Just after leaving Mingyue Building, Ye Chen's phone rang; taking it out, he saw it was from an unfamiliar number.
"Hello, who is this?" Ye Chen answered the call and asked.
"Uncle, it's only been a day since we last met, and you've already forgotten me. I'm so hurt."
The voice of Qin Shiyao came through from the phone.
"Don't be like that, talking as if there's something between us."
"Uncle, now you actually don't want to admit it, believe it or not, I'll tell your wife about us."
Qin Shiyao threatened fiercely.
"Alright, alright, I give up, what is it?"
"Uncle, I'm with classmates at Night Shades Bar. Come quickly."
"Wasn't yesterday's lesson enough? Still daring to go to the bar," Ye Chen frowned and said.
"That's why you're there, Uncle. Call me when you arrive."
After speaking, the call was hung up.
Ye Chen held his phone and couldn't help but smile bitterly; it seemed she was set on sticking to him.
Ye Chen sent a text to Su Xiyue, letting her know he wouldn't be coming home tonight.
After waiting a while without a reply, Ye Chen hailed a taxi and headed straight for Night Shades Bar.
Upon arriving, Ye Chen got out of the taxi and made a call, "I'm here; where are you?"
"Uncle, you've arrived? Wait a sec, I'm coming out to meet you."
A few minutes later, Qin Shiyao walked out from the bar.
White sleeveless T-shirt, black mini skirt; with this get-up, she hardly looked like a high school girl.
"Uncle, come on, my friends are all getting impatient."
Qin Shiyao approached and grabbed Ye Chen's arm, pulling him into the bar.
Most of the office workers had already finished work, and quite a few people had gathered at the bar; in the dance area, men and women were dancing.
"Uncle, stop staring; you'll pop your eyeballs out."
Just as Ye Chen was eyeing a dancer in the pool, Qin Shiyao couldn't help but snort.
Being caught red-handed by a young girl peeping wasn't a good thing; Ye Chen touched his nose awkwardly and didn't speak, following her into a private room.
"Queen Bee, you're finally back. Why'd it take so long?"
Just after entering the private room, a girl couldn't help but complain.
Ye Chen looked around. The room had about ten people, four girls and six boys, all not very old, around sixteen or seventeen, probably all Qin Shiyao's classmates.
However, each girl was dressed provocatively, with overdone makeup, not at all like students.
"Let me introduce him. This is Uncle Ye Chen, my guardian."
Qin Shiyao looped her arm through Ye Chen's, introducing him to her classmates.
After hearing this, Ye Chen's face immediately darkened.
Uncle?
What's going on? It's one thing for you to call me that, but to introduce me as such to others only increases the gap between me and them, right?
"Uncle? Looks more like a boyfriend to me," one of the girls teased after the introduction.
Suddenly, a group of girls started to jeer noisily.
"What are you talking about?"
Qin Shiyao blushed and scolded lightly.
"Jinglong, it doesn't look good; their relationship seems more than ordinary," a boy said to the one sitting in the center.
Su Jinglong observed Qin Shiyao's shy demeanor, and his eyes grew dark.
He had been pursuing Qin Shiyao for quite some time and hadn't even touched her hand, while she treated him indifferently.
Now suddenly, some uncle has appeared, showing an intimate attitude with her; how could he not be angry?
Su Jinglong turned his head and gave a signal, prompting a boy to stand up and approach.
"Uncle, being so late, you've got to drink three penalty shots, as per the rules."
"Wang Ze, don't talk nonsense. The uncle was called here by me at the last minute, why should he be penalized with drinks?"
Looking at the approaching boy, Qin Shiyao furrowed her brows and said.
"Shiyao, you're wrong there. We've been waiting so long; three penalty shots aren't too much," Su Jinglong said, flashing a cunning look, as he stood up and smiled at Ye Chen.
"Yeah, Boss Lady, you can't protect him just because he's your uncle," another chimed in.
