“Do drunk people’s hands always feel this hot…”
Suddenly being asked such a question, Jiang Nan’an was a bit dazed.
He stared blankly at Director Zhang, and after two seconds replied:
“No… I don’t think so.”
“Why so uncertain?” Director Zhang found his reaction somewhat amusing:
“I’m just asking casually. Of course, having experience in this area would be ideal. In our ‘Imperial Tutor,’ the characters Zhuge Wenyun and Ying Shen Yue have a romantic storyline, but out of respect for history, their love won’t be explicitly portrayed, nor will there be specific intimate interactions. All emotions can only be hidden in the details of daily communication and in their gazes, so it requires the actors’ own insight and expression.
“From admiration to liking, then to deep love, without dialogue or set scenes-feelings that cannot be expressed verbally, emotions that arise but are restrained by propriety, attractions that are known from the start to be impossible due to status and social norms… All these subtle tensions rely solely on camera language and your own understanding and performance.
“I know Shanshan is good at portraying a young girl’s innocence and infatuation, but Nan’an seems to have never tried themes related to love, which is why I asked. However, regardless, I’m looking forward to your performance.”
After these words, Jiang Nan’an had no reaction, but Qi Hong was already sweating profusely.
Others might not know, but she understood her artist best.
What kind of person was Jiang Nan’an? A low-EQ logic freak who couldn’t even say pleasant things, whose normal social interactions relied entirely on role-playing, and whose acting depended on total immersion and raw talent.
For someone who learns as he goes, asking him to portray this kind of unspoken, subtle love? Did he even know what love was?!
Based on Qi Hong’s understanding of Jiang Nan’an, if she dared to ask him about his understanding of love, he would definitely answer something like “a trial-and-error behavior during the courtship period of humans whose ultimate purpose is mating and reproduction.”
Fortunately, Director Zhang didn’t dwell on this matter for too long, only instructing Jiang Nan’an and Jiang Shanshan to communicate more and develop their rapport in private, before moving on to other topics.
Qi Hong glanced at Jiang Nan’an, who seemed unbothered, and felt truly worried for him.
With filming not far off, how was he going to act this part?
They couldn’t really make him find someone and start dating from scratch, could they??
Who could tolerate him???
…Maybe arrange a contract relationship for him to experience?
Qi Hong shook her head, feeling she had truly gone mad.
–
“Beep-”
“You little rascal, where did you take my little Bu??”
“Beep-”
“Where’s the dog, where’s my big dog grandson?!”
“Beep-”
“Speak up! Stop playing dead!!”
Ms. Qin Xueru’s voice messages kept popping up one after another. Yan Jie couldn’t even listen to them all, but the content was roughly the same, with the central idea being to demand her precious dog grandson back from Yan Jie.
Yan Jie lounged on the sofa, holding his mother’s biological grandson, and lazily pressed the voice message button:
“Don’t worry, it’s doing very well, it’s with me.”
After sending this, he attached a photo of himself with Dunbu.
“Where are you??”
“Shanghai.”
“You took my little Bu all the way to Shanghai?! It’s a Beijing dog, how can it handle the southern climate?!”
“Mom, calm down-”
Yan Jie sighed:
“Your grandson now has a more important mission than enjoying your pampering. My future partner likes it, so I brought it here to win their favor. If you don’t want your son to continue living as a lonely bachelor, please endure this separation for a while! I’ll send it back to you later!”
This voice message successfully soothed Ms. Qin Xueru’s heart.
When new messages came from her side, they changed from roaring dinosaur voice messages to gentle text.
Snow Girl: A partner? How come I’ve never heard you mention this before? [smile]
Ring: Future partner, still pursuing them.
Snow Girl: That’s practically the same thing, you child. No wonder you rushed to Shanghai on the first day of the New Year. You didn’t even tell your parents about such good news. Is the girl excellent? Is she from Shanghai? Is her personality good? Where did she graduate from, what does she do now, what’s her family situation? What do her parents do? Do you have photos to show me? [smile]
Ring: Don’t be in such a hurry to ask. We’re not even close to being together yet. There will be time to learn more after I win her over.
