Tea-flavored Romance

Ning Yuan reached out and pressed Xue Bao's beautiful, smooth forehead. He looked her over and thought to himself, "You didn't come here on a full moon, did you? How come you speak the same way?"

You two probably weren't taught by the same Chinese teacher, were you?

"It's nothing... just checking if you're too tired."

Gu Guanxue rolled her eyes at Ning Yuan, waved her hand to indicate that she wouldn't hold it against him, and then informed him that Xiao Zhao and others were going to invite him for drinks later, and that he must be there on time.

Upon hearing this, Master Ning's face darkened, and he quickly declined, saying that he still had to take his sister and Lu Jiujiu back to school, and that they could reschedule the drinking for another day. Unexpectedly, Gu Guanxue said with a smile that she had run into Xu Yi when she came over, and had also seen Ning Yiling and Lu Jiujiu, and that she would take care of taking them back to school.

Everything was arranged so perfectly that Ning Yuan couldn't help but suspect that Xue Bao already knew about his betrayal of Xiao Zhao and the others, and therefore deliberately sent him to his friends to be punished...

All traitors must die!

In order to escape... why not just send Master Lin back to school?

After much deliberation, Ning Yuan finally gave up on the decision that might have made Lin Xiaoya ecstatic and enraged the members of the anime club. He resigned himself to the arrangement and went to the den of thieves alone.

Entering the agreed-upon karaoke room, the atmosphere was oppressive. The four of them, including Xiao Zhao, gazed at Master Ning with resentful eyes. They remained silent, silently watching him, seemingly hoping to inflict mental pressure and moral condemnation upon him.

You actually betrayed us! Are you even human?!

Without saying much, Ning Yuan stepped forward, poured three large bowls of wine, and clasped his hands in apology.

"Brothers, I apologize in advance. There's nothing more to say; it's all in the wine. I'll drink it all; you can do as you please."

While refilling Ning Yuan's empty glass, Xiao Zhao said angrily, "Yuanzi, I'm not trying to criticize you, but how could you do something like leading a traitor?"

"The 'collaborator' group is a deep and murky place; a young person like you couldn't possibly resist... Now look what's happened, you've fallen for Jiang Manyue's trap, haven't you? Sigh..."

The other three all looked at Xiao Zhao with disdain on their faces.

“I was forced into it by Jiang Manyue!” Ning Yuan said with great pain, “You have no idea what that feeling is… the feeling of having to fight against the whole world.”

Xiao Zhao, who was pouring wine, was shocked to hear this and quickly grabbed Master Ning's hand, saying, "You've really hit the nail on the head... None of the three of them understand me. They enjoy the benefits of me standing up for them through thick and thin, yet they discriminate against me every day... I'm so bitter."

"Who isn't like that... Staying trapped inside would be unfair to Xiaoxue, but escaping would make me afraid of Jiang Manyue... So I've ended up going back and forth between Xiaoxue and Manyue..."

Xiao Zhao: ?

Xiao Liu: ?

Chen Ling: ?

Jingjing: ?

Was he driving just now?

Chapter 167: Bitter Wine Enters the Throat, Heart Aches

Looking into Master Ning's innocent, naive eyes, the four were moved by his shamelessness and silently raised their glasses:

"Come on, Yuanzi, I respect you as a true man..."

"There aren't many people who dare to act recklessly in front of Jiang Manyue, and there are even fewer opportunities to drink with someone like her. Today, the two of us must have a drink together."

"Comrade Xiao Ning, your sister Chen Ling must have a drink with you today too."

"Your sister Jing is one too."

One glass of wine after another came, leaving Master Ning somewhat bewildered. He thought to himself, "How come my seniority has dropped so much after just a few drinks? Weren't we still brother-in-law before? Now we're Yuanzi and Xiao Ning so quickly?"

The background music became the accompaniment to the clinking of glasses. Ning Yuan downed four glasses in a row before finally finding a chance to catch his breath and speak. He quickly changed the subject, saying, "You and Xiaoxue all grew up with Jiang Manyue, right? Why do you all seem so afraid of her?"

"Sister Chen Ling, you too... Even if Jiang Manyue is ruthless, she wouldn't be so cruel to girls, would she? I see that you and Sister Jing are quite wary of her... Did she beat you when you were little?"

