Chapter 10: Toasting

  Three people walked into the private room, Yan Jia and Tan Xiaohui sat on either side of Gao Yuan. Gao Yuan asked for the menu, flipping through it but couldn't decide what to order. Even a dish of garlic lettuce cost 48 yuan, which was already the cheapest option on the menu.

  Yan Jia saw Gao Yuan's face had a difficult expression, she smiled: "I'll order." Gao Yuan handed her the menu, she took it but didn't even look at it and started ordering: "Steamed abalone, braised sea cucumber, sizzling stone bass, salmon sashimi, crispy fish maw soup." The waiter said beside them: "That's already 3600 yuan." Yan Jia stopped then handed the menu to Tan Xiaohui: "Sister, you order the vegetables." Tan Xiaohui looked and looked, finally ordering the cheapest garlic lettuce dish.

  Yan Jia said, "Want to drink some red wine?" Gao Yuan turned to Tan Xiaohui: "Sister, can you drink?" Tan Xiaohui seemed to see through his mind: "I won't drink, let's not!" Gao Yuan looked at Yan Jia, hoping she would stop there. Unexpectedly, Yan Jia said, "Brother Yuan, it's been a long time since we've seen each other, let's just have some fun and drink some wine."

  Gao Yuan just nodded, Yan Jia asked the waiter what red wine they had, and the waiter introduced that there were Great Wall, Changyu, Lafite, XO and so on. Yan Jia asked Gao Yuan which one he wanted to drink, Gao Yuan thought in his heart: "Do I need to ask? Of course, the cheaper the better!" But he could only think about it and couldn't say it out loud.

  Yan Jia said: "Then let's have a bottle of XO." The waiter said: "How many milliliters?" Yan Jia asked how many milliliters, the waiter said: "There are 500 milliliters, 2000 yuan per bottle, and also 750 milliliters, 2500 yuan per bottle." Yan Jia said: "Then take a 500-milliliter bottle, it's too much to drink anyway."

  Gao Yuan's head was about to explode when he heard the price. He thought to himself, "Adding the cost of wine, this meal will be at least 8,000 yuan! How can that be okay? Even if I sell myself, I won't have that much money!" As it turned out, he only had a few hundred yuan in cash and a credit card with a limit of 5,000 yuan. The cash was still needed to buy his return ticket, and even if he used up the entire credit limit, he wouldn't be able to pay for the meal.

  Gao Yuan was anxious, suddenly he had an idea and thought to himself: "When the time comes, just pretend you forgot your wallet, let Yan Jia pay for the rest of the meal, and then repay her when I have money later."

  The dishes are already on the table, Yan Jia and Tan Xiaohui are both eating with gusto, especially Tan Xiaohui, who is eating with relish: "Sister really knows how to order dishes! Even if I didn't pass the examination for the Regulatory Bureau, it's worth coming here!" Gao Yuan, however, has a furrowed brow, and every bite he takes makes his heart ache, as if what he's eating isn't food, but his own flesh.

  Yan Jia said: "Far brother, why are you frowning, is there something on your mind?" Gao Yuan hastily said: "I'm thinking about whether I can get into the Regulatory Bureau, if I don't get in, then I won't have a chance to eat this delicious food again." Yan Jia said: "Far brother, you should learn from little Shifu Mei, see how optimistic she is! Come on, let's drink, when life is going well, we must enjoy it to the fullest, and not waste the golden cup under the moon!"

  Gao Yuan said: "Indeed, I should be proud of myself. On my left is a beauty, on my right is another lovely lady. Life is like this, what more can one ask for?" After finishing his words, Gao Yuan raised his glass and drank with the two ladies. Tan Xiaohui also raised her glass: "Elder brother, I'd like to toast you a cup, thank you for your great help, which made me successfully complete the interview." Gao Yuan clinked glasses with her, and Yan Jia said: "One cup is not enough, younger sister, you should also thank elder brother for his generous dinner invitation?" Tan Xiaohui said: "Elder sister is right, elder brother, I'll toast you another cup, thank you for being so generous, a true man!"

