624.
The room was full of people drinking merrily. The men had their arms around each other, calling one another brothers; the women clustered together taking selfies, cementing their sisterly bonds. I had also drunk a bit too much, so I left Gu Yiliang’s side and got up to head to the restroom, planning to wash my face.

The icy cold water splashed on my face cooled some of the heat rising in me. Just as I stepped out of the restroom, I bumped into someone.

I immediately apologized: “Sorry, sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

The man waved it off: “It’s nothing… Eh? Yanyan?”

At the sound of my nickname, I looked up and saw—it was none other than Lao Huang’s business associate, Uncle Qi!

A little dizzy from the alcohol, it took me a moment before I managed to say “Uncle Qi.” He smiled broadly and patted my shoulder: “Don’t you remember me? When you were little, I even held you in my arms.”

 

625.
At the words “held you in my arms,” Gu Yiliang suddenly appeared right beside me, as if he had materialized out of thin air.

Startled by his abrupt movement, I glanced at him. His expression was so tense I thought maybe the alcohol had gotten to him. I patted his back to calm him down and nudged him toward the restroom, while smiling at Uncle Qi: “How could I not remember you, Uncle Qi? I was just a little out of it from the alcohol just now. Really sorry!”

Uncle Qi asked: “Yanyan, you’re here filming? Why didn’t you reach out to me? I could help you, give you a hand.”

Before I could reply, suddenly my hand was grabbed by Gu Yiliang—his fingers interlacing tightly with mine.

Wasn’t he going to the restroom?!

The elders are right here, this is not the time to play around!
Wake up already!

 

626.
I swallowed an internal scream, trying to hide my hand behind my back. I gave a nervous smile: “With your busy schedule, how could I dare bother you…”

Uncle Qi chuckled heartily, patting my shoulder: “Yanyan, you’ve grown up well, gotten wiser! I’m drinking with two old friends now, why don’t you come have a drink too, just to chat a little—it could be good for your future career.”

I nodded, but Gu Yiliang began pressing his fingers frantically into my palm. I shot him a look, but his idol face was perfect, smiling flawlessly, with no hint of what he was doing.

Me: ??

This man—when he’s drunk, his behaviour changes like he’s following some secret master’s training!

Uncle Qi glanced at Gu Yiliang and smiled: “Is this your friend? He can come along too.”

 

627.
After greeting the elders in the private room, Gu Yiliang still hadn’t let go of my hand. I was afraid that if I released him, he’d bolt off like an unleashed husky, so I kept holding on too.

It was practically like making wedding toasts together!

Under the sharp gazes of the three elders, my scalp tingled as I forced a laugh and raised my glass.

But before I could even bring it to my lips, Gu Yiliang snatched it up and downed it in one gulp.

What on earth is with him today?!

I was stunned as I watched him immediately reach for another pour. I hurried to stop him.

At our table we were drinking red wine, but Uncle Qi and the others were drinking white liquor. For me, drinking a little was fine—but he was already drunk; if he mixed drinks, I was afraid he’d go full Yi Ping and climb a bridge looking for fallen thorns.
(TN: Reference to the classic Chinese novel “The Eagle and the Dove” (Ping Fan Ji), where the character Yi Ping, in heartbreak, climbs a bridge and futilely tries to retrieve thorns from the water—symbolizing obsession and despair.)

When I tried to stop him, he wouldn’t give in. He replied seriously: “When you drink in someone’s place, you have to drink three glasses.”

But I never asked you to drink for me!!

I looked at him helplessly, sneaking a glance at Uncle Qi.

Uncle Qi slapped the table: “Good! This young man is good!”

The other two elders clapped and praised Gu Yiliang, calling him thoughtful and proper.

Me: “?”

 

628.
The drinking culture at the table was a deadly trap!

 

629.
While I was still trying to process everything, Gu Yiliang had already blended seamlessly with the three elders, the atmosphere lively and warm.

“One glass for the homeland, one for distant places, one for tomorrow, and one for the past.”
(TN: A line from Mao Buyi’s song ‘Dissolve Sorrow’ (消愁, Xiao Chou).)