At the mention of this issue, Chen Ling's expression clearly showed some regret. Xiao Zhao remained silent, then poured another large glass of wine and placed it in front of Ning Yuan, saying, "Yuanzi... Has no one ever told you that the best time to uncover someone's deepest secrets is when they're half-drunk? We're all still so sober right now, it's really a bit difficult for you to expect us to uncover their pain empty-handed..."

"..."

Why the hell do you have to reopen old wounds? At most, Jiang Xihua caused you childhood trauma… Master Ning, his face full of black lines, looked at Xiao Zhao's sorrowful expression and changed the subject: “I actually just wanted to know more about Xiao Xue's past…”

"You think you can get what you want from us childhood friends? Well, you'll have to see if you can manage. Speaking of which, I haven't even had a drink with you since you won over the goddess of our circle. Tonight, I'm going to drink you under the table! Cheers!"

There seemed to be nothing to refute, and after thinking for a while, Master Ning had no choice but to raise his glass.

"Okay, let's get started."

"Come on, let's drink this together!" Xiao Zhao said in a rough voice, raising a full glass of wine in front of him. "No fish allowed, guys. Let's have a drink."

Chen Ling and Jing Jing, true to their northern roots, drank with remarkable boldness. After several drinks, the five of them remained unfazed, and before long, most of the beer on the table was gone.

"Just beer isn't enough, let's have some red..." Chen Ling snapped her fingers and said, "Hey you, Xiao Liu, go get us a few bottles of '82 Lafite."

"Come on, '82 Lafite? You've been reading too many novels." Xiao Liu burped and stood up: "Wait here, I'll go get a few other bottles of wine."

"They're going to make it red again?" Ning Yuan gasped. If this continues, will it end up being a bar?

Don't say red wine doesn't get you drunk; when you actually drink it, the aftereffects can be quite strong. Xiao Zhao patted Ning Yuan's shoulder, sounding quite arrogant, after hearing Ning Yuan's tone.

"I have a story to tell... but you can't do without alcohol."

Not long after Xiao Liu left, he returned, carrying two bottles of unidentifiable red wine and a bunch of Jiangxiaobai liquor. He closed the door to the private room with his heel, a sly smile on his face: "Are we all going to climb back together tonight?"

"Wuhu~ Xiao Liu, you're really brave today! Have you forgotten the story of how you got drunk and did the splits for passersby next to the curb last time?"

"So tonight you have to risk your life to keep her company, right? After all, Sister Xue is a recognized goddess, you know? Do you know how many people will weep and wail if your news gets back? How many people will grit their teeth and sharpen their knives, waiting for the day you go to Yanjing to kill you?" Xiao Liu said seriously, "Yuanzi, you don't know how dangerous your situation is right now."

"You're right. If you want to stay with Xiaoxue peacefully, then you need to get to know her better... How can you prove you're capable of protecting her if you don't drink us under the table?"

Xiao Zhao and Xiao Liu toasted with Master Ning, while Chen Ling and Jing Jing, enjoying the spectacle, clapped and cheered to liven up the atmosphere, secretly sneaking drinks along the way.

Ning Yuan: ?

After downing a bottle of mixed Jiangxiaobai liquor, Xiao Zhao's eyes went glazed over, and he started hugging Master Ning's leg, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Jiang Manyue is not human... she is a devil."

Boom boom boom boom, bitter wine down my throat, my heart aches.

"No... Brother, I haven't even asked yet..."

"Don't call me brother! From now on, we'll be on our own. You call me brother, and I'll call you uncle... Uncle, tell me how you won over Jiang Manyue..."

Chen Ling: "..."

Jingjing: "..."

“Xiao Zhao was scammed by Sister Manyue before…” Chen Ling quickly pulled Xiao Zhao aside to explain, “Ahem… In short, it’s just the experience of a naive young man being cheated in an online romance… nothing special…”

“What do you mean it’s nothing special…” Xiao Zhao cried, “Do you know we’ve already secretly pledged our lives to each other! Do you know how well we chatted online… and then Jiang Manyue actually reported me for having an online relationship. First, my dad beat me, then my mom beat me, and finally, I got a double beating…”

"Even so, nothing could stop my yearning for freedom and love... Just as I secretly slipped out of the house to go find her, I met a middle-aged man instead..."

