Chapter 129: All Drunk and Fallen

Little Yuer was clearly on Chu Dong’s side now, while the alliance between Li Youlan and Tan Xue was far from secure. Fortunately, Chu Dong had never been overly forceful; otherwise, one gentle tug from Tan Xue would have been enough to pull her over. Li Youlan, who was currently asking a favor of someone, naturally had to be extremely cautious—especially since she was “borrowing” a person.

There were some things Tan Xue had not told her friend in full. It was not that she distrusted her; she simply knew that the fewer people who knew, the better. Even so, her heart was full of questions.

Chu Dong continued his astonishing display. Chinese chess, Go, military chess, and every other game fell before him one by one, as effortlessly as strolling through a quiet courtyard, with every move made as casually as reaching for something at hand. It seemed that whatever others had spent years, decades even, studying amounted to nothing more than a waste of time to him. And that was not all. He was also remarkably knowledgeable about classical poetry and the appraisal of antiques. The way he held a magnifying glass over calligraphy and paintings made him look almost like an old scholar.

The so-called devilish training they had devised turned out to be nothing more difficult for Chu Dong than asking a university student to solve elementary arithmetic. It did not make him feel challenged in the slightest.

Tan Xue and Li Youlan now had far too much free time—so much that they were beginning to grow bored. The Henghai Fund, jointly established by the Haifeng Group and the Eternal Foundation, had made no moves so far apart from appearing prominently in the media. Silver Dragon was therefore allowed to enter a stable phase of development. A team composed entirely of senior accountants, whom Chu Dong had contacted, had taken control of Silver Dragon. All the unreasonable accounts from the past had been reorganized, and even if someone wanted to tamper with the company’s books, there was no longer any real harm they could do.

The tension they had once felt had completely disappeared. Tan Xue rarely even went to the company to deal with business anymore. With Chu Dong alone, everything was more than adequately handled, and she was perfectly happy to enjoy her leisure.

But people were like that. Once they had nothing to do, they felt uncomfortable all over. Tan Xue was no exception. After happily spending several days shopping with Li Youlan, she soon lost interest in going out again. Li Youlan, burdened by worries of her own, was no more enthusiastic. The two women now spent their days either watching television or studying how to bring Chu Dong, who had Little Yuer’s support, to heel.

They tried quite a few methods, but none worked very well. Finally, egged on by Li Youlan, Tan Xue decided that she would sacrifice her charms if necessary and pry something out of him.

Chu Dong had returned to a normal work schedule. His body had recovered well, and his spirits were good. He had taken complete responsibility for picking up Little Yuer. Every day after work, he went straight to the school to bring the girl home. Sometimes he also took Xiao Rou to the hospital to visit her younger brother. His days were full and satisfying.

His quality of life was excellent as well. Every time Little Yuer got into the car, she would order dinner. By the time they arrived home, the food would already be waiting—and neither of them had to pay. It was enough to make anyone smile.

Today was no different. Looking dapper, Chu Dong jingled his keys in one hand and returned to the villa in the development zone with Little Yuer tagging along behind him. The moment he opened the door, the enticing aroma drifting from the dining room reached them.

“Oh, Holy Mother Mary, my beloved fried prawns...” Little Yuer released Chu Dong’s arm and ran inside without even changing her shoes. She picked up a prawn between two fingers and popped it into her mouth, her large eyes curving into delighted crescents.

“No manners. Go change your shoes and wash your hands.” Tan Xue smacked away the hand her younger sister was reaching out with again, covered each dish with a glass lid, and planted her hands on her hips.

Little Yuer pouted at Chu Dong, her eyes pleading for rescue.

“If she wants to eat, just let her have some...” Chu Dong had no choice but to plead on her behalf.

“What, are you joining the rebellion too?” Tan Xue had tied her long hair into a ponytail, just like her sister. She glared at Chu Dong as though Little Yuer’s spoiled behavior were entirely his fault.

“Forget I said anything. Come on, change your shoes and wash your hands with me.” Chu Dong changed his own shoes, put down his briefcase, and waved Little Yuer over.

“Coming.”

Little Yuer now obeyed Chu Dong without question. Seeing this, Tan Xue was furious. She nearly hid the prawns away, annoyed by her sister’s shameless opportunism.

After changing clothes, they came out to eat and were surprised to find that Tan Xue had even prepared alcohol.

A bottle of fine red wine stood in the middle of the table, with several glasses beside it. The moment Chu Dong saw the wine, his face lit up.

“What’s the occasion today? My birthday? Little Sister? You? Neither of you? Could it be Li Youlan’s birthday? Then I’ll gladly share in the celebration. Come on, come on, pour it quickly.”

“Is there some for me too?” Little Yuer was extremely excited, but then she made a mistake. “Big Sis, is today the anniversary of your first kiss?”

“Really? That doesn’t sound right. I think it must have happened around May or June. I remember you were still wearing little skirts back then.” Chu Dong genuinely began searching his memory.

“Can you stop talking nonsense?” Tan Xue took the red wine away and removed one of the glasses, clearly retaliating against Little Yuer. Then she brought out a bottle of Red Star Erguotou and placed it in front of Chu Dong. “Little Yuer is still underage and forbidden to drink. As for you, forget about the red wine. Lanlan and I bought you five cases of Erguotou today. Take your time drinking it. You’re not allowed to drink anything else until it’s gone.”

Chu Dong stared at the glaring sixty-percent alcohol label and swallowed.

“Do I really have to drink it?”

“Of course not.” Tan Xue answered with a smile. “Not if you quit drinking altogether.”

“Damn it. Fine, I’m in.”

