600. No Wall Is Too Strong to Pry Open【2/10】
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Finally, the food has arrived!
The prices at the food stall are cheap. With a table of over ten people, everyone can chip in fifty bucks for all the drinks and as much food as they can eat.
Including the class teacher, who also paid, but hardly anyone was actually eating.
After a long time without seeing the class teacher, many classmates were worried about him since he’s been through a divorce and quit his job. Those who could drink stepped up to toast him, while the non-drinkers raised a cup of soda. Only the likes of Zhu Yong Wen, with his reserved personality, stood back, looking without saying a word.
The class teacher didn’t mind, beaming with joy, treating all the students equally, even getting up to share a drink with them in turns.
Before the dishes were fully explored, a few students were already tipsy.
Chen Yao was drinking happily, completely forgetting Lin Nan’s previous strict orders about no drinking and no smoking.
Drinking was fine, as it’s a social norm at gatherings, so Lin Nan wouldn’t mind too much, but smoking had only been allowed once in that unique circumstance with Xiong Da.
Following his former rowdy buddies, puffing smoke, drinking, playing drinking games, munching on some meat, and bragging a bit, Chen Yao felt as carefree as a child, fully letting loose.
Outside of his roommates at college, Chen Yao didn’t have that much interaction with his classmates, so he obviously felt more comfortable with his high school pals.
“You guys don’t know, my roommate and I took first place in the whole school for League of Legends!”
“Not long ago, I took over ten classmates bungee jumping. What? What does bungee jumping feel like? No feeling at all, it’s not scary at all.”
“Pan Hui is indeed getting prettier; back then, it was hard to tell she’d look this good after losing weight. Li Ya isn’t bad either; a girl looks better when she’s slim.”
Many girls who never bothered with makeup in high school suddenly became appearance-conscious in college, which probably explained the big changes in Pan Hui and Li Ya.
Everyone was happy, drinks were plentiful, and Chen Yao’s filter was completely gone. But he wasn’t the only one; at the table, anyone who could drink and had decent social skills was already getting tipsy. Even over with the girls, a few were feeling woozy, barely eating before sliding down, dazed.
Pan Hui was already half-drunk, her face red, swaying as she stood up. She grabbed her cup and stumbled over to Chen Yao: “Drink!”
“Cheers!” Chen Yao clinked cups with her, casually downing half before putting it down.
“You’re feeding fish or something! Finish it!”
“???”
The former shy chubby girl not only transformed her image but suddenly started swearing, leaving Chen Yao utterly baffled.
He was dazed for a long time before awkwardly lifting the half-cup again and drinking it down.
Isn’t drinking too much before going home a bad idea? Lin Nan’s waiting for me! If I come home with a black eye, I probably wouldn’t even know what hit me.
Why does it feel like this girl’s gone a bit too fierce after getting tipsy?
Ah, Lin Nan’s still the best. Even when drunk, she usually just gives kisses or confessions.
He thought he shouldn’t get too involved with Pan Hui, considering he has a girlfriend, so he just forced a smile at Pan Hui and planned to continue bragging with his friends.
“Chen Yao, are you going to KTV tonight?” Pan Hui didn’t leave; instead, she kept asking.
According to the plan for the gathering, classmates who weren’t totally wasted would go to KTV after dinner and stay until dawn.
Chen Yao had intended to go, but seeing Pan Hui’s state, he was afraid something unexpected might happen, so he shook his head: “I need to get home; my girlfriend…”
“Then it’s perfect; just drop me home?” Pan Hui’s cheeks were flushed, unsure if it was the booze or if she was shy.
“No, I mean, my girlfriend…”
“Exactly, taking a girl home is nothing to worry about!” Chen Yao’s rowdy friends chimed in with teasing grins, clearly planning to give Chen Yao a nudge.
Chen Yao was left completely dumbfounded, looking back at his friend with confusion.
What? I didn’t even offend you in high school! Why are you pushing me toward disaster?
Are you planning to find me in the hospital tomorrow?
He scratched his head, thinking it over. Escorting Pan Hui home doesn’t seem like a big deal, especially since Lin Nan didn’t come to the gathering. As long as he had a clear conscience, it should be fine.
But who knows what might happen on the road?
He planned to refuse again, but Pan Hui had cheerfully dashed back to her seat.
Feeling a dark cloud form over his head, he looked up at the class teacher, seeking a hint of help in his eyes.
“Go on, go on, I’ll explain it to Lin Nan later,” the class teacher waved his hand, not thinking there was anything wrong with it.
Chen Yao felt grateful. With the class teacher around, Lin Nan shouldn’t be angry.
However, Zhu Yong Wen, sitting next to him, looked a bit confused and leaned in to ask, “Why does the class teacher need to explain to Lin Nan that you’re taking Pan Hui home?”
“Because…” Chen Yao struggled to form a coherent response.
But how to talk about Lin Nan’s matters?
He initially planned to announce boldly that he had a girlfriend, but with the class teacher’s comment combined with the fact that he had a girlfriend, didn’t that just spell out who that girlfriend was—Lin Nan?
He was fine with his old classmates joking about him being gay, but Lin Nan was a different story.
So, he simply buried his head in his drink, ignoring Zhu Yong Wen’s question.
You asking me is just digging our graves together!
Zhu Yong Wen was still bewildered. When they visited Lin Nan’s school recently, he noticed that Chen Yao and Lin Nan’s relationship wasn’t quite ordinary, and now it made sense.
He muttered to himself, “You two aren’t actually related by bl**d or something, are you? Cousins?”
Otherwise, why would they be so close?
“Don’t curse me!” Chen Yao shot him a glare.
How could someone related by bl**d get married?
But why does it feel like something ominous is creeping up on me? A sense of impending doom, it seems.
Frowning, he seriously couldn’t figure out what disaster awaited him. Today was even his birthday; this day should be lucky, right?
“Want to go get some milk tea?” Pan Hui suddenly asked Li Ya next to her.
Li Ya glanced at her in surprise: “Aren’t you still thirsty for booze?”
“A bit of milk tea to perk me up!” Pan Hui clung to Li Ya’s arm, her face flushed as she asked, “What are my chances with Chen Yao?”
Li Ya rolled her eyes. “He has a girlfriend, I told you that already.”
“Pry it open! There’s no wall that can’t be pried!” Pan Hui puffed up her chest, dragging Li Ya toward the milk tea shop across the street. “Aren’t you interested in Chen Yao’s buddy too? Let’s team up and take them both down!”
After a moment of silence, Li Ya didn’t quite know how to respond.
Isn’t Chen Yao’s buddy already his girlfriend?
As they entered the milk tea shop, Pan Hui thought about bringing a couple of cups back for some of her close old classmates and getting their support. But as she stood at the counter, just about to order, she realized Li Ya was frozen by the door, like her feet had taken root.
“What’s wrong?” Curiously, she followed Li Ya’s gaze and saw a stunning girl with a hat quietly sipping her milk tea inside the shop.
The girl already had three empty cups on her table and noticed their gaze, her lips twitching as she looked over with an unkind glint.
