Chapter Sixty-Eight
On Saturday evening, Tan Yuze drove around half the city before finally finding the little bar called "Fusheng" at the end of an alley that almost no one knew about.
The shop owner pulled out the last bottle from under the counter and handed it to him as if giving a secret signal—
It is entirely glass-white, like the eyes on a flame seeping from a forest, only revealing a faint blue vein pattern when light passes by.
The label is an extremely thin sheet of Xuan paper with two characters "Yin She" handwritten in silver powder. The strokes are broken, as if the writing was interrupted by the moonlight before it was finished.
The bottle is sealed with a cork stopper, and a small crane silhouette is branded on the wax, its neck slightly bent, as if it's about to fly into the bottle at any moment.
750ml, only eight degrees, yet surprisingly light, making no sound when shaken, as if the liquid inside is holding its breath.
Tan Yuze wrapped the bottle in his coat, as if he were carrying a stolen heart.
He returned to the villa at 10 p.m.
Only one floor lamp was on in the living room, with the lampshade lowered so that the light just surrounded the coffee table.
Xu Li was curled up in the beanbag chair reading comics when she heard the door open. She looked up and smiled like a cat: "Spoils of war?"
Tan Yuze held the bottle up to her nose, swirled it, and a cool, refreshing aroma of jasmine and green grapes wafted from the white bottle.
"They say you can see a hidden menu after you finish drinking it." He lowered his voice, as if telling a ghost story.
Two stemmed glasses, their walls so thin that fingerprints can be seen through them.
The bottle had the words "Happiness is free, and if you're especially happy, you should have a little drink" printed on it.
For the first cup, Xu Li only took a sip, and it felt like her tongue was being gently bitten by a snowflake.
For the second cup, finding it too slow, she grabbed the bottle herself and poured it. The silvery-white liquid flowed like a galaxy, creating a brief white curtain along the rim of the cup.
For the third glass, Tan Yuze didn't fill it to the brim, but she raised her hand to clink glasses with him, the sound as crisp as a crack in glass.
Starting with the fourth glass, her words became soft and gentle, as if they had been infused with the cedar smoke of the liquor—
She raised her hand, lit a cigarette, and then blew a puff of smoke into Tan Yuze's face.
"When I was a child, I thought all alcohol was bitter. It turns out that it is sweet at first, then bitter, and then... it has no taste at all."
The bottle emptied very quickly.
Xu Li's eyelashes cast dappled shadows under the light, her laughter still lingering on her lips, as she slowly slid deeper into the sofa.
As the last drop of wine fell into her glass, she could no longer hear the joke about the "secret menu," only her breathing rose and fell like ripples on still water after the tide receded.
Tan Yuze placed the empty bottle upright in the center of the coffee table. In the darkness of the black bottle, black wax, and night, the silver crane still bowed its neck.
He pulled the blanket over her, his fingertips touching her burning earlobe, and whispered:
Goodnight, little one. When you wake up tomorrow, don't blame me for stealing your star tonight.
then.
He took her back to the bedroom, closed the door behind him, pressed her against the wall, and first pecked at her, as if testing her, kissing her cautiously. Seeing that Xu Li didn't react much, he...
He finally seemed to reveal his true nature and began to kiss her. The kiss was forceful, hot, burning, passionate, and possessive, all rushing towards her. Xu Li could no longer stand; her legs began to weaken, and she could barely stand. Only then did he finally carry her to the bed, but he didn't let her go even on the bed. He pressed her down on the bed and then kissed her.
Tan Yuze put the empty bottle into the top shelf of the cabinet, as if sealing away a memory that should not be exposed to the light. Only a small night light was left on in the living room. He squatted by the sofa and watched Xu Li's eyelashes cast a crescent moon on the edge of the blanket.
Her breath, carrying the lingering scent of green grapes and cedar, gently brushed against the back of his fingers. At that moment, he suddenly felt a sinful tenderness—"getting her drunk" was originally just a joke, but he never expected her to actually sink into it without any defenses.
At 1:30 a.m., Xu Li frowned in her sleep. Tan Yuze leaned over and heard her mumble "Brother." He paused, then pulled the blanket up to cover her exposed shoulders.
The phone lit up on the coffee table; it was a message from Leng Yuxuan: "I heard you took the last bottle from the Hidden Society? Don't do anything bad."
Tan Yuze replied with a "shh" emoji and then turned his phone face down.
Daylight.
He got up and went to the kitchen to boil a pot of honey water.
As the kettle gurgled, he saw his reflection in the glass cabinet door—a smear of her lipstick on his collar, like a crime scene.
He raised his hand to wipe it off, but a fainter smudge of powder remained on his fingertip.
