pjbooks Chapter 9: Load him into the car? And then what? Send him to that dilapidated house of his?
Chapter 9: Load him into the car? And then what? Send him to that dilapidated house of his?
Tian Xiaojuan took Liu Yu to a familiar barbecue restaurant.
The biggest advantage of this restaurant isn't the quality of its meat, but rather the excellent soundproofing of its private rooms, and the fact that the back door leads directly to the parking lot, making it perfect for doing... well, things that aren't convenient for others to see.
"Hey, Liu Yu, this meal is on me today, eat as much as you want." Tian Xiaojuan waved her hand, exuding a sense of pride that she was rich.
Liu Yu looked at her suspiciously, pushed up his black-rimmed glasses, his eyes filled with vigilance: "Tian Xiaojuan, you're acting very strange today. Did you delete some of my treasured projects again, or are you planning to sell me to some rich woman as a live-in son-in-law?"
"What nonsense are you talking about!" Tian Xiaojuan raised her voice guiltily, skillfully flipping the pork belly on the grill while glancing at him sideways. "Do you think I'm that kind of person? I'm just rewarding you for working hard recording for those girls lately."
"The girls?" Liu Yu sneered. "You mean IZ*ONE? They are indeed quite noisy, but work is work. As for you, Tian Xiaojuan, the look in your eyes in the recording studio today made me think you were going to devour Kim Chae-won alive."
Tian Xiaojuan's hand trembled slightly, but she stubbornly retorted, "I was observing the junior's professional skills as a senior! But you, Liu Yu, when Zhang Yuanying handed you water, you didn't even tell her to get out?"
"I told her to put the water down, what more do you want?" Liu Yu said matter-of-factly, "She can't afford to pay for the water spilled on my equipment."
Looking at Liu Yu's expressionless, deadpan face, Tian Xiaojuan felt both angry and amused.
This guy's iron-willed nature is sometimes both lovable and infuriating. But when she thought of Zhao Meiyan's previous warning and the image of those twelve young and beautiful girls surrounding Liu Yu, Tian Xiaojuan's sense of crisis sizzled out like grease on a baking sheet.
"Alright, enough talk, let's drink!" Tian Xiaojuan took two bottles of liquor and a bottle of beer and skillfully began to mix "depth charge".
Liu Yu frowned slightly as he looked at the glass of beer with its obviously off-ratio liquor: "Tian Xiaojuan, don't you have any plans tomorrow? Why are you drinking so much?"
"Stop talking nonsense, bottoms up!" Without saying another word, Tian Xiaojuan tilted her head back and gulped down a large glass.
Liu Yu shook his head, not thinking much of it.
He has one flaw: he never refuses requests from his "buddies." And Tian Xiaojuan really knows him well. His alcohol tolerance is quite good among sound engineers, and most importantly, he has excellent drinking manners. Even when he drinks too much, he just sleeps quietly and never acts crazy or talks nonsense when he's drunk.
An hour later.
The air was filled with the rich aroma of meat and alcohol.
Liu Yu was completely sprawled on the tatami mat, his black-rimmed glasses perched crookedly on his nose, his eyes glazed over, his breathing even. Unlike the others who were crawling around on the floor, he quietly rested his head on his arm, looking like a kind older brother next door who had finally toned down his sharp edges.
"Liu Yu? Liu the great sound engineer? Dude?" Tian Xiaojuan waved her hand in front of his eyes.
"Ugh...don't make a sound...the post-production isn't finished yet..." Liu Yu mumbled, then turned over and fell into a deep sleep.
Seeing his completely unguarded state, Tian Xiaojuan's heart began to race. She gritted her teeth, a resolute expression appearing on her face.
With trembling hands, she took out her phone and dialed Song Yuqi's number.
"Hey? Yuqi, are you in the dorm?"
The crisp sound of Song Yuqi biting into an apple came from the other end of the phone: "Yeah, Captain, weren't you eating meat with Lao Liu? What, finally planning to poison the meat and inherit his pile of broken parts?"
"Stop being cheeky!" Tian Xiaojuan said in a low, urgent voice, "Come to me right now, immediately. Liu Yu is drunk, and I can't handle him by myself. Come and help me lift him into the car."
