(1)
In the Kingdom of Qing, the restrictions on minors drinking alcohol didn’t seem to be very strict.
Maybe it was because most minors couldn’t stand the taste of alcohol in the first place.
At least in junior high school, you’d always hear about how much someone smoked in a day, but you never heard of a student who drank every day and got addicted to it.
On top of that, some elders liked to jokingly urge children to drink at dinner parties—even if it was just dipping chopsticks in to taste a little.
This made most people even more averse to alcohol.
Even those delinquents who pretended to be thugs at school only used beer to show off that they were “in the underworld.”
And because of this, once they started drinking, it was easy to accidentally overdo it.
After all, they had no concrete idea of their own alcohol tolerance.
At the table, An Jing rubbed her stomach and let out two burps in a row.
Only a small portion of the cake had been cut. In the paper cake plate, some cream and fruit remained.
—That was the canned yellow peach in the cake, also the worst part of the cake.
Canned yellow peaches were a hundred times better than them—today’s yellow peaches in the cake were practically like plastic, cold and hard to chew, with barely any sweetness.
“Phew… my head’s feeling a bit dizzy.” Zhu Ying rubbed her temples, wobbling as she tried to sit up straight, but “accidentally” leaned into An Jing’s arms.
“Xiao Jing, is my face red now?”
“Mm, pretty red.” An Jing lifted the wine glass on the table and downed the rest. “Ha… it feels like the more I drink, the less flavor it has, this yellow wine.”
“Really? When I drink it, I still taste a strong alcohol flavor.”
“An’an, want another glass?” Wang Xinru was steaming all over. She squinted drunkenly, the air from her mouth scorching hot, like she had a fever.
“And…”
“Uh… well… I think I’m still okay, but you… you shouldn’t drink any more, right?”
“It’s fine, just one last glass… two last glasses?”
“Just one glass… uh… if there were peanuts, I could have two more.”
“We have some at home, I… I’ll go get them.”
Wang Xinru stood up, staggered a few steps, took a small plate from the wooden cabinet behind the stove, and then rushed back in a few quick strides. Normally, she sat down lightly, but today her sitting was exceptionally heavy, pressing the wooden chair into a series of creaking groans.
“You two, be careful with your amounts. Even though it’s yellow wine, it still has a kick.”
Zhu Ying covered her mouth and yawned.
“I’m getting a bit sleepy.”
“I feel… very energetic. This much… anyway… it’s no problem at all, just bloated stomach.”
An Jing wiped the cream from the corner of her mouth.
“Don’t worry…”
“You’re stammering, how is that no problem?”
“Uh… anyway, my mind is still clear, very… clear, okay.”
“Here, An’an, let me fill you up~”
Wang Xinru’s usually bitter-looking face was now especially bright with laughter.
“Mm-hmm, okay, okay… it’s overflowing now.”
“Oh!” She quickly lifted the wine jug she was holding. “I’m a bit dizzy…”
“Xiao Ru, if you’re dizzy, don’t push yourself!”
“Mm! Then I’ll just… have one more glass?”
“Geez, I never expected Xiao Ru to have a bit of a drinking habit.”
“It’s just that drinking too much feels really comfortable, head empty, no thoughts at all… hehe.”
Wang Xinru grinned foolishly and poured herself a full glass.
“Little An’an~ cheers~”
“Okay! Cheers!” An Jing raised her glass heroically, clinked it hard against Wang Xinru’s glass, then heroically downed it in one gulp. “Hahaha… that’s so satisfying!”
“Xiao Jing——” Zhu Ying dragged out her voice. “You’re really drunk!”
“No, not drunk, I want another glass, then have some peanuts… peanuts…”
An Jing mumbled, trying to pick up peanuts with chopsticks, but couldn’t manage after a long time. Finally, she just grabbed a small handful with her hand and poured them into her mouth like candy, crunching them loudly.
“Is it good?”
“Mm…! Good!”
Zhu Ying sat up again, curiously picked one up with chopsticks, and tossed it into her mouth.
“They’ve gone soft.”
“Huh? Really…” Wang Xinru also tasted one. “I’ll try frying them again later…”
“Hoo… hmm.” An Jing suddenly took a deep breath and punched her chest hard, producing a series of thump thump sounds.
“What’s wrong?” Zhu Ying and Wang Xinru said in unison.
“It’s nothing… just choked… uh…” An Jing burped again. “So full.”
“Stop drinking.”
“It’s nothing.” An Jing muttered quietly, leaning half her body against the edge of the table, propping her face with her left hand, while her right hand seemed to wave up and down uncontrollably. “Ah, I say, Wangwang, has your father settled down in… Canada or Australia?”
“The last contact was by email. He said… he still hasn’t decided which country to live in.”
“Oh…! Is that reliable?”
Probably because the alcohol was kicking in, An Jing’s voice involuntarily got louder.
“It should be fine… because of some things, he spent a lot of money, so after settling down there probably won’t be much left. He wants to decide what business to do first, then choose where to live.”
“Can’t he just come back to the country?”
“He can’t.”
