novelraw Chapter 196 : Trouble at the Drinking Table
Chapter 196 : Trouble at the Drinking Table
Chapter 196: Trouble at the Drinking Table
"You've been drinking?"
On the other end of the phone, Su Ruochu quickly explained.
"Just a little. The president took the team out to dinner with a sponsor representative, so I had to drink."
Chen Fan looked very anxious.
"But you can't do that, your alcohol tolerance is so low, what if you get too drunk?"
Su Ruochu giggled.
"Look how worried you are, but I'm still sober."
"I'm calling to ask if you have time to come pick me up. I think the dinner might go on for a while longer..."
Chen Fan looked very concerned, "I'll come over right now. Remember, don't drink anymore."
"I know. You're so strict...hmph."
Hearing Su Ruochu's petulant tone, Chen Fan became even more anxious.
Normally, Ruochu is a quiet and reserved girl.
Even with him, she's shy about expressing her feelings.
She's a very shy girl.
But today, Su Ruochu was clearly talking more than usual.
Chen Fan guessed this girl must have been forced to drink.
"Dear wife, just come out to the hotel entrance right now and wait for me, I'll be there soon."
Su Ruochu: "But I can't do that! The sponsorship deal isn't settled yet, and the president and others haven't left. If I leave early by myself, it'll upset everyone."
Chen Fan was speechless.
"You're already drunk, why do you still care about them?"
"Listen to me, just excuse yourself and leave right now..."
Before he could finish, he heard some other voices on the phone.
"Ah, Su Ruochu, you were hiding here. The president and Mr. Pu have been looking for you."
Su Ruochu's voice responded, "I really can't drink anymore. My boyfriend will be angry."
A girl laughed beside her.
"Your boyfriend is so strict, and it's not like we're doing anything bad, we're just trying to get a sponsor for our club."
"The president said he's counting on you for this. If you can drink a few more cups with Mr. Pu, I think we'll get the sponsorship."
"If you get the sponsorship, you'll have made a huge contribution to our club. The president said he might even promote you a level."
Su Ruochu is not good at refusing others, so she timidly said in a small voice,
"My boyfriend said..."
"Hey! You're still on the phone. Hurry up and hang up, everyone's waiting impatiently..."
Beep beep...
Chen Fan's face darkened, he almost cursed out loud, and immediately headed for the internet cafe entrance.
Seeing Chen Fan's reaction, Luo Wenjie immediately realized something was wrong.
"Did something happen?"
While walking, Chen Fan opened his mouth, "No time for me to treat you to a meal now, next time. I have to go pick up my girlfriend."
"Man! Who cares about eating at a time like this."
Luo Wenjie waved his hand, "Just go get her first."
Earlier, Luo Wenjie was standing beside Chen Fan when he was on the phone, so based on what Chen Fan said, he could basically guess what had happened.
"Need me to go with you?"
"No need."
Seeing Chen Fan's urgent look, Luo Wenjie immediately asked, "Where is it? Far away?"
"The Shenghao Hotel."
"I know that place. It's downtown." Luo Wenjie said right away, "You'll need to take a cab, otherwise it's too far."
The two stood by the road waiting for a while, but the more anxious they became, the fewer taxis passed by.
Seeing Chen Fan getting more and more anxious, Luo Wenjie tried to reassure him.
"Don't worry, it's just a group of classmates, nothing major will happen."
Then he immediately took out his phone.
"Don't wait here, I'll call Xiaoshuai right away, he should be on campus."
Without waiting for Chen Fan's response, he directly dialed Ma Xiaoshuai's number.
"Hey, are you on campus?"
"Stop flirting with your girlfriend and drive over to the school gate."
"What? No, it's not for me, it's for Old Chen, something happened."
Three minutes later, a red BMW sped out from the school gate and stopped right in front of them.
Rolling down the window, Ma Xiaoshuai shouted, "Get in."
"To the Shenghao Hotel."
As soon as the two got in, Ma Xiaoshuai floored the accelerator, and only then had time to turn and look at them both.
"What's going on? What happened exactly?"
Luo Wenjie pointed at Chen Fan, "Old Chen needs to go pick up his girlfriend."
Hearing this, Ma Xiaoshuai immediately started cursing loudly.
"I'm telling you Brother Jie, can't you be more sensible? I was just spending time with my girlfriend, and you..."
Before he could finish, noticing their serious expressions, Ma Xiaoshuai immediately asked, "Did something really happen?"
Chen Fan shook his head, "Not sure yet, I hope I'm just overthinking it."
Without another word, Ma Xiaoshuai stepped hard on the gas pedal.
Shenghao Hotel.
Fifth floor private room.
As soon as Su Ruochu returned, the club president enthusiastically waved her over.
"Come! Ruochu, sit here next to me, have a nice chat with Manager Pu."
"President, I..."
The president leaned in and whispered in Su Ruochu's ear.
"Manager Pu has a good impression of you. You must try your best to get him to sponsor our club's evening gala. We've all worked so hard, it's up to you now."
Hearing this from the president only made Su Ruochu more flustered.
She was never good at refusing others to begin with.
Feeling anxious, she sat in the president's original seat, with Manager Pu from the Yunhai Furniture Company right beside her.
This Manager Pu was a fat man whose eyes almost disappeared into slits when he smiled.
"Hehe, Miss Su, you just missed a round while you were gone. Now you're the only one who hasn't drunk."
Su Ruochu shyly said in a low voice, "Sorry, I...I can't drink much more."
"Ah, you youngsters all say you can't hold your liquor, but you're actually all very capable drinkers."
The club president kept giving Su Ruochu signals, but unfortunately she kept her head down, pretending not to notice.
"I really can't drink anymore. I'm sorry."
Manager Pu smiled at the club president beside him.
"Little Wang, is this the caliber of members you've brought? Not very impressive."
"With an attitude like that, I'll have to seriously reconsider our cooperation."
Hearing this, the president hurriedly stood up.
"Manager Pu, we are 100% sincere in inviting you for this dinner, you can rest assured about that."
"How about this, since she won't drink, I'll drink her share."
Saying that, he reached for the wine glass to down it.
But Manager Pu let out a cold snort.
"And who are you to her? Can you decide for her?"
Upon hearing this, the president immediately realized he misspoke and glared sternly at Su Ruochu.
"Su Ruochu, aren't you going to quickly apologize to Manager Pu?"
"Do you even want to stay in the club anymore? We've all worked so hard, do you want to single-handedly ruin everyone's efforts?"
Su Ruochu kept her head down in her seat.
"I'm sorry, I..."
"Well, Manager Pu, I think there's no need to be so tense about this."
At this point, one of Manager Pu's companions suddenly spoke up.
"I think the young lady is just being shy, no need for everyone to pressure her."
"They're just kids who haven't experienced society, they don't understand the etiquette of drinking gatherings."
The man laughed, "Manager Pu, since the young lady feels too embarrassed to drink alone,"
"Why don't I make a suggestion, how about you and the young lady share a drink together?"
"Have a toast together, and then we can turn the page on this."
Hearing this, Manager Pu's eyes immediately lit up.
While the club president looked completely awkward.
The fat and greasy Manager Pu slowly stood up, raised his glass, and said with a smile,
"Alright, let's all be happy today, and I'll leave it at that...as long as Miss Su is willing to share a toast with me, I'll not only give you the original sponsorship amount, but also another 2,000 yuan on top of it!"
Upon hearing this, the club officers at the table immediately lit up.