Difficult to Complete chapter 8
“Hurry up, let’s play another round! I was only out for a minute before getting killed!”
“Bullshit! It wasn’t even a minute, at most thirty seconds! And wasn’t I killed too? This is too much, Gu Yan and Xiaolei, at least pretend to let us have a chance. We’re not playing with you guys next time, there’s no fun in the game!”
“Yeah! Next round, I’m not letting you two be on the same team!”
A group of people argued as they went to reload and gear up. Gu Yan was pulled along by Tan Xiaolei at the back of the group and, whether intentionally or not, glanced back.
Their eyes met for a moment before quickly turning away. Gu Yan turned to Tan Xiaolei and said something, and the two of them laughed.
Shen Qi took note of this, stood up from behind the small hill, and strode over to join them.
Tang Yan, who was generally unreliable, finally noticed someone was missing. After searching around, he finally spotted Shen Qi:
“Shen Qi, what are you doing? Come over here!”
Two more rounds of matches followed. This time, everyone had learned their lesson and made sure Gu Yan and Tan Xiaolei were not on the same team, forcing them to be captains of the red and blue teams.
The once-loving teammates had now become opponents. The rest hid behind their respective captains, watching the two captains fight fiercely, finally experiencing the joy of the game.
The first round was won by the red team, while in the second round, the blue team’s captain captured the red team’s captain, resulting in a tie between the two teams.
After sweating and shedding “blood,” they went out for drinks and dinner.
The venue was a hotel run by a friend, with a large private room filled with excellent food and drinks, and everyone drank heartily.
“Tan Xiaolei, you were not being fair. In the last match, you clearly threw it! Everyone knows you never miss, so how come you couldn’t hit Gu Yan?”
“Yeah, what were you aiming at? A human outline?”
This was referring to the last half of the final round, where Gu Yan, to cover for a teammate, exposed his entire body to Tan Xiaolei’s shots. But Tan Xiaolei’s shots missed by a wide margin.
Impressive. The so-called “king of guns” ended up missing, letting the enemies and teammates alike witness a display of poor performance. In the end, he even became a prisoner.
Of course, teammates wouldn’t just let it slide, and they had to make sure to get even at the dinner table.
Seven glasses of alcohol were placed in front of him, one for each of the seven teammates, with a clear message: you need to make up for the leniency you showed earlier, or you won’t have any friends left.
Tan Xiaolei, smiling bitterly, drank one cup but refused to drink a second. The teammates wouldn’t agree, and a few of them directly started to force him to drink by pressing his shoulders. Tan Xiaolei glanced at Gu Yan, seeking help.
“What are you looking at Gu Ge for? Asking him to drink for you?” A sharp-eyed friend noticed the silent exchange between them and teased, “That works too, you two are in it together after all!”
The friends, full of confidence, had already moved past Gu Yan and Shen Qi’s matter, which had been over for nearly two months. Now, they were joking without hesitation.
Being friends with Gu Yan was great; he was generous and had a good sense of humor. But those who knew him understood that, at his core, he was rather cold and indifferent to many things, not one to meddle in others’ affairs.
So, while jokes were fine, no one really expected him to take the joke seriously and drink on Tan Xiaolei’s behalf. Many had tried to get close to him, but it never worked out. And all these attempts were trivial to Gu Yan. Tan Xiaolei was no exception.
Yet, the unexpected happened. Gu Yan did drink on behalf of Tan Xiaolei, finishing the remaining six cups without a word and then raising his eyebrows challengingly at the group.
This was too much. The entire scene erupted. The way everyone looked at the two of them was like a pack of hungry wolves eyeing two juicy pieces of meat, their eyes glowing green with envy.
Tan Xiaolei laughed silently, thanking Gu Yan, “Thank you Gu Ge. I’m not good with alcohol and tend to get foolish when drunk. Thankfully, you’re here.”
Gu Yan chewed on an ice cube in his glass, “It’s nothing.”
It was nothing. Because you let me off the hook, so I should cover for you.
Shen Qi gripped his glass tightly, feeling a pang of sourness inside.
He started to regret coming today and understood why so many people say that it’s impossible to remain friends after a breakup. Watching someone who once filled your heart and eyes now be kind to others really doesn’t feel good. It’s not an exaggeration to say it feels like a knife to the heart.
He decided to avoid such gatherings in the future if possible and hoped that one day he could calmly face Gu Yan being kind to others. He would deal with it then.
“Hey, Shen Qi, what are you doing? You can’t drink!”
A couple of days ago, Shen Qi had stomach pain, and Tang Yan happened to call him and knew about it. So, when they arrived, Tang Yan ordered orange juice for Shen Qi. Seeing him reach for the red wine bottle now, Tang Yan immediately panicked.
“Do you not want your stomach anymore?!”
Shen Qi ignored him, grabbing another bottle when the first was taken away. He wanted to drink, even if his stomach hurt.
Tang Yan, seeing he wouldn’t listen, instinctively thought of informing Gu Yan. But realizing they had already broken up, it wasn’t appropriate to tell him, leaving Tang Yan frustrated. He decided to let it go:
“Drink, drink, drink yourself to death then!”
Shen Qi smiled slightly, glancing at Gu Yan while pouring wine into his glass. Gu Yan was leaning back in his chair, looking down as he listened to Tan Xiaolei talk. Gu Yan’s expression was neutral, while Tan Xiaolei remained smiling and seemed very happy.
Shen Qi’s gaze lingered on Gu Yan for a long time, but Gu Yan didn’t look up, whether because he didn’t notice or was intentionally ignoring him.
Gu Yan had always been very sensitive to Shen Qi’s every move. Regardless of how many friends were around, whether they were eating or playing, Gu Yan’s attention was always on Shen Qi, easily catching every change in his mood.
Whether Shen Qi was cold or warm, happy or upset, Gu Yan always knew first, sometimes even before Shen Qi himself realized.
But now, Gu Yan didn’t look at him anymore and didn’t care whether he ended up in the hospital because of drinking.
Shen Qi squeezed the glass tightly, silently exhaling his frustration, and then pushed the glass of wine towards Tang Yan, “Forget it, I won’t drink anymore.”
Tang Yan was relieved, taking the glass and drinking it for him, “That’s better. No matter what, you shouldn’t harm your own health!”
By the end of the meal, everyone was drunk except Shen Qi.
He called a driver for each friend and instructed them to call him after dropping everyone off.
In the end, only Gu Yan and Tan Xiaolei were left.
Tan Xiaolei hadn’t drunk much. Gu Yan had finished the initial seven glasses for him, and he had declined any further drinks from friends with a smile, not giving face to anyone.
“Shen Ge, why don’t you head back first? I’ll take care of Gu Ge.”
Shen Qi thought Tan Xiaolei seemed like a smiling tiger. He always had that smiling face, but the smile seemed insincere, especially when facing him.
“It’s fine. Since I’m the only one who hasn’t drunk, it’s only right that I handle the aftermath.” Shen Qi politely replied.
Who doesn’t know how to fake a smile? After dealing with difficult clients every day, who doesn’t have top-notch acting skills?
Tan Xiaolei gave a seemingly helpless smile, shrugged, and said, “Alright then.”
He took a couple of steps back, his fake smile fading, and finally showed Shen Qi a rather provocative grin. “Then I’ll leave Gu Ge to you, Shen Ge.”
One was Gu Yan, the other was Shen Ge; you could tell their closeness or distance just by listening. Tan Xiaolei finally stopped pretending, but Shen Qi couldn’t be bothered to argue with him. He arrogantly lifted his chin, let out a dismissive “hmph” from his nose, and then left him behind, turning to find Gu Yan.