The water boiled, and the world suddenly became incredibly soft.
When Xu Li returned with the honey water, she was already half-sitting up, her eyes misty.
"Tan Yuze..." her voice was hoarse, "What did he do last night?"
“I’ve kidnapped you.” He deliberately put on a stern face and brought the cup to her lips. “The ransom is a sip of honey.”
Xu Li drank from his hand, her lips touching the rim of the cup with a soft "pop." After finishing, she poured it back, like a cat whose bones had been removed, yet she clung tightly to his sleeve.
"Don't go."
"I'm not leaving."
"Then sing."
"..."
Tan Yuze cleared his throat and hummed "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" off-key. Xu Li laughed on the second line, her laughter like ice shards falling into warm wine.
She tugged at his sleeve: "You sang it wrong. It's 'Hanging in the sky to shine brightly,' not 'Hanging in the bar to make drums and gongs.'"
"This is a remix version."
She hummed in agreement and fell asleep again.
At 3 o'clock sharp, the city is at its quietest.
Tan Yuze leaned against the sofa leg, his head resting on the edge of the bed, and heard Xu Li's breathing become even again.
He opened his phone's notes app and created a new entry:
【afternoon】
1. Hidden Society drinks really have a strong aftereffect; don't let her drink a fourth cup next time.
2. Honey water is effective in relieving hangovers, but it can't help with her saying "Don't go."
3. There's a lipstick stain on my collar. Will she kill me to silence me tomorrow?
After typing, he smirked and put his phone back in his pocket.
As dusk approached, Xu Li rolled over, and the blanket slipped to the floor. Tan Yuze bent down to pick it up, but she suddenly reached out and precisely grabbed his ear.
"Tan Yuze." Her voice was still hoarse, but with a clear-headed smile, "You're finished."
“I…I can explain.”
"Explain what? Explain that you secretly got me drunk and then sang 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' off-key?" She sat up, her hair a mess, like a little witch who had just been swept by a tornado.
"You're punished by having to come to the amusement park with me today."
"Now?"
"Now."
She pointed to the dawn breaking outside the window, "Let's make up for Children's Day by going on the carousel. It's your treat."
Tan Yuze rubbed his ears, which had been pinched red, and smiled in a way that sounded like he was admitting defeat or surrendering: "Okay, baby, I'll push the rocking horse, and you're responsible for throwing up all over me."
It was seven o'clock, and the amusement park had just opened.
The staff member yawned as he opened the iron gate, and a man and a woman rushed in—the woman was wearing a baseball cap, with a flushed face from a hangover under the brim; the man was carrying a plastic bag containing honey water, hangover medicine, and a spare T-shirt.
They headed straight for the carousel, where the first rays of morning sunlight fell on its mane, as if giving it a new layer of childhood.
Xu Li jumped onto the outermost white horse and stretched out her hand to Tan Yuze: "Push faster, I want to fly."
Tan Yuze took her hand, their palms clasped together.
The rocking horse began to turn, the wind lifted her hair and brushed against his chin, and he suddenly realized—last night, the one who was truly drunk was probably himself.
The rocking horse spins round and round, as if turning back the clock ten years.
Xu Li tilted her head back, the wind blowing her bangs all over her head, revealing her forehead, which was still flushed pink.
She suddenly turned to the side and shouted something to Tan Yuze, but the music was too loud and he didn't hear her.
"What?" He took a step forward, and she simply let go of the reins and made a megaphone with her hands: "I said—" The rocking horse suddenly lurched forward, and she was caught steadily by Tan Yuze.
Breathing together, the smell of alcohol had long since dissipated, leaving only the sweetness of honey water. In Xu Li's eyes, the shimmering light of a spinning disco ball flickered, like the Milky Way being shaken apart.
“I said, I want to charge interest on what happened last night.”
How is the interest calculated?
I'll tell you in a bit.
After getting off the rocking horse, she pulled him straight to the "small world" in the far corner of the park—a children's attraction where you ride a small boat through a miniature light strip. There was no one there in the morning, and the staff were dozing off.
Xu Li pushed Tan Yuze onto the boat, then jumped next to him. The small boat left the shore with a "thump." In the dark waterway, plastic dolls sang all over the world, their voices sweet and childlike.
Xu Li suddenly reached out, pulled Tan Yuze's right hand onto her knee, opened her palm, and wrote a number:
"7".
"Seven times the interest?" he asked in a low voice.
"Seven floors." She blinked. "One wish per floor, all fulfilled today."
The first wish was fulfilled by the "bumper cars".
Xu Li chose a pink car covered in stickers, reversed, accelerated, and drifted sideways, ramming Tan Yuze into a dead end in one go.
