I Have 10 Trillion Dollars only Usable For Simping Chapter 2730 - 1696: Mixed Liquor (2)

What’s that saying again?

A weasel wishing a chicken a Happy New Year, can’t have good intentions.

"What’s up."

Seeing several male comrades sitting still, Lan Peizhi said, "Weren’t you all drinking quite happily earlier?"

Look.

The tension is palpable.

"That wine was free from the restaurant, it’d be a waste not to drink it."

Wu Guangjiang took on his elder’s responsibility, mustered up the courage to speak.

"This wine, I specifically brought it."

Lan Peizhi’s words were succinct and clear, indicating that drinking is not optional.

"...Well, Jiang, you’re the host, you must drink first."

Wu Guangjiang stood up to grab the wine gourd.

Oh, damn.

Jiang Chen couldn’t help but feel a black line appear on his forehead.

Sympathy is one thing, but each man for himself, heaven and earth combined would perish.

Seeing the other about to pour him wine, Jiang Chen, sitting next to Lan Peizhi, took advantage of his proximity to grab the warm and smooth wine gourd first, temporarily relieving his severe leg weakness.

"Uncle, you’re the elder, you should drink first."

"How can that be, come, give it to me, you specially sent someone to bring us over, arranged for us to stay at the Oriental Pearl, accompanied us all day, arranged so thoroughly, you must drink first."

The two men pushed and shoved hilariously.

Martial Saint nearly laughed out loud, smartly picked up his chopsticks and quietly focused on eating.

Seeing he couldn’t get it, Wu Guangjiang slipped a glance to the person who clearly didn’t understand respecting the old and nurturing the young.

Jiang Chen understood.

In the exchange of glances, mutual understanding was reached.

"Hey—"

Thus, amidst their mutual politeness, the contested wine gourd slipped out, flew away, originally thought to crash on the ground. All would be ruined, everyone could peacefully eat, but no one expected it to be caught steadily by a preemptively prepared gentle hand.

"I’ll pour."

Alright.

Stop fighting.

No one will escape.

The two men’s acting was instantly seen through, they quieted down, silently looked at each other, had to slowly sit back down dejectedly.

"Glasses."

Lan Peizhi could become the epitome for women, and be idolized by a once notorious East Sea personality like Shi Qianxi, not without reason.

She reshaped the status of women, with just a few light words, made two unwilling glasses obediently handed over and placed in front.

"Brother, I don’t drink, I’m underage."

Even though Martial Saint was modest and reserved, not flashy at all, he wasn’t forgotten by Jiang Chen.

"Though you attend International School, don’t forget your roots, this is Shen Zhou, and you’re the birthday boy."

Drinking underage is not illegal, but encouraging underage drinking is universally disallowed.

But the law cannot override human emotion.

After all, today is a special occasion.

"Pour him a little less."

Jiang Chen took Martial Saint’s glass, asked Lan Peizhi, warmly, thoughtfully.

Alright, then.

The three glasses, none left out, neatly aligned.

Since all claimed to be family, naturally they must align actions with words, share blessings and woes together.

Lan Peizhi poured wine.

Using a high-stem glass for baijiu seems incongruous, but life is short, joy counts most, why follow convention?

No difference made, Lan Peizhi perhaps seldom poured for others, but her pouring technique is high standard, the three glasses hold wine levels perfectly equal, no visible discrepancy.

Clear bright wine fills up to the curved belly of the glass, roughly two taels, even a fifteen-year-old can handle.

Though intended for respect, no one concerned about such formalities, of course, seeing the pure, clean glasses no one felt joyful, not even one reached to take a glass.

"Too little?"

Until Lan Peizhi put down the gourd and spoke, did everyone wake from a dream, Jiang Chen naturally played waiter, took the glasses, handed them to Wu Guangjiang and Martial Saint, deliberately ignored the father and son’s slightly twisted grimace.

—As for his own glass.

The wine pourer personally placed it before him.

"Have a taste."

Muttering complaints inwardly, Wu Guangjiang instantly felt at ease, human nature is such, not afraid of one’s misfortune, just afraid of being more unfortunate than others, seeing someone take the first sip, breathes a long sigh of relief.

That’s right.

A test sip.

That gourd looks like it holds wine, but who knows what’s inside?

