"Class monitor, it's not often we get to have a gathering. Why not have a bit of wine? It just doesn't feel right without it." After a few rounds of the meal, someone raised their hand and suggested with a smile. "Most of us are adults now. Just a little bit won't hurt. Am I right, everyone?"
"Right, right, right! Having some wine and playing a little game would be even better. Let's play the word - connection game. Those who lose can choose either truth or dare. If they don't want to choose either, they can just drink. How about that!"
"Sounds good. There are still two hours until midnight. We can't just sit here bored."
Most of the people in the private room were highly enthusiastic, rubbing their hands in anticipation of the upcoming activities.
Su Qinian pondered for a moment and then agreed to this little game.
He got up and went to find the waiter, specifically instructing them to get fruit wines, the kind with single - digit alcohol percentages.
Soon, three cases of fruit wines were placed on the three tables respectively.
"This wine has a very low alcohol content, around ten degrees." Su Qinian leaned over, his warm breath fanning out and landing on Lin Jinran's ear.
Lin Jinran blinked her eyes and said, "What's there to be afraid of? Is this even considered fruit wine? It's more like a beverage. You might not even get drunk after drinking a whole bottle."
Su Qinian let out a soft laugh, his shoulders trembling slightly. "That's not necessarily true. Fruit wines usually have a stronger after - effect. You can still get drunk if you drink too much."
"You can just take a sip to taste it. If you lose and really don't want to choose truth or dare, I'll drink for you."
The boy's thick and slender eyelashes fluttered up and down with his body's movement, like small fans, gently tickling Lin Jinran's heart. She really wanted to reach out and touch them.
Lin Jinran stared at him for a while and then softly replied, "Okay."
Su Qinian opened a bottle and poured one - third of a glass before stopping. "Try it first. If you like it, I'll pour you more."
The liquid in the glass was pink, quite nice - looking.
She curiously picked up the glass and took a small sip. Immediately, she frowned and complained, "This fruit wine doesn't taste good at all. The alcohol smell is so obvious."
"Fruit wine rarely appears in hotels. If it doesn't taste good, don't drink it." Su Qinian lazily poured himself a glass and then passed the bottle opener to others.
They shared a bottle of fruit wine in pairs.
Xie Wanyu said excitedly, "We're about to start playing. They want to play the word - connection game, but I don't think it's challenging enough. After all, there are two top students at our table, and one of them is the top student in Chinese in the whole grade. It's not fair."
Jiang Xiubin thought for a moment and said, "Let's change to another game. Let's play the 3 - 6 - 9 counting game."
"What's that game?" Lin Jinran asked curiously.
"Count in a clockwise order. When the last digit of the number you're counting contains 3, 6, or 9, you can't say it out loud. You must clap your hands to indicate. If someone claps when they don't need to, or doesn't clap when they should, they fail the game and must accept the punishment."
"That's okay. How about I start?" Lu Youchuan eagerly raised both hands, his eyes squinted with a smile.
"Sure. The key to this game is speed. You only have three seconds to think. If you don't say the number within three seconds, you still fail the game." Jiang Xiubin added.
The clockwise order was Lu Youchuan, Xie Wanyu, Jiang Xiubin, Tao Wan, Lin Jinran, Su Qinian, and two other classmates.
"I'm starting now." Lu Youchuan gave everyone a heads - up and began counting, "1."
"2."
Jiang Xiubin immediately clapped his hands.
The next person continued.
"4, 5..."
Everyone was counting faster and faster. Almost as soon as one person finished, the next one would follow without even a second's pause.
Lin Jinran was concentrating on the numbers everyone was counting. When it was her turn, she directly counted without even blinking, "37."
Su Qinian immediately took over, calm and composed.
It wasn't until 43 that Jiang Xiubin, without thinking, directly said the number "43".
"Alright, the first loser has emerged. Jiang Xiubin, quickly say, truth or dare?" Lu Youchuan was almost jumping for joy as he asked excitedly.
Jiang Xiubin smiled helplessly but with a firm tone, "I choose dare."
"Dare is great! Dare is great!" Lin Jinran joined the "stir - up - trouble" team. "Once you've decided, you can't go back on your word. For the dare, you have to take a big cross - cup drink with Xie Wanyu! The glass can be filled with a beverage or water."
"Hey, Lin Jinran, what crazy idea is this? I didn't even lose!" Xie Wanyu blushed and started to get anxious.
"Does that mean you don't want to help Jiang Xiubin complete this dare?" Tao Wan smiled with pursed lips, clearly here to watch the show.
"I, I, I..." Xie Wanyu was at a loss for words. Suddenly, she noticed the key point. "What's a big cross - cup drink? I've only heard of a cross - cup drink."
"Come on, Tao Wan, let's demonstrate it."
Lin Jinran poured two glasses of boiled water and walked up to Tao Wan. Tao Wan stood up, took the glass, and crossed their arms. "Xie Wanyu, watch carefully. This is a normal cross - cup drink, with arms intertwined. But for the big cross - cup drink..."
Her tone changed. She let go of her hands, then wrapped her arm around Tao Wan's shoulder, went around her back, and the glass appeared in front of herself. "The big cross - cup drink is when a man and a woman hold their glasses and drink around each other's backs."
"This... this is so exciting?!" Xie Wanyu's eyes widened. She carefully glanced at Jiang Xiubin, only to see that he remained calm and unmoved.
She took a deep breath and then boldly shouted, "Lin Jinran, I didn't expect you to be such a person. Just wait till I catch you. You'll be in for it!"
Lin Jinran raised her eyebrows confidently. "Really? I'm waiting. Stop talking nonsense. Hurry up and drink, dear Jiang Xiubin and dear Xie Wanyu."
"Xie Wanyu, I'll try not to touch you." Jiang Xiubin stood up, picked up his glass, and seriously promised.
He tilted his head slightly, looked at the friends at this table, and smiled faintly. "Give me and Xie Wanyu a bit of face. Don't take pictures."
"The overbearing hero protects his girl. Well done, Jiang Xiubin! I'm rooting for you!" Lu Youchuan had recently learned a phrase from a novel and now used it.
"Stop talking nonsense! Come on, hurry up. Let's just finish this quickly." Xie Wanyu's gaze was firm. She picked up her glass and said to the boy in front of her, "Sorry, Jiang Xiubin."
Jiang Xiubin was slightly surprised and let out a laugh. "It's me who should say sorry. I've dragged you into this."
As the words fell, he bent down slightly to make it easier for Xie Wanyu to act.
Xie Wanyu was extremely nervous. She tightly grasped the glass, silently chanting a calming mantra in her heart. She closed her eyes, wrapped her arm around, and the boy's scent came from all directions.