Song Yuqi paused for two seconds, then her tone became subtle: "Put him in the car? And then what? Send him back to his run-down house?"
"No." Tian Xiaojuan took a deep breath, her eyes dark. "Go straight back to our dorm."
The sound of an apple falling and hitting the floor came from the other end of the phone.
Song Yuqi remained silent for a full ten seconds.
"Sis, I need to confirm, are you planning to illegally detain me or are you planning to force the issue? If it's the latter, I suggest you check the law first. By the way, I need to teach you some common sense."
"What common sense?" Tian Xiaojuan held her phone, her palms sweaty.
Song Yuqi's voice sounded unusually calm, even tinged with pity. "If a man is really drunk to the point where he needs to be carried, then all the muscles in his body are relaxed. Including... that part you're most hoping to use. Simply put, a man who's completely drunk can't stand up. If you carry him back, all you'll get is a heavy, alcohol-smelling accessory and the risk that he'll block you when he wakes up tomorrow morning. You'll get nothing else."
Tian Xiaojuan froze.
She stood blankly in the center of the private room, holding her phone.
All those pink, ambiguous, and even somewhat forceful plots that I had in mind shattered into dust instantly after Song Yuqi's scientifically-minded explanation.
"Can't...can't it stand up?" Tian Xiaojuan mechanically repeated the word.
"Yes. Unless you plan to wait until he wakes up tomorrow morning before making your move, but are you sure you can beat that sharp-tongued guy when he's sober?" Song Yuqi sighed. "Take my advice, send him home, or help him find a hotel nearby. This kind of drunken home invasion scenario only exists in third-rate romance novels; in reality, it'll just become a bloody history of porters. Bye, I still need to help Shuhua with her ranked games."
beep - beep - beep -
The sound of the phone being hung up was particularly jarring in the quiet private room.
Tian Xiaojuan slowly put down her phone, turned her head to look at Liu Yu, who was sleeping soundly and even snoring softly.
He looked so innocent, so quiet.
At this moment, Tian Xiaojuan looked like a complete idiot.
"Damn it..."
Tian Xiaojuan plopped down next to Liu Yu, looked at the remaining half bottle of liquor, and suddenly felt that the liquor didn't taste good at all.
She reached out and gently touched the stray hairs on Liu Yu's forehead with her fingertips.
"Liu Yu, you bastard, how come you can drink so much...?"
She originally thought she was a master strategist, but it turned out she didn't even understand the chessboard.
"Can't you stand up?" she muttered under her breath, unwilling to give up. Her gaze unconsciously swept down to Liu Yu's lower back before she recoiled as if she'd been electrocuted, her cheeks flushing red.
Just then, Liu Yu suddenly moved.
He reached out and grabbed Tian Xiaojuan's hand, which was placed to the side. He didn't use much force, but he held it very firmly.
"Stop messing around... Xiaojuan... that Drop scene... rewrite it..."
Tian Xiaojuan was stunned.
Even in his drunken stupor, all he could think about was music, and specifically, the songs she wrote.
Looking at her hand, which he was holding tightly, the restlessness and sense of crisis in her heart miraculously subsided a little.
"Fine, I'll let you off this time."
Tian Xiaojuan sighed and resignedly picked up her phone to start searching for nearby designated drivers.
"You owe me, and you'll have to pay me back sooner or later."
She muttered to herself as she laboriously draped Liu Yu's arm over her shoulder.
Although Song Yuqi was right that drunkards are heavy, Tian Xiaojuan felt that the heavy weight was not so unbearable at this moment.
At least for this moment, this man belonged entirely to her.
There's no IZ*ONE, no recording studios, and no annoying social life.
Only the lingering warmth of the barbecue, and this idiot who, despite his sharp tongue, calls her name in his dreams.
"Wow, you're really heavy! You have to write me three songs tomorrow to make it up to me!"
Tian Xiaojuan helped Liu Yu stumble out of the private room.
Liu Yu, who was perched on her shoulder, chuckled foolishly twice.
I don't know if I dreamed of the perfect arrangement, or because I leaned on a familiar shoulder that smelled faintly of perfume.
Even as night deepens, the streets of Seoul remain brightly lit.
However, a certain scientific fact inevitably became a lingering psychological shadow for Tian Xiaojuan that night.
Song Yuqi, you little brat, you know too much!