Drunken Night

At 8:10 that evening, Zhao Danshi was still working overtime.

When he had first joined the company, the contract HR gave him stated nine to five. Who knew that after he started, even nine to ten was nowhere near enough. Zhao Danshi blinked hard, his reddened eyes stinging, then reached up to knead the back of his neck. He planned to get up and pour himself a glass of water—just plain water. He had drunk too much coffee today, and his heart was already feeling uncomfortable. He did not dare drink any more.

His design plans had already been sent back for revisions five times. Every time, his supervisor said the consumable materials cost too much and told Zhao Danshi to cut them down, to shave another two hundred thousand off the budget. Zhao Danshi stubbornly refused.

Xiao Li, the planner at the neighboring desk, looked up from his work. "Danshi, you're not heading home anytime soon?"

Zhao Danshi gave a bitter smile and pointed at his computer. "How could I? The design draft got sent back again."

Xiao Li looked at him with sympathy. "Still because of the materials?"

Zhao Danshi nodded. The skin of his fair face was flushed at the corners of his eyes from staying up late and staring at the computer for too long, making him look particularly exhausted.

Xiao Li sympathized with him even more. Such a fine-looking man—why did he have to be a design dog?

Zhao Danshi did not get along with his supervisor. The man had always mocked him, saying Zhao Danshi was timid and fussy. Everyone in the industry did things this way, yet Zhao Danshi was the only one always overthinking things.

Today was the same. The two sides were locked in a standoff, and Zhao Danshi had been kept at the office, unable to go home.

He had already decided to resign. There was no way he could reduce the materials any further. Cutting them again might create safety hazards. If an accident happened, he, as the designer, would be held accountable—and might even go to prison.

After deductions for social insurance and housing fund contributions, his monthly salary was barely six thousand. That little money was not enough to buy the rest of his life.

He rubbed his head irritably, planning to go home once his supervisor left work. At worst, he would keep dragging it out and see who could outlast whom.

Xiao Li quickly saved his planning document. "Then I'll get going first. You should head back early too. Don't stay up too late."

Zhao Danshi gave him a bitter smile and waved. How late he worked depended on their supervisor, not him.

He worked until eleven that night before his supervisor finally left. Zhao Danshi shut down his computer right afterward, picked up the relevant documents, and rode a shared bike downstairs to go home.

He had originally wanted to buy an electric scooter, but he already got so little exercise in a day. If he did not move around at all, sooner or later he would turn into a deadweight shut-in.

His rental was some distance from the company. It was already past midnight when he got home, and nearly one by the time he washed up and climbed into bed. Not long after Zhao Danshi fell asleep, the phone beside his pillow suddenly rang.

The ringtone blared through the darkness like a thunderclap exploding out of a calm afternoon. Zhao Danshi shot his eyes open and sprang upright, taking several seconds to react before reaching for the phone.

The caller ID showed only two simple characters—Li Ping.

Zhao Danshi's heart pounded noticeably. At the sight of those two characters, every bit of negative emotion from being woken up in the middle of the night vanished without a trace!

His eyes lit up, and his muddled mind became completely clear.

Holding the phone, Zhao Danshi hurriedly swiped the icon to answer. His voice was hoarse from being startled awake, yet softened by a trace of gentleness. "Senior, what are you calling me for so late?"

But it was not Li Ping's warm, magnetic voice on the other end. A carefree young man spoke instead. "You're the phone owner's friend, right?"

"Huh?"

"Your friend got drunk at Sail Bar, the one behind the pedestrian street. Could you come pick him up? We're closing soon."

Zhao Danshi no longer cared about sleep. He flung aside the blanket and shoved his feet into his slippers as he replied repeatedly, "Yes, yes, I can. Please wait a moment. I'll be right there!"

Sail Bar was a little far from his rental. Zhao Danshi had occasionally gone there when he was a student, but rarely visited places like that after he started working. He slung his backpack over his shoulder, hung up, opened a ride-hailing app, and called a car straight to Sail Bar.

There had been a recent crackdown, and bars and similar venues had already been inspected several times. They had become much more respectable, inside and out.

Sail Bar's business had been affected as well. At two in the morning, nearly all the customers had left. Only a few scattered servers remained, cleaning up. Under the fluorescent lights, the place looked cold and deserted, with none of the atmosphere of a nightlife venue.

The moment Zhao Danshi entered, he recognized that back. Li Ping seemed to be drunk, quietly sprawled over the bar counter.

Zhao Danshi hurried over, panting. The bartender's eyes brightened, and he spoke in a voice Zhao Danshi found familiar. "Hey, you're this guy's friend, right? He drank too much. Hurry and take him home!"

"Has the bill been paid?"

The bartender liked Zhao Danshi even more after hearing that. He grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth. "It's paid. This guy woke up for a bit and swiped his card."

Zhao Danshi nodded at him, his fair face flushing slightly as he struggled to help Li Ping up. "Thanks for the trouble. I'll take him home now."

Li Ping was half a head taller than Zhao Danshi and much more powerfully built. Zhao Danshi staggered under his weight and nearly fell.

The bartender quickly came over to help, supporting Li Ping's other arm as he walked beside Zhao Danshi toward the exit. "Drunk people are always heavier. I'll help you get him outside. Did you drive here?"

