Chapter 399: Chapter 319: A Very Sour Shen Qingning

Everyone had arrived, so they all entered the private room Lin Lu had reserved.

Places like this on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day typically have a relatively high minimum consumption.

Cheng Zhu and Shen Minglang received the tablet from the server and started whispering to each other as they looked at the drink menu.

“The consumption is not low, it’s almost catching up to the clubs,” Cheng Zhu said softly after checking the prices of the drinks.

“Well, it’s a high-end place, so it’s normal, which is why I seldom come here,” Shen Minglang also said quietly.

If he seldom came here, where did he go often? Of course, it went without saying.

For Boss Shen, although this place was luxurious, it ultimately… lacked some services.

He was a VIP at the well-known “Touch and Sing” in Hang City.

“Lin Lu, shall we drink Hennessy like we did at cousin’s birthday last time?” Cheng Zhu asked.

“Sure, why not, you decide,” she said.

This young lady didn’t even glance at the prices on the drink menu, completely indifferent.

She was currently being pulled to the side by Xu Ruoan, and the two of them were whispering to each other.

“Lu Lu, what birthday present did Cheng Zhu give you?” she asked with a face full of curiosity.

“I never told him that today was my birthday, he has no clue,” Lin Lu said nonchalantly.

On the contrary, she was quite happy, and said, “But today is Christmas Eve, and he bought me a peace apple!”

Xu Ruoan was slightly agape, not sure what to say to her.

Come on! Even if you didn’t mention your birthday, any moderately attentive guy would have found out from someone else!

It’s a birthday! We’re talking about a birthday here!

“If he were my ambiguous fling, I would definitely start taking points off in my head,” Xu Ruoan thought.

But she didn’t chime in with Lin Lu to offer her opinion on such behavior.

Some girls at this point might say, “This guy is no good; he’s really disappointing.”

Nevertheless, she did feel a bit annoyed for Lin Lu.

With this thought in mind, she raised her head to look at Cheng Zhu.

She saw Cheng Zhu notice her gaze and nodded at her kindly.

“Kind of handsome… How come the more I look at him, the handsomer he gets?” Xu Ruoan found that her annoyance was dissipating by half.

She was now kind of believing a saying she had seen online: “You can’t argue with someone too handsome. As soon as I see his face, my anger evaporates.”

It might not be the case after dating for a while, but if she were to start dating a guy like this… This sultry international student thought that there was nothing that a hot kiss or a quick fling couldn’t fix. If that didn’t work, then twice!

Since ancient times, good looks have always been able to bring people great convenience and benefits.

—-Born a hunk, my apologies.

At this moment, the private room was still waiting for the fruit platter and drinks, feeling a bit quiet.

Shen Minglang picked up the microphone to liven up the atmosphere: “It’s too quiet. Isn’t anyone going to sing?”

Him holding the mic and saying this practically meant that he wanted to sing one himself.

“Cousin, you go first!” the vivacious young girl immediately perked up.

Shen Minglang pretended to demur, then stood up to select a song: “Really, why do you also call me ‘cousin’ every other word now?”

He thought Ji Shiwen and Xu Ruoan were both fairly attractive, what a pity that the latter already had a boyfriend. However, in truth, the slight intellectual charm Ji Shiwen exuded was exactly what mesmerized Shen Minglang, who was somewhat culturally illiterate.

He intentionally didn’t bring a date today because he wanted to see if there were any nice girls among Lin Lu’s friends, and sure enough, there were!

Alright, cousin, I’m going to show off my singing skills now!

He, acting as the ‘brother’, sang with great enthusiasm, completely oblivious to the fact that his own sister was more silent than usual today.

All he was doing was seeing if the girl with the glasses was attracted to my singing.

As it turned out, Shen Minglang keenly noticed that Ji Shiwen kept involuntarily glancing at Cheng Zhu.

After finishing the song, Shen Minglang put down the mic and couldn’t resist saying to Cheng Zhu next to him, “Cousin, I’m starting to like you less and less.”

Cheng Zhu: “???”

Just because I didn’t applaud your singing?

Forget it, can’t be bothered with him, probably just his brain malfunctioning again.

