Part 19 – Close Encounters
Leaning heavily on Jin Ling, Lan Sizhui grinned as they made their way down the street, his dark eyes glassy and unfocused. “Hahaha! That was fun, wasn’t it?”
“Fun for you, maybe,” Jin Ling groused, straightening Lan Sizhui against him when he started to slouch. “I felt like I was fending off vultures the whole time.”
Lan Sizhui frowned. “…I’m sorry, Jin Ling. I got carried away, didn’t I?”
At this less formal address, Jin Ling stumbled slightly. “No, it’s not your fault. It was those painted dogs who were annoying me. I didn’t like them making a spectacle out of you—as if they deserved to hear you play in the first place! It was all I could do not to sick Fairy on them.”
Lan Sizhui sighed. He nearly tripped over his own feet, but Jin Ling caught him and steadied him.
“You think too highly of me, Young Master Jin. I’m not that special.”
Jin Ling glared. “Don’t think you can get away with saying stupid things just because you’re drunk! Of course you’re special—you’re special to me!” Lan Sizhui’s flushed face lifted in dim surprise. Jin Ling clenched his jaw, wishing he hadn’t drunk so much himself. “…You’re special to a lot of people.”
The awkward moment passed as Lan Sizhui smothered a yawn behind his hand. Leaning into Jin Ling even more, Lan Sizhui pitched forward slightly, as if his body were threatening to shut down on the spot. Truly, the Lan sleeping schedule was a menace.
“I’m so…” Lan Sizhui yawned again. “…so tired.”
Jin Ling’s arm tightened around him. “I know—we stayed out too late. But look, there’s an inn. Just a little farther, okay?”
Sluggishly, Lan Sizhui nodded, clinging. More or less dragging him the rest of the way, Jin Ling made it to the seedy-looking inn. At the lateness of the hour and they way they were wrapped up together, Jin Ling blushed anxiously—especially as he was forced to accept the only single-bed room that was left. But the jaded innkeeper didn’t so much as spare them a glance. This close to the brothel district, Jin Ling supposed it wasn’t in the man’s best interests to judge.
Up the stairs, Fairy trotted after them, helping to nudge Lan Sizhui’s dead weight along. Struggling to keep him upright, Jin Ling managed to open the door and stagger in. The sight of the bed was like an oasis in the desert. But when he tried to slide Lan Sizhui off him onto the mattress, Lan Sizhui clung to him all the tighter. Thrown off-balance, Jin Ling buckled under their combined weight, and they toppled over together onto the bed. Jin Ling grunted, twisting around, but even so Lan Sizhui’s grip on him didn’t break. Jin Ling was distantly amazed at how someone this drunk could still be this strong.
“…Did you like my playing, Jin Ling?” Lan Sizhui murmured, his glazed eyes drifting shut. “Was it good?”
Their faces lay close together. Lan Sizhui’s warm breath mingled with his, the sweet scent of liquor heavy in the space between them. Jin Ling’s pulse pounded in his throat. He fought the urge to squirm.
“O-of course it was good! It’s the best—better than Hanguang-Jun’s, even.”
Lan Sizhui gave a lazy laugh. “No…but that’s good…I’m glad you liked it.” Smiling drowsily, he hugged Jin Ling tighter. “…I like you.”
Jin Ling went red from ear to ear. Dryly, he swallowed. Managing to haul them back up against the wall, he darted his gaze around and saw a water jug laying close at hand.
“Here, sit up, Lan Sizhui. You should drink this.”
“Mm,” Lan Sizhui uttered, seeming more asleep than not.
Eyes closed all the while, he nevertheless drank obediently from jug Jin Ling pressed to his lips—after taking a long swig himself. A trickle of water spilled down Lan Sizhui’s chin, which Jin Ling wiped away. Lan Sizhui made a little sound at the touch. Jin Ling went hot all over again, more uncomfortable than ever.
This close by force, he couldn’t help but study Lan Sizhui’s face in the moonlight slanting through the shutters. Lan Sizhui had claimed Jin Ling was handsomer than him, but that was a joke. Fair or not, Jin Ling knew how sharp the angles of his face were—too sharp to be on the same level as Lan Sizhui’s delicate beauty, which was above even the Lan clan’s elegant looks in his opinion. And Lan Sizhui was beautiful. Though Jin Ling had always known this deep down, he’d never given voice to the thought before. Maybe he was only giving voice to it now because he was drunk, and Lan Sizhui was unconscious.
At the same time, though, it disturbed Jin Ling to admit it, even to himself. All of a sudden, he felt stifled, by what exactly he couldn’t say.
“It’s time to sleep now,” he said tersely, to the one who was already passed out against him. Vainly, he pushed at the arms locked around his chest. “Hey, did you hear me? Let go.”
But Lan Sizhui didn’t budge. Jin Ling pushed harder, to no avail. Even in sleep, Lan Sizhui’s grip was unbelievably strong!
“Lan Sizhui—Lan Sizhui, hey!”
In perfect contentment, Lan Sizhui dozed on, unmoving. Starting to get truly frustrated, Jin Ling prised at his friend’s steely grip. In response to this, the unconscious Lan Sizhui doubled-down on his hold. Jin Ling flushed, hardly able to believe the situation he was in. He couldn’t very well sleep like this, trapped in the arms of another man!
His last ditch effort was to go for one of the acupoints in Lan Sizhui’s wrist. Applying pressure to it, Jin Ling exhaled in relief when he felt Lan Sizhui’s monstrous hold on him slacken—only to balk in surprise when Lan Sizhui began to sniffle.
Was he—was he crying?! Absurdly, Jin Ling began to feel guilty.
“No…don’t go…don’t leave me…please…”
It was a pitiful whimper, slurred by drunkenness and exhaustion. Clearly, Lan Sizhui was delirious, had probably been delirious all along. This realization made Jin Ling feel a good deal better. There was nothing so alarming about this now—it was like a child who was having a bad dream and needed to be soothed into peaceful sleep. Not that Jin Ling had any experience with that. The only one he’d ever soothed before was Fairy. Lying back, he relaxed under Lan Sizhui’s clinging weight and patted him on the head.
“Shh, Lan Sizhui…shh, it’s okay. Everything is all right.”
Pat, pat. But the wretched sniffling continued, as if Lan Sizhui hadn’t heard him. Jin Ling tried again.
“Shh, Lan Sizhui…” On a whim, he whispered, “…Lan Yuan.”
There was a brief hitch in the sniffling. Cheeks burning, Jin Ling rubbed Lan Sizhui’s shuddering back.
“…Shh, go to sleep now…go to sleep, A-Yuan.”
Lan Sizhui quieted at last. Sagging under him, Jin Ling felt the darkness of sleep mercifully closing in. He’d never felt more exhausted in his life. If this was how Lan Sizhui acted when he was drunk, one thing was for sure—Jin Ling could never let anyone else see it, or Lan Sizhui would never be able to show his face again.
Mo Dao Zu Shi © Mo Xiang Tong Xiu