It seemed that Su Jinglong held a lot of prestige among this group of people, as several of them instantly chimed in agreement.
A glint of pride flashed in Su Jinglong's eyes, which Ye Chen didn't fail to notice, and Ye Chen immediately understood what was going on.
This guy must be trying to pursue Qin Shiyao, and seeing me getting along so well with Qin Shiyao, he's using the drinking penalty as a pretense to target me.
You go chase your girl, why bother me? Don't you know they call me the "Wine Immortal," the "Undying Drinker"? Yet, you still want to outdrink me.
Qin Shiyao looked at Ye Chen with concern, and Ye Chen pretended to be troubled and said, "I'm not very good with alcohol."
"Just three glasses, and it's just beer—it won't get anyone drunk. Uncle, you aren't scared, are you?"
Su Jinglong grabbed a bottle and poured three glasses of beer, taunting Ye Chen.
"Then let's drink these three glasses." Ye Chen picked up a glass from the table and drained it in one gulp.
"Go uncle, you can do it!" The girls began to cheer enthusiastically.
"The second glass."
Ye Chen downed another glass, this time a bit slower than the first.
"Uncle, are you okay?"
Qin Shiyao actually thought Ye Chen couldn't handle his liquor and voiced her concern.
"Uncle, the third glass."
Su Jinglong brought over another cup.
Ye Chen took the glass and gulped it down again.
But this time, Ye Chen pretended almost to struggle, thinking to himself, "Kid, I'm going to see if I can't drink you under the table."
"Uncle, how is it? Don't force yourself if you can't drink."
Qin Shiyao pulled out a napkin and wiped Ye Chen's mouth for him.
Su Jinglong's face turned sour as he watched the two of them getting cozy with each other.
Su Jinglong walked over to Wang Ze, whispered a few words to him, and then Wang Ze came over with a glass of alcohol.
"Uncle, it's my first time meeting you, I'll drink to that."
"Can you not? There are so many guys here trying to gang up on our uncle; what kind of men are you?"
Qin Shiyao got angry and stood up, scolding them coldly.
"Don't rush, you underestimate your uncle too much. If they want to get me drunk like this, they are far from it," Ye Chen said, pulling Qin Shiyao back and whispering in her ear.
Wanna play a game of rotation with me? I'll drink you all under the table today.
Ye Chen raised his glass, clinked it with Wang Ze's, and chugged down the content.
"Ugh, I'm really feeling it now."
Ye Chen slurred, pretending to be tipsy.
Just as Wang Ze stepped away, Su Jinglong came over with a glass of liquor.
"Uncle, come on, I'll drink to you too."
Without giving Ye Chen a chance to object, he finished his drink in one gulp.
Ye Chen was forced to guzzle down another glass.
"I'm going to get drunk, this is bad."
The other guys, seeing Ye Chen looking like he was about to get drunk, hurried over one by one to toast him.
"If I drink any more, I'm really going to get drunk," Ye Chen continued to drink glass after glass, loudly complaining all the while.
After glass after glass, Su Jinglong and his crew became anxious. He had been saying he couldn't take it for a while now, so why wasn't he collapsing already? On the contrary, he seemed to become more spirited with each drink.
"Jinglong, I'm done for," said one of the guys as he covered his mouth and headed for the bathroom.
"Useless! Keep drinking; he's about to give out," Su Jinglong bit his teeth and said sternly.
There was no room for giving up at this point.
After about ten more minutes, the floor was littered with beer bottles, and several guys were staggering around, drunk; even Su Jinglong had to go to the restroom to throw up once, and others even twice.
"Come on, let's keep drinking."
Ye Chen became more animated as he drank, pulling several people along to continue drinking, with no sign of being drunk.
"I can't do this, I give up, I give up," the guys said in unison, realizing they were being played by Ye Chen, calling themselves fools if they couldn't see it.
They finally realized that despite his protests of being unable to hold his liquor, he was still drinking just fine.
Whoever continued to drink with him was an idiot, the guys cursed to themselves in their heads.