Winter Wind (YiZhan)

52. Victim

"You're not going to sleep at home tonight are you?" Li Ping asks, and this brings his thoughts back to his father.

He is pained at his outburst, but he has no regrets. Tonight, a lot of lines have been crossed by the both of them and although it does worry him what this will do to their relationship from henceforth, he pushes it to the back of his mind for the mean time.

"No," he replies, and begins to ponder on the matter of where is going to sleep.

"You could stay with me?" Li Ping offers. "My spare bedroom is my study but it has a chaise lounge chair that is quite comfortable. Or you could stay on the couch in the living room, but I don't have any blinds on the windows and they're huge, so the brightness is going to be annoying when you wake up tomorrow. Or, we could just share my bed?" he smiles to himself just as the traffic light once again turns green.. "And don't worry it's clean. I'm not Xiao Wu."

Xiao Zhan's response is concise.

"I'll stay in your study. Thank you."

"For nothing," Li Ping replies, and soon they arrive back at the bar.

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At half past midnight, Xiao Zhan settles into the chaise lounge chair with a thick blanket over him.

It is not the most comfortable arrangement but he has slept on worse on sets, so the slight discomfort is a non-issue.

The real issue is the fact that his father has still refused to take his post down. He'd asked Mei li about it just before they'd bid their goodbyes for the night, and she'd confirmed that it was still up on Weibo, fervently garnering traffic.

He isn't surprised.

The last thing his father hated beyond all else was being threatened, so Xiao Zhan going at him in that way had been less than ideal. However the point he'd wanted to make has been relayed and that is of Yibo's importance to him.

There was no doubt now that his parents were also deep in thought about all that had transpired tonight.

And perhaps even his friends, although they had remained courteous and careful, asking no questions beyond what concerned his immediate welfare.

He is haunted by all the fires that are still currently burning around him, especially as he thinks of Yibo, but he has accepted now that this is where his fight for the day has ended.

If only he could sleep.

He ponders on a solution, and Li Ping's small alcohol stash on an end table in his living room comes to mind.

All he needs, he figures, is a tumbler or two of hard liquor to soothe his nerves enough to ease him into sleep. So he finds his way out of the study and through the dimness of the apartment, until he gets to the living room. After retrieving the bottle of aged whiskey, he turns the kitchen light on to search for a tumbler and then begins to pour himself a sizable amount.

Suddenly, he hears Li Ping's movements, and a few moments after he appears with his reading glasses on.

He has his phone to his ear and is listening, so he cannot say anything as he takes in the scene before him.

Xiao Zhan waits, and soon enough the call comes to an end.

"I hope you don't mind," Xiao Zhan says as the alcohol burns smoothly down his throat. "I just need a bit to get me to sleep."

"Of course not," Xiao Wu dismisses with a wave. "But don't you need to be up early?"

"I do, but I'm still doubtful that I'll be even be able to fall asleep. I'll set an alarm just in case." Xiao Zhan's gaze settles on him. "Do you still get up early? Can you wake me up if you're up before 5? I need to be at the airport by 6."