Chapter 35 Drinking
As more and more people gathered around Liu Shang, Zhou Liang frowned deeply. His plan to wear Liu Shang down by sending wave after wave of challengers was now useless.
Originally, his plan was to use a war of attrition, sending a large number of people to toast Liu Shang one after another until he was drunk.
It would be best if he made a fool of himself in front of Jiang Ruolin. They would see how he handled his liquor.
After all, how you drink reveals your character.
But now that Liu Shang had made such a move, their plan was in vain. Everyone, including Zhou Liang and Tan Feng, had to join this one big drinking contest.
After all, Liu Shang had said that after this round, he would no longer drink with anyone else.
After a burst of chaos, seventeen or eighteen people had surrounded Liu Shang, almost all of whom were holding beer bottles in their left hands and glasses in their right.
At this time, an impatient person wanted to raise his glass first but was stopped by Liu Shang with a smile.
"I see we're all men here, so let's stop drinking beer like girls. How long would that take?"
Hearing his words, everyone was shocked again, and then they shouted for Baijiu.
Soon, the waiter brought over some Luzhou Laojiao.
But looking at the alcohol percentage, Liu Shang shook his head again and frowned.
"This 38-degree liquor is like a man in his twenties. It has the form, but not the substance or the charm of a mature man."
"So what?"
Under Liu Shang's intentional pause, a girl with a lively personality next to him laughed and shouted loudly, "We prefer those with substance!"
Following her answer, the scene burst into laughter, and the atmosphere became more enthusiastic and harmonious.
At this time, even Zhou Liang had to admit and admire in his heart that this Liu Shang's affinity and ability to control the room were much better than his own.
Amidst the laughter of the crowd, the waiters brought out the 60-degree high-proof liquor. At this, Liu Shang nodded in satisfaction and poured himself a full glass, just like everyone else.
At this moment, Jiang Ruolin, who was beside him, quietly took his hand with a worried expression.
Liu Shang smiled at her and shook his head, squeezing her small hand slightly. Then he joked to the girls at his table:
"Ladies, I'm about to go into battle for you!"
"All of you, be my witnesses. If someone tries to take advantage of the chaos—not joining now but coming to challenge me later—you have to drive them away for me, okay?!"
The girls all laughed delightedly at his teasing and shouted, "Okay!" The dozen or so men holding their glasses couldn't help but stare.
At this time, seeing that everyone had filled their glasses, Liu Shang smiled slightly.
"This first glass is a toast to everyone present."
"Meeting each other here is fate, and each of you is a beautiful landscape, full of your own vitality!"
As he spoke, Liu Shang directly picked up the wine glass and drank the 60-degree Baijiu in one gulp.
Perhaps because his words were so literary, and the act of drinking was so unexpectedly bold and unrestrained, it immediately attracted a round of applause from the surroundings.
Seeing this, the others also steeled themselves, imitating Liu Shang and gulping it down.
But they were all students. How could they have much drinking experience?
Especially drinking such a high-proof spirit.
Some people spat it out after taking one sip, while others managed to drink half a glass before spitting it out on the ground.
In short, they were extremely embarrassed. They were too ashamed to stay any longer and ran back to their original seats in desperation.
On Tan Feng's side, they had reasons why they couldn't retreat, no matter what, so they all frowned and drank the liquor as if it were poison.
Two of them who usually had a low tolerance for alcohol only felt a burning sensation in their esophagus after one glass. Their stomachs churned, and they immediately ran toward the bathroom or outside.
Damn it! I have to go on!
Zhou Liang, who was also not a strong drinker, was hit by the pungent smell of alcohol before the glass even reached his lips.
As cunning as he was, he knew in that moment that he was probably going to go down this time.
The other party, Liu Shang, was also using an open conspiracy: If you're a man, drink it. If you don't drink it, then don't bother me again.
Under such circumstances, Zhou Liang had no choice but to bite the bullet and drink the glass of wine.
With just this one glass, eight or nine of the seventeen or eighteen people surrounding Liu Shang had surrendered.
Contrary to everyone's expectations, Liu Shang, who had just downed a glass of strong liquor, raised his glass again amid the crowd's exclamations.
"This second glass of wine is for our group leader, Tan Feng."
"Thank you for providing such a platform for everyone, and thank you for generously paying to entertain us all!"
"I'll go first!"
After speaking, under the astonishing eyes of everyone, Liu Shang tilted his head back and drank the second glass of wine.
This time, Liu Shang's reason for the toast was Tan Feng, and he was thanking him for paying for the banquet.
It was already too late for those who wanted to escape. In order not to lose face, they could only bite the bullet and drink this second glass as well.
The first glass of 60-degree liquor hadn't even settled yet, and now another one was on top of it. How could ordinary people handle this?
So after drinking, several people immediately ran out to vomit at the hotel entrance, and some vomited on their way to the bathroom.
And Zhou Liang, who didn't have the tolerance for it, was relying on willpower to stay upright. He just sat down on the ground and passed out.
After this round, only five or six people were left around Liu Shang, including Tan Feng and Lu Kai, who were still standing firm.
At this moment, they only felt dizzy, and their entire bodies were burning with discomfort.
For example, Tan Feng, whose consciousness was already a little fuzzy, had forgotten the reason for Liu Shang's third toast.
All they knew was that amidst the exclamation of the crowd, they drank the third glass of wine, and then their bodies rejected it.
Then, there was no consciousness...
After the third glass of wine, only Liu Shang and Lu Kai, Tan Feng's buddy who was always up for a fight, were left on the scene.
But at this time, Lu Kai was obviously drunk, and even staggered as he sat down.
"This wine is delicious!"
"Liu Shang, I'm going to smoke a cigarette first, and then we'll go hard. You don't object, do you?"
Seeing Liu Shang shake his head and smile, Lu Kai lit a cigarette and took a puff.
Then he looked at the girls next to him apologetically. "I'm sorry. Maybe you don't like the smell of cigarettes."
At this time, a girl who was acquainted with Lu Kai and the others smiled. "Although we really don't like the smell of cigarettes, I have to say, Lu Kai, you look pretty cool when you smoke."
Lu Kai smiled and said something that sounded quite profound and stylish, "Men! There are always times when you need a smoke."
After speaking, he directly tossed the cigarette case and the lighter to Liu Shang.
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