Chapter 24 "Is this okay?"
The game went on for a few more rounds. More wine was drunk, the situation became more chaotic, mistakes were frequent, and the laughter was almost blowing the roof off.
Zhou Ai seemed to be playing casually, but he never made any mistakes. He was able to connect accurately every time, no matter how many strange words were added in front of it.
Chu Yi, on the other hand, always maintained his calm and composure, except for the occasional, imperceptible pause when Zhou Ai looked at him or when it was his turn to respond to Zhou Ai's words.
After a while of arguing, Cheng Yingzhi finally collapsed completely, mumbling to himself as he fell asleep. Qi Yuan's eyelids were also drooping, and he lay on the sofa with a silly grin.
Chen Yu checked the time and said with a smile, "Okay, let's stop here for tonight. If we keep playing, we won't be able to get up tomorrow."
The party ended.
Chen Yu was in charge of sending the drunk Cheng Yingzhi home, while Chu Yi was in charge of sending Qi Yuan home.
Chu Yi struggled to lift the nearly unconscious Qi Yuan and was about to walk out. Qi Yuan was so drunk that his whole body was weak and his steps were unsteady. Most of his weight was on Chu Yi, causing him to stumble a little.
Zhou Ai followed them silently half a step behind them.
Just as Chu Yi tried to adjust his posture to hold Qi Yuan more steadily, Qi Yuan suddenly lost his strength and slid down like a heavy bag of sand, about to take Chu Yi with him.
An arm suddenly and forcefully inserted itself from the side, firmly grasping Qi Yuan's sliding body, while at the same time unnoticeably separating Qi Yuan and Chu Yi from their overly close distance.
Chu Yi felt a lightness on his shoulders, and before he could react, Qi Yuan was already being carried away from him by a force. He turned around in shock, only to see Zhou Ai's face so close to him.
Zhou Ai's brows were slightly furrowed, not with the kind of irritable gloom from before, but with a bit of...disgust?
He held Qi Yuan's arm firmly with one hand, and seemed to want to support Qi Yuan's waist with the other hand, but hesitated for a moment, and finally just blocked it vaguely to prevent him from sliding down again.
"Give him to me." Zhou Ai's voice was not loud, with an unquestionable tone, but his eyes were looking at Chu Yi while he spoke.
Chu Yi was indeed startled by this sudden intervention, and subconsciously grabbed Qi Yuan's other arm and did not let go immediately.
There was a brief stalemate between the two of them with the drunk Qi Yuan between them.
"Mr. Zhou?" Chu Yi was a little puzzled. Zhou Ai didn't look like someone who would take the initiative to take on such a troublesome matter.
"You can't help him," Zhou Ai said succinctly, his brow still furrowed. His gaze swept across Chu Yi's cheeks, slightly flushed from the effort, and his slightly disheveled collar, then quickly shifted to rest on Qi Yuan's drunken face. His tone hardened, "Besides, he'll stain your clothes if he does that."
Chu Yi then noticed that Qi Yuan really looked like he was about to vomit. He had been so focused on holding Qi Yuan steady that he hadn't noticed anything.
Zhou Ai had already transferred most of Qi Yuan's weight onto herself without any explanation. Qi Yuan groaned in a daze, tilted his head, and was about to lean on Zhou Ai's shoulder.
Zhou Ai's body stiffened noticeably, and the expression of disgust on his face became even more obvious. He almost immediately turned his head away and used his elbow to slightly push Qi Yuan's head away. The action was a bit rough, but he still did his best to prevent him from falling.
He looked at Chu Yi who was still standing there in a daze, and raised his chin slightly: "Let's go, aren't we going to take him back? Where is the car?"
Chu Yi looked at Zhou Ai's look of being obviously reluctant but forcing himself to take on the "trouble", and combined with his explanation just now that "it will dirty your clothes", the surprise in his heart slowly dissipated, and was replaced by a very faint and subtle emotion that he himself had not even noticed.
He loosened his grip, leaving Qi Yuan completely in Zhou Ai's care, and nodded, "Okay, thank you for troubling me, Mr. Zhou. The car is right outside."
Zhou Ai hummed softly through his nose, held Qi Yuan, and tried to keep the drunk as far away from him as possible, and walked out. His steps were steady, and even though he was carrying a person who was almost hanging on him, he didn't look very tired.
Chu Yi followed behind him slightly, looking at Zhou Ai's tall back and the hand that was trying to keep a distance from the drunkard. The light stretched the shadows of the two people and intertwined them.
The night wind blew in from the door, bringing a hint of coolness, but it couldn't blow away the inexplicable lingering strange feeling in Chu Yi's heart.
Zhou Ai seems to be a little more... complicated than he appears.
The three of them stood at the door of the club in a slightly strange posture.
Zhou Ai frowned, trying to keep the slimy Qi Yuan in a relatively upright position at a distance from his chest. There was a kind of forced stiffness in his movements.
Chu Yi stood aside, wanting to lend a hand but seemingly not knowing where to start. The night wind blew up the fine hair on his forehead, bringing a hint of clarity, but it couldn't blow away the subtle awkwardness at the moment.
The designated driver hadn't arrived yet, and the wait dragged on silently. Occasionally, a car would pass by, its headlights briefly illuminating them before quickly departing.
Chu Yi's gaze fell on Zhou Ai's face, which was too eye-catching even in the dim light.