"Thank you." Zhao Danshi hurriedly said, "I don't have a car. I called one."

"That might be tricky. He's this drunk—I don't know whether the driver will be willing to take him." The bartender looked at Zhao Danshi with some admiration. "You two must be close. When I've called people before, a lot of them refused outright once they heard they had to pick up a drunk."

Zhao Danshi smiled bitterly without a word, then changed the subject. "How did you know to call me? Did he ask you to?"

Zhao Danshi had had a crush on Li Ping for a long time, but Li Ping was not particularly close to him. Back at school, they had kept in touch fairly often. After graduation, they exchanged little more than holiday greetings once a year.

The bartender answered casually, "Oh, I saw your call history. You were the most recent one, so I called you."

Zhao Danshi was speechless. That afternoon, when he had resolved to resign, he had called Li Ping. He did not know why he had suddenly been so impulsive as to make that call.

When he heard Li Ping's gentle but distant voice, all the courage Zhao Danshi had painstakingly gathered disappeared back into his chest. None of the speech he had prepared came out. After exchanging a few simple pleasantries, he had hung up.

Once they had left university behind, they were, in the end, merely former classmates who were not very close.

The car Zhao Danshi had called was waiting outside. He and the bartender struggled to get Li Ping into the car, and the driver glanced back at them.

Zhao Danshi immediately said, "My friend isn't that drunk. If he throws up, I'll pay your cleaning fee."

The driver immediately smiled and put both hands back on the steering wheel. "Where to?"

Zhao Danshi pulled down the seat belt and fastened it around Li Ping, waved goodbye to the bartender outside the car, and then gave the driver the address of a hotel.

He had secretly loved Li Ping for years, so naturally he knew where Li Ping lived. But it was not appropriate to show up at his home this late, especially when he was this drunk. Zhao Danshi needed to stay and take care of him, in case something happened, like him choking on his own vomit.

The room was booked using Zhao Danshi's ID. Li Ping seemed a little more awake now, leaning partly against Zhao Danshi as he stood there. He did not say a word throughout, his eyelashes lowered halfway, but he did not show any resistance either.

Half supporting him, Zhao Danshi laboriously led him into the elevator, found their reserved room, opened the door with the key card, and then with great difficulty moved him onto the bed. He took off Li Ping's shoes and socks and settled him in.

Li Ping was very handsome, handsome in a distinctly masculine way. He had low body fat, sharply defined features, and a tall, imposing build. Even drunk like this, none of it diminished his bearing.

Zhao Danshi sat by the bed, staring blankly for a long while, his heart a complicated mess.

He was about to resign. A friend he got along with fairly well had invited him to H City, where there was a decent position available. He was tempted by it too. But if he went there, he would have even fewer chances to cross paths with Li Ping. They might never have another opportunity to meet.

Zhao Danshi had never thought about becoming Li Ping's boyfriend. But Li Ping was someone he had secretly loved for so long. If he just left like this, he could not help feeling unwilling.

After sitting in a daze for a long time, Zhao Danshi came back to himself and saw Li Ping reaching up to tug at his shirt. Sweat beaded on his forehead as well, and he was probably uncomfortable. Zhao Danshi hesitated, unsure whether he should get a towel, wring it out, and wipe Li Ping's face.

Just as his butt had barely left the mattress, a sweaty hand seized his arm. The hand was burning hot, almost hot enough to sear through his skin.

Zhao Danshi instinctively struggled, but the grip only tightened. It clamped around him like an iron band, hard enough to hurt. He looked up and met a pair of black eyes beneath the light. They seemed completely lucid, yet also entirely unfocused.

Those eyes drew closer and closer. Zhao Danshi felt as though he were being pulled into them. Instinctively, he thought, It's over. I don't have the strength to resist at all. He could only watch as those eyes slowly moved toward him.

He was single, and Li Ping was single. It was not a big deal.

A scorching breath approached, carrying a kiss faintly scented with alcohol. Li Ping's distinctly masculine scent washed over him.

At the last moment, Zhao Danshi struggled once and asked, "Senior, I'm Zhao Danshi. Do you still remember me?"

Li Ping paused, then continued.

Zhao Danshi did not know whether Li Ping had recognized him. He nervously clutched Li Ping's clothes and thought, At least Li Ping isn't completely drunk. Someone who's too drunk wouldn't be in the mood for sex.

There were contraceptives by the bed, and everything followed naturally. He did not know whether he had fallen asleep or passed out. When he woke again, it was not yet five in the morning. Everything hurt, especially his ass. It felt bizarre, as if someone had punctured it.

He opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling in the darkness. The person beside him breathed softly, the sound particularly clear in the predawn hours.

Fuck! The man I'd worshipped for years! I actually slept with him just like that!

Zhao Danshi could not begin to describe how he felt. After a long while, he endured the discomfort and quietly got up, pressing his lips together as he climbed out of bed to look for his clothes. Things had been too intense last night, and his clothes were scattered all over the floor. He nearly tripped over his own underwear when he got down.

Zhao Danshi slowly and gently put on his clothes, unable to stop himself from sighing. He did not turn on the lights. By the glow of the streetlamps, he quietly opened the door and slipped away before dawn.

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