Contractual Marriage: We’re Meant to Be Together

239. I Need More Drinks

Translator: Bryan

“I checked your class schedule. You have no class this afternoon. Do you think you can go out to have a drink with me?”

“Eh… You mean alcoholic drinks?”

“Yeah.”

“But I’m not in a fit state to drink right now.” Wei Qing had taken Yan Chuyang to see a doctor only days ago. Yan Chuyang had been using medication to treat his stomach. He was not supposed to have any alcoholic drinks until a full recovery.

“I know,” Song Huaiqi smiled. “I’m just a bit down and need someone to talk to. If you can’t drink, just sit beside me and watch.”

“Okay.” Yan Chuyang nodded vigorously. “If I don’t have to drink, I can keep you company for as long as you want. When do you want to go, Senior?”

“I’d like to go right away. Can you spare the time?”

“Yes.” Yan Chuyang turned to look at the table and said, “Give me a minute. I’ll pack up my stuff and then we’ll go together.”

“Okay.”

Yan Chuyang followed Song Huaiqi to a bar. As it was daytime, there weren’t many customers.

The bar was dim. The two of them sat down at the counter.

Having seated himself, Song Huaiqi asked for a glass of whiskey from the bartender. Before Yan Chuyang could say anything, Song Huaiqi drank the whiskey in one gulp.

“Uh…” Yan Chuyang frowned and cautioned anxiously, “Senior, that’s not how you drink. You need to slow down a bit.”

Song Huaiqi handed his empty glass to the bartender and said, “Please give me a stronger one.”

The bartender took the glass, expertly made a glass of yellowish liquor by mixing a variety of liquids of different colors and handed it to Song Huaiqi. “Margarita. It’s a bit strong. Go slow with it.”

“Okay.” Song Huaiqi took it, but before he could raise the glass to drink, Yan Chuyang pinned Song Huaiqi’s hand to the table. Yan Chuyang snatched the glass from Song Huaiqi’s hand and said, “Don’t drink it. You’re supposed to savor it. This kind of liquor can easily get you drunk if you drink it too quick.”

Song Huaiqi was momentarily in a daze. After a brief silence, he asked in a deep voice, “Chuyang, you and Wei Qing… have married?”

The look on Yan Chuyang’s face froze. After thinking for a few moments, he slowly said, “Yeah. Sort of. It’s even on the news. You’ve seen it, right?”

Song Huaiqi’s face hardened slightly. “Was it Wei Qing who wanted to tell the press about your relationship? Did he coerce you into it?”

“No.” Yan Chuyang hastily denied it and said, “It was me who disclosed it. The situation was complicated at that time. Wei Qing had never intended to disclose our relationship to anybody. The reporters were quite pushy and they asked many pointed questions. I don’t know why I acted impulsively, but it was me who disclosed our marriage.”

Song Huaiqi shook his head in disbelief. “You would never have done that if he hadn’t coerced you. You always keep a low profile, and your marriage is a private issue. Why else would you go public with it, if not under duress?”

Yan Chuyang sighed and lowered his eyes. Running his knees automatically with his hands, he replied, “Like I said, the situation was very complicated at that time. I didn’t have a choice, but it was indeed me who disclosed it. It’s not Wei Qing’s fault.”

Song Huaiqi sighed warily. Disinclined to argue with Yan Chuyang, he said in an effort to change the subject, “Do you have any plans?”

“Plans?”

“Well, you two have gone public with your marriage. I saw an article on the newspaper saying you two will soon hold a wedding?”

“Yeah…” Yan Chuyang lowered his head awkwardly. After a moment’s hesitation, he added, “Wei Qing did mention that to me. He said we would hold a wedding after he got everything settled, that…”

“Are you really going to entrust the rest of your life to him like that?” Song Huaiqi asked, interrupting him.

Yan Chuyang was stunned for two seconds before he nodded with absolute certainty. “Barring accidents, I will spend the rest of my life with him.”

“But he is a man, and so are you.”

“I know.”

“If you marry him, a lot of people will say harsh things about you.”

“I understand.”

“Do you like him?”

“Yes.”

“…”

Both of them lapsed into silence. Song Huaiqi’s face darkened as he said with a mirthless and self-deprecating smile, “I don’t know why I asked you about it again when I knew the answer already.”

Yan Chuyang compressed his lips together. “Senior, I know you see me as a friend, and you’re having this conversation with me because you’re looking out for my best interests.”

“Friend…” Song Huaiqi chuckled mirthlessly, mixed feelings flooding over him.

He had been watching over Yan Chuyang for so many years, and yet Yan Chuyang still regarded him as a friend.

How very pathetic.

Song Huaiqi drank his Margarita in one gulp, looked up at the bartender again and said, “Give me another one. I want something stronger than Margarita.”

Yan Chuyang anxiously grabbed Song Huaiqi’s shoulder, “You’ll fall ill if you keep drinking like this.”

“Don’t worry about me.” Song Huaiqi removed Yan Chuyang’s hand from his shoulder, exhaled deeply and said, “I’m not in a good mood right now. Just sit quietly and keep me company for a while, okay?”

Yan Chuyang frowned. Looking at Song Huaiqi’s serious face, he eventually lowered his hand and said resignedly, “Okay.”

After drinking another two or three glasses, Song Huaiqi got drunk.

He drank too quick and the alcohol easily got the better of him.

Having noticed that Song Huaiqi was drunk, Yan Chuyang snatched the glass of newly made liquor from his hand, put his arm around Song Huaiqi’s shoulders and said, “Senior, you’re drunk. Don’t drink any more. Let me take you back home.”

“No!” Song Huaiqi groggily shook his head and, eyes red, said, “I’m not drunk yet. I still feel upset. I need more drinks.”

Yan Chuyang felt a pang of heartache at those words. This was his first time seeing Song Huaiqi so dejected.

“Senior, let me get you back home, okay? If something’s bothering you, you can talk to me about it in your house.”

Yan Chuyang put Song Huaiqi’s arm around his shoulders, paid the bill and staggeringly helped Song Huaiqi out of the bar.

Song Huaiqi’s car was parked right outside. Yan Chuyang took his car key, opened the car door and went in.

Song Huaiqi was not in a fit state to drive, so Yan Chuyang had to do the driving.

After settling Song Huaiqi in the back seat, Yan Chuyang sat into the driver’s seat. He had been to Song Huaiqi’s house before so he knew where Song Huaiqi lived. Yan Chuyang put the address into the satnav, pressed down on the gas pedal and drove forward at a steady speed.

Half an hour later, they arrived at the mansion where Song Huaiqi lived.

“I want more drinks! Chuyang, I feel miserable. I need to drink more.”