Page 82 of He Is My Bride
“I expect no less than a fair game,” the man said and held out his hands. They did the little dance and rhyme while the ones watching sang along, and threw out their hands.
‘Fei ya!’It was a tie over rocks, and they smacked kisses in the air over the table: ‘mwah, mwah!’
Hanjun scowled and his eyes grew dark. He glanced at the people queueing to play: a girl who was already wasted as it were and wouldn’t last, another one of his schoolmates, and his young wife… Then Wang Hao.
Li Yinghadto lose before his turn, Hanjun wouldn’t stand for the Wang dog to blow even mock kisses at his Li Ying, even if it was just a game. Alas, Li Ying was a beast.
“Drink up!” Li Ying said as he claimed another victory.
His match against the drunk girl was swiftly over, but Li Ying offered to drink her shot for her and asked someone from the crowd to get her a taxi because she was obviously done for the night. He then played against the other business major, a friend of Hanjun’s, and he seemed confident until Li Ying crushed him as well, after many more shots.
Li Ying had begun to feel it, but this was probably the most exhilarating drinking game he’d played—and he had played many—and he wasn’t done. Besides, Wang Hao was coming up, and Li Ying would enjoy humiliating him especially.
The young wife was cunning in her tactics and made Li Ying drink up many times, and only after a prolonged battle did she start losing her nerve and mess up, raising her hand in a slap when it was her paper against Li Ying’s scissors.
“Not so fast, little sister! It’s your loss,bottoms up!” Li Ying rejoiced, and although the girl seemed disappointed, she downed her shot gracefully and got up from the seat. She speed-walked towards the restrooms—probably to hurl—passing Xiuxiu and her two friends, who were returning to the group.
Now Wang Hao stepped forth.
Alright!Li Ying was ready.Bring it on—Huh?
“Wu Hanjun? It’s not your turn!”
“My turn.” Hanjun had shot up from the couch and rushed to the challenger’s seat, cutting off Wang Hao.
“Is this the famous Wu manners, huh?!” Wang Hao complained. “Cutting in line?”
Hanjun paid him no regard. He sat down and looked Li Ying in the eyes.
“Are you sure about this, Junjun?” Li Ying taunted.
Hanjun said nothing, only held out his hands in the starting position for the beginning rhyme.
“Had someone suggested my cousin hasn’t deviated from his usual ways?” Hanrong laughed, but looked concerned at his cousin.
“What’s the harm in a Wu letting loose every now and then? Let him play, I say,” Lin Yong said.
“Hanjun, youknowI will drink you under the table, right?” Li Ying said. He knew his man couldn’t hold his liquor like him.
“Looks like his years in Americadidchange Sir Hanjun after all,” Lin Yong thought out loud, himself only observing the game from his seat without any intention of participating.
“Play,” was all Hanjun said, staring Li Ying in the eyes.
Li Ying stared back at him, but he recognized that stubborn expression; Hanjun would not budge.
“Fine, fine, but don’t blame me tomorrow.” Li Ying raised his hands and people cheered, everyone eager to see how this might go.
“Two little bees fly down to a flower and fly,fei ya!” Li Ying threw rock, Hanjun threw scissors.
“Pya, pya!” Li Ying pretended to slap Hanjun, not toning down the dramatics just because it was him, and the man turned his head right, left, his movement muted. He then grabbed a cup and downed it in one fell gulp as the crowd went wild.
“Your fiancée is humiliating you, Wu Hanjun! You need to step up!”
Hanjun visibly grimaced at the taste of the spirit as he put down the cup, but he got back into the game and his expressionless state soon, and they threw again:
“Fei ya!” Li Ying threw out rock again, and Hanjun, paper.
“Damn!” Li Ying managed under his breath and tossed his head for Hanjun as he performed the slapping motions with a swish of his wrist.
