"Don’t worry, just have a couple of drinks. You should be off tomorrow, right? If you get drunk, I’ll make sure you get home safely," Lu Shishu said, raising her fair and slender hand to snap her fingers at the nearby waiter.
The waiter nods in understanding and quickly goes to fetch the wine.
Cen Jin is speechless and reminds, "Don’t drive after drinking."
"I know. I didn’t drive here today. I sent my car to the service shop for maintenance; I won’t get it back until tomorrow."
When the waiter brings over the dishes along with the wine, Lu Shishu pours half a glass of wine for her and raises her glass with a smile: "The first glass is a toast to our reunion after over a month."
Cen Jin smiles helplessly, raises her glass, clinks it lightly with hers, and takes a small sip, her delicate brows furrowing slightly. Immediately, she hears Lu Shishu say, "The second glass is a toast to our ten-year friendship."
For this toast, Cen Jin can’t reject the reason and clinks her glass again, taking another small sip.
Lu Shishu knows her drinking capacity well—basically one cup and she’s done—and considering the wine she’s drinking has quite a high alcohol content, she doesn’t force her, just lets her drink what she’s comfortable with.
Halfway through the meal, Lu Shishu has already drunk more than half of the bottle of wine, but seems to have barely touched the food in her bowl. Staring at her somewhat flushed cheeks, Cen Jin says, "Shi Shu, stop drinking and eat some food first! You’ve hardly touched your dish."
"Alright." Lu Shishu smiles faintly, releases the glass, and picks up her chopsticks to start eating.
Soon, the dinner reaches its end. The waiter serves dessert, Lu Shishu eats a couple of bites and once again raises her wine glass with a light chuckle, saying, "Cen Jin, let’s finish our drinks!"
Looking at the small half glass of wine in front of her, Cen Jin raises her eyebrows, nods, puts down her chopsticks, and lightly clinks her glass with hers, finishing it in two sips.
After finishing her drink, Cen Jin feels no immediate effects, but once dessert is done—about five or six minutes later—the aftereffects of the alcohol hit her. Her once fair and delicate face shows a couple of clear reddish blushes, and her head becomes a bit dizzy.
Lu Shishu observes the strange change and, somewhat surprised, asks with concern, "Cen Jin, are you alright?"
"Yeah, I’m great!" Cen Jin replies, her face rosy, grinning widely to reveal eight blindingly white teeth.
Lu Shishu chuckles awkwardly, her grin usually indicating something is definitely off. She quickly downs her glass, internally muttering, ’In one month alone, her drinking tolerance seems to have gone from one glass knocking her out to half a glass?’
"Waiter, bring me another dessert," just as she finishes muttering, Cen Jin suddenly stands up excitedly and raises her hand to the nearby waiter.
Lu Shishu looks at her speechlessly, resting her chin on one hand; this is a far cry from the usual serene and quiet Cen Jin.
"Shi Shu, pour me another glass!" Suddenly, Cen Jin holds her wine glass up to her, her pretty face blushed due to the wine, exuding a playful charm within her gracefulness.
Seeing her reach for the bottle, Lu Shishu swiftly snatches it away: "No, Cen Jin! You won’t be able to handle it. If you drink more, when you sober up tomorrow, you’ll definitely have a headache that’ll make you want to kill me."
"Dessert is here, dessert is here, have the dessert first." Lu Shishu smiles, diverting her attention by pointing to the dessert the waiter brought.