【11】She is the type of person who orders the same thing every time she goes to a restaurant
The cake fight lasted only a dozen minutes before it ceased. After all, the cream was limited, and more importantly, running around the two-story villa quickly wore them out. They no longer had the energy to chase each other, so they washed their horrible faces and collapsed on the sofas. Aside from a few drug-addled dandies, most international student parties consisted of the traditional three activities: drinking, karaoke, and Werewolf. Since Liu Siyan wasn't a homebody who loved board games, and since the Chinese generally had an 18-year-old drinking age behind closed doors, rather than the American 21, it made sense to retain both drinking and karaoke. They set up a singing app on the giant screen TV and dug out two microphones from the TV cabinet. Immediately, extroverted microphone enthusiasts like Ye Xin started requesting songs, and the atmosphere quickly became lively and boisterous. Drinking was even easier, with refrigerators and wine cabinets of all types readily available. Liu Siyan happily played the role of the hands-off birthday girl, letting everyone do as they pleased and take what they needed, without any hesitation. Ye Xin's singing was indeed beautiful, with a high vocal range. She quickly broke into a duet of "Hiroshima Mon Amour" with a junior who also fancied himself a karaoke prince. Their high notes were brilliant and soulful, as if they were ready to battle it out. While everyone's attention was riveted by their duet, Liang Zhiyao pulled a small object from his pocket and handed it to Liu Siyan: "Happy 20th birthday." "Wow, senior, you're giving me a surprise like this? Didn't we agree not to bring any gifts?" She blinked. "A fridge magnet isn't really a serious gift, is it?" It was indeed a fridge magnet in the shape of a coffee cup, painted in a playful and cute graffiti style, with the words "Iced Americano" written on the cup. Liang Zhiyao bought this at a small souvenir shop in Iceland a year ago, back when he was still a frequent globetrotter. It wasn't exactly worth giving away, but whether it was the takeout coffee she saw marked "Thea Liu" in Tan Xu's car or the coffee shop where she worked last Sunday, Liu Siyan always ordered an iced Americano. Perhaps she truly loves the flavor. She sang "Hiroshima Mon Amour" well, earning a high score of 97 on the app and drawing applause from the crowd. Liang Zhiyao didn't particularly enjoy singing in large crowds like this, feeling uncomfortable, so she focused on supporting Ye Xin, always providing the most energetic atmosphere after she finished a song. As she looked up to applaud Ye Xin again, she noticed Tan Xu staring at her. His gaze was the same as the one she had seen in the elevator that afternoon...
The cake war only lasted for more than ten minutes before it ceased. After all, there was a limited amount of cream as a weapon. More importantly, after running up and down the two-story villa, everyone soon became exhausted and had no intention of continuing to chase each other. So they washed their horrible faces and collapsed on the sofa.
Except for a very small number of playboys who take drugs and dance all day long, normal parties for international students, besides eating, actually just consist of the traditional three things like drinking, karaoke and playing Werewolf.
Given that Liu Siyan is not a homebody who loves playing board games, and that the Chinese generally use 18 as the drinking age limit behind closed doors instead of the American 21, it was natural to retain drinking and karaoke.
They set up the singing application on the super-large screen TV and took out two microphones from the TV cabinet. Immediately, extroverted microphone masters like Ye Xin ran over to request songs, and the surrounding environment quickly became lively and noisy.
As for drinking, it wasn't a problem at all, with refrigerators and wine cabinets of all types available. Liu Siyan happily played the role of a hands-off birthday girl, letting everyone take what they wanted and not be polite.
Ye Xin's singing was indeed beautiful, and her vocal range was very high. She soon started to sing "Hiroshima Mon Amour" with a junior who also called himself the little prince of KTV. Her high notes were gorgeous and affectionate, and she seemed ready to compete with him.
While everyone's attention was drawn to their duet, Liang Zhiyao took a small item out of his pocket and handed it to Liu Siyan: "Happy 20th birthday."
"Wow, Senior is planning this kind of surprise. Didn't we agree not to bring any gifts?"
She blinked. "A fridge magnet isn't really a proper gift, is it?"
It was indeed a refrigerator magnet in the shape of a coffee cup. The graffiti style was playful and cute, and the words "Iced Americano" were written on the cup.
