Deskmates - Chapter 55

Chapter 55. Blocking the Alcohol

“So is Meng Qiaoyu pursuing Lin Sitian?”

This belated question came out of Li Hailiang’s mouth during dinner.

After the rafting excursion, the group had gone to a hotel at the top of Danqing Mountain and checked in. They then ventured to a nearby rustic restaurant for dinner.

As dusk approached, the sky had not yet completely darkened. On the horizon, fiery clouds stretched out like giant sheets of shimmering gold, gradually turning to a blood-red hue before finally fading into the dusky gray of the approaching night.

The rising smoke of cooking whetted the appetites of the young men and women. They had ordered their meals early and now sat under the half-open bamboo pavilion, enjoying a communal feast. The rural restaurants near the tourist spots were busy during the May Day holiday. Despite their early arrival, they could only secure two tables, each seating ten people. Class 8 had more members, while Lin Sitian’s group consisted of only six people, so some chose to sit at shared tables.

Meng Qiaoyu had arrived earlier to greet them, and when he returned to gather his friends, Li Hailiang casually asked Yang Xuelin the question. This guy was quite cunning, and he knew that he’d surely be scolded if he asked Lin Sitian directly. However, even if Yang Xuelin didn’t give a direct answer, he could tell the truth from Lin Sitian’s reaction alone. Yang Xuelin didn’t want to hide it either.

“Isn’t it obvious? Are you a little stupid?”

It wasn’t surprising that Yang Xuelin was straightforward; Meng Qiaoyu’s interest was unmistakable, and trying to hide it would have seemed strange.

“Nice! My Tiantian’s enchantments know no bounds, even reaching Class 8 now,” Li Hailiang grinned exaggeratedly, giving Lin Sitian a thumbs up. “I remember that Meng Qiaoyu is quite popular in our school…”

Wang Yue interrupted, “Too bad his eyesight isn’t that sharp despite being so young.”

“Does he have poor eyesight? “Li Hailiang took his remark seriously.

“At least he can see better than someone here who’s practically blind,” Lin Sitian snorted coldly.

“Hahaha!” The entire table burst into laughter, with only Zhou Cheng momentarily out of the loop, sipping his tea in silence.

Li Hailiang continued, “So should we help you get together?”

Lin Sitian hastily replied, “Don’t interfere, it’s none of your business.”

She couldn’t openly reveal that she had already rejected Meng Qiaoyu in order to save his dignity.

While they were talking, Meng Qiaoyu approached. When he saw Zhou Cheng on Lin Sitian’s left and Yang Xuelin on her right, he immediately sat down with two other classmates in the remaining empty seats nearby.

At this age, even the slightest hint could spark wild speculation. As soon as someone took the lead, others would quickly follow suit. Aware of Meng Qiaoyu’s interest in Lin Sitian, teasing about their potential relationship became a constant topic of conversation throughout the meal.

Zhou Cheng had little authority to speak up and couldn’t join in the banter. He silently concentrated on eating his food. While others might have lost their appetite in such situations, he simply devoured everything with gusto.

A true eater doesn’t need love. He focuses on eating and does not get distracted.

“Zhou Cheng?”

Zhou Cheng looked at Lin Sitian in reply.

“Are you okay?” She noticed that he hadn’t said much.

Zhou Cheng shrugged. “I don’t really understand what they’re talking about.”

“Their conversation is indeed lacking in substance,” Lin Sitian admitted, feeling a little guilty even as she said it, “but I have to admit, so do I sometimes.”

“That’s not what I meant. It’s just that I’m quite boring and have a hard time contributing to conversations,” Zhou Cheng explained.

Interacting with people was different from solving problems; there were many social nuances that Zhou Cheng didn’t understand. Aware of this limitation, he decided not to dampen the mood any further.

On one side of the bustling table, everyone was enthusiastically chatting and eating. On the other side, two heads were leaning close together, whispering in the midst of the lively atmosphere.

