Huayu96: My Thirty Years of a Prodigal Son

The following evening.

Qin Sheng arrived early at the night market stalls in the town outside Hengdian World Studios.

After instructing the owner to put several small square tables together to form a large table, I ordered a few cold dishes and waited for the crew members to arrive.

Soon, Zang Jinsheng arrived, chatting and laughing, leading seven or eight burly men.

The cast includes Zhou Yemang as Lin Chong, Ding Haifeng as Wu Song, and Zhao Xiaorui as Li Kui.

There were also heroes such as Yang Zhi, Shi Xiu, and the Ruan brothers.

The way everyone sat there made it look exactly like a miniature replica of the Liangshan Marsh's Hall of Righteousness.

After they took their seats, the older brothers warmly congratulated Qin Sheng on successfully staying on in the group.

Following Zang Jinsheng's instructions, Qin Sheng offered a few polite compliments to Wang Guanghui from afar.

After the compliments, Qin Sheng didn't mince words. He opened the bottle of white wine on the table and poured himself a full glass.

After showing off his two cups, he tilted his head back and gulped it down.

"Good! That's spirited! No wonder you're a hero of Liangshan! You've really learned something when it comes to drinking!"

Ruan Xiaoer was the first to clap and cheer.

Black Whirlwind Li Kui chimed in noisily, "Brothers, can we let Yan Qing outdo us? Come on! Fill your cups!"

As he spoke, he grabbed the bottle and started pouring the wine.

He Qing had just sat down next to Qin Sheng.

Seeing Qin Sheng down a large glass of wine in one gulp, she patted him reproachfully.

"You brat, you're barely out of the woods and you're already drinking like this! Aren't you afraid of ruining your health!"

Lin Chong plays a very tragic character in the drama, but he is surprisingly witty and playful in real life.

Hearing this, he grinned slyly and said, "He Qing, how do you know Qin Sheng isn't even fully grown yet? Have you seen him?"

In the 90s, such crude and vulgar language was only a minor occurrence at drinking parties.

The heroes burst into laughter upon hearing this.

He Qing wasn't annoyed at all. He spat at Lin Chong and said, "What kind of skill is it to get a half-grown boy drunk? If you're so capable, go get his older brother Lu Zhishen drunk!"

Everyone secretly glanced at Zang Jinsheng.

Zang Jinsheng enjoyed exceptionally high prestige among the crew, especially among the actors; everyone present had to give him face.

But he just sat there smiling, not particularly protecting his younger brother.

The heroes immediately felt relieved and completely let go of their burdens.

"What's wrong with Lu Zhishen? Today, we'll get him drunk too!"

And just like that, before they'd even had a few bites of the cold dishes, the bottle of wine was already empty!

The atmosphere in the room was incredibly enthusiastic.

Zang Jinsheng was very satisfied with this situation.

This is exactly the effect he wanted.

If you eat and drink together in a very polite manner, you won't be able to build any real friendship.

With today's drinking session as a starting point, my younger brother should be able to integrate into the film crew more smoothly in the future.

Soon, the hot dishes were served.

The second bottle of wine was also empty.

The atmosphere had definitely heated up.

The conversation shifted away from Qin Sheng and began to idly chat about other things on set.

Qin Sheng, drawing on his past life's experience, skillfully continued the conversation with his brothers, drinking with them in a very measured manner.

He Qing sat quietly next to Qin Sheng, watching the little boy's performance with a smile.

She is growing to appreciate her younger brother, who is still quite young, even more now.

She's good-looking, a good actress, tactful, and most importantly, talented!

You write such good songs!

I wish I could really have a younger brother like that!

After drinking for a while, He Qing noticed that Qin Sheng's face was already flushed, but he was provoked by his brothers and was about to reach for his wine glass to drink again. He Qing frowned.

She knew that people who blush when drinking usually don't have a high alcohol tolerance.

Qin Sheng was already drunk. If he continued drinking, he would definitely have to go home in bed tonight.

After hesitating for a moment, He Qing snatched Qin Sheng's wine glass.

"That's enough for you, stop drinking."

Lin Chong was already seven-tenths drunk by this time.

