"I love Sherry, but I don't want to hold her back. A man with nothing like me can't give her a good life, so I signed the agreement. Last month she told me she couldn't afford baby formula anymore. I sent her five hundred dollars a while ago, but that's nowhere near enough..."
Qin Wei listened quietly, looking straight into his eyes and nodding intermittently. He adjusted his microexpressions to match what Johnny said, sometimes clicking his tongue, sometimes frowning, sometimes drawing a sharp breath in surprise.
On the one hand, his acting really was excellent. On the other, Johnny's story genuinely was moving.
"I haven't really poured my heart out in all these years. Thank you." Taking the tissue Qin Wei offered, Johnny blew his nose hard.
Their similarly troubled fates bound the two men closely together. A man's facade was actually easy to break through: a little encouragement when he was struggling to hold on, a hug, or a simple pat on the shoulder could shatter those seemingly impenetrable psychological defenses.
"I still have some money here-"
"No, I can't take your money!"
Johnny pushed Qin Wei's hand back, getting a little coffee-colored foundation on his fingers, but he was too drunk to notice.
At Qin Wei's signal, an excessive amount of hard liquor had been mixed into Johnny's martini. On top of that, he had already drunk several beers.
Now Johnny was groggy and wanted nothing more than to find a mattress and sleep until noon tomorrow.
But how could Qin Wei let him fall asleep so easily? Now that their hearts were connected, they needed an ordeal together to cement this hard-won friendship.
It had to be said that Joker had a sharp eye for picking henchmen. Johnny was a typical bottom-rung Gotham resident teetering on