“I invited you here; if you’re bored, maybe we should leave?”

-Lin Sitian extended this invitation, hoping for more one-on-one time with Zhou Cheng.

“No need to worry about me. I’m fine.”

-But the straight man Zhou Cheng didn’t understand and thought that Lin Sitian was forcing herself to take care of his feelings as an ‘outsider’.

Thickheaded, Lin Sitian silently cursed under her breath.

Unknown to them, Li Hailiang had started to tease Meng Qiaoyu and Lin Sitian again based on their earlier conversation. In truth, Lin Sitian wasn’t paying attention, but Zhou Cheng was getting tired of it. Glancing sideways at Lin Sitian, he put down his chopsticks and prepared to speak. However, before he could, Meng Qiaoyu interjected, “I’ve already been dumped, but you keep twisting the knife-how heartless can you be?”

The unsuspecting group fell silent, their jaws dropped. Li Hailiang craned his neck in surprise, “Huh? You? Dumped?”

“Mm-hmm.” Meng Qiaoyu raised an eyebrow at him. “Surprising, right? Even someone as extraordinary as me was dumped.”

Amidst laughter and playful banter, the awkward situation gradually dissipated.

In the middle of the meal, someone ordered beer. Everyone at the table joined in except for Zhou Cheng.

Lin Sitian interjected, “No?”

Zhou Cheng said, “Hmm.”

“Is it because of allergies?”

“No, I just don’t drink. During the holidays, people sometimes urged me to drink, but I never found it particularly enjoyable.”

Lin Sitian thought for a moment; to be honest, she didn’t find alcohol appealing either, except perhaps to create a certain atmosphere.

She took the bottle out of Zhou Cheng’s reach. “If you don’t like it, there’s no need to force yourself. We’re here to have fun, and fun should come first.”

Seeing her action, Wang Yue immediately protested, “That won’t do! I was hoping to outdrink our class monitor tonight – you’ve got to give me a chance!”

“He doesn’t drink, so leave him alone. Drink with me instead,” Lin Sitian replied and filled her own glass.

Zhou Cheng paused and watched as golden bubbles rose steadily in her beer-filled glass.

“As a grown man, it would not be fair for me to compete against you.”

“Is it fairness, or do you fear the embarrassment of losing face?”

“Hey, quite the confident tone, Lin Sitian – bring it on!” With that, Wang Yue quickly downed his drink. He then placed his empty glass in front of Lin Sitian, signaling for her to drink her glass.

“Fine, let’s do it.” Lin Sitian was about to raise her glass.

“Uh, Lin Sitian…”

Meng Qiaoyu was about to say something, but he noticed that Lin Sitian’s glass had been held down first.

Everyone at the table turned their attention to Zhou Cheng, who was holding the glass in his hand.

Zhou Cheng’s calm face remained unshaken as he calmly said, “I’ll drink.”

The entire group, led by Wang Yue and Li Hailiang, immediately cheered enthusiastically, enjoying the spectacle without hesitation.

“Zhou Cheng?” Lin Sitian looked confused.

“He first agreed to drink with me,” Zhou Cheng said, standing up and raising his own glass. He took a small sip first, then closed his eyes and downed the rest quickly.

It seemed effortless to him.

When he finished, he sat down again, his lips tightly puckered and his gaze fixed forward. A moment passed before he exhaled deeply, barely suppressing a burp.

He really didn’t know how to drink.

Unseen by the others, Lin Sitian gently patted his lower back a few times. Without looking directly at him, she said to the table, “You didn’t have to drink. Wang Yue may be impetuous, but he wouldn’t criticize you.”

With one hand supporting his head, Zhou Cheng tilted slightly, his voice remarkably soft, “I know.”

“Then why did you drink it?”

His slender fingers leisurely covered half of his face. His gaze fell on the rim of her glass, which still held her warmth…

“I don’t know.”