Chapter 862: Chapter 862: Drinking Contest
Upon seeing Liu Ying, Jiang Tao’s face lit up with joy, but soon his expression froze, and his brow furrowed deeply.
Because he saw Ye Xuan following behind Liu Ying.
He immediately narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Ye Xuan with a hostile gaze, wondering who this person was. He had only invited Liu Ying, so why was he here? What was his relationship with Liu Ying?
His first thought was that the guy might be a bodyguard, but he quickly dismissed that idea, as Ye Xuan’s attire didn’t quite fit the part! Especially considering their apparent relationship, which seemed far more intimate than just a bodyguard, could he be Liu Ying’s boyfriend?
As soon as this thought occurred, Jiang Tao’s face darkened even more!
But he didn’t care; even if he couldn’t win Liu Ying over by conventional means, he had other ways.
Therefore, he was full of confidence, absolutely certain he could easily win over Liu Ying and make her willingly become his woman!
"Hmph, even if you bring a man, so what? You can’t escape my grasp. No woman that Jiang Tao takes a liking to can escape my Five-finger Mountain! And Liu Ying, you’re no exception."
Jiang Tao coldly snorted in his heart, his gaze at Liu Ying filled with blatant possessiveness.
At this moment, Liu Ying and Ye Xuan also entered the private room!
After glancing around, Liu Ying flashed a charming smile and started introducing herself: "Hello everyone, I’m Liu Ying from the Jianghai Liu Family, and this is my boyfriend, Ye Xuan! We’ve come to the party by invitation of Young Master Jiang."
While introducing herself, Liu Ying also introduced Ye Xuan, making sure to clarify his identity, hoping to dissuade Jiang Tao from any ideas.
"Tch! What’s this about? So she already belongs to someone, how disappointing!"
"Exactly, she already has a boyfriend, and we got all excited for nothing! What a buzzkill!"
"Coming to a party and bringing your boyfriend? That’s really unsatisfying for the rest of us..."
Hearing that Ye Xuan was Liu Ying’s boyfriend, the three who had been vocal earlier all looked visibly disappointed.
In the face of the trio’s complaints, Liu Ying still had a slight smile on her pretty face, as if she didn’t care at all, achieving just the result she wanted!
"Miss Liu, why didn’t you let us know you were bringing someone? I could have made arrangements, now there’s nothing prepared."
Jiang Tao’s eyes glinted as he feigned concern, stepping forward to speak.
What a hypocrite!
Liu Ying glanced at him, thinking silently.
On the surface, however, she smiled serenely and said, "No arrangements, Young Master Jiang? Well, now arranging something is the same, just adding one more person! This shouldn’t be a difficult matter for Young Master Jiang, right?"
"Of course, haha, the more the merrier! Since you’re here, please have a seat."
Jiang Tao said nonchalantly to Liu Ying, not sparing Ye Xuan a glance, let alone acknowledging him, treating him as if he were invisible.
Turning to the short-haired man with a stubbly beard on his right, he casually instructed, "Yong Ge, since there’s one more person, go get two more bottles of wine! Make sure to entertain this brother well."
His words clearly carried a double meaning, and Yong Ge, the bearded man, caught on quickly, agreeing immediately: "Sure thing!"
He gave Ye Xuan a sideways glance before standing up from the sofa and striding out quickly.
The others in the room resumed their revelries!
Ye Xuan and Liu Ying found an unoccupied spot to sit, and Jiang Tao, seemingly intent on impressing, got up and went to the karaoke machine, selecting a popular song, and began singing passionately into the microphone.
Halfway through the song, Yong Ge returned, carrying four bottles of strong vodka, accompanied by five or six big guys.
However, these men did not enter; they all stayed outside the door, stationed at different positions by the entrance.
Ye Xuan sized up the situation outside, taking it all in at a glance.
He realized these people were probably here to deal with him, but he was unconcerned; with this ragtag bunch, they weren’t even fit to shine his shoes, so why should he care?
By now, Yong Ge was back in the private room, placing the alcohol on the table in front of them, then returning to his seat.
Soon, Jiang Tao had finished his song and was met with enthusiastic applause from those present. Looking quite pleased with himself, he turned his attention to Liu Ying and, smiling, said, "CEO Liu, how about you come up and sing a song too?"
"Yeah! Miss Liu, come up and sing too!"
"We also want to hear how the beauty sings, come on, Miss Liu, sing for us!"
"You’re the only girl in the room; everyone’s looking forward to it; Miss Liu, don’t dampen our spirits!"
The other three playboys joined in, egging her on.
"Alright then, I’ll sing a song."
Liu Ying pondered for a moment before agreeing. After all, it was only singing a song; it wasn’t too much to ask.
She got up and went to the karaoke machine, selecting Wang Fei’s "Lingering," then, following the music, started singing into the microphone:
"Loving the flaws of an angel, using the language of a devil, the god in the clouds just blinked once, the brows furrowed, nodded gently! Falling in love with a serious pastime, using the time it takes for a flower to bloom, you stood beside me, just a brief encounter..."
As Liu Ying sang, Jiang Tao first listened for a little while, then picked up his glass, poured another full glass of vodka, and then walked over towards Ye Xuan.
"Brother, don’t just sit there eating, if you’re a man you should drink a little! Come on, let me toast to you!"
Jiang Tao handed over the vodka-filled glass to Ye Xuan, speaking with great bravado.
Ye Xuan hesitated, his gaze falling on the overflowing vodka glass, looking a bit bashful, "Young Master Jiang, I’m not good with alcohol, I really don’t drink a lot..."
He said, scratching his head somewhat awkwardly.
Seeing Ye Xuan like this, Jiang Tao felt a wave of contempt in his heart!
Damn, is Liu Ying blind or just lusty, to actually fancy a man like this!
But the fact that you can’t drink is even better! It’ll make it easier for me to get you drunk. Heh, once you’re passed out, I’ll have a legitimate excuse to mess around with your woman! Jiang Tao thought with malicious glee.
"No worries! Any man should drink a little, drink however much you can!" Jiang Tao encouraged him.
"Well... alright then, I’ll just have a little."
Ye Xuan feigned hesitation, then bit the bullet and nodded.
Inwardly, he sneered, this guy wants to compete with me in drinking? Heh, since you’ve asked for it, I’ll play along!
Thinking this, he took the glass, clinked it against Jiang Tao’s, and downed the drink in one go.
Seeing this scene, Jiang Tao grinned and also downed his drink in one swig!
After "reluctantly" finishing a glass, Ye Xuan let out a warm breath, used his hand to fan his mouth, and smacked his lips, "So spicy... Normally I drink red wine, this high-alcohol stuff is a bit overwhelming."
"What fun is there in a man drinking red wine? That’s for women; we should drink the strong stuff! The stronger the drink, the more passion; otherwise, life would be dull, wouldn’t it?"
Jiang Tao laughed, pretending to offer some kindly advice, and proceeded to refill Ye Xuan’s glass with vodka, topping off his own as well.
"Come on! Let’s have another drink, to celebrate our meeting, cheers!"
He raised his glass, motioning to Ye Xuan.