  Gao Yuan and Tan Xiaohui had their second cup of wine, then the two went to eat. After a while, Yan Jia said: "Junior sister, I'll toast you one cup, nice to meet you!" Tan Xiaohui hurriedly raised her cup: "Senior sister, it should be me who toasts you first, sorry about that." After they finished drinking, Yan Jia poured wine for Tan Xiaohui, pouring more than half a cup without stopping. Tan Xiaohui said: "Senior sister, this cup is too big, I can't drink so much."

  Yan Jia said, "It's okay, the exam is finally over, let's thoroughly relax today." Tan Xiaohui stared at her as she filled up her own wine glass and couldn't help but exclaim, "My god, it looks like we'll be coming in straight and going out sideways today!" Yan Jia said, "I have a driver downstairs, if you drink too much I'll send you back." After finishing speaking, Yan Jia also poured herself a full glass: "Junior sister, you've already toasted to senior brother, shouldn't you toast to senior sister as well?"

  Tan Xiaohui could only raise her glass: "Shi Jie, I'll toast you a cup, thank you for bringing us to such a tasteful place, I really opened my eyes!" The two clinked glasses, Tan Xiaohui took a sip and was about to put it down when Yan Jia said: "Shi Mei, what did you say?" Tan Xiaohui said: "I said toast you a cup." Yan Jia said: "But you only took a sip, Shi Mei, you said one cup, words must be counted!"

  Tan Xiaohui had no choice but to finish the cup of wine with Yan Jia. She spent a lot of effort and stopped six or seven times before finally finishing the wine. After drinking, she couldn't help but cough for a while, probably because she was choked. Gao Yuan saw this and quickly picked up some dishes for her: "Hurry up and eat something to suppress the wine." Tan Xiaohui ate the dishes, and Yan Jia said: "Sister, look at how much your brother cares about you, you should toast him another cup!"

  After drinking the wine that Yan Jia gave her, Tan Xiaohui's face was already flushed like a peach blossom and her head felt heavy while her feet felt light. Her thoughts were also unusually excited. Normally she didn't drink much, but now she couldn't resist Yan Jia's persuasion. She filled Gao Yuan's cup with wine and then her own: "Both Master Brother and Master Sister have proposed this toast, we must drink it!" Gao Yuan said: "Master Sister, I'm worried you'll get drunk." Tan Xiaohui laughed: "I'm fine, I'm still very clear-headed!"

  Gao Yuan could only drink with her, this time Tan Xiao Hui seemed to have gained experience, she held her breath and finished the wine in one gulp. Yan Jia applauded on the side and exclaimed: "Good wine capacity, Shifu likes generous people the most! Junior sister, I'll toast you another cup!" After that, Yan Jia poured full cups for herself and Tan Xiao Hui again. Tan Xiao Hui said: "Shifu, I'm really stuffed, I really can't drink anymore."

  Yan Jia said: "This is the last cup, Shijie wishes you a smooth examination to the Regulatory Bureau, and then we will have another good drink." Tan Xiaohui had no choice but to drink with her. After drinking, Tan Xiaohui supported her chin with both hands, her arms propped on the table, and her eyelids began to flutter rapidly. Suddenly, her arm slipped, and she fell headfirst onto the table.

  "Disciple sister, disciple sister!" Gao Yuan hastily called out. Yan Jia also cried out: "Disciple sister, are you okay?" Suddenly, Tan Xiaohui slid down from her seat and slipped under the table. Gao Yuan quickly grabbed hold of her. Just then, Tan Xiaohui let out a loud "whoa" and spat out a large mouthful of foul-smelling stuff - all the seafood she had eaten earlier mixed with a strong smell of liquor. And to make matters worse, the foul-smelling stuff landed squarely on Gao Yuan's sleeve before flowing down onto her own body.

  Yan Jia saw this and a faint, almost imperceptible smile appeared on her face. If anyone had seen that smile, they would have thought she had achieved some kind of goal.

  Unfortunately, Yan Jia's smile was not seen by Gao Yuan, let alone Tan Xiaohui.