Chapter 625 — Drinking Away Sorrow

It seemed all these years of tempering had come to nothing. And then there was Wei Zhao, still wearing that same faint expression, as though he did not even recognize him. Chen Yuxuan could not help but sigh: the gap between them was one he would never close.

Shen Yushu too found her brother's attitude toward Wei Zhao rather strange. Why did it look as though there was no hostility in it at all? Was Shield Bro so far beneath notice that her brother could not muster any hostility, or so formidable that he dared not?

Once they were seated, An Liwen told the waiter to begin serving the dishes, and ordered a good many bottles of red wine as well.

The food had all been prepared in advance, the ingredients already seasoned, so the moment Gu Mengyao and the others arrived it could be brought swiftly to the table — it would not take long at all.

"Brother Yutian, since we parted that day, I never imagined you would already be a major — and we have all grown up too!" As the host of today's banquet, An Liwen naturally raised the first glass. "In the blink of an eye, we are all to have families and careers of our own. I find myself longing for those carefree days!"

"Heh, people must grow up sooner or later!" Chen Yuxuan lifted his glass as well and spoke mildly, though a hint of bitterness stirred in his heart. If not for Qiu Lingshan, he would never have set foot on the right path, would he? Would he have gone on being a profligate young master to the very end?

Chen Yuxuan would never forget the contempt in Qiu Lingshan's eyes back then, that loathing from the bottom of her heart for a spoiled rich boy — and that was precisely what had roused him to pull himself together. Yet he had never managed to overtake Qiu Lingshan. However hard he tried, he had started too late; he lacked her foundation, and so no amount of chasing could ever close the distance.

What struck Wei Zhao as strange was that Gu Mengyao raised her glass as well and drained it in one go!

Did the young lady not dislike An Liwen intensely? Why would she empty a whole glass of red wine at his suggestion? Wei Zhao glanced at Gu Mengyao in some surprise, and saw that her expression was utterly desolate.

Wei Zhao was momentarily taken aback, then understood at once: the young lady was still brooding over that wretched business with her mother, her spirits had not recovered, and now she was simply drinking to drown her sorrow! Wei Zhao had long since made his peace with the matter of his parents, but he supposed Gu Mengyao was not like that.

She had seen her mother as a child, whereas Wei Zhao had never seen his parents at all — two entirely different feelings. So Gu Mengyao would yearn, would grieve; and this feeling, long buried in her heart, had been dragged out by Zhong Yongliang of all people, with no way to give it vent.

It was a suffocating feeling. Without release, a person would sink into gloom — so for Gu Mengyao to drown her sorrow in wine now was, in truth, no bad solution.

And indeed that was exactly what Gu Mengyao had in mind. Had she been asked out to dine alone with An Liwen, she would never have touched a drop — who knew whether An Liwen might have designs on her once she was drunk? But with Wei Zhao at her side, she let down her guard.

She did not believe Wei Zhao would simply abandon her if she got drunk. With this shield at hand, she might as well make use of him!

Seeing Gu Mengyao drain her glass, An Liwen's eyes flashed with astonishment — which was promptly replaced by excitement! He had worried that Gu Mengyao might refuse out of pride and not drink at all; and then he could hardly drink much himself, and without a good deal of drink, the drunk-confession scheme could not proceed.

He and Su Taizao had thought up any number of pretexts for urging her to drink, and now it seemed none of them would be needed. Still, An Liwen felt rather aggrieved: what had gotten into Gu Mengyao today? Why was she no longer playing by the rules? All those brain cells spent dreaming up excuses, wasted for nothing.

"Sister Yaoyao, why are you drinking so much?" Shen Yushu had noticed something was off as well.

"Nothing. I just want to," Gu Mengyao said lightly, unwilling to admit to the unhappiness in her heart.

"Oh — then can I drink too?" Shen Yushu smacked her lips, eyeing the red wine in the glasses with some longing. She did not normally drink either, for such things were seldom to be found at home. Gu Mengyao never let her drink; several times she had asked, and each time Gu Mengyao had refused her flatly. Yet today Gu Mengyao had taken the initiative to drink herself.

"You may — but not much." Gu Mengyao hesitated, then nodded her consent.

"Oh!" Shen Yushu helped herself to a wine glass. She had not drunk when the toast was raised, and now that no one was proposing one, she savored it with great relish.

Fortunately, everyone present was long accustomed to Shen Yushu's ways and no one said a word about it.

"Sour and sweet — it seems rather tasty?" Shen Yushu took a sip, then gulped down the entire glass in one go. It was not a top-grade wine, but An Liwen was paying, and the wine he ordered could hardly have been cheap.

"If you like it, drink up," An Liwen said — the last thing he wanted was for them to hold back. He refilled the glasses and raised his own again. "Come, another round — Little Shu, Yaoyao, may you stay forever beautiful, forever young..."

Shen Yushu showed him no courtesy at all: before An Liwen had even finished speaking, she had drained her glass, poured herself another, and paid his words not the slightest heed. "Sister Yaoyao, this tastes better than juice!"

"That still doesn't mean you can drink so much. You'll get drunk." Though Gu Mengyao said this, deep down she truly wanted to get drunk, to forget the sorrow in her heart, so that when she woke, she could become the strong self she once was.

"What kind of wine is this?" Shen Yushu drank another glass, then suddenly took hold of the bottle and asked.

"I don't know. As long as it's drinkable, that's enough." Gu Mengyao seldom drank; how would she know about such things? Even though she came from a wealthy family, she was still only a high school senior, and Gu Pengzhan would never have allowed her to drink as she pleased.

"This is a 2009 Lafite." An Liwen began to show off with a touch of smugness. Seeing that neither Gu Mengyao nor Shen Yushu understood, he had just the excuse to fill the silence: "Lafite wine is one of the world-renowned Bordeaux wines of France, produced by the Lafite estate! Any wine lover knows that in 1855 Bordeaux classified the great estates of the region. From among the stars in that firmament they selected sixty-one of the finest estates and named them the classified growths. Those sixty-one were then divided into five levels. The first level comprised four: Chateau Lafite, Chateau Latour, Chateau Margaux, and Chateau Haut-Brion, and among those four, Lafite ranks first."