Chapter 47

Chapter 47 - 47 046 Xie Shangs first kiss is gone Chapter 47: 046: Xie Shang’s first kiss is gone Chapter 47: 046: Xie Shang’s first kiss is gone Gu Yihuan didn’t want to dwell on his embarrassing past any longer and quickly changed the subject, “That round’s over, onto the next.” He looked up and saw Xie Shang at the stairway entrance, and immediately tattled, “Fourth brother, you have to help me, He Dongzhou and Jiang Yue are both ganging up on me.”

Jiang Yue is the bass player of the bar band.

Guan Sixing had also arrived not too long ago. He wasn’t much of a social butterfly, sitting by himself with headphones on, looking at material on his computer. Ever since he entered, he seemed to be pondering over some complex physics problem that even made “Project 141’s” youngest physicist furrow his brow.

“Project 141” is a secret project of The 7th Research Institute, and even Gu Yihuan didn’t know what exactly it entailed, but one thing was certain, asking about it was very dangerous.

Now that Xie Shang had arrived, Gu Yihuan was reinvigorated and was noisy about changing the game to “I Have, You Haven’t.”

Jiang Yue called it cliché, but Gu Yihuan mentioned a more sophisticated way to play, prompting everyone to pour half a glass of brandy into their cups.

The rule was to add a shot of Marie Brizard every time someone said “haven’t.” Marie Brizard is a homemade liquor favored by foreign bartenders, known by few.

When brandy and Marie Brizard are combined, a chemical reaction occurs, causing the alcohol content and concentration to skyrocket. When the concoction reaches a certain level, the color of the drink turns red. Once it turns red, you have to drink it all, and the last person standing is the winner.

This is one of the drinkers’ favorite table punishments, as right when the drink turns red, flames can be seen rising from the rim of the glass. Hence, it has another name, the “Red Bomb.” The methods of playing may change, but the Red Bomb is always a staple at the gaming table.

When it comes to eating, drinking, and being merry, Gu Yihuan is the expert.

He kick-started the game with an air of unmatched arrogance, “When I was a kid, I drank pesticide.”

Everyone: “...”

Wan Jiahe teased him, “Are you trying to kill yourself?”

“What’s wrong with wanting to taste it?” Gu Yihuan urged, “Hurry, hurry, hurry, if you haven’t done it, add your drink.”

The game started with an instant wipeout; everyone at the scene had to add a shot of Marie Brizard.

It was Jiang Yue’s turn, “I’ve eaten snake meat.”

Gu Yihuan’s close friends Qi Xian and Song Sanfang had both tried it, and the guitarist Wang Yuanqing had as well.

Wang Yuanqing proclaimed, “Eating snake? That’s nothing, I’ve even eaten earthworms.”

Song Sanfang said, “I’ve bitten a dog.”

This was something the slackers knew how to do; the slacker Gu Yihuan raised his hand excitedly, “I’ve done that too!”

Qi Xian declared, “I’ve worn my mom’s high heels.”

Oh, too bad, Jiang Yue said with a teasing smile, “I’ve worn those as well.”

A bunch of oddballs, really.

Gu Kaiyun was fairly normal, “I remember the second math question of the college entrance exam.”

Gu Yihuan: “...”

Nerd!

Gu Yihuan scanned the crowd; Xie Shang hadn’t added any liquor, nor had He Dongzhou, while the rest had. Huh, so being a top student makes you great.

Guan Sixing was also one of the top students, still in the same position as before, studying some profound subject.

Speaking of slackers and top students, Gu Yihuan even felt sorry for himself, wondering how he ended up being so unlucky to be surrounded by top students his whole life. Because of this stark contrast, his mom despised him even more. Throughout his upbringing, he couldn’t count how many times he had been punished for it.

But that’s off-topic.

The drummer Qiao Gang was up now, “I can play five kinds of musical instruments.”

Apart from Xie Shang, the rest added a shot of Marie Brizard.

Xie Shang’s musical talent was quite extensive, benefitting from a degree of commonality among instruments, as he was a disciple of his grandmother Guan Yueqing. In her lifetime, she was an orchestra conductor and master of several musical instruments.

