Chapter 14: Shen Manman

Shen Manman stood dumbfounded.

She stared at Su Cheng in utter disbelief.

Shen Manman was by no means inferior to Wang Yuting.

It was just that her personality… had the flaw of being a bit weak and timid.

Plenty of guys had pursued her in the past.

Yet Shen Manman had eyes only for Shi Xiaoqiang.

Once those guys heard she was only interested in Shi Xiaoqiang, they gave up one after another.

Shi Xiaoqiang was someone they simply could not compete with.

For kids from ordinary backgrounds, the gap between them and Shi Xiaoqiang was vast, so giving up early was the only sensible choice.

It was not as if they were unaware of what kind of person Shi Xiaoqiang was.

He did not even need to openly mess with you or pay you any mind; you would simply end up completely isolated.

Of course.

There were still guys who lacked self-awareness, continually trying to express their affection for Shen Manman.

Everyone knew Shi Xiaoqiang was the type to keep an eye on the pot while eating from the bowl^[1].

So none of them dared to make a move openly.

Su Cheng had stepped forward for her in public like this, not hesitating to offend Shi Xiaoqiang.

It truly stirred something in Shen Manman’s heart.

These past few months by Shi Xiaoqiang’s side,

she had felt so utterly pathetic!

Now Su Cheng had stepped forward.

It was…

How should she put it?

She was really quite touched.

Having a man stand up for her in a situation like this…

That was a massive point in his favor.

Su Cheng already had some understanding of what went on between Shen Manman and Shi Xiaoqiang.

To put it simply and bluntly,

Shen Manman was nothing more than a simp at Shi Xiaoqiang’s side, hopelessly pining for love she could never have.

Su Cheng had never felt sympathy for that kind of person.

Yet this time, he had not stepped forward for Shen Manman’s sake.

He simply refused to let Shi Xiaoqiang make him lose face.

Everyone here was still a student.

Others might not realize what was going on, but Su Cheng saw right through it at a glance.

Shi Xiaoqiang was genuinely taken aback by Su Cheng’s upright, unyielding posture.

He had originally wanted to ask: did someone need a reason to drink?

Wasn’t a KTV made for drinking anyway?

Doing so, however, would make him appear far too hostile.

He was already resented by plenty of people, and others already saddled him with derogatory labels like “rich second generation^[2]” and “playboy.”

If word of this incident got out as well,

he would definitely be cursed behind his back as a “worthless spoiled heir.”

He did not care what others thought, nor did he mind their opinions.

Still, he could not let himself be intimidated by Su Cheng like this.

“It’s just drinking. What kind of reason do you want?” Shi Xiaoqiang countered.

“Since Young Master Shi loves drinking so much, let’s drink together.”

“I’ll drink three glasses for every one you drink.”

“Whoever throws up first loses.”

“If I lose, the bill today is on me.”

“If you lose, you apologize to Student Shen. How about it?”

Su Cheng laid out his proposition.

An apology to Shen Manman was functionally an apology to Su Cheng.

In any case, as long as he did not let Shi Xiaoqiang make him lose face, Su Cheng considered it a win.

As for the drinking itself,

Su Cheng had just obtained Chin Gentsai^[3]‘s Drunken Immortal Pill, so he had zero fear.

Never mind three glasses to one;

even if it were five glasses to one, Su Cheng would not hesitate to take the bet.

What a pity, though.

Su Cheng had planned to keep that item for himself, never expecting he would end up burning it in a drinking contest.

Under the table, Li Lei secretly kicked Su Cheng.

Shi Xiaoqiang’s offer of ten million… the price was passable.

If Su Cheng did not want to accept it, they could simply walk away.

If Shen Manman liked sucking up to Shi Xiaoqiang, let her suck up to him.

Why bother meddling with her?

This was just looking for trouble where there was none!

Three glasses to one?

He had to have a screw loose!

Shi Xiaoqiang: ???

Was Su Cheng trying to butt heads with him with this proposal?

And three glasses to one at that?

Was he looking down on him?

Shi Xiaoqiang agreed without a second thought.

In front of so many people,

with Wang Yuting, Shen Manman, two male programmers, and the company lawyer present,

if he backed down, wouldn’t he become a laughingstock?

“Fine by me, President Su.”

