She didn’t want to “make it big.” The conditions a director could offer didn’t tempt her. If she didn’t take the olive branch he threw, the director would naturally understand. There were so many actresses in the industry. Directors didn’t have the energy to waste time pressuring a minor supporting actress who wouldn’t get into his bed.
Still, she had to show up to this kind of dinner. She could refuse the olive branch, but she couldn’t deny the director even the chance to reach out, or he would lose face.
When Mu Wan arrived, the dinner had already started. The female lead hadn’t shown up yet. Second female lead Mi Yu and male lead An Cheng sat on either side of the director.
There were a lot of people at the table. Another person joining didn’t attract much attention. Everyone simply found a seat and kept talking.
When Mu Wan entered, Mi Yu glanced at her. There was an empty seat beside Mi Yu. Mu Wan understood and went over to sit down. The moment she sat, she heard Zhang Chengze say:
“People from the same company really are close. Even dinner seats get saved.”
Zhang Chengze liked drinking. At the last banquet, he’d drunk plenty. This time was no exception. He was nearly fifty. Years of drinking gave his face a constant flush, as Guan Yu painted with red pigment.
“Yes,” Mu Wan said politely. “Thank you, Sister Yu.”
Mi Yu’s eyes flicked toward Mu Wan. She smiled. “Why thank me? Today you’re here because Director Zhang specifically invited you.”
“Hey, no need to thank anyone, no need,” Zhang Chengze waved, laughing before Mu Wan could speak. “Last time I saw how honest she was with her drinking. I just wanted a drinking buddy.”
At his words, Mu Wan had already opened the bottle beside her. The sharp scent of baijiu rushed up, and even before she drank, she felt hot. Without hesitation, she filled her glass and smiled at Zhang Chengze.
“Since Director Zhang thinks highly of me, let me toast you first.”
She opened by drinking three cups for him. After three cups, the atmosphere warmed up. Zhang Chengze started talking about his plans for the next project after this drama wrapped. Mu Wan played along, saying she couldn’t carry any major roles. Back and forth like that, Zhang Chengze understood. He didn’t speak to Mu Wan again.
People came and went during the banquet. With so many guests, no one paid attention to a small role like hers. Mu Wan drank three cups of baijiu. The alcohol hit hard. Amid the chatter and clinking glasses, she stood and left.
She didn’t go back to her room. She went to the restroom first.
Wencheng’s aged liquor really was something. Her stomach burned. After splashing water on her face, she came out and leaned against the wall outside.
Three cups wouldn’t really make her drunk. She was just overheated, with her thoughts a little hazy. The wall felt cool and smooth, extremely comfortable. Mu Wan pressed herself against it, staring at the crystal lights down the corridor. The circles of light in her eyes grew larger, smaller, then blurred.
This scene felt familiar.
Half a month ago, she’d also drunk too much at a banquet, stepped out, and leaned against a wall to sober up. She still remembered the bamboo-leaf pattern on the carpet in that corridor, leaf after leaf, and the man standing on those bamboo leaves.
A cold, distant face. A tall, straight body. The faint scent of disinfectant.
When people are drunk, it is as if they use a different part of their brain to store memory. When they wake up, they forget what happened while drunk. But the next time they get drunk, those memories return.
What did Mu Wan remember?
A low voice. Shallow breath. A steady heartbeat. And the hard body Mu Wan had clung to.
Mu Wan tipped her head back. Her throat burned. She swallowed lightly, her Adam’s apple moving, her skin heating up. The chandelier’s halo in her eyes grew larger and larger.
She took out her phone.
“Hello, Doctor Liu. Which room are you in?”
Alcohol really did make cowards brave.
The author has something to say:
Mu Wan: I am going to sexual harassment.
Liu Daochang: It’s clean.
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