Chapter 5 The Mysterious "Should We Give Up?"

Qin Man definitely wouldn't leave on the spot. Since she was already at the card table, leaving now would mean she had lost completely.

Therefore, no matter how much she disliked Jiang Xuchi, she was determined to drink with them until the very end.

Xi Yue took out dice and playing cards and placed them on the table for everyone to choose what to play. Most people chose dice because it was the simplest.

Jiang Xuchi pointed at the cards, and then everyone started playing cards with laughter.

When Qin Man first started surfing, she was incredibly lucky. Every time it was her turn, she had a great hand and made it through, while the next person was unlucky and had to drink alcohol if they couldn't make it.

After playing more than a dozen rounds, Qin Man hadn't lost a single game and hadn't touched a drop of alcohol, which made her a little thirsty.

In contrast, Jiang Xuchi had extremely bad luck; he didn't lose every single game, but he almost did.

So he drank one glass after another, almost without stopping.

Qin Man watched as he emptied several bottles in front of him, a smile never fading from his lips, his jaw muscles almost stiff from laughing.

Especially when she noticed that Jiang Xuchi was slow to react and his hand was sluggish when flipping the cards.

Qin Man was even more certain that he was unlucky and had a poor alcohol tolerance.

And yet they still try to act all high and mighty on this platform? It's ridiculous.

The next wave of surfing failed Jiang Xuchi immediately; he would have to drink as many cups as the remaining cards.

After Qin Man finished counting the cards, there were a total of five cups. She was extremely proud of herself and said, "Jiang Xuchi, you're too stingy. You only drink by yourself and don't invite everyone else to drink."

Xi Yue laughed and chimed in, "That's right, that's right, they came here specifically to trick people into drinking."

Jiang Xuchi glanced at Qin Man, put the empty glass back on the table, and naturally picked up a bottle, opened it, and filled it up.

Throughout the series of actions, his gaze never left Qin Man's face, and he said casually, "I think someone is quite thirsty."

Seeing him staring at her, Qin Man deliberately licked her lips and laughed, "You drank all the wine by yourself, how can we not be thirsty?"

Jiang Xuchi replied quickly, "Okay, I'll satisfy you later."

As soon as he finished speaking, the boys around him laughed.

He was a little drunk, so his tone was slow, and the last syllable of his voice had a hook.

Qin Man had never realized before that his voice was so pleasant, like a fine wine, rich and full of charm.

Jiang Xuchi has really changed. If he had been like this before, Qin Man wouldn't have looked down on him so much.

Later, they started playing blackjack. Qin Man started losing from the first game, and then she didn't win the second or third game either.

Her luck was so bad.

When fortune smiles upon you, life is like that. Qin Man is not discouraged and always hopes that a miracle will happen when she flips the card.

Unfortunately, no, she found an outrageous number.

The girls next to her laughed loudly when they saw how bad her luck was: "Qin Man, you're so unlucky, how many times has this happened?"

Qin Man had no choice but to admit defeat and drink.

After a few drinks, Qin Man began to feel hot all over.

Qin Man had no idea about her alcohol tolerance, because Qin Chen had never let her drink more than one glass before.

However, back then, she saw Qin Chen drinking one glass after another like it was water, without any reaction at all, so Qin Man was very confident. She always felt that she and Qin Chen came from the same womb and had similar genes, so she must be good at drinking.

Qin Man finished her drink and, before starting the next game, casually took off her school uniform and tossed it onto the sofa.

Because of the commotion, Jiang Xuchi shifted his gaze from the cards in his hand to her.

She took off her school uniform jacket, revealing a black tank top underneath. Her long, dark hair cascaded over her shoulders, drawing the eye down to her chest.

Her skin was so white it was almost blinding.

Most of the other students changed out of their school uniforms before coming to the bar, knowing they were going after school. Qin Man was the only one who was dragged in by him, so she was still wearing her school uniform and felt out of place.

But Qin Man wasn't afraid of being different from others. Her inherent sense of superiority told her that if she was different from others, it was because others had done something wrong.

Qin Man noticed someone was watching her. She picked up her cards, looked up, and saw something different in Jiang Xuchi's eyes.

I don't know if it's because the overhead lighting is too ambiguous, but I always feel that Jiang Xuchi's gaze is very direct.

What the hell are you looking at?

Qin Man awkwardly flicked the end of her hair, raised the cards in her hand, and sat back down.

Fortunately, Jiang Xuchi looked away, otherwise Qin Man would have wanted to ask him for a fee for looking at her.

The game continued, and Qin Man's luck remained terrible.

Jiang Xuchi was the only one left in the opposing team.

Before the cards were turned over, Jiang Xuchi reached out and pressed her hand, seemingly as a kind reminder: "Think carefully before you bet."

Qin Man looked at that slender hand, then elegantly rolled her eyes; she didn't believe it.

Flip the card, OUT.

Flip the card again, and you're out again.

This is really weird!

Jiang Xuchi, no longer in a drunken state, had incredibly clear eyes. He placed the wine in front of her and gestured with his chin, "Drink up."

Qin Man, feeling dizzy, finished one cup after another, still unwilling to give up, and dragged Jiang Xuchi to continue playing.

Jiang Xuchi is definitely cheating, otherwise why is it that her cards are always worse than his, or why does she always bust when she needs to draw cards?!

But she was too drunk to react in time to catch him cheating, nor did she have the mental capacity to figure out how he had set a trap for her.