With the grim determination of a condemned man, Chu Dong twisted off the bottle cap. A sharp, fiery smell rushed into his nose. He carefully poured roughly two ounces into a stemmed glass and thought that he ought to contact Qiangzi and Haozi more often. Otherwise, he had no idea when he would ever finish the bottle by himself.

“Red wine is good for your complexion. Besides, tomorrow is Sunday. I don’t care—I want some too.” Little Yuer tapped the table. “Big Sis is so stingy.”

“You are absolutely not drinking. I’d rather wash your face for you than let you have any. You start talking nonsense the moment you drink.” Tan Xue showed her sister no mercy and poured wine for herself and Li Youlan.

As the crimson liquid streamed into the transparent glasses, Little Yuer watched hungrily. But she was young and powerless, and even her brother-in-law, her one source of support, was barely managing to protect himself. In the end, she could only submit, pull the plate of fried prawns in front of her, and attack it with all her might.

“Chu Dong, I should thank you for helping me. I’ll drink to you.” After Tan Xue kicked her several times beneath the table, Li Youlan finally raised her glass.

“No need to be so formal. Being able to serve a beautiful woman is my honor.” Chu Dong was surprised that Li Youlan was speaking to him so pleasantly. They were so accustomed to quarreling that he found the change rather unsettling.

“Thank you.” Li Youlan blushed. It was the first time Chu Dong had ever called her beautiful.

“Although your figure can’t quite compare with Xue’er’s, the difference is negligible. Heh heh.” His throat still felt scorched by the fiery liquor, but the moment he recovered, he began speaking without restraint.

“You...” Li Youlan was in the middle of drinking and nearly choked. “Mention that again and I’ll fight you to the death.”

“Don’t mind him. Just drink.” Tan Xue had something to hide herself, so she ignored whatever Chu Dong said and continued pouring wine for Li Youlan. Then she set down the bottle and looked at Chu Dong’s empty glass. “Fill yours too.”

“Wait until I’ve had something to eat. I’ve been starving all day.” Chu Dong picked up his chopsticks and reached for the boiled fish.

Tan Xue intercepted him with her own chopsticks.

“What are you rushing for? It’s not as if I’m refusing to let you eat. Lanlan still has something to say. Come on, Lanlan.”

“I have nothing left to say.” Seeing that Tan Xue was not helping her, Li Youlan answered sulkily.

“Don’t you want to know his secrets?” Tan Xue whispered into her ear. “I still have an important mission to carry out. Or would you rather do it?”

Without another word, Li Youlan raised her glass.

“Two good things at once. I’m drinking it all.”

“That’s more like it. Brother Dong, look how sincere Lanlan is. Don’t just sit there waiting—drink!” Tan Xue was growing restless, impatient for him to pour himself another glass.

“There’s a conspiracy. Something’s not right. Come on, tell me—what exactly are you two trying to do?” Chu Dong was no fool. One look at their behavior was enough to tell him that something was going on.

“So what if there is a conspiracy?” Tan Xue began acting unreasonable. “Are you going to drink or not? You don’t have to. You can quit drinking instead.”

And so, after one round led to another, Chu Dong ended up with more than half a bottle of Erguotou in his stomach. He was dizzy, his stomach burned fiercely, and even his hand felt unsteady around the chopsticks.

“I can’t take any more. Give me some rice to settle it.”

Little Yuer had nearly finished the entire plate of prawns. There were only a few left, and she hurriedly transferred them into the small dish in front of Chu Dong, hoping they would help suppress the rising effects of the alcohol.

Li Youlan and Tan Xue had taken turns pressing him to drink. Li Youlan had consumed more and was beginning to feel dizzy. Tan Xue’s tolerance was even lower, but she had drunk less and could still hold on. Both women’s cheeks were flushed, and they intended to continue.

“I’m going back to sleep. You two carry on.” Chu Dong realized he could not keep going. At first, he had planned to drink the two girls under the table, but now he was the one who could barely stand. He fled in defeat.

Tan Xue had only just reached the height of her excitement when Chu Dong ran away, leaving her unsatisfied. She drank several more glasses with Li Youlan, but eventually Li Youlan refused to accompany her. Tan Xue then broke her word and poured a little wine for Little Yuer.

Apart from the fried prawns that Little Yuer had devoured, hardly any of the evening’s dishes had been touched before dinner ended. Little Yuer returned to her room to study, leaving only Li Youlan and Tan Xue behind.

“Xue’er, I think we should forget it. You’ve had quite a lot to drink too. Another day.” Li Youlan’s eyes were barely open as she half reclined on the sofa.

“No. I can’t. This is a rare opportunity. I have to try. Who knows what else he’s hiding from me...” Tan Xue staggered to her feet. “I’m going to change, change my clothes. Today I’m going to make him tell me the truth...”

“Then... good luck.” Li Youlan mumbled the words and closed her eyes.

Tan Xue returned to her room and pulled out a bag. From inside, she took a pale pink gauze dress and held it up.

The dress was almost like an evening gown. It had thin shoulder straps, and the entire back was bare. From the front, only the area covering her breasts was opaque; everywhere else was transparent. Judging by its size, it barely reached her knees.

Fighting through the dizziness, Tan Xue slipped into the dress she had bought from a novelty shop and swayed out of the room.

She did not knock. She pushed open Chu Dong’s bedroom door and found him lying motionless on the bed with one foot still in a slipper, his face turned upward.

“Brother Dong... Brother Dong, I have... something to tell you.” Tan Xue staggered over and shook him. But apart from the rise and fall of his chest and abdomen as he breathed, Chu Dong showed no reaction.