Chapter 22: Do you have someone you like?

Shen Zhaojue chimed in: "That's right, you have to toast Yin Shao for his birthday banquet no matter what, right?"

Ling Wu pursed his lips and cast a signal for help toward Yin Huaiyu; the latter was quite receptive to this tactic and said in a leisurely manner: "Don't listen to him, if you can't drink, then don't."

He gestured to the waiter nearby.

"Order whatever you want to drink."

A male waiter wearing a tuxedo walked over respectfully, knelt halfway by the table, and handed over the club's drink menu.

Ling Wu looked at the pictures of the drinks on it and pointed to a pale pink beverage; the rim of the martini glass was decorated with a lemon slice and an exquisite little rabbit.

"Could you please bring me an Oolong peach ice tea, thank you."

It wasn't that he couldn't drink, or rather, there weren't many men who couldn't drink; Ling Wu just didn't want to drink on this kind of occasion, and once he started, it would be endless, so he simply didn't drink, which could also avoid a lot of trouble.

Perhaps because Ling Wu had a gentle and peaceful temperament, the waiter wasn't as afraid anymore and revealed a smile at him: "Please wait a moment."

The door to the private room was closed.

Yu Shixue curled his lips: "Let's play Truth or Dare, there's a penalty if you lose."

Once he spoke, those in the private room chimed in one after another to agree.

Truth or Dare is very simple: the player who gets the Joker card randomly picks a card, and the player picked needs to choose between truth or dare; if they don't want to answer the question or don't want to participate in the dare, they must self-penalize with three drinks.

Shen Zhaojue was responsible for shuffling and dealing the cards.

First round.

Ling Wu flipped over his card; it was a 9 of hearts.

"Who has the Joker card?"

"Hurry up, hurry up."

"The Joker card is in my hand."

The person who got the Joker card this round was a gentle-looking boy; he placed the Joker card on the table and said: "Then... the 9 of hearts."

Shen Zhaojue: "Who is the 9 of hearts?"

Wei Ranxu spread out his card: "I'm the 7 of clubs."

Yu Shixue: "9 of diamonds."

"Who has the 9 of hearts?"

"The 9 of hearts is with me." Ling Wu placed the card on the tabletop and, meeting his gaze, said: "I choose truth, ask away."

Ling Wu knew this boy; he was Bai Yinan, the study committee member of Class A, and his family background was quite good.

Being stared at directly by Ling Wu, Bai Yinan blushed, his brain felt a bit dizzy, and as if possessed, he asked: "That... classmate Ling Wu, are you currently single?"

Jin Shaoyu's jawline tightened; after a long while, he looked toward Ling Wu, his eyes dark and obscure.

Ling Wu was concise: "Single."

Bai Yinan asked excitedly: "Then do you have someone you like?"

Ling Wu smiled: "That's the second question."

"... Alright."

Bai Yinan was dejected and felt a bit disappointed.

The second round started quickly.

The one who got the Joker card this round was Ling Wu; he revealed his card and randomly pointed to a card: "King of spades."

"Oh my, you picked me." Yin Huaiyu held that King of spades between his fingers to his lips, lazily winked his left eye at Ling Wu, and the gaze he sent over was intriguing: "Truth is so boring, if we're going to play, let's play dare."

Ling Wu didn't dare let him play anything out of line, so he said in a standard way: "Then just drink a glass of wine."

Yin Huaiyu took the wine from his hand: "Just drink? I thought you would let me kiss you, brother."

Ling Wu had no reaction, letting his words go in one ear and out the other.

"Bang!"

Jin Shaoyu knocked over a glass of wine, the wine stain spreading across the floor; his distinct knuckles were stained with the liquid, and under the light, the wine stain looked shiny.

He pulled out a tissue on his own, wiped his fingertips, and said vaguely: "Slipped."

Everyone looked at him one after another, not daring to breathe loudly.

Jing Du said with tacit understanding: "Be careful."

Jin Shaoyu said lazily: "Continue."

"Why stop?"

Wei Ranxu greeted everyone: "Come, come, come, continue."

Third round.

This time it was Bai Yinan who got the Joker card again; he randomly pointed to a card: "Ace of hearts."

Ling Wu had just finished the mini-game on his phone; he raised his eyes and heard that he had been called again. He flipped the card as usual and said decisively: "Still truth."

"Ah... it's you again."

Bai Yinan looked very surprised.

He asked the question he had just asked with trepidation: "Classmate Ling Wu, do you have someone you like?"

These words made the atmosphere in the private room change.

In Sike Academy, it had long been rumored that Ling Wu liked Jing Du, but the person in question had never responded personally; Shen Zhaojue and Wei Ranxu, the two who knew the inside story, were gloating.

Jing Du's attitude toward his pursuers was not exactly good.

Even Wei Ranxu had danced right in front of him.

The atmosphere was quiet for a long time.

A hint of joy appeared on Jing Du's face, his gaze locked onto Ling Wu like a falcon, his eyes seemingly containing some kind of expectation.

Only to see Ling Wu's two thin lips move, spitting out two words: "No."

Concise and to the point, decisive and crisp.

"I don't have anyone I like at the moment."

Bai Yinan was overjoyed: "Then can I be your boyfriend? No, no... I mean, can I pursue you, is that okay?"

Jin Shaoyu said coldly: "Turning a birthday banquet into a matchmaking room, isn't it annoying?"

Jing Du looked at Bai Yinan with a calm expression: "Next round."

It was clearly a very ordinary sentence, yet it made one feel an inexplicable chill in their heart.

Just then, the door to the private room was pushed open.

A waiter wearing a tuxedo entered carrying a tray; it was not the previous one, and he placed the glass of oolong peach iced tea in front of Ling Wu: "Please enjoy."

The sound of cards being dealt followed by his ear.

Ling Wu stopped the waiter: "Could you wait a moment, please."

The waiter put on a standard smile: "Is there anything else you require?"

Ling Wu's slender fingers pointed at the picture on the drink menu, then looked at his own glass of oolong peach iced tea, his eyes pitch-black as he asked earnestly: "Where are my lemon slice and little rabbit?"

"Did you forget to put them in?"

"Ah... this." The waiter looked troubled, a layer of sweat forming on his palms: "The picture is for reference only."

He felt a bit guilty, because the picture didn't explain that it was for reference only; how was this any different from defrauding a consumer?

Furthermore, in an entertainment venue like this, whether it was the young masters or young ladies, very few people ordered this kind of fruit drink...

Shen Zhaojue laughed: "Ling Wu, why are you like a girl? If you want to drink it, just drink it; why harp on about lemon slices and rabbits?"

Ling Wu felt a bit embarrassed by what he said, but he was particularly stubborn about certain things, so he retorted to Shen Zhaojue: "I think your words are a bit unpleasant; could you please be quiet for a moment?"

Several laughs came from nearby:

"Hahaha..."

"Shen Zhaojue, you actually have times when you're told to shut up."

Yin Huaiyu glanced at the picture, where a fresh lemon slice and a little rabbit were inserted on the rim of the martini glass, looking quite delicious.

He looked over, his gaze making one afraid to look directly at him: "Can you make it?"

The waiter nodded his head like a rattle-drum:

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

"I can make it, I can make it... I'll go tell them to make a new one right away."