Several minutes passed—or maybe it was more than ten?
Shu wasn't paying attention.
It was only when the door was knocked lightly three times that Shu sat up straight.
"Come in."
A server pushed a cart in, placing the pre-ordered set on the coffee table.
There was a fruit platter that was more for show than for eating, and three kinds of snacks.
Then came the various alcoholic beverages.
A pack of canned beer and several bottles of luxurious-looking sparkling wine were chilling in an ice bucket, beads of condensation clinging to the glass.
Aside from those, there were a few small ceramic flasks of spirits, their brand unidentifiable.
The server arranged everything neatly, said with a smile, "Please enjoy," then backed out, gently closing the door behind them.
Shu got up, walked to the door, and slid the lock into place.
CLICK.
With that sound, Shu's shoulders finally, completely relaxed.
And in that very moment of relaxation—
POP.
Shu whipped his head around.
The sudden release of pressurized gas made a sound that would have been particularly pleasant to a connoisseur's ears.
But Shu was no connoisseur, so to him, the sound was just jarring.
Kiana had already eagerly popped open a bottle of sparkling wine on the sofa.
She had torn off the golden foil and twisted open the wire cage. With her thumb pressed against the cork, a thin wisp of white mist escaped through her fingers.
How are you so good at that?!
Shu's pupils were quaking.
Kiana licked her lips, playfully sticking out her tongue as she grabbed two glasses. She tilted the bottle towards the first glass.
Golden liquid flowed from the bottle, and bubbles rose from the bottom of the glass—fine, joyful, and racing each other to the top.
However, her lack of complete mastery was evident when the bubbles fizzed over the rim, making her hand jerk. It was clear she wasn't entirely an expert.
She was much more careful when pouring the second glass, stopping when it was half-full.
Then, holding a glass in each hand, she sat back against the soft leather of the sofa, raised a glass to him, and made her invitation.
The golden liquid shimmered under the purple lights.
Kiana looked up at Shu, her lips curled into a heroic smile, radiating the aura of a champion drinker who wouldn't go home until she was thoroughly sloshed.
"Come on!"
Shu: "..."
He didn't speak. With a neutral expression, he walked over and took the glass Kiana was offering him.
Kiana took the opportunity to raise her own glass, moving to clink it against Shu's—
But Shu's other hand shot out, his palm covering the mouth of her glass, pressing it firmly down onto the coffee table.
The base of the glass met the tabletop with a soft clink.
Kiana's hand was still on the glass. She looked up at Shu, confused.
"What's wrong?"
Shu's voice was low and ghostly.
"Are you even an adult?"
Kiana's face changed drastically, her heart hammered, her thoughts a mess.
In that moment, Kiana was suddenly reminded of the terror of being dominated by Theresa.
"Um..." Her eyes started darting around, looking at the microphone, the bottle, Shu's hand—anywhere but at Shu's eyes.
Shu's eyes narrowed. Seeing Kiana stammer for what felt like an eternity, he lost his patience and forcefully took the glass from her.
Kiana reached out as if to get it back, but one look at Shu's terrifying glare and she meekly retracted her hand.
If she had really dared to resist, she could have pinned him to the sofa the moment his hand came down.
But she didn't dare.
It couldn't be helped. Even though most places with rules against underage drinking didn't strictly enforce them, it was still a fact that she was in the wrong.
And when you're in the wrong, you have to take your lumps...
Like a little quail, Kiana watched as Shu set both glasses aside, pulled a large bottle of chilled juice from the ice bucket, and poured her a fresh glass.
Huh? Where did the juice come from?
Kiana stared at the glass of juice that had been placed gently in front of her, suddenly realizing that Shu had prepared this in advance!
"Wow! So you knew all along I couldn't drink!" Kiana huffed, grabbing the juice Shu had prepared for her and downing the entire glass in one go.
Did this guy just trick me into opening the bottle for him?
Shu chuckled and refilled her glass.
"I haven't even asked you yet. How are you so good at that?" Shu put down the juice, picked up the glass of wine Kiana had poured for him, and sat down beside her.
Kiana cradled her juice and tilted her head, thinking.
"This... well, back when Dad used to do off-road rally races, he'd often take me to the events. He won first place a lot, and when he popped the champagne, he'd let me do it a couple of times. That's how I got used to it."
At this, Kiana added another comment.
"But then, one time before a race, Mom discovered that Dad had installed two rocket engines on his car, and she wouldn't let him go after that..."
The hand Shu was using to hold his wine glass trembled.
"What rocket engines?" he asked blankly.
Why would a car have something like that? Who would even be capable of installing something like that?
"Hey, I'll tell you a secret..." Kiana noticed the confusion in Shu's eyes and suddenly leaned closer, lowering her voice. "Actually, my dad's racing team was anonymously formed by Dr. Einstein and her group~"
Huh?
Shu sucked in a sharp breath.
Is she talking about the Einstein I'm thinking of?
"Why?" Although Shu had his suspicions, the whole thing was so absurd that he had to ask.
"Isn't it obvious? I heard that before Dad's team showed up, Uncle Joyce was always the champion."
Shu slowly typed a question mark in his mind.
What does that mean?
Shu remembered Kiana mentioning this Joyce before—the infamous leader of Future City. He was apparently good friends with Siegfried, but Kiana had left early on and wasn't familiar with him.
So... Dr. Einstein and the others anonymously formed a racing team for Siegfried just to snipe Joyce?
They used rocket engines just to beat Joyce?
No... Shu felt the rocket engines were more likely what Einstein's group used to kick Siegfried out of the game after they were done with him—slaughtering the donkey after it was done with the mill.
That world seemed a little too surreal.
Shu took a small sip of the sparkling wine to calm his nerves. The faint bitterness mixed with "fruitiness" made him frown slightly.
"Does it taste good?" Kiana asked curiously.
She had opened bottles before, and her dad loved to drink, but his behavior had left her with a less-than-stellar impression of alcohol...
Oh, and then Himeko entered her life, which made her impression even worse.
So now, Kiana was genuinely curious about what alcohol actually tasted like.