Chapter 39: The Drinking Party

Xu Heng was not sure if Dong Xinxin, Wang Yi, and Dan Yuyue could drink hard liquor, but he knew Ying Ziyun would not; she was alcohol-intolerant, and Fan Xi also appeared to have never touched hard liquor.

Yet Dan Yuyue was clamoring for hard liquor, which naturally could not be for the purpose of stirring up an atmosphere for Zhao Gaoyang to pick up girls.

In all likelihood, she just wanted to swindle more money out of Zhao Gaoyang; this little girl was very petty, holding a grudge from last year until this year.

Upon hearing this, Dong Xinxin asked hesitantly, "Can you all drink hard liquor?"

Wang Yi shook her head, Ying Ziyun said nothing, and Fan Xi smiled and said she wasn't very good at it.

Hearing this, Dong Xinxin thought she should just let Dan Yuyue not drink hard liquor.

But at this moment, Cheng Huaiyu suddenly interjected, "Yueyue is right, beer has no kick at all, and it bloats your stomach if you drink too much. Don't you agree, Old Zhao?"

Zhao Gaoyang had not expected Cheng Huaiyu to drag him into this at such a moment; he glanced at Fan Xi and found that she happened to be looking his way too. He thought, perhaps this was an opportunity; as long as he performed well at the table, he might be able to make Fan Xi look at him with new eyes.

When boys are immature, they are always prone to wishful thinking; Zhao Gaoyang, twenty years old by traditional age, was like a turtle that had fallen into the water.

Holding his breath and refusing to admit defeat.

He knew hard liquor was more expensive than beer, but how much could a few bottles of hard liquor cost? A few hundred yuan?

"Waiter, bring three bottles of hard liquor," Zhao Gaoyang called out to the waiter.

That waiter was also an old hand; he didn't even ask Zhao Gaoyang what brand of hard liquor he wanted before going to the back to get it.

Seeing this, Xu Heng knew Zhao Gaoyang was going to suffer a loss; he remained silent, neither reminding Zhao Gaoyang nor telling the waiter to bring cheaper hard liquor.

Because saying anything at this moment would only make Zhao Gaoyang think he was making him lose face.

If Zhao Gaoyang wanted to show off, let him show off; he wasn't losing anything himself.

The three bottles of hard liquor were brought up. Zhao Gaoyang volunteered to pour himself a glass first, then filled them up one by one for those who could drink. When it was Xu Heng's turn, Xu Heng pressed his hand over the rim of his glass: "I don't drink hard liquor either."

"No way, Xu Heng, you can't even drink hard liquor? Does that even count as a man?" Dan Yuyue said with a giggle.

Xu Heng said, "Why don't you try it yourself and see?"

"Pfft, even if I were to try, I wouldn't try yours," Dan Yuyue pouted and hummed.

Cheng Huaiyu explained awkwardly to Xu Heng from the side that Yueyue's personality was just like that, her words were sharp, so he shouldn't take it to heart.

Xu Heng nodded indifferently to show he understood.

At this time, Dan Yuyue placed her glass on the table and said, "Zhao Gaoyang, pour me half a glass."

She took the opportunity to glance sideways at Xu Heng as if in provocation, the meaning seemingly saying, "Even I can drink more than a bean sprout like you."

Xu Heng didn't care; in his eyes, Dan Yuyue was just a little girl who hadn't grown up yet, and he had no need to compete with a little girl.

"Yueyue, can you drink?" Cheng Huaiyu asked in a low voice.

They had been together for several months, and Cheng Huaiyu had never seen Dan Yuyue drink a drop of hard liquor, so he was worried.

But Dan Yuyue said nonchalantly, "Of course I can! I'm not bragging, but back in high school, people nicknamed me the Liquor Commander."

Zhao Gaoyang picked up the bottle and grinned, "Then how about I fill it up for you, Sister Yueyue?"

After he finished saying this, Cheng Huaiyu wanted to curse.

Everyone could see that Dan Yuyue was bragging, yet this kid Zhao Gaoyang was still playing dumb.

Thinking of this, Cheng Huaiyu lightly kicked Zhao Gaoyang's shoe with his toe and advised, "We still have to go back to the dormitory later, so let's not drink too much; it's easy for trouble to arise."

"Brother Cheng is right, then half a glass for Sister Yueyue, but there's still some left in this bottle." Saying this, Zhao Gaoyang shook the bottle and looked at Fan Xi, "Class Monitor, want some?"

