"Oh my goodness! So sorry about that! Are you okay?"
Xiao Zhan stumbled on him nearly losing his balance during the collision. Fortunately, the man helped him upright by holding him by the arm.
I am fine... but are you familiar with me?" he asked. "Are you also a friend of Zhuo Cheng?... but I didn't see you at our table." Xiao Zhan continues, examining the stranger's face for a second.
While assisting Xiao Zhan out of the bathroom, the man asked back, "Did Zhou Cheng come with you?" "Where is your party?" "Let me take you back to them," he said with a worried voice.
In the meantime, the alcohol had already begun his effect on Xiao Zhan. His vision had become blurry, and the ground was spinning around him. Although he did not know that man, it wasn't too long before Xiao Zhan's drunken self took over.
Usually, he sets a limit for how much he drinks to control himself. Xiao Zhan, however, has had the odds against him since the beginning of the evening. And now, this young man with dark brown eyes was going to be another victim.
As Xiao Zhan interrogated the tall man, he was clenching his hands on his arm. "Who are you?" And where is Zhuo Cheng?" The tall man was surprised by Xiao Zhan's actions and tried to free himself but was unable to do so.
When drunk, Xiao Zhan loses all sense of personal space. He will stick close to whoever is next to him. His grip also becomes stronger than it normally would be.
"I..I'm Zhuo Cheng's friend and we're on our way to him", he stuttered, blushing.
After hearing Zhuo Cheng's name from the stranger, Xiao Zhan felt somewhat relaxed. He stayed still for a minute but continued to stare at the man next to him.
With a Xiao Zhan now glued to his arm, the stranger, dumbfounded by the situation he got into, went to the nearest seat he could find. The stranger was confused. Is he going to have to call Zhuo Cheng, since he doesn't know the address of our little drunkard? Can he start by searching Xiao Zhan's wallet for a business card? Is there an emergency phone number he can call?
After quick thinking, the man proceeded to search through Xiao Zhan's inside pocket. Each of his touches, however, caused Xiao Zhan to react unexpectedly, causing him to enfold the stranger in his embrace.
With seductive whispers, Xiao Zhan inquired, "What are you trying to accomplish with your hands in my shirt?".
As a result of Xiao Zhan's actions, he attempted to free himself from the human cuff but failed. He thus stroked Xiao Zhan's lips with his cheeks in his movement. Resulting in him admiring Xiao Zhan, it was as if he was frozen in place. A chuckle escaped Xiao Zhan's mouth.
Xiao Zhan got all flirty, and the proximity between the two men dissipated every second, making the stranger's cheeks bright red.
"Ba-dump! Ba-dump! Ba-dump!" He heard his heart beating clearly despite the loud bar. The stranger murmured, "What was that?".
An odd feeling began to grow in his chest. However, the thought quickly slipped out of his mind. Right now, the only concern is getting this person back to their home, safe and sound.
Xiao Zhan awoke alone in an unknown place the next morning. This room looks like it could be a motel room. As he came back to his senses, he looked at the time on his phone, which was almost dead.
As he leaped out of bed to dash to the bathroom, he uttered, "Oh shoot! I'm late!". Then took the elevator to the reception hall.
In his haste, an unread memo was left on a business card on the bedside table.
"I hope you are feeling better now, Mr. Xiao. Don't worry about the hotel room, everything has been sorted out. I have left you my business card if you need to contact me in the future."
"Excuse me!! Where can I get a taxi from here?" he asked the receptionist.
"I can call one for you right away" answered the other person.
"Thank you. Uhm... Can I also make a quick call please?"
"Sure, just a quick one though!" responded the receptionist a bit reluctant.
While waiting for his taxi to fetch him at the entrance, he made a call to the gallery informing them that he'll first come in after lunch break. For his luck, it was Zhuo Cheng who answered him. Relieved, he drove back home to get rid of the reeking smell on his body as well to charge his phone and grab a quick lunch at the coffee shop next to the gallery.
Xiao Zhan arrived at the gallery shortly before the end of the lunch break still hungover from the previous night. As soon as he reached his office, he reviewed his tasks for the day.
Soon after, Zhuo Cheng knocked on his office's door and sarcastically asked, "So, how was your night?"
I retorted, "I don't want to start my day with that subject."
After a smirk, Zhuo Cheng continued, "This morning, I woke up to a text message from a friend telling me that a gentleman named Xiao Zhan was with him and he would be looking after him for the night."
In surprise, I exclaimed, "What?!?"
"It seems our Xiao Zhan doesn't remember last night's event!"
In embarrassment, I said, "That's exactly why I don't like to drink. I just hope I didn't say or do anything unreasonable."
Zhuo Cheng was more curious after my last statement than he was already after the morning's message. However, the arrival of Miss Xuan ended our discussion.
"I presume you're the infamous newly graduated art curator from France," said a woman who looked to be in her late thirties.
"Jie! You're back," Zhuo Cheng grinned.
"A Cheng! I told you not to call me like that, we are at work right now." scold the woman.
As he walked to the HR department, he added, "Officially, we're still on lunch break.", before mouthing to me that our conversation wasn't yet over.
"Zhuo Cheng can be really comfortable with others so fast that sometimes he forgets his manners." she sighed. "I am Xuan Lu, Chen Qing Ling's gallery manager. I will be under your care."
"I am the one who will be under your care! Nice to finally meet you, Miss Xuan. I thought you wouldn't be back until next week.
She glanced at her wristwatch and answered, "I'm just passing by. I need to fetch an important document from my desk, then I'll head to my scheduled business trip," she said.
Then she quickly headed to her office, saying, "It was nice to see you, and I hope we will have more time to get to know each other next time."
Leaving me no time to reply, she disappears from my sight. Similarly, I sat down at my desk to complete all my tasks of the day. Later that day, flashbacks of the prior night flooded me like a torrent on a rainy day.
An attractive stranger, his brown eyes, my shameless flirtation with him, our trip to the motel, me squeezing onto him as if he was a safety jacket. I moaned in frustration and hoped the earth would crumble underneath my feet.
Time-skip to two weeks later
While his first day at the gallery was eventful, Xiao Zhan was quickly accustomed to the new tasks at the gallery.
Now he was able to meet a number of his coworkers who would work closely with him, as well as most of Chen Qing Ling's artists. Furthermore, he became accustomed to Zhuo Cheng's quirky personality, which was at times refreshing.
He, however, felt a familiar feeling when a big, browned-eyed, tall man unexpectedly showed up for a visit.
Hope you will enjoy this new chapter, my dear readers ^_^
The pictures above are not mine. Thanks to the respective owners.
LG from @Yo_on7e