Snow Girl: I’m not rushing, where do you see me rushing? I’m just asking casually [smile]
Snow Girl: Just take good care of little Dunbu for me, no need to hurry sending him back [smile]
Snow Girl: Good luck, son, mom supports you! Your dad and I are waiting for your good news at home! [smile][fist][cheer]
Yan Jie looked at Snow Girl’s 180-degree attitude change and shook his head, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
At the mention of finding a partner, she didn’t even care about her precious dog grandson anymore. It’s just a pity that the gender of the partner had that tiny error-not the daughter-in-law she had been dreaming of day and night. There would probably be more drama in the future.
Yan Jie rubbed Dunbu’s head:
“Your grandma doesn’t want you anymore! Oh, why isn’t our Mr. Hang back yet…”
Before Yan Jie could finish his complaints to the dog, his phone rang again.
This time it was a call from Fat Fish.
“Hey Spring, where are you?”
Yan Jie put it on speakerphone, and Fat Fish’s voice boomed out.
“At Teacher Jiang’s home,” Yan Jie casually replied.
“Damn?! What’s going on?! You’re progressing so quickly, already at their place?!”
“Nonsense, he went out. I’m just keeping Dunbu company for a while, I’ll leave soon.”
“Hah, I thought you were more accomplished… Want to come for drinks? We’ve gathered a group, just missing you.”
“Why organize a gathering as soon as you arrive?”
“What else? You think I’m cheap enough to come to Shanghai just to escort a dog for you? Am I your Yan family’s personal armed guard or something? Hurry up, I’ll send you the location. Get here quickly in that flashy horse king of yours.”
Since Fat Fish put it that way, Yan Jie could only reluctantly go for a few drinks, leaving his dog baby alone at home to await Mr. Hang’s return.
Given Yan Jie and Fat Fish’s backgrounds, the people they met up with were all well-connected young masters and misses from Beijing and Shanghai circles. By the time Yan Jie arrived at the nightclub’s private room, the group had already had one round of drinks.
After finishing three penalty drinks for being late, he sat down on the sofa. A young man looked at him and asked with a smile:
“Why did Brother Spring suddenly come to Shanghai? That’s not fair. If you had told us, we would have invited you for drinks earlier.”
“Ah,” Yan Jie shook his head dramatically:
“I have important business, not suitable for drinking and playing.”
Someone else was confused: “Important business? Are you here to negotiate a project for your family? I haven’t heard about any projects recently…”
“Don’t listen to his nonsense,” Fat Fish sneered disdainfully:
“What important business could he have? He just likes someone and came to pursue them.”
“Oh-”
With these words, a chorus of “oh” filled the private room.
Anyone who knew them even slightly well knew that Yan Jie had been single for almost thirty years. If someone else had his face, his aura, his background, they could change partners daily without it seeming excessive. Although the Yan family had traditional values that forbade promiscuity, for someone his age to have never dated was quite extraordinary in their circle.
Now that they finally heard hints of some romance, it was like an iron tree blooming, so naturally they were curious:
“Whose daughter is it, that you had to chase her all the way here?”
“A celebrity or an internet influencer?”
“How vulgar of you. The Beijing crown prince typically dates intangible cultural heritage inheritors or talented Jiangnan women, don’t you know?”
“Have you been reading too many novels?”
“Why are you all acting like my mother? Stop gossiping.”
Yan Jie pointed at them, but once human curiosity is ignited, it’s not easily extinguished.
Regarding this matter, Yan Jie himself wouldn’t reveal even a hint, after all, things were still in the early stages, and Jiang Nan’an’s identity was special. If anything leaked out, it wouldn’t be good for anyone.