One of the elders, clearly moved, had red eyes. He said he admired Gu Yiliang’s courage and composure, that he himself hadn’t been that bold in his youth, and regretted missing out on opportunities.

Me: “?”

How did it escalate to this?! Just because he drank three glasses, now he’s suddenly “courageous”?!

Gu Yiliang nodded, clasped the elder’s hand, and said with deep emotion: “Whoever drinks the wine of love will become intoxicated.”

Me: “?”

What are you talking about?!
Uncle Qi and another elder raised their glasses: “Well said! Let’s drink!”

 

630.
I watched this absurd scene and began to wonder if I was the one who had drunk too much.

 

631.
Seeing that they continued raising their glasses to celebrate freedom, I feared that Gu Yiliang would end up drinking himself into oblivion. I reached out and guided him back, apologizing to the three elders: “Sorry, uncles, we have work tomorrow…”
Uncle Qi replied: “No worries, no worries, work comes first. Go get some rest! This young man is really great, he has potential. Give me his name, I’ll keep an eye on opportunities for him.”
I nodded, thanking him on Gu Yiliang’s behalf, and Uncle Qi patted my shoulder: “I can see he’s really great. This is a lucky meeting, take good care of him.”
Me: “?”
Another elder, with a naive smile, nodded: “It’s true, it’s not easy!”
The third elder, still with reddened eyes, kept nodding.

 

632.
I supported Gu Yiliang, whose legs were unsteady, as we left this banquet straight out of a surreal novel.

 

633.
When we arrived at the reserved room for the crew, everyone had almost finished packing up and was about to leave. Gu Yiliang’s assistant was running around looking for him, while Xiao Chen sat in a corner quietly playing a game on his phone while charging it.
As soon as they saw us arrive, the two assistants rushed over. Xiao Chen immediately grabbed my hand: “Yanyan, you’re finally back! I was so worried, I looked everywhere for you, I thought you were lost!”
Honestly, he acted better than me. If his phone screen wasn’t lit with a match-3 game, I would have believed him.
I replied: “We drank a bit, we can’t drive, you—”
Xiao Chen shot a glance as if trying to hide that he was slightly drunk.
I looked at Gu Yiliang’s assistant, a young girl whose face had turned red. She pointed a slender finger at Xiao Chen’s cheek: “He made me drink!”
Me: “…”
Okay, fine—whoever drinks the wine of love will become intoxicated.

 

634.
The designated drivers for the team had all been called away by other members. Gu Yiliang’s assistant couldn’t carry this tall drunk man. I put his mask on his face, a little annoyed, and asked Xiao Chen to order a car via an app.
Before getting in, I tossed Gu Yiliang onto the back seat and turned to block Xiao Chen, who wanted to sit next to the driver.
Xiao Chen cried bitterly: “Yanyan, you don’t want me anymore?!”
I nodded toward the young assistant standing by the garage door.
He immediately straightened up and stood at attention: “Thank you, boss, I’ll leave, if I don’t come back—”
I pinched the bridge of my nose and waved my hand: “Well, don’t ever come back.”

 

635.
Barely seated in the back, barely had the car door closed, Gu Yiliang pressed against me, playing with my fingers.
I let him, at least he wasn’t climbing a bridge for spines. He still seemed somewhat lucid, counting the fingers correctly.
I slammed my side of the car door shut.
Gu Yiliang released my hand, started removing his jacket, and bent down to take off his shoes.
Me: “?”
I grabbed his hand firmly: “What are you doing?”
He looked at me, confused: “Huh? Aren’t we home yet?”
Me: “…”
I spoke to the driver: “Sir, please start quickly. If it’s not fast, I feel this situation might get out of control.”

 

636.
No sooner had the car started than Gu Yiliang said he was going to vomit, but as soon as the car stopped, he signalled that everything was fine.
This repeated five times, and the car had only moved a few inches.
When he announced for the sixth time that he was going to vomit, the driver turned to me: “How about I switch to an hourly rate?”

