Chapter 24
YAN JUN’S FIRST THOUGHT when he awoke was, Oh no, I blacked out. “What happened last night?”
“Huh?” Zheng Weize glanced at Chen Hong, who was still fast asleep. “Nothing happened.”
Yan Jun’s head was buzzing. He hadn’t been that drunk in a long time. “I didn’t do anything weird, did I?” he asked, embarrassed.
“Nope,” Zheng Weize said quickly.
Chen Hong woke up and blearily said, “I’m going back to my room now.”
“I’m so sorry.” Yan Jun felt terrible. Had he ruined everyone’s New Year celebration?
“No, no. It’s really nothing!” Zheng Weize insisted. “Oh yeah! Is it time for Xiao-Qi’s milk?”
“I’ll do it. Thank you, Weize.” It looked like Zheng Weize and Chen Hong had taken care of him all night long. Yan Jun was touched.
“I didn’t do much, actually. I was…sleeping. But Yuwen came over a few times,” Zheng Weize said apprehensively. He wasn’t sure if he should be telling Yan Jun this, but Yan Jun just hummed an acknowledgment, his expression unchanged. “Chen Hong and I fell asleep, but it seems like Yuwen didn’t sleep all night.”
Yan Jun looked out the open door to Zhang Yuwen’s door, which was also open. It was quiet inside.
It was true: Zhang Yuwen had had a busy night.
He didn’t understand it. Why did Huo Sichen and Yan Jun start drinking together? And Huo Sichen even cried afterward… Of course, that might not have been related; Huo Sichen’s emotional release could have just been a consequence of his sake binge.
The whole night, Zhang Yuwen heard Chen Hong’s snores from the room opposite. Zheng Weize also seemed to sleep like the dead. So once he’d taken care of Huo Sichen, he went over to check on Yan Jun and, more importantly, Xiao-Qi—in case Yan Jun puked on her in the middle of the night or crushed her in his sleep. While Xiao-Qi no longer needed nighttime feeding, she was still prone to waking during the night.
As a motherless child, Xiao-Qi was very sensible, possessing calm and maturity far beyond her years. She understood that crying was futile when she woke up in the night, because her exhausted father usually wouldn’t stir. Her only options for entertaining herself in the dark were to keep her eyes open or crawl around. But that night, Zhang Yuwen came and sat down to hold her, lulling her back to sleep.
So Zhang Yuwen spent the night going back and forth between the two rooms, navigating around the unreliable Zheng Weize and Chen Hong, who were dead to the world. He only managed to drift off to sleep just before daybreak, and he hadn’t even slept three hours when Huo Sichen woke up.
Zhang Yuwen rolled over in Huo Sichen’s arms, and Huo Sichen hugged him from behind and watched him sleeping soundly, not daring to move or breathe. His heart pounded so hard it felt like the whole world was resonating with it. In his pajamas, Zhang Yuwen exuded the unique, clean vitality of youth. Hormones slowly diffused in the confines of the small room, acting like a peculiar boundary: This was another male’s territory. It was a domain that carried the dignity of its owner even as it granted Huo Sichen entrance and tacit permission to run wild within. It was different from a woman’s natural tenderness and unconditional inclusion and acceptance. This acceptance was conditional; the conditions made Huo Sichen tense and excited, and this stimulation transformed into a desire to explore deeper.
Zhang Yuwen stirred again. Huo Sichen, still half asleep himself, was pressed up against him. If this continued, Zhang Yuwen would probably wake up. Huo Sichen reeked of alcohol, and he knew he had to get going to clean himself up.
He got up, and before long, Zhang Yuwen woke. He held his blanket and sat up in a bleary daze.
“Didn’t sleep well last night?” Huo Sichen couldn’t remember what had happened at all. His last memory was of telling the waiter, “Bring me another bottle of this.”
Zhang Yuwen yawned. He wanted to punch someone. “What do you think?” he retorted.
With a toothbrush in his mouth, Huo Sichen stepped out of the bathroom and raised a dashing brow at Zhang Yuwen. He went back to rinse his mouth, then said, “I didn’t say anything strange last night, did I?”
Zhang Yuwen stared at him.
Now that he’d sobered up, Huo Sichen had reverted to his usual suave persona. “Hm?”
“No,” said Zhang Yuwen, equal parts amused and exasperated.
“Where’s Yan Jun?”
“He got drunk too. Why did you guys drink so much?”
Huo Sichen spread his hands. He didn’t know why either. “It just happened while we were talking. Maybe because we’re both youngest sons from big families? We have common ground.” Getting trashed was embarrassing, but it was usually also satisfying…though not for the person who had to play caretaker.
By ten o’clock, everyone was awake and in the common area, enjoying the breakfast the resort had provided. “Free time today?” said Zheng Weize. “We still have one more night.”
“No more drinking today,” Chang Jinxing said lightly.
As Huo Sichen observed them all, he noticed that Zhang Yuwen looked different. Everyone else was in high spirits, but Zhang Yuwen looked exhausted. It was the kind of exhaustion that made him look liable to flip the table and go berserk.
“Did you take care of me all night?” Huo Sichen whispered.
So you finally noticed, Zhang Yuwen thought. Out loud, he replied, “Nah. I fell asleep pretty quickly.” Huo Sichen was puzzled, but he nodded. Yan Jun grinned knowingly at Zhang Yuwen. “No more drinking tonight,” said Zhang Yuwen. “Because of you two, we missed the fireworks.”
“I’ll set off one for your eyes only.” Huo Sichen made a suggestive gesture like fireworks going off, and everyone laughed.
“Shall we go to the park later?” Chang Jinxing suggested. “I checked the travel guide last night. There are plenty of places we can go to have fun in the mountains.”
“Sure!” Zheng Weize was the most fun-loving of them all. Realizing belatedly that this might not be a good time to appear so enthusiastic, he cooled his expression and said, “Oh.”
After a simple breakfast, the group set out together, taking the resort’s shuttle bus to the park at the foot of the mountain. The sun was shining brightly on the first day of the new year, and with the rising temperature, the snow had melted. Green pines lined the roads on their way over.
Now that he’d had two cups of coffee, Zhang Yuwen finally felt like himself again.
“Deer!” Zheng Weize exclaimed in delight. “So many of them!” A herd of deer had appeared in the park. The place was packed with tourists, and numerous stalls set up at the side of the park sold crackers for the deer.
“Be careful,” Zhang Yuwen warned him. “Don’t underestimate these deer.”
Chang Jinxing went over with his camera to take photos, and Zheng Weize looked for deer to play with. The deer here weren’t skittish around people; when they saw visitors, they gathered to ask for food.
“Don’t let Xiao-Qi get too close,” Zhang Yuwen told Yan Jun.
“I know!” said Yan Jun. “I’ve been here before.” He held Xiao-Qi in his arms to let her look at the deer.
The group dispersed in the park. Huo Sichen bought some crackers for the deer and handed them to Zhang Yuwen, who chuckled and said, “The deer here are mischievous. Greedy, too.”
“They can be aggressive, especially the males,” Huo Sichen said. “Be careful not to provoke the males.”
Zhang Yuwen cautiously fed the crackers to a few fawns who had strayed from the herd. “I was attacked by one when I was little. It almost knocked me to the ground.”
Huo Sichen laughed, “I was also… Eh?” He trailed off, seeming to remember something. He looked at Zhang Yuwen, then the deer.
“What’s wrong?”
“I think…I made a friend in this park when I was very young,” Huo Sichen said.