Both Mark and Shi Nian were stunned.
Mark paused for a moment, as if he hadn’t heard clearly, and asked again, "Professor T, you mean...?"
Shi Nian’s face turned completely red, her eyes filled with shy bewilderment.
He squinted at her unguarded expression and sighed lightly, "Ahem, she arrived late, so she should be penalized with three glasses. And she’s been standing here for so long without toasting me."
The students in the Behavioral Analysis class were all from the Eastern Studies Department, majoring in Eastern studies, so they were all familiar with the drinking etiquette in Chinese culture. Mark suddenly understood and laughed, "Oh, so that’s it. Don’t blame Nian, Professor, it’s my fault for getting caught up talking to her."
Tang Yanqing stared only at Shi Nian, too lazy to listen to Mark’s various explanations, and strode over, grabbing Shi Nian’s wrist: "Let’s go."
Shi Nian was already flustered, so she didn’t resist at all, obediently following him past Mark toward the circle of sofas and chairs.
Mark watched the two of them walking hand in hand, squinting his eyes.
Spicy Girl truly lived up to her Sichuan origins; within such a short time, she was already tipsy, boldly playing drinking games with Zhong Kui, not the least bit embarrassed.
Seeing Shi Nian finally being dragged over by Tang Yanqing, she quickly poured a drink for Shi Nian: "Come on, come on, since we sisters came later, there’s no escaping the self-imposed penalty of three glasses. Nian, I’ll pour you a drink, you better drink up quickly. Otherwise, if they interrupt later, who knows what they’ll add to your drink." Thɪs chapter is updated by NoveI~Fire.net
Shi Nian felt a bit troubled.
Since childhood, her mother had been extremely strict with her etiquette; being the daughter of a police officer, she was also very disciplined herself. Before college, she never participated in any kind of slightly wild parties with classmates, so she had no alcohol tolerance. Even in college, she would only drink a little beer, a small bottle at most.
Tang Yanqing casually slipped into the seat beside her. Seeing her predicament, he leaned his head toward her: "What, afraid to drink?"
Like a magician, he somehow pulled out another bottle of alcohol and retrieved a new cup, filling it to the brim. Then he handed the glass to Shi Nian while naturally taking the glass from her hand.
With a mischievous grin, he shrugged arrogantly: "You can’t take the penalty alone, don’t forget you should first toast me. Here, this is yours, this is mine, let’s drink together."
He squinted at her glass, "You should first finish it as a courtesy."
This was also the normal rule, so Shi Nian had no choice but to brace herself, apologetically smiling at everyone: "Sorry for being late, this glass is to toast the professor, and everyone too. I’ll go first."
With that, she downed it in a single gulp.
Yet in the instant the liquid entered her mouth, she turned to Tang Yanqing in surprise, eyes wide in disbelief.
Tang Yanqing shrugged again: "Ahem, that’s more like it." Saying this, he also raised his head and drank the contents of his glass.
She originally thought it was strong whiskey, but clearly what was in Shi Nian’s mouth was—mineral water!
After finishing his drink, Tang Yanqing personally filled another glass for Shi Nian, eyes faintly smiling as they met hers, though he said, "Not bad at holding your liquor, let’s go again."
Having figured it out, Shi Nian had no difficulty with the second glass.
But while drinking this one, she couldn’t bring herself to look at anyone else, only able to—gaze at him.
The lights were scattered like stars, shimmering one by one in his eyes, slightly touched by intoxication but still so dark and captivating as if pure springs were flowing straight into her heart.
She smiled, tilted her head back, swallowing it down.
He also watched her, smiling as he downed the real whiskey in his hand.
Shi Nian, who appeared shy and delicate, was an Eastern girl, and everyone didn’t expect her "alcohol tolerance" to be so good, so they all applauded and cheered.
For the third glass, he still offered it to her with a smile, a touch of mischief swirling in his pupils.
She raised her eyebrows slightly but didn’t guard against it, directly tilting her head back to drink—yet this time, what entered her mouth was dry and spicy, the real whiskey!
Shi Nian realized it, but it was too late, the fiery liquor rushed through her mouth, sliding straight down her throat... Shi Nian quickly grabbed the table, covering her mouth with her hand, coughing violently.
Everyone laughed, saying they thought her alcohol tolerance was amazing, but it turned out she couldn’t handle the third glass.
Embarrassed and in a mess, she coughed while glancing over to glare at the mischievous guy.