My Life with Narration

Two men, a case of wine, and a whole night of swearing about women.

Same old place, street stall, Su Qing and Wang Xing sit facing each other.

"Qing... Qingzi, if... if you can't drink... go sit with the dogs!" Wang Xing says, waving a beer bottle, his speech slightly slurred.

"What's the rush? I'm drinking, aren't I?" Su Qing responds impatiently, holding up his bottle.

To this, Wang Xing slams the table and shouts, "Bullshit, you've had one serving of spicy hot pot with my six beers, do you even count as human?"

Hearing this, Su Qing looks at the unfinished spicy hot pot in front of him, feeling a bit embarrassed. It's not that he can't drink; it's just that today Wang Xing is set on getting drunk, and someone has to get him home in the end.

"Drink, drink, drink, stop dawdling, looks like you're holding your liquor well today, come on!" Su Qing fills his glass to the brim, and then promptly spills it behind him.

It's not that he's sneaky, or that he can't handle his alcohol, it's just that he's about done. His drinking capacity is weak; he maxes out at four or five bottles. He's already down two, and any more tonight would leave them sleeping on the streets.

"Hic~~~~~" Wang Xing lets out a long hiccup, then slams his glass on the table, tears falling as he laughs, "Qingzi, you don't know, that day I felt like such a clown, shameful and pathetic."

"I really regret not listening to you. Why did I need to get an explanation? It's not like I'm her boyfriend."

"But speaking of which, I never expected her to use such venomous words against me, felt like a knife stabbing in my chest, it hurt!"

Watching Wang Xing talk, while pounding his chest, Su Qing couldn't help but sigh.

It turns out, after the two parted that day, his words made Wang Xing more curious, leaving him distracted all afternoon.

Come evening, he rushed to Gle Bar early, and sure enough, he saw Jiang Mengting, who was supposed to be studying at home.

Eyes on her revealing outfit, fishnet stockings, wild movements in the dance floor, a far cry from when he's met her.

The crucial part was seeing the woman who'd barely treated him with interest, the one he'd chased for years without even holding her hand, laughing and playing in the arms of a short, fat, greasy middle-aged man.

The initiative she showed, he'd never seen from her in all these years.

Back then, Wang Xing felt a rush of emotions: jealousy, confusion, anger, but he held back because he remembered Su Qinglin's advice to not approach and say hello.

What truly triggered him was post-midnight, when the greasy man took the already unconscious Jiang Mengting to a nearby hotel.

At that moment, without thinking, he dashed over, pushing the man aside, trying to take her away, unaware that Jiang Mengting wasn't drunk at all, it was all meticulously planned.

When the man asked who Wang Xing was, Jiang Mengting merely called him 'a friend' and told him to leave.

Wang Xing didn't agree, maybe too angry, demanding to know why she deceived him, even mentioning her afternoon plans.

But Jiang Mengting snapped first, accusing Wang Xing of following her, ultimately countering saying they're just friends, whatever he's done was his choice, she never forced him.

While soothing her new lover, she lashed out at Wang Xing with harsh words, bluntly calling him a loser, saying he had no car, no house, no savings, yet kept clinging to her, disgustingly.

In the end, she slapped Wang Xing, and then the two leisurely entered the hotel.

The mark of that slap long faded, but it shattered Wang Xing's four years of persistence, leaving him drained and deeply hurt.

Listening to Wang Xing's story, Su Qing couldn't help but shake his head helplessly. Perhaps each person is different, maybe the backlash from a love-struck fool's heartbreak is greater than for others.

"Does it still hurt?"

"It hurts!"

"If it hurts drink more, drink enough and it won't hurt!"

"Come on, you drink first this time, I'm watching you, don't think I didn't see you spill the drink before!"

Su Qing: ...

Under Wang Xing's watchful eye, the two drank their way through the night until the early hours past midnight.

"Ugh~~~ Ugh~~~~~"

"Whoosh~~~"

By now Su Qing is squatting by a tree along the roadside, retching three times in succession, not feeling well at all.

"Qing...zi, how are you doing, okay?" Beside him, Wang Xing pats his back asking.

In terms of drinking capacity, these two aren't in the same league, Wang Xing can drink circles around him.

The plan was to drink with him, but Su Qing's poor tolerance was astonishing, Wang Xing had tried to accommodate by drinking more, yet Su Qing couldn't handle even six bottles.

Listening to Wang Xing, Su Qing waves a hand without opening his eyes, signaling that he's had enough.

Seeing this, Wang Xing smiles for the first time tonight, saying, "Qingzi, with your tolerance you shouldn't embarrass yourself by coming out to drink anymore, let's go, don't leave tonight, sleep at my place."

Saying this, Wang Xing tries to help him up, but hearing this, Su Qing hurriedly shakes his head, "No... not going, I'm not going to your... doghouse, call me a cab, I... want to go home!"

He doesn't know what others are like when drunk, but even if he's down, his mind stays clear, ensuring he'd never act out, what's known as having good drinking manners.

"Go home? No way, not in your state, what home, just get through the night!" Wang Xing disagrees, uncomfortable with sending him home so late.

Since Su Qing saw the state of Wang Xing's place, he resolutely refused to go, eventually Wang Xing folded under his insistence, unable to coax him, not even suggesting a hotel. Noticing Su Qing a bit more lucid post-vomit, he reluctantly agreed.

So he went to the road to flag a car, but at this hour, plus this being the suburbs, taxis were scarce, eventually a black sedan stopped, and its window rolled down, revealing an exquisitely beautiful face, with eyes uncertainly on Su Qing.

Wang Xing sees this and freezes, taken aback by the woman's excessive beauty, not fitting the profile of a casual driver.

But at this time there was no other choice, so Wang Xing asked nervously, "Are you available, driver?"

"My friend drank a lot, if you can take him to South River Residential in the New City District, tell me how much, rest assured, he's done puking."

Upon hearing, the woman inside the car softly says, "Bring him closer, let me take a look."

In response, Wang Xing quickly pulls him over; the woman glances, chuckles, "Get in the car!"

"Great!" Seeing this, Wang Xing opens the front passenger door, wedging him in, saying "Qingzi, send me a message when you get home, heard me?"

Su Qing nods, indicating he's heard.

Then Wang Xing asks, "Driver, how much?"

"Eight hundred!"

"Eight hundred?" Wang Xing exclaims; although he was prepared for high costs during the late-night ride, this price felt off.

But the next moment, several bills flew out from the passenger seat, and the car roared away.

Staring at the cash in his hand, Wang Xing's brain paused, only reacting after a while:

"Hey? Is she an actual driver?"

...