NOVPUBChapter 57: 57, Gathering, and drunk again
Chapter 57: 57, Gathering, and drunk again
The much-talked-about welcome party finally kicked off on a Friday night, the evening before the weekend off.
A large group of people ate, drank, played and sang, enjoying themselves. Due to her lack of tolerance for alcohol, Song Qinghuan had been sticking to non-alcoholic beverages.
But as the evening progressed, she couldn’t resist the pressure from her colleagues and ended up downing a glass or two of beer.
The beer clearly emboldened her, she was a little giddy but didn’t do anything too outrageous.
After all, this was only a glass of beer. Compared to the full glass of VSOP she had that day, it was barely worth mentioning.
Seeing her blend in with everyone else, the gossip began. “Qinghuan, come on, tell us. What’s going on between you and the General Manager!”
Song Qinghuan let out a sigh, “Nothing. I never would’ve guessed that one day I’d be the woman at the centre of the General Manager’s rumors, all thanks to you guys.”
Yu Yang chuckled and nudged her shoulder, “Hey, just clarify for us, how did you get this job?”
Song Qinghuan lifted her index finger, waving it lightly, “Buddha says, to tell is to make a mistake!”
Following this, she stood up with a broad smile and announced, “Thank you all for your warm welcome. Tonight’s bill is on me!”
That’s an offer everyone quickly turned down, “No way, we agreed we were treating you!” People got up, some pulling Song Qinghuan off to the register, others going to pay the bill themselves.
They were merrily laughing and joking. By the time they left, it was already 10 in the evening.
Getting into a taxi, Song Qinghuan felt her head getting heavy. She gave the driver an address and leaned against the seat, closing her eyes to take a nap.
The behaviors of drunk people are always varied – some cry, some laugh, some act crazy, while some just fall asleep.
Song Qinghuan’s reaction to being drunk didn’t fit into any of these categories.
She was an anomaly. Her body kept moving but it seemed as if her brain was under a sort of hypnosis.
Any action required instructions, or in other words, a voice command.
Without a command, she would just sits still, lying down or sleeping, motionless like a statue. But if you speak, she would instantly act normal again.
Just like at this moment, the taxi driver pulled over at a private driveway but didn’t say anything, waiting for Song Qinghuan to pay. Yet, she didn’t respond.
Not until the driver spoke did she seem to wake from her trance-like state, her eyes suddenly lighting up as she paid the fare and got off the cab.
Despite her pale face, her eyes shone brightly, and she walked in a straight line with no sign of a drunken stagger or wobble.
No one would believe that she had been drinking and was somewhat intoxicated, had it not been for the strong smell of alcohol on her.
Thus, the driver couldn’t help but sigh and wonder if the young lady had some sort of mental issue, given her lack of response for such a long time.
