Chapter 111: Going home
No matter how Su Can had imagined this dinner celebrating the completion of Tang Wu's new home, what her new home would look like, or what her bedroom would be like-
Just like Fairy Zixia's classic line in the 1995 film A Chinese Odyssey, he had guessed how things would unfold, but not how they would end.
Once the alcohol he had drunk began to hit him, Su Can could no longer hold out. Like a puppet whose strings had been cut, he collapsed onto the dining table. Eventually, someone helped him onto the sofa. He could hear the television and, faintly, Mu Kaizhu's voice as she nudged him. "Su Can, Su Can, get some rest, then. We're leaving."
Night had deepened, and the dinner party had dispersed.
In Tang Wu's parents' bedroom on the second floor of the duplex, her father cursed in exasperation. "Who does Zhao Zhongda think he is? Since when did he get to stand there telling Su Can who to drink with? And why should Su Can have to drink with Li Yan just because Li Yan says so? I'm still the host of this house, at least. Since when did we get our roles reversed, with Li Yan calling the shots?"
In the spacious bedroom, Mu Xuan bent down, opened the wardrobe, and took out a dark gold silk robe. She handed it to Tang's father, who was seething beside the bed, and glanced at him. "You're not getting this worked up because Su Can drank so heartily with Li Yan but hardly drank with you, are you?"
"Of course not, of course not." Tang's father looked momentarily taken aback, then gave a dry laugh.
Mu Xuan could not be bothered to look at his expression.
After Su Can drunkenly