WXRG Chapter 19 – Out of Control

Bars always get livelier as it gets later; the singer dressed in a ripped shirt on the stage sang the chorus of the song hoarsely. As soon as Chi Qing took that sip, his fingers on the glass froze. The taste of alcohol spread through his mouth bit by bit.

The drink Xie Lin ordered was light in color, but not low in alcohol content, leaving a burning sensation in the throat.

Chi Qing felt as if not only was his throat burning, but his hearing suddenly sharpened as well; the alcohol spread through his limbs, melting even his brain.

Actually, under normal lighting, it’s possible to see that the contents of the two glasses are different; after all, regardless of how light alcohol is in color, it would never be as clear as pure water. However, these subtle differences couldn’t be seen under the constantly changing lights in the bar.

 Upon seeing their reactions, the waiter realized something, explaining: “My apologies, I wasn’t paying too much attention when I cleaned the table just now, switching the placements……”

Chi Qing didn’t hear those words at all; he didn’t even bother with the fact that he drank from the same glass as Xie Lin, the sound in his ears entirely different.

[Wanna get off work quickly, I’ve been working for two weeks straight. My girlfriend also accused me of not being caring enough, how could I have time. She even asked me yesterday if I’ve ever thought about getting married, but right now I don’t have money or a house…… and there are those seven paternal aunts and eight maternal aunts……]

The little waiter worked to the point of boredom, thinking about trivial things every once in a while.

It wasn’t only this little waiter, but the countless voices of the people within the bar attacked him as soon as he took a sip of a drink.

Not far from the bar, a middle-aged man was seated, the woman next to the man was rather young, and well-dressed. The two seemed to be talking and laughing, as if there was no difference.

However, among the countless voices, there was a distorted middle-aged man’s voice saying: [……I lied to her that I would divorce my wife, how could that be possible; she wants money and I want her youth, a relationship with a clearly marked price, what kind of love is that.]

[……]

There were too many voices like that, reality intertwined with the other “truth” buried within the heart.

The two types of voices mixed together, giving him a headache.

When drinking, the expression on everyone’s faces turn deceptive under the lights. Laughter and sadness are both hidden behind an indistinct filter, leaving only countless voices whispering.

The last voice that was very close to him sounded clearly.

“Be more attentive when working,” Xie Lin said, “How can something like a glass be misplaced, who will take care of it if someone can’t drink?”

When faced with the customer who had been smiling all this time, the waiter found it difficult to speak.

He put away the cloth in his hand, wiping it helplessly on the apron: “I’m sorry…… Let me pour you two new glasses.”

Xie Lin glanced past him: “No need.”

Xie Lin went to look at the person on the side who was allergic to alcohol. It was too noisy in the bar; he had to get as close to the other party’s ear as possible to communicate. Because of how close he was, his voice overwhelmed the other voices for a moment.

Chi Qing heard him ask: “How much did you drink, the alcohol content isn’t low; I didn’t realize just now, so I didn’t have time to stop you.”

Xie Lin took advantage of the light occasionally sweeping over, leaning closer to see how his allergies were and whether or not there was a rash on his neck. In the end, his eyes fell on Chi Qing’s neck, realizing that he was wearing the sweater from the day the two of them met in the clinic for the first time today, half of his collarbone could be faintly seen.

Even in a chaotic place like this, it could be seen that he was several shades paler than others, his collarbone sunken, casting a small shadow.

Xie Lin suddenly averted his eyes, not looking any more.

He found that although Chi Qing didn’t have any rashes, there seemed to be something strange about him. This strangeness stemmed from the fact that the person who should have told him not to get so close initially did not speak.

Chi Qing only lowered his eyes, put the glass back, and didn’t respond to him.

Distorted voices continued to filter in through the surroundings.

Chi Qing couldn’t respond.

The woman who just had her heart broken stopped crying, chatting with Su Xiaolan, and a distorted voice similar to the woman’s said:

[Fuck it, laoniang1 will find someone better than him in the future!]

[……]

“Where does it feel uncomfortable.”

“……”

“Talk,” Xie Lin asked again, “Where does it feel uncomfortable.”

Noisy.

Too noisy.

Chi Qing thought.

The first time he touched alcohol was the first time he filmed a movie.

At the dinner party, the producer didn’t order any soft drinks, instead pouring red wine for the entire table of people. Chi Qing, as a supporting villain with only two or three scenes, was also invited.

After drinking that glass of red wine, he also returned to the state when he was deaf just like now.

At the time, that state lasted for over half a month; he tried it again afterwards, finding that alcohol really did affect it.

Chi Qing didn’t answer; Xie Lin turned his head to ask Ji Mingrui who was busy helping the lovelorn woman up at the side: “What are the usual symptoms of his allergies?”

Ji Mingrui was shocked: “He drank?”

Ji Mingrui carefully searched for information about Chi Qing and wine in his brain: “He doesn’t drink alcohol; As for allergies, I’m also not too familiar. But he seems to have said before that after drinking…… he feels that it’s very noisy.”

Xie Lin: “Noisy?”

Ji Mingrui also didn’t quite understand what the word “noisy” meant: “Maybe it’s tinnitus? Some people tend to hear ringing in their head after drinking.”

Xie Lin: “How long until you’re done.”

Ji Mingrui was about to say ‘I’ll be done soon.’

