Chapter 58: The Toast and the Drinking Game
The moment the spicy liquid hit my throat, my eyes widened. My first instinct was to spit it out, but then I realized that would likely mean spitting it all over Lily. So, I forced myself to swallow. A burning sensation traveled down my esophagus, as if my throat were on fire. “How strong is this alcohol?” I coughed twice, sticking out my hot tongue, and complained, “Cough, cough, isn’t this supposed to be wine!”
“Huh? Juncheng, you didn’t notice? I smelled it as soon as I raised the cup,” Lan replied, turning her head.
“Then why didn’t you warn us!”
“Oh, right, it’s wine,” Lily said. She sat down, poured herself another cup, and drank it in one gulp. The reflection on her glasses obscured her eyes, but her slightly flushed cheeks told me one thing: she was drinking intentionally. I knew Lily often drank beer when she was home alone. I’d seen cans in her fridge when I went over for tutoring and heard the clinking of metal in trash bags when I helped her with her garbage.
But drinking by yourself is one thing; don’t get us drunk! “She’s your sister! Don’t let high school students drink! And this alcohol is too strong!”
Are you even a role model like this! Don’t instigate minors to drink!
“What’s wrong with drinking occasionally…” she pouted, looking wronged.
“Still mumbling… Are you a child!” Lily’s shoulders suddenly trembled, but her lips curved unnaturally. She poured herself another drink and ignored me. I wanted to scold her more for ignoring me, but I realized my position wasn’t appropriate, and lecturing her would likely backfire. So, I abandoned the idea.
Feeling a bit depressed, Lan leaned over and said with a smile as she poured me a drink, “Don’t be too strict, Juncheng. This is Zi’ai’s welcome party, wouldn’t it be boring without some drinks? Come on, I’ll fill your cup. Let’s all—um, relax~ Huhu~”
I watched as my empty cup was filled perfectly to the brim, held there by surface tension. But I had no intention of drinking. Because of my family situation, my dad never touched alcohol, and neither did my mom. So, alcohol simply didn’t exist in my house, except for medicinal alcohol and cooking wine. As a result, I’d developed an instinctive aversion to it.
Just as I was about to refuse, Li Nai, that shameless zombie, loudly exclaimed, “That’s right! Let’s have a toast!” Li Nai was clearly enjoying herself. Parties and drinking must be right up her alley. I just hoped she wouldn’t cause a scene when she got drunk.
“Yeah! We’re not at school now, and I’m not here as a teacher. Everyone, drink freely today! Teacher’s treating!” What was that? She said she wasn’t here as a teacher in one sentence and then called herself a teacher in the next. Was she already drunk?
Lily and the others clinked glasses and drank, and Zi’ai did too. Thinking it was her welcome party, I suddenly felt dejected. Lan did have a point, after all. Seeing that everyone else agreed, I knew protesting further would be useless. They started pouring more drinks for each other, chattering and drinking, making for a lively scene. I felt like I was in the way again. If I weren’t here, wouldn’t this be a perfectly harmonious girls’ gathering, like in a yuri novel? I sighed inwardly, deciding that perhaps I should just drink until I forgot myself.
But can zombies get drunk? Since their brain functions are still intact, they probably can… Ugh… I should drink less. Carefully lifting the full glass of wine, I took a small sip when Xue Qing on my left quietly said something. Xue Qing was holding her cup with both hands, her tongue sticking out to cool. She didn’t seem to like this drink called “wine.” I’d have to find some juice for her. As I thought this, Xun’er, another loli beside me, clinked her cup against mine, then drained hers, exhaling a large gust of alcohol.
“Ah—I feel so good~” How could even these two little ones be drinking? Seeing Xue Qing and Xun’er drinking made me feel even more uneasy, as they looked like elementary school students. Noticing me looking at her, Xun’er guessed my thoughts and waved her hand. “Hmm? No need to worry. I often drink with Nana at home, and I never get drunk~”
“That’s right! Ghosts are all very good drinkers! Juncheng, you know Xiao Fengfeng, don’t you? She’s the best drinker, her tolerance is comparable to my appetite!”
“That’s scary…” Li Nai was a zombie who could bankrupt a restaurant. A drinking capacity comparable to her appetite… I couldn’t even imagine. Are all ghosts heavy drinkers? Perhaps that’s how heavy drinkers came about. Maybe there really is a type of ghost called a “heavy drinker”? My mind began to wander, and I realized the alcohol was starting to affect my brain. No, no, I need to stay sober.
