CH 26

The atmosphere in the office stagnated.

Cheng Minghao bent down to take a bottle of water from under the table to drink, passing another bottle to Yan Xiao. “Brother Xiao, if it really doesn’t work, forget it.” 

Yan Xiao was silent for a while before repeating, “Forget it?”

Cheng Minghao wiped the water stains from the corner of his mouth.

“Brother Fei, he may just not like your type. You already got the certificate after seven years. In the end…” Cheng Minghao’s words trailed to a stop.

Yan Xiao’s eyes appeared to be cutting him alive with their coldness. 

“So what… Did I say something wrong?” Cheng Minghao laughed dryly as he squirmed away from Yan Xiao. “…if you can tell me your situation in detail, I’ll help you analyze it?”

“… What kind of people like to play?” Yan Xiao suddenly asked.

“Ah?” Cheng Minghao was stunned for a moment, then patted his chest happily, “People like me. In the daytime —I’m well dressed in the office and behave like a gentleman. At night — I flirt around at the bar and have my fun.”

Yan Xiao stood up, his eyes fixed on Cheng Minghao.

“What, what’s wrong?” Cheng Minghao was so frightened that he stuttered.

“Ye Fei said he likes people who can play.”

F*ck! Cheng Minghao rudely cursed in his heart. How could he foolishly step on Yan Xiao’s thunder? Time to wipe his ass! “I’m joking, just joking! Brother Fei didn’t even look at me once.”

He contemplated the situation before suggesting, “Why don’t you wait for me to take you to the bar and see for yourself?” 

Yan Xiao’s face was expressionless, and he did not react. He obviously disagreed with Cheng Minghao’s words.

“You can win a hundred battles by knowing yourself and your enemy,” Cheng Minghao felt like an old woman nagging, “Besides, you don’t have to stay for too long, just take a look.” He paused and decided to add fuel to the fire, “You don’t even know Brother Fei’s preferences, how do you plan to chase him?”

Yan Xiao slowly contemplated his words, before he agreed. In the next second, he immediately took out his mobile phone and reported to Ye Fei—

[Yan Xiao: Going to the bar tonight.] 

[Yan Xiao: Together with Cheng Minghao.]

When Ye Fei received these two messages, he had just stepped into Tianxi’s office. He did not understand what Yan Xiao meant. After processing his thoughts he chose to coldly ignore the message and did not reply.

“You still know how to come back?!” As soon as he put down his phone, Gu Ruijia’s angry roar came from the front. Ye Fei raised his eyebrows.

“With your eyes so focused on me, do you have other thoughts?” Gu Ruijia was so angry that his brain was deprived of oxygen, and he rushed over. 

“Yes! The other thought is to kill you!” Ye Fei easily blocked his hand and dragged him into his office.

“I have something important crop up.”

“You’d better explain yourself.” Gu Ruijia pushed him away angrily and straightened his collar. How could he not be nervous? The first project Tianxi had undertaken from start to finish was about to be tested by the audience. Tonight determined if it was a success. Originally, Ye Fei agreed to accompany him, but he then slipped away. Could Gu Ruijia not be angry?

Seeing him like this, Ye Fei knew that Gu Ruijia had not heard of Yan Xiao being smashed by a billboard. In any case, Yan Xiao had said that he had already contacted the media to retract the report. 

Gu Ruijia had a big mouth. Ye Fei was afraid that he would leak the incident when he found out, so he deliberately smiled frivolously at him and ribbed, “How come you sound like a wife who caught her man cheating.”

“F*ck you…” Gu Ruijia took the book from the table and was about to slam it when he heard Ye Fei say again, “Hey, the commentary is pretty good.”

<<Please Sober Up>> had a total of 26 episodes with each episode being about 45 minutes. It had an update schedule of two episodes a week. Non-Feixiao Video members could only watch two episodes, while members could watch six episodes first.

It was now past nine o’clock, and the second episode of the series had been broadcasted. 

When Ye Fei mentioned this, Gu Ruijia could not care about anything else, and hurriedly came over to take a look. He took a glance and was greatly disappointed. “There is no evaluation of its content at all, it’s all hahahaha.”

Ye Fei pushed away the laptop and smirked. “For a sand sculpture drama that can make people ‘hahaha’, that is the best evaluation.”