However, Xie Lin didn’t intend to give him any room to answer when saying that; he grabbed the coat on the side, then said: “Seems like you’re pretty busy, I’ll take care of him. After all it was my drink he drank, so I’ll send him back.”

There were less people outside of the bar, and less people were hanging out on the streets at this time.

However, where there are roads, there are cars, and where there are cars, there are people. If he immediately went to a place where there would be no one within a ten li radius, then those voices in his ears could be stopped.

Xie Lin took care of the “patient” who was allergic to alcohol all the way into the car; Although the patient’s current symptom was just an unwillingness to talk to people, seeming less like an allergy to alcohol, and more like an allergy to people, he still asked the driver to slow down.

He had also drank alcohol tonight, unable to drive.

It was rare for the two of them to sit in the back seat together; Xie Lin sent a message to Wu Zhi, letting him know he was leaving first, and Wu Zhi replied: Okayyy, let’s meet up another day, I have a feeling that my love will return soon.

Xie Lin turned off the phone, asking Chi Qing: “Is it still noisy.”

Chi Qing’s eyes were half closed: “A little.”

If the substitute driver hadn’t been thinking about how to not follow the proper route while driving, then he would be a bit purer right now.

Substitute driver: “Please fasten your seat belts, I will most definitely send you home as fast as possible.”

[I’ll stop following the route and turn onto Yan’an Road later.]

[If I can not go on the highway then I won’t go on the highway; if I’m found out, I’ll say I misread, this is my first time driving along this road so I’m not very familiar with it.]

[……]

[It’s not easy to earn money, I’m also fighting for my life.]

Xie Lin was already used to getting shunned, so used to it that it became natural, and besides him and the driver speaking in the car, there were practically no other sounds, so he took the initiative to speak: “Your next sentence should be telling me to shut up.”

But he guessed wrong this time; among all the voices, his voice was considered pleasing to the ear.

……Because he couldn’t hear the distorted voice in Xie Lin’s heart.

Everyone else’s voices had two types, mixing together and giving him a headache, and only when he speaks is it always clear.

Chi Qing still said: “As long as you know.”

Driver: “It’s also my first time driving along this road……”

[I made a mistake, Yan’an Road isn’t far enough, there are roads further away, how come I didn’t find out earlier……]

Chi Qing couldn’t bear it anymore, his fingers curling inward in black gloves, half of his body hidden in the shadows, and coldly said: “Why don’t you circle Hunan City from south to north, so you can drive until it’s light out.”

[……]

The substitute driver almost stepped on the brakes instead of the accelerator when he heard this, losing his inner train of thought.

Xie Lin: “You’re quite familiar with this area.”

Chi Qing felt Xie Lin looking at him: “The navigator changed routes three times, I’m also not blind.”

Not even a few minutes after Chi Qing’s peace and quiet, because the driver cleverly calculated the traffic jam time into the detour, he purposefully chose a road that had traffic all year round; their car, without any accidents, was also stuck on the road.

There were more and more cars around.

Several sections of the road were filled with cars, the sound of car horns endless.

Chi Qing wanted to applaud this substitute driver.

Ever since they left the bar, Chi Qing has heard many voices, far exceeding his limit; he opened his eyes and looked at Xie Lin sitting by his side.

Taking his physical condition into consideration, Xie Lin was very quiet this whole trip, not bothering him like he would before.

Xie Lin’s hand was placed on the side; Chi Qing suddenly recalled the peace and quiet from the last two times he accidentally touched Xie Lin’s finger.

If he touched his hand in this kind of situation, will it be the same as before?

……

Chi Qing suspected that Xie Lin was not only a lunatic, but also a sound blocker.

He really wanted to test this theory, but was then faced with another dilemma: having to choose between “a mysophobia fit” or “be irritated to death by the noise.”

Furthermore, these two options were hard to compare.

In the end, Chi Qing mysteriously pulled off half of the glove.

The second they touched, all the sounds faded away, as if the distorted voice never existed in the first place, leaving only the car horns and the scattered sound of laughter by his ears.

“Poking me again,” Xie Lin said, “Or is it that you like to poke people when you get drunk?”

“……”

Although for those with mysophobia, things like touching other people are hard to accept no matter how many times it’s done, but making excuses can be done rather familiarly.

Chi Qing: “There was something on your finger.”

Xie Lin: “Where?”

Chi Qing: “Saw wrong.”

In the end, Chi Qing got out of the car after Xie Lin told him to “contact me if there’s anything.” He laid awake in the middle of the night and waited until almost everyone in the building was asleep to finally fall asleep; even so, it was also difficult to sleep for exactly eight hours.

Because the uncle and aunt downstairs got up at five o’clock in the morning.

The uncle and aunt started making noise early in the morning: [I was also a flower in the factory back then, I had to have been blind to marry such a terrible old man like you!]

After coming back from going to the supermarket, the topic changed again.

There was never a shortage of things to talk about in the supermarket; what happened there, what happened to someone’s family, all can be heard in this large exchange center.

So Chi Qing heard the aunt sigh in her heart very clearly: [Someone died in the community next door, a woman, at such a young age, oh. I’ve met her before too; she just arrived here not long ago, hasn’t even settled down, looking everywhere for a place to live.]

The author has something to say:

It’s here it’s here [in a hurry]

1 The same as “laozi” but for women