The Xie Family is a true and deeply rooted scholarly family that has established itself over many generations. When most people say they have a grasp of the four arts—music, chess, calligraphy, and painting—it often just means they have some knowledge of them, but Xie Shang was different.

Fang Jiyin’s becoming a professional chess player had a lot to do with Xie Shang. It was with Xie Shang that Fang Jiyin learned Go chess. Xie Shang studied Go because it was a demand of Xie Jingxian, who believed that Go could hone a person’s patience and analytical abilities. Xie Shang did attend classes, and the Go dojo’s teacher thought highly of him, but he held back at a certain point and did not pursue a professional chess career. Instead, it was Fang Jiyin who became the professional player.

Xie Shang was more keen on racing, skydiving, diving, skiing—any sport that could get the heart racing. And he had even tried boxing for a while. He just played around, yet he managed to make a name for himself to the point where he was begged to go professional. He seemed to be that way; he excelled at everything—it seemed that nothing could stump him. Even the four arts, which he wasn’t particularly fond of, he mastered them as well. He didn’t spend much time on them, only learning them in his youth to satisfy his elders.

He always learned things quickly; he wasn’t one to always take things seriously. Often, he was rather nonchalant, but whenever he did get serious, up till now, there hasn’t been a thing he couldn’t master fully.

He Dongzhou said he was too privileged, and sooner or later he’d take a big fall. Xie Shang didn’t think much of it—he did not believe anyone had the capability to cause him any serious injury.

“I had a crush on my middle school teacher,” Xiao Dingzhu said, and then glanced subconsciously in Xie Shang’s direction.

Xie Shang seemed to be daydreaming.

He wasn’t in a good state today; he was distracted the whole time, even during the game. He poured himself another drink—he hadn’t had a crush on a teacher.

Then it was He Dongzhou’s turn. With an indifferent tone, he shared a secret: “I was adopted, a ‘pledged child’.”

Gu Yihuan’s expression changed, visibly upset: “That’s crossing the line bringing that up.”

Song Sanfang pressed for an explanation: “What’s a ‘pledged child’?”

When newlywed couples couldn’t have children, or their children died young, to have a child of their own, they would first adopt someone else’s. The adopted child was usually the least welcome one from the original family, the spare one.

This practice is called a ‘pledged child’ or sometimes ‘press child’ in some rural areas.

He Dongzhou was the child the Qin Family adopted as their ‘pledged child’.

Later, when the Qin Family had their own child, he was sent away. Then when the Qin Family lost their child, he was taken back once again.

He had belonged to the Zhou family, the Qin family, and also the He family.

As Gu Yihuan offered no explanation, Song Sanfang kept pushing: “Explain to me, what’s a ‘pledged child’?”

Sometimes Gu Yihuan could be attentive: “Don’t ask too many questions, just add the drinks.”

Everyone had to add.

It was Xie Shang’s turn now, his interest lacking: “I’ve changed my name before.”

Simple, yet deadly.

Then came another round of bizarre ad absurdum.

The third time it was Gu Yihuan’s turn, there weren’t any red drinks on the table yet, but it was close enough.

Gu Yihuan declared, “I’ve never been kissed.”

He Dongzhou had a girlfriend. Gu Yihuan was targeting him—he didn’t care, he wanted to be the first to send ‘He Dog’ on his way to prevent him from bringing up any more past stories of being a Qin or a He.

Unsurprisingly, He Dongzhou’s drink turned red.

Just as Gu Yihuan was about to gloat—suddenly—

“You got a girlfriend?”

The one who asked wasn’t Gu Kaiyun, but it wasn’t He Dongzhou he queried; it was Xie Shang.

Xie Shang’s drink also turned red, flames arrogantly rising from the rim of the glass.

All eyes were on Xie Shang, even Guan Sixing shifted his gaze from his computer screen. Gu Yihuan was completely shocked:

“When did this happen? With whom?!” How come he didn’t know?!

Xie Shang indulged his curiosity: “I haven’t, the day before yesterday, with the neighbor, and it’s all thanks to you. Satisfied?”