Seeing this, he couldn't help but make a witty remark.

"I'm saying... Li Shishi, you and Yan Qing haven't even eloped yet! And you're already... starting to act like a housekeeper?"

Yan Qing! Stop... stop ignoring your wife! Come on! Keep drinking!

That's a bit too ambiguous.

He Qing blushed slightly, but still firmly hid Qin Sheng's wine glass.

"He really can't drink anymore, please stop forcing him."

Qin Sheng was already quite drunk by this point.

He only had a tolerance of half a jin of alcohol to begin with, but to warm up the atmosphere, he downed two liang (100ml) of liquor in one go.

Later, although I tried to control the speed at which I drank, these older brothers were really good at urging me to drink.

Even if you try to control yourself, you'll eventually drink too much.

Hearing a soft voice beside him protecting him, Qin Sheng was momentarily stunned, thinking he was at a dinner table in his past life.

His newly-minted girlfriend was sitting next to him.

With a wave of his hand, Qin Sheng slurred, "Wife, mind your own business! Your husband can still drink!"

Hearing Qin Sheng's drunken ramblings, the brothers present burst into laughter.

They could all tell that Qin Sheng was really drunk and talking nonsense.

However, because this nonsense was a bit too ambiguous, the heroes were quite tactful this time and did not ridicule He Qing, but just laughed heartily.

Zang Jinsheng was also laughing.

Throughout the entire drinking session, he remained as steady as a mountain, showing no signs of drunkenness whatsoever.

Seeing Qin Sheng lose his composure, Zang Jinsheng raised his hand and slapped Qin Sheng on the head, laughing and scolding:

"Fine! I caught you secretly dating at school! I'm going to tell your parents when I get home!"

He Qing's pretty face was slightly flushed, but seeing that everyone was tactful and didn't tease her, she also laughed and scolded Qin Sheng.

This ambiguity was thus casually turned over a new leaf.

Seeing that it was getting late, Zang Jinsheng suggested that the event end.

The heroes, having eaten and drunk their fill, did not insist upon hearing this and got up with a laugh.

Zang Jinsheng helped Qin Sheng, and the group walked towards the crew's dormitory.

Silent all night.

The next morning, after Qin Sheng sobered up, he couldn't remember the foolish things he had done the night before.

Zang Jinsheng did remember, but he couldn't very well repeat it to Qin Sheng.

I just told him that he must be careful with his alcohol intake in the future and not get drunk again.

Rubbing his slightly throbbing head, Qin Sheng nodded in deep agreement.

I thought I could control myself and not get drunk last night.

I didn't expect to get drunk in the end.

We were so careless!

After washing up, Qin Sheng went to the film crew's training class to prepare for his acting lesson.

When I arrived, most of the people from last night's table were still there.

They only dared to drink last night because there was no show to watch today.

Lin Chong, the king of witty remarks, is also there.

Upon seeing Qin Sheng, Lin Chong laughed heartily and exclaimed, "Oh! The prodigal son Yan Qing has arrived?"

And the pronunciation particularly emphasizes the two words "prodigal son".

Qin Sheng was a little confused and looked at Lin Chong with a puzzled expression.

Seeing Qin Sheng's bewildered expression, everyone laughed even harder.

Some uninformed onlookers asked what happened.

Several people in the know, out of consideration for He Qing's feelings, all smiled and remained silent.

He Qing was also in the classroom at that moment.

Her expression was somewhat complicated at that moment.

She had intended to frankly explain what happened last night.

It was nothing more than an eighteen-year-old boy getting drunk and taking advantage of his thirty-year-old sister verbally.

There's nothing to be ashamed of.

But for some reason, after I got home last night, I tossed and turned all night and couldn't sleep well.

Thinking of Qin Sheng's handsome face, and recalling the affectionate glances they exchanged during their rehearsals these past few days.

Unbeknownst to them, a touch of romance quietly arose.

So when I saw Qin Sheng again today, I couldn't bring myself to say those words that I used to be so frank.

In a daze, a sentence flashed through He Qing's mind.

Could it be that I... have developed feelings for him while filming?