, who usually avoided such activities, actually came.
He sat alone in the corner of the box, drinking quietly, completely out of tune with the noisy atmosphere around him. When Bai Ke walked in, their eyes met for a moment, and he quickly looked away.
"Come on, let's play Truth or Dare!" the monitor excitedly suggested, "Whoever's turn it is gets to answer the question!"
The wine bottle spun on the table and finally slowly pointed at Bai Ke.
"Bai Ke, confess and I'll give you some leniency!" a boy said, "Do you have someone you like now?"
Bai Ke felt Chen Yiyu's gaze on her, so hot that she couldn't ignore it.
She took a deep breath and smiled easily: "No."
A burst of disappointed boos echoed from the crowd. Bai Ke lowered his head, pretending to straighten his clothes, not daring to look in Chen Yiyu's direction.
For the next few minutes, Chen Yiyu drank one glass after another, refusing to listen to anyone's advice. His eyes followed Bai Ke the entire time, filled with desolation.
When the party ended, Chen Yiyu was already extremely drunk. He stubbornly sat on a bench outside the hotel and refused to leave.
"Let me take him back." Li Meng said.
"No," Chen Yiyu pushed him away, his eyes blurred, "I want to wait for someone." He pointed at Bai Ke who was walking not far away.
The classmates left one after another, and finally only Bai Ke was left standing there. She looked at the drunken Chen Yiyu and sighed softly: "I'll see him off, you go back and rest first."
Li Meng looked at them worriedly and finally left.
The park was quiet and peaceful on a summer night, with only the chirping of cicadas. Bai Ke sat down next to Chen Yiyu and gently advised, "Go back, it's getting late."
He suddenly grabbed her hand, so strong that she couldn't break free. His eyes, which were always as calm as water, were now filled with drunkenness and pain.
"Bai Ke," his voice was filled with tears, "You know, I regret it every day."
Bai Ke wanted to pull her hand back, but he held it tighter.
"I regret not going to the lake that day, I regret going to Germany, I regret every time... every time I didn't say it out loud." His eyes were red, like a lost child. "I thought it was good for you. I thought... I wasn't worthy of you."
"Chen Yiyu, you are drunk." Bai Ke said softly, feeling a slight pain in his heart.
"I am drunk," he said with a wry smile, "Only when I am drunk do I dare to tell you... tell you..."
He took a deep breath, as if he had used up all his courage:
"I like you. Ever since that rainy day, I have always loved you."
The evening breeze suddenly stopped, and the cicadas seemed to have fallen silent. Bai Ke looked at him, feeling as if the whole world was spinning.
All those years of waiting, all those tears in the middle of the night, all those unspoken regrets, finally had an answer at this moment.
Chen Yiyu leaned on her shoulder and whispered drunkenly: "It's too late to talk about this now, right? You said... Missed is missed..."
His voice gradually faded away and he finally fell into a deep sleep.
Bai Ke lowered her head, tears silently falling.
"It's not too late," she said softly, as if telling him, or as if telling herself.
The stars in the night sky twinkled quietly, witnessing this long-overdue confession. And it seemed their story had just begun.
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