Chapter 10 – What Kind of Coincidence Is This

Zhuang Lin wasn’t far away, so he arrived quickly and easily found Guan Lan’s car.

That’s because Guan Lan spotted him from inside the car and rolled down the window to greet him: “You’re here too? What a coincidence.”

Coincidence, my ass. Didn’t you call me here?

Guan Lan was alone in the car—no robbers or criminals in sight. Zhuang Lin felt deceived.

He suppressed his frustration: “If there’s nothing else, Teacher Guan, I’ll be heading back.”

Guan Lan stared at him, his eyes wide but vacant, as if he hadn’t understood a word. After a long pause, he finally responded: “Oh, then I’ll give you a ride back.”

Zhuang Lin noticed the two flushed patches on Guan Lan’s face and realized he was drunk.

Alright, so it wasn’t deception—it was just a drunkard messing with him.

Zhuang Lin glanced around. It was late at night, and Guan Lan was a public figure. He couldn’t just leave him here alone, especially in this state. Well, since he was already here…

Zhuang Lin: “Teacher, give me the keys. I’ll drive you home.”

Guan Lan patted his jacket pocket, then his pants pocket, then his jacket pocket again.

Guan Lan: “I lost the keys.”

Zhuang Lin: “…Then how did you get in the car?”

Guan Lan: “I opened the door and got in.”

Zhuang Lin decided not to ask the dumb question of how he managed to open the door. Instead, he reached over to search Guan Lan’s pockets himself.

As soon as his hand touched him, Guan Lan started giggling.

Zhuang Lin was utterly speechless.

The smell of alcohol on him wasn’t even that strong. How could he be this drunk?

Zhuang Lin leaned over to check the other pocket.

Guan Lan, despite being a long-time single dog, was still sensitive to physical contact even when drunk. He immediately shrank away: “Don’t touch me!”

Zhuang Lin: “…Damn, now I’m the creep?”

After a lot of effort, he finally found the car keys wedged in the gap between the seat and the backrest.

When he sat in the driver’s seat, he realized Guan Lan’s Q5 had a keyless ignition.

…Zhuang Lin felt like the drunkard’s idiocy had rubbed off on him.

As he drove out of the parking lot, Zhuang Lin faced the next pressing question.

Zhuang Lin: “Where do you live?”

Guan Lan’s face twisted into an expression of intense concentration.

In the end, he gave up: “I don’t remember.”

Zhuang Lin: “…Your phone’s been ringing for a while. Aren’t you going to answer it?”

One good thing about Guan Lan when he’s drunk—he’s obedient. He does whatever you tell him.

He slowly pulled out his phone and answered the call.

Zhuang Lin instinctively glanced in the rearview mirror and saw Chen Jin’s name flashing on the screen.

He couldn’t help but let out a disdainful snort.

Guan Lan: “You don’t need to come. I’ve got a driver here.”

…So I’m just a driver, huh?

And a backup driver at that, right?

Driver Zhuang still had no idea where to go.

The only place Zhuang Lin had been to was Guan Lan’s small villa on the North Sixth Ring Road, but he knew Guan Lan didn’t usually live there. This was his first time driving since returning to the country, and it was nighttime. If he really headed for the Sixth Ring Road, he was afraid he’d end up driving all the way to Zhangjiakou.

He thought about taking Guan Lan’s phone to ask Chen Jin if he knew where Guan Lan lived, but he didn’t want others to know that he was the driver—even though Chen Jin probably wouldn’t recognize him anyway.

The only option was to head to his own place.

There was no movement from the back seat for a while, and Zhuang Lin thought the drunkard had finally fallen asleep.

He glanced in the rearview mirror and was met with a pair of dark, bright eyes.

His heart skipped a beat, and before he could look away, Guan Lan spoke: “Zhuang Lin, why don’t you want to sign with me?”

It was as if, half an hour after seeing Zhuang Lin, he finally recognized who he was.

Zhuang Lin was caught off guard by the sudden question. Not sure if Guan Lan was still drunk or sober, he deflected: “Then why do you want to sign me, Teacher Guan?”

Guan Lan: “Because I want to write songs for you.”

Guan Lan: “I’ve already written them. If you don’t come, no one will sing them.”

Zhuang Lin: “How could no one sing them? You’ve got so many singers… anyone would be willing to sing them.”

Guan Lan: “They’re not good enough.”

Zhuang Lin was strangely comforted by the phrase “They’re not good enough.”

He thought, Well, if no one else is good enough, what can I do? I’ll just reluctantly step up.

—

When Guan Lan woke up with a hangover, he pondered life’s two ultimate questions as usual: Who am I? Where am I?

The first question was quickly answered, but the second one stumped him.

He genuinely had no idea where he was.

The bed wasn’t his, the room wasn’t his, but thankfully, the clothes were his own. When he sat up, he saw a giant teddy bear sitting against the wall across from him, its expression eerily knowing.

He and the bear stared at each other in confusion for a few seconds before he got out of bed and left the room.

He saw Zhuang Lin.

The world felt a little surreal to him.

He cautiously asked: “Is this your place?”

Zhuang Lin: “This is my dorm.”

Guan Lan: “…Why am I in your dorm?”

Zhuang Lin: “You were drunk, called me to pick you up, and didn’t tell me where you live.”