Although he was asking Dan Yuyue if she wanted more, Zhao Gaoyang's real goal was to get Fan Xi drunk.

Fan Xi said she wasn't very good at drinking, but that didn't matter; Zhao Gaoyang deliberately poured the hard liquor until only a little was left at the bottom of the bottle.

With just that small mouthful of hard liquor, he poured it for Fan Xi, and Fan Xi found it hard to refuse.

A small mouthful might not get Fan Xi drunk, but there were three whole bottles here! With a little left at the bottom of each, he didn't believe Fan Xi wouldn't get drunk.

Once drunk, things would be easy to handle.

He could naturally offer to send Fan Xi back to her dormitory, then confess on the way; a muddle-headed Fan Xi might just agree to his confession.

Zhao Gaoyang's plan was well-calculated, and things were indeed developing in the direction he had anticipated.

Fan Xi wasn't very good at drinking, but after all, it was a group dinner, and the point was the lively atmosphere; the influence of Huaxia's drinking culture prompted her to accept this small glass of hard liquor.

Those who could drink hard liquor poured it, and those who couldn't poured at least some beer; even Ying Ziyun poured a glass of fruit juice. As they clinked glasses, the atmosphere became much more harmonious.

Later on, Dong Xinxin and Wang Yi were also infected by the atmosphere and wanted to drink some. Zhao Gaoyang was overjoyed and immediately called the waiter to bring two more bottles of hard liquor.

Fan Xi had a low tolerance; after two mouthfuls of hard liquor, her face had already turned apple-red and she looked like she was about to reach her limit. Zhao Gaoyang prepared to strike while the iron was hot and get her to drink a few more.

As for the "Liquor Commander" who had claimed earlier she could drink a thousand cups without falling, she was now slumped over the table, acting drunk.

Dan Yuyue was the typical kind of girl who was bad at drinking but loved to play; her words were tough, but her body was incredibly honest. Later on, even though she clearly couldn't drink anymore, she still insisted on showing off, twisting her pretty features as she forced the liquor down her throat.

There was no help for it; as her boyfriend, Cheng Huaiyu could only take her place in handling toasts from others to let her drink less.

And what surprised everyone was that the one who could drink the most at the table was actually the fair-skinned, slightly chubby Sheng Bo, who looked like a good student.

When he drank, he would chug the glass, two or three mouthfuls per glass, without even blinking. Dong Xinxin jokingly called him the real Liquor Commander.

Sheng Bo laughed and said it was nothing; his family were farmers who raised aquatic products in ponds. Every year from spring to summer, lobsters would hit the market, and often a group of acquaintances and partners from the neighborhood would sit at an outdoor round table drinking and eating shrimp. Over time, he developed some tolerance.

After three rounds of drinks, once the alcohol kicked in, the men and women at the table completely let go.

Dong Xinxin also began to cry and complain that she was already a sophomore and still hadn't found a boyfriend, the most miserable one in the dormitory.

As a girl from the Northeast, every time she went on a date with a handsome guy, she would inadvertently let out a thick regional accent, and several boys felt she was too unrefined, so they stopped contacting her after one meeting.

Wang Yi patted her shoulder to comfort her: "Don't say that, Xinxin. Look at me, although I found a boyfriend, he's not that handsome. Every time we go out to eat, we go Dutch, and he never buys me expensive gifts, only picking out two-yuan items from roadside stalls to give me. And he's always trying to drag me to youth hostels for physical exercise. You tell me, what's the difference between having a boyfriend like that and not having one?"

"At least you have one!" Dong Xinxin said, wanting to cry but having no tears, "After Yueyue got a boyfriend, I'm the only single one left in our dorm."

"Who says so? Isn't Yunyun still keeping you company!" Dan Yuyue suddenly sat up from the table as if rising from the dead, shaking her head and loudly refuting.

Her words instantly made the harmonious atmosphere freeze up quite a bit; several people stopped talking and looked toward Ying Ziyun's direction.

Ying Ziyun and Xu Heng were the only two at the table who hadn't drunk hard liquor; their current state hadn't been swayed by the alcohol.

Ying Ziyun still had that faint, ancient-well-like expression, without the slightest fluctuation.

Xu Heng, meanwhile, was joking with Fan Xi beside her, using those stories from Zhihu, NGA, and Tieba from his later life to make the little girl giggle uncontrollably.