Shi Xiaoqiang did not have the best alcohol tolerance.

However, after spending the past two years drowning in parties and debauchery, no matter how bad it used to be, he had built it up.

“No need for you to drink three glasses. We’ll go glass for glass, so nobody can say I bullied you.”

“Even better.”

Su Cheng had only offered three to one out of concern that Shi Xiaoqiang might refuse.

If it was one for one,

with the Drunken Immortal sobriety pill, Shi Xiaoqiang was guaranteed to lose!

Shi Xiaoqiang instructed the server to bring six clean glasses.

Wang Yuting filled each one to the brim.

Taking advantage of the moment,

Su Cheng covertly popped the Drunken Immortal sobriety pill into his mouth.

Once the liquor was poured, he picked up the glasses and downed three in a row: gulp, gulp, gulp.

The onlookers stared in absolute shock.

Are you pouring coffee down an old cow^[4]?!

This was hard liquor!

Normally, people sipped this little by little.

Who in the world drank it like that?

Was he treating it like beer?

Seeing Su Cheng’s momentum, Shi Xiaoqiang felt that something was amiss.

Still, he braced himself and went for it.

One glass.

Two glasses.

By the third glass, he choked, spitting half of it back out.

Before Wang Yuting could even wipe Shi Xiaoqiang’s clothes clean, Su Cheng was already pouring another round for himself.

Gulp, gulp, gulp.

Down went another three glasses.

How could Shi Xiaoqiang possibly keep up with Su Cheng’s pace?

His face twisted into a mask of pure agony.

He had agreed to the bet himself, so he had to grit his teeth and see it through.

Shi Xiaoqiang matched him with another three glasses.

Hard liquor like this went down easily enough at first, but the delayed kick was brutal.

Drink too much of it, and whether you would even wake up the next morning became a serious question.

Off to the side, Lawyer Wang did not dare take that kind of risk.

Lawyer Wang was already starting to regret showing up today.

Had he not been present, things might still be fine.

With him right here, if something happened to Shi Xiaoqiang, there would be no way to face Old Shi, and he would be in serious trouble.

“Xiaoqiang, stop drinking.” Lawyer Wang stood up to intervene.

Shi Xiaoqiang was so busy battling the alcohol that he did not even acknowledge him.

“You two, quickly talk some sense into him! You can’t drink this much of this liquor!”

Did Shi Xiaoqiang have a screw loose?!

Was Su Cheng’s life more precious, or was his?

Couldn’t he do the math?

If you fucking want to play games like this, don’t drag me down with you!

Wang Yuting belatedly grasped the severity of the situation.

Several glasses in, Su Cheng did not show the slightest hint of drunkenness, tossing them back as if it were water.

Shi Xiaoqiang, on the other hand, had to pinch his nose through every single glass, looking like he was in absolute misery.

He was just forcing himself to act tough.

If something really happened to him, what was she supposed to do?

Wang Yuting took a step forward, intending to snatch the glass from Shi Xiaoqiang’s hand.

Yet Shi Xiaoqiang snapped even at her: “Leave me alone!”

With a violent shove, he sent Wang Yuting tumbling back onto the sofa.

It hurt!

Shen Manman knew it.

This had all started because of her.

She had to take responsibility.

Summoning her courage, Shen Manman walked over to Shi Xiaoqiang’s side and urged him to stop drinking.

As she spoke, she reached out to take his glass.

Slap!

A hard slap struck her right across the face.

The alcohol had completely rushed to Shi Xiaoqiang’s head by now.

He had downed nine glasses in quick succession.

No normal person could have remained clear-headed after that.

Inside his mind, only a single thought remained.

Win.

Or lose.

Ever since he was a child, Shi Xiaoqiang had been drilled with the mindset of “be a winner, never a loser.”

Naturally, admitting defeat to Su Cheng was completely out of the question.

As for Shen Manman…

You claim to like me, but you won’t even fucking let me hold your hand once! What the hell are you whining and playing innocent for?

Go fuck yourself.

Alcohol brings out the truth.

When the layers of defense a person normally builds up are stripped away by the onslaught of alcohol,

their words and actions follow the rawest desires of their heart, completely free of pretense.

“I told you to leave me alone! Are you deaf?!”