Guan Lan started to remember.

But didn’t he call Chen Jin?

He checked his phone, and the truth became clear:

Zhuang Lin’s WeChat profile picture looked a bit like Chen Jin’s. In his drunken stupor, Guan Lan had called the wrong person.

Guan Lan: “Thank you, sorry for the trouble. I’ll treat you to a meal sometime.”

Zhuang Lin: “Yeah, you should.”

…If it weren’t for Guan Lan being used to his punchable way of speaking, someone else would’ve beaten him up by now.

…Zhuang Lin didn’t talk like this to anyone else. It was only with Guan Lan that he couldn’t control his urge to be snarky.

Guan Lan looked around the small apartment: “Is this a dorm your company rented?”

Zhuang Lin: “Yes.”

Guan Lan: “If I walk out of here right now, swaggering around, and circle this building three times, do you believe you’ll be done for at your company? You’ll have to report to me tomorrow.”

Zhuang Lin: “Are you threatening me?”

Guan Lan gave him a helpless look: “You need a sense of humor. It’s a joke.”

…Sorry for not getting your sense of humor.

Guan Lan: “We agreed on a month. The deadline isn’t up yet, so I’m not taking your response as final.”

Zhuang Lin could tell Guan Lan had completely forgotten their conversation from last night.

With a week left until the one-month deadline, he was curious how Guan Lan planned to win him over.

Zhuang Lin: “Do as you please.”

Guan Lan got up to leave, but just as he reached the entrance, he heard the sound of a key turning.

Before he could react, he came face-to-face with Qi Fei, who had just walked in.

Qi Fei: !!!

Guan Lan: …

Zhuang Lin: I kind of want to die.

Qi Fei, true to her reputation as a seasoned agent, kept her composure despite the internal chaos: “So this is the ‘coincidence’ you mentioned—running into each other at home.”

Zhuang Lin: “What coincidence?”

Guan Lan: “Misunderstanding. I had a bit to drink last night and couldn’t drive. I happened to run into Zhuang Lin, and he helped me out.”

Zhuang Lin: “What coincidence??”

Qi Fei: “How did helping out turn into bringing you home?”

Zhuang Lin: “What coincidence??!”

Guan Lan: “I drank a bit too much and got pretty drunk.”

Qi Fei scrutinized the two of them and decided that nothing had likely happened—though who could really tell? She wasn’t gay!

Suppressing her swirling suspicions, she pulled a disposable mask from her bag and handed it to Guan Lan: “The smog’s bad outside.”

Her meaning was clear: Cover your face so no one sees you.

Thus, Guan Lan left the apartment wearing the mask, looking like a guilty adulterer.

The completely ignored Zhuang Lin: “…”

After Guan Lan left, the inquisition began. Zhuang Lin was interrogated to the point of swearing on his life that nothing had happened before Qi Fei reluctantly accepted Guan Lan’s explanation. However, Guan Lan’s status in her mind was upgraded from an orange alert to a high-risk red alert.

When Qi Fei finally left after finishing her business with Zhuang Lin, he was left with a desperate cry: “What the hell kind of coincidence is this?!”

—

Guan Lan, meanwhile, got into his car, enduring his hangover headache, and called Chen Jin back.

Chen Jin’s voice was hoarse and oddly nasal: “It’s so early. I’m not even up yet.”

Guan Lan looked up at the sun high in the sky.

Guan Lan: “I was worried you’d be anxious, so I’m calling to let you know I’m fine.”

Chen Jin: “Huh? What do you mean ‘fine?’… Oh, you mean last night…”

He sounded like he’d completely forgotten about it.

Guan Lan: “…Did you drink last night too?”

Before Chen Jin could answer, Guan Lan heard a familiar male voice on the other end: “What’s wrong, baby?”

Guan Lan: “…”

There was the sound of hurriedly getting out of bed, clothes rustling, Chen Jin saying “Stop bothering me!” followed by the sound of a hand being slapped, footsteps, and the opening and closing of a door. Finally, Chen Jin spoke: “I didn’t drink.”

Guan Lan: “…Then why were you sleeping with Yang Peiqing?!”

Chen Jin was surprisingly unapologetic: “It’s all because of you!”

Guan Lan felt like he might have developed ear cancer.

Chen Jin: “Yesterday, you said you’d send me your location, but I waited forever and you didn’t. You didn’t answer my calls either. I was so worried! I had to ask someone where you went after work! The only person I know at your company besides you is him! Do you think I wanted to talk to him?!”

Guan Lan: “Talking is one thing, but ending up in bed is my fault?”

Chen Jin: “Exes hooking up is an international norm!”

Guan Lan: “Don’t bully me for not having an ex! There’s no such international norm!”

Chen Jin: “Oh, come on. I’m not blaming you, so why are you so worked up?”

Guan Lan: “…I just feel like I’m a bit green on top.”

Chen Jin: “…”

Guan Lan: “Yang Peiqing thinks we’re a couple, right? He thinks you’re my boyfriend, yet he slept with you without hesitation, completely cuckolding me. Yang Peiqing is such a beast—no sense of camaraderie at all.”

Chen Jin: “Yeah, he’s a beast.”

Listening to Chen Jin’s husky voice, Guan Lan couldn’t help but feel that their definitions of “beast” were slightly different.