Seeing that he was unwilling to talk, Fat Fish naturally had to keep his mouth shut too, but others didn’t care about such things. Several people joined forces to pour drink after drink for Yan Jie, hoping to get him drunk enough to spill some fun details.
Despite Yan Jie’s good alcohol tolerance, he couldn’t withstand being targeted by so many people. By the time everyone finally stopped and the drinking party ended, he was already taking a nap leaning against the sofa.
“We’re leaving, Brother Yu! Wait, how is Brother Spring getting home? He’s so drunk. Where is he staying? Let my driver take him back on the way?”
“Don’t worry about it,” Fat Fish waved his hand at the person:
“I’ll find a designated driver for him. With me here, would I let him sleep on the street?”
Tonight, everyone had united to pour drinks for Yan Jie, but Fat Fish had escaped and was still sober.
He walked to the corner of the sofa and kicked Yan Jie’s shoe:
“Hey! Wake up! Time to go home!”
Yan Jie was sitting with his arms folded on a cushion. He opened his bloodshot eyes, glanced at Fat Fish, then closed them again, giving no response.
“I’ve called a designated driver for you, okay? Where are you staying?”
Seeing him like this, Fat Fish knew he was truly drunk, not pretending. So he lowered his head and opened his phone, planning to call a designated driver.
But then, his fingers paused. He seemed to think of something and suddenly bent down to pick up Yan Jie’s phone from the sofa.
They had been friends since they were in diapers, and Fat Fish knew exactly what password Yan Jie used.
After fiddling with it for a while, Fat Fish threw the phone back beside Yan Jie:
“Dead Spring, you’ll be kowtowing to me when you sober up.”
–
Today’s chat with Director Zhang and the others ran a bit late. By the time the dinner ended and Xiao Sun and the driver sent Jiang Nan’an to the community entrance, it was almost two in the morning.
Jiang Nan’an was sitting in the car with a cup of hot honey water, resting with his eyes closed, but was soon awakened by his phone ringing.
He took out his phone and looked at it; the caller was Yan Jie.
What was he calling for at this hour?
Jiang Nan’an frowned slightly but still swiped to answer: “Hello?”
“Hello, is this a friend of Mr. Yan Jie?”
The person on the other end of the phone had a somewhat pathetic quality of trying hard to speak standard Mandarin but not quite succeeding. The voice also sounded familiar, but Jiang Nan’an couldn’t immediately recall where he had heard it before.
He hesitantly responded with a “Yes.”
“It’s like this, he’s unconscious from drinking at our establishment. Could you please come and take him home?”
“What about the people who were with him?”
“They all left, leaving just him.”
“How pitiful. He probably drove here. The license plate is Shanghai A-xxxxx, red color, very recognizable. Please help him call a Yuwen Yan designated driver. I’ll transfer you the money.”
“Uh, but we don’t know his address here and don’t know where to send him. Would you mind coming over instead?”
“…”
Only then did Jiang Nan’an realize that although Yan Jie had been in Shanghai for some time, cooking for him every day for so long, he didn’t even know where Yan Jie was staying.
Adhering to the principle of reciprocity, mutual assistance, and not abandoning someone in need, Jiang Nan’an asked: “What’s the address?”
So the car Jiang Nan’an was in, which was almost at the residential community, turned around and headed toward a famous nightclub in the city center.
Upon arrival, Xiao Sun originally wanted to accompany Jiang Nan’an inside but was refused, so he had to wait in the car.
Shanghai’s reputation as a place of extravagance and indulgence was indeed well-deserved. Even at this late hour, the bar was still lively.
Young men and women laughed and clinked glasses, occasionally bursting into cheers when the fun peaked, so full of energy, as if under the catalyst of alcohol they would never be sad or tired.
Jiang Nan’an had never been to such a place before and was unfamiliar with everything here.
Wearing a hat and mask, he told the waiter the private room number and was led upstairs.
The private room where Yan Jie was located was at the deepest part of the floor, likely of high status, with good soundproofing and privacy.
