Self-Perception - Chapter 61

“Auntie Bai, when will the meat be ready?” In the darkness, the firelight reflected in Xiao Mian’s eyes, bright and sparkling.

“Wait a little longer, I’ll save some for you,” Bai Jin said, flipping the skewers.

Grandma came out with some hanging lanterns and placed them on the wooden rack, instantly making the small pavilion bright and cheery.

“It would be great if we could watch TV while eating meat,” Xiao Mian muttered. Gu Wansheng overheard this and beckoned Wen Jinyan. The group watched the two enter the room, only to emerge a moment later carrying a rectangular object and a piece of cloth. As they drew closer, everyone realized it was a projector and a screen.

“Wow, this is amazing!” Qi Xin exclaimed in surprise. Gu Wansheng began setting it up, and the three girls. Qi Xin, Tian Li, and Li Jin, instinctively stepped forward to help. Tian Li, in particular, was so eager she could only be described as fawning. Wen Jinyan didn’t even find an opening to get close, she watched the three of them surrounding Gu Wansheng, chattering away like a flock of sparrows.

By the time Gu Wansheng finished adjusting the settings and started playing the Spring Festival Gala, she looked around for Wen Jinyan, only to find her already standing by the barbecue grill.

The grill was small, and the space for movement was limited. Wen Jinyan stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Bai Jin, talking from time to time.

Gu Wansheng’s gaze shifted, and she walked over.

“Let me take over. Bai Jin, take these grilled ones over to the table,” Gu Wansheng said, sliding into Bai Jin’s spot and smoothly taking the skewers of vegetables and meat from her hands.

Bai Jin: “???”

Since someone was volunteering to take over the work, Bai Jin didn’t mind and carried the cooked food over.

“I want the first bite!” Xiao Mian grabbed a piece of pork belly and bit down, only to spit it out immediately. She stuck her tongue out, tears welling in her eyes. “So hot, so hot!” She looked at Bai Jin pitifully. “Auntie Bai, is my tongue going to be burned off?”

Bai Jin laughed and leaned in. “Open your mouth, let me see.” As she spoke, she turned on her phone’s flashlight.

“Ah!” Xiao Mian opened her mouth.

“You even have to make a sound effect for your actions,” Bai Jin noted, looking at the small tongue. It was red from the heat, but there were no blisters.

Xiao Mian kept her mouth open, mumbling something unintelligible.

“It’s not broken, it’s still functional,” Bai Jin said, turning off the flashlight and playfully pinching Xiao Mian’s cheek. “Be careful next time, no one is fighting you for it.”

“Oh.”

“Oh, it’s ready!” Auntie Qi came over, carrying several bottles. “I just brought some fermented rice wine from home. Come, have a taste.”

The three young women immediately flocked to her upon hearing this. Auntie Qi opened a bottle, and a sweet aroma mixed with a hint of alcohol wafted through the air.

“Wow, Mom, this smells so good! Is the alcohol content high?” Qi Xin asked.

“Drinking a little is fine, it’s sweet and the proof isn’t high.” Auntie Qi took some paper cups, poured half a cup for the three of them, and said to Qi Xin, “This is for the three of you.”

“Why do we get so little?”

Auntie Qi gave her a sharp look and left her with one question: “Are you drinking it or not?”

Fearing her mother would take the half-cup back, Qi Xin immediately agreed: “I’ll drink it!” She figured she could just sneakily top it up later anyway.

Aside from Grandma, who declined, and Xiao Mian, who wasn’t allowed to drink, the rest were given six full cups.

Gu Wansheng and Wen Jinyan had grilled three plates of food, garnished with chopped green onions that looked very appetizing.

“Come, come, Little Gu and Little Wen, don’t work too hard. Sit down and eat with us. Later, we can just grill whatever we want ourselves.”

“What is this?” Gu Wansheng held the cup, bringing it to her nose.

“Fermented rice wine, home-brewed,” Auntie Qi replied. “Try it, it’s delicious and the alcohol content is very low.”

Hearing the conversation, Wen Jinyan took a sip. It was sweet, with almost no taste of alcohol. She took a few more sips in a row and commented, “It’s good.”

“Right? This is much better than what they sell outside, and it doesn’t get you drunk. If you like it, Little Wen, have some more.”

Wen Jinyan didn’t forget to nod as the cup touched her lips.

Gu Wansheng touched the rim of her cup, her thumb rubbing against it.

The group watched the Spring Festival Gala while eating barbecue. After a few segments, the three college students went back to playing on their phones, and Xiao Mian followed to join the fun.

“Sister Xin, what are you playing?” Xiao Mian asked, staring at the phone.

“Playing a game.” Seeing Xiao Mian’s eyes practically glued to the screen, Qi Xin moved the phone closer to her and introduced the game.

The three of them were playing together in a party with their little follower watching from the side. Gu Wansheng looked away, and at some point, a fragrance drifted past her nose. She turned her head to find a skewer of golden-brown enoki mushrooms held to her lips.

She instinctively opened her mouth to take a bite. She didn’t finish it, leaving half, which Wen Jinyan then ate.

“Do you like playing that game too?” After eating, Wen Jinyan felt a bit dry, so she picked up her paper cup and took a sip.

“Hmm?” Gu Wansheng let out a soft, questioning sound.

“I saw you staring at them,” Wen Jinyan said. She was sitting right by the hanging lantern, half her face in the light and half in the shadows.

Gu Wansheng sensed something was off. She leaned in closer. Wen Jinyan smelled of barbecue, the sweetness of the rice wine, and a faint, nearly imperceptible trace of alcohol.

The warmth of Wen Jinyan’s body heat and breath reached her, and Wen Jinyan felt inexplicably hot. She tugged at her collar, wanting to breathe. Before she could finish the motion, her hand was caught.

