Song Shihan only slept a few hours before he woke up again. At 9 pm that evening, he was back in front of his computer, planning on checking the schedule for the preliminaries when he remembered that he’d turned his phone off.
The previous hot topics no longer had as high ranks, instead they’ve been replaced by new ones.
【#WildfirePINK’scircle】
【#Verywellbehaved】
【#PINKfanatic_solidevidence】
Song Shihan leaned back against his chair, his eyebrows lifting slightly at the last topic. When he opened the post, the first thing he saw was Zuo Tao’s post from twenty minutes ago —
【Wildfire-PINK: Nonsense, my gege is the best in the world, not like you said at all. I’m not running! I’m lucky enough to become his support, so you’re just jealous. You’re an idiot… idiot! //Forwarded: Don’t make me laugh. First of all, I’m not some spamming anti. FIRE is just a fool…】
The comments were already bursting, the hottest one being from the user who had posted the comment that Zuo Tao replied to. His comment was concise — “another fanatic?”
The number of likes for this comment even far exceeded that of the main post itself.
All the other comments were laughter.
【I can’t. What’s going on? PINK’s acting like a braindead fan.】
【The look in your eyes when you look at someone you admire isn’t something you can hide. I realized PINK might be a fan of FIRE during the livestream, and my suspicions have now been confirmed!】
【See, Fenbao1粉 (fen), pink 寶(bao), treasure’s looks are not worth it.】
【Isn’t a good gege coming out to explain what’s going on? The online community is confused.】
【To be honest, PINK looks really young. I can get why he talks like this /covers_face_and_laughs.jpg】
【I think he just graduated from high school? He’s at most eighteen. I think we can dig through Master Su’s account for confirmation.】
【Ah, at such a young age, he shouldn’t be cursing, especially as a public figure.】
【OP, listen. You can buy an overnight flight to Sichuan and take a taxi to Leshan City. There’s a big statue of Buddha there. Take him and make him meditate.】
【HAHAHAHAHAHA I’ve been laughing every day since I became a fan of PINK!】
Song Shihan took a few seconds to understand what was going on. Someone had criticized him and even tagged Zuo Tao at the end of the post. Unable to bear it, the kid responded on his official account.
It was just… Reading Zuo Tao’s post again, he had the feeling that something wasn’t quite right.
Song Shihan glanced at the time. A couple of hours had passed since they’d gone out to eat, but none of them had returned yet.
He left Weibo, planning to call Zuo Tao, but he saw several unread messages on WeChat.
The first thing he saw was Wang Qiu’s message with a video attachment. He clicked to play.
Three minutes later.
Song Shihan: …
He pressed his fingers against his forehead. In the video, the boy’s usually dark eyes were covered by a drunken haze. He was frowning, but he answered all questions seriously with an upright posture. At the end of the questioning, he must have heard the questioner’s teasing and became enraged due to embarrassment.
Not just buzzed, then. Drunk.
Looking at the bottles of beer and wine caught on video, a few veins ticked on Song Shihan’s forehead. He felt helpless; still, he grabbed his coat and left while calling CAT.
—
Compared to others who might cry or fuss after getting drunk, Zuo Tao was indeed quite well-behaved. After answering Wang Qiu, he soon fell quiet. He didn’t look drunk at all if not for the hazy look in his eyes.
“Xiao Tao’s tolerance is good,” Si Zheng noted, remembering how Zuo Tao took shot after shot against them. His heart was still beating quite hard because of it. “He’s drunk but he’s just being quiet.”
As he spoke, he yawned, covering his face and starting to regret letting Zuo Tao drink.
As if summoned, Zuo Tao blinked, taking the last bottle of beer on the table. He reached towards Si Zheng and asked, “Drink, Zheng-ge?”
Si Zheng: “…no, stop, you’re amazing.”
Wang Qiu was even worse off than either of them. Watching them from a few seats away, he chuckled and said, “You’re really good, peach, come… ge, ge will drink with you.”
“It’s time to go,” CAT interrupted, looking down at her phone. She stood up and confiscated the bottle in Zuo Tao’s hand, and then looked at Wang Qiu and said, “Calm down.”
Wang Qiu howled, sobbing and yelling: “God CAT is being so fierce!” He leaned towards Zuo Tao and said, “Peach, she’s so mean.”
CAT took a few deep breaths to calm her rising anger.
A waiter opened the door to their private area, carrying a kraft bag and walking to Zuo Tao. After saying something softly, the waiter soon left.
Wang Qiu had stopped his noises when he saw the waiter walk in, and this time he was calmer as he asked, “Did you not eat enough?”
“No, but the captain hasn’t eaten. I got takeout for him.”
Zuo Tao stood up, unsteady on his feet. He was barely able to walk straight but thankfully didn’t stumble. “He must be hungry,” he said.
