DMPSA CH 24

Chapter 24: I Won’t Ask You to Take Responsibility

During the month that Yue Qi was abroad, the two of them developed the habit of texting each other. Whenever they had free time, they would also make a few phone calls to chat. Despite the time difference of over ten hours, their opposite day-night routines still managed to align occasionally.

This weekend, Yue Qi went out with a few friends from the U.S. They took him to a famous winery, Silver Oak Winery,^[1] for a wine-tasting. Yue Qi tried several smooth wines and took photos of the wine labels to share with Su Qing.

“It’s a pity that your tolerance for alcohol is bad, or I would have brought back a few bottles for you. The red wine here is really delicious,” Yue Qi said when he called Su Qing that evening.

“Who said I have a low tolerance for alcohol?” Su Qing protested, “I used to work in sales, and sometimes I had to attend business gatherings. I could drink half a bottle of whiskey in one night without getting drunk. Your wine probably has such a low alcohol content.” Su Qing laughed, boasting.

“But wasn’t it only three bottles of beer that you drank before passing out?” Yue Qi asked, confused.

“…” Oops, Su Qing had let it slip. He was about to be frustrated with himself. As the saying goes: tell one lie and you’ll have to tell many more to cover it up. Su Qing didn’t want to keep lying, so he decided to come clean.

“Well, actually, I wasn’t drunk that day. I don’t know why I passed out later.” Su Qing awkwardly said, deliberately avoiding the bigger issue: why, if he wasn’t drunk, did he end up climbing onto Yue Qi and kissing him.

Was he not drunk? Yue Qi was deep in thought.

At first, Yue Qi hadn’t paid much attention to this matter because he assumed that Su Qing was simply weak when it came to alcohol, which led to him passing out. But now that Su Qing was saying he wasn’t drunk and even claiming that whiskey couldn’t get him drunk, Yue Qi began to wonder what had actually happened that day.

Dr. Yue became worried, and his mind started racing with potential diagnoses for his friend’s condition.

Su Qing didn’t understand why Yue Qi suddenly fell silent and thought that he was really angry, so he quickly apologized.

“I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean to lie to you. It’s just… I felt so embarrassed.” Su Qing became more awkward as he continued. “The next day when I woke up and remembered what happened the night before, I really wanted to die. It was so embarrassing, so I just pretended I didn’t know anything and that I was drunk and had memory loss. I’m sorry for taking advantage of you. Please don’t be mad.”

Upon hearing Su Qing’s explanation and apology, Yue Qi, who had been deep in thought, was momentarily interrupted. Yue Qi could imagine how devastated Su Qing must have felt the next morning. He chuckled and replied: “Hey, it’s fine. You don’t need to apologize.”

“I’m glad it’s okay. I was really scared,” Su Qing murmured.

Yue Qi found Su Qing’s reaction amusing and teased him: “What are you afraid of? If something really happened, I would take responsibility.”

Su Qing, upon hearing this, fell silent.

Yue Qi waited a moment and didn’t hear Su Qing speak, thinking that maybe he had embarrassed him too much and Su Qing didn’t know how to respond. Just as he was about to say something to reassure Su Qing, the latter spoke up.

“If anything happened, it wouldn’t matter. We’re both adults,” Su Qing said with a relaxed smile. “It was just a one-night stand, right? It’s not that serious. I won’t ask you to take responsibility.”

Again, with “it wouldn’t matter.” Hearing this, Yue Qi fell silent.

“Yue Qi?” Su Qing cautiously called out.

“Do you think I’m the kind of person who casually hooks up with people for one-night stands?” Yue Qi, usually speaking with a smile, was now truly upset. “Or do you think you’re that kind of person?”

Su Qing froze. Yue Qi was really angry.

“No, no, that’s not what I meant,” Su Qing hurriedly apologized again, but the more he explained, the worse it seemed: “What I meant is, I don’t expect you to take responsibility. I can take responsibility for my own actions…”

It was the first time Yue Qi thought maybe his own self-restraint wasn’t quite enough. While he more or less understood what Su Qing meant, he felt that if Su Qing kept going, he might just lose his temper.

“I get it. I have something I need to take care of, so I’ll hang up now. Goodnight,” Yue Qi said, hanging up the phone.

Su Qing, holding the phone, was left confused, not knowing how to apologize and wondering how he had managed to make Yue Qi upset.

After that day, Yue Qi stopped initiating any messages or calls. Even when Su Qing sent him pictures of a few cats from the tea house, Yue Qi only replied with a sticker as a brief response.

In September, the school year started, and that evening, the rain poured down outside. The students didn’t stay too late at the tea house, and after eleven o’clock, the place became quiet with no new customers. Su Qing posted a notice on the tea house’s fan page about closing early and let Da Wang and Xiao Qiao leave early.

He was the only one left in the tea house, tidying up, picking up things here and there, and organizing everything. By the time he finished cleaning, he wasn’t feeling sleepy yet.

Su Qing sat by the window, dazed. From there, he could see a small osmanthus tree in the courtyard. The osmanthus tree was a four-season variety, and it bloomed almost all year round. Now, in the autumn, the flowers were in full bloom, the best season for osmanthus.

Su Qing stared at the tree for a while, watching the clusters of flowers bloom, and became a little entranced. He stood up, grabbed an umbrella, and went out into the courtyard.

The small courtyard smelled fragrant. The osmanthus flowers, washed by the rain at night, gave off a refreshing aroma. As Su Qing breathed in the scent, he became a little dazed.

When Yue Qi arrived, he found Su Qing in this dazed state. Yue Qi looked at Su Qing’s strange actions, puzzled, and couldn’t help but call out to him, asking what he was doing.

“I’m watering the flowers,” Su Qing replied. The sound of rain was heavy, and he didn’t immediately recognize the voice. When he turned around and saw Yue Qi holding a large black umbrella and carrying a bag, he was surprised.

“Watering the flowers?” Yue Qi was even more shocked. “But it’s raining!”

“Yeah, that’s why I’m holding an umbrella…” Su Qing realized how silly he was being. He dropped the hose in a panic, calmly turned off the faucet, and then turned back to Yue Qi. “You’re back! Want to come in?”

Looking at Yue Qi’s expression, which seemed as though he had been constipated for three days, Su Qing helplessly said, “If you’re going to laugh, just laugh, don’t stand out there in the rain.”

“Hahahahahaha…” Yue Qi couldn’t wait to get inside, bursting out laughing as he stood in the rain holding the umbrella.

Su Qing felt embarrassed, but hearing Yue Qi’s laughter after so long, he couldn’t help but laugh along. He thought to himself: Sometimes being silly is still worth it.

Yue Qi didn’t think he was being silly.

He thought to himself: What do I do? This person is getting cuter and cuter. If no one comes to stop me, I might just go ahead and pursue him!

(To Be Continued…)

***
If you enjoy this translation, consider giving it a high rating on Novel Updates! 🩷
Stay tuned, and happy reading! 📖✨