Chen Qingqing had been waiting for Xu Ye’s message all day.
But even late into the night, WeChat stayed silent. Past ten, Chen Qingqing finally couldn’t hold out any longer and typed, “Dumb pig, where are you?”
One minute, two minutes… five minutes passed, and Xu Ye still hadn’t replied.
Just as she was about to call him, Jiang Meilin called her instead. Chen Qingqing was a little puzzled — ordinarily her mother wouldn’t call this late.
She hesitated, then answered.
Jiang Meilin: “Qingqing, still up?”
Chen Qingqing: “About to sleep.”
Jiang Meilin: “Xiao Xu just called me.”
Hearing that, Chen Qingqing was even more baffled. This dumb pig. Not replying to me is bad enough — how did he end up calling my mom?
Jiang Meilin: “He’d meant to call you, but he was drunk, and somehow the call came through to me instead.”
Chen Qingqing honestly wanted to know what Xu Ye had said after drunk-dialing the wrong number, but she was too embarrassed to ask.
Jiang Meilin went on anyway. “He’s probably asleep by now. Don’t wait up for him — get to bed early.”
Chen Qingqing flustered at once, arguing against her own heart. “I wasn’t waiting for him!”
Jiang Meilin: “Then get some sleep. That’s all.”
The call ended. Jiang Meilin set the phone on her nightstand, grabbed two nightgowns, and walked into the bathroom, replaying Xu Ye’s words in her head. And somehow, unbidden, she thought of Chen Hansong.
If that bastard Chen Hansong had even half of Xiao Xu’s way with words, things back then wouldn’t have…
Knowing Xu Ye was drunk, Chen Qingqing didn’t call him either — she just went to sleep. Though she couldn’t shake the feeling that something had been missing from the day.
…
A night of drink caught up with him.
Waking from sleep the next morning, the first thing Xu Ye felt was a splitting headache. He pressed a hand to his head and waited a good while before the feeling gradually receded — though he was still lightheaded and generally out of sorts.
Li Tongwen and Zhang Xinzhou were both out of the dorm. Yang Fei was still in bed — he’d woken once in the early hours and was now catching a second round of sleep.
Xu Ye climbed down from the top bunk, got dressed, brushed his teeth, then took Zhang Xinzhou’s hot water card, went to the bathroom, and had a good, thorough hot shower.
Only after changing into clean clothes and blow-drying his hair did Xu Ye feel like he’d come back to life.
Zhang Xinzhou pushed the door open and, seeing Xu Ye already awake, laughed. “You’re up early. I figured you’d sleep till noon.”
Zhang Xinzhou had been to the cafeteria, and had brought back breakfast for both Xu Ye and Yang Fei.
Last night had been all dishes and drink, not a single bite of actual rice. Ravenous, Xu Ye took the baozi Zhang Xinzhou handed him and, wolfing it down, asked, “How did Yang Fei and I get back last night?”
“Li Tongwen and I carried you.” Zhang Xinzhou looked puzzled. “You don’t remember last night?”
“I just remember calling my girlfriend.”
“You dialed wrong. You called your mother-in-law.”
“Huh?” Xu Ye stared at Zhang Xinzhou, aghast.
Zhang Xinzhou laughed. “When the call connected, your opening line was that you love your girlfriend. Your mother-in-law asked if you’d dialed the wrong number, and you know what you said back?”
Xu Ye shook his head blankly.
“You said, ‘It’s fine, Auntie, I love you too.'”
Xu Ye’s eyes went wide. “I really said that?”
Zhang Xinzhou nodded firmly.
Xu Ye smacked his own forehead and sighed. “Damn it, no more drinking recklessly ever again. Wait — besides that, I didn’t say anything else, did I?”
“That was it.”
“That’s a whole reversal of the natural order right there.”
Xu Ye pressed, “You didn’t jump in to explain for me?”
“I did. I said you were drunk.”
“Okay, good.”
Xu Ye clamped the baozi in his mouth, got up, dug his phone out of his down jacket pocket, and lit the screen. Several unread WeChat messages, all from Chen Qingqing.
Xu Ye typed quickly: “So, uh… I had too much to drink last night.”
Xu Ye: “Forgot to send you a goodnight.”
Chen Qingqing replied instantly: “I know.”
Xu Ye: “How do you know?”
Chen Qingqing: “My mom told me.”
Chen Qingqing: “You’re really something. Don’t reply to me, but you’ll call my mom.”
Chen Qingqing: “What did you say to my mom?”
Xu Ye: “That was a wrong number.”
Xu Ye: “I don’t even know — I don’t remember anything about last night. Why don’t you go ask your mom?”
Chen Qingqing: “I am not asking.”
Xu Ye: “We applied to the school for an office. Yesterday during the day we went out to buy equipment, set the office up in the afternoon and held a meeting while we were at it, and then went out for a group dinner in the evening.”
Xu Ye: “I wasn’t planning to drink, but that big idiot son of mine insisted on it. He got drunk after two bottles, and the owner wouldn’t take back the rest, so I didn’t want it to go to waste and drank it all, and then…”
Chen Qingqing: “Okay, I get it.”
Xu Ye: “You’re not mad, are you?”
Chen Qingqing: “No.”
Xu Ye: “Really not?”
Chen Qingqing: “Really not.”
Xu Ye: “Then… show me your legs?”
Chen Qingqing: “Get lost.”
Xu Ye immediately sent a “getting lost” sticker. Chen Qingqing, fighting back a smile, typed, “From now on, if you don’t message me before ten, I’m just going to sleep.”
Xu Ye: “Noted.”
Chen Qingqing: “Alright, I’m done talking to you. The rain’s stopped now, I’m going out for a walk with Ruowei and the others.”
Xu Ye: “Sure. Remember to miss me.”
Chen Qingqing saw that message and smiled. She’d meant to reply “I most certainly will not miss you” — but after a moment’s thought, she deleted the words.
Xu Ye had just finished chatting with Chen Qingqing when Qin Zhiwei sent a message too.
Qin Zhiwei: “How are you doing?”
Xu Ye: “Back among the living.”
Qin Zhiwei: “Introduce me to more girls next time.”
Xu Ye: “What’s that supposed to mean — Jiang Wei’s not good enough for you?”
Qin Zhiwei: “Are you dense? I like her plenty, but is she going to like me back? A person’s got to know himself.”
Qin Zhiwei: “I need someone who’s a match for me.”
Xu Ye: “That’s a pretty picky requirement.”
Xu Ye: “But love comes down to fate. When it arrives, cherish it. When it hasn’t arrived, just focus on making money.”
Qin Zhiwei: “Quit yammering, I’m bored. Recommend me a movie you’ve watched more than five times.”
Xu Ye: “Don’t have any I’ve watched more than five times. But I’ve got one I failed to finish five times — want that?”
Qin Zhiwei: “What movie can’t you finish five times?”
Xu Ye: “The kind where two or three people can act out the whole thing.”
Qin Zhiwei: “Go to hell.” [TL: Xu Ye is making a crude joke — a “movie” with a tiny cast that keeps getting interrupted before the end is a euphemism for adult films; Qin Zhiwei catches the innuendo immediately.]
(End of Chapter 140)