He was right, <<Please Sober Up>> was not one of those unnamed web dramas. Due to its cooperation with Feixiao Video, the added marketing budget as well as the ongoing drama between the decline of Orange TV and the rise of Feixiao Video, publicity for the drama had grabbed the attention of viewers.

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As a result, the cynicism did not last long, and the watchers joined the real audience in their ‘hahaha’ing, completely forgetting their original purpose. In a sense,<<Please Sober Up>> had won half its battle.

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“Forget it, let’s wait a few days.”

The Gu family was an old-fashioned wealthy family, and the children in the family were all educated excellently. Each scion had a promising future. Only Gu Ruijia was an outlier, and left miserably behind by several cousins. 

Over the years, the Gu parents had been ridiculed a lot during family gatherings. Gu Ruijia had been holding himself back, wanting to make some achievements, and he could not resist the urge to show off in the family group chat.

However, Gu Ruijia stopped himself before sending out his boast. After all, the ratings had not come out yet, and it was a bit early to show off. He remained silent, staring at his phone.

“I’m going to search the Internet for reviews.” Gu Ruijia could not sit still, and began to search for entries on Weibo again. As he continued to surf, he thought to himself, “Hang on, why are there so few related Weibo articles? Is it because the publicity is not in place, do you want to…”

Ye Fei was upset by his muttering and started kicking him. “Just keep quiet. The second episode hasn’t finished broadcasting yet, and it’s not a big director or a big production. What else do you want?” 

“I know, but… I’m just concerned if I messed up.” Gu Ruijia took a deep breath and paced the office anxiously, “No, I have to watch a movie to calm down.”

Ye Fei: “…”

Ye Fei was too lazy to care about him, so he put on his earplugs and intended to nap. The two of them collectively decided to keep away from Weibo, so they were unaware that after the second episode aired, notifications related to <<Please Sober Up>> piled up on the Internet.

The director of <<Please Sober Up>> was young, and the filming technique was more immature than well-known directors. This did not stop it from being in line with the tastes of the younger generation. It had a smooth and fast-paced plot. Furthermore, each episode concluded while deliberately trying to whet the audience’s appetite, intentionally provoking the audience into looking forward to the next episode. 

[Shit! I thought <<Please Sober Up>> would be a thunder drama, but now… it’s really fragrant! I went to top up my Feixiao Video membership. ]

[Hahahahaha this sand sculpture drama made me laugh to death! I almost smashed the table when the male protagonist had his period!]

[Ahhhh, who has Feixiao Video membership, can I borrow it? Can’t wait to continue watching!]

[Don’t say anything, I’ll go become a member. This society slave was tortured by the boss; can’t wait for this sand sculpture drama to have some fun.] 

Of course, there was plenty of criticism mixed in, but compared to the snowballing of positive reviews, it was nothing to fear. Discussion posts on <<Please Sober Up>> began to appear on major forums, and some fans even set up a special group on Douban within the first hour.

After Gu Ruijia watched a movie, his restless heart finally calmed down. Just as he was about to start searching for reviews on the Internet again, there was a buzzing sound rattling in his ears. He looked towards the source of the sound and found that it was Ye Fei’s phone.

“Ye Fei, answer the phone.” Gu Ruijia shouted. Ye Fei did not respond. Did he fall asleep?

Gu Ruijia approached and saw that Ye Fei was wearing earplugs. He pulled out one of the earplugs and poked Ye Fei. “Your phone.” 

Ye Fei had finally started to feel drowsy, but this nudge was enough to prod him awake, provoking him into hissing at his friend. “Who?”

Gu Ruijia glanced at his phone and replied, “Cheng Minghao.” Ye Fei paused before pressing the answer button.

“Brother Fei, help!” On the other side of the phone, Cheng Minghao did not even have time to say hello, and started with a yell, startling Ye Fei.

“What happened?” 

“Brother Xiao and I are in a bar. He’s drunk. Please come and bring him home!” Cheng Minghao shrieked impatiently. He did not know how things had come to this.

At first, everything was normal. Yan Xiao followed him to the bar, and the two found a booth with a better view to facilitate Yan Xiao’s observation plan. During this period, in order to take care of Yan Xiao, Cheng Minghao ordered two cocktails with a relatively low percentage of alcohol.