"...I actually can’t handle mixed drinks."

Under several pairs of varied expressions, Jiang Chen pursed his lips, held silent for a long while, then reluctantly said this phrase.

Damn!

Martial Saint steadied himself on the table.

Wu Guangjiang swayed slightly, once again stunned by the other’s quick wit.

"Is it that you can’t drink, or don’t want to? Don’t like the taste, huh? Shall I swap it for yellow wine?"

Wu Family people surely couldn’t grasp the deeper meaning, but Jiang Chen felt as if facing a formidable enemy.

"That’s just mixed wine too."

He forced a smile and immediately stopped making excuses.

Yellow wine definitely goes down better than white wine, no doubt about it; otherwise, he wouldn’t have downed several jin at Shi Family Manor that day.

But this wasn’t Shi Family.

The people seated around him were not Shi Zhenhua and Shi Qianxi.

"Let me eat a few bites first."

Jiang Chen quickly made a more reasonable request.

"...Right, eat first—drinking on an empty stomach is bad for you."

Lan’s mother interjected, her eyes full of sympathy for this child.

Following suit, Jiang Chen picked up his chopsticks to grab some food, but couldn’t tell if it was good or not—it was utterly tasteless, and he even wondered if Lan Peizhi might poison him.

Not that he was assuming the worst out of malice.

Think about what she did before.

Giving him the ’Sunflower Manual’ as if it were some divine skill.

Such a woman—what wouldn’t she do?

But then again, poisoning seemed unlikely, as Wu Guangjiang and Martial Saint’s cups were also filled with wine.

No matter how cold-blooded Lan Peizhi was, she wouldn’t go as far as to harm her own pain-stakingly raised ones.

Could it be laxatives?

Jiang Chen mused absentmindedly with an overwhelming sense of monotony.

"Honghong, after celebrating with your brother, we’ll head back immediately."

Lan’s mother genuinely cared about someone, trying to alleviate her daughter’s discontent.

"Since we’re here, why rush back; otherwise, it would let down their good intentions."

With that, Lan Peizhi raised the wine gourd again and poured herself a drink.

"Thank you."

Being thanked felt astonishingly nerve-wracking.

What must come will come.

Glancing out of the corner of his eye at the wine glass lifted nearby, Jiang Chen—nowhere left to hide—could only stop his chopsticks, set them down, and clutch his wine glass with a heavy heart.

"You’re welcome."

"Clink~"

Two wine glasses collided out of necessity, emitting a clear and pleasant sound.

Lan Peizhi held her glass, gazing at him with "eyes full of waves."

Comrade Jiang Chen took a deep breath, carrying the assumption that she likely wouldn’t poison him, lifted the glass, and brought it to his lips.

"Cough cough—"

Spicy liquor flowed down his esophagus, rushing toward his stomach, simultaneously permeating his limbs, the fierce intensity making Jiang Chen suddenly cough aggressively.

The Wu family’s father and son, watching intently, seemed to sense the same pain, their facial muscles unconsciously twitching.

"Cough cough cough—"

After coughing for a while, someone finally caught his breath, eyes wide open, breathing heavily.

Lan Peizhi didn’t react, quietly sipping her drink, her response a stark contrast—without any reaction.

"Brother, are you feeling better?"

Martial Saint helped pat his back.

Jiang Chen coughed out his breath, feeling like his throat was burning; his body, which had just cooled after the exertion, began to heat up rapidly again.

Is this wine?

He even suspected it might be high-concentration alcohol!

He didn’t often drink, but such strong liquor, he’d encountered for the first time.

No wonder she shone like the moon in the sky, illuminating an era in this world that valued pedigree and heritage.

This is a woman who, in every aspect, commands admiration and awe.

"Aren’t you afraid Martial Saint will end up in the hospital after drinking?"

Jiang Chen felt his breath was almost aflame, completely forgetting who took the Martial Saint’s wine glass.

"Can’t handle a bit of wine; what kind of man does that make you?"

Fifteen years old—technically a minor by law, but not necessarily in reality.

Like the woman speaking.

Left home far before fifteen years of age.

"Brother, just finish it."

Martial Saint couldn’t stand being goaded.

Upon hearing this, someone raised his voice, disregarding the presence of Father Lan and Mother Lan.

"Your sister was talking about you!"