“Do you want me to hold it for you?” CAT asked, walking towards Zuo Tao and holding his arm as they walked out.
Zuo Tao shook his head. “No need. I can hold it. Thank you.” Even though he was a little drunk, he had already taken to heart the settings he had made for himself earlier that evening. If he didn’t have to talk, he wouldn’t talk, and he wouldn’t make a fuss, either. Just stick to being ‘well-behaved’ until the end.
He had already engraved these words to his very DNA. As they walked out of the restaurant doors, Zuo Tao struggled to fight the dizziness while attempting to walk a straight line. He felt like a toddler just barely learning to walk.
He was amused, so he burst out laughing. When he looked back and saw that neither Wang Qiu nor Si Zheng were any better, he even felt a little proud of himself.
No one in the team looks more good and obedient than me, he thought.
After that, another evil thought followed: But who would expect that beneath my skin of good behavior hides a tyrant?
The weather in the city has been unpredictable lately. The sun was shining brightly during the day, but by evening it was cloudy once more. The breeze contained a hint of moisture, and the sky was so dark there wasn’t a single star visible.
It might rain soon. The leaves of the camphor trees lining the road rustled.
Wang Qiu took his phone out to call a taxi, but instead he turned around, using the wall as support to go back into the restaurant.
“Where are you going?” Si Zheng asked him from behind.
Wang Qiu: “I forgot to pay the bill.”
He bumped into another person as he was walking. Wang Qiu was stunned, saying, “Captain?”
He could see Song Shihan with a head of ruffled, dark hair. Seeing him, Song Shihan pulled down the mask he was wearing and said, “I’ve already paid.” The light illuminated half of his face, making the edges of his features seem sharper. His lips were pursed.
Wang Qiu was still unable to understand. “What are you doing here?”
Song Shihan didn’t respond immediately, walking past Wang Qiu towards the other three members of the team. His gaze fell on Zuo Tao, who was squatting on the curb. He hummed and said, “Came to pick up my solo fan.”
Wang Qiu was speechless.
Zuo Tao wasn’t paying attention to what was happening around him. His heart was pounding and his head was dizzy from the alcohol. There were also occasional bouts of nausea, and what remained of his rational thoughts seemed to get blown away by the wind.
He sat on the ground, covering his face with both hands, looking at the silver sports car parked across the street. It looked familiar. He was trying to figure out where he had seen it before when footsteps approached him from behind, a cold voice calling out —
“Zuo Tao.”
Zuo Tao’s eyelids were heavy, not really wanting to talk at the moment. He sat quietly, head in his hands and pretending he didn’t hear anyone calling for him. He was still trying to remember where he had seen the car.
“Zuo Tao?” Song Shihan repeated, eyebrows furrowing as he glanced at the people behind him. “How much did he drink?”
“Not much, I was watching him,” CAT said, “but he mixed baijiu with beer.” She frowned. While they were drinking, Zuo Tao was still acting like he usually did. “Maybe it’s because he mixed his drinks?”
“Ah, I remember now,” Zuo Tao piped up, interrupting their conversation. He propped himself up from the ground in an attempt to stand up, pointing at the car in front. “That’s gege’s car, right?”
No one could think of anything to say. The owner is right in front of you and that’s all you have to say?
Wang Qiu couldn’t even look at him anymore. He turned and laughed against Si Zheng.
An expression of helplessness painted Song Shihan’s face. He took half a step forward and wrapped an arm around Zuo Tao’s waist, stabilizing him and leading him towards the car. Taking out the key, he unlocked the doors and pushed the boy into the passenger seat.
Zuo Tao was bathed in that familiar, refreshing scent, but he still couldn’t think clearly. He grabbed Song Shihan’s shirt and, confused, asked, “Wait, why do you have gege’s car keys?”
Song Shihan pressed a hand against his forehead, lowering his eyes to look at where Zuo Tao was holding the corner of his shirt. He paused for a moment before saying, “I borrowed it.”
Everyone else was rendered speechless.
Zuo Tao, however, did not doubt him. He carefully held the bag of food from the restaurant in his lap and said, “Oh, you borrowed it. But why did gege lend it to you?”
Song Shihan did not respond, pulling away and closing the door before going around to the driver’s seat, leaving the other three to squeeze into the backseat.
Everyone had already settled in but Zuo Tao still hasn’t successfully put his seatbelt on. He became gradually more and more irritable, muttering something unintelligible under his breath. Song Shihan couldn’t bear the sight any longer and leaned to the side, taking the belt from Zuo Tao’s hand and locking it himself.
This satisfied Zuo Tao. He patted Song Shihan’s head and said, “Thank you.”
The atmosphere became tense.
Song Shihan’s hand paused, the veins on the back bulging slightly.
Si Zheng attempted to smooth it out from the backseat, saying, “Captain… don’t argue with a drunk.”