“Yeah, yeah, so another—” “Is there any necessary connection between those two?!” While I was mentally complaining, Li Nai had already refilled my cup and started egging me on. Influenced by the atmosphere, I drank another glass. After three consecutive glasses of such strong alcohol, my vision began to blur, and my body started to feel hot. This is bad, I can’t keep drinking… I need to hurry… I quickly pinched the area between my nose and upper lip to calm myself. When I opened my eyes, I saw Lan pouring me another drink. I quickly reached out to stop her and accidentally touched her chest, feeling a soft patch… Eh!
“Oh my~ Juncheng, are you dizzy already? Hahaha, how cute. You can touch me more tonight~” “Cough, I… yes, I mean, don’t pour anymore, I don’t want to drink.” “Don’t be such a party pooper~ Juncheng, look how happy everyone is. It’s no fun if you don’t drink.” “I won’t. Alcohol dulls the brain, and I can’t relieve that dizziness through sleep. I’ll just have a headache all night, which would be so uncomfortable!” “You can just take three antidotes and sleep for a whole day then~”
“I’m telling you, it’s precisely because I don’t want to sleep that way, so…” I couldn’t finish my sentence because the person pouring the drink had changed to Lianbing. “Hehehe, as long as you don’t drink too much, it’s basically fine~ Moderate drinking is also beneficial to the body.” Even Lianbing… It’s always hard for me to refuse her requests. Fine, fine, I’ll drink slowly then…
After a while, I suddenly felt something was wrong. It seemed like everyone was pouring me drinks. Is this really “moderate drinking”? Even Yu Hui was pouring for me. Although they were also drinking, I was clearly drinking much more than them. After drinking an unknown number of glasses, I suddenly heard a thump. Xun’er had fallen backward. Fortunately, this was a leg-crossing seating area, not chairs, so she didn’t fall to the ground. Xun’er, leaning back, was still holding a wine bottle. The bottle was upside down, and there seemed to be some wine left in it. It flowed out from the opening, wetting Xun’er’s skirt and even her underwear, making it look like she had peed herself.
“…I want to be with you forever…” She was still mumbling in her sleep. She was really drunk. “Xun’er, don’t sleep here…” My eyes were drooping, and my head felt heavy. After being forced to drink so many glasses, it was only natural that I would end up like this. But the thread of reason hadn’t snapped yet. At least I knew I couldn’t let Xun’er sleep here like this.
Following Xun’er, Xue Qing also rubbed her eyes and yawned, looking like she wanted to sleep. However, Xue Qing was much more well-behaved. She curled up and lay on my lap like a little cat, occasionally rubbing against me. I couldn’t help but reach out and stroke her hair, and she closed her eyes with a look of comfort. Her hair was already completely white…
Since Xue Qing and Xun’er were asleep, I’d take them back to their rooms and call it a day. Thinking this, I looked up at the others… However, I didn’t voice the suggestion to end the party. Because these… no! these drunkards were giving me a very depraved look. Their gazes were so sharp, like hunters locking onto their prey, as if they could emit light. Lily’s gaze was burning, and Yu Hui silently held her wine bottle, her eyes fixed on me. Lan wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth, her pupils filled with hearts, while Lianbing licked her crimson lips like a beautiful snake, smiling in a very suggestive, lewd… way.
At first, I didn’t know why they were looking at me like that. My brain, which was already working slower than usual, was forced to function under my command. After three seconds, I realized their intentions! So, they wanted to get me drunk! Since the “children” were asleep, they had no hesitation in revealing their original intentions. And they realized I had lost my mobility and was just one step away from passing out! And what they planned to do after I got drunk was obvious—they wanted to have drunken sex!
How desperate are you all! Perhaps this is what they mean by “the more you taste, the more you crave.” No! I absolutely cannot let them succeed! What a joke! I’ll bleed! And do they plan to play with me like a toy! My masculine pride won’t allow me to fall like this! I began to use my spiritual pressure to quietly repeat, “[I can’t get drunk],” though it was more like “self-hypnosis” at this point. And under the effect of my powerful spiritual energy, this hypnosis reached a terrifying level… Using it on others would obviously be disastrous. But at the moment, I wasn’t thinking about that; I just didn’t want to get drunk.
And the effect was quite significant. The last bit of my sanity held on tenaciously, not breaking until… I got them all drunk… Yes, relying on self-hypnosis, I managed to hold out until the very end. All of them combined couldn’t drink me under the table. Life is truly as lonely as snow~ … Things somehow became more complicated and worse. Mainly because their drunken behavior was truly… extremely terrible!
