Chapter 446: Chapter 444: Drinking Contest
Xia Wenqing glanced at Xu Zhenzhen indifferently and pretended to shake his head casually.
But the obvious change to a colder demeanor made Xu Zhenzhen feel uneasy.
Xu Zhenzhen wanted to say something, but seeing that Xia Wenqing didn’t speak again, she could only obediently sit down beside him, with Chu Luo sitting next to her.
At that, Xia Wenqing’s expression turned even uglier.
Chu Luo’s gaze swept over Xia Wenqing and then lingered on Xu Zhenzhen.
Before he came here, he had received a special mission; someone asked him to get someone drunk during this meal, and it was specifically pointed out that he should target the female lawyer from the cooperating side.
Chu Luo didn’t think much of it, but when he saw that the person was Xu Zhenzhen, he began to feel a bit reluctant.
Back in school, he quite liked Xu Zhenzhen, finding this girl to have a good temperament and not pretentious.
If her heart hadn’t been set on Xia Wenqing at the time, he would have liked to pursue this cute girl.
Unfortunately, King Xiang had intentions, but the goddess had no affection.
What’s more, she was now with Xia Wenqing. It seemed a bit improper for him to actively offer her drinks.
Chu Luo looked at Xu Zhenzhen with a conflicted expression, his complex eyes caught by Xia Wenqing.
He suddenly felt a fiery agitation in his chest, as if something was about to break out from the bottom of his heart.
"Lawyer Chu, didn’t you say you wanted to talk about cooperation?" Xia Wenqing pinched the cup in front of him and took the initiative to speak.
Chu Luo tensed up inside, feeling guilty when Xia Wenqing suddenly called him out, but he quickly regained his composure.
After all, with several years of experience as a lawyer, he had that kind of psychological fortitude.
He took a deep breath and looked at Xia Wenqing with feigned calm, saying word by word, "Since it’s a matter of cooperation, of course, we should show the greatest sincerity. I just returned from abroad and brought back a fine bottle of wine. It’s a good opportunity to try it and also an indirect way to celebrate our alumni gathering."
Listening to Chu Luo lively lifting the mood, Xu Zhenzhen also joined his camp, "That makes sense. We’re hardly outsiders; it’s a good chance to celebrate."
She turned her head towards Xia Wenqing and tugged at the corner of her mouth, "I’m right, aren’t I, Lawyer Xia."
Xu Zhenzhen actually didn’t care about what Chu Luo was saying; she just wanted to use the topic as an excuse to talk to Xia Wenqing.
Little did Xu Zhenzhen expect that her small gesture ended up looking like she was siding with Chu Luo, making Xia Wenqing even more displeased.
He lightly caressed the ceramic cup in front of him, "If you want to celebrate, then celebrate."
His voice was faint, showing no variation, but it inexplicably made one feel like he was unhappy.
Xu Zhenzhen spent the most time with Xia Wenqing, so she could sense the slightest change in his mood.
Let alone now, when his displeasure was so apparent.
Xu Zhenzhen, not understanding why, looked at Xia Wenqing and was about to speak when Chu Luo poured red wine into the high-stemmed glass in front of her.
Chu Luo’s face was all smiles, but inwardly he couldn’t help but mentally complain.
He too was here on a mission. Although this kind of behavior was despicable, it was effective.
So he had no choice but to carry it through, hoping Xu Zhenzhen wouldn’t hit him afterward.
"Come on, try this red wine," Chu Luo said, as he also poured a glass of red wine for Xia Wenqing.
As he sat back down with the bottle, he took the opportunity to raise his wine glass, "Come on, a toast to our first meeting outside the campus; may our careers flourish."
Xu Zhenzhen listened to his half-hearted toast and rolled her eyes speechlessly, completely clueless about what there was to celebrate about their first meeting.
But since he had already made the toast, she couldn’t just snub him.
Xu Zhenzhen braced herself and picked up her wine glass, planning to just get through this round.
But before she could even bring the glass to her lips, someone took it away from her.
She looked up and met Xia Wenqing’s profound black eyes, "You’ve just taken cold medicine, you can’t drink."
Xia Wenqing’s voice was soft but audible enough for everyone present to hear.
Chu Luo felt a bit awkward and tugged at the corner of his mouth, "So that’s the case, since you’ve taken cold medicine, you definitely shouldn’t drink."
Afterward, as if to make up for it, he picked up a drink from the table and placed it in front of Xu Zhenzhen, "Here, since you can’t drink alcohol, have some of this beverage instead."
Xu Zhenzhen didn’t snap back to reality for a moment, her gaze still fixed on Xia Wenqing, especially on the wine glass he had taken away from her.
Indeed, she had taken medication and couldn’t drink.
Had Xia Wenqing not reminded her, she might have forgotten.
Thinking this, she suddenly felt that Xia Wenqing, as a boyfriend, seemed quite perfect, whereas she, as a cooperative girlfriend, didn’t quite measure up.
Xu Zhenzhen silently resolved that she would play the role of a good girlfriend in the future, no matter what, and absolutely not drag Xia Wenqing down.
Of course, Xia Wenqing didn’t notice Xu Zhenzhen’s thoughts. He casually took the red wine glass and began to sip it leisurely.
Chu Luo looked at the interaction between the two and felt distressed.
His mission was to get Xu Zhenzhen drunk, but since she took cold medicine, actually getting her drunk would be like murder.
Knowing she shouldn’t drink yet trying to get her drunk, if anything happened, he would be primarily responsible.
Chu Luo studied law, how could he not understand?
His eyebrows deeply furrowed, he scanned back and forth between Xu Zhenzhen and Xia Wenqing, thinking about how he could accomplish his task.
After all, he had already taken the money; it’s not like he could just do nothing, right?
Quickly, Chu Luo came up with a new plan; if someone had to be made drunk, then getting Xia Wenqing drunk worked just as well.
Chu Luo thought so, and during the subsequent discussion about the collaboration, he took the opportunity to ply Xia Wenqing with quite a lot of alcohol.
Actually, Xia Wenqing wouldn’t normally drink so recklessly, but the man before him was really infuriating, and for a moment, he felt the urge to challenge him.
And with that, the collaboration talk instantly became secondary.
The two of them became engrossed in a drinking contest instead.
In the end, Xia Wenqing succeeded in getting Chu Luo to slump over the table.
He propped his chin and glanced at Chu Luo, scoffing lightly, "With that tolerance, you still want to talk about wine? Ha!"
Xia Wenqing said this and slowly stood up, his face a bit red but surprisingly not showing many other signs of inebriation.
Xu Zhenzhen hurriedly followed Xia Wenqing out, staring at his impressive capacity for alcohol, she had been shocked speechless.
"Brother, you’re, you’re okay, right?" Xu Zhenzhen, clutching her briefcase, followed timidly by Xia Wenqing’s side; she started cautiously, her eyes full of concern...