“Try it.” He pushed a glass in front of Yan Xiao and introduced, “This wine is quite delicious.”

“Cheng Minghao,” Yan Xiao looked at him blankly, “I didn’t come to drink.” 

“I know,” Cheng Minghao waved his hand, “Don’t you want to know what kind of people can play? Let me tell you, the first rule is to be able to drink.” He glanced at the passing beauties and continued, “Like me, I drink a little bit every day, and now I’m not afraid of any situation.”

Yan Xiao paused for a moment, as he stared at Cheng Minghao’s face with a complex expression. “Alcohol will damage the function of brain nerve cells, causing memory loss and slow response.”

Cheng Minghao felt uncomfortable with Yan Xiao’s gaze, and the wine in his hand no longer had its inviting fragrance. He hesitated and questioned, “…So?”

Yan Xiao: “No offense intended, but I probably know the reason why you failed your university courses.” 

Cheng Minghao: “…”

Cheng Minghao: “???”

Cheng Minghao felt that he could not breathe. His brain puttered about in his head as the unintentional insult was slowly processed, before he sneered.

“Oh, but Brother Fei also drinks, and he even likes people who can drink.” 

“I never drink.” Yan Xiao had been silent for a while. Then, he drank the entire cocktail in one gulp.

Cheng Minghao: “…” Okay, he should be a tool person without emotion!

Cheng Minghao’s original intention to persuade Yan Xiao to drink was to induce him into a stupor and to ask what was going on between him and Ye Fei. However, he never expected that this was where he erred. As he saw how Yan Xiao was madly emitting a cold aura, too drunk to even recognize his family, Cheng Minghao collapsed and pleaded, “Brother Fei, I really have no choice. I can only find you. He won’t let anyone approach him at all.”

Ye Fei blinked his eyes in shock. “You said Yan Xiao was drinking?” 

What? Yan Xiao was not a person who drank beverages with even a hint of additives!

“Yeah,” Cheng Minghao wiped his face wearily, “Can I send the address to your WeChat?”

“How much did he drink?” Ye Fei asked.

“A cocktail with an alcohol content of less than an eighth.” 

Ye Fei: “…”

Ye Fei did not want to continue to be in close contact with Yan Xiao. This drink was not a big deal, and he hesitated.

“I have something to do here. I can’t go away. How about this, find someone else, the two of you together…” Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Cheng Minghao.

“No, Brother Fei,” Cheng Minghao was ready to kneel and kowtow, “I don’t dare to touch him now.” 

Ye Fei was helpless. “Then what’s the use of me going? He won’t let me approach.”

“You’re different of course.” Cheng Minghao answered without thinking, and hurriedly sent a message, “Look at WeChat.” He hung up the phone, not giving Ye Fei a chance to refuse.

“Brother Xiao is drunk? Hahahaha,” Gu Ruijia, who had been standing beside Ye Fei, had listened to most of the conversation between the two and started to laugh.

“I really didn’t expect this.” He put the car key into Ye Fei’s hand and pushed him out. “You hurry up and pick him up, it’s so late.” 

Ye Fei felt something was wrong. He turned around and asked Gu Ruijia, “You don’t need me to accompany you anymore?”

“Ah-hey,” Gu Ruijia waved his hand very understandingly and gave Ye Fei a mocking look, “Brother Xiao is more important, I understand.”

Ye Fei looked down at the location sent by Cheng Minghao on WeChat. After a period of stupor, he decided to head out.

Forget it, just this time. 

The bar was not far from Tianxi, and the traffic was smooth in the middle of the night. Ye Fei arrived at his destination in less than 20 minutes.

Ye Fei did not even need an usherer, for he saw Yan Xiao as soon as he entered the door. Rather than needing a zoom filter, the zone of empty space in a crowded bar was too conspicuous.

When Ye Fei walked over, Cheng Minghao was arguing with Yan Xiao in an amiable voice. However, Yan Xiao sat with a cold face and said nothing. It felt like Yan Xiao was surrounded with invisible spikes, ready to attack at any time.