“Hmm?” The eyes behind the glasses blinked slowly, seemingly asking “Why?”

“Don’t pull yet.” The marks on her neck hadn’t faded yet.

Wen Jinyan licked her lips and stopped moving. Both her hands rested obediently on her thighs, like a toddler listening to a teacher in kindergarten.

Gu Wansheng let out a very soft laugh. She stared into those misty eyes, noticing the corners were slightly flushed. She reached out to touch that bit of reddened skin, it wasn’t hot, but Wen Jinyan instinctively looked over. That soft glance made her look like a heart-stirring beauty.

That subtle movement was magnified in her mind. Gu Wansheng pursed her lips and reached for her paper cup with her other hand.

“Are you drunk?” After quenching her thirst, Gu Wansheng used her leg strength to slide her small stool closer to Wen Jinyan. She placed her hands on her thighs and leaned her upper body over slightly, her side just barely shielding half of Wen Jinyan’s body.

To an outsider, it looked like they were just whispering.

Wen Jinyan looked straight at her, shook her head, and then nodded.

Gu Wansheng’s voice softened. “Are you drunk or not?”

“Not… completely drunk yet.” Wen Jinyan’s voice was steady, though her speech was a bit slower. From a distance, there was no noticeable difference.

She actually knows where her limit is?

“Then when is ‘drunk’ and when is ‘not drunk’?” Gu Wansheng teased her.

Wen Jinyan propped her chin on her hand, her gaze falling on the paper cup on the table. She reached out, took it, and downed it in one go.

“Hey!” Gu Wansheng took the cup, but the rice wine was already gone.

“Now I think I’m drunk,” Wen Jinyan said, looking at Gu Wansheng with blurry eyes.

Gu Wansheng put the cup back on the table. The alcohol content of this rice wine wasn’t high at all. Auntie Qi had already had four or five cups and looked perfectly fine.

A crimson flush spread from her cheeks to the tips of her ears. Wen Jinyan’s eyelids drooped, she looked sleepy.

She really can’t handle her liquor.

Gu Wansheng muttered, “Other people are ‘three cup knockouts,’ but you’re a ‘two cup knockout,’ and it’s even low-proof rice wine.”

Hearing her speak, Wen Jinyan leaned over and rested her head on Gu Wansheng’s shoulder. Gu Wansheng froze instantly.

Listening to the rhythmic breathing, she silently added. At least she’s a quiet drunk, quite well-behaved.

Gu Wansheng picked Wen Jinyan up in a princess carry. Seeing this, Auntie Qi asked, “Did she fall asleep?”

“She’s drunk,” Gu Wansheng replied.

“Drunk?” Auntie Qi thought to herself: Only children get drunk on fermented rice wine. Little Wen’s tolerance is really poor.

Gu Wansheng carried her back to the room. She gently lowered her upper body first, took off her shoes, and then laid her fully onto the bed.

Gu Wansheng looked at Wen Jinyan lying there, debating whether to help her change now or later.

Forget it, I’ll do it when I come back.

She took off Wen Jinyan’s glasses, placed them on the nightstand, and quietly closed the door.

Qi Xin and the other two saw Gu Wansheng come out and began messaging each other:

[Qi Xin]: Did Sister Gu just carry Sister Wen back to the room in her arms?

[Tian Li]: Yes, you didn’t see wrong, and neither did I.

[Qi Xin]: Sister Gu is married, and Sister Wen is married. Sister Gu takes such good care of Sister Wen… is it possible that…

[Qi Xin][Tian Li][Li Jin]: THEY ARE A COUPLE!!!!!

Having made this bold guess, Qi Xin was signaled by the other two. She ran to her mother and asked, “Mom, are Sister Gu and Sister Wen a wife-and-wife pair?”

“Yes,” Auntie Qi replied while still eating barbecue. “What about it?”

“Nothing, nothing!” Qi Xin felt like she had received the best news in the world and rushed back to share it with the others.

Gu Wansheng sat in front of the screen, but her eyes kept drifting toward the room.

“Your body is here, but your heart is elsewhere. If you want to go back, just go,” Bai Jin reminded her.

“I still have to set off the firecrackers when it’s midnight,” Gu Wansheng said. It was impossible for Bai Jin to do it, she was a bit afraid and didn’t dare light the fuse.

“Then you go rest after you’re done. I’ll handle cleaning up the barbecue,” Bai Jin suggested, nudging Gu Wansheng’s shoe with her foot.

“Okay.” After that, Gu Wansheng’s mind was completely off the Gala. Every ten minutes, she would go into the room to check on Wen Jinyan, never tiring of the back and forth. Seeing her concerned look, Bai Jin laughed. “She’s not going to fly away.”

“She’s drunk,” Gu Wansheng explained. “When someone is drunk, anything can happen.” Even though she was lying on the bed, what if she wanted water and couldn’t find the cup, or needed the bathroom and tripped? If she felt sick from the alcohol, Gu Wansheng wanted to be there to notice.

Bai Jin thought about it. Fair enough, that makes sense.

Finally, the hosts on the Gala began the countdown. The three college students had won their game and put their phones down to watch the numbers drop. Gu Wansheng held the incense, ready to light the fuse. The moment the number “1” was called, the sound of firecrackers became continuous, turning the black night into day. Gu Wansheng lit the fuse and quickly ran away as fireworks blossomed brilliantly in her eyes.

After some brief pleasantries with Auntie Qi and the others, and with Bai Jin covering for her, Gu Wansheng managed to slip away.

Just as she opened the bedroom door, she saw a scene that made her blood rush. She froze for a split second, and when she finally reacted, she hurriedly slammed the door shut, leaning her back against it and breathing heavily.