If she were calm and not drunk, she would know that this was just another farce, much like a tennis match.

Qin Man was caught up in the moment; even after everyone else had left to dance, she clung tightly to her card, looking utterly unwilling to give up.

She had been playing cards with Qin Chen and his cronies since she was a child, so she was somewhat of a pro.

In this life, she has never lost like this before. Especially considering how lucky she was at the beginning.

"Should we admit defeat?"

Qin Man heard Jiang Xuchi ask in her ear.

The heavy metal rock music blaring from the distant speakers was completely indistinct; all she could hear was him whispering, word by word, close to her ear:

"Qin Man, admit defeat. You are no match for me."

Every word was heard clearly.

In that instant, the smell of smoke and alcohol on Jiang Xuchi mingled with the smell of the entire bar, and his words also agitated Qin Man.

Qin Man suddenly felt a surge of nausea in her stomach, and she couldn't hold it in and vomited.

Fortunately, she reacted quickly and almost instantly cornered Jiang Xuchi, vomiting precisely on him.

At that time, not many people gathered here to play cards; most of them were dancing in the dance floor.

The remaining few were quite drunk, sprawled out on the sofa like puddles of mud.

Qin Man buried her head in Jiang Xuchi's neck, pressing her entire body against him, her long hair hanging down.

From an outsider's perspective, all they could see were the two figures in an ambiguous pose; they couldn't make out what they were doing.

She didn't vomit much; it was mostly the alcohol she had just drunk, mixed with stomach acid, which smelled particularly bad and had an unpleasant sour odor.

Qin Man didn't have the courage to look up, so she could only timidly shrink her neck and look at his disheveled chest. She wanted to laugh but held it back.

"...I'm sorry," Qin Man said softly.

Fortunately, there weren't many people sitting in the booths at the moment, otherwise she and he would have been extremely embarrassed.

Jiang Xuchi didn't move until Qin Man picked up a tissue to wipe him, then he suddenly picked her up and held her head down, before walking out of the booth.

Qin Man's face was forced against the wet patch of cloth where she had just vomited. She was stunned for a moment, and then felt a wave of nausea.

"Put me down!" Qin Man realized that he was going to use her as a blanket to carry her out.

"If you dare to touch me, you're dead." Jiang Xuchi's face was ashen.

He even made a point of letting her long hair down to cover up the mess on his chest.

Qin Man clung to him, forced to press herself tightly against him.

To others, it looked like she was completely drunk and was being carried out by Jiang Xuchi.

Qin Man was furious.

Was he really going to carry her the whole way, making himself a laughingstock?

She struggled all the way, but it was all in vain, and Jiang Xuchi threw her into a private room.

"Look over there."

Pei Shiyu, who was not far away, looked over following her friend's signal and saw Jiang Xuchi carrying Qin Man towards the private room.

Another sister turned her head and looked for a while, then exclaimed, "How did Jiang Xuchi end up with her?"

The girl pursed her lips and replied nonchalantly, "She's pretty, that's all."

Pei Shiyu exhaled a puff of smoke, then suddenly lost interest and stubbed out the cigarette.

The moment the door to the private room closed, Jiang Xuchi threw her onto the sofa next to him and immediately took off his outer shirt.

Qin Man got up from the sofa, wiped her face, and felt a sticky sensation on her palms, almost vomiting again. Then, Jiang Xuchi threw clothes at her and covered her face.

She disgustedly ripped open the shirt over her head, about to say something, when a bottle of cold water was poured over her head, cleanly washing away the smell from her face and body.

Jiang Xuchi poured half a bottle of water, then tilted his head back and drank a few more sips, glancing sideways at her as if admiring her.

Qin Man trembled from the cold water; she had never been so disheveled. She was practically going crazy and yelled, "Jiang Xuchi, do you have any manners?!"

"You have manners, deliberately vomiting on me." Jiang Xuchi picked up a clean piece of clothing and put it on.

His bag is here, and his sportswear is inside.

Enraged, Qin Man snatched the water bottle from his hand and splashed it on his head. The remaining half bottle of water sprayed out from the opening, spraying Jiang Xuchi from head to toe.

Jiang Xuchi had just taken off his hat, and water droplets were running down his hair.

His sweatshirt wasn't pulled up all the way, and the outline of his pectoral muscles was vaguely visible underneath. Under the swaying lights of the bar, that area was soaking wet.

He didn't speak, nor did he blink; he stared at her silently.

After a long while, he began to move, reaching out to press Qin Man's shoulders and slowly pushing her down, pinning her firmly to the sofa.

"You're pretty impressive, still so arrogant even now." Jiang Xuchi was very strong.

Qin Man didn't want to pay attention to him and wanted to break free from his control.

But Jiang Xuchi held her shoulders firmly, preventing her from moving.

Qin Man, unable to contain herself any longer, finally exploded, "What did I do to offend you? If it was something from two years ago, then you're being too petty!"

"Looks like you haven't forgotten," Jiang Xuchi said.

When he's not in public, he's a complete and utterly cold-blooded demon.

Jiang Xuchi's return this time was clearly to watch the show, to see her perform.

Qin Man was furious. "Do you expect me to lick you like everyone else? Dream on!"

Jiang Xuchi raised an eyebrow.

His eyes were deep black, and he looked down at the light from above. Jazz music echoed in his ears, and it was the same tune as it had been years ago: ambiguous, lingering, and eerily silent.

He approached her, sneering.

"Lick me? You're not worthy!"