Chapter 147 — The Long-Awaited...

"Old class monitor, back in school everyone looked to you as the backbone. In those days you really took care of your brothers!" A small-eyed boy in glasses stood up, raised his glass, and declared this without a shred of shame.

"Heh, of course. The old class monitor never forgets anyone." Wei Jin, thoroughly pleased by the flattery, raised his glass and spoke with great smugness.

"This guy once ran against Wei Jin for class monitor. After he lost, he didn't speak a word to Wei Jin for three years." Li Yixun, sitting beside Yang Ce, explained to him with disdain.

"Pfft—" Yang Puqi couldn't help himself; the mouthful of drink he had just taken sprayed straight out. Luckily Yang Ce reacted fast and turned aside, so the drink all went onto the floor.

"This one probably wants to get into Wei Jin's family real estate company after graduation. He's sucking up to him." Li Yixun saw through the glasses guy's intentions at a glance.

Of course, the glasses guy was only one of them. There were others even more fawning, even more obvious—one girl, right in front of her boyfriend, pretended to be drunk and pressed her breasts against Wei Jin, rubbing and writhing, cooing shamelessly: "Old class monitor, do you still remember me? During PE class, you peeked at me while I was changing clothes."

And that boyfriend of hers was a spineless thing too. Not only was he not angry, he just watched it all with a grin—probably preparing to sacrifice his girlfriend in exchange for their employment prospects after graduation.

Wei Jin had no interest in fooling around with some female classmate right now; his mind was wholly occupied with how he was going to deal with Liu Baoqiang in a little while. So he pushed the girl away perfunctorily, though he did promise: "All right, on account of our old connection, if you ever need anything, just give me a call."

"Old class monitor, you're so good." The girl's hand drifted casually to Wei Jin's crotch and gave it a deliberate squeeze.

Wei Jin thought to himself, you little slut—if I didn't have real business to attend to, I'd have had you screaming by now.

"Liu Baoqiang, come, let me toast you." Wei Jin suddenly stood up and said to Liu Baoqiang: "Brother, if I've done anything wrong in the past, I hope you'll bear with me."

Liu Baoqiang was stunned. What was wrong with Wei Jin? The guy had always either glared at him coldly or looked at him with contempt whenever they met—so why was he suddenly apologizing today?

"What, you won't give your brother face?" Seeing Liu Baoqiang frozen there, Wei Jin put on a show of displeasure.

Truth be told, Liu Baoqiang had no desire to make an enemy of Wei Jin either, but there was no helping it—who told him to take an interest in his girlfriend? At this moment, though, if he could clear the air with Wei Jin, that wouldn't be a bad thing. With that thought, Liu Baoqiang stood up and picked up the drink in his hand.

He had come by car, so he hadn't been drinking alcohol—only soft drinks the whole time.

"A soft drink won't do. Switch to liquor." Seeing that Liu Baoqiang was holding a soft drink, Wei Jin waved his hand and said: "Waiter, bring the liquor."

The waiter had long since received Wei Jin's instructions. He came over with a bottle of baijiu, first poured a glass for Wei Jin, then moved to pour one for Liu Baoqiang.

"Baijiu? I came by car—I can't drink." Liu Baoqiang said hesitantly.

"Can't drink? You'll drink anyway. It's not like there's nowhere to stay here—it's all one package deal, lodging costs nothing. Just go back tomorrow." Wei Jin waved his hand dismissively.

"Then let's switch to beer. I really can't handle baijiu." Liu Baoqiang hesitated—a full glass of baijiu going down, wouldn't he be drunk on the spot?

"Deep feelings, one gulp." Wei Jin said: "Once you drink this glass, the two of us are brothers."

Of course, the implication Wei Jin left unsaid was: once we're brothers, then a brother's wife is not to be touched.

Seeing Wei Jin put it that way, Liu Baoqiang hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said: "Fine, let's do it."

"Waiter, fill it up for my brother here." Wei Jin shot the waiter a look, then said.

The waiter understood at once. He came over with the bottle and poured Liu Baoqiang a full glass of baijiu. Of course, this was no longer the same bottle that had poured Wei Jin's drink.

Wei Jin had long anticipated that Liu Baoqiang would hem and haw for quite a while before drinking, and the waiter had taken exactly that opportunity to swap the bottles. The bottle used to pour Liu Baoqiang's drink had already been replaced with a high-proof Erguotou.

Of course, Wei Jin wasn't as bold as Wang Lin—he hadn't slipped knockout drugs into the liquor. He was afraid that if Liu Baoqiang made a fuss afterward and it went through judicial proceedings, he'd be exposed.

So he had only tampered with the alcohol itself. Even so, Wei Jin felt it was enough, because he believed that once Liu Baoqiang was drunk and a woman offered herself to him, he could not possibly remain unmoved.

After all, Liu Baoqiang was a hot-blooded young man in his prime—and still a virgin. How could he possibly hold back?

"Come, cheers!" Thinking his plan was about to succeed, Wei Jin could not help but look smug.

"All right, cheers!" Liu Baoqiang gritted his teeth and, eyes shut, downed the glass in one go. But in an instant the liquor burned him fiercely—Liu Baoqiang was astonished. His tolerance was decent enough, so why was he already feeling fuzzy after just one glass?

To be continued

921. The Scheme Begins

921. The Scheme Begins. Liu Baoqiang's family ran a restaurant, and having grown up hearing, seeing, and experiencing it all firsthand, he was a seasoned drinker—the sort who could down half a bottle of baijiu and still stand steady. That was exactly why he was suspicious.

Liu Ting had wanted to talk Liu Baoqiang out of it, but she was afraid he would feel he'd lost face. After all, it was Wei Jin doing the inviting; to refuse would look as though he were afraid of him.

Besides, if it really turned out as Wei Jin said—that after this glass the two of them would become brothers—then Wei Jin would have no way to harass her anymore.

"Straightforward!" Wei Jin looked at Liu Baoqiang and smiled: "Good. From today on, the two of us are brothers."

Liu Baoqiang nodded. Whether or not he was brothers with Wei Jin didn't matter much to him; what really mattered was whether this guy would stop harassing Liu Ting from now on. Given Wei Jin's family influence, Liu Baoqiang hadn't harbored any thought of striking up a deep friendship with him—the gap between them was simply too great.

Yang Ce, of course, was another matter entirely. It was plain to see that Yang Ce was far wealthier than Wei Jin, yet far more low-key.

The atmosphere at the table remained lively, but Liu Baoqiang grew more and more muddled, until at last he simply couldn't hold on and slumped over the table.

Yang Yongjin knew what Wei Jin was up to, but he didn't much care. After all, Liu Ting and Liu Baoqiang were only casual acquaintances to him; he had no standing to stop Wei Jin from drinking with them.

From the very beginning, Yang Ce had watched this whole drinking session with a cold, detached eye.

Although Hong Kai, like Wei Jin, was just going through the motions with everyone, his gaze kept flicking toward Yang Ce and Chen Shutang. Chen Shutang never noticed him at all, but Yang Ce invariably met Hong Kai's eyes each time.

This made Hong Kai thoroughly uncomfortable, as though he were being toyed with in the palm of someone's hand. Ever since Yang Ce had called him a psychopath, Hong Kai had quietly nursed his grudge, biding his time to teach the kid a lesson. There simply was no opportunity at the drinking table now, so he planned to wait until after the meal and then find his chance.

"Xiaoqiang, what's wrong?" Seeing Liu Baoqiang slumped over the table, Liu Ting asked anxiously.