Although it was late at night, this was an entertainment area after all, so there was no guarantee that there would not be paparazzi waiting or passers-by who recognized him.
Chu Yi couldn't help but lower his voice and reminded: "Is this okay?" As he spoke, he quickly and lightly gestured to the side of his face, indicating a mask or disguise.
Zhou Ai was fully focused on the "tug of war" with Qi Yuan, and did not hear Chu Yi's almost whispered words, but only saw his lips move.
He tilted his head slightly, and because he couldn't move too much while holding Qi Yuan, he naturally bent down towards Chu Yi and put his ear a little closer.
The distance between the two people shortened instantly.
Chu Yi could even smell the faint cold aroma mixed with tobacco on Zhou Ai, which was completely different from the smell of cigarettes and alcohol he had just been exposed to in the box.
This sudden approach made Chu Yi's breathing slightly choked, and he subconsciously took half a step back.
"What do you mean it doesn't matter?" Zhou Ai's voice sounded a little deeper than usual because of his slightly leaning posture. It was full of inquiry, and his breath almost brushed Chu Yi's earlobe.
Chu Yi calmed himself down and repeated, his voice clearer than before, but still low: "I say, is it okay for you not to cover it like this?" He gestured to his face again, "If we get photographed..."
Zhou Ai heard it clearly. He stood up and distanced himself again, but his eyes were fixed on Chu Yi's face.
The night light cast tiny spots of light in his deep eyes. He raised his eyebrows and the corners of his lips curled up into an arc that seemed to be a smile, but not a smile. There was an almost arrogant confidence and understanding in that smile.
"They don't dare to shoot." He said in a flat tone, looking into Chu Yi's eyes and calmly stating a simple fact.
Chu Yi was slightly stunned.
Zhou Ai found his dazed look amusing and added slowly, her eyes sweeping meaningfully over Qi Yuan, who was slumped over her. "Besides, compared to being photographed alone with someone, even if this... helpful image were to get out, it would be easier to publicize it, wouldn't it?"
Chu Yi heard the teasing in his words and didn't know how to respond. Just then, a car slowly pulled up in front of them. The designated driver arrived.
Zhou Ai said no more and neatly stuffed Qi Yuan into the back seat of the car. His movements were still a bit disdainful, but steady enough. He closed the car door, stood up, and looked at Chu Yi: "Get in."
Chu Yi nodded and walked around to the other door. As he opened the door and prepared to get in, he seemed to hear Zhou Ai laugh softly, or perhaps it was just an illusion from the night breeze.
He got in the car, closed the door, and shut himself off from the outside world. Through the car window, Chu Yi saw Zhou Ai standing there, with no intention of leaving immediately. His figure appeared a little hazy against the background of neon lights, yet remarkably clear.
Chu Yi rolled down the car window, poked his head out slightly, and said to Zhou Ai, who was still standing there, "Goodbye, Mr. Zhou. Thank you for tonight."
Zhou Ai turned around at the sound. The streetlight cast bright and dark shadows on his well-defined face, but he looked normal.
He simply stood there, nodding slightly in the direction of the car as a response. His expression was unclear in the shifting light; he seemed to have his usual, slightly distant, calm demeanor.
However, only Zhou Ai himself knew that the aftereffects of the wine he had just drunk in the box were quietly surging up during this moment of stillness.
The cold night wind not only failed to sober him up, but instead acted like a key, opening the valve of alcohol that had been briefly suppressed by reason.
A slight feeling of dizziness began to linger over my head, and things at the edge of my vision seemed to become a little blurry and slow.
He took a deep breath calmly, trying to suppress the discomfort and maintain his composure.
The designated driver started the car smoothly.
Chu Yi closed the car window, shutting out the noise. The only sounds inside were Qi Yuan's inarticulate mumbling and the subtle whirring of the air conditioner. He subconsciously glanced at the right rearview mirror.
In the mirror, Zhou Ai's figure is gradually shrinking and moving away.
He still stood there in the same posture, as tall and straight as a solitary tree, standing in front of the glittering yet cold city backdrop.
The glow of neon lights flowed and changed around him, but strangely could not blend into him at all. Instead, it made him feel more lonely and isolated from the hustle and bustle.
The car turned a gentle bend and the angle of the rearview mirror changed accordingly.
Just before Zhou Ai's figure was about to completely disappear from the edge of the mirror, Chu Yi seemed to see Zhou Ai's figure in the mirror sway slightly, extremely slightly, as if he had lost his balance due to the night wind, or as if he could no longer withstand the surge of alcohol and subconsciously wanted to find support.
But he quickly regained his composure, and simply raised his hand and used his knuckles to massage his solar plexus extremely quickly, the movements lightly and swiftly.
This fleeting action formed a subtle contrast with Zhou Ai's assertive and confident statement just now, "They dare not take pictures."
Chu Yi's heart was inexplicably touched.
He remembered how Zhou Ai had just smoked in the box, his precise yet playful gaze while he was playing games, and how he had suppressed his disgust but still taken over Qi Yuan.
This person... doesn't seem to be as cold and distant as he seems.
In the rearview mirror, Zhou Ai's figure finally disappeared completely.
Chu Yi let out a light breath, withdrew his gaze, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes.
Alcohol, nicotine, the unexpected help, the resolute words "They don't dare to film it," and that last subtle movement of massaging the temples...
All these fragments piece together a Zhou Ai that is becoming increasingly complex and difficult to ignore.
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