Inside the private room, the drinks had been brought in by the server.

Cheng Zhu and Shen Minglang prepared to drink straight shots, but Xu Ruoan and the others indicated they wanted mixed drinks since they couldn’t handle liquor straight.

This made Cheng Zhu glance over at Shen Qingning, who was sitting on a sofa to the side with the drinks placed on the table in front of her. He then stood up, walked over, pulled a bar stool to sit down beside her, and said, “I’ll make the mix.”

“One to three ratio, not too strong, right?” he asked everyone.

“Sounds good.”

Shen Qingning watched Cheng Zhu, who had suddenly come to sit beside her, without speaking to him.

But her whole posture relaxed a bit.

Cheng Zhu busily made the mixed drinks, adding ice cubes like crazy into the pitcher after mixing because Xu Ruoan kept saying she wanted it iced, claiming she couldn’t take the flavor otherwise.

A lot of people indeed had this drinking habit.

After adding the ice cubes, he placed the pitcher aside, then picked up another empty mixing pitcher, and continued to make the second batch.

“I’ll prepare a pitcher on the side, it’s more convenient this way,” Cheng Zhu remarked.

There were two tables in the private room.

With this level of service, he very much appeared to be today’s host.

However, he had an ulterior motive.

By the time he had finished mixing the second pitcher, the ice cubes floating on top of the first one had melted a bit.

This meant that if he didn’t shake it, the top layer of the drink would be the weakest.

Heh, I won’t shake it!

With that, he started pouring drinks from the large pitcher into the smaller pitchers.

Once the first pitcher was filled, he placed it in front of Shen Qingning.

“This one’s yours,” he said.

Shen Qingning was slightly startled and didn’t understand the situation, her eyes revealing a trace of confusion.

But Cheng Zhu said nothing and started shaking the large pitcher, then filled two more small pitchers and pushed them toward the other people.

After all this, he stood up, carrying the remaining third of the Hennessy bottle to the front of Jiang Wanzhou and Shen Minglang, and then he went to the sink to wash his hands.

After washing his hands, he took out his phone and sent Shen Qingning a WeChat message right in the private room.

“Your mix is the weakest,” he texted.

The sink outside the bathroom was shielded from the sofas by a screen, and others couldn’t see this area.

“Okay,” Shen Qingning replied.

Only after receiving her reply did he put his phone back in his pocket and nonchalantly made his way back, sitting down beside Little President Jiang.

Shen Qingning was seated on the couch, leaning slightly forward toward the table, her eyes focused on the pitcher filled with drinks.

After a while, she gently pulled the pitcher closer, positioning it nearer to herself.

Meanwhile, what was the scoundrel up to after steadying his play?

He was whispering to Shen Minglang.

“I just made the weakest mix for your sister, the part where the ice cubes melted, that’s what I gave her. How about that?” he began to brag.

“Not bad at all!” Shen Minglang certainly didn’t want his sister to drink too much.

“Cousin, actually, I’m not feeling particularly great today.”

“Got it, got it. If there’s any penalty drinking in the group games, I’ll drink more, no big deal,” Shen Minglang patted his chest.

Cheng Zhu pursed his lips and nodded at him repeatedly.

Jiang Wanzhou and Cheng Zhu had played together since childhood and knew each other best. Hearing their exchange, Jiang Wanzhou couldn’t help but roll his eyes on the side.

Of course, he thought Cheng Zhu’s purpose was to make Shen Minglang, the easy mark, drink more.

Little President Jiang was also unaware that he was killing two birds with one stone.

“Tonight’s situation is a bit chaotic, the composition of people at the gathering is too complex, I can’t afford to get drunk,” that was Cheng Zhu’s self-imposed rule for the night.

Don’t forget, after his rebirth, he had two major laws that were especially mysterious.

First law: Every time I drink, major things happen!

Second law: Every time it rains and I’m alone with a woman, something definitely happens…

Meanwhile, Lin Lu, Xu Ruoan, and Ji Shiwen hadn’t seen each other for a long time, so she was caught between the two of them, chatting heartily for a while.