This was bought by Liang Zhiyao in a small souvenir shop in Iceland a year ago when he was still traveling around the world. It was not worth giving away as a gift. However, whether it was the takeout coffee with "Thea Liu" written on it that time in Tan Xu's car or the iced American coffee ordered by Liu Siyan in the coffee shop where she worked last Sunday, she probably really loved this taste.
The song "Hiroshima Mon Amour" was sung well, and the app gave it a high score of 97 points, which drew applause from everyone.
Liang Zhiyao didn't like singing in such crowded occasions, always feeling uncomfortable, so she concentrated on supporting Ye Xin. Every time she finished singing a song, she was the one who worked hardest to create the atmosphere.
When she looked up to applaud Ye Xin again, she found that Tan Xu was looking at her.
His gaze was the same as when he asked her in the elevator that afternoon, "Have you been heartbroken too many times?" It was also that kind of clear-focus, fixed gaze.
If Liang Zhiyao wasn't blind, that look would only mean one thing.
Being admired and being stared at are two completely different feelings. A physical gaze can inexplicably create an uncomfortable feeling of being watched like prey. Whether she's clueless or just lucid, I don't think it's a very pleasant experience.
"Would you like to drink?" After singing the song, Ye Xin brought her a bottle of Corona.
They chatted casually with the younger students around them. In group conversations, she was always the one who listened more than spoke, rarely interrupting others when they were talking, and subconsciously drank.
The result of doing this is that I finished a whole bottle of beer in a short period of time, and suddenly I felt sleepy and a little dizzy, my body started to heat up, and my brain slowed down.
"I'm going home first," she said to Ye Xin, "I'll tell Liu Siyan and leave—strange, where did she go?"
"He was here just now, maybe he went to the bathroom."
Before coming, she and Ye Xin agreed to go home in the morning and evening respectively. After all, she had to get up before six the next day to work part-time at a coffee shop, while the other party would most likely play with other people until midnight and leave only when they had enough fun.
Liang Zhiyao felt that the time was almost up, and searched the living room, but could not find Liu Siyan.
Except for a few microphone masters who were still insisting on singing, most people were drinking and chatting. She clearly remembered that Liu Siyan was sitting on the sofa opposite and singing a song ten minutes ago, but now she was nowhere to be seen.
"Why don't you just go and I'll tell her later." Ye Xin suggested.
"Probably not," Liang Zhiyao shook his head. "After dinner, my phone was almost dead, so she helped me charge it. It should be in her bedroom. There's not much public transportation here, and I can't get anywhere without my phone. I better wait a little longer."
After waiting for another five minutes, the other party still didn't show up. I don't know if he went to the bathroom or was sobering up in the bedroom upstairs.
She walked up the stairs to the second floor and stood in front of the bedroom door with the name tag "Thea". She hesitated for a moment and decided to knock on the door.
"Shh-"
Suddenly someone held her hand from behind.
Liang Zhiyao turned around in surprise and found Tan Xu standing behind her. The hand that suddenly stopped her from knocking on the door was his.
In Liang Zhiyao's impression, this person has always been quite calm, but at this moment his expression was unusually awkward. He made a gesture of silence to her and shook his head.
She didn't understand and was about to ask a question when she suddenly heard a sound coming from the bedroom and her pupils dilated instantly.
There was more than one person in Liu Siyan's bedroom.
There were girls' moans, as well as boys' whispers and gasps, which were deliberately kept very soft and carried into the corridor through a wooden door, appearing vague and ambiguous.
Maybe the karaoke downstairs was too loud, or maybe her hearing became dull after drinking, she was standing outside the door just now and didn't notice the noise at all.
Thinking back now, when she looked around the living room trying to find Liu Siyan, she also did not see Cheng Yan.
Even the most clueless Liang Zhiyao could guess what was going on in the bedroom. She sobered up instantly, calmly pulled her hand out, and gave him an OK sign. Like thieves, the two of them tiptoed towards the second-floor terrace without making a sound.
This house is really big. Once you get to the terrace, you can no longer hear any sound coming from the bedroom. Even the singing from the KTV downstairs seems disembodied.
The alarm was finally lifted, but it was still awkward.