“Drunk?” Zuo Tao’s eyes squinted as he leaned back against his chair, struggling to speak clearly. “Are you talking about me? I’m not drunk.” Are you joking? If Qingdao doesn’t fall I won’t fall; if snowflakes won’t float, I won’t float2This is a poem(?) about being able to drink a lot, which includes different brands of bear (Qingdao and Xuehua/snowflake). That’s the kind of person I am.
“Captain, just think of him as a solo fan,” Wang Qiu added weakly.
Song Shihan didn’t respond. After fastening his own seatbelt, he stepped on the gas and drove back to the base, accompanied by the roar of the car.
Halfway through, it finally began to rain. It was a fine mist at first, but the raindrops soon grew bigger and bigger. Soon, the entire city was drenched in the rain. Perhaps the sudden rain dispelled a bit of his drunkenness, but Zuo Tao opened the window to a slight gap. The cold wind from outside relieved his dizziness, making him feel a lot more comfortable. At least his nausea was gone.
After a while, the car finally stopped on the smooth road. Zuo Tao stared at the constant movements of the windshield wipers in front of him, through which he could see the vague silhouette of a building. It took him a while to recognize that he had returned to the base.
It was just…
Zuo Tao rolled the window down completely, watching the rain fall hard. He looked at the puddles on the ground, feeling distressed.
Song Shihan unlocked his seatbelt and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“It’s raining,” Zuo Tao said, kicking his feet. He had always had strict standards from himself. As an obedient, well-behaved, good boy, his appearance was important, so he couldn’t get out of the car. “My shoes are white. I can’t get out of the car.”
The other three immediately recognized that something was about to go down and immediately escaped, fleeing towards the base. They all swore that they would never let Zuo Tao drink again.
Song Shihan had found himself massaging his forehead countless times today. He opened the weather forecast on his phone and attempted to reason with the drunk in his car. “Zuo Tao, do you know when the rain will stop?”
Zuo Tao leaned closer, looking at the phone and trying to determine what was written. “Eight o’clock?”
“En, tomorrow morning at eight o’clock,” Song Shihan confirmed. “Do you plan on staying in the car until then?”
Zuo Tao nodded without hesitation. “En, I’ll stay here.”
Song Shihan was speechless. After a while, he shut off the engine and said nothing more, getting out of the car instead.
With a bang, the car door closed, and the light above his head went out. The space inside the car was soon bathed in darkness. With the loss of sight, Zuo Tao’s hearing sharpened; he heard the sound of footsteps fading into the distance before it was completely drowned out by the sound of the rain.
He pouted, thinking, stingy. He thought that the other would at least keep him company for a while, not that they would leave without so much as a by-your-leave.
It was boring being alone.
He stared at the paper bag still in his lap, realizing that he wasn’t able to at least send it inside with one of them to Song Shihan, and it was now getting cold. Biting his lip, he looked at his white shoes and muttered, “Nevermind, I’m just gonna go…”
He was interrupted by the sound of footsteps making its way through the rain. The door on his side of the car opened.
Zuo Tao, taken aback, looked up, but his sight was covered by a jacket, still warm from whoever was wearing it. It fell on his torso and, along with the cold wind from the sudden storm, he breathed in the faint scent of sandalwood mixed with citrus.
Whatever consciousness had flown from his head suddenly came online, and he realized that something about this situation just wasn’t right.
Song Shihan leaned over and easily lifted Zuo Tao from the car. The rain continued to pitter-patter against the ground under the light from the car. With furrowed eyebrows, Song Shihan closed the car door with a click, saying, “Troublemaker.”
His voice was filled with impatience, but also a hint of helplessness.
Zuo Tao had nothing to say.
His three spirits and seven souls3His entire being, basically that had run off due to drunkenness finally came back. He looked up, trembling, and through his gradually clearing sight he saw a sharp, smooth jaw; a little higher — a calm, cold face that reminded him of early winter snow.
Feeling the strong heartbeat through the warm chest against his shoulder, Zuo Tao couldn’t help but shudder. How he wished it was all just a hallucination.
But reality was cruel; his mind replayed the scene of him walking out of the restaurant, and his breath began to quicken.
So, even from back then, he had been talking to…
Oh god,
Am I this stupid?
Song Shihan’s white shirt was quickly soaked by the rain as he had given his jacket to Zuo Tao. Not hearing any noise from him for a while, he walked quicker, glancing down at the boy in his arms. His gaze quickly changed from curiosity to realization. “Recognize who I am now?”
Zuo Tao: “I…” Still dizzy, his lips trembled as he called, “Captain…”
Song Shihan responded with, “En.”
Even though there were barely a hundred steps between where he parked and the base, they were still almost completely soaked by the time they arrived indoors. Zuo Tao was fine; he was at least covered by Song Shihan’s jacket, and Song Shihan had shielded him as much as he could from the rain.
