Chapter 13.1 (1/2)
Deep in the Act
Translator: Kotoni
Editor: Isalee
First Published on Chaleuria
Chapter 13.1
Zhang Zhun opened the door. Xiao-Deng stood outside his room in a casual suit and ripped jeans, his hair styled with care. The youth before him was so well-dressed he looked the very image of a young and rising star. ”Someone's looking real good today,” Zhang Zhun observed with a chuckle.
Xiao-Deng's eyes shone as he blushed a little at Zhang Zhun's comment. ”With so many big shots around, I need to make sure I don't become a disgrace to you,” he replied as he stepped into the room and closed the door. Zhang Zhun did not switch the lights on. The evening glow shone through the windows and cast a gray, reddish tint over the s.p.a.ce.
”Are you feeling better now, Ge?” Xiao-Deng asked, concerned about the injuries between Zhang Zhun's legs.
”Much better.” Zhang Zhun sat down on the edge of his bed. With a look of weariness on his face, he asked, ”Have they headed off already?”
”About half an hour ago.” Xiao-Deng sat down next to him. ”The KTV lounge is just across the road.”
Zhang Zhun nodded and fell silent. The silence dragged out between them. Several minutes later, Xiao-Deng spoke up again in a cautious, tentative tone, ”You've really suffered, Ge.” He withered and hung his head in dejection. ”Whenever I see Chen Hsin these days… I feel this overwhelming urge to smash his face!”
”It's nothing,” Zhang Zhun replied in a mild voice. ”It's just work.”
”They're all sc.u.mbags, the lot of them. Dammit!” Xiao-Deng was getting worked up. ”Ge, let's skip the b.l.o.o.d.y party altogether,” he said with clenched fists, ”why the h.e.l.l should we hang out with such trash?”
Zhang Zhun teared up a little as he turned to look at the rash youth beside him. ”Don't let pride get in the way of things. Learn to let go.”
”I should have come over earlier.” Xiao-Deng's eyes were far wetter than Zhang Zhun's. Pinching the corners of his eyes, he slung his arm around Zhang Zhun's shoulders in a brotherly hug. ”Ge, it pains me to see you suffer like this.”
Gritting his teeth, Zhang Zhun stood up and said, ”We should get going. I'll get changed.”
He wore a simple outfit, his white T-s.h.i.+rt and sneakers giving him a clean, boyish look. When they reached the lounge, many at the party were already drunk. Qin Xun-er was belting out a song by Sa Dingding at the top of her lungs, proudly proclaiming her status as 'a flower freely roaming the earth'.1 The walls shook from the sheer volume of her singing. Chen Cheng-Sen and Chen Hsin, on the other hand, sat at the center of a milling crowd, all of whom were holding up gla.s.ses overflowing with alcohol.
”Xiao-Zhang! C'mon o'er!” Chen Cheng-Sen called out, a drunken slur in his voice even though they had only been drinking for under an hour. ”Well, well. Chen-laos.h.i.+ here kept going on about how great you are, how good it feels acting with you…” Someone pa.s.sed him another drink. Holding on to Zhang Zhun's wrist with an iron grip, he ordered, ”Drink up! Three gla.s.ses for being late!”
Zhang Zhun did not hold his liquor well, so Xiao-Deng often drank on his behalf at social gatherings. However, afraid of incurring the director's displeasure, Xiao-Deng did not dare to offer his help this time. Zhang Zhun obeyed the order and downed three drinks without complaint. As he was wiping his mouth, Chen Hsin came over. He, too, had alcohol in his hands - not a gla.s.s, but a full bottle. ”You've only drunk your respects to the director. Have you forgotten about me?” Standing with his mussed hair and a rakish air about him, Chen Hsin looked so handsome in the colorful lurid lights that he seemed almost unreal.
Anxious to defend Zhang Zhun, Xiao-Deng bellowed at Chen Hsin, ”My big brother can't drink! Leave him alone!” The revelation took Chen Hsin by surprise. He was about to withdraw the proffered drink in a hurry when Chen Cheng-Sen piped up all of a sudden, ”Drink up, both of you! You have to exchange drinks in the traditional wedding style! Do it!”2
The crowd began clamoring in support of the idea. The air in the room thickened with the smell of smoke, alcohol, and sweat. The noise rose to an unbearable pitch as deafening music blasted from the speakers: 'Cause we could be immortals, immortals… Chen Hsin saw the pain on Zhang Zhun's face, and his heart ached torturously in response. He wanted to call off the drunken challenge, but it was too late. The excited crowd was unstoppable as it surged towards the two of them, countless cries echoing the same idea, ”Wedding style! Wedding style! Wedding style!”
A whole bottle of beer was shoved into Zhang Zhun's hand. He was a lamb led to the guillotine, and before him stood his executioner, looking at him with ruthless eyes filled with lingering, moving affection. Propelled by the crowd around them, they drew closer and closer to each other. Then, locking their wrists together, Zhang Zhun acted on a mulish streak within himself: with hardened resolve, he shut his eyes and knocked back the drink in his hand.
Chen Hsin held his liquor well. Now, as if he was engaged in some sort of compet.i.tion with Zhang Zhun, he began chugging down his beer at an alarming speed. He emptied his bottle in record time. Before anyone realized what he was doing, he s.n.a.t.c.hed Zhang Zhun's bottle away and continued gulping down the beer. The crowd went wild. The girls started screaming in excitement, and Chen Cheng-Sen even jumped onto the couch to cheer Chen Hsin on, ”F*** yeah! You're the man!”
Although he had just finished one and a half bottles of beer in one fell swoop, the alcohol in his system seemed to have no effect on him. He tossed the bottles onto the table and tried to grab Zhang Zhun by the hand. He wanted to apologize. But Chen Cheng-Sen cut in again with new orders from the couch, ”Zhang Zhun! Sing something for Qin-laos.h.i.+!”