“Why are you so quiet? Did drinking make your brain short-circuit?”
Xu Xingchun remained silent. His coat collar was pulled up, nearly covering his nose tip. In the pitch-black night, his eyes looked somewhat misty.
He glanced down at Fu Xueli, and after a while, gently pulled her closer.
With their height difference, his entire body leaned against her from behind. The light was mostly blocked by Xu Xingchun’s shadowing figure. As she turned her head slightly, their breaths mingled, carrying the warm scent of alcohol. This simple gesture seemed to contain endless unspoken feelings.
Fu Xueli wanted to ask if he needed to rest in the car…
But before she could finish, Xu Xingchun lifted his arm. His fingers touched her chin, then gently covered her lips, stopping her from speaking further.
He mumbled, “Let me hold you a bit longer…”
As she quietly let him lean on her for a few minutes, Fu Xueli felt an inexplicable tenderness well up inside.
Ever since she’d known Xu Xingchun, he’d never been good with alcohol. Back in high school, during holidays, sports meets, and class gatherings, he would always disappear when things got lively.
But Fu Xueli was different. Once outside school, she loved trying exciting things and would join any crowd.
She remembered once at the skating rink, Li Jieyi from another class brought a friend who challenged Fu Xueli to a drinking game. The bet was that the loser would become the winner’s girlfriend.
She was crunching ice cubes in her mouth. It was too noisy to hear the bet clearly, but after sizing up the challenger, she casually agreed, “Sure, why not.”
After a few drinks, someone finally told her what the bet was about. Fu Xueli was shocked. Though she liked having fun, she rarely agreed to such things. She wanted to leave, but too many onlookers were watching and cheering, forcing her to continue drinking with the boy.
She could handle alcohol well and didn’t mind at first, but eventually started struggling. After that, her memory went blank and she passed out.
A few days later, Song Yifan told her that Xu Xingchun had finished the drinks for her. He was still wearing his white school uniform shirt with two buttons loosened when he grabbed several mixed bottles of alcohol and downed them.
Almost everyone knew this top student, and the crowd went wild.
Unlike others who turn red when drunk, Xu Xingchun became deathly pale. Sweat ran down his short sideburns, with cold sweat beading on his forehead and nose. After finishing, he collapsed just steps away, scaring Song Yifan and the others so much they almost took him to the hospital.
…
Coming back to the present, it was almost eleven. Fu Xueli checked her phone and looked at him in the dim light, asking, “Xu Xingchun, are you very tired?”
“Mm.”
“Did you drive here?”
“Colleague drove me.”
“Did he drink?”
“A little.”
“Drunk driving? What if traffic police stop you?”
In the darkness, his voice carried a hint of amusement, “No one will stop my car.”
“…”
Fu Xueli muttered, “Hmph, watch out for concerned citizen Miss Fu reporting your government agency for abuse of power and privilege.”
“What nonsense are you talking about now?” Xu Xingchun stood up, rubbing his temples, his eyes clearer than before.
“Um…” Her shoulders were sore from being pressed, so she took the chance to massage them. Looking at him, she hesitated, “Um…”
Looking like she had something to say but couldn’t.
“What is it?”
“Nothing.” After several false starts, Fu Xueli asked, “Do you want to see fireworks?”
Xu Xingchun couldn’t help laughing, “It’s probably too late for fireworks.”
She was puzzled by his laughter and tilted her head, “I’m serious, why are you laughing?”
Then, like magic.
She pulled out a lighter from somewhere.
Standing on the gravel path, Fu Xueli lit several sparklers in her hand, creating bursts of colorful sparks that shimmered in the dark night.
In the now-empty park, she waved them around casually, “Aren’t they pretty? I took these props from an advertisement shoot.”
After playing for a bit, she noticed Xu Xingchun standing two steps away, watching silently.
The sparklers quickly died out, and Fu Xueli felt embarrassed. She walked over, “You don’t like them, do you?”
“I do.”
“You’re lying.”
“You set off fireworks for my birthday before too, I remember.”
Fu Xueli felt shy. She looked around uncomfortably before slowly asking, “Haven’t you watched TV or checked Weibo these past few days…”
“Someone told me.” “Told you what?”
“Said he had his heart broken.”
“…” Fu Xueli was speechless.
That wasn’t what she wanted to ask about.
Were they completely on different wavelengths?
When Xu Xingchun leaned down, he was completely silent, “He was your fan.”
Fu Xueli hesitated and stepped back, “And then?”
“But you said on TV that you like me the most.” Unexpectedly, he kissed her fingertips, making her whole body tense up.
His voice was low and slightly hoarse from drinking. She suddenly found his words incredibly gentle.
So Fu Xueli blurted out, “Xu Xingchun, your voice sounds so nice, I want to kiss you.”
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