The bar manager stepped forward with an awkward expression, attempting to help persuade as well. As soon as his feet moved, he received Yan Xiao’s death ray, and was so frightened that he quickly retreated to the safety zone. 

If Yan Xiao was this drunk, was he not useless as well? Ye Fei clasped his forehead, pushing aside the people in front of him, and called out tentatively, “Yan Xiao.”

In the next second, Yan Xiao, who had been aggressive before, transformed into a docile big cat being groomed. He looked up at Ye Fei, his eyes shining brightly.

“Ye Fei.”

“Brother Fei, I’ll leave it to you.” Cheng Minghao sat down on the stool, finally heaving a sigh of relief. 

What a shitty emotional consultant, he’s not doing it anymore!

Ye Fei nodded at him and said to Yan Xiao, “Let’s go home.” Yan Xiao said “OK”, left the booth and walked towards Ye Fei. After walking two steps, he suddenly stopped as if he remembered something.

Ye Fei was afraid that he would go crazy and quickly grabbed his wrist. “What’s wrong?”

Yan Xiao did not answer, his eyes searching the crowd before finally settling on Cheng Minghao. 

Cheng Minghao felt a chill on his back when he saw him, and asked with a stutter, “What, what’s wrong?”

Yan Xiao pointed at Ye Fei and said expressionlessly, “He’s here.”

Cheng Minghao: “…”

Damn it, Scorpio! Yan Xiao was so drunk yet he still could not forget his grudge. Cheng Minghao looked at him with a sullen face, and perfunctorily responded, “Well, here he is.” 

Only then did Yan Xiao continue to walk forward with satisfaction.

Ye Fei didn’t know what game they were playing and he did not bother to ask, taking Yan Xiao directly out of the bar.

Yan Xiao was drunk, but a normal passer-by would not be able to tell. He kept his steps as steady as usual, did not meander about, and did not act madly. Other than the scene just now, he had saved Ye Fei quite a lot of worry when leading him to the car.

Ye Fei’s car was parked on the side of the road in front of the bar and they could reach it without much walking. Ye Fei knew Yan Xiao’s habit of only sitting in the back seat, so he first opened the back door and stuffed him in, before going to the driver’s seat, ready to start his journey back. 

Unexpectedly, as soon as the front door was opened, a sound was heard from behind. He looked back and saw that Yan Xiao, who had been sitting in the back, had gotten out of the car.

Ye Fei had to walk back and push him back into the car. “Be honest with me!” He warned.

While Yan Xiao was fine as long as Ye Fei remained at the back, as soon as he left, Yan Xiao would immediately open the door. Ye Fei was exhausted by him, and finally gave up. Standing by the driver’s seat with arms folded, he decided to see what he wanted to do.

Yan Xiao simply crept into the front-passenger seat without saying a word; a position closer to Ye Fei. Ye Fei’s heart was sore beyond words. After standing aside for a long while, he got into the car. 

During this period, Yan Xiao’s eyes kept looking at him.

“Okay, don’t look,” Ye Fei looked away and pointed to Yan Xiao’s seat, “Fasten your seat belt.”

Yan Xiao turned his face around and said “OK”, but did not move. Ye Fei had no choice but to lean over. Pulling on his seat belt, he mocked, “President Yan is really promising, he has learnt to go to the bar to drink like others. What else do you want to do next?”

Yan Xiao’s reaction was a little slow at the moment. “Nothing out of the ordinary,” he slowly uttered. 

“I’ll take care of you for now,” Ye Fei tugged his seat belt over and hummed, “It’s only this time, Yan Xiao. Don’t think there will be a next time.”

Ye Fei was not clear if Yan Xiao had understood. The latter was silent, and stared at his face without blinking.

“Did you hear that?” Ye Fei tutted and leaned over. Yan Xiao still did not speak, but his eyes shifted down and landed on Ye Fei’s quivering lips. Ye Fei did not discover this action, and stretched out his arms to nudge Yan Xiao.

“Is President Yan dumb?” Yan Xiao took advantage of the situation to hold his hand. 

“No.”

Ye Fei raised his eyebrows: “If you’re not dumb, then why…” He could not continue his sentence, for Yan Xiao had suddenly pressed the back of his head and used his lips to block Ye Fei’s mouth.