 

637.
Why is my life so hard?
My old father had paid for Gu Yiliang to come eat and drink!
And now, it was my responsibility to take care of him while he was drunk!
Why! Why! (NT: in English in the original)
I questioned heaven and earth, and in my despair, I even felt like believing in fate!
I gritted my teeth and in one motion laid Gu Yiliang across my lap, saying to the driver: “Now’s the time! Start the car! If he vomits, I’ll handle everything! If it spills, I’ll pay for cleaning!”
The driver, very cooperative, pressed the accelerator and drove the car out of the garage.

 

638.
Once the car was finally moving steadily, I worried that Gu Yiliang might feel too ill, so I placed my hand on his forehead, massaging his temples gently, thinking that if he dared to vomit on me, I’d deliver a deadly blow to the base of his skull, without mercy!
But, surprisingly, Gu Yiliang remained remarkably calm. He rested his head on my lap, eyes closed, and lifted his hand to place it on mine.
I laid my hand on top of his.
He placed his other hand over it.
I lifted my hand from underneath and put it on top.
He did the same, moving the bottom hand to rest on mine.
Me: “?”
He was this drunk and still refused to admit defeat?
I refused to give in, continuing the back-and-forth, and he responded with the same determination. Our hands intertwined in an endless dance.
The palms slapped together faster and faster.

 

639.
“Hum,” said the driver without even glancing in the rearview mirror, “Hey, you kids should control yourselves a bit… in my car…”
Me: “…”
Me: “Driver, you’re mistaken. I’m just slapping him, he’s drunk.”
Driver: “…”
Driver: “Ah, these youngsters, always a bit crazy, but quite creative.”
Me: “…”

 

640.
I was exhausted. Really, I felt like I’d aged forty years in one go.
If Gu Yiliang could age at the same pace as me, then we could immediately achieve the impossible goal of growing old together until our hair turned white.
I prayed to the stars and the moon, and finally, we arrived at our destination.
I dragged him, half carrying him; he fell to the ground and removed his mask before vomiting loudly.
Okay, he didn’t vomit on me, so I escaped death.
I patted his back and gave him a bottle of water to rinse his mouth.
“Drinking this much isn’t good for your health,” muttered the driver, stopping to look at his profile. “Hey, isn’t that him? My daughter loves him, she constantly looks at his Weibo, giggling to herself. I have to beg her to come eat. He’s dating—what’s his name, ah yes…”
The driver looked at me with a sly smile.
I had a bad feeling.

 

641.
The driver suddenly turned and pulled a few colour-printed posters from the trunk.
He said: “These are posters my daughter left in the car. I kept them. Hey, I’m not very close with her, but…”
I glanced at the poster in his hand, and from the overall colours, I immediately recognized which image it was. Before I even had time to speak, Gu Yiliang, swaying, clung to me, looked down at the poster, and exclaimed with sparkling eyes: “It’s the Dove Faction!”
I had no idea what he was talking about, but I saw him take the pen extended by the driver and enthusiastically scribble his name.
I looked down to see what he had signed… and froze in suffocating silence.
The driver retrieved the poster, glanced at it, then looked at me: “Uh… that looks like your name, doesn’t it?”

 

642.
Sugar!
Why does he, even drunk, continue to spread love unconsciously?!!!

 

643.
I fought the urge to run around the road, crossing the Punan ring road, and in a trembling but calm voice, replied: “He signed by mistake, I’ll sign it for him. Your daughter shouldn’t worry.”
He had no idea that today, I might later see this poster on a forum.
The driver nodded: “Alright, she probably won’t notice.”
You really don’t know your daughter.
I supported Gu Yiliang with one hand and signed the poster with the other, adding: “Hum, tonight was just a dinner among the team…”
The driver waved his hand: “I know, I know. There are many celebrities around here, I’ve transported a few already. I won’t tell anyone.”
He held up the poster and added with a smile: “Thank you. Let’s say it was a good deed on your part.”
I nodded, waved goodbye, and dragged Gu Yiliang into the hotel.

 

Translator : DarNan