Song Shihan, though, was a different story. His shirt was transparent from the rain, sticking to his skin uncomfortably. Zuo Tao struggled to get down from his hold, repeating, “I’m so sorry, I’m sorry.”
Song Shihan didn’t immediately let him go, tilting his head to look down at him for a moment. Although there weren’t any fluctuations in his expression, his words had a hint of mockery: “Not afraid of getting your white shoes wet anymore?”
To be honest, Zuo Tao just wanted to die. His heart was racing, either from the alcohol or something else; his face was flushed and his ears were ringing, and he said, “No… not anymore.”
Song Shihan finally let him stand on his own.
Zuo Tao used the wall as support to stand as firmly as he could, his legs still weak. He shivered and finally sobered up completely.
He followed behind Song Shihan silently, thinking that there was no other time in his eighteen years of life that he had ever been in such dire straits.
Even at 10 in the evening, the base was still brightly lit.
Jiang Ming sat expressionlessly on the sofa in the first floor lobby, watching the two people approach from the entrance. “Stop,” he called.
Zuo Tao turned towards the sound, finding Wang Qiu, Si Zheng, and CAT standing in a neat line next to Jiang Ming, as if awaiting instructions. Wang Qiu winked at Zuo Tao, who was unsure what he was trying to express.
“Did you drink?”
Jiang Ming looked at Zuo Tao, about to say something else when he noticed his flushed face. His eyebrows furrowed and he yelled, “Just how much did you drink for your face to be this red?!!”
The rest of the team found this just as strange. It obviously wasn’t as bad while they were still drinking, and he looked fine even when they left the car. The redness now did look a little outrageous.
“Goodness, just how much did you give the kid?” Jiang Ming stood from the sofa, feeling his sanity leaving him little by little. He pointed at Wang Qiu and said, “Hurry up and get some sobering meds!”
After speaking, he walked to Zuo Tao, still frowning, asking, “Are you okay? Do you want to vomit?” Without waiting for a response, he took his phone out and said, “Nevermind, I’ll just call the doctor.”
“No need,” Zuo Tao said, hiccuping. He was still wearing Song Shihan’s jacket. “Coach, I’m okay…”
Jiang Ming: “Idiot, you can’t even talk properly.” He looked at the members of his team, each one more soaked than the other, and said, “Just what are you all supposed to be?” He felt his anger rising. “The preliminaries are about to start, and instead of staying at the base like good kids you’re all running around, drinking and getting rained on. Are you trying to rebel?”
Jiang Ming very rarely got angry, but when he did, all everyone could do was lower their heads and listen obediently.
“You think you’re all good enough to just drift by, huh? Do you not know what people are saying about us, just how many people are waiting to see us make jokes of ourselves?
“Are you all still grade schoolers?”
“No…” Zuo Tao said softly, swaying where he stood.
Jiang Ming looked at him. “No?”
Zuo Tao continued, “The captain is not a grade schooler.” His attempt to justify Song Shihan was affected by his inebriation, but he still seriously said, “Coach, he was just there to pick us up and bring us back.”
Jiang Ming laughed angrily, rubbing his forehead. There was still the matter of the recent developments on Weibo, his eyes darkening as he said, “Zuo Tao, I haven’t even finished accounting for your issue yet.
“Look at you, you were so earnest, but you’re learning to drink from them? You’re still young and have no idea how dangerous drinking could be. Alcohol is like poison that penetrates the intestines. Do you even remember what you did while you were drunk?”
Jiang Ming brought his phone out, opening Weibo and continuing: “Do you still remember what you posted?! This is what happens when you get drunk. Do you even understand what consequences professional players receive when they post such things?”
He felt that now was the perfect and necessary time to teach Zuo Tao about the rules of the league, but he was interrupted by Song Shihan, who had yet to speak this entire time: “Alright, Jiang-ge, let them clean up first.”
Jiang Ming paused, giving Song Shihan a look. After a moment, he grabbed a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, walking towards the kitchen and muttering, “I’ll cook ginger soup for you all. Take a shower and come right back downstairs!”
“Okay,” Song Shihan said, lowering his head and moving his wrist. “The rest of you, go.”
He moved towards the stairs, but someone caught the hem of his shirt from behind, stopping him. He heard his drunk little support’s soft voice —
“Captain, my post, it wasn’t just drunken nonsense.”
Song Shihan raised an eyebrow, glancing behind to prompt him to continue.
Zuo Tao hesitated, pursing his lips as he explained, “Those were my real thoughts, it was just stupid that it came out after I drank.
“I’m serious.
“I like being your support. I don’t want to run.”
Apologies for the lack of update yesterday! I didn’t realize I hadn’t scheduled the next few chapters. I hope you enjoyed~
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