"My little darling... my little darling who I've loved, known, and understood for so long, turns out she's an older man..."

"What does this have to do with the full moon?" Master Ning asked suspiciously.

"That uncle was hired by Sister Manyue to help her with her online romance..."

"hiss……"

A scheme within a scheme!

One strike resulted in two reprisals; swift and decisive.

"What's that compared to what you did... At least you learned your lesson and realized the internet is virtual, and your grades improved dramatically after that... But what about me?" Xiao Liu, after a few drinks, choked up, "What did I get? All I got were nightmarish memories..."

Boom boom boom boom, bitter wine down my throat, my heart aches.

Xiao Liu didn't mention his tragic past. Master Ning thought to himself that something was wrong... The four people in front of him clearly had impure motives and wanted to get me drunk first, but why did the plan go so well and the two of them passed out first?

If you can't hold your liquor, why are you trying to force others to drink? Please, you guys are really weak.

Could it be that the two girls over there mixed the drinks wrong? Did they give the mixed drink they were supposed to give me to them? But I was drinking a mixed drink too.

Seeing this, Jingjing and Chen Ling secretly exchanged glances. Taking advantage of the fact that Xiao Zhao and Xiao Liu had attracted Ning Yuan's attention, they quickly made a strategic decision.

Men are all useless! In the end, it was still the two of us sisters who had to step in!

Chapter 168: I'll Get Angry

"Come on, Comrade Xiao Ning, even if those two are down, we're still here. If you can get all four of us drunk today, we'll tell you everything you want to know... Don't you want to know what kind of girl Xiao Xue used to be? If you win the drink, I'll tell you."

"..."

I've never heard of such a request before.

Master Ning reluctantly raised his glass and clinked it against the two young ladies. This time, it seemed they were drinking the mixed drink they had prepared earlier. This kind of drink was much stronger than regular alcohol; a normal person wouldn't be able to drink more than a few glasses before passing out. Originally, he planned to have Xiao Zhao and the other girl drink the regular drink first, and if they weren't drunk yet, then he would try the mixed one. But who could have imagined that the two good-for-nothings would be eliminated so quickly!

There was no other way; the front row couldn't handle it, so the back row had to take over. However, they didn't just drink with Ning Yuan in silence; instead, they chatted and drank at the same time, creating a much more pleasant atmosphere than the previous drinking session.

Originally, it was said that Ning Yuan would ask questions and the others would answer, but as they drank, the situation seemed to gradually reverse.

"Hey, Xiao Ning, how did you and Jiang Manyue meet?"

"College classmate, same major."

When do you two plan to get together?

Master Ning: "?"

"I am a married man," he replied righteously. "My feelings for Xuebao are sincere!"

The other four burst into laughter. Chen Ling straightened up and explained, "Xiao Ning, don't pretend. Xiao Xue already told us about this before... It was all fake. We were just playing along with Xiao Xue."

This really stumped Ning Yuan. He picked up his glass and took a sip of wine, feeling quite annoyed, and realized that the alcohol was starting to take effect.

"No wonder you all stop calling me Brother-in-law Xue, it turns out you had information all along."

"Of course... You haven't answered your question yet? When are you planning to get together with Jiang Manyue?"

Xiao Zhao, who had been clinging to Ning Yuan's leg, suddenly perked up as if stimulated by the keyword, and seemed to sober up a bit. He quickly agreed, "Uncle, tell me how you won over Jiang Manyue..."

Ning Yuan shrugged helplessly and said, "Why do you all think I've already won over Jiang Manyue... Why can't you think I like Gu Guanxue?"

Chen Ling answered very seriously that it was because she was Jiang Manyue... Isn't it normal for you to like her?

The girl spoke very naturally, as if she were saying something that everyone would agree on. The three people around her had no objections, and even Xiao Zhao, who had been crying and shouting that Jiang Manyue was a devil while clinging to Ning Yuan's leg, did not raise any questions.

Even if she is a demon, she must be a captivating demon that everyone will fall in love with?

"Moreover, based on her previous behavior, your relationship with her is definitely not ordinary... Keeping you behind to help her remove her makeup is not a privilege that boys in ordinary relationships would receive."

"Yeah, a normal girl wouldn't let someone she doesn't know see her removing her makeup. She would only do that if she trusted them a lot."