“Oh, I…” An Jing scratched her hair into a mess, suddenly stood up, and hugged the wine jar. “This, how do you open it?”
“Let me?”
“Xiao Ru, don’t give Xiao Jing any more to drink.”
“Hmph! I can still have one more glass, okay! Just a little more, this time I’ll drink my fill in one go!”
An Jing muttered indistinctly, pressing both hands on Zhu Ying’s shoulders and sitting down heavily.
“Geez, always… listening to you… I don’t want to always listen to you…”
“Hey hey, speak clearly, I’m not that pushy. I always ask for Xiao Jing’s opinion!” Zhu Ying widened her eyes in dissatisfaction, puffing out her cheeks like a hamster full of sunflower seeds.
“You do… and you like to bully others! Always wanting to see me make a fool of myself!”
An Jing swayed, bringing her face closer, so close that Zhu Ying could clearly smell the strong alcohol.
“You, you like to mock others! Self-centered and… and never consider other people’s feelings!”
“An’an—” Wang Xinru handed a freshly poured glass of wine to An Jing. “How can you say that about Yingying? She’s not as bad as you say.”
“Tch…”
Zhu Ying blinked her eyes somewhat aggrievedly, but forced a smile.
“It’s okay… Xiao Jing is just drunk. I don’t mind.”
“Hmph… making, making me… wear girls’ clothes, go, go to a place with so many people!”
An Jing stared at the glass of yellow wine held in both hands. A few clear drops fell into it, causing ripples.
“So, so embarrassing! Just like my sisters, you don’t understand my feelings at all! I hate this, hate this the most! I’m… I’m a boy…”
“An’an… quickly apologize to Yingying.”
“I won’t!”
“I’m sorry…” Zhu Ying bit her lip gently, her hands tightly gripping her pant legs. “I didn’t know Xiao Jing really hated this so much…”
An Jing looked at her bowed head, feeling a burst of irritation, as if something was stuck in her throat, unable to say a word. Finally, she just picked up her glass and took another big gulp.
“What are you doing! Why are you crying?”
“An’an?”
“Crying after just a few words?” An Jing grabbed Zhu Ying’s collar and forced her to look up. “What, what are you crying for!”
But the next second, a crisp sound rang out on her face. An Jing looked up dazedly and saw Wang Xinru glaring at her angrily. Then, her right cheek began to burn, and in that heat, there was a slight sting.
“An’an! How can you say such things to Yingying and do such things!”
An Jing blinked hard, trying to “swallow” back the tears swirling in her eyes, but they uncontrollably flowed down her cheeks to her chin and then fell with a plop plop from the edge of her chin.
She roared like a provoked little beast.
“I hate this, hate this!!”
Then her voice slowly softened.
“I don’t like this… be… because… when I get bullied, I feel a little happy inside, and when I wear girls’ clothes and get complimented for being pretty, I also feel happy. But, but… but I’m a boy. How can I have such useless thoughts? I hate, hate this. I don’t want this… weak, letting myself be bullied, without any persistence, not, not like a man at all…”
“Pfft…” Zhu Ying, who had been looking wronged just a moment ago, suddenly couldn’t help but laugh. She gently wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with her fingers. “Xiao Jing is so silly…”
“…”
An Jing stared wide-eyed, looking as if she was about to argue further.
But Zhu Ying slowly cupped her face and gently wiped away the tears on her cheek with her own cheek.
“Xiao Jing, who says boys can’t have vulnerable spots? And no matter how your gender changes, you’re still you. The reason you don’t get angry when bullied is because you have a peaceful heart. The reason you feel happy is because… because you like me. Having a girl’s body and wearing pretty clothes to appreciate yourself—isn’t that human nature? Is liking to be praised really something to be ashamed of?”
“I…”
“Geez, Xiao Jing has been bottling up these things and not telling anyone, always bearing them alone. If you weren’t drunk, you would never have said it, right?”
“I’m not drunk…” An Jing mumbled quietly.
“In my eyes, Xiao Jing is not someone weak, fragile, or without persistence, you know?” Zhu Ying smiled and looked into her eyes. The latter instinctively wanted to look away, but Zhu Ying held her face. “Xiao Jing is a very persevering, positive, optimistic, and strong-hearted person. Even if the road is pitch black, you dare to walk it alone. Even if you’re by yourself, you won’t back down. Even if you can’t see the dawn, you’ll burn yourself and become a fire in the long night. Xiao Jing is… someone who makes others can’t help but look up to you, you know?”
“…”
An Jing bit her lip hard and said an extremely soft “I’m sorry,” then hugged Zhu Ying tightly and pressed her lips firmly against hers—though only for a brief moment.
In that instant, the latter’s eyes widened, and then she gently patted her back, her voice carrying a mischievous smile.
“It’s fine, I haven’t been angry from the start.”
“Tch… you…”
“Okay, I forgive you!”
“Hehe…”
「Volume 3: Spring Flowers Bloom, Crimson All Over the Mountains」 The End
Please look forward to the next volume—
「Volume 4: Cicadas Chirp, Scorching Summer Sun」!