Liang Zhiyao breathed a sigh of relief, sat down on the deck chair on the terrace, and said to Tan Xu, "Thank you for that."
"You're welcome," Tan Xu sat down on another recliner. "You were just walking around the living room downstairs. Were you looking for Liu Siyan?"
"Yes," she said, "My phone is with her. I didn't see her anywhere on the first floor. I wanted to knock on the door to see if she was in the bedroom, but..."
It turned out that there was more than one person in the bedroom, and he almost accidentally caused social death in various senses.
Thinking of this, she suddenly had another idea and asked seriously, "Are you familiar with Cheng Yan? Is he the kind of guy who takes advantage of drunk girls?"
Without waiting for his answer, she immediately asked, "What if Liu Siyan was actually forced?"
Then they become accomplices who stand by and watch.
Tan Xu burst out laughing: "Impossible."
"Why?" she asked, puzzled. "How can you be sure?"
"Well... I do have a basis for this, but wouldn't it be a bit like sexual harassment if I said that?"
He chose his words carefully. "Well, if you've had experience, you'd know that voice just now... well, it wasn't forced."
Her face flushed red.
He added, "And when we were downstairs, I sat next to Liu Siyan. She probably didn't drink much tonight."
"...Is that so?" Liang Zhiyao curled his lips.
The atmosphere was awkward for several seconds. Seeing her silence, Tan Xu shook the glass filled with brown liquid in his hand and said, "Actually, my rescue just now was purely coincidental. I followed you upstairs in the beginning because I wanted to ask if you wanted to drink this."
"What?"
"Long Island Iced Tea—I saw you order it at the bar last time." He placed the glass on the round table between two lounge chairs. "The kitchen happened to have all the base liquors, as well as Coke and lemon slices, so I tried making one. Do you want to try it?"
Liang Zhiyao couldn't help laughing when he recalled the time when Ye Xin thought it was real "iced tea" and kindly ordered such a high-proof cocktail for him. However, he didn't explain the misunderstanding and asked, "Besides playing snooker, you can also mix drinks?"
This actually fits the stereotype of financial men who pursue style and love to show off.
"Just mix everything with ice according to the amount given in the tutorial, if you call that how to make a cocktail," Tan Xu blinked, "I'm just learning on the spot. It's probably similar to the salt and pepper spareribs tutorial you mentioned, isn't it?"
The pretense turned into revealing his own secrets, and she was amused by it.
Liang Zhiyao picked up the glass and took a sip. The cold liquid went down his throat and tasted surprisingly good, not much different from the time he had it at the bar.
She had only taken a few sips of wine when the wind suddenly started to blow. Perhaps it was because the temperature had dropped at night, and the wind at the end of September was also very chilly. She couldn't help but shiver.
"Is it cold?"
Tan Xu quickly took off his coat and handed it to her like a gentleman, but Liang Zhiyao immediately shook her head, indicating that it was not necessary.
"It's quite delicious, but I accidentally ordered the wrong drink at the bar. I usually stay away from this kind of drink."
She suddenly turned her head and stared into Tan Xu's eyes, saying meaningfully, "I'm the type of person who always orders the same thing every time I go to a restaurant. I might miss out on something more delicious, but once I settle on a safe option I like, I don't want to change."
"You hate uncertainty so much?" Tan Xu turned around. He didn't even put his coat back on, just put it on his hand. "I'm a little different. I'm always trying new dishes, even if I occasionally make mistakes."
He gave Liang Zhiyao a meaningful look, which made her sure that she had understood his hidden meaning. So she picked up the glass and took two more sips of wine. She immediately felt a burning sensation in her throat: "Then we are really different."
"Perhaps. But rather than dwell on that..."
Tan Xu suddenly stretched out his hand again, as if to take back the glass of wine, but Liang Zhiyao had just put down the glass and had no time to pull his hand away. In an instant, the back of his hand was covered by his dry and warm palm, giving the illusion that they were holding hands.
"…Now that you've had a taste of this 'unsafe' option, do you like it?"
"What?" She was a little distracted.
"Long Island Iced Tea, how's it taste?" He took the drink away, not caring about the lip marks she left on the glass, and took a sip himself.
It took her several seconds to come back to her senses, and she muttered, "It's really delicious...at least the first few sips, it's just passable."
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