YMI Chapter 8

“Teacher Tao, letting you eat in a place like this, it really wrongs you,” Sun Bo said after sitting down, handing the menu to Tao Ruoxiang. “Order whatever you like.”

Tao Ruoxiang knitted her brows slightly. She thought to herself, Qin Lang was right — this Sun Bo really is a bit pretentious. It’s just a simple meal, what’s with talking about whether it’s wronging me or not? Not wanting to waste words with Sun Bo, she simply ordered a few dishes and was about to pass the menu to the young waitress.

“Uh… Teacher Sun, I haven’t ordered yet.” Qin Lang was not the least bit polite.

Sun Bo thought to himself, Damn it, you’re just here freeloading. It’s already good enough that you get a free meal, and you think you have the right to order food? But when he saw Qin Lang reaching for the menu, Sun Bo could only hand it over, forcing a faint smile. “Xiao Qin, moderation is a virtue. Of course I can pay the bill, but we shouldn’t waste food, okay?”

The waitress shot Sun Bo a look of disdain, thinking, This fake show-off is really something. All dressed in a suit and shiny shoes, making a fuss about booking a private room the moment he walked in — I thought he was some big spender. But turns out when a guest wants to order a few more dishes, he hides behind the excuse of not wasting food. If you want to save food so badly, invite people to your house — what are you doing eating at a restaurant and putting on airs?

Qin Lang, however, had no intention of getting angry at Sun Bo. Smiling, he looked at the menu. “Don’t worry, Teacher Sun, we young people have great appetites! — Miss, add a black-bone chicken casserole, an old duck soup, and a steamed perch! And make sure the chicken and duck are free-range, not factory-raised!”

In this type of restaurant, those three dishes already counted as high-end. As far as Qin Lang was concerned, since Sun Bo was paying, it would be a waste not to take advantage.

“Don’t worry, one hundred percent free-range!” the waitress said with a smile. In truth, she knew very well that a place like this would never use genuine free-range poultry — “free-range” was just a marketing gimmick to jack up the price and fleece customers.

Although Sun Bo hated Qin Lang, with his income he didn’t care about an extra two or three hundred yuan. He knew Qin Lang was deliberately trying to get under his skin, so he couldn’t let Qin Lang succeed — at least not in front of Tao Ruoxiang. But Sun Bo wasn’t simple-minded; with a quick turn of thought, he came up with a way to make Qin Lang lose face. Smiling, he said, “Little Qin, the weather’s getting warm — how about a couple of cold beers?”

“Beer… that’s probably not a good idea,” Qin Lang politely refused.

“Yes, after all, Qin Lang’s still a student,” Tao Ruoxiang spoke up for him.

“Tao Teacher, when you become a homeroom teacher, you’ll understand. Students like Xiao Qin — who hasn’t had a drink in private? Not just beer, I’m sure they’ve had red wine, even white liquor. Right, Little Qin? Anyway, a bottle or two of beer shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

Sun Bo was a teacher “tested by alcohol,” with a very good tolerance. He planned to use drinking as a way to embarrass Qin Lang. In his view, young men like Qin Lang were hot-blooded and impulsive — a few words of goading and they’d take the bait, drink recklessly, and make a fool of themselves.

In front of Tao Ruoxiang, Qin Lang couldn’t lie. He nodded. “Yes, I’ve had a little before. But Teacher Sun, I can’t drink much — one bottle at most.”

“Alright, then let’s start with two bottles of cold beer,” Sun Bo told the waitress, secretly pleased. Once Qin Lang started drinking, he could steer it into a drinking contest, until Qin Lang collapsed at his feet, vomiting like a pile of mud.

“Make it three bottles,” Tao Ruoxiang suddenly added. Seeing both men looking at her in surprise, she smiled faintly. “There’s no law saying a lady can’t drink, is there?”

The food and drinks arrived quickly. Sensing his moment had come, Sun Bo raised a large glass toward Qin Lang. “Little Qin, I’m not much older than you. Since we’re outside of school, you can just call me Brother Sun, or even by name. Come, to celebrate this chance to eat together today — cheers!”

With a tilt of his head, Sun Bo downed the entire glass in one go.

Since Sun Bo had already “drunk first to show respect,” Qin Lang couldn’t refuse without losing face. He also drained his glass in one go, then said, “Teacher Sun, I can’t hold my liquor well — let me eat something first.”

This was Qin Lang deliberately playing weak.

“Little Qin, that’s not right. I, as your elder brother here, have toasted you already — you can’t not respond, right?” Sun Bo clearly didn’t intend to give him a break. Just you wait, kid — you’ll be lying down soon enough.

“Alright then, Teacher Sun, I’ll toast you!” Qin Lang raised his glass again.

“Come! At the table there’s no teacher or student — only brothers. Bottoms up!” Sun Bo said heartily.

A bottle of beer could fill at most three glasses. After two glasses, you’d have drunk over half the bottle. As an experienced drinker, Sun Bo knew the best way to get Qin Lang drunk quickly was to make him drink on an empty stomach, so the alcohol would be absorbed faster and knock him out sooner.

“Little Qin, for the third glass let’s drink with Teacher Tao — we can’t just be drinking by ourselves and leave her out, right?” Sun Bo pressed again, giving Qin Lang no reason to refuse.

“Teacher… Sun… if I drink this one, I really can’t keep going,” Qin Lang said, pretending to already be struggling.

Sun Bo was secretly delighted, though outwardly he said, “So young, and you say you can’t go on? I envy you young people — full of energy, full of drive, not afraid of anything! Come, to youth — cheers!”

At this point, without needing Sun Bo to say anything, the waitress had already brought over a whole crate of beer. She’d seen plenty of drinking contests like this.

“That’s enough, Qin Lang still has to study later,” Tao Ruoxiang said, unwilling to see him humiliated.

“I think Little Qin can handle it — don’t worry, Ruoxiang. Young people have strong bodies, they can drink!” Sun Bo laughed, though his smile hid a blade. From experience, he guessed Qin Lang was already tipsy but didn’t realize it yet, and would easily keep drinking until he collapsed.

“Yes… Sun… Sun Bo, our first time drinking together, we have to do it right!”

Qin Lang, “caught up in the moment,” directly called Sun Bo by name. That annoyed Sun Bo, but since he’d been the one to say there was no teacher-student rank at the table, he couldn’t scold him. And Qin Lang challenging him to a drink-off was exactly what Sun Bo wanted.

“How about this, Teacher Sun… let’s drink straight from the bottle?” Qin Lang suggested.

“Good! That’s the spirit of youth!” Sun Bo laughed heartily, thrilled that Qin Lang was taking the bait. But his smile froze almost instantly, because he saw something that made him feel like he was seeing a fantasy scene:

Qin Lang picked up a bottle of beer in each hand, placed his thumb at the mouth of each cap, and with a flick — pop, pop! — both caps flew off.

Sun Bo had seen plenty of flashy ways to open a beer, but to flick the cap off purely with the strength of one’s thumb? That took an incredible amount of power!