Chapter 249 - Rejected (2/2)
Realizing that we still have time, Lu Shengnan suggested a visit to the local bar. My companions and I traded quick looks and we nodded, although I swiftly regretted my decision when I found Lu Shengnan giving me that Your-treat-not-mine look.
The intense beats of EDM reverberated in our ears like pulsating war drums in the bar that I was almost dizzy by the neon and laser lights flickering and dancing about on the floor. We sat at the bar and the bartender filled glasses of liquor for us. Lu Shengnan threw him a naughty look and yelled above the din in the pub, “Gimme your WeChat ID, Handsome!” That made me narrow my eyes as I wondered, “Since when does this tomboy behave so girlishly?” But… ah! I began to realize that she likes boys that look delicate and soft. On the other hand, a potato-like Chongxi would hardly be the ideal dashing Prince Charming for her whereas I was usually the type that girls would readily swipe left. That left only Lin Feng, the only one out of us three that could barely fit the bill. But he was the tall and stern type instead of the beautiful and gorgeous type laddies that girls these days swoon for.
Lu Shengnan was actually pretty, although her tomboyish appearance and traits were oft-times the deal breakers for her. Expectedly, the bartender only responded with a professional and polite smile before shredding her hopes with a little shake of his head.
Refusing to give in, Lu Shengnan began doing what she always did best: hounding others with unyielding doggedness as if she was venting whatever displeasure and dissatisfaction she felt from our rejection of her joining us on the poor bartender. At the end, when the young man was able to stave her off with a stalwart defense, she demanded to know if the bartender already had a girlfriend. The bartender uttered two words. Two one-syllable words that shattered what remained of her dashed hopes to chips and flakes, “I’m gay.”
It was an answer that none of us expected at all and I could no longer hold back and exploded in an uncontrollable fit of guffaw so great that the bartender blushed furiously. It took almost a couple of heartbeats until I realized that I was behaving rudely and I struggled to control myself, shoving another gulp of liquor down my throat in vain hopes that it would help.
It was a draught that I reeled with anguish to the point of nearly vomiting it out. “What is this?!” I jerked my head back at the bartender and the bartender must have thought I was a snapping snake for a moment that he winced and answered, “Margarita.” Chongxi and Lin Feng saw the ugly expression on my face and took some testy sips from my glass and they frowned just as badly as I did. The taste of Margarita cocktails did not appeal to us, to say the least. The blend of sweetness, sourness, and saltiness swirling in the concoction was hardly our brand of beverage for leisure.
“It tastes weird,” I complained and said, much to the agreement of my companions who nodded profusely. Lu Shengnan glared at us with a look as if we were aliens from outer space. “Come on, you’re a rich second generation of the nouveau riche! You can’t have not heard of Margarita cocktails! They’re famous!” I glowered at her. “Come on”, I almost groaned with exasperation inwardly, “Our combination of a martial-artist, a fortune-teller, and the Spirit of a legendary sword is hardly your ideal mates for a night-out party! We’d do better with a bottle of Chinese baijiu!”
“Give him something vanilla,” Lu Shengnan muttered with a cryptic grin to the bartender. He stopped for a second before he produced another empty glass and filled it with transparent liquid. Pubs and bars did not usually serve Chinese baijiu so it could never be that, but I did not know what it was.
I studied the glass of clear liquid and saw only the tiny bubbles sizzling inside the chilled concoction. I took the glass and before I raised it to my lip, the bartender said suddenly, “Drink it down in one shot.”
I nodded and threw my head back, downing the liquid in one go, feeling an inexplicably strange but pure sensation rushing down my throat. Normal Chinese baijiu is an intense amalgam of tastes and flavors. That was the thrill that only seasoned drinkers of Chinese baijiu would feel: the reflection of one’s life when appreciating the complex jewel of the Chinese crown of spirits. But whatever was this, it was a whole deal different. I felt wholly refreshed by the purity of the chilled liquid and, at the same time, thrilled by the icy burn of the liquid that shot through my body.
“Wow, this is good!” I said to the bartender, “What is this I’m drinking?” Lin Feng, Chongxi, and Lu Shengnan looked at the bartender too, and the young lad smiled mildly. “Absolute Vodka, straight.”
I nodded with an approving smile, gazing back at the empty glass. Vodka seems like my type of drink. But little did I realize that the hangover that came later that night would come as a terrible miscalculation.