“First floor,” she laughed as if she had won the whole world, “You’re punished by having to carry me around the track three times.” Tan Yuze resignedly got out of the car, squatted down, and she jumped on him, wrapping her arms around his neck.
After walking three laps, his ears turned red, whether from exhaustion or from the constant breaths brushing against the back of his ears.
The second layer of wish is "high-altitude bicycle".
The track was suspended in mid-air, with two people pedaling it. She deliberately didn't step on it, instead putting her feet up on his lap: "I want to see the scenery."
Tan Yuze had no choice but to work hard alone, and his leg muscles ached from straining.
At the highest point, she suddenly pointed to a gray building in the distance: "That's my elementary school. I used to be late for the flag-raising ceremony every Monday."
"Why?"
"Because I have to climb over a wall on the way, and there's a stray cat by the wall, I have to feed it first."
"And now?"
“The cat is gone, and the wall has been torn down,” she said, turning her head to look at him, “but the reason for being late is still there.”
"What reason?"
"Waiting for someone."
"Did we get there?"
"It seems like I've been waiting for this day—it's you."
The third layer of desire is in the "Water Walking Ball".
A transparent plastic ball floated in the pool. Once inside, people could only crawl. Xu Li deliberately rolled around as soon as she got in, and Tan Yuze was bounced upside down. The two of them laughed until they were breathless inside the ball, like two hamsters.
When he came out, his hair was completely wet. She suddenly reached out and brushed the stray hairs from his forehead back: "The fourth wish is to keep track of the expenses first."
At noon, they ate a children's meal at the park's cafeteria—which came with a blue dinosaur straw cup. Xu Li clipped the straw cup to her backpack, and as she walked, she swayed, and the dinosaur's head bumped into her waist. Tan Yuze went to queue for ice cream, and when he came back, he saw her exchanging stickers with a group of elementary school students.
She squatted down and gave the last glitter film "Unicorn" to a little girl who was missing a front tooth.
The little girl said in a childish voice, "Sister, your boyfriend is so tall."
Xu Li turned around and saw him standing in the sunlight holding two ice cream cones. She laughed and said, "Not yet, we'll have to see how he performs."
At 3 PM, only the fourth of the seven wishes had been used.
Xu Li pulled him to the castle stage—the park has a daily "Princess Coronation" interactive event where children line up to be crowned with paper crowns.
She slipped a hundred-yuan bill to the host, muttered a few words under her breath, and the next second, the host announced loudly: "Today's 'temporary princess' is—Miss Xu Li! And her knight, please kneel on one knee!"
Tan Yuze was pushed to the center of the red carpet, where hundreds of pairs of small eyes stared at him. He was both amused and exasperated, but still knelt down on one knee.
Xu Li bent down and placed the smallest paper crown on his head—"Fourth level, you are punished to be my knight, and you are not allowed to take it off for the entire time."
So, all afternoon, you could see a tall boy, over 1.8 meters tall, wearing a pink paper crown, carrying a bag for the "princess," buying balloons, queuing up for cotton candy, and receiving greetings from the children: "Hello, Knight Brother!"
The fifth wish is on the "roller coaster".
Before the train departed, she suddenly grabbed his wrist and turned the watch face towards herself: "Three seconds to go. If you dare to scream, you'll owe me a wish."
The car sped off, plunging at a ninety-degree angle. The wind blew Wang Guan to the back of his head. Tan Yuze kept his lips pursed the whole time, his face pale, and he didn't utter a sound.
As she got off the train, she stood on tiptoe to straighten his crown: "Not bad, knightly pass."
"Can I make a wish against it?"
Tell me about it.
"Next time—I'll sit next to you, and you scream for me."
"make a deal."
At six o'clock in the evening, the music of "Going Home" played on the park's loudspeaker. Tourists walked out one after another. The setting sun cast long shadows. The wish on the seventh floor had not yet been fulfilled.
Xu Li led him to the "Wish Mailbox" next to the exit—an old mailbox painted red with the words "Write to your future self." She bought two postcards and handed him one: "Write it down, write it to us ten years from now."
Tan Yuze was stunned: "Us?"
"Yes, us."
She wrote first, her back to him, the pen scratching softly. After finishing, she slipped it into the envelope, not letting him see it. Tan Yuze held the pen for a long time before finally writing: "Ten years from now, if we're still together, please make up for that scream you owe me."
He dropped the postcard in, then turned to look at her: "Have you paid off the interest?"
Xu Li shook the dinosaur straw cup in her hand, and the remaining cola ice cubes clattered.
"Almost there."
What's missing?
She suddenly stood on tiptoe, her lips gently brushing against his earlobe, and whispered:
"I need you to open another bottle of Hidden Society tonight—but this time, I'll pour it for you."
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