But when the drinking games started, she slipped over to Shen Qingning’s side and chose to sit next to Ning Bao.

During the drinking games, these close friends kept losing.

Lin Lu was in a good mood today, so she was gulping down the drinks cheerfully.

Shen Qingning, not wanting her to drink too much, reluctantly took on her share.

Soon enough, both girls’ cheeks were flushed with a soft red from the alcohol, looking even more enchanting under the light of the room.

Xu Ruoan’s boyfriend, He Chong, felt like he’d taken a beauty blow.

“Death by beauty, what kind of man is supposed to date these women in the future!”

Now, everyone was playing drinking games in pairs, with Lin Lu and Shen Qingning as a team. They lost the next round again.

This time, the “instigating bomb” began to work its magic.

Xu Ruoan looked toward Cheng Zhu and unexpectedly threw out: “Cheng Zhu, aren’t you going to drink some for Lu Lu?”

The scoundrel looked up at her, thinking, “6!”

Instantly, all eyes in the private room focused on him.

Cheng Zhu made a gesture to Lin Lu from across the room, signaling her to stop drinking, then picked up his own glass of straight liquor and started pouring it.

While pouring, he emphasized the rules: “Twice the amount for taking a drink for someone else, right? Is this much about right?”

Saying this, he saw that Shen Qingning was also watching him, her gaze fixed on him unceasingly. He quickly pretended to tremble and poured even more liquor into the glass.

“Hey! That’s enough, that’s enough! Are you crazy, you’re pouring too much!” Jiang Wanzhou immediately protested beside him.

“It is too much, then how about this, I’ll add a little more and drink for both of them,” Cheng Zhu achieved his goal, continued pouring, and swiftly lifted the glass, downing it in one go.

There! Ning Bao, it was her who insisted I drink for Lu Lu, but your drink was poured by me voluntarily, you see!

And! Lu Lu, the overflow was accidental, your friend is naughty, forcing me to drink, so much too!

Because he drank quickly and in large quantities, and it was straight liquor at that, everyone in the private room cheered and applauded.

Xu Ruoan couldn’t help pinching He Chong: “Look at him, he finished it all!”

He Chong: “…”

On the other hand, Ji Shiwen was also softly clapping.

Shen Minglang immediately felt the urge to pinch Cheng Zhu hard on the thigh.

“Dammit, I drank so much for you earlier, and now you’re keeping your liquor for this moment to show off, huh!”

After three rounds of drinks, everyone was getting tipsy, and they began to take a break to sing for a while.

In a little more than twenty minutes, it’d be midnight, and then it would be time to cut the cake and sing a birthday song for Lin Lu.

Then, as soon as the break was mentioned, the “instigating bomb” exploded again.

“Let me see who hasn’t sung today! Cheng Zhu! You haven’t sung! You definitely have to sing one today!”

Cheng Zhu was really fed up with this sister number six.

He had no choice but to get up and choose his signature song that he once sang with Shen Qingning in the KTV: “The Longest Movie.”

“Our beginning is a very long movie,” he sang, and Xu Ruoan and Ji Shiwen couldn’t help but glance at each other.

Deadly: not only was he handsome, but his singing was also terrific. Other than not knowing to buy a birthday gift, not putting his heart into it, I haven’t noticed any fatal flaws so far.

Lin Lu, with both arms resting on her knees and her hands propping up her cheeks, supported her slightly warm face from the alcohol and fixed her gaze on Cheng Zhu who was singing beside her, her eyes not at all hidden.

I like him, so what if you all see it.

Lin Lu was always straightforward and passionate in her affections, unapologetic and brazen.

The proud and aloof Shen Qingning was different. She watched her friend beside her, then glanced at Cheng Zhu, who was concentrating on singing; her heart conflicted and bitter.

—-Shen Qingning, Shen Qingningg.

Sour and bitter.

She couldn’t help but look away, no longer focusing on the two of them, but at the MV on the screen.

At that moment, Cheng Zhu sang the very line: “Love, is it really more precious when left unspoken—-”

Pressed her lips tightly, Shen Qingning thought to herself:

“It’s not.”

…

(ps: First update, ask for monthly tickets!)