Jiang Nan’an pushed open the door to find him sleeping alone, slumped in the corner of the sofa.
The room hadn’t been cleaned yet, with various drinking games, foreign liquors, beverages, and empty bottles covering the table. Besides the fragrance of perfume and alcohol, there was also a strong smell of tobacco in the air.
Jiang Nan’an didn’t particularly like this smell.
He frowned, took off his mask, walked over, and shook Yan Jie’s shoulder:
“Yan Jie, get up.”
Yan Jie’s hair was a bit messy, and the smell of alcohol on him was so strong it almost dispelled his usual rose scent.
Vaguely hearing Jiang Nan’an’s voice, he struggled to open his eyes, which were reddened from intoxication.
“Let’s go, time to go home.”
Seeing that he had opened his eyes, Jiang Nan’an pulled him, but couldn’t move him.
“…” Yan Jie leaned against the cushion, saying nothing, just quietly looking at him. After a long while, as if confirming that the person before him was indeed Jiang Nan’an, he finally asked:
“Why did you come?”
Jiang Nan’an didn’t have a pleasant expression for someone this drunk:
“Why do you think I came?”
Hearing this, Yan Jie chuckled lightly:
“Well, I must really be drunk if I’m seeing you. I must be dreaming.”
“Yes, you’re dreaming. Drink a bit more and you might see the King of Hell.”
“No, I don’t want to see him. I just want to see you.”
Jiang Nan’an stopped bantering with him and knelt on one knee on the sofa, grabbing his collar to forcibly start him up:
“Your mouth isn’t drunk even if you are, huh? Get up quickly, let’s go, it’s very late.”
Though Jiang Nan’an looked thin, he was actually quite strong. Yan Jie was indeed being lifted by him, but he was stubbornly resisting.
Even in a dream, he’s so stubborn. Really likable.
Yan Jie narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at Jiang Nan’an’s face, hazy in the dim light, and played a trick. Suddenly, catching him off guard, he held his waist and pushed him down onto the sofa, leaning over him.
Jiang Nan’an had thought Yan Jie was completely drunk like mud, and his inability to lift him was his own problem. So when it happened, he was single-mindedly trying to pull him up from the sofa.
He hadn’t expected Yan Jie to still be so agile despite his drunken state, able to suddenly make such a move. Caught unprepared, he felt the world spinning, and when he came to his senses, their positions had been reversed-he was now the one unable to get up from the sofa cushion.
“You…”
Jiang Nan’an wasn’t used to such a passive posture. He tried to struggle, but Yan Jie held him down, leaving no room for escape.
“Tsk, you’re so beautiful.”
Jiang Nan’an listened to Yan Jie’s frivolous teasing, looked at his drunken, reddened eyes, and saw himself reflected in their wet gleam.
He was enveloped in the rich smell of alcohol, and then Yan Jie raised his hand to fix a strand of messy hair by his cheek.
Do drunk people’s hands always feel this hot?
The place touched by another person’s body temperature raised goosebumps, instinctively wanting to avoid it, but with nowhere to go.
Jiang Nan’an sensed a hint of danger in the current situation.
He felt this couldn’t continue and was considering whether to slap Yan Jie’s face to sober him up.
No sooner thought than done, Jiang Nan’an immediately raised his hand, but just as the slap was about to land, Yan Jie suddenly grabbed him, forcefully intertwining their fingers and pinning his hand back down. At the same time, his other hand cupped Jiang Nan’an’s cheek as he leaned down closer.
The scent of alcohol-soaked roses suddenly approached, and Jiang Nan’an’s pupils trembled slightly.
An unfamiliar sensation touched his cheek, and before he could react, it moved to the corner of his lips.
He tasted the bitter flavor of foreign liquor.
In that moment, he seemed to have only one inappropriate thought-
So it wasn’t just the fingers.
